Tag: Jeremiah

Jeremiah 52:32 (KJV)
And spake kindly unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon,

In the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of the Jews in Babylon, the Bible says that the king of Babylon began to treat the king of Judah kindly. There is little reason given for this kindness, but I have some suggestions.

First, there was the grace of God
He never stopped loving them, and though the judgment was of God, the nature of God tends toward goodness. Even amid this severity, there was grace.

Second, there was submission
I’m guessing on this one, but the promise of God had always been that they were to submit to Babylon, accept captivity and trust God to give them favor with their captors.

Finally, there was Daniel
Daniel and his friends had faithfully served the kings of Babylon since they arrived. They never compromised their faith, but they did serve the king well. Noted events, recorded in the book of Daniel, reveal that the testimony of these men led the king to a kind eye toward their God. No doubt this would have translated into being kind to the king of the Jews.

Obedience to God is always rewarded.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Buy me a coffee?

Jeremiah 52:32 What Causes Kindness?

Jeremiah 47:7 (KJV)
How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he appointed it.

The previous verse our Psalmist prays that God would withdraw His sword against Ashkelon. It is a gracious spirit that seeks no harm against even those who have brought harm upon them.

But God answered “No.”

There will come a day, in the not-too-distant future when the Christians’ influence upon this earth is removed and the sword of the Lord is released in full measure. The time is determined, and the judgment is sure. It is not that we wish for it, but we must attempt to warn men of it. We do not preach against sin out of any hatred for the sinner. We preach against sin because it must be judged. Righteousness, holiness, justice demands it. No one would have it otherwise. They would just prefer to choose for themselves what is and isn’t sin.

It won’t happen. The righteous standard is God. Mankind, the creation of the Almighty, must submit to that standard or expect the sword. There is a way of escape. It is through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Anyone who will humble themselves and come to Christ for forgiveness may be saved.

-We pray for God’s mercy. 
-But we preach God’s judgment. 
-Then we proclaim the gospel. 

It’s the way of salvation from the just wrath of God.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Buy me a coffee?

Jeremiah 47:7 The Standard for Righteousness is God

Jeremiah 45:4 (KJV)
Thus shalt thou say unto him, The LORD saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land.

It is no wonder that Baruch was discouraged. He had ministered alongside Jeremiah through his preaching to Jerusalem until the Jews were conquered. He had written in a book the words of Jeremiah only to have them burned by the king. He had witnessed the carrying away of the Jews and then had fallen victim with Jeremiah of the remaining Jews as they foolishly fled to Egypt. And now they expected Babylon to defeat Egypt too.

A believer, right with God, still endures the hardness brought on by foolish unbelievers. I love the Lord, but I still must pay these crazy prices for gasoline our current administration has caused.

God gave Jeremiah a message to encourage and steal him for the days ahead. Essentially it was, don’t seek great things for yourself. God intended difficulty upon the flesh of man, and Baruch would endure his share of that trial.

The promise, the comfort, was that God would give him his life as a prey. Nothing in the world would take that from him.

Nothing this world does, says, believes, or inflicts upon the Christian can remove from him his eternal life. That is a gift from God, and nothing shall separate us from it.

Find encouragement in that, and you will be encouraged regardless of the circumstances.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Buy me a coffee?

Jeremiah 45:4 How To Be Encouraged Always

Jeremiah 42:9 (KJV)
And said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him;

I find Jeremiah preaching to three different congregations:

• The first, the Jews before captivity
• To the first he preached surrender.

• The second by way of letter to the Jews that had been captured
• To the second he preached submission.

• The third, this one, to the Jews Babylon had elected to leave behind
• To the third he preached stay in Judah.

The message in all three cases was essentially the same. At least in the first and last, the congregation made the same mistakes.
They feared the wrong opponent
In every case, the opponent was God. They couldn’t fathom that being the case, but God opposes sin, flesh, pride, and worldliness.

They rested in the wrong faith
In the first, they trusted in their blood. They could not believe God would allow an evil empire to conquer them, the children of God. In the latter, they trusted in Egypt. Since God had not protected them from the Babylonian siege, they could not see how they could trust God to protect them from further Babylonian incursions.

They listened to the wrong influence
There were other voices giving counsel contrary to Jeremiah. But Jeremiah got his message from God.

God still speaks today. He uses His Word, He uses His Holy Spirit, and He uses His preacher.  Don’t be like the Jews. Let the Lord lead you through those influences He provides.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Buy me a coffee?

Jeremiah 42:9 Bad Influence

Jeremiah 39:18 (KJV)
For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.

Imagine the situation. Babylon has been a threat to Jerusalem for some time. Nebuchadnezzar had already captured scores of the Jews. Nebuchadnezzar, at this time, had just completed a two-year-long siege of the city, culminating with its defeat. Zedekiah attempted an escape but was captured. He was forced to watch as the Babylonian king slew his children before him and plucked out his eyes.

In this situation, Jeremiah was to approach Ebedmelech, an Ethiopian man living among the Jews in Jerusalem. One might expect that his life was over. He was of no value to Babylon. There were no Jews to protect him. The city was destroyed. Surely, he would be next.

God had a different message for him. God said that He would deliver him from Babylon and that his life would be a prey for him.

A prey, is defined as an unexpected gain. A prey, in other words, a life snatched away.

Babylon had come to take the people as their prey. God gave Ebedmelech back his life as a prey snatched away from the Babylonians.

God’s Word commands us to snatch away our lives from this world. Don’t allow the world to take your life from you. Die to self, trust the Lord, and He will give your life back as a prey unto thee. 

Matthew 16:24-26 (KJV)
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Buy me a coffee?

Jeremiah 39:18 Snatch Your Life Away from the World

Jeremiah 37:9 (KJV)
Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.

Just as people do today, the Jews sought help from everyone but God. With the Babylonians on the offense, Jerusalem looked to Egypt for help. Egypt – perhaps the oldest adversary (though not so much militarily but for sure spiritually.) It is a wonderment how blinded our eyes can become when we want something badly enough. Even the thing we know to be evil becomes good if it appears to help our goal.

And it appeared that it would help their goal of victory against Babylon and in utter rebellion against God. Or at least rebellion against the preacher; they were not convinced his message was from God. Jeremiah 37:11 (KJV)
And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,

But notice Jeremiah 37:10 (KJV)
For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.

Gamaliel was correct. Acts 5:39 (KJV)
But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

The force that opposed them at this moment was not Babylon but God. Should He choose to do so, God could use a bunch of cripples to bring Jerusalem into judgment.

The Jews believed they were going to defeat Babylon with the help of Egypt, but they did not.

People believe they have defeated God today. Politicians are turning against the believers. The attitudes of men seem to be turning against the believers. Acceptance of lifestyle choices the Bible denounces appears to be on the winning side.

Regardless of how things appear, God can use a hand full of crippled, poverty-stricken, and discounted believers, if necessary, to turn the world around and bring glory to the name of Jesus.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Buy me a coffee?

Jeremiah 37:9 Everyone But God

Jeremiah 36:7 (KJV)
It may be they will present their supplication before the LORD, and will return every one from his evil way: for great is the anger and the fury that the LORD hath pronounced against this people.

Humanly speaking Jeremiah was in a hopeless situation.

• His preaching thus far had fallen on deaf ears
• He had personally become so weary that he wanted to quit
• He was, at this moment, shut up and could not go to the house of the Lord

Yet, God spoke to him once again with all that had been against him, and Jeremiah wrote it in a book. He then commanded Baruch, his assistant, to deliver it to the house of God and read it, saying, “It may be they will present their supplication before the Lord and return.. from his evil way.”

We’ve read the end of the chapter
We know they did not return. Still, Jeremiah was hopeful in the Lord. That’s where all earnest believers ought to be. We ought to speak the Word of God (notice it was in the house of the Lord – it was the professing believers who need to return), and we ought to pray to the Lord. We ought to do that in hopefulness. Who knows what God’s Word might accomplish?

We’ve also read the end of the book of Jeremiah 
We know that the people go into captivity just as Jeremiah had said. The king could destroy one copy of the Word of God, but he could not destroy the Word of God.

We’ve further read the end of the Bible
God wins. Despite the rebellion and evil of men who have turned themselves into gods of their own will, God wins. In the end, people without number get saved. Christ sits on the throne of David in Jerusalem. The wicked are cast eternally into the Lake of Fire and brimstone, and every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord to the glory of the Father.

It may be that our efforts and prayers right now may lead to someone trusting Christ and another turning from self-will.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Buy me a coffee?

Jeremiah 36:7 It May Be..

Jeremiah 31:19 (KJV)
Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.

Vitally important to the text is the context of hopefulness through the promised Saviour. He is referenced both in verse 15 and in verse 22. These verses, and their fulfillment in Christ, prove this passage to be Messianic.

Now note the progression of our text.
After I was turned, I repented
The word, turned, has to do with retreat or surrender. The lost man is at odds with God. He fights the Lord. He fights His Word. He fights His righteousness. No one ever finds hope before surrendering that battle. It is only after he turns that He repents. He has a change of heart, mind, and direction.

After I repented, I was instructed
Having had a change in heart and mind, man can now receive instruction. One of the most useless things I have ever attempted is to instruct one whose mind is already set. He is unreachable until he surrenders and repents.

After I was instructed, I bore the reproach of my youth
The process of sanctification, that of putting off the sins of the flesh, happens only after one has a new heart. The Great Commission sets the order as 
1. Teach them the Gospel. 
2. Baptize those who are converted through it. 
3. Finally, teach them to observe all things that Jesus commanded. 

Once a soul has repented, they then have the clarity of mind to recognize sin for what it is, become ashamed of it, and put it off in favor of something so much better.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Jeremiah 31:19 So Much Better

Jeremiah 28:17 (KJV)
So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.

In his effort to gain popularity and reassure the people of the common philosophy of his day, the false prophet had prophesied that the captured king of Judah would be free within two years. Two years is long enough that many, if not most, would forget his message if it didn’t come to pass. He benefited immediately by telling people what they wanted to hear. He had little concern because he knew he could adjust the message to make them feel good about themselves again at the end of those two years.

Jeremiah, on the other hand, preached in obedience to the Lord. He had an entirely different audience. He pronounced that Hananiah’s message was damning to the people and that God would take his life within the year. Two months later, Hananiah was dead. Jeremiah’s prophecy came to pass, and in a frame of time people could remember.

We don’t need preachers that make us feel good. We need preachers that tell us the truth.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Jeremiah 28:17 Tell Us The Truth

Jeremiah 25:4 (KJV)
And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear.

There is a song, a testimony concerning John the Baptist, that says, “One voice crying in the wilderness.” John the Baptist and Jeremiah were not so different even though they preached at different times in the history of Israel and different locations.  

• Both had a message from God.
• Both felt alone at times
• Both were imprisoned for their message
• Both were correct

But the Bible tells us that they were not just one voice. They may have felt like it at times. Those listening may have forgotten those who came before. But John, just like Jeremiah, was just one voice of all those servants of the Lord. The next chapter mentions two: Micah and Urijah.

We are never as alone as we feel like we are. When every other witness is forgotten, we have the Bible, we have the Holy Spirit, and we have Jesus who said, “lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen”^[1]

---

^[1] Matthew 28:20

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Jeremiah 25:4 Not Just One Voice