The Strand Study Bible

JEREMIAH 3:15

JEREMIAH 4:4

1147

15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall 1 feed you with knowledge and understanding. The promise of Israel’s restoration; of a Kingdom where CHRIST will rule (Fulfilled - Rev 20:4,6) 16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, 2 in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. P 17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem 3 the throne of the 4 LO RD ; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. P 18 2 In those days 5 the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers. P 19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My 6 FATHER ; 3 and shalt not turn away from 4 M E . P A confession of sin 20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD. 21 A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God.

22 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God. 23 Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel. 24 For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God. Jeremiah 4 Jeremiah’s first message (con’t) (Fulfilled - II Ki 25 - 586 BC) (Note - This portion of Jeremiah’s prophecy took place from the 14th - 18th year of King Josiah’s reign) Date Written – Between 627-623 BC 1 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD , return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not 7 remove. 2 And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory. 3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. 4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and 8 burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

1. Acts 20:28 & I Pet 5:1-2 2. Fulfilled - Rev 20:4 (Israel’s Restoration) 3. Fulfilled - Rev 20:4,6 (Christ’s Kingdom) 4. Rev 11:15 & 15:4 5. Isa 11:13 & Hos 1:11 6. Deut 32:6 & Isa 63:16 & 64:8 & Jere 3:4 & 31:9 7. or, “be removed” 8. II Ki 25:8-10

3:15 There is only one prerequisite to gaining the pastor that God wants you to have: 1. Acknowledge thine iniquity (admit your sins and your shortcomings) Whenever our will becomes more important than God’s will, we backslide and commit spiritual adultery against God (Mt 16:21-23). 4:1 Verses 1-4 conclude Jeremiah’s first message which began at 3:6. The Lord said to Israel, “ If thou wilt return , then do it ( return unto me )! Don’t talk about it. Do it! To talk about it is to get talked out of it.” You don’t discuss the decent; you do it! 4:2 We are warned in Scripture not to make promises ( Eccl 5 :1- 5 and Mt 5 :33- 34 ), but if we do ( And thou shalt swear ), we better base those promises on three facts: 1. God will hold us accountable for knowing the truth ( The LORD liveth, in truth ) Don’t tell the Lord “you didn’t know” what you were vowing (Eccl 5:6). 2. God will hold us accountable for understanding the consequences ( The LORD liveth, in judgment ) Don’t tell the Lord “you didn’t understand the cost” for not following through with your vow (Prov 20:25). 3. God will hold us accountable for keeping the vow ( The LORD liveth, in righteousness ) Don’t tell the Lord “you’re not going to do” what you said you would do (Mt 5:33). 4:4a “Circumcision” is a picture of keeping the law ( Exo 4:24 -26). 4:4b Judgment in the form of Babylon would not hit Judah and Jerusalem for another twenty plus years (II Ki 24:1 – 605 BC). Thus they still had time to repent before the judgment fell ( lest my fury come forth like fire )