February 16, 2020 (Zephaniah 1-3, Jeremiah 1-3)

I don't think I'll be out of the 'judgment/prophecy of destruction' books anytime soon. It's repeated over and over and over. It's as if God is saying, "Maybe if they keep hearing it, they will finally obey". As I write that, I think of parenting, and over and over we keep 'admonishing' about certain things, thinking it if they 'keep hearing it', maybe they will obey. But at some point, we get tired of that and say, "Live however you want. We're not going to keep nagging". But then, when we see wrong choices, we get back to 'admonishing' for their own good. Is God like that? At some point, does He say, "I've told them enough. They know how to live.", and then 'test us' to see what we will do? I think He does.....If only we would heed His calls to obedience....

^{Zephaniah 1:6} And I will destroy those who used to worship me
but now no longer do.
They no longer ask for the Lord’s guidance
or seek my blessings.” ⁷ Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign Lord,
for the awesome day of the Lord’s judgment is near.

^{Zephaniah 2:3} Seek the Lord, all who are humble,
and follow his commands.
Seek to do what is right
and to live humbly.
Perhaps even yet the Lord will protect you—
protect you from his anger on that day of destruction.

^{Zephaniah 3:2} No one can tell it anything;
it refuses all correction.
It does not trust in the Lord
or draw near to its God.

⁷ I thought, ‘Surely they will have reverence for me now!
Surely they will listen to my warnings.
Then I won’t need to strike again,
destroying their homes.’
But no, they get up early
to continue their evil deeds.

And here's a verse that shows that life is even planned out before conception:

^{Jeremiah 1:4} The Lord gave me this message:

⁵ “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.
Before you were born I set you apart
and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

And then a rebuttal for giving God excuses about what we can and can't do:

⁶ “O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”

⁷ The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. ⁸ And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

¹⁷ “Get up and prepare for action.
Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say.
Do not be afraid of them,
or I will make you look foolish in front of them.
¹⁸ For see, today I have made you strong
like a fortified city that cannot be captured,
like an iron pillar or a bronze wall.
You will stand against the whole land—
the kings, officials, priests, and people of Judah.
¹⁹ They will fight you, but they will fail.
For I am with you, and I will take care of you.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”

That all reminds me of the verse in Romans that says, "If God is with us, who can be against us?"

And then in this following section, it's as if God is incredulous over the way His people were so close to Him, and then forgot Him to follow their own ways:

This is what the Lord says: “I remember how eager you were to please me
as a young bride long ago,
how you loved me and followed me
even through the barren wilderness.

⁵ This is what the Lord says: “What did your ancestors find wrong with me
that led them to stray so far from me?
They worshiped worthless idols,
only to become worthless themselves.
⁶ They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord
who brought us safely out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness—

Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God
for worthless idols!
¹² The heavens are shocked at such a thing
and shrink back in horror and dismay,”
says the Lord.
¹³ “For my people have done two evil things:
They have abandoned me—
the fountain of living water.
And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns
that can hold no water at all!

I love the visual pictures that God creates....Him being the fountain of living waters - I envision it bubbling with pure, fresh water - overflowing and springing up. He says we do evil when we reject this "living water". Jesus also talks of "living water" in John 4 & 7:


^{John 4:5} Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶ Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. ⁷ Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” ⁸ He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

⁹ The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”

¹⁰ Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

¹¹ “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? ¹² And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”

¹³ Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. ¹⁴ But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

^{John 7:37} On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! ³⁸ Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” ³⁹ (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

And then God talks about our own efforts....living this life on our own and the futility of it all. A cistern is not a spring - it is a container used to hold water. So the water doesn't get there on it's own...it has to be supplied. So there is effort to get the water in, and then God says our efforts are like putting water into a cracked cistern...wasted efforts. Why do we reject this "living water"?