Good morning. These are exciting and sobering days we’re reading about in Jeremiah chapters 33–36. For over two decades, the prophet had warned rulers and citizens alike to change their ways. They refused. He told them their time was up and that the Babylonians were coming. Instead of repenting, they persecuted him for speaking the truth.

Now, the Babylonian army is at their gates.
“While Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms and peoples in the empire he ruled were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding towns…” — Jeremiah 34:1 (NIV)
The people plead for God to rescue them, as He had done in the past. But Jeremiah tells them: He will not.
A Moment of Crisis and Clarity
Sometimes all seems lost. I remember regaining consciousness in my GMC Mini Jimmy after rolling it in Monument Valley, Utah. It’s a wide-open, picturesque place to visit—but with little traffic, it’s a terrible place to be trapped in a wrecked vehicle.

I wasn’t sure what had happened, but I could tell my leg was near my head and I was touching it with my hand. My face had struck the dashboard, and the pain was disorienting. Then I realized: I could feel my leg with my hand, but not my hand on my leg. Somehow, I knew I had broken my back. Later, I would learn I had fractured my neck as well.

Time passed slowly. Day faded into night. I was bleeding. Was I going to die there on the side of Highway 89? If I lived, how would life be with paralysis? I had seen enough movies to know the struggle that lay ahead. Did I have the character to endure—or would I be better off giving up?
God’s Promises in the Dark
In Jeremiah 33:3, the prophet writes:
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (NIV)
I didn’t know the Lord at that time, so that verse was foreign to me. How comforting it would have been to know verse 33:6:
“Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.” (NIV)
Yes, it would have been out of context—but this is why it’s so important to memorize Scripture. In times of trouble, we can comfort ourselves with the truth of God’s power. All things are possible for Him.

In Jeremiah’s day, God was telling the people of Jerusalem that He would bring Israel back from captivity and forgive their sins. (Jer 33:7-8) This restoration would come through His “righteous Branch” from the line of David:
“In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line… This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.” — Jeremiah 33:15–16 (NIV)
This points to Jesus, who is both King and High Priest, much like Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:1–2).
Savior and Lord: The Full Commitment
There are two parts to that title: He is Lord, and He is Savior. Lordship means ownership and ruling authority. Most people don’t want to perish or spend eternity in hell—but they also don’t want to surrender control of their lives. They want Jesus as Savior, but not as Lord.

We must choose both.

When we don’t, we become like the people in Jeremiah’s time. They were slaves to sin, yet God told them to free their slaves (Jeremiah 34:9). Initially, they obeyed. But then they reneged:
“But afterward they changed their minds and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.” — Jeremiah 34:11 (NIV)
This mirrors Pharaoh’s reversal in Exodus:
“Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds… ‘What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!’” — Exodus 14:5 (NIV)
Sin will always try to reclaim us when we refuse to give Jesus full lordship.
Faithfulness or Defiance?
We are fighting a powerful enemy we cannot defeat on our own. But when we surrender to Jesus, He keeps us safe. We lose that safety when we turn back, just as the people did in Jeremiah 34:16.

Instead, we must be steadfast—like the Rekabites, who refused to drink wine in obedience to their forefather’s command (Jeremiah 35:6).

Contrast that with King Jehoiakim, who cut up Jeremiah’s scroll and burned it:
“Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the fire…” — Jeremiah 36:23 (NIV)
But Jehoiakim’s defiance didn’t stop God’s word. Jeremiah dictated the scroll again, and Baruch rewrote it. The punishment, however, was severe.
Why Take Back Your Life?
God has such good plans for you. Why would you ever want to take back your own life?

He offers healing, peace, restoration, and eternal hope. But it requires surrender—not just in word, but in action. Like Jeremiah buying a field in faith, like the Rekabites standing firm, and like Jesus offering both salvation and lordship.

The question remains: Will you trust Him with everything?
Tomorrow, we will read Jeremiah 37-40.