“The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, ‘The Lord, your God, pronounced this disaster against this place. The Lord has brought it about and has done as he said.'”
– Jeremiah 40:2–3
Now, the context here in Jeremiah is Babylon has destroyed Jerusalem, is taking the people of God into exile. And here this captain of the guard takes Jeremiah who had been prophesying this all along, had been proclaiming that this would happen as a result of God’s people’s rebellion and sin against him.
Jeremiah 40:2–3 Encourages Us to See God’s Promises in Scripture
The captain of the guard says to him, “The Lord, your God pronounced this disaster against this place. The word of the Lord, the Lord has brought it about and has done as he said.” And there’s a lot we could talk about here, specifically in the context of Jeremiah, but what I want to point out very simply, that we see all over the Bible, is that God’s word will always, always, always prove true. That what God has said, he will do. What God has promised he will do.
And I just want to encourage you with that today, when you read God’s word and you see promises in it, you can bank your life on it. You can bank all of history on it. You can bank eternity on the promises of God. The Bible talks about, Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withers, the flower fades. The word of God stands forever.” Like even this world, as we know it, will not be as it is now in the days to come, but God’s word will stand forever. This means God’s word is worthy of your trust. An it means that the wise way to live is to build your life on God’s word. To rise in the morning, to read his word, meditate on his word all throughout the day. To live according to it.
Jeremiah 40:2–3 Leads Us to Help Us Learn These Truths
God help us to learn this, to believe this and to live accordingly. To know that your word will always prove true, that you will do all that you have promised. God, we praise you for the reliability of your word, of your promises. That you will be with all who trust in you, that you will never leave us or forsake us. That you will uphold us with your righteous right hand. And that you will give us everything we need according to glorious riches that have been made possible for us in Christ Jesus.
And that you will supply all of our needs, that we don’t have to worry about anything, because you are sovereign over everything and you love us. That you are working and will work all things together for our good as we trust in you. God, we could list promise, after promise, after promise for hour, after hour, after hour, that we can bank our life on. So we praise you for your word and we pray that you would help us to live with all of our trust in it.
Praying for Unreached People in East Asia
And to make it known, God in a world where there is so much unstable. Help us to proclaim the stability and security that are found in your word. We pray for people groups around the world who don’t have your word. We pray for the Western Gulshan people in East Asia. God, please cause your word to go to them, that they might have this rock to stand on.
Use your church to spread the gospel, we pray to the Gulshan people, most of whom have little to no knowledge of your word or access to it. God we praise you that your word always proves true. And those who trust in you and your word will see that in all of eternity. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
