Author: David McKay

Every 7^th year, at the Feast of Tabernacles, the Law was read to the assembled Israelites, as commanded in Deuteronomy 31:10-11.  Integral to that ceremony was the reading of the curses on law-breakers and the blessings on those who kept the law.  This ceremony was a reminder that there are only two ways to live, either obedience to the Lord, or disobedience.  Grace-enabled obedience, expressing love for the Lord (John 14:15) is the only joyful and fruitful way of life.  We consider Jeremiah 17:7-8 The tree by the water.

1. Gracious planting

Verses 5-6 deal with the ungodly, ‘whose heart turns away from the Lord’.  There is a powerful contrast with the man ‘who trusts in the Lord’ (v7).  These verses bear a strong resemblance to Psalm 1.  It is clear this life is all of grace.  There are 2 indicators:

            (i). Blessed:  the conferring of divine favour.  We do not bless ourselves.  Note Paul’s question in 2 Corinthians 4:7.  In the Covenant of Grace God bestows riches beyond imagining.

            (ii). Planted:  We do not plant ourselves.  In saving grace the Lord ‘plants’ his people.  He is the source of all spiritual life and growth (Ephesians 2:8).  God’s work cannot fail.

2. Firm trust

The sovereignty of God does not take anything away from our responsibility to believe.  Faith is ‘the gift of God’ (Ephesians 2:8), but we must exercise it.  Blessing is for ‘the man who trusts in the Lord’.  The word used has the sense of ‘leaning’ – putting our weight on someone we believe will support us.  Saving faith requires a personal commitment – we put ‘confidence’ in the Lord.  We must forsake reliance on anyone or anything else.  There will be ongoing service in faith – ‘sends out its roots’.  Faith involves not just a single moment, but a whole life.

3. Testing drought

We have a vivid description of ‘a tree planted by the water’ (v8), a powerful description of a believer filled with life and nourished by God’s gracious provision.  There is too a recognition that testing times will come – ‘heat…a year of drought’.  Jesus gave warning in John 16:33.  There are hard experiences we share with everyone else and trials that come because of our faith.  The verse provides a warning to be ready and make sure we are rooted in the Lord.  With his help we can rejoice in ‘trials of many kinds’ (James 1:2).  He is working out his good purpose.

4. Abiding fruit

These verses are full of encouragement for ‘the man who trusts in the Lord’ (v7).  In the inevitable trials he will not be overwhelmed because the Lord supplies the needed grace, ‘the water…the stream’ (see also Psalm 36:9).  If we fully rest in the Lord we will be free from fears and worries (v8).  Remember that Christ has ‘overcome the world’ (John 16:33).  In addition to enduring, we can ‘bear fruit’ – godly character (Galatians 5:22ff).  Partly that is the result of trials (Romans 5:3ff), and so we can be trusting, tested and fruitful, ministering to others.

We may be inclined to think that one sin which offers no temptation to us is idolatry.  We could not imagine ourselves showing devotion to some deity of wood or stone.  You might conclude that idolatry holds no attraction for you., but an idol is anything that takes the place of God – sport, work, digital devices, success, security – all can become idols, so we need to give heed to the Bible’s warnings.  We consider Jeremiah 10:1-16 The living and true God.

1. God rules

One besetting sin of Judah was idolatry – following the gods of the surrounding nations.  Hence the call of v2 ‘Do not learn the ways of the nations’ – a call to separation from false religion.  The fundamental reason for the call is that the deities of the nations are ‘worthless’ – empty and powerless.  In v3-5 we have a vivid satirical description of the making of an idol.  It has to be carried by those who worship it.  Idols ‘can do no harm nor can they do any good’.  In contrast, ‘O Lord, you are great’ (v6).  The Lord is ‘King of the nations’ (v7).  We have an echo of such a view of God in Revelation 5:12 ‘Worthy is the Lamb…’

2. God lives

Idolaters are ‘senseless and foolish’ (v8) because they reflect the gods they worship.  Idols can do nothing for anyone because there is no life in them.  People become like what they worship.  The only possible result of the worship of a lifeless idol is spiritual deadness.  Then Jeremiah draws the contrast – ‘But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King’.  The living God exercises sovereignty – ‘king of all the earth’ (Psalm 47:7).  He also exercises moral government, with ‘his wrath’ (v10) a solemn reality.  He is to be revered and feared.

3. God creates

In v11-13 Jeremiah focuses on one aspect of the activity of the living and reigning God – his work of creation, and the consequent sustaining of creation.  The idols did not create (v11).  They deceive men entirely.  In contrast – ‘God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding’ (v12).  The work of creation reveals the fundamental perfections of God.  He also governs events in the world – ‘thunders…clouds…etc.’  This is his sovereign providence, seen in his ongoing control of all aspects of life.  This is full of comfort and encouragement for believers.

4. God redeems

In v14-16 Jeremiah concludes his indictment of idols.  They are ‘a fraud’ (v14), ‘worthless, the object of mockery’ (v15).  Their devotees are ‘senseless and without knowledge’ (v14).  There is nothing good to be said for the idols or those who worship them.  In contrast – God is ‘the Portion of Jacob’ (v16).  Not only is he the Maker and Sustainer of all things, ‘including Israel’, but is the God of gracious redemption.  In covenant love he gives himself as the Portion to an undeserving people and makes them ‘his inheritance’.  That is the wonder of grace.  We recall the description in Ephesians 1:18 of ‘his glorious inheritance in the saints’.  The redeeming work of Christ is the ultimate proof that this is the living and true God.

We gather to administer baptism to an infant – in the view of many sincere Christians we are doing something for which the Bible offers no warrant.  What is the meaning of this sacrament and why do we administer it to infants?  In writing to the Colossians Paul shows how what we have in Christ is superior to what God’s people in the Old Testament had.  Here he applies this to baptism.  We consider Colossians 2:11-12 Decoding baptism.

1. The spiritual significance of baptism

In speaking of the Christian’s present position Paul introduces the thought of baptism: ‘buried with him in baptism…’ (v12).  This is one way of describing the union of a Christian with his Lord – dying and rising with Christ.  We find the same thought in 3:1,3 and Galatians 2:20.  Spiritually the Christian has died with Christ and risen to new life.  Baptism signified this putting off of the old and putting on of the new: ‘putting off of the body of the flesh’ (v11, lit.).  At conversion a spiritual revolution takes place.  We now live a life empowered by the risen Christ (Galatians 2:20).  This includes cleansing from sin and baptism is an appropriate symbol of this spiritual washing (see John 3:5 and Revelation 7:14).  Paul shows the link with circumcision in v11.  What does he mean?  He shows that Christians have a far superior ‘circumcision’ than OT believers.  It is not a mere surgical operation (‘not…done by the hands of men’ v11) but an inward spiritual matter.  Even in the OT circumcision was to signify an inward spiritual change – it was not simply a sign of Jewishness.  It was ‘a seal of the righteousness [Abraham] had by faith’ (Romans 4:11) – a picture of salvation.  Both circumcision and baptism are signs of belonging to the covenant people of God.

2. The outward sign of baptism

The sign of water baptism is to be administered to the covenant people of God.  In the case of adults this is on credible profession of faith.  It is the sign of entry into the covenant community and into the visible church.  Baptism itself does not affect cleansing – 1 Peter 3:21.  It is not magical or mechanical.  What of children?  The link must be made with the OT.  There the covenant embraced the children of believers (see Genesis 17 ‘and to your seed’) and they received the covenant sign.  NT baptism too recognises a covenant child for what it is – one within the circle of God’s covenant, who belongs among the people of God.

3. The inward reality of baptism

Baptism is a means of grace, bringing strength and blessing, but only when its symbolism is matched by the inward reality of faith and salvation.   Hence v12 ‘raised with him through your faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead.’  Baptism pictures God’s promise of cleansing from sin and new life in covenant with him.  Our response must be one of faith.  Only then does baptism bring blessing.  What of covenant children?  Faith and subsequent blessing may come at a later time (as they may too in the case of adults).  The prayer of the parents and the church must be that God by grace would, in his time, join the outward sign with the inward reality.  We have solid grounds in God’s promises to families for praying in faith (but not in presumption).  As the child matures it has the duty to believe.

Jeremiah was called to minister in dark days, having been given the task of announcing the destruction of Judah.  The nation was slipping to disaster, with God’s judgment administered by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar.  Jeremiah’s message was often one of judgment, but the Lord also gave words of consolation and strength in his precious, though rare, promises.  We consider Jeremiah 9:23-24 How should we boast?

1. Foolish boasting

In v23 we have the divine diagnosis of the human condition: at heart the sinner’s attitude is one of boasting, expressing self-reliance and self-sufficiency.  This is life without taking God into account, the life of ‘the fool’ (Psalm 14:1).  The root of sin is putting self in the place of God (Genesis 3).  The Lord exposes the things sinners rely on – wisdom, strength, riches.  ‘Wisdom’ indicates trust in education and intellectual ability severed from God’s revelation in Scripture, the attitude that looks to science for solutions to human problems.  ‘Strength’ covers all forms of power – political, military, economic, social, seeking security in an insecure world.  ‘Riches’ seem to offer security and a comfortable lifestyle, feeding our desire to have more than others.  They offer no hope or security.  Hence the divine warning: ‘Let not the wise man boast…’  Sinners constantly feel the attraction of this ‘trinity’.  Satan even tried to use them to tempt Jesus (Matthew 4:8; Luke 4:6).  To trust in any of these deceptive things is a fatal mistake.

2. Godly boasting

The divine prescription is ‘let him who boasts boast in this…’ (v24).  What is required is a God-centred life.  2 elements are set before us. 

            (i) The knowledge of God: this is what we are to ‘boast’ (or ‘glory’) in – ‘that he understands and knows me’.  This is what we were created for and apart from this, life is without ultimate purpose.  Here is where our delight is to be found.  ‘Understand’ indicates knowledge of the great truths God has revealed about himself.  It requires the application of the mind to God’s written Word.  But more is required.  ‘Knows me’ – the language of relationship.  Along with intellectual knowledge there must be a commitment of life to the Lord.  These elements – acceptance of the truth and commitment of life are the constituents of true saving faith.  Note the Saviour’s words in John 17:3: ‘this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ’.  This is a living, loving knowledge of a gracious God.

            (ii) The perfections of God: the Lord gives a concise description of himself.  ‘I am the Lord’ – the special covenant name that speaks of a sovereign God of grace who condescends to enter into relationship with his people (Leviticus 26:12).  He has revealed himself perfectly in Christ (John 20:28), whose blood redeems us and seals the covenant.  He next details his saving activity.  He ‘exercise kindness’ (or ‘steadfast love’ ESV).  This is the love that makes the covenant as the Lord gives himself to us in grace.  The word speaks of his commitment to us, choosing us in Christ before creation (Ephesians 1:4).  He will be faithful to all his promises.  He does ‘justice’ – punishing his enemies and delivering his people.  He also does ‘righteousness’ – enabling his people to live in harmony with his will expressed in his law.  Here is a ‘trinity’ of perfections in which God delights as he sees them reproduced in his people.

If someone is seriously ill, we might expect that he would be eager to accept a cure – surely if a treatment offered an excellent prospect of healing, it would be most welcome.  And yet there are those who refuse a cure, for various reasons.  In relation to bodily illness, we can see the folly of refusing a cure.  Jeremiah had to minister to people who were refusing a cure for their spiritual illness.  We consider Jeremiah 8:18-22 Balm in Gilead.

1. The plight of Judah

We hear the voice of ‘my people’ (v19) – a cry goes up ‘from a land far away’.  The people of Judah are in exile in Babylon.  In the exiles’ words we hear confusion: ‘Is the Lord not in Zion?’  They had assumed that the Lord was among them and would protect them.  Was not the temple the visible sign of the Lord’s presence?  They were however ‘trusting in deceptive words’ (7:8).  When Jerusalem fell and the temple was destroyed the people were shocked and baffled – how could the Lord allow this to happen?  The Lord explains.  Along with their reliance on outward symbols, they had indulged in idolatry.  It is the same sin as is committed by those who maintain a veneer of Christianity whilst being committed to other ‘gods’ which take the place due to the Lord.  We hear their bewilderment – the grain harvest (May/June) is past, and so is the harvest of olives, etc (July/August), yet ‘we are not saved’ (v20).  Though they seek deliverance from exile, they also lack salvation.

2. The burden of Jeremiah

It is easy to think of the OT prophets as hard figures, delighting to deliver their message of judgment.  Although much (but not all) of Jeremiah’s message included judgment, we need to understand the spirit in which he ministered and the cost paid in fulfilling his calling.  Note v1 ‘my heart is faint within me’ – he carries a heavy burden in his ministry.  He will not prove disloyal to the Lord – he will speak as commanded, but it costs him dearly.  Note too references to ‘my people’ (v19, 21) – he does not stand apart in a spirit of self-righteousness.  Thus v21 ‘Since my people are crushed, I am crushed’.  He does not exult over the punishment of sinners.  Any faithful gospel witness needs the same spirit.  There will be faithful presentation of the sinfulness of sin and grief over what sinners bring on themselves.  Listen to Paul’s grief at the unbelief of his fellow Jews (Romans 9:2).  Here is a challenge to all gospel preachers and all witnesses.  We need to seek grace to be free from a hard, self-righteous spirit.

3. The balm of grace

Is there no solution to the sin and hurt of Judah?  Jeremiah asks, ‘Is there no balm in Gilead?’ (v22).  Gilead was a region producing aromatic resin that was used in soothing and healing ointments.  ‘Is there no physician there?’  Is there no-one to bring healing to a sinful nation?  The answer to the question is ‘Yes’.  Psalm 103:3 ‘He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases’.  Also Psalm 41:4 ‘heal me for I have sinned against you’.  The Lord heals sinners.  Hence Jesus’ description of himself as a doctor (Matthew 9:12-13).  By his life, death and resurrection he is the balm.  But Jeremiah asks, ‘Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?’   The Bible’s answer is that they refuse to repent, which is essential for salvation (Acts 2:38).  The Lord’s balm heals repentant sinners.