August Reading from The Message

Have you ever received a pump-up speech from God? Before Jeremiah spoke a word of prophecy to anyone the Lord tells him in chapter one that He has holy plans for his life. We never make the first move, God is always previous. He assures Jeremiah through his doubt and does the biblical equivalent of a coach delivering a passionate speech and sending him out into the game to start delivering punches! We cannot be naïve about evil, it must be faced.

“Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations— that’s what I had in mind for you.”

 But I said, “Hold it, Master God! Look at me. I don’t know anything. I’m only a boy!”

God told me, “Don’t say, ‘I’m only a boy.’ I’ll tell you where to go and you’ll go there. I’ll tell you what to say and you’ll say it. Don’t be afraid of a soul. I’ll be right there, looking after you.” God’s Decree.

God reached out, touched my mouth, and said, “Look! I’ve just put my words in your mouth—hand-delivered! See what I’ve done? I’ve given you a job to do among nations and governments—a red-letter day! Your job is to pull up and tear down, take apart and demolish, And then start over, building and planting.”

 God’s Message came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

I said, “A walking stick—that’s all.” And God said, “Good eyes! I’m sticking with you. I’ll make every word I give you come true.”

God’s Message came again: “So what do you see now?”

I said, “I see a boiling pot, tipped down toward us.” Then God told me, “Disaster will pour out of the north on everyone living in this land. Watch for this: I’m calling all the kings out of the north.” God’s Decree.

“They’ll come and set up headquarters facing Jerusalem’s gates, Facing all the city walls, facing all the villages of Judah. I’ll pronounce my judgment on the people of Judah for walking out on me—what a terrible thing to do!— And courting other gods with their offerings, worshiping as gods sticks they’d carved, stones they’d painted.

“But you—up on your feet and get dressed for work! Stand up and say your piece. Say exactly what I tell you to say. Don’t pull your punches or I’ll pull you out of the lineup. Stand at attention while I prepare you for your work. I’m making you as impregnable as a castle, Immovable as a steel post, solid as a concrete block wall.

You’re a one-man defense system against this culture, Against Judah’s kings and princes, against the priests and local leaders. They’ll fight you, but they won’t even scratch you. I’ll back you up every inch of the way.” God’s Decree.

Scripture Insight

Evil Has Limits

The image of the boiling pot tipped toward Israel is identified as a seething cauldron of enemy alliances. The nations to the north were boiling a kettle of conquest that was going to spill over the land. The scalding judgment was coming because God’s people had abandoned a faithful relationship with him and had taken up adulterous relationships with other gods.

It’s important to note that the boiling pot was a container located at a specific place. Neither Jeremiah nor the people needed a vision to tell them that evil was gathering momentum in the north. Everyone knew that. It did, though, take a vision to see that the evil had limits. The vision supplied the answer. Evil wasn’t everything, and it wasn’t everywhere. It was named. It had an origin and a completion. The boiling pot reduced evil to a location and a function.

We can’t afford to be naïve about evil; it must be faced. But we can’t allow ourselves to be intimidated by it either. God will use it to bring good. It was used that way with Israel. And it will be used that way with us.

Help Your Students Experience Scripture

Your students can become biblically fluent! The Experience Scripture studies are designed for today’s high school and college students. Accessible and insightful, the studies allow students to devotionally read through Proverbs or Mark in just one month (or go at a more leisurely pace). Every day readers dig into Scripture and learn how to interact with the text so it is experiential and tangible. Take a closer look at the studies here.