Jeremiah 32

“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?" v.27

Read chapter 32
The Lord answers Jeremiah's prayer confirming He is all that he has said and therefore nothing is too hard for Him, even restoring Israel and their land out of captivity.  Jeremiah's own words ought to have taught him that nothing is too hard for God, yet he still seems concerned of the matter.  As all of Judah and Israel are going in to captivity God tells him to buy a field and then that field gets taken by the Chaldeans which doesn't seem to make sense to Jeremiah why he had to do that just to be taken away.  For Jeremiah to buy this people was a sign to show that God would one day return them to their land, that He can be trusted even in the most oppressing of times.  It's hard sometimes to understand why we think God leads us down certain paths or into certain circumstances, especially when we don't see hope or see more failure than good.  But don't lose hope, for nothing is too hard for the Lord God!
How have you like Jeremiah can say with your lips who God is, but then don't trust or think in God's power when difficulty comes or things don't make sense?  When have you done or been somewhere you weren't sure why God had you there that turned out to be a greater piece of God's puzzle of His workings?  What are you believing today that is too hard for God?  Why?

Jeremiah 31

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” vv.33-34

Read chapter 31
We read often in the New Testament about the new covenant, but what exactly is the new covenant?  Well first off to have a new one you have to have an old one.  And who was it that had the old covenant?  Israel.  Israel had the old covenant which was the law of Moses.  So this new covenant is a new law that God is making with His people Israel as we read in verse 31 of this chapter, "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah ."  This new covenant was not going to need people to teach the law for it will be written on their hearts.  They'll be no door-to-door evangelism.  
If someone were to do something against this law, their hearts would condemn and correct them, not needing to go to a judge or court or anything.  This obviously is not something we see now in our world, but will be the law in the kingdom of God.  It will no longer be a question or even a thought if there is a god, for from the least to the greatest all will know Jehovah God.   In this time the Lord will forgive their sins and remember them no more.  He's not just sweeping their sins under the rug so to say, but has already judged them and moved on.  For God to remember no more means that He will not go back to change His mind on a matter, once He has known and decided a matter it is done.  Kind of like double jeopardy of not being allowed to be tried twice for a crime.
We may not be Israel, but no doubt this law of the new covenant will be spread throughout the whole earth to every person living in the kingdom.  We'll no longer have need for policemen, how about that.  But in till then let us live "teaching his weight and every man his brother saying 'know the Lord.'"  

Jeremiah 30

But they shall serve the Lord their God,
And David their king,
Whom I will raise up for them. v.9

Read chapter 30
So David was Israel's great king of the past, but did you realize that he will be in an exalted governmental position again in the future?  Yes Jesus is the King of kings, but David will be in an exalted position in God's Kingdom (Government).  Bible teacher Nathan C. Johnson describes this verse:

Along with Yahweh their God, the Israelites will serve David their king. How can this be? Is it because the Bible is just calling the Lord Jesus Christ David? This is what some commentators try to do to the passage. Yet I do not believe that this can be true, for David is referred to no differently here than he is in the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles when the historical David is spoken of. Moreover, Yahweh explains how they will serve David their king right in this passage, so there is no need for us to guess. It is not because He is calling Someone else David. It is because He will raise up David for them. Resurrection is the reason David will again be present to reign over Israel under Yahweh their God. Yet many show how little faith they really have in God’s resurrection power when they display an inability to believe this! (Precepts)

During this time of Jeremiah as all of Judah and Israel are or about to go into captivity, he is assuring  them that the Lord won't destroy them completely but will restore them wholly in the Kingdom- even to the point of raising their great godly leader David.  So don't loose heart of never having experienced the godly leader we hear of so often in the Bible or church, we will get to experience him as a leader in God's government soon!
What else do you know of what God's government will be like?  What assurance do you cling to during this time we live in while waiting for the restoring of the world God's going to bring?

Jeremiah 29

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. vv.11-13

Read chapter 29
Just about everyone has heard this verse whether they read their bible or not.  Yet how often it is used way out of context.  Chapter 29 is a letter from Jeremiah to those in captivity in Babylon and he's giving them direction on how to use their time there.  He's not just saying it'll all pass soon, but tells them to build homes for themselves, marry, have children, plant gardens, etc, because it's going to be 70 years.  He even tells them to pray for the people of Babylon to have peace, because if the people of Babylon have peace then they of the captivity will too.  I'm sure this was not what the Israelites wanted to hear.  Remember Israel and Judah are in captivity because God sent them their for their disobedience.  Their thoughts after hearing these verses weren't "God's going to take me out of this troubled situation and bring me to something great," rather God's saying stay right where you are in captivity and persevere through this trial seeking me because I've got you and your future.  It may have seemed that God couldn't be found in this foreign land, they referred to God as the God of Heaven as He was far off rather than Jehovah God, the close God of relationship.  Yet God says to them if they will seek Him with all their heart they will find Him.  So today many see God as far-off, not caring about this world and all the trouble in it, but if one seeks Him they will realize He's nearer than you think.
How can you cling to this verse differently now?  What troubles are you going through currently?  Are you seeking God with your whole heart despite your circumstances?  Have you found Him?

Jeremiah 28

And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Even so I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years.’” And the prophet Jeremiah went his way...Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Hear now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, but you make this people trust in a lie. vv.11,15

Read chapter 28
A difference breaks out between two prophets: Hananiah and Jeremiah.  We know from history that Hananiah was the false prophet and Jeremiah the true prophet.  Jeremiah was wearing these yokes God told him to put on in the last chapter and now as they are before king Zedekiah, Hananiah takes the yoke off of Jeremiah and breaks it, trying to make it like a sign as many prophets are to do acts as signs of prophesy, showing that the yoke of Babylon will be broken.  What amazed me at first is that Jeremiah doesn't say anything, but just walks away- yet we know that was not true of Hananiah's prophesy.  Shortly after though Jeremiah speaks the word of the Lord to Hananiah that the yoke of wood he broke will now become a yoke of iron- unbreakable.  He also tells Hananiah that he will die because he prophesied lies that caused the people to trust in instead of the truth.  Jeremiah waited to have a word of the Lord to speak up against Hananiah's lies.  Ought we also, like Jeremiah, seek to know God's words against lies so that when we speak we do so wisely and not out of anger or frustration?

Jeremiah 27

And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him. v.6

Read chapter 27
Isaiah walked naked, Ezekiel had to lay on his side for 430 day, Jeremiah had to carry bonds and yokes on his neck (v.2).  These all were visual signs through the prophets to Israel and Judah of captivity that was coming on them.  This wasn't just signs of "beware of evil," but of sure punishment that was to come on them for their sins turning away from the Lord.  These signs were to speak to the people saying that punishment was sure to come and that they ought to submit under this authority that they may live than be destroyed in the land. 
God raises up a gentile king- Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon- who will destroy Judah, the southern kingdom, by murdering, destroying their land, carrying away their plunder and taking many away captive.  God calls Nebuchadnezzar "My servant."  How can a wicked gentile king be God's servant?  Well for one Nebuchadnezzar didn't think he was anyone's servant not realize God was using him.  He was used as God's instrument to carry out His will- whether Nebu knew it or not.  Also, God is the creator and proprietor of the whole earth and can give it over to whomever He pleases and so He turned it over to Babylon for a time.
How have people that are not believers in the One True God been a sign to you of how God wants you to act according to His will?

Jeremiah 26

Now it happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You will surely die! v.8

Read chapter 26
"Don't shoot the messenger!" A well known metaphoric phrase used to describe the act of blaming the bearer of bad news.  The second Jeremiah was done proclaiming God's words the people declare Jeremiah must die and seize him.  God said through Jeremiah that He would make their city a curse to all the nations if they did not listen and heed the Law He gave them as well as what He was speaking through the prophets (as they were not doing).  Jeremiah is kind of like God's policeman in a way.  The penalty for killing an officer today is a capitol felony punishable by death or life in prison.   So killing one of God's messengers, in this case Jeremiah, they would bring innocent blood on themselves, on the city and all the inhabitants (v.15).  Many people hate police because if they get caught breaking the law by a police they blame them for carrying out the justice due, when ultimately their sin was found out and they don't want to have to live up to the consequences so take it out on the one enforcing the law.  
What's your view of police today (there are some bad cops just as there were false prophets during Jeremiah's time)?  How do you respond to someone speaking hard truths of God's word about certain sins (i.e. homosexuality, divorce, lying, pride)? 

Jeremiah 25

 ‘Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the Lord; ‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation. v.12

Read chapter 25
The words of Jeremiah were not only heard back then but were also written down.  The book of Jeremiah wasn't written thousands of years later just for us today to read.  We see that the man Daniel had been reading the book of Jeremiah as he discovers that captivity will last 70 years, "in the first year of his [Darius] reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem"(Daniel 9:2).  Daniel was one of the firsts to go into captivity in Babylon, we read how he became one of Nebuchadnezzar's top government guys due to his God given wisdom.  Daniel living not in his bubble of Christian community but in the "real world" with much responsibility as one of Nebuchadnezzar's top government guys, still makes time and priority to seek God's word and truth and to understand the time he's living in as well as seeking the hope to come.  Now unlike then there was a set time, 70 years, that the Israelites would be in captivity, but we don't have a set time recorded in scripture when God will come in His kingdom to set the captives free and put and end to the evil rulers of this world, but we can study what the ages to come are like that we may hold on to that hope.  Are you living in a life comparable to Daniel's atmosphere?  Are you making these excuses why you don't seek God's word or are they the reasons you seek God even more?

Jeremiah 24

“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. v.5

Read chapter 24
Two baskets of figs are before Jeremiah.  One was very good figs and the other very bad figs.  Figs were an offering of first-fruits at the temple, but the ones without blemish were the accepted figs.  Now the comparison here is to the Israelites that had obeyed God's word (good figs) and those that rebelled against it (bad figs).  Those that obeyed God's word knew they were to leave Jerusalem and go into captivity, where those that didn't believe His word tried to stay but faced sword, famine, pestilence leading to their death (Jer. 21:9).  Those that stayed in the land thought they were better or more honoring to God, but they thought wrong not listening to the Lord's command over their own way of thinking.  There had been many that had been sent out already by God to Babylon such as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshack and Abed-nego.  Those that had gone into captivity would be there for 70 years, not all of them would live to see the day when they would return to their land, but this promise continues in verse six and seven that goes in to the Kingdom time when they truly will all be reunited in their promised land and given "a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart"(v.7).  Like the good figs they would be acknowledged and accepted by God.
You may not be a captive in Babylon, but how you can trust in God who has placed you in many of life circumstances for your "own good" that your whole heart may be toward God?

Jeremiah 23

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
A King shall reign and prosper,
And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. v.5

Read chapter 23
What is a "branch of righteousness"?  Why is that a title of one of God's names?
Well we can see throughout the Bible agricultural metaphors were used as that is what people knew so well for their livelihood.  An olive tree that is cut down can still have sprouts or shoots grow out of the root.  This growth would then grow into a branch bearing fruit.  So the picture of the Lord's chosen people being cut down will still raise up A king who is the Messiah for He will be a Branch of righteousness that sprouts up from fallen Israel.  Jesus we know came in the line of David through the kings of Judah.  He didn't sit on a throne ruling the world as a king at His first coming for He came to save the world first.  When He does return, He returns with His kingdom and sits as King executing judgement and righteousness in the earth.  He not only is righteous but will make the people righteous!  Truly the king we need!  How great that we can see the Lord's promises through creation from something as simple as a new sprout! 

Jeremiah 22

“Shall you reign because you enclose yourself in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink,
And do justice and righteousness?
Then it was well with him.
16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
Then it was well.
Was not this knowing Me?” says the Lord. vv.15-16

Read chapter 22
What does it mean to know God?  
King Josiah was a king of Judah who was upright and did what was right in God's eyes, yet his sons after him did not rule as he did.  Josiah lived like a king and his heart was right before God, yet his sons (son, grandson, great grandson) who followed after him lived like kings yet with an evil heart towards God's commands and His people.  Josiah restored the temple during his day, getting rid of all idol worship and high places.  His sons built their own places in vain.  Josiah defending the curse of the poor and needy, his sons used defraud and unjust means from the poor to build themselves palaces.  They knew the way of duty having watched and known their father Josiah that led to his peace with God and the people, but they refused to walk in his steps.  To truly know God is to obey His will and to obey His will is to know what it is and to know what it is one must read His word and not just listen but be doers of the word.
Do you know God?  "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord," 2 Peter 1:2

Jeremiah 21

“Now you shall say to this people, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.  v.8

Read chapter 21
Jeremiah just finished talking to and about Zedekiah, who was the last king of Judah before they went in to captivity, saying that it is during his reign that the Chaldeans will besiege them and take them all in to captivity.  So Jeremiah sets a proposition before the people, one of life or death.  God tells them that if they try to remain in the city they will be killed, but if they go into captivity under King Nebuchadnezzar they will remain alive and his life shall be a prize to him (v.9).  Some people think they would rather die than go in to a life of captivity and sadly that is what most of the people in Judah chose.   The Lord wasn't hoping they would choose death but rather choose life.  It's kind of opposite of what Moses said as they were about to enter and possess the promise land in Deuteronomy 30:19-20, 

"I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days;"

Then it was choosing life to gain possession and an inheritance this time to choose life meant giving up possessions, either way it was God's will.   So today God will always have us choose life and obedience to Him than death and disobedience to Him whether it mean gain or loss in this life.  What life or death choices are you facing right now?

Jeremiah 20

Why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow,
That my days should be consumed with shame? v.18

Read chapter 20
Even God's prophets can be discouraged and depressed at times.  It always breaks my heart when I hear people that have committed suicide or make comments that they wish they were never born.  Well those same thoughts Jeremiah voiced.  As he proclaimed God's message he was beaten and thrown into the stocks (v.2) and then his own people were seeking to trap and hurt him.  I don't know what's worse than your own family seeking your destruction.  He even tried to settle and go along with they ways of man than the ways of God, yet he couldn't keep quiet for the words of God burned within him (v.9).  Jeremiah was overwhelmed and discouraged by the flood of sin around him as he tried to proclaim and do what was right that he was ready to give up wishing he'd never been born to not have to face such hardship.  This is similar to Job's complaining too, but it is not one we should mimic but learn from.  Even the one that seems strongest in the Lord has deceitful thoughts of the heart and needs encouragement.
Is God's fire within you that you can't help but speak His truth or are you quenching the fire?  When you struggle with thoughts of wishing never to have been born, what keeps you holding on to life?  How can you speak words of truth to others that struggle with these thoughts?

Jeremiah 19

“Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, 11 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot be made whole again; and they shall bury them in Tophet till there is no place to bury. vv.10-11

Read chapter 19
After reading about the potter and the clay in the last chapter where the clay was formable by the potter, we now have the flip side.  This flask has been baked and harden in the fire; there's no remolding of it, all that can be done now is to break it.   Once broken can never be pieced together again.  So the image God is using with the house of Judah.  Jeremiah was to proclaim both to the leaders and to the people this message of destruction that was going to break them.  The Babylonians were going to invade and destroy them, the majority would be killed and few would be taken into exile.  The land they had filled with their slain sacrifices to idols, valley of Tophet, would soon be overflowing with the dead from the slaughter by the Babylonians.
Sometimes someone has become so hard against God, that it takes to their breaking to see if they will ever seek the Lord.  As Jesus says, "Everyone who falls on that stone [Jesus] will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed." No man can repair a shattered vessel, yet it's material can be made into something new, as God will restore the whole house of Israel to a people again.
Have you been broken by the Lord and been made new?  Pray for those you know that are hardened toward God that they would be broken but not crushed.

Jeremiah 18

So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel.  But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. vv.3-4

Read chapter 18
The potter and the clay.  Have you ever seen a potter at the wheel forming something out of clay.  It's impressive!  The wheel is constantly twirling going at different speeds while the potter's hands shape and mould the clay.  Clay is just mud and useless unless made into something of value.  Potters were very common in the days of Jeremiah, but the Lord wanted Jeremiah to go and get a fresh look as He compares Himself to a potter with the clay being the house of Israel.  God was showing him that He had Israel in His hands, and even though they were marred because of sin, God would reshape them.  God would not just mend them but make new as a potter would make the clay into another vessel if it became ruined. Often it's the hard things in life that have molded who we are today.  When sin surfaces itself in our lives, if we remain soft and moldable, God is able to make us into something new for good purpose bringing Him glory.
As Isaiah 64:8 says, "Yet You Lord, are our Father.  We are the clay, you are the potter, we are the work of your hands."
How is the Lord shaping you today?  Are you allowing the Potter to mold you into making you for a purpose?

Jeremiah 17

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it? v.9
Read chapter 17
"Just follow your heart," is a common saying someone says to a person who is trying to make a decision (big or small).  Yet the Lord says here through Jeremiah that the "heart is deceitful above all things."  So why would I want to follow this deceitful thing?  Does it then mean to do the opposite of what my heart is saying?  Well first off the term "follow your heart" isn't in scripture so we don't need to pick apart any truth in that as being God's word.  We all know that our hearts desires change from time to time, many from one minute to the next.  For example, one moment a girl thinks she's met her soul mate, but when things don't pan out after a couple weeks she soon finds someone else she's sure is her soul mate and so the cycle goes on- she was following her heart but was deceived by it.  Think about it, realizing our hearts have sin in them, for if all that was on your heart was put on display in front of everyone how would you feel?  Thankfully the Lord promises to give us new hearts when He says in Ezekiel 36:26, " I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."
Until then we ought to test our hearts as they align with God's Word of how we are to make a decision.  This will make us like a rooted tree than a leaf tossed through the wind with our every changing heart.  For the verses just before say, 
But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
8 They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit. vv.7-8
The heart worries but the truth is a firm foundation.  How have you been deceived by your own heart in the past?  How can you this week ground your roots deeper in God's truth?

Jeremiah 16

“However, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ but it will be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’For I will restore them to the land I gave their ancestors. vv.14-15

Read chapter 16
The biggest event that the Israelites held on to of what God did for them was when they were given freedom from slavery in Egypt (the Exodus).  Yet the Lord is proclaiming and even greater act of freedom from bondage was going to come.  Yes after exile for 70 years the remnant of Israelites who are still alive get to return back to Jerusalem, but I think God is talking about a different event- the Kingdom.  In Egypt Israel was in bondage in just one land, but now they are scattered all over the world.  In the Kingdom all Israel will be gathered together from all places and all times- truly a great gathering.  Yet not only is this a great gathering but the end of oppression from the enemy, Satan, who will no longer be the prince of this world deceiving everyone into bondage.  
What is an event in your life that God did for you?  How can you not only cling to what He has done but what He will do for your hope in this world we live in today?

Jeremiah 15

When your words came, I ate them;
    they were my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name,
    Lord God Almighty...
17 18 Why is my pain unending
    and my wound grievous and incurable?
You are to me like a deceptive brook,
    like a spring that fails. vv.16,18

Read chapter 15
Fried okra, sweet potato casserole, fried chicken, cornbread, hushpuppies, blacked peas, collard greens, do I got your mouth watering yet?  What do all those foods have in common?  There Soul Food!  Considered by many to be the most satisfying food.  Well the Bible is God's soul food and really is what can satisfy our soul.  Jeremiah says when he found God's words he ate them and they were his hearts joy and delight.  Jeremiah faced a lot of troubles and heartache to the point of depression to me as he talks of his unending pain that grievous and incurable- a lot of what goes on through the mind of a depressed person.  Jeremiah was hated by everyone (v.10), so he found the only cure for his heart and that was devouring God's words- that was his hearts greatest JOY and DELIGHT that kept him going.  He didn't just see the food (words), but he ate (took in) them.  It's one thing to hear a pastor preach or read your bible once in a while, but it's a whole other thing to daily take in God's word by studying, memorizing and meditating on it.
So how often do you eat soul food?  Are you struggling to find joy in your heart?  Have you tried the cure that Jeremiah recommends?

Jeremiah 14

Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for this people, for their good. v.11

Read chapter 14
Woah!  Kind of crazy that God says not to pray for this people.  Now let's make sure we take this in context before you go about choosing who you don't want to pray for.
Droughts were going on during this time in Judah.  Droughts were a serious concern as they were a life or death issue in these societies and especially for farmers.  Droughts were also a curse of disobedience by the Lord as we read in Deuteronomy 28.  The people of Judah cry out to the Lord for  rain; notice that they're not mourning for their sins but lack of their loss- they're just praying so they can get what they want.  They know God's there, they believe He exists, but they're asking why He's not acting.  They had gone after other gods, greatly sinned and did not listen to God or His messengers.  They were so hardened toward the Lord they were past the point of prayer.  Notice the Lord calls them "this people" and no longer "My people."  God's judgement was set and there was no turning back their justice due.  One commentary notes that, "he does not forbid him praying at all for them, or for their repentance and reformation; or for spiritual good things for them, for eternal life and salvation for the remnant of his own people among them; but not for external good things for the bulk of them." (Gill's Exposition)
We do not have such a direct command today to not pray for someone.  Rather the Lord tells us to pray for your enemies (Matthew 5).  Who will you pray for today for their repentance and salvation?

Jeremiah 13

For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the Lord, ‘that they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear.’ v.11

Read chapter 13
Kind of an odd task God tells Jeremiah to do by hiding a sash in a rock by the Euphrates River, but this was a sign for the people of Judah- we all need visual aids sometimes to really hit home what's being taught.  So what's being taught here by God?  Just as a sash is created to cling to man, so His people were created to cling to Him.  By clinging to God they became people of renown, for praise and for glory- clinging to God causes all this!  
Yet just as Jeremiah hid the sash in the rock and after three days dug it out and was completely ruined, so God was showing that He was going to completely ruin what they prided in without listening to God as they buried themselves by their sins of idolatry.  That pride was the temple that would soon be destroyed by the Babylonians.  Both the temple and they would be profitable for nothing as the sash because they would not hear the words of the Lord and return to His goodness.
Who or what are you clinging to?  Have you clung on to God and experienced renown, praise and glory?  Try and see!

Jeremiah 12

“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? v.5

Read chapter 12
If one can't beat his friend in a high school track race, what makes him think he can make it to the Olympics?  If one can't handle the nagging of his parents, what makes him think he can handle superiors in a big city?
The Lord answers Jeremiah's complaining and impatience of his persecutors with two analogies: running with horses and flood season.  Jeremiah's zeal and faith in the Lord was incredible, but the Lord was teaching him endurance for the long haul, that he was going to endure much harder things than this.  He was growing weary with proverbial things and wasnt ready yet for the harder trials that were to come.  He was growing weary in his home of Jerusalem, so what made him think he wouldn't grow weary in a place unfamiliar and with much more troubles?  One likes to think during a time of peace that when trouble comes they'll be the one to stand up and fight, but so often when that trouble comes they cower.  Notice that God doesn't solve the difficulty of Jeremiah's complaint but rather warns him of more patience and endurance is to come in the future.  Sometimes we want to skip over the simple, every day tasks and go straight for the more challenging, new ones.  Michale Franklin Ministries devotional challenges,

If you want to run with horses, then start running with men. If you want to go into other territories, then start living right in your own.

Are you ready to run with horses?  How's your training going?

Jeremiah 11

And I answered and said, “So be it, Lord.”  

Then the Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying: ‘Hear the words of this covenant and do them. vv.5-6

Read chapter 11
"Amen Jehovah."  That was Jeremiah's response agreeing with the Lord's judgment and justice due for those not obeying God's commandment.  The second he says amen to that the Lord tell him to preach it; to preach the Lord's judgment.  Talk about putting into action one's words.  Not an easy task as people usually despise the messenger of the message.  How often people will agree with something with their words but then don't do anything about it.  One will go to church on Sunday, saying "Amen!" "So be it, Lord!" but then leave church and do nothing about it.  Well the Lord's not letting Jeremiah off the hook that easy by just agreeing, but continuing to send him to the people of Judah to proclaim a hard message for them to hear.  
What are some hard messages that you agree with need to be told to family or friends that you struggle to speak up about?

Jeremiah 10

For the customs of the peoples are futile;
For one cuts a tree from the forest,
The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
4 They decorate it with silver and gold;
They fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not topple. vv.3-4

Read chapter 10
Sound familiar?  A custom: cut a tree from the forest, decorate it, fasten it so that it won't topple.  Anyone else thinking Christmas tree?  Many Christians use Jeremiah 10 to show that we shouldn't have Christmas trees in the holiday celebration.  Jeremiah is saying here not to learn the way of the gentiles who make idols like these often using wood to carve an image.  Yet Christmas wasn't even celebrated then for Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ who hadn't been born of a woman yet for another 400 some years.  The Christmas tree tradition didn't start in Israel either, rather started in Europe in the 16th century.  Jeremiah is not talking about Christmas trees although there are many similarities; he's talking about idol worship.  You can celebrate Christmas without a Christmas tree, but ought not to condemn believers for decorating with a Christmas tree because of this passage.  Now if one starts worshiping the tree, then we have an issue.  Many think of the evergreen tree as a reminder of eternal life.  So next time you're cutting down a Christmas tree, decorating it and fastening it in your home, be reminded Who created the tree and Who is the reason for the celebration season.

Jeremiah 9

Thus says the Lord:

“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
24 But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,” says the Lord. vv.23-24

Read chapter 9
We all like to boast about something, yet what does it mean to boast about knowing God?  Three things that men trust and boast in are wisdom, strength and riches. Parents love to boast about their children on honor role.  A weightlifter will ware a tight shirt to show of his/her muscles.  A person will boast his riches by the car he drives.  Yet all these boasting point back to the person and seem vain.  But to boast in the Lord points to God.  Now boasting in the the Lord that he knows and understands God isn't boasting about how much bible knowledge he/she has, but boasting how great is God's love, judgment, and righteousness- boasting in God's perfect character.  Like a husband boasts about how amazing of a wife he has to his friends not only because she's attractive but because of the relationship they have together knowing each other more and more and how they love and serve one another- and it usually makes others want that same boasting in their marriage.  So as we grow in relationship with God in how much we love Him and He us, that's something to boast about- and will encourage others to seek that glory and boasting of God.  Jeremiah was telling the people of Judah to stop boasting in their own wisdom, strength, riches for that is what led them to turn so far from the Lord and sadly only going into captivity is what could change that.
What do you boast in that points to back to you?  What does it look like to boast in the Lord in your life?

Jeremiah 8

“Even the stork in the heavens
Knows her appointed times;
And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow
Observe the time of their coming.
But My people do not know the judgment of the Lord. v.7

Read chapter 8
Jeremiah looked at nature to describe basics of instincts.  Birds know when to return to warmer climates when winter is coming- it's in their law of nature.  Yet these men don't know when God's judgment comes to return to Him.  
They know not how to improve the seasons of grace which God affords them when he sends them his prophets; nor how to make use of the rebukes they are under when his voice cries in the city. They discern not the signs of the times, (Matthew 16:3,) nor are aware how God is dealing with them. They know not the law which God has prescribed them, though it be written both in their hearts and in their books. (Benson's Commentary)
They don't know how to accommodate themselves to God's words, His grace, His mercy or His judgment.  Just as the groundhog not seeing its shadow is a sign spring is coming and winter almost over, so are God's people to return to the Lord knowing His grace follows judgement.
Does your natural instincts lead you to God or away?  How so?

Jeremiah 7

Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these.’ v.4

Read chapter 7
The Titanic was so great that it was thought unsinkable.  So the Lord's temple that Solomon built was so great the people thought it was indestructible.  Yet the Titanic sank and Israel's temple was destroyed.  As long as the temple stood, the Israelites thought secure their independence and dominion.  Lying prophets were common in the days of Jeremiah and would speak what the people wanted to hear rather than the truth, having them do religious exercises that were of no avail.  The threefold repetition of them saying the "The temple of the Lord" took after the divine symbol of the Lord such as we read "Holy holy holy is the Lord God Almighty," yet these ceremonial words don't make it true just because they followed a pattern.  Just because they were repeating these words didn't make this false idea that the temple would never be destroyed come true.  So repetition of any lie doesn't make it eventually truth, yet how often we tell ourselves a lie for so long or hear a lie over and over again that we start to believe it is true?  
What lie have you been repeating or hearing for so long that you think of it as true now?

Jeremiah 6

Thus says the Lord:

“Stand in the ways and see,
And ask for the old paths, where the good way is,
And walk in it;
Then you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ v.16

Read chapter 6
We all love new things.  We're always convinced that something can be done in a better way, always striving for advancement from technology to transportation to thinking.  It's how our world is shaped by renewing.  Yet is a new way always a better way?  Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, "That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun."
Jeremiah has been prophesying to Israel about turning back to the old way, to the way God showed them to walk.  Yet just like society is today, they got "bored" as they turned their focus away from God, they craved more and more finding their appetite in what does not satisfy.  God's dealing with mankind changes but His plan never does and neither does the way change in which we should walk.  Let us not just follow what is new, interesting, innovating, exciting, politically correct, but let's walk in what is right and true that has been known since ages past.
Have you turned from the old good way where you find rest for you soul?