Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 51-52.

Before the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah had told those already in exile in Babylon to make lives for themselves there because their fortunes were tied to that of Babylon.  Right after the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah made a prophecy warning those living in Babylon, specifically those taken there in exile from Jerusalem, to be careful and to prepare for the fall of Babylon.  This was at the height of Babylon’s power, or near enough to not matter.  Yet, Jeremiah, after for years predicting Babylon’s dominance over all of the powers of the world, prophesied that Babylon would fall, and would fall catastrophically.  The lesson for us is that no matter how powerful a nation, or other human institution, may seem, God will bring it down when those who run it begin to believe that they will not be held to account for their actions.  I fear that day is fast approaching for many powerful nations and organizations.  Let us separate ourselves from such institutions, even if they claim to serve the Lord.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 49-50.

I am not sure how I am going to tie my thoughts about today’s passage together.  Jeremiah prophesied the destruction of Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar and Hazor, Elam, and finally Babylon.  Jeremiah warned Ammon that their trust in wealth would prove misplaced, and he warned Edom that their trust in their geographic protections would prove to have been foolish.  He went on to prophesy that each of the other nations would suffer because they had not relied on God, because they had not followed His directions.  Actually, his prophecy against Babylon was more a warning to those who put their trust in Babylon’s might.  Do we put our trust in our riches? Or our geographic locations?  Or, perhaps we put our trust in the power of our government?  If we put our trust in anything other than God, we will face terrible suffering.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 45-48.

The passage tells us that Jeremiah made his prophecy against Egypt while Jehoiakim was king in Jerusalem, and the prophecy against the Philistines when Pharaoh was about to attack Gaza, but the passage contains no information about when he prophesied against Moab.  I find it interesting that these three prophecies are here at the end of the Book of Jeremiah, not where they fit into the book chronologically.  It seems to me that the Book of Jeremiah started out as the second scroll which Jeremiah dictated to Baruch, with some of Jeremiah’s other prophecies added on later.  The initial scroll was just prophecies against the people of Judah, because its purpose was to try to turn them back to God.  But Jeremiah had not just prophesied against the people of Judah.  God had given him messages concerning others as well.  We can learn a lot about how God speaks in this world from looking at the prophecies of Jeremiah.  Most of God’s messages are directed to those who claim to be His people, but He also sends messages and warnings to those who do not seek Him.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 42-44.

After overtaking and rescuing those taken prisoner by the man who killed Gedaliah, who Nebuchadnezzar had appointed governor over Judah. the leaders of those remaining in Judah asked Jeremiah for a message from God as to what they should do.  Jeremiah told them they should not flee to Egypt, but they called him a liar and did so anyway.  They forced Jeremiah to go with them, which makes no sense to me.  It makes even less sense when you see how they refused to listen to Jeremiah’s words from God once they were in Egypt.  So, in this passage the people repeatedly listened to the message from God, then chose to do otherwise.  We see people doing the same today.  Perhaps we are guilty of doing the same thing.  We should examine our lives to determine when we seek God’s word, but do not follow it when we hear it.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 39-41.

I am going to start with a different take on a lesson to be learned from this passage than I would normally go with.  This passage speaks about the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon.  Before this we read about how Zedekiah refused to take Jeremiah’s advice to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar and Jeremiah was imprisoned.  In addition, Ebed-Melek had rescued Jeremiah from dying in a cistern, where Jeremiah’s enemies had placed him.  Today, we read that Zedekiah suffered the terrible things which Jeremiah had prophesied would happen if Zedekiah failed to surrender.  We also read about how the Babylonians freed Jeremiah and provided for him, and God sent a prophecy through Jeremiah to Ebed-Melek that He would look out for him during the fall of Jerusalem.  So, we see that in the disaster of the fall of Jerusalem, God looked out for those who served Him, and allowed those who rejected His guidance to suffer.  As bad as things might seem. if we serve God, He will care for us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 36-38.

In today’s passage we have two different, but equally bad responses to God’s word.  At the beginning of the passage, Jeremiah dictates a scroll of the prophecies which God has given him to Baruch, who then reads said scroll to the people entering the temple.  The express purpose of this was that when the people heard the disasters which God had planned they might repent of their sin and God would forgive them.  When officials discovered that this was going on they took the scroll to Jehoiakim, the king.  As the scroll was read to Jehoiakim, he casually cut off the parts which had already been read and burned them.  Jehoiakim then ordered Jeremiah and Baruch to be arrested, but the officers he sent to do this could not find them.  Jehoiakim casually ignored the words of warning which God had sent to him and continued to sin.  At the end of the passage, when Zedekiah was king he sent for Jeremiah and consulted him about God’s will.  But Zedekiah was afraid of what people might do to him if he did as God commanded.  Both Jehoiakim and Zedekiah refused to do as God commanded.  Jehoiakim did so because he did not fear God.  Zedekiah feared God, but he feared man more than he feared God.  Both men suffered because they would not listen to God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.