Jeremiah 15:11
The Bible says in Jeremiah 15:11-14, The LORD
said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy
to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction. Shall iron
break the northern iron and the steel? Thy substance and thy treasures will I
give to the spoil without price, and that for all thy
sins, even in all thy borders. And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest
not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you.
The Lord uses the word remnant in Jeremiah 15:11. This word is an important
word because it means that God does not utterly destroy even when He is at His
angriest against sin. The remnant are those who got
saved. The remnant are those who did not get
destroyed. When God destroyed the whole earth with a flood, there was a
remnant: Noah and his family and the animals on the ark who
did not get destroyed. In these last days it seems that the whole world is
racing towards degradation and evil, but there will always be a remnant. There
will always be at least a few who escape the world and its destiny by turning
to Jesus and trusting in Him. You do not have to compromise. The Almighty
Savior can preserve you and give you a life in this world just like He did for
the remnant of the Israelites who survived even as they were taken captive and
forced to live in
There are two important spiritual
truths to be found in Jeremiah 15:13. It says, Thy substance and thy
treasures will I give to the spoil without price, and that for all thy sins,
even in all thy borders. The first is the truth of divine retribution for sin. God is
holy and He must punish sin. We also call this the principle of reaping what we
sow. That is how this world works. We can call it the
law of consequences. Be aware. Be careful of your own actions because the very
things that you do will bring results. The results can be predicted based upon
this universal law of consequences. The serious problem that we all have is
that we are all sinners. But that is where Jesus comes in. God said in Jeremiah
15:13 that He brought these punishments upon
The next three verses in Jeremiah
15:15-17 give us three important truths about knowing God and serving Jesus in
this world. If you know these things and do them, you will be one of the remnant. It says, O LORD, thou knowest:
remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away
in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke. Thy words
were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing
of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. I sat not in
the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for
thou hast filled me with indignation.
The first important principle is found
in Jeremiah 15:15. Jeremiah said to the Lord, O LORD, thou knowest: remember me. God knows. This is one of the
principles upon which eternal security is based. God knows all things. He knows
those who belong to Jesus. He knows those who have trusted in Jesus. We know
Him, but He also knows us. The mind of man might fail even to the point of
forgetting his own salvation, or losing confidence that he is really saved. But
that will never happen to God. He does not forget anyone who has ever accepted
Jesus. That is why it says in Second Timothy 2:11-13, It is a
faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we
suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If
we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot
deny himself. It also says in Second Timothy 2:19, Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth
sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that
are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name
of Christ depart from iniquity. Jeremiah had
confidence that God knew him. In other words he had faith. You must have faith.
In other words you must have confidence that Jesus is your Savior, that He
loves you, and that He is guiding your life. Hebrews 11:6, But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he
is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
The second important principle found
in these verses in Jeremiah chapter 15 has to do with your attitude toward and
your involvement with the Word of God. This is a great verse to memorize. It
says in Jeremiah 15:16, Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy
word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart
This idea of
comparing the Word of God to food is found in several places in the Bible.
Jesus said in Luke 4:4, And Jesus answered him, saying, It is
written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
It says in First Peter 2:2, As newborn
babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye
may grow thereby. It says in Revelation
10:1-10, And I saw another mighty angel
come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head,
and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: And he
had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and
his left foot on the earth, And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered
their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about
to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things
which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. And the angel which I saw
stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever
and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth,
and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein,
that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the
seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be
finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. And the voice which
I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go
and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went unto
the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me,
Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in
thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel's
hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as
I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
A third important spiritual principle
found in Jeremiah 15:15-17 is found in verse 17 that says, I sat not in
the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for
thou hast filled me with indignation. This is the principle
of separation. It is a very important principle, but at first glance it might
appear to cause difficulties for the Christian to make a part of his or her
life. In the New Testament the principle is made very clear in Second
Corinthians 6:14-18, Be ye not unequally
yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with
unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with
darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or
what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the
temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the
living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I
will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among
them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch
not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you,
and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord
Almighty.
Human beings are very social
creatures. God made us that way. That is one of the reasons that peer pressure
can be so powerful of a force. The problem is that we live in a world where
most people do not serve the Lord Jesus Christ. The people who are around you
might be a very bad influence on you, unless you understand the principle of
separation and know how to apply it to your own life. One person with God is a
majority. While showing love to the unsaved, the Lord wants you to be an
example to them. The Lord will use you as a witness only if you have a holy and
separate life. There should be things that you will not do and places that you
will not go because you believe in Jesus. One of the great passages of
scripture about separation is found in Psalm 1:1-6. It says, Blessed is
the man that walketh not in the counsel of the
ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in
the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the
rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his
season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the
judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the
righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the
ungodly shall perish How are you going to know when to separate and from whom? Here
is one secret to that question: simply let other people know that you are a
believer and they will separate from you. There is no commonality between
believers and unbelievers from a spiritual standpoint. Therefore, once they
know that you are a believer in Jesus, they will keep away from you. Do not be
afraid of that. That is exactly what you want. You will avoid joining in any
sinful activities that they run to, and you will stand out as a witness to
them. They will see that there is a difference in your life, and then when the
Spirit of God touches their heart, they will come to you seeking an answer. It
says in First Peter 3:14-19, But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake,
happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But
sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer
to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope
that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that,
whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that
falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will
of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. For Christ
also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring
us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By
which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
The Bible says in Jeremiah 15:18-21, Why is my
pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth
to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a
liar, and as waters that fail? Therefore thus saith
the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee
again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou
take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be
as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them. And I
will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall:
and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for
I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith
the LORD. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will
redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible. These verses have
some great promises from God, albeit a condition is given. Notice that the word
if is
used twice in verse 19. The condition has to do once again with the principle
of separation. The Lord said, if thou return. In other words
Jeremiah needed to turn away from the direction where the people were going.
The Lord said, if thou take forth the precious from the vile. In other words Jeremiah needed to recognize the difference
between good and evil, and stay away from evil, and cling to good. There are
certain people we need to stay away from, and there are certain things and
activities that we need to stay away from.
If Jeremiah applied the spiritual
principle of separation to his life according to the will of God, the promises
made to Jeremiah were very significant. The promises had to do with victory
over his enemies. God did not promise that Jeremiah would not have enemies. God
did not promise that Jeremiah would not have battles to fight. If you serve
Jesus in this world, you have battles to fight and you will have enemies. In
the Lord you will find the victory. There is victory in Jesus in more ways than
one. God said to Jeremiah in verses 20-21, And I will make thee unto this
people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight
against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with
thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the
LORD. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I
will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.
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Copyright; 2012 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved