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Jeremiah, Judeâmessages for us today?

by Susan Hanson  
7/20/2019 / Bible Studies

The first chapter of Jeremiah is a basic introduction and lays out Jeremiah’s mission, so to speak. I believe the “enemies” in Jeremiah 1:15-19 refers to our personal enemies as well as the world/heathen/ungodly vs. the true church and compares with the first two verses of Jude.

 

Although Jude is one of the shortest books of the Bible and consists of only one chapter, it is saying basically the same thing Jeremiah said in the Old Testament. Since so many professing Christians today consider the Old Testament as, at best, history, a reading of Jude to compare with just the second chapter of Jeremiah reveals amazing parallels, even though Jeremiah records the same theme throughout the entire book.

 

Just a quick overview without in-depth study of Jeremiah showed me the following:

 

Jeremiah 2:2 is a likeness to a new Christian full of enthusiasm;

 

Verse 5 exposes the turning away from God by His people in Old Testament times and is a pretty obvious comparison to the denominations of today that have all, in some measure, drifted or turned away from the Christianity Christ taught.

 

Verses 6-8 There can be no denying, if one has ears to hear, “…Those who have ears that can hear, let them hear!" (Luke 14:35), that modern professing Christians, including preachers, twist scripture, taking favorite portions out of context, and ignoring the passages that convict them…the portions they don’t like because it cramps their style. God gave us His law and all we need to thrive, but preachers and lay people have made His heritage ‘loathsome’ with their hatred of the law and God’s requirements of us. The preachers and teachers don’t know Him (in reality and truth) and have rebelled against God and pursued things of no value, including such ‘nice’ things as church functions, and allowed those things to displace God from first place in their lives.

 

Verse 11 God’s people have exchanged the life God has designed for them for something they have come up with and it is of no value. This brings to mind the sin of Nadab and Abihu that got them instantly killed by the consuming fire of God in Leviticus 10, where they did something they thought of as worshipful rather than doing exactly as God had instructed. Truly, there is no shortage of people who act as if they think they know better than God what should be done.

 

Verses 14-16 God’s people were not meant to be slaves or persecuted, misused, abused but…

 

Verse 17 …they brought it on themselves!

 

Verses 18-20 explain how they will be convicted by their own conscience but ignore the conviction – a state of affairs far from scarce, sadly, in the 21^st century.

 

Verses 20-24 uncovers the rampant compromise with the world’s standards that we are not supposed to be conformed to.  See Romans 12:2

 

Verse 25 God warns them to stop but He is not heeded…and history repeats itself again.

Verse 27 Trouble comes, and they call on God to help them – God reminds them of their rebellion, as He does today.

 

Verses 30-37 God tells the people exactly how they have behaved and what their future is because of the decisions they have made, and do they change at all? Again, no.

 

When comparing with Jude, we find that he details the same perversions of real Christianity in the context of new life in Christ, as Jeremiah did in the Old Testament.

 

 

 

 

The first chapter of Jeremiah is a basic introduction and lays out Jeremiah’s mission, so to speak. I believe the “enemies” in Jeremiah 1:15-19 refers to our personal enemies as well as the world/heathen/ungodly vs. the true church and compares with the first two verses of Jude.

 

Although Jude is one of the shortest books of the Bible and consists of only one chapter, it is saying basically the same thing Jeremiah said in the Old Testament. Since so many professing Christians today consider the Old Testament as, at best, history, a reading of Jude to compare with just the second chapter of Jeremiah reveals amazing parallels, even though Jeremiah records the same theme throughout the entire book.

 

Just a quick overview without in-depth study of Jeremiah showed me the following:

 

Jeremiah 2:2 is a likeness to a new Christian full of enthusiasm;

 

Verse 5 exposes the turning away from God by His people in Old Testament times and is a pretty obvious comparison to the denominations of today that have all, in some measure, drifted or turned away from the Christianity Christ taught.

 

Verses 6-8 There can be no denying, if one has ears to hear, “…Those who have ears that can hear, let them hear!" (Luke 14:35), that modern professing Christians, including preachers, twist scripture, taking favorite portions out of context, and ignoring the passages that convict them…the portions they don’t like because it cramps their style. God gave us His law and all we need to thrive, but preachers and lay people have made His heritage ‘loathsome’ with their hatred of the law and God’s requirements of us. The preachers and teachers don’t know Him (in reality and truth) and have rebelled against God and pursued things of no value, including such ‘nice’ things as church functions, and allowed those things to displace God from first place in their lives.

 

Verse 11 God’s people have exchanged the life God has designed for them for something they have come up with and it is of no value. This brings to mind the sin of Nadab and Abihu that got them instantly killed by the consuming fire of God in Leviticus 10, where they did something they thought of as worshipful rather than doing exactly as God had instructed. Truly, there is no shortage of people who act as if they think they know better than God what should be done.

 

Verses 14-16 God’s people were not meant to be slaves or persecuted, misused, abused but…

 

Verse 17 …they brought it on themselves!

 

Verses 18-20 explain how they will be convicted by their own conscience but ignore the conviction – a state of affairs far from scarce, sadly, in the 21^st century.

 

Verses 20-24 uncovers the rampant compromise with the world’s standards that we are not supposed to be conformed to.  See Romans 12:2

 

Verse 25 God warns them to stop but He is not heeded…and history repeats itself again.

Verse 27 Trouble comes, and they call on God to help them – God reminds them of their rebellion, as He does today.

 

Verses 30-37 God tells the people exactly how they have behaved and what their future is because of the decisions they have made, and do they change at all? Again, no.

 

When comparing with Jude, we find that he details the same perversions of real Christianity in the context of new life in Christ, as Jeremiah did in the Old Testament.

 

I was raised in church but always felt like I was missing something. Now the Word of God excites me! My curiosity enhances the pursuance of discernment. I have often felt discouraged, but not totally defeated knowing that in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

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