Prepare
Opening Prayer
Praise God as good, gracious, loving, and wonderful, and ask him to help us understand his Word and walk in his ways.
Read
Scripture Passage
Jeremiah 25:15-38
A — About
What Is This Passage About?
God gives Jeremiah the cup of his fury for Jerusalem and every surrounding nation to drink. If judgment begins with the city called by God's name, the wicked nations will certainly not escape: the Lord of all nations will plead his case and bring their time of punishment.
B — Best Verse
Which Verse Best Summarizes the Passage?
Jeremiah 25:15, 29
Bryan explicitly selects verse 15, which introduces the cup of fury, together with verse 29, which declares that the nations cannot remain unpunished when judgment begins at God's own city.
C — Called or Christ
C — Called to Do & Christ Connection
Warn others that the returning Christ will judge the nations and call them to repent while there is time. For your own refuge, rest not in your works but in Christ's perfect righteousness: the Judge is also the Justifier whose blood covers his people.
Devotional Study
Transcript of the devotion. Minor transcription errors may remain.
Hey, hey, good morning, morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This morning we're going to talk about God judging the nations. To the people who kind of wreak havoc on God's people, just get away scot-free. Lloyd's got something to say about that today from the second half of Jeremiah 25. Let's have some coffee, we'll pray, and we'll get into God's Word.
Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. You are a good and gracious, loving, and wonderful God. Please help us to understand your word. Please teach us, Lord, to walk in your ways. In Jesus' name, amen. Here we go, Jeremiah, chapter 25, the second half.
For thus says the Lord God of Israel to me, take this cup, of wine of fury from my hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it.
And they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them. Then I took the cup from the Lord's hand, and made all the nations drink to whom the Lord had sent me, Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its princes, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse. as it is this day. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people, all the mixed multitude, all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the Philistines, namely Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, Edom, Moab, and the people of Ammon, all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastland which are across the sea, Dedan, Tima, Buz, and all who are in the furthest corners, all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mixed multitude who dwell in the desert, all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes, all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are on the face of the earth. Also the kings of Sheshach shall drink after them. therefore you shall say to them thus says the Lord of hosts the God of Israel drink be drunk and vomit fall and rise no more because of the sword with which I will send among you and it shall be if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink then you shall say to them thus says Jehovah of hosts you shall certainly drink for behold I will bring I will begin to bring calamity on the city which is called by my name and you shall and should you be utterly unpunished you shall not be unpunished for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth says the lord of hosts therefore prophesy against them all these words and say to them the Lord will roar from on high and utter his voice from his holy habitation he will roar mightily against his fold he will give a shout as those who tread the grapes against all the inhabitants of the earth a noise will come to the ends of the earth for the Lord has a controversy with the nations he will plead his case with all flesh he will give those who are wicked to the sword says the lord thus says the lord of hosts behold disaster shall go forth from nation to nation and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the furthest parts of the earth and at that day the slain of the lord shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried.
They shall become refuse on the ground. Wail, shepherds, and cry. Roll about in the ashes, you leaders of the flock. For the days of your slaughter and of your dispersion are fulfilled. You shall fall like a precious vessel. And the shepherds will have no way to flee, nor the leader of the flock to escape. a voice of the cry of the shepherds, and a wailing of the leaders of the flock will be heard, for the Lord has plundered their pasture, and the peaceful dwellings are cut down because of the fierce anger of the Lord. He has left his lair like a lion, for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor and because of his fierce anger."
Well, we need to ask our ABCs, A, what's this about? B, what's the best verse to summarize this? And C, what are we called to do? Right, so what's this about? God is saying he's punishing Israel for their sins, but then he tells Jeremiah to take up this cup of wrath. And he has this hypothetical question, right? If I am punishing my own people, If I'm destroying the city where my name is supposed to perpetually be, will not my wrath also come on you?"
Now make no doubt about it, God is very centered on Israel as He is. They're His special possession, His treasured people, His inheritance. And yet, He is the King of all nations. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And so here He says that they will also drink His wrath. And that's what He's getting at.
The time of their punishment has also come. What's the best verse to summarize this? Well, I think in my Bible I would probably underline verse 15, but then also verse 29, For behold, I begin to bring calamity on the city which is called by my name. And should you be utterly unpunished, I think those are kind of two best verses in my mind. So last sea calling, what are we called to do? The day of the Lord is coming. And we don't sit here and take that lightly, right? We don't say, oh, the day of the Lord, the day of the Lord, the day of the Lord. No, right? It's a day in which Jesus will come.
And we often think of Jesus like a lamb who is slain. But someday Jesus will come again and the last trumpet will be blown. And he will come, and the book of Revelation says, his robe is dipped in blood, but coming out of his mouth will be a sharp two-edged sword. Riding upon his noble steed, he will judge the nations. Blood will roll, blood will flow, and judgment is coming.
Are we thus warning the nations that his judgment is real and is coming? Are we those who are willing to tell others, repent while there's still time, turn to the Lord? But do we also take comfort knowing that God sees His people, God knows their calamities, and He's doing it for a reason, but He is also a God of justice. So He may correct us, but He punishes the wicked. And so do we trust in His perfect righteousness, His judgment?
I hope that you rest in the Lord. Because this points us to Jesus Christ, not just as the judge, but also as the justifier. Jesus was put to death for our sins, but raised for our justification. Where will you find refuge in that Judgment Day? It won't be in our own works, but it must be in the perfect righteousness of Christ, so I hope that you'll rest in Him. And like the Passover, when the angel of death passed over, I hope that you will also be found covered in the blood of the Lamb.
Let's pray. Father, we pray that we would know that you could come, that you are God, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the perfect judge. And Father, we pray that we would have our hearts ready for you to return by trusting in you. Thank you for your perfect justice. Thank you for being our perfect judge. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. May you rest in Jesus Christ. May you hope in Him always. And I'll see you next time. Bye.