Corrected, Not Consumed

Hey, good morning. Good morning. Welcome to coffee and devotions this morning. We're going to talk a little bit about What is God doing to Israel? What's Jeremiah's prayer in response to God's? Condemnation and what would his judgment that Jeremiah keeps talking about let's have some coffee. I'm gonna have tea this morning We'll pray don't get into God's word Let's pray.
Father, we thank you so much for your word. And God, we pray that you would please help us to understand it. You are a good God. And so, Father, we pray that you would help us. Help us, Lord, to understand, to believe, and to live your word out. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Here we go, Jeremiah chapter 10, beginning at verse 17.
Gather up your wares from the land, O inhabitants of the fortress. For thus says the Lord, Behold, I will throw out at this time the inhabitants of the land, and I will distress them, that they may find it so." Thank God, when he's speaking of the portraits here, he's most likely talking about the city of Jerusalem. And he's telling them, you better just pack up your stuff, because I'm exiling you. This is what the Lord is saying.
Woe is me, or my hurt. My wound is severe, but I say truly this is an infirmity and I must bear it. My tent is plundered and all my cords are broken. My children have gone from me and they are no more. There is no one to pitch my tent anymore or set up my curtains."
I think this is a Lord speaking of himself in anthropomorphic language here. He's not just punishing the children of Israel willy-nilly. He says his heart is grieved and burdened by this. Anthropomorphic means God is changing his language to speak in human ways that we can understand. As if he was a man himself.
He says his heart is wounded. But he says that his tent is plundered. all his cords are broken. And when he's talking about his tent not being pitched anymore, or his curtains set up, I think he's calling back to that tabernacle. He knows that the temple, which was patterned on the tabernacle, is about to be destroyed. And he knows what that's going to be like.
This is not something easy that the Lord did, but he warned them, and he warned them, and he warned them, and he warned them. For hundreds of years he warned them, and they didn't listen. And now judgment is coming, and it's assured. Why, verse 21, for the shepherds have become dull-hearted, and have not sought the Lord. Therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.
Behold, the noise of the report has come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, a din of jackals." Why is the Lord leading them into exile? Why is the Lord bringing this judgment? Why is the Lord sacking his own fortress?
Because the shepherds have become dull-hearted. They've not sought Jehovah, instead they're going after all sorts of other gods, making idols. And we just go read in the histories and we see that in the temple of God, there were Asherah poles, Molech, all sorts of idolatry happening in God's house. So it says, therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered. That's a hard thing. And the noise has come up, this great commotion out of the north country. And it's going to destroy the cities of Judah, and it's going to be for the dogs to run around wild.
Verse 23, O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. O Lord, correct me, but with justice, not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing. Pour out your fury on the Gentiles who do not know you, and on the families who do not call on your name. For they have eaten up Jacob, devoured them, and consumed them, and made his dwelling place desolate." This switches from the Lord's declarations now to Jeremiah's prayer.
You notice a few things here, right? He admits in the first part of verse 23, or in verse 23, men can't control their own steps, right? We don't know, we're not sovereign over our destiny. And so he acknowledges that to the Lord, and he pleads for mercy. Notice what he says in verse 24, O Lord, correct me, but with justice. not in your anger unless you bring me to nothing." He asked for a type of restorative judgment here, and not one that would be all of God's hot anger and wrath, punitive. And he prays, that's what would come upon the enemies of God.
When he speaks of the Gentiles here, pour out your fury on the Gentiles who do not know you. He's saying there are families, there are Gentiles, there are evil ones who want nothing more than to destroy Israel and wipe the name of God out of the books forever. Remember them. Remember them in your wrath, but us. Correct us, because that's right. Be like a father unto us, but not in your anger.
So what's this whole section about? God's saying judgment is coming. Judgment is coming, but there's a prayer for God's people. And there's a reason for the judgment to come. It's a just judgment. In my Bible, I have verse 21 and verse 24 underlined, but maybe you underline something different. That's fine. Feel free to write it down in the comments. What would you say is the best verse to summarize this section? Well, I see calling. What are we called to do?
I know for me, verse 21 is a real hard one for me. I remember a big reason why I hesitated to become a pastor and took a detour through a number of years before I was willing to even go to school to be a pastor and wrestled with this, scared to death of my dull heart. Man, I'm so foolish often and so prone towards errant thoughts. I don't want to be dull to the Lord or dull to His Word, and people suffer because of things that I've said or taught. That's why doing devotions, I think it's so important, why I encourage you guys, open up your Bible, study these things for yourself and see if they are so.
Not whether you like it or not, but this is what God has said. The shepherds were going after their own hearts, going after their own idols. And because of that, the people suffered. And God wasn't going to keep entrusting them with sheep, as they were going off on their own ways. And then there's this prayer. And this is one of the things I prayed to the Lord, Lord, please, I think this is one of the things we can do, please correct me.
Lord, make me open to the teaching of your word, to the rebuking and correcting of it, and to the training in righteousness. Will we have humble hearts to actually be corrected? I think that's a mark of true Christianity. Humility. Teachableness. Being soft-hearted, not hard-hearted. Not dull, not stuffing our ears with the cotton balls in our souls, but saying, Lord, okay, I need to hear you, even if I don't like it, and correct me, God.
I'm really thankful there's a couple guys in my life, and my mother-in-law is one of these people, but they don't hide things from me. Who do you surround yourself with? Do you surround yourself with a bunch of yes-men who just stoke your ego and make you feel better? Or do you surround yourself with people who love you, who challenge you, when you may speak wrongly or unlovingly, when your life is out of line, and do you have people who will help correct you and bring God's Word to bear in your life? That's a great blessing.
If there are those people in your life, thank them. Listen to them. Stay tenderhearted. Stay teachable. May we bring glory to God by listening to His Word, and then responding when he corrects us. Let's pray. God, we thank you for your fatherly correction, not correcting us in your unmitigated wrath, but Lord, as a heavenly father, caring for us, your adopted children. You have brought us into your family. You have put your name upon us. You have put your spirit in us.
And Lord, we may not like the correction in this life because it's not fun. But Lord, we pray that your spirit would soften our hearts. That where there are areas where we have become dull, wrong, too in love with this world, too comfortable with the sins of our flesh, Lord, please correct us. Turn us to yourself, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. May the Holy Spirit work in your heart more and more love for Jesus Christ. May you abide in Him and bear much good fruit. I'll see you next time. Bye.