Old Testament – We read about some very interesting dynamics in Jeremiah chapters 37 & 38 today… Jeremiah goes from dungeon to prison to cistern to prison to being the king’s confidant. Being a prophet is quite a life!!
I continue to admire Jeremiah’s boldness in speaking the truth in these chapters. 37:17 stood out: “Later King Zedekiah secretly requested that Jeremiah come to the palace, where the king asked him, “Do you have any messages from the Lord?” “Yes, I do!” said Jeremiah. “You will be defeated by the king of Babylon.” Jeremiah goes right to the truth… no beating around the bush! And then 3 verses later he asks Zedekiah – “Listen, my lord the king, I beg you. Don’t send me back to the dungeon in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for I will die there.” He speaks a harsh truth to Zedekiah and then asks for a favor. I like that! Do we speak the truth in our lives? Even if we know we’ll need to ask for a favor of someone later, will we still speak the truth? Or will we default to the un-truthful position of “hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil….”
Worship Video: Today’s readings reminded me of the MercyMe song “Flawless:”
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you from today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
Glory to God! Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Jeremiah chapter 35 today is a fantastic example of obedience from the Recabites! Interestingly, the Recabites are being obedient to a human’s word… This stands in stark contrast to the Israelites disobedience to God’s Word… Do we do this sometimes in our lives? Obey human words and disobey God’s Word?
Jeremiah 36 is a great chapter. It is awesome to read about the writing down of God’s words to Jeremiah on a scroll by Baruch! Unfortunately, that first scroll gets burned. Pretty crazy to think about King Jehoiakim listening to God’s words in the scroll and then burning it as he listens… I love how today’s readings end in verse 32: “Then Jeremiah took another scroll and dictated again to his secretary Baruch. He wrote everything that had been on the scroll King Jehoiakim had burned in the fire. Only this time, he added much more!” You better believe God had Jeremiah add much more to the 2nd scroll after King Jehoiakim cut up and burned the first scroll!
Worship Video – Today’s readings reminded me of the Steven Curtis Chapman song “Love take me over:”
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you from today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
Grace, love, peace, and joy! Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Today in our readings we get the famous Jeremiah 33:3 verse: “‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’” (NIV) Verses 15 & 16 are powerful Messianic verses, harkening back to Jeremiah 23:6 (The Lord Our Righteousness): “In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.”
Verse 22 is a great verse echoing the covenant promises to Abraham: “I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars of the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.”
Verse 18 threw me for a loop initially, trying to figure out how this could still be – “nor will the priests, who are Levites, ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.’” I wondered – where are the Levites today? Fortunately, I read a commentary that set me straight – Jesus is fulfilling this ministry for us today! Jesus is our Levitical priest standing before God continually. Beautiful, eh? Do you consider Jesus to be your High Priest?
Jeremiah chapter 34 is interesting with the freedom for the slaves – and then the reversal of that decision. Could this story remind us of our lives at times? Do we sometimes promise God that we’ll do something he wants us to do? Maybe even start to do it? And then change our minds? Why are we not consistent with what we tell God we will do? Let us pray for consistency in our spiritual walk!
YouTube: I’ve had a lot of great conversations lately with people about the power of not only reading Scripture, but actually listening to it! I know many of you are following along in our One Year Bible readings using the Tom Dooley link or are listening on Bible Gateway. A few years ago I listened to the Bible using “The Bible Experience.” It is fantastic – see the video below for an overview. Does anyone have any other audio Bible versions you could recommend in the Comments section below? Thanks!
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you from today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
Glory to God! Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Jeremiah chapter 31 today is encouraging reading! It seems we’ve rounded the corner from the coming destruction and captivity prophecies in the book of Jeremiah, and God is now speaking about rebuilding Jerusalem. We get a good Messianic foreshadowing today in verse 31: “”The day will come,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.” The new covenant is coming!
Today in Jeremiah 31:33 we read: “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.” This verse reminds me of the importance in memorizing scripture – not just reading scripture, but memorizing it and writing it upon our hearts. I have been amazed oftentimes how Proverbs 3:5-6 comes to my mind and heart at some very needed and specific times. (if you can only memorize 2 scripture verses, please memorize these Proverbs verses) Do you memorize scripture? Do you not just memorize it, but internalize its teachings and meanings into your heart? Do you see the value in memorizing scripture and writing it upon your heart?
Jeremiah Chapter 32 is intriguing. God asks Jeremiah to buy land – even though all of the land of Jerusalem will soon fall under captivity. Jeremiah is – once again – obedient. God goes on in this chapter to indeed confirm that Jerusalem will fall – but that God will eventually restore the Israelites back to Jerusalem and buying and selling of land will occur again. Interesting chapter. The call to Jeremiah to buy land was to set the stage for reminding the Israelites that they will soon lose this ability, but it will come back to them again eventually. I like this example. What about you in your life today – is there anything God is asking you to be obedient in? Even if you perhaps won’t see an “immediate” return on your investment of your obedience, will you obey God? Is the eternal return on your investment of obedience worth it? Below is an image of Jeremiah in the court of the prison buying his kinsman’s field from today’s readings:
Worship Video: Today’s reading reminds me “Jesus Paid It All” by Kristian Stanfill:
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you from today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
Grace, love, peace, and joy! Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Wow. These two chapters in Jeremiah today are the most hopeful we’ve read yet in the book of Jeremiah! These chapters give so much joy to my heart to read them, as the promises of deliverance and hope of restoration are given by God! In Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 15 through 17 today we read – “This is what the LORD says: “A cry of anguish is heard in Ramah–mourning and weeping unrestrained. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted–for her children are dead.” But now the LORD says, “Do not weep any longer, for I will reward you. Your children will come back to you from the distant land of the enemy. There is hope for your future,” says the LORD. “Your children will come again to their own land.”
Did you notice verse 15 above is also in the New Testament? It is quoted in Matthew chapter 2 verse 18 based on Herod’s orders to murder all of the male infants being a fulfillment of this verse. Here’s verses 16 through 18 in Matthew chapter 2: “When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” I almost hesitate to share this image below of the slaughter of “The Holy Innocents” by the Florentine painter and architect Giotto di Bondone from the year 1304, but I think this artwork does capture the full weight of the tragedy of Herod’s orders and the horrible manner in which this verse in Jeremiah was fulfilled:
Jeremiah 31:18 gives a great example of the true relationship we can have with God – “I have heard Israel saying, `You disciplined me severely, but I deserved it. I was like a calf that needed to be trained for the yoke and plow. Turn me again to you and restore me, for you alone are the Lord my God.” Israel was finally beginning to repent and return to God. I know the word “discipline” can maybe be a tough one for us – we’ve probably all experienced some unjust discipline. I pray that you can see that God’s discipline for us is ultimately very loving – training us, turning us, restoring us. If you feel that God is disciplining you in your life right now, will you let him? So that he can train you, turn you, restore you?
I love the last verse in Jeremiah’s readings today! 31:26 – “At this, I woke up and looked around. My sleep had been very sweet.” Very sweet readings in Jeremiah today indeed! When is the last time you’ve had sweet sleep? Do you think sweet sleep is a gift from God?
Worship Video: Today’s readings reminded me of the MercyMe song “All of Creation:”
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today:“I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” Jeremiah 31:25 (NIV)
Prayer Point: Pray for rest, in the Lord. Pray for satisfaction, in the Lord. Pray you will not seek rest or satisfaction apart from the Lord.
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you from today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
Grace, love, peace, and joy! Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
In our Jeremiah readings today we get two different declarations of how long the exile to Babylon will last – 2 years versus 70 years! Just a slight difference… Of course we simply need to look at which of the declarations are coming from a false prophet (Hananiah, 2 yrs) versus a true prophet of God’s (Jeremiah, 70 yrs). Biblical scholars debate the exact dates of when this 70 years of captivity in Babylon took place: 1) 605 to 538 B.C. would cover the first deportation until the arrival of the first exiles back in Jerusalem. 2) 586 to 516 B.C. would cover the time between the destruction of the temple and its rebuilding. 3) Some believe the number 70 was an approximate number meant to signify a lifetime.
Jeremiah chapter 28 has a good lesson for us in the false prophet Hananiah. I think we need to be careful when we use words like, “God says”, or “this is God’s will”, or “I know God will do x, y, and z.” Hananiah was using words like this… and he may have really thought this to be true… but he was wrong big-time. And paid a big price. I’m thinking in our lives it might be better to say, “God-willing, this hopefully will happen…” or “I believe God is leading me this way. I pray I’m right” – and then be prepared to adjust if we realize it wasn’t quite the right way. I’m sure most of us are seeking God’s will for our lives. We maybe should be cautious on making declarative statements on precisely what God’s will is for our lives? Let us instead simply try to follow God’s lead in our life each and every day and trust that his lead will take us where he wants us to go.
Jeremiah 29:8-9 today tells us: “The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says, “Do not let the prophets and mediums who are there in Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams because they prophesy lies in my name. I have not sent them,” says the Lord.” My thought on these verses is that often times I think that we too are tricked by lies that the world is often selling us. “Money, Power, Status, Sex-Appeal, etc. etc. are things to be strived for above all else” are the type of things that I think we often hear. But, are these True? Or are they tricks – are they lies? Will you find emptiness or happiness in what the world is selling you? Where can you find True happiness and peace? I think these questions are answered for us today in verses 11-13: “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me.” Are you looking for God in earnest? If you’ve found God, are you following Him alone and not the tricksters of this world? Do you believe that God has a beautiful plan for you and your life? A plan much better than any plan you could dream up on your own?
Video: The great news of Jeremiah 29:11 reminded me of the great Christian movie called “Facing the Giants.” Have you seen this movie yet? My wife and I just watched it for the first time a couple of weeks ago on DVD and loved it. It’s made by the same folks that made the movie “Fireproof.” Here’s a trailer for it, below.
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today:“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
Prayer Point: Pray in thanksgiving that the Lord knows His plans that He has for you! Pray in thanksgiving that the Lord plans to prosper you and to give you a hope and a future, through your saving faith as Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you from today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
Grace, love, peace, and joy! Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Today in Jeremiah 26 we are reminded again how tough it is to be a prophet – the people of Judah want to kill him! It is an interesting series of events with the courts and priests. It reminds me of some ways of Jesus and his last hours. Except that Jeremiah of course gets reprieved. However, at the end of the chapter we hear about the prophet Uriah and he was not so fortunate. He was chased into Egypt (interesting escape into Egypt parallel w/ Christ’s early life), captured and killed. The lesson for us in this chapter 26 may be this – when we are confronted with a call to repent from sins, do we? Or do we rage back and accuse the accuser of sins? Do we repent or do we deny? Do we return to the Lord?
Jeremiah Chapter 27 seems to be a chapter of “obedience” to me. Jeremiah is called once again to be obedient to preach – and to wear an ox yoke this time! And the people of Judah are called to be obedient to the Babylonian conquest. Let it happen. Be exiled. And eventually you will return. Fight this call to obedience – and you will die. I know obedience is not a very popular term in our culture today. But, I do think it is still so relevant to our relationship with God. In what area of your life is God calling you to be obedient? Will you be obedient? Below is a portrait by Guy Rowe of Jeremiah’s obedience of wearing a yoke from today’s readings:
Worship Video: Today’s readings remind me of Jeremy Camp’s song “I’ll Take You Back,” which I think works well for the call to repentance from our readings in Jeremiah today. This song also reminds me of Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son!
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you from today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
Grace, love, peace, and joy! Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Jeremiah 23 continues on from yesterday’s readings with the problems of false prophets. Verses 21 & 22 really stood out to today: “I have not sent these prophets, yet they claim to speak for me. I have given them no message, yet they prophesy. If they had listened to me, they would have spoken my words and turned my people from their evil ways.” I think the key word in these verses above is “listen”. The false prophets’ problems all started because they were not listening to God. How well do we listen to God today? Think we should slow down our lives a bit and create some time and space to listen? When we pray – are we speaking or listening more? Let us have ears to listen! 🙂
Verse 29 is a great one! “Does not my word burn like fire?” asks the Lord. “Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes rock to pieces?” In your life today does God’s Word burn like fire? In your life today is God’s Word like a mighty hammer that smashes rock to pieces?
Jeremiah Chapter 24 and the good and bad figs is interesting. It’s interesting in that the captives that end up in Babylon are the good figs – and those that stay behind in Judah & Jerusalem are the bad. You might think the opposite would be true. But, it seems that the 70 years of captivity coming up in Babylon will be a “refining” process for those Israelites, and will bring them back closer to God, before returning to the land. In verse 1 we read: “After King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon exiled Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, to Babylon along with the princes of Judah and all the skilled craftsmen, the LORD gave me this vision. I saw two baskets of figs placed in front of the LORD’s Temple in Jerusalem.”
Jeremiah Chapter 25 is the bit of a tough read at first. I would certainly like to study more of the theology on the “cup of the Lord’s anger.” The best I can tell is that the land was so full of sin & rejection of God, that the cup of anger and the coming judgment was the only option for God. My thought is that God showed graciousness time and time and time again – and was ignored, and things got worse. So, keep in mind that God didn’t just go ballistic here in Chapter 25 – it was a long time coming and I think a lot of grace & mercy & compassion was shown for a long time – but eventually this had to happen. Actually, this does remind me of a sermon I heard actually last year. The pastor was preaching from the “feast of the wedding banquet” in Matthew where a king (God) invites his townsfolk to attend the wedding feast for his son (Jesus). But people refuse the invitation – saying they have to work / they are too busy, etc. The 2nd time the king extends the invitation, the people even beat up his servants! Well, the pastor’s point in preaching was that God does continue to show us grace and pursue us, but at some point we have to accept the invitation from God! We have to accept the invitation of faith in his son Jesus. We have to accept the invitation to repent of our sins. We have to accept the invitation… While God will extend his grace and the invitation time and time and time again – he won’t do so forever for us if we keep rejecting him. Israel, leading up to chapter 25, did not accept the invitation from God to repent. In your life today, are you accepting the invitation from God to repent through faith in his son Jesus? Do you believe that you have been invited? Have you accepted the invitation?
Worship Video: Today’s readings reminded me of Matt Redman’s fantastic worship song titled “Better is One Day.” My hunch is that many of you have worshiped to this song in your churches.
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you from today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
Grace, love, peace, and joy! Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Today in Jeremiah we read about one of the last Old Testament era kings to sit on the throne of David in Judah! This was King Jehoiachin and God makes it clear that this is one of Judah’s last Davidic kings (with Zedekiah being governor/king of Judah briefly subsequently) in chapter 22 verse 30: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Let the record show that this man Jehoiachin was childless. He is a failure, for none of his children will succeed him on the throne of David to rule over Judah.’” Immediately after reading about this king of Judah, Jeremiah 23:1-8 gives us a great Messianic foreshadowing of Jesus, the true and eternal Davidic king! Verses 5 & 6: “For the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will place a righteous Branch on King David’s throne. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. And this is his name: `The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’ In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety.” Great stuff! A righteous branch on King David’s throne…. rules with wisdom… will do what is just and right throughout the land… Think this is Jesus??
The remaining verses in Jeremiah 23 go after false prophets. I know in reading Jeremiah I’ve been pondering how hard it would be to be Jeremiah, a prophet with some tough messages. Well, in this chapter it looks like being a false prophet is really the wrong way to live. If you’re gonna be a prophet, make sure you’re prophesying the truth… 🙂 Do you think there are any false prophets in our world today? Do you avoid listening to the teachings of false prophets in our world today? (other than if you need to listen to what they say to repudiate it) Can we sometimes even be false prophets to our own selves and others on occasion? Who can free us from the lies of false prophets? (see the image above – not the modern day false prophets image below…)
Other verses that stood out at me today included Jeremiah 22:15-16 – “But a beautiful palace does not make a great king! Why did your father, Josiah, reign so long? Because he was just and right in all his dealings. That is why God blessed him. He made sure that justice and help were given to the poor and needy, and everything went well for him. Isn’t that what it means to know me?” “Isn’t that what it means to know me?” Justice and help were given to the poor and needy, and everything went well for him! Is that what it means to know God? Do you know God in this way? Below is a great image for Jeremiah 22:29 from today’s readings:
Worship Video: It’s been, oh, about 3 days since I’ve posted up a Casting Crowns video – much too long! 🙂 I definitely love their ministry. Here’s the song that started it all for them, “If we are the Body.” I was reminded of this song by Jeremiah 22:16 in today’s readings. This is definitely a song worthy of launching a ministry with the powerful lyrics: “But if we are the Body, why aren’t His arms reaching? Why aren’t His hands healing? Why aren’t His words teaching? Why is His love not showing them there is a way? There is a way!” Jesus is the Way!
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you from today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
Grace, love, peace, and joy! Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
I read Jeremiah chapter 19 today and am reminded again of how tough it can be to be a prophet! Wow. Can you imagine receiving these words from God to deliver to a nation? It’s tough duty – getting to the point of Jeremiah being whipped and put in stocks in chapter 20, verse 2. Below is an image of Jeremiah prophesying the doom of Pashur from chapter 20 verse 6:
Jeremiah does get to complaining about his lifestyle as a prophet in chapter 20:7-18. In verse 9 he bursts out with: “And I can’t stop! If I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones!” I really like this! “His word burns in my heart like a fire”! Does God’s word burn in your heart like a fire?? Should it? Could it? Will you let it?
In Jeremiah 21 we’re getting close to the point of the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. as King Nebuchadnezzar and the armies of Babylon are getting close. The prophecies Jeremiah has been preaching in the past 20 chapters are coming to fruition. A verse that encapsulates all of this is 21:10 – “For I have decided to bring disaster and not good upon this city, says the Lord. It will be captured by the king of Babylon, and he will reduce it to ashes.’” Do remember that in our readings over the past few days that God does intend to bring the Israelites back to Jerusalem eventually. There is hope! Even though Nebuchadnezzar (pictured below) is soon to come into Jerusalem… there is still hope in the midst of the despair… there is still redemption to come…
Worship Video: Today’s readings in reminded me of Matthew West’s song “My Own Little World.” Here’s a great live version of this song:
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you from today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
Grace, love, peace, and joy! Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
