Today's Reading:

Jeremiah 17
Jeremiah 18
Jeremiah 19
Jeremiah 20

God would remember Judah’s sins; they were written with an iron tool on their hearts and on the horns of their altars (Jeremiah 17:1). They would not be atoned for. Sin had become a family tradition passed down from generation to generation. The people were so deeply involved that it felt normal and was something they taught their children. God said that because of this, judgment was coming.

Even with the warning, there is hope from the gospel. While the sin ran deep, the grace of Jesus runs deeper. On the cross, He broke every chain of inherited sin and family pattern. Through Him, we are no longer bound by what was handed down to us. We are the generation that can start new traditions of repentance, faithfulness, and freedom in Christ.

What family traditions are you leaving behind? Are you passing down patterns of bitterness, anxiety, materialism, or spiritual complacency? We must be the light and show surrender to God, forgiveness, prayer, and trust in His Word. Habits and values are seen in the home and picked up on easily. We need to live out daily and be intentional about the seeds we plant in other’s hearts. What is one family pattern or tradition that you are intentionally trying to break or build for the next generation, and why?

Judah’s sins were not only engraved on their hearts but also on their altars. This was the place for asking God for atonement, and their sin was so deeply engraved in their hearts it could not be atoned for. God was fired up; His anger was holy but not the final word, for it was really not permanently etched. The dry, parched land would be evidence of God’s curse. But blessed is the one who trusts the Lord; their roots will go deep into the living water. Live your life rooted in God.

The riches the people gained were wrongly stolen. He compared them to a partridge that hatches chicks that are not its own, and the chicks would eventually realize the partridge was not their mother and fly away. This self-reliance is a curse. We must rely on God for healing and salvation. Jeremiah pled for God’s mercy and vindication without revenge.

God told Jeremiah to proclaim at the city gates for everyone to keep the Sabbath day holy. It is not just a test for obedience but also a way of deciphering holiness over business. When they would disobey, it showed where their hearts truly lay and what idols they had. If the Sabbath was kept, then their kings and wealth would continue. If not- FIRE!

In chapter 18, Jeremiah watched the potter work. When the clay had hidden impurities in it and was ruined, the potter did not throw it away; instead, he took his time and reshaped it into something beautiful and useful. This is exactly how God works with His people. God responds justly to both repentance and evil. The people’s idolatry was unnatural. God called Israel the “virgin Israel,” as a young, pure bride, chosen and set apart for Him. But here, the “virgin” did a horrible thing. Idolatry and rebellion were unnatural. The people plotted against Jeremiah because they did not want to hear his message; this is ultimately rejection of God.

Jeremiah poured out his heart to God on behalf of the nation. But he still asked the Lord not to forgive them and not to blot them out because of their sins. Jeremiah called for God to bring justice against the wicked and their wives, to have them become childless and widows, which seemed harsh (18:21). Jeremiah was an honest prophet, and his cry revealed the weight of injustice as he waited for God to act. Only God can balance out mercy and judgment.

God had Jeremiah buy a clay jar from the potter and gather the elders and priests in the valley of Ben Himmon (where they did child sacrifices to Molech). God was having him act out another parable. Jeremiah was to smash the jar as a symbol of the irreversible destruction that was to come to Jerusalem and Judah due to their sins. The jar was man-made and shaped with care, like God shapes His people, but when necessary, the potter can break the jar. This was a symbol of the impurities and sins of the people (also described in Isaiah 64:8). God used the potter several times to describe the judgment coming. In chapter 18, the potter was working with the clay and “making something new.” In chapter 19, Jeremiah was to buy the finished jar and smash it. This was the consequence, as the potter had the right to rework or smash his creation in irreversible judgment.

With the siege of Babylon coming, God warned that the famine would be so severe that the people of Jerusalem would resort to horrible cannibalism, eating their own children and turning on their neighbors. This was a covenant curse for breaking God’s law (Leviticus 26:29, Deuteronomy 28:53-57). Those who sacrificed their children to idols would then be led to consume the flesh of their remaining children. This was a serious consequence for shedding innocent blood. Jeremiah smashed the jar, which shattered and could not be repaired. God would shatter Jerusalem and its people the same way. Because the jar was broken and irreparable, Topheth (the place within the Valley of Ben Himmon) would be so filled with corpses that it would become a burial ground. Jeremiah returned to the Temple courts and pronounced judgment to everyone to make it official and irrevocable.

The priest, Pashhur, had heard what Jeremiah prophesied and had him beaten and put into stocks (a painful, humiliating device that restrains and twists the body). He was on display at the gate for public shaming. Later Jeremiah told of God’s judgment coming to Pashhur. He would be the “Terror on Every Side.” This was a nickname for doom and horror announcing that Pashhur’s life would be filled with constant fear and panic from every direction. Pashhur and his friends would be taken as exiles to Babylon, and they would die by the sword as he watched. Then Pashhur would die and be buried in Babylon. Jeremiah had been persecuted for proclaiming God’s truth. Persecution does not stop the message from coming or being true. There is a cost for standing for the truth!

Today's Discussion question:

What is one family pattern or tradition that you are intentionally trying to break or build for the next generation, and why?

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