Overview
Jeremiah: The Lord tells about Moab’s future. He tells of different cities and the judgment that will come upon them, disaster, desolation, and destruction. He tells people to flee and save themselves. This is coming because they trusted themselves and their treasures. Their idols will also be taken captive. No city will escape.
The Lord will curse those he sends to destroy Moab if they spare anyone. Moab had not been disciplined and did what they wanted. He will now send people to discipline them, killing all the young men. All around are to grieve for Moab. Those who escape will wail and tell that Moab is destroyed.
The Lord lists more places in Moab that will fall from one end to another. Moab thought it was mightier than the Lord, so the Lord will make sure Moab will be held in contempt. It thought it would not become scorned like Israel. The proud people will flee the cities and live among the rocks because of their pride and insolence. The Lord will mourn for Moab as he removes their fruit and wine.
The Lord mourns for Moab, the ones who offered sacrifices to their gods. They will be broken like a vessel for which no one cares. The soldiers’ hearts will be fearful as they are beaten swiftly. They will no longer be a people because they thought they were stronger than the Lord. As they flee, they will not escape as the enemy comes from Heshbon and from Sihon. In the end times, the Lord will restore them.
The Lord also speaks about the Ammonite’s future. They followed their god Milcom and removed the Israelites from Gad. The Lord will turn it around and Israel will remove the Ammonites. Their cities will be turned into mounds and the people will wail and mourn. Milcom will be exiled along with its priests. They should not boast of their land. The Lord will bring terror on them. Afterward, the Lord will restore them.
The Lord will also remove the wise men from Edom. He will bring calamity on them. There won’t be any left and there will be nowhere to hide. However, he will leave widows and children alive to trust in him. What makes them think that they will escape punishment if even innocent people have suffered along with the wicked? Bozraah will be wiped out and uninhabited. The Lord has sent other nations to come against Edom because of the horror they inflicted on others. That fear of them and their prideful hearts will not protect them. They will become a horror, like Sodom and Gomorrah.
God will do it suddenly and make another nation that he chooses rule them. No one can tell God what to do. His plans for Edom will stand fast. His judgement will come quickly and no one can stop it.
Psalm 95: Let us worship the Lord because he is a great God. He holds all nature together. He is our maker. When we hear his voice, we shouldn’t harden our hearts like Israel’s fathers did in the wilderness. God was angry with them for forty years. They didn’t enter into his rest.
Psalm 96: Let us sing a new song to the Lord. Let us declare his wonders among the nations because God is feared among all the gods. All their gods are worthless idols, but God made the heavens. We are to ascribe to God all the glory due him, bring an offering, worship, and tremble before him. The nations are to recognize that the Lord reigns. All nature extols his greatness and he will judge the world in righteousness and the people with faithfulness.
Proverbs: A fool’s proverbs are like the cursing of a drunkard who is stabbed by a thorn. Anyone who hires a fool or a drunkard will get inconsistent results like an archer who can’t shoot strait. Fools keep on doing the same stupid things just like a dog eating its own vomit. There is more hope for a fool than a man who measures wisdom by his himself.
2 Timothy: Jesus is to judge the living and the dead when he appears in his kingdom. By Jesus, Paul charges Timothy to preach the word to guide people whether they want it or not. The time is coming closer when people won’t listen and will pick teachers that let them do what they want. They will choose lies and myths over the truth. Timothy should be sober-minded as he endures suffering and keeps spreading the gospel, which is his ministry.
Paul knows his death is imminent. He has kept the faith all the way to the end, so he will get a crown of righteousness from the Lord who is the righteous judge. In the judgment, everyone who has loved his appearing will get that crown also.
Paul asks Timothy to visit him soon. Others have deserted him and gone different ways. But Luke has stayed with him. He asks Timothy to bring Mark because he is useful in ministry. He sent Tychicus to Ephesus. He asks Timothy to bring his cloak, books, and parchments. He warns Timothy about Alexander who harmed to him.
He asks a pardon for those who failed to stand with him at his first defense. The Lord stood by him and strengthen him so he could preach to the Gentiles. The Lord rescued him and will continue to keep him safe until he arrives in the heavenly kingdom. Glory to God.
Paul sends his greeting to others with Timothy. He asks Timothy to come before winter. Those with Paul send greetings also. He asks for the Lord to be with Timothy’s spirit and grace also.
What Stood Out
Jeremiah: “For thus says the Lord: ‘If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, will you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink’” (Jer 49:12).
Psalm: “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!” (Ps 95:1).
Proverbs: “Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Prov 26:12).
2 Timothy: “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Tim 4:1-2).
Insight
Jeremiah: God’s judgment on nations isn’t like his judgment on the world during the flood. Noah was the only righteous man and all the rest of the earth deserved their judgment. But in warning Edom of their judgment, he clearly tells them that even innocent people will suffer when his judgment comes upon nations. I’m sure he isn’t speaking of totally righteous people because we are all sinners. But he is speaking of those who haven’t participated in the abominations of the nations that caused his judgment.
When we drop bombs on enemies, many civilians are killed. Some are not innocent, and some are. War has casualties that exceed the combatants. When we call for God’s judgment on the earth or a nation, we should remember that these people will suffer along with the evil ones in their midst. If we want the Lord to judge and punish evil in the world, we should be prepared to suffer the consequences along with those who deserve it.
The only way to escape is to trust the Lord Jesus for salvation. He told us not to fear those who can kill the body but the One who can destroy both body and should in hell (Matt 10:28). When we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we will be saved from eternal punishment, but that doesn’t guarantee we will not suffer in this world, especially because we live among the ungodly.
Psalm: Both of these Psalms begin with an entreaty to worship the Lord in song. We do that simply because he is worthy of praise and is above all other things that would claim to be a god or draw our attention away from him, things we treat like gods. When we recognize his claim on us as his people and the Creator of all things, we should yield to him instead of being stubborn and demanding our own way. We’ve seen the outcome of rebellion in Jeremiah.
There is no way we can truly worship the Lord until we come to Jesus. Just as the Israelites didn’t have an excuse for their rebellion, we don’t have an excuse either. We’ve read about Jesus’ work in the Gospels and in the Epistles. So, we should not harden ourselves against him by denying or disobeying Jesus.
Proverbs: There is a big problem with our human wisdom. It’s called The Fall. Adam was supposed to be really smart and I’m not sure that equates with wise, but he was able to name all the animals that God brought before him (Gen 2:19). When Adam and Eve sinned, everything became corrupted. With a sinful heart, mankind also has a sinful mind. Our reasoning powers are limited and can’t come close to God’s. Or reasoning powers can’t include all that God sees and knows. Our reasoning powers are sinful because they are directed at getting what we want and not what God wants. So, when we think we are wise, we are basically thinking we know better than God. An example is the way atheists reason there is no God but also reason that inanimate material can somehow come into existence by itself and even generate life. God brought salvation through belief in the cross and the world calls that foolishness, but it is the way we are saved (1 Cor 1:20-21).
Fools generally know they are fools and they can repent and be saved so there is hope for them, but not one who goes to his grave believing he knows better than God.
2 Timothy: Paul gives Timothy a very serious charge or command. He emphasizes how important this is by making it in the presence of Jesus and his position of being the one who will judge everyone when he comes back. In a sense, he is telling Timothy that Jesus will judge how well he carried out his duties in this particular area when he comes back.
We may not all be preachers, but we are all witnesses for the Lord. How well are we being witnesses? Are we doing that whether people want to hear it or not? It may not seem like a season to share the gospel, pass out a tract, respond on facebook, or stand up for the Lord, but if we only do it when it is acceptable to others, we will only be witnessing to other Christians.
The time is here when people won’t put up with sound teaching. It is all over the place. It is in churches, on busses, on the internet, and in schools. Timothy is advised to be sober-minded and do the work of an evangelist in the face of this kind of opposition. This is the only way to make changes in our society. We need to be patient and keep on spreading the gospel. We can’t let our emotions rock us or cause bitterness, rage, or anger when we see spiritual atrocities. Instead, we must gently and persistently preach the word. It is God’s power to accomplish his will. When we do, we will look forward to Jesus’ coming and will receive the crown of righteousness.
Application
I want to be ready for Jesus’ judgment. The way to do that his to share the gospel whenever and however I can. I need to stop writing now and go to the store. I’m taking tracts along to hand out and will trust the Lord to lead me to ones that need it. You can see a version of the one I use at http://www.tracts.com/LKSmilesbw.pdf. You can find this in many languages at http://www.tracts.com/ontract.html.
No comments:
Post a Comment