Jeremiah 7

Jeremiah 7:14

therefore, I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave you and your fathers, as I did to Shiloh.

This would have been truly chilling to the Israelites.  I don't know what happened to Shiloh, but from how it's described I'm guessing it was devastated, perhaps burned.  Now God is saying He's at least willing to do the same thing to the Temple?

This, above all, shows that God is not connected to physical objects.  We think of the Temple as the place where God "dwelled" or "lived," where He met man.  But it was merely a building that He chose to use, not something He needed to communicate or inhabit.  So are all things to Him; He can use any, but needs none.

Jeremiah 6

Jeremiah 6:14

"They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially,
Saying, 'Peace, peace,'
But there is no peace.

I have to admit, I worry if this verse also covers a portion of modern Christianity.  How many people today, who think of themselves as believers, go through these motions only superficially?  How many say the words, but don't have the meaning in their hearts?

Even more than others, I sometimes worry about this myself.  I know that I look at the world differently than most believers I know, much more cynical and suspicious.  Do I only have this superficially, not knowing what it truly means or is for?

Jeremiah 5

Jeremiah 5:18

"Yet even in those days," declares the LORD, "I will not make you a complete destruction.

I look upon verses like this as some of the most encouraging in the Bible.  People often will give up on someone.  I know there have been times in my life where I've decided that I've done all I reasonably can, and it's time to let the consequences of their actions take their natural course.

However, God will always give us another chance, until the moment of our deaths.  He is always willing to take us back, as long as we're willing to sincerely ask.  We can still decide not to go to Him, but that final decision is ours, not His.

Jeremiah 4

Jeremiah 4:4

"Circumcise yourselves to the LORD
And remove the foreskins of your heart,
Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Or else My wrath will go forth like fire
And burn with none to quench it,
Because of the evil of your deeds."

The practice of circumcision was a controversial one even back then.  The idea was to give a physical indication that he was set aside to God, and would behave differently from anyone else.  It's hard to forget about something you see every time you use the bathroom.

What's much harder is to circumcise one's heart.  That involves not just a physical change you're constantly reminded of, but a mental change as well.  It's one that you constantly have to remind yourself of, until it becomes to deeply ingrained that the idea of going back upon it is absurd.  Unfortunately, I'm not there yet.

Jeremiah 3

Jeremiah 3:8

And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also.

This is, sadly, a very common part of the fall of humanity.  We see all around us the examples of people who have messed up, and suffered the consequences.  Yet we then go and do the very same things, to the very same results.

Why is this a problem?  Why can't we learn from others' mistakes?  I think it's because in part we think it could never happen to us; and in part that we think that enough people have done it, the rewards must be worth it somehow.  If only we'd actually learn.

Jeremiah 2

Jeremiah 2:28

"But where are your gods
Which you made for yourself?
Let them arise, if they can save you
In the time of your trouble;
For according to the number of your cities
Are your gods, O Judah.

We still create gods for ourselves today, and trust in them.  We don't carve them from wood or stone with our own hands anymore, but they're no less gods.  Today, we get them from elsewhere, but still center our lives around them.

To some, that god may be a job that gives us financial security.  Or maybe it's a possession that we treasure above everything else.  For me, it's probably something I don't have:  a family to love and care for.  And since that has been "denied me," I hold it against God, and want something else to fill the void.

Jeremiah 1

Jeremiah 1:19

They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you," declared the LORD.

I'm not clear from the chapter whether this promise is being made to Jeremiah, or to all of Judah.  The previous verse is talking about a fortified city, which suggests Jerusalem.  However, the verse before that talks of an individual, which would suggest Jeremiah.

Today is Easter, which makes this verse seem especially significant.  Today is the anniversary of the day that Christ proved this could be true for any believer, not just Jeremiah or those of his time.  God will protect His own, when they are about His work.

Isaiah 66

Isaiah 66:18

"For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues.  And they shall come and see My glory.

To close the book, we have what could be considered a moment of hope.  There will come a time when God is shown to all.  He will not be deniable, or ignorable, but instead will be clear and unmistakable for people to understand.

It's fitting in some ways that this is in my reading for the day before Easter, remembering when God's salvation became available to all, not just the Jews.  Until that day, this verse may have meant condemnation for any but the Jews.  Now, any can be saved, though the choice is still theirs.

Isaiah 65

Isaiah 65:2

"I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,
Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts,

That sure sounds like human beings to me.  We have a bad habit of thinking that we're the ones in charge, the ones who control things.  Even those of us who acknowledge God's existence tend not to like very much what He tells us, do we?

I know there are many parts of my life like this.  I know what God's rules are, but because those rules and my life circumstances preclude things I want, I will ignore them after a time.  Even so, I do know what I should be doing, and am trying to find other ways to direct myself away from straying and back onto His path.

Isaiah 64

Isaiah 64:8

But now, O LORD, You are our Father,
We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all of us are the work of Your hand.

When one pictures clay on the potter's wheel, we tend to think of this gooey mass of discolored gunk.  Unformed, but consistent in substance, and ready to be shaped by the master.  However, I've come to think that we may not fit that image so well.

What if, instead of being some uniform goo, we're really each a glop of different density materials, like some kind of batter that hasn't been stirred enough to become smooth throughout?  We can still be worked, but there are parts of us that need more water to thin properly; or have to be picked out and thrown away before we can reach our final, truly shapeable form?  And since we do have free will, we have to assent to the removal of those bits before God can truly make us what He wants us to be.

Isaiah 63

Isaiah 63:19

We have become like those over whom You have never ruled,
Like those who were not called by Your name.

I have to admit, this is one of my deepest fears, both for myself, and for the church at large.  I've believed for a long time that a person can think he's a Christian, but not be.  One can think they're saved, but never have taken the actual steps to be saved.

When that happens, one if not only living a lie, but presenting a false witness to the rest of the world.  One who thinks he's saved but isn't can't truly guide another to salvation.  And I worry at times, does this include me?  Given my personality, I don't trust my emotions, and am not always certain what happened as a child is enough to save the sinning adult I've become since.

Isaiah 62

Isaiah 62:5

For as a young man marries a virgin,
So your sons will marry you;
And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
So your God will rejoice over you.

I'm not quite sure who Isaiah is speaking to here.  At first, I thought it was Jerusalem itself, but people can't marry cities.  Then I thought it was to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, but sons' can't marry parents.

So, who is it speaking to?  I think it is inhabitants of Jerusalem, but with the understanding that the sons will devote themselves to Jerusalem.  Rather than trying to get rich or powerful, they will desire the city's defense and safety.

Isaiah 61

Isaiah 61:8

For I, the LORD, love justice,
I hate robbery in the burnt offering;
And I will faithfully give them their recompense
And make an everlasting covenant with them.

I have to admit, I have a bit of trouble putting the two halves of this verse together.  First God says He loves justice and hates people withholding what He's due.  But then, He says He will give them what's coming to them (presumably Israel/Jews), and make a covenant.

It sounds in the first part like He's criticizing the people for not doing what's right.  Then He says that he's going to give them what they deserve (which, from the first part, sounds bad).  But then why make a covenant with them?  It sounds like it would be a covenant of condemnation, but obviously isn't.  So is this part about restoring them, after He's punished them?

Isaiah 60

Isaiah 60:11

"Your gates will be open continually;
They will not be closed day or night,
So that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations,
With their kings led in procession.

Reading through this chapter, I'm honestly not sure if it's talking about Jerusalem of some point (perhaps during the Milennium?), or the New Jerusalem that will come after the Millennium. I think it's the former, given the reference to day and night.  However, that's not what struck me in this verse.

I saw how the gates will remain open, so that wealth can be brought in.  It doesn't say anything about people coming to learn, or communicate, or receive anything.  They are coming only to give, and that's what my faith seems like sometimes.  My sole purpose is supposed to be to give and give and give, and expect nothing but the expectation of having to give more.

Isaian 59

Isaiah 59:2

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,
And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

It seems like I live much of my life like this.  I know I have sinned, and that those sins should keep me separated from God forever.  He cannot abide contact with sin, and therefore I should not try to approach the unapproachable.

I know intellectually that as a Christian, Jesus' blood has covered those sins, and I am not held back from contact with God because of them.  However, emotionally, I still feel that even though that barrier does not exist, it still should.  I'm uncertain how to get past this feeling, where my head tells me one thing but my knowledge of it makes my heart feel something else.