Overview
Jeremiah: The Lord told Jeremiah to buy a pottery flask and take the elders to the Valley of Hinnom by the Potsherd Gate. The Lord told him to tell what the Lord was going to do to Jerusalem. He was going to kill so many people by the sword that they would bury them in the valley and rename it Valley of Slaughter. He would do this because they murdered, worshiped idols, sacrificed their sons to Baal, made offerings to the host of heaven, and poured out drink offerings to gods. He will turn them to cannibalism because of the famine during the siege. Then Jeremiah was to break the flask and tell them that the Lord will break the people and the city so it could not be mended. They will bury people there because there is no other place. The city will be laid waste.
Jeremiah then went into the city and proclaimed the disaster. The chief priest, Pashhur, heard it and had Jeremiah beaten and put in stocks. When he was released the next day, he told Pashhur (Hebrew for freedom[1]), his name would be Magor-Missabib (terror on every side) because the Lord said he would see the terror as the Babylonians kill people all around him and take the king captive along with people. All the treasures will be taken and Pashhur will go to captivity and die along with all the other lying prophets.
Jeremiah again complained to God that he deceived him. He was overpowered and ridiculed by people. It happens every time he speaks. But if he tries not to speak, God’s word is like a fire in his heart and he can’t hold it back. He hears the people plot against him. But he knows the Lord is with him like a mighty warrior and his persecutors don’t prevail. He asks the Lord who knows hearts and minds to bring vengeance on them.
Jeremiah sings to the Lord about his rescue but then curses the day he was born. He wishes he would have been killed in the womb and buried with his mother. Why was he born only to see sorrow and shame?
King Zedekiah sent Pashhur and Zephaniah to Jeremiah asking him to inquire of the Lord to see if the Lord would rescue them from Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah answered that Nebuchadnezzar would take the city and God himself would fight against the people of Jerusalem with a plague. Those that survive the plague and famine will be killed by the sword. Nebuchadnezzar will not show mercy.
Jeremiah was also to tell the people that anyone who stays in the city will die but anyone who surrendered to the Babylonians will escape with his life. The Lord has determined to let Nebuchadnezzar destroy the city with fire. He also says to the royal house of Judah to administer justice and rescue the oppressed or his wrath will burn them like fire. They think no one can break into Jerusalem but the Lord will punish them for their deeds.
Psalm: Asaph presents God as being the Judge in the midst of gods. God asks them how long they will be unjust being partial to the wicked. He tells them to give justice to weak and fatherless and to rescue the needy. These gods don’t have understanding and shake the earth. God now says to them that they are sons of the Most High but they will die just as princes die. Asaph then asks God to judge the earth and inherit the nations.
Proverbs: Be careful about accusing your neighbor in court before you talk it out with him in person. You could end up being shamed. Don’t tell other people’s secrets because they may reveal you were the blabber and ruin your reputation.
1 Thessalonians: The Thessalonians are not in darkness so they should not be surprised when the day of the Lord comes. They are all children of the day, not night. Paul includes himself urging them to stay awake and sober, not like people who sleep and get drunk in the night. Belonging to the day, they should be sober with faith, love, and the hope of salvation. God didn’t appoint Christians for wrath but salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ who died for us so that we will live with him whether we are living or dead. This is to encourage one another.
Paul and his companions ask the Thessalonians to respect the Christian workers who ae over them and admonish them. They should be valued and loved. They should have peace with everyone while they warn the idle, encourage he weak, and be patient. They are not to pay back evil for evil, but do good to everyone, be joyful, always pray and be thankful. All these things are God’s will for Christians. Don’t stifle the Holy Spirit or look down on prophecies. Test them to see if they are right and hold on to good. Keep away from evil.
Paul pronounces a benediction of peace and sanctification so that their whole spirit, soul, and body will be blameless when Jesus comes. Jesus is faithful and will do it.
Paul asks for pray for himself and his companions and to greet the Thessalonians with a holy kiss. He commands them under oath to read this letter to all the Thessalonians. He asks for the grace of the Lord Jesus be with them.
What Stood Out
Jeremiah: “If I say, ‘I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,’ there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot” (Jer 20:9).
Psalm: “Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked” (Ps 82:4).
Proverbs: “Do not hastily bring into court, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame? Argue your case with your neighbor himself” (Prov 25:8-9).
1 Thessalonians: “But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief” (1 Thess 5:4).
Insight
Jeremiah: Jeremiah is getting sick and tired of being beat up about his prophecies. He again accuses God of deceiving him by not protecting him from his persecutors. But, he says that God’s words are like a fire in his heart. He has to let them out. He is compelled to speak what God says to him. Paul voiced the same thing regarding his necessity to preach the gospel, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16).
Have you ever felt that way? Perhaps it was just after you became a Christian if that happened as an adult or maybe even as a teenager. People may even call you crazy or out of your mind if you do. But, like Paul, Christ’s love compels us to share the gospel (2 Cor 5:13-14). I know that is the way I felt soon after becoming a Christian. We see people the way Jeremiah saw his countrymen, lost and about to be slaughtered. If we think the disaster on Jerusalem was bad, we must remember that those who die without Jesus will be in a constant state of destruction as they continually burn in hell. That is far worse than simply dying of sword, famine, or plague because hell never stops.
Unfortunately, when we don’t respond to that burning desire to spread God’s word, that fire in our hearts dies. We need to be reminded of the consequences to those who die without Jesus as well as his love to compel us to seek out the lost and do what we are called to do as Christians; make more and better disciples (Matt 28:19-20) and be ambassadors of God letting people know that Jesus became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:20-21).
Psalm: When I previously wrote about this Psalm, I explained that the word for gods is the same as the word for God, elohiym. The meaning of the word can refer to God, angels, judges, or rulers.[2]But we have to realize that each one of us is a judge in some ways. We have the opportunity to rescue the weak and needy delivering them from the wicked (Ps 82:4). We must make a judgment that poverty is not always a person’s fault and that those caught in sinful habits need to be rescued even if it is their fault. While we can’t solve all the world’s problems, we do have the responsibility to share God’s word with people. The person next door may not look like he or she is needy and weak, but if he doesn’t know Jesus, he is in the hands of the wicked. He is trapped in Satan’s power and probably doesn’t even know it. We don’t want to be like the unjust judges of Israel who participated in oppression. We must be like Jesus who brought answers for salvation and told us to be servants who visit the prisoners, sick, and take care of those in need. It isn’t either witness or take care of other, but both.
Proverbs: It is solid advice to always talk to a person who has offended you or you believe has done some wrong against you. It is so good that Jesus applied it to Christian relationships. We must go to a person first and only when that fails to resolve the problem, escalate the matter to others (Matt 18:15-17).
I’ve also seen what happens to relationships when secrets are told. Person A told secrets to person B in confidence. Then B told C these secrets. C thought they were serious so check with A to see if it is true. Now, A and B no longer talk. B and C no longer talk. Though, A and C appreciate being honest with each other. That was simply gossip or slander that was exposed. Repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation are available through Jesus Christ. If that doesn’t happen, friendships or family relations are strained and even broken.
1 Thessalonians: When Paul talks about the Thessalonians not being surprised by the day of the Lord, he doesn’t reveal how long this day is or when it will happen. But it also implies that it will happen immediately before God’s wrath is poured out on the earth. We have the assurance that we will not suffer God’s wrath and believe we will escape the destruction of the day of the Lord. How do we determine when God’s wrath will be poured out? Some say it is in Revelation 6 before the tribulation. Others say it is in Revelation 14, which is in the middle or maybe the end of the tribulation just after the first of the two harvests of the earth.
Paul doesn’t go into any details about it in any way. What he does tell us is how to be ready for it. It is more important for us to living godly lives before Jesus return than it is to know when he returns. He provides us with some good points to remember. In fact, they are so good he calls them God’s will for us. What is God’s will for you and me? It includes all the things like being sober, patient, peaceful, kind, encouraging, responsive to the Holy Spirit, praying, rejoicing, and being thankful. If we are doing these things, it will not matter if God’s wrath doesn’t come until somewhere during the tribulation and we have to endure until then. We will be ready for Jesus.
Application
I want to be ready for Jesus. That means living a godly life and being caught doing the things he wants when he comes back. That would include caring for those who need help and spreading the gospel.[1]The Online Bible Thayer's Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, (Ontario, Canada: Woodside Bible Fellowship, 1993), OT:6583.
[2]Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, Charles Briggs, The Online Bible Thayer's Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs' Hebrew Lexicon, (Ontario, Canada: Woodside Bible Fellowship, 1993), s.v. “OT:430.”
No comments:
Post a Comment