Daily Devotions
Jeremiah
"They have done nothing of all that You commanded"
Text: Jeremiah 32:23
A PRAYER OF JEREMIAH III
Jeremiah’s reflection and rehearsal of what God did was quite detailed. This was his way of bracing himself to bring personal petition to the LORD.
“You have given them this land,
of which You swore to their fathers to give them—
‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’
And they came in and took possession of it,
but they have not obeyed Your voice or walked in Your law.
They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do;
therefore You have caused all this calamity to come upon them”.
Jeremiah 32:22-23
1. “You have given them this land, of which You swore to their fathers to give them—
‘a land flowing with milk and honey'”
a) The land of Israel is in mind here.
b) This was the land that God had sworn to give to the patriarchs.
c) Israel was often described as “a land flowing with milk and honey”.
i) It was a land of great potential.
ii) The land was good pastureland for cattle and flocks.
iii) It would be a rich land where bees would come and produce honey.
2. “And they came in and took possession of it”
a) Joshua caused Israel to gain possession of the land.
b) The children of Israel took possession of the land of Canaan.
3. “But they have not obeyed Your voice or walked in Your law.
They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do”
a) The sad reality was candidly confessed.
b) Israel had failed miserably.
i) It has not obeyed God’s voice.
ii) It had not walked in God’s law either.
iii) In fact, the nation had done nothing
of all that God had commanded them to do.
4. “Therefore You have caused all this calamity to come upon them”
a) It was the LORD who had brought this calamity on the nation.
b) Israel was to blame for it had disobeyed the Lord with great stubbornness of heart.