November 1, 2022

“If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, Then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, In which you trusted, they wearied you, Then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?”jer 12:5 nkjv

The prophet Jeremiah was living in turbulent times. The last days of the Southern Kingdom, Judah/Jerusalem dynasty, was coming to an end because of their lifestyles... sin, idolatry, corrupt priesthood and rulers, and false prophets. Not unlike our day, with rampant sin, corrupt religious institutions, feel good and prosperity preachers, evil sociopolitical leaders, and media lies and fake news, etc. Jeremiah’s preaching and prophesying was a real thorn in the sides of the authorities, civil and religious. They hated him because he was, in their view, frightening the common folk… weakening their confidence in their leadership. Likewise, today, the Christian's voice and authority of Yahweh’s Word is hated and censored.

Jeremiah was weary and questioning Yahweh why the wicked prospered and were able to deal so treacherously… Yahweh’s answer was “if you have run with the footmen…” Are you tired of the prospering of the wicked and their treacherous dealings? If we were to ask Yahweh the same question Jeremiah did, we should expect the same answer. When Jeremiah’s countrymen were being carried off to Babylon, Yahweh gave them the response of Jer 29:11 as noted above. I believe Yahweh is not a respecter of persons (acts 10:34)… I think we need to keep focused on how He dealt with the faithful in the midst of the worst of times in Jeremiah’s times, and trust Him to treat us accordingly… although such times could be quite uncomfortable… they lasted 70 years for Judah in Babylon, before the faithful returned to Jerusalem.

Please study these words of the Psalmist:

The Lord executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed. 7 He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. 8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. 9 He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Ps 103:6-12 nkjv

13 As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him. 14 For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. 15 As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. 16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more. 17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, 18 To such as keep His covenant, And to those who remember His commandments to do them. Ps 103:13-18 nkjv

Yeshua said His kingdom was not of this world (jn 18:36); He said the kingdom was within us (lk 17:21). Until He returns to restore all things, let us remember that the strength we need to run with the problems of this life is from His kingdom power within us as we “keep His covenant, and remember His commandments to do them.”

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (rev 12:11)

Shalom… John