Memory Verses

Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited. Jeremiah 6:8 AMP

I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.  Jeremiah 6:27 AMP

Key people

Here is a list of key people found in today’s reading (in order of appearance) with bios from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Jeremiah. Also called the “weeping prophet”. One of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, the Books of Kings and the Book of Lamentations, with the assistance and under the editorship of Baruch ben Neriah, his scribe and disciple.

Today’s Devotional Reading: Jeremiah 4 – 7

Jeremiah 4 Amplified Version (AMP)
Jeremiah 5 Amplified Version (AMP)
Jeremiah 6 Amplified Version (AMP)
Jeremiah 7 Amplified Version (AMP)

Reflection

When we grieve the Spirit of God, we also grieve His messenger. We should not take lightly the words of whom God has sent. There are times when the messenger has been able to plead with God and secure a stay of execution, even after God has told him or her to prophesy destruction in response to rebellion of the people in such acts as serving other Gods and profaning the holy name of God.

“Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.” Jeremiah 5:1 KJV

The prophet Jeremiah is one to whom God spoke directly, concerning His people, their actions and the condition of their hearts. Many times, Jeremiah bewailed the words that He was commanded to speak to the people.  He did not want to pronounce wrath upon them.  But, the messenger is not greater than the Lord.  He must say what is given to him of God.

“For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.” Jeremiah 4:31 KJV

Jeremiah could not say words opposite from what God said, else he would have been just like the false prophets. They spoke only what the people wanted to hear, in order not to upset them and lose their stature.

“The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?” Jeremiah 5:”31 KJV

If the prophet speaks truth and the people refuse to hear, they grieve the Spirit of God.

“10 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. 11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.” Jeremiah 6:10-11 KJV

God seeks to duplicate His Spirit upon the earth. That is why He builds “towers” among His people in the form of you and I. These towers are supposed to mimic the strong tower of God. They are anointed and commissioned to teach people the ways and heart of their maker and to lead them by example into standing up for what is good and acceptable and the perfect will of God.

God is our refuge and strength; a very present help in time of trouble. This is our strong tower. Even if we are chosen to be a tower, we must still submit to the tower of our maker. He is our comforter and our hope in glory. He is a rock in weary land, on which we can rest our head and get refreshment.

When you are in a struggle, don’t look for a person to deliver you. Look to God and He will send the deliverer. That’s what a tower does: it allows the watchman on the lookout to see the dangers you face from afar off – high above you.

The LORD is our strong tower. His watchman (Jesus) never sleeps.

References

« The Amplified Bible
« The King James Bible

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Image Source: 365 Seeds of Promise by Shenica Graham.

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