Jeremiah 38 - Praying God's Word

Please read Jeremiah 38.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/jer/38/1/s_783001

Meditate on verse 20b.

Please obey the LORD in what I am saying to you,

that it may go well with you, and you may live.

Jeremiah again became a living sermon illustration for the Word he preached. He was thrown into a cistern for declaring God’s truth. After Jeremiah was pulled out of the miry mud, King Zedekiah summoned him to proclaim a Word from the LORD. Jeremiah told the king he was being misled and overpowered by his close friends, and his feet were sinking in the mire (v. 22).

Like Jeremiah’s feet sank into the muddy cistern, Zedekiah and the people of Judah were sinking into the mire of their sin-filled lives. They were stuck. Like Jeremiah, they needed help getting out. God wanted to help them; they simply had to obey Him.

This sermon is for you. Are you stuck in the mire of sin? A slave named Ebed-melech rescued Jeremiah from the muddy cistern. Jesus Christ took the form of a bond-servant and died on a cross to save you from life mired in sin (Philippians 2:5-11). Jeremiah had to put the ropes offered by Ebed under his armpits to be pulled out of the mud. You must choose to accept the salvation offered by Jesus Christ to be pulled out of your sin.

Pray Jeremiah 38:20 and 22 over those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).  You may need to insert your own name into the blank.

“LORD, __________’s close friends have misled and overpowered them. 

Their feet have sunk into the mire.

 Please cause them to obey You in what You say,

 that it may go well with them, and they may live.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL 2 ~ Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Jeremiah 37 - Praying God's Word

Please read Jeremiah 37.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/jer/37/1/s_782001

Meditate on verse 3b.

Please pray to the LORD our God on our behalf.

It is important to notice the context of the meditation verse. No one in the land of Judah was listening to the Words of the LORD, yet King Zedekiah called for Jeremiah to pray on their behalf. Zedekiah wanted Jeremiah to ask God to make everything okay and for the Chaldeans not to destroy Jerusalem. He wanted God’s blessings even though he and the people refused to listen and obey God’s Word.

Examine your life. Do you hear and heed the Word of God, or do you ignore God’s commands and precepts yet continue to ask for and expect Him to bless you?

Use the words from Jeremiah 37:2-3 to pray over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, I pray on behalf of _________ and me.

Help us listen to Your Words.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL 2 ~ Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Jeremiah 36 - Praying God's Word

Please read Jeremiah 36.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/jer/36/1/s_781001

Meditate on verse 7.

Perhaps their supplication will come before the LORD,

and everyone will turn from his evil way,

for great is the anger and the wrath

that the LORD has pronounced against this people.

After preaching 23 years, God told Jeremiah to write His Words on a scroll. Jeremiah spent a year dictating God’s messages to his scribe, Baruch. Afterward Baruch read all the Words to the people at the LORD’s house (vs. 1-9).

Notice the various responses to God’s Word. When the people heard the Words, one of the men, Micaiah, went to the palace and declared to the king’s officials all that he had heard. When the officials heard God’s Words, they were afraid and told the king all of the Words. When the king heard the Words, he took a knife, cut off sections of the scroll, and threw them into the fire.

What is your response to the Word of God? Do you tell others what God’s Word says? Do His Words cause you to fear and honor Him? Or, do you treat the Bible with contempt, cutting out the parts you do not like or think apply to you?

As a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7), pray to have a Jeremiah 36:7 response to God’s Word and not a Jeremiah 36:24 reaction.

“LORD, may the supplication of _________ and me come before You.

We want to turn from our evil way,

 so You do not have to pronounce Your anger and wrath against us.

In fear of Your Word, we rend our garments in mourning for our sins against You.

Because of Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL 2 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Jeremiah 35 - Praying God's Word

Please read Jeremiah 35.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/jer/35/1/s_780001

Meditate on verse 13b.

“Will you not receive instruction by listening to My words?”

declares the LORD.

God told Jeremiah to take the Rechabite boys to the temple and offer them wine to drink. They immediately refused because their father had commanded them not to ever drink wine (vs. 5-6).

These men were Jeremiah’s sermon illustration as he spoke this Word from the LORD:

The words of Jonadab, the son of Rechab,

which he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are observed.

 So they do not drink wine to this day,

for they have obeyed their father’s command.

 But I have spoken to you again and again,

yet you have not listened to Me.

—Jeremiah 35:14

The Rechabite boys obeyed their father completely. Why did the people treat God the Father with less respect? The LORD rewarded the Rechabites for their obedience; they would not lack a man to stand before Him always (vs. 19).

There are valuable lessons from this sermon. God rewards those who honor and obey their parents. God rewards those who honor and obey Him.

Pray Jeremiah 35:16 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, help ________ and me observe the commands of our father

Help us listen and obey You, Father.

For the sake of Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL 2  - Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Jeremiah 34 - Praying God's Word

Please read Jeremiah 34.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/jer/34/1/s_779001

Meditate on verses 15b-16a.

You had made a covenant before Me in the house which is called by My name. 

Yet you turned and profaned My name…

King Zedekiah, his officials, and some of the people made a covenant to free their Hebrew servants. They cut a calf in half and passed between the pieces. Vows were made saying if they did not keep the promises, may what happened to the animal or worse happen to them. They freed the servants as promised but then took them back. They wanted their servants more than they wanted to keep their covenant vows.

God was mad! Because of their broken covenant promises, worse would happen to them—their dead bodies would become bird and animal food (vs. 17-20).

Do not think for a moment that God takes cutting covenant lightly. When a married couple says, “I promise to love, honor, and cherish you until death,” what is ringing in the ears of Almighty God is, “If I do not love, honor, and cherish you, may what happened to this sacrificed animal or worse happen to me.” Covenants are made to NEVER be broken (The Covenant Maker by Marsha Harvell).

As a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7), use Jeremiah 34:14-16 to pray for yourself and those you love to keep your covenant promises.

“LORD, let ________ and me obey You and incline our ear to You.

Help us turn and do what is right in Your sight.

Let us keep the covenants we have made before You;

do not let us turn from those covenants and profane Your name.

For Your name's sake, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL 2 ~ Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Jeremiah 33 - Praying God's Word

Please read Jeremiah 33.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/jer/33/1/s_778001

Meditate verse 3.

“Call to Me and I will answer you,

 and I will tell you great and mighty things,

 which you do not know.”

Jeremiah 33 tells about another impossible situation that only God could remedy. Jerusalem was filled with the corpses of people slain by the Chaldeans (Babylonians) because God, in His anger and wrath, punished them for their wickedness (v. 5). Then God said the impossible would happen; He would bring healing, peace, truth, restoration, and cleansing to His people (vs. 6-8).

God wants to do the same in your life and in the lives of those you love. Only God can cleanse and pardon you. Only God can restore and rebuild you. Only God can bring health and healing and give you an abundance of peace and truth.

Bring to the LORD the “corpse-filled situations” you are praying over as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).  Pray Jeremiah 33:6-11.

“LORD, bring health and healing to ________ and me.

Reveal to us an abundance of peace and truth.  Restore and rebuild us. 

Cleanse us from all iniquity by which we have sinned against You.

 Pardon all our iniquities by which we have sinned and transgressed against You.

 Let us be to You a name of joy, praise, and glory.

 Let everyone hear of the good You have done for us,

 so they will fear and tremble before You, God. 

In our lives that have become a desolate waste,

 let the voice of joy, the voice of gladness,

 the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride be heard.

 We give You thanks, LORD of hosts, for You are good;

 Your lovingkindess is everlasting.

 Thank You for restoring our fortunes as they were at first.

For Your name’s sake, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL 2 ~ Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Jeremiah 32 - Praying God's Word

Please read Jeremiah 32.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/jer/32/1/s_777001

Meditate on verse 17.

“Ah LORD God! 

Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by

Your great power and by Your outstretched arm!

 Nothing is too difficult for You.

Impossible! Jeremiah was imprisoned; Jerusalem was under the control of the Chaldeans (Babylonians), and Jeremiah’s cousin, Hanamel, asked him to buy some local land conquered by Babylon. Who, in their right mind, would buy land controlled by another nation? But when Jeremiah heard the offer, he knew it “was the word of the LORD” (v. 8). He bought the land and made the transaction public, so everyone knew what crazy Preacher Jeremiah had done.

The rest of the story is Babylon ceased to exist, being conquered by the Medes and Persians (Daniel 5:30-31). Cyrus, king of Persia, allowed the Jews to return to their land of Israel (2 Chronicles 36:22-23). And if you research the price of land in Israel today, Jeremiah was wise to obey God!

What has God told you to do that does not make sense in the eyes of the world and requires total dependence on Him? Trust and obey the LORD; rich blessings await your obedience.

Pray Jeremiah 32:17-19 over yourself and others who are in impossible situations as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“Ah LORD God!  Behold You have made the heavens and the earth

 by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! 

Nothing is too difficult for You! 

Show lovingkindness to ________ and me. 

Forgive us of our iniquity, so it is not repaid

 into the bosom of our children, O great and mighty God! 

LORD of hosts, counsel us with Your great counsel;

show us your mighty deeds. 

Keep Your eyes on our ways.  Let the fruit of our deeds please You.

For the sake of Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL 2  - Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell