Daily Bible Reading Discussion

   

IN JANUARY 2010, WE STARTED A NEW BLOG USING “THE DAILY BIBLE” FORMAT OF CHRONOLOGICAL READINGS.  TO THOSE OF YOU WHO WORSHIP AT PERRY HILL ROAD CHURCH OF CHRIST, WE WILL HAVE A SUNDAY AND WEDNESDAY CLASS THAT WILL FOLLOW THESE READINGS.  COME JOIN IN BOTH.

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EXCITING NEWS!! OUR BIBLE CORRESPONDENCE COURSE IS NOW ON-LINE. INVITE EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO TAKE THE COURSE. JUST HAVE THEM GO TO: http://www.perryhillchurch.org/Jesus (Try it yourself.) Email this link to your friends. ^^^

This blog format is another approach to expanding our joint effort to increase our knowledge of God’s will and to keep us “preparing for Heaven” daily. Hopefully, too, it will give many more of our number an opportunity to participate in the study. The format is simple: In our face-to-face Sunday-Wednesday class meetings, the teacher summarizes the readings and provides some background.   Questions will be asked by all and answered by all. It is just a good exercise in spiritual growth. The blog format will be similar. I’ll try to insert an outline of paragraph headings from the readings and will usually put down a thought or two, but most of the discussion will be from each participant.  Let’s all keep preparing for Heaven! For each week’s readings, scroll through the comments from me and others, then add your comments, questions, or musings for the rest of us who take part.

EXCITING NEWS!! OUR BIBLE CORRESPONDENCE COURSE IS NOW ON-LINE. INVITE EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO TAKE THE COURSE. JUST HAVE THEM GO TO: http://www.perryhillchurch.org/Jesus (Try it yourself.) Email this link to your friends. ^^^   

 

 

Daily Bible Reading ClassQustions for Wednesday July 28, 2010(pp. 941-957) 

1.    In the first few verses of Jeremiah Chapter 1 (p.942-943), the LORD gives three reasons why punishment is coming o

Judah.  What are those reasons? 

 

2.    Jeremiah’s life as a prophet of GOD was one of great hardship and trial, yet he had great promises from GOD (Jer.1, p.942-943).  What were those promises?  Though we are not prophets, we are in a sense “called of GOD”.  Do we have similar promises?  How do you know? 

 

3.    By using the analogy of

Israel as a bride (Jer.2:1-3, p.943), what is GOD saying about idolatry? 

 

4.    By not asking “Where is the LORD?” (Jer.2:4-9, p.943-944), what had Judah and her priests done?  By “forsaking the living water and digging their own cistern” (Jer.2:13-19, p.944-945), what had the children of

Israel done? 

 

5.    When the Holy Spirit says “…you have no awe of me, declares the LORD…” (Jer.2:19, p.945), what does HE mean?  How do we show awe? 

 

6.    Consider the LORD’s logic in Jer.2:26-29 (p.945-946).  What is HE saying to the nation of

Judah?  

 

7.    GOD has moved on to describe

Israel’s idolatry not as adultery, but as what (Jer.3:1-5, p.947)?   What does this tell us about idolatry and its progression in

Israel? 

 

8.    What is GOD’s logic about the warning HE gave

Judah (Jer.3:6-11, p.947)? 

 

9.    Consider the exchange between Jeremiah and the LORD (Jer.4:10-12, p.950).  What does this tell us about forgiveness and the consequences of sin?  Does one negate the other? 

 

10.                       Consider what GOD says about the value of one righteous person in

Jerusalem (Jer.5:1-2, p.952).  What does that say about how GOD values the righteous?  What does it say about us as Christians?  Did GOD ever make similar statements?  Where? 

 

11.                       How is the Children of Israel’s inability to blush (Jer.6:15, p.956), an apt description of their state?  What is the Holy Spirit telling us about them?  Is a similar thought expressed in your NT?

 

Sunday 7/25

 

2 Chronicles 34:3-7

3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images. 4 They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down; and the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images he broke in pieces, and made dust of them and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 And so he did in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali and all around, with axes.[a] 7 When he had broken down the altars and the wooden images, had beaten the carved images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

Footnotes:

1. 2 Chronicles 34:6 Literally swords

 

Jeremiah 1:1-19

 

 

1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

The Prophet Is Called

   

4 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:

       5 “ Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;

      Before you were born I sanctified you;

      I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

6 Then said I:

      “ Ah, Lord GOD!

      Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”

7 But the LORD said to me:

      “ Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’

      For you shall go to all to whom I send you,

      And whatever I command you, you shall speak.

       8 Do not be afraid of their faces,

      For I am with you to deliver you,” says the LORD.

9 Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me:

      “ Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

       10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,

      To root out and to pull down,

      To destroy and to throw down,

      To build and to plant.”

11 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”

And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”

12 Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.”

13 And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying, “What do you see?”

And I said, “I see a boiling pot, and it is facing away from the north.”

14 Then the LORD said to me:

      “ Out of the north calamity shall break forth

      On all the inhabitants of the land.

       15 For behold, I am calling

      All the families of the kingdoms of the north,” says the LORD;

      “ They shall come and each one set his throne

      At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem,

      Against all its walls all around,

      And against all the cities of Judah.

       16 I will utter My judgments

      Against them concerning all their wickedness,

      Because they have forsaken Me,

      Burned incense to other gods,

      And worshiped the works of their own hands.

       17 “ Therefore prepare yourself and arise,

      And speak to them all that I command you.

      Do not be dismayed before their faces,

      Lest I dismay you before them.

       18 For behold, I have made you this day

      A fortified city and an iron pillar,

      And bronze walls against the whole land—

      Against the kings of Judah,

      Against its princes,

      Against its priests,

      And against the people of the land.

       19 They will fight against you,

      But they shall not prevail against you.

      For I am with you,” says the LORD, “to deliver you.”

 

Jeremiah 2:1-37

 

God’s Case Against Israel

 

1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD:

      “ I remember you,

      The kindness of your youth,

      The love of your betrothal,

      When you went after Me in the wilderness,

      In a land not sown.

       3 Israel was holiness to the LORD,

      The firstfruits of His increase.

      All that devour him will offend;

      Disaster will come upon them,” says the LORD.’”

4 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the LORD:

      “ What injustice have your fathers found in Me,

      That they have gone far from Me,

      Have followed idols,

      And have become idolaters?

       6 Neither did they say, ‘Where is the LORD,

      Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt,

      Who led us through the wilderness,

      Through a land of deserts and pits,

      Through a land of drought and the shadow of death,

      Through a land that no one crossed

      And where no one dwelt?’

       7 I brought you into a bountiful country,

      To eat its fruit and its goodness.

      But when you entered, you defiled My land

      And made My heritage an abomination.

       8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’

      And those who handle the law did not know Me;

      The rulers also transgressed against Me;

      The prophets prophesied by Baal,

      And walked after things that do not profit.

       9 “ Therefore I will yet bring charges against you,” says the LORD,

      “ And against your children’s children I will bring charges.

       10 For pass beyond the coasts of Cyprus[a] and see,

      Send to Kedar[b] and consider diligently,

      And see if there has been such a thing.

       11 Has a nation changed its gods,

      Which are not gods?

      But My people have changed their Glory

      For what does not profit.

       12 Be astonished, O heavens, at this,

      And be horribly afraid;

      Be very desolate,” says the LORD.

       13 “ For My people have committed two evils:

      They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,

      And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.

       14 “ Is Israel a servant?

      Is he a homeborn slave?

      Why is he plundered?

       15 The young lions roared at him, and growled;

      They made his land waste;

      His cities are burned, without inhabitant.

       16 Also the people of Noph[c] and Tahpanhes

      Have broken the crown of your head.

       17 Have you not brought this on yourself,

      In that you have forsaken the LORD your God

      When He led you in the way?

       18 And now why take the road to Egypt,

      To drink the waters of Sihor?

      Or why take the road to Assyria,

      To drink the waters of the River?[d]

       19 Your own wickedness will correct you,

      And your backslidings will rebuke you.

      Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing

      That you have forsaken the LORD your God,

      And the fear of Me is not in you,”

      Says the Lord GOD of hosts.

       20 “ For of old I have broken your yoke and burst your bonds;

      And you said, ‘I will not transgress,’

      When on every high hill and under every green tree

      You lay down, playing the harlot.

       21 Yet I had planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality.

      How then have you turned before Me

      Into the degenerate plant of an alien vine?

       22 For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap,

      Yet your iniquity is marked before Me,” says the Lord GOD.

       23 “ How can you say, ‘I am not polluted,

      I have not gone after the Baals’?

      See your way in the valley;

      Know what you have done:

      You are a swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways,

       24 A wild donkey used to the wilderness,

      That sniffs at the wind in her desire;

      In her time of mating, who can turn her away?

      All those who seek her will not weary themselves;

      In her month they will find her.

       25 Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst.

      But you said, ‘There is no hope.

      No! For I have loved aliens, and after them I will go.’

       26 “ As the thief is ashamed when he is found out,

      So is the house of Israel ashamed;

      They and their kings and their princes, and their priests and their prophets,

       27 Saying to a tree, ‘You are my father,’

      And to a stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’

      For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face.

      But in the time of their trouble

      They will say, ‘Arise and save us.’

       28 But where are your gods that you have made for yourselves?

      Let them arise,

      If they can save you in the time of your trouble;

      For according to the number of your cities

      Are your gods, O Judah.

       29 “ Why will you plead with Me?

      You all have transgressed against Me,” says the LORD.

       30 “ In vain I have chastened your children;

      They received no correction.

      Your sword has devoured your prophets

      Like a destroying lion.

       31 “ O generation, see the word of the LORD!

      Have I been a wilderness to Israel,

      Or a land of darkness?

      Why do My people say, ‘We are lords;

      We will come no more to You’?

       32 Can a virgin forget her ornaments,

      Or a bride her attire?

      Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number.

       33 “ Why do you beautify your way to seek love?

      Therefore you have also taught

      The wicked women your ways.

       34 Also on your skirts is found

      The blood of the lives of the poor innocents.

      I have not found it by secret search,

      But plainly on all these things.

       35 Yet you say, ‘Because I am innocent,

      Surely His anger shall turn from me.’

      Behold, I will plead My case against you,

      Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’

       36 Why do you gad about so much to change your way?

      Also you shall be ashamed of Egypt as you were ashamed of Assyria.

       37 Indeed you will go forth from him

      With your hands on your head;

      For the LORD has rejected your trusted allies,

      And you will not prosper by them.

Footnotes:

1. Jeremiah 2:10 Hebrew Kittim, western lands, especially Cyprus
2. Jeremiah 2:10 In the northern Arabian desert, representative of the eastern cultures
3. Jeremiah 2:16 That is, Memphis in ancient Egypt
4. Jeremiah 2:18 That is, the Euphrates

 

Monday 7/26

 

Jeremiah 3:1-25

 

Israel Is Shameless

 

1 “They say, ‘If a man divorces his wife,

      And she goes from him

      And becomes another man’s,

      May he return to her again?’

      Would not that land be greatly polluted?

      But you have played the harlot with many lovers;

      Yet return to Me,” says the LORD.

       2 “ Lift up your eyes to the desolate heights and see:

      Where have you not lain with men?

      By the road you have sat for them

      Like an Arabian in the wilderness;

      And you have polluted the land

      With your harlotries and your wickedness.

       3 Therefore the showers have been withheld,

      And there has been no latter rain.

      You have had a harlot’s forehead;

      You refuse to be ashamed.

       4 Will you not from this time cry to Me,

       ‘ My Father, You are the guide of my youth?

       5 Will He remain angry forever?

      Will He keep it to the end?’

      Behold, you have spoken and done evil things,

      As you were able.”

A Call to Repentance

   

6 The LORD said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot. 7 And I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8 Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. 9 So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. 10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the LORD.

11 Then the LORD said to me, “Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say:

      ‘ Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the LORD;

      ‘ I will not cause My anger to fall on you.

      For I am merciful,’ says the LORD;

      ‘ I will not remain angry forever.

       13 Only acknowledge your iniquity,

      That you have transgressed against the LORD your God,

      And have scattered your charms

      To alien deities under every green tree,

      And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the LORD.

14 “Return, O backsliding children,” says the LORD; “for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. 15 And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

16 “Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days,” says the LORD, “that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’ It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore.

17 “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.

18 “In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers.

19 “But I said:

      ‘ How can I put you among the children

      And give you a pleasant land,

      A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’

“And I said:

      ‘ You shall call Me, “My Father,”

      And not turn away from Me.’

       20 Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband,

      So have you dealt treacherously with Me,

      O house of Israel,” says the LORD.

       21 A voice was heard on the desolate heights,

      Weeping and supplications of the children of Israel.

      For they have perverted their way;

      They have forgotten the LORD their God.

       22 “ Return, you backsliding children,

      And I will heal your backslidings.”

      “ Indeed we do come to You,

      For You are the LORD our God.

       23 Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills,

      And from the multitude of mountains;

      Truly, in the LORD our God

      Is the salvation of Israel.

       24 For shame has devoured

      The labor of our fathers from our youth—

      Their flocks and their herds,

      Their sons and their daughters.

       25 We lie down in our shame,

      And our reproach covers us.

      For we have sinned against the LORD our God,

      We and our fathers,

      From our youth even to this day,

      And have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”

 

Jeremiah 4:1-31

 

1 “If you will return, O Israel,” says the LORD,

      “Return to Me;

      And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight,

      Then you shall not be moved.

       2 And you shall swear, ‘The LORD lives,’

      In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness;

      The nations shall bless themselves in Him,

      And in Him they shall glory.”

3 For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

      “ Break up your fallow ground,

      And do not sow among thorns.

       4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD,

      And take away the foreskins of your hearts,

      You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

      Lest My fury come forth like fire,

      And burn so that no one can quench it,

      Because of the evil of your doings.”

An Imminent Invasion

   

5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:

      “ Blow the trumpet in the land;

      Cry, ‘Gather together,’

      And say, ‘Assemble yourselves,

      And let us go into the fortified cities.’

       6 Set up the standard toward Zion.

      Take refuge! Do not delay!

      For I will bring disaster from the north,

      And great destruction.”

       7 The lion has come up from his thicket,

      And the destroyer of nations is on his way.

      He has gone forth from his place

      To make your land desolate.

      Your cities will be laid waste,

      Without inhabitant.

       8 For this, clothe yourself with sackcloth,

      Lament and wail.

      For the fierce anger of the LORD

      Has not turned back from us.

       9 “ And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the LORD,

      “ That the heart of the king shall perish,

      And the heart of the princes;

      The priests shall be astonished,

      And the prophets shall wonder.”

       10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD!

      Surely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem,

      Saying, ‘You shall have peace,’

      Whereas the sword reaches to the heart.”

       11 At that time it will be said

      To this people and to Jerusalem,

      “ A dry wind of the desolate heights blows in the wilderness

      Toward the daughter of My people—

      Not to fan or to cleanse—

       12 A wind too strong for these will come for Me;

      Now I will also speak judgment against them.”

       13 “ Behold, he shall come up like clouds,

      And his chariots like a whirlwind.

      His horses are swifter than eagles.

      Woe to us, for we are plundered!”

       14 O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness,

      That you may be saved.

      How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?

       15 For a voice declares from Dan

      And proclaims affliction from Mount Ephraim:

       16 “ Make mention to the nations,

      Yes, proclaim against Jerusalem,

      That watchers come from a far country

      And raise their voice against the cities of Judah.

       17 Like keepers of a field they are against her all around,

      Because she has been rebellious against Me,” says the LORD.

       18 “ Your ways and your doings

      Have procured these things for you.

      This is your wickedness,

      Because it is bitter,

      Because it reaches to your heart.”

Sorrow for the Doomed Nation

    19 O my soul, my soul!

      I am pained in my very heart!

      My heart makes a noise in me;

      I cannot hold my peace,

      Because you have heard, O my soul,

      The sound of the trumpet,

      The alarm of war.

       20 Destruction upon destruction is cried,

      For the whole land is plundered.

      Suddenly my tents are plundered,

      And my curtains in a moment.

       21 How long will I see the standard,

      And hear the sound of the trumpet?

       22 “ For My people are foolish,

      They have not known Me.

      They are silly children,

      And they have no understanding.

      They are wise to do evil,

      But to do good they have no knowledge.”

       23 I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void;

      And the heavens, they had no light.

       24 I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,

      And all the hills moved back and forth.

       25 I beheld, and indeed there was no man,

      And all the birds of the heavens had fled.

       26 I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness,

      And all its cities were broken down

      At the presence of the LORD,

      By His fierce anger.

27 For thus says the LORD:

      “ The whole land shall be desolate;

      Yet I will not make a full end.

       28 For this shall the earth mourn,

      And the heavens above be black,

      Because I have spoken.

      I have purposed and will not relent,

      Nor will I turn back from it.

       29 The whole city shall flee from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen.

      They shall go into thickets and climb up on the rocks.

      Every city shall be forsaken,

      And not a man shall dwell in it.

       30 “ And when you are plundered,

      What will you do?

      Though you clothe yourself with crimson,

      Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,

      Though you enlarge your eyes with paint,

      In vain you will make yourself fair;

      Yourlovers will despise you;

      They will seek your life.

       31 “ For I have heard a voice as of a woman in labor,

      The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child,

      The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself;

      She spreads her hands, saying,

      ‘ Woe is me now, for my soul is weary

      Because of murderers!’

 

Jeremiah 5:1-11

 

The Justice of God’s Judgment

 

1 “Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem;

      See now and know;

      And seek in her open places

      If you can find a man,

      If there is anyone who executes judgment,

      Who seeks the truth,

      And I will pardon her.

       2 Though they say, ‘As the LORD lives,’

      Surely they swear falsely.”

       3 O LORD, are not Your eyes on the truth?

      You have stricken them,

      But they have not grieved;

      You have consumed them,

      But they have refused to receive correction.

      They have made their faces harder than rock;

      They have refused to return.

       4 Therefore I said, “Surely these are poor.

      They are foolish;

      For they do not know the way of the LORD,

      The judgment of their God.

       5 I will go to the great men and speak to them,

      For they have known the way of the LORD,

      The judgment of their God.”

      But these have altogether broken the yoke

      And burst the bonds.

       6 Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them,

      A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them;

      A leopard will watch over their cities.

      Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces,

      Because their transgressions are many;

      Their backslidings have increased.

       7 “ How shall I pardon you for this?

      Your children have forsaken Me

      And sworn by those that are not gods.

      When I had fed them to the full,

      Then they committed adultery

      And assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.

       8 They were like well-fed lusty stallions;

      Every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife.

       9 Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the LORD.

      “ And shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?

       10 “ Go up on her walls and destroy,

      But do not make a complete end.

      Take away her branches,

      For they are not the LORD’s.

       11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah

      Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” says the LORD.

 

 

Tuesday 7/27

 

Jeremiah 5:12-31

12 They have lied about the LORD,

      And said, “It is not He.

      Neither will evil come upon us,

      Nor shall we see sword or famine.

       13 And the prophets become wind,

      For the word is not in them.

      Thus shall it be done to them.”

14 Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts:

      “ Because you speak this word,

      Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire,

      And this people wood,

      And it shall devour them.

       15 Behold, I will bring a nation against you from afar,

      O house of Israel,” says the LORD.

      “ It is a mighty nation,

      It is an ancient nation,

      A nation whose language you do not know,

      Nor can you understand what they say.

       16 Their quiver is like an open tomb;

      They are all mighty men.

       17 And they shall eat up your harvest and your bread,

      Which your sons and daughters should eat.

      They shall eat up your flocks and your herds;

      They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;

      They shall destroy your fortified cities,

      In which you trust, with the sword.

18 “Nevertheless in those days,” says the LORD, “I will not make a complete end of you. 19 And it will be when you say, ‘Why does the LORD our God do all these things to us?’ then you shall answer them, ‘Just as you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve aliens in a land that is not yours.’

       20 “ Declare this in the house of Jacob

      And proclaim it in Judah, saying,

       21 ‘ Hear this now, O foolish people,

      Without understanding,

      Who have eyes and see not,

      And who have ears and hear not:

       22 Do you not fear Me?’ says the LORD.

      ‘ Will you not tremble at My presence,

      Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea,

      By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it?

      And though its waves toss to and fro,

      Yet they cannot prevail;

      Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.

       23 But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart;

      They have revolted and departed.

       24 They do not say in their heart,

      “ Let us now fear the LORD our God,

      Who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season.

      He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”

       25 Your iniquities have turned these things away,

      And your sins have withheld good from you.

       26 ‘ For among My people are found wicked men;

      They lie in wait as one who sets snares;

      They set a trap;

      They catch men.

       27 As a cage is full of birds,

      So their houses are full of deceit.

      Therefore they have become great and grown rich.

       28 They have grown fat, they are sleek;

      Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked;

      They do not plead the cause,

      The cause of the fatherless;

      Yet they prosper,

      And the right of the needy they do not defend.

       29 Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the LORD.

      ‘ Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’

       30 “ An astonishing and horrible thing

      Has been committed in the land:

       31 The prophets prophesy falsely,

      And the priests rule by their own power;

      And My people love to have it so.

      But what will you do in the end?

 

Jeremiah 6:1-26

 

Impending Destruction from the North

 

1 “O you children of Benjamin,

   Gather yourselves to flee from the midst of Jerusalem!

      Blow the trumpet in Tekoa,

      And set up a signal-fire in Beth Haccerem;

      For disaster appears out of the north,

      And great destruction.

       2 I have likened the daughter of Zion

      To a lovely and delicate woman.

       3 The shepherds with their flocks shall come to her.

      They shall pitch their tents against her all around.

      Each one shall pasture in his own place.”

       4 “ Prepare war against her;

      Arise, and let us go up at noon.

      Woe to us, for the day goes away,

      For the shadows of the evening are lengthening.

       5 Arise, and let us go by night,

      And let us destroy her palaces.”

6 For thus has the LORD of hosts said:

      “ Cut down trees,

      And build a mound against Jerusalem.

      This is the city to be punished.

      She is full of oppression in her midst.

       7 As a fountain wells up with water,

      So she wells up with her wickedness.

      Violence and plundering are heard in her.

      Before Me continually are grief and wounds.

       8 Be instructed, O Jerusalem,

      Lest My soul depart from you;

      Lest I make you desolate,

      A land not inhabited.”

9 Thus says the LORD of hosts:

      “ They shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel;

      As a grape-gatherer, put your hand back into the branches.”

       10 To whom shall I speak and give warning,

      That they may hear?

      Indeed their ear is uncircumcised,

      And they cannot give heed.

      Behold, the word of the LORD is a reproach to them;

      They have no delight in it.

       11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD.

      I am weary of holding it in.

      “ I will pour it out on the children outside,

      And on the assembly of young men together;

      For even the husband shall be taken with the wife,

      The aged with him who is full of days.

       12 And their houses shall be turned over to others,

      Fields and wives together;

      For I will stretch out My hand

      Against the inhabitants of the land,” says the LORD.

       13 “ Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them,

      Everyone is given to covetousness;

      And from the prophet even to the priest,

      Everyone deals falsely.

       14 They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly,

      Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’

      When there is no peace.

       15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination?

      No! They were not at all ashamed;

      Nor did they know how to blush.

      Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;

      At the time I punish them,

      They shall be cast down,” says the LORD.

16 Thus says the LORD:

      “ Stand in the ways and see,

      And ask for the old paths, where the good way is,

      And walk in it;

      Then you will find rest for your souls.

      But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

       17 Also, I set watchmen over you, saying,

      ‘ Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’

      But they said, ‘We will not listen.’

       18 Therefore hear, you nations,

      And know, O congregation, what is among them.

       19 Hear, O earth!

      Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people—

      The fruit of their thoughts,

      Because they have not heeded My words

      Nor My law, but rejected it.

       20 For what purpose to Me

      Comes frankincense from Sheba,

      And sweet cane from a far country?

      Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,

      Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.”

21 Therefore thus says the LORD:

      “ Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people,

      And the fathers and the sons together shall fall on them.

      The neighbor and his friend shall perish.”

22 Thus says the LORD:

      “ Behold, a people comes from the north country,

      And a great nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth.

       23 They will lay hold on bow and spear;

      They are cruel and have no mercy;

      Their voice roars like the sea;

      And they ride on horses,

      As men of war set in array against you, O daughter of Zion.”

       24 We have heard the report of it;

      Our hands grow feeble.

      Anguish has taken hold of us,

      Pain as of a woman in labor.

       25 Do not go out into the field,

      Nor walk by the way.

      Because of the sword of the enemy,

      Fear is on every side.

       26 O daughter of my people,

      Dress in sackcloth

      And roll about in ashes!

      Make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation;

      For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us.

 

Wednesday 7/28

 

 Jeremiah 6:27-30

27 “ I have set you as an assayer and a fortress among My people,

      That you may know and test their way.

       28 They are all stubborn rebels, walking as slanderers.

      They are bronze and iron,

      They are all corrupters;

       29 The bellows blow fiercely,

      The lead is consumed by the fire;

      The smelter refines in vain,

      For the wicked are not drawn off.

       30 People will call them rejected silver,

      Because the LORD has rejected them.”

 

Jeremiah 7:1-34

 

Trusting in Lying Words

 

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 “Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the LORD!’” 3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4 Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these.’

5 “For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, 6 if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, 7 then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

8 “Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, 10 and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’? 11 Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the LORD.

12 “But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. 13 And now, because you have done all these works,” says the LORD, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer, 14 therefore I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. 15 And I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brethren—the whole posterity of Ephraim.

16 “Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you. 17 Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger. 19 Do they provoke Me to anger?” says the LORD. “Do they not provoke themselves, to the shame of their own faces?”

20 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place—on man and on beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground. And it will burn and not be quenched.”

21 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat. 22 For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. 23 But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’ 24 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. 25 Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them. 26 Yet they did not obey Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.

27 “Therefore you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not obey you. You shall also call to them, but they will not answer you.

Judgment on Obscene Religion

   

28 “So you shall say to them, ‘This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the LORD their God nor receive correction. Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth. 29 Cut off your hair and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the desolate heights; for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.’ 30 For the children of Judah have done evil in My sight,” says the LORD. “They have set their abominations in the house which is called by My name, to pollute it. 31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into My heart.

32 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “when it will no more be called Tophet, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; for they will bury in Tophet until there is no room. 33 The corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. And no one will frighten them away. 34 Then I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. For the land shall be desolate.

 

Jeremiah 8-9:2

 

1 “At that time,” says the LORD, “they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves. 2 They shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served and after which they have walked, which they have sought and which they have worshiped. They shall not be gathered nor buried; they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. 3 Then death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of those who remain of this evil family, who remain in all the places where I have driven them,” says the LORD of hosts.

The Peril of False Teaching

   

4 “Moreover you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD:

      “ Will they fall and not rise?

      Will one turn away and not return?

       5 Why has this people slidden back,

      Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding?

      They hold fast to deceit,

      They refuse to return.

       6 I listened and heard,

      But they do not speak aright.

      No man repented of his wickedness,

      Saying, ‘What have I done?’

      Everyone turned to his own course,

      As the horse rushes into the battle.

       7 “ Even the stork in the heavens

      Knows her appointed times;

      And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow

      Observe the time of their coming.

      But My people do not know the judgment of the LORD.

       8 “ How can you say, ‘We are wise,

      And the law of the LORD is with us’?

      Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood.

       9 The wise men are ashamed,

      They are dismayed and taken.

      Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD;

      So what wisdom do they have?

       10 Therefore I will give their wives to others,

      And their fields to those who will inherit them;

      Because from the least even to the greatest

      Everyone is given to covetousness;

      From the prophet even to the priest

      Everyone deals falsely.

       11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly,

      Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’

      When there is no peace.

       12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination?

      No! They were not at all ashamed,

      Nor did they know how to blush.

      Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;

      In the time of their punishment

      They shall be cast down,” says the LORD.

       13 “ I will surely consume them,” says the LORD.

      “ No grapes shall be on the vine,

      Nor figs on the fig tree,

      And the leaf shall fade;

      And the things I have given them shall pass away from them.”’”

       14 “ Why do we sit still?

      Assemble yourselves,

      And let us enter the fortified cities,

      And let us be silent there.

      For the LORD our God has put us to silence

      And given us water of gall to drink,

      Because we have sinned against the LORD.

       15 “ We looked for peace, but no good came;

      And for a time of health, and there was trouble!

       16 The snorting of His horses was heard from Dan.

      The whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of His strong ones;

      For they have come and devoured the land and all that is in it,

      The city and those who dwell in it.”

       17 “ For behold, I will send serpents among you,

      Vipers which cannot be charmed,

      And they shall bite you,” says the LORD.

The Prophet Mourns for the People

    18 I would comfort myself in sorrow;

      My heart is faint in me.

       19 Listen! The voice,

      The cry of the daughter of my people

      From a far country:

      “ Is not the LORD in Zion?

      Is not her King in her?”

      “ Why have they provoked Me to anger

      With their carved images—

      With foreign idols?”

       20 “ The harvest is past,

      The summer is ended,

      And we are not saved!”

       21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt.

      I am mourning;

      Astonishment has taken hold of me.

       22 Is there no balm in Gilead,

      Is there no physician there?

      Why then is there no recovery

      For the health of the daughter of my people?

Jeremiah 9

 

1 Oh, that my head were waters,

      And my eyes a fountain of tears,

      That I might weep day and night

      For the slain of the daughter of my people!

       2 Oh, that I had in the wilderness

      A lodging place for travelers;

      That I might leave my people,

      And go from them!

      For they are all adulterers,

      An assembly of treacherous men.

 

 

Daily Bible Reading ClassQuestions for Sunday August 1, 2010(pp. 957 to 978) 

1.    From Jer.7:1 to 8:3 (p.957-959), what are some of the words used by the Holy Spirit to describe the Nation of Judah?  Develop a working definition of these words.  What do they tell us about this Nation? 

 

2.    The Jews felt that “having the Law of the LORD” (Jer.8:8-9, p.959) was enough.  What more did GOD want for them?  Is this a problem for us today?  If so, how is it manifest? 

 

3.    When GOD says of the Jews that “…they do not even know how to blush.” (Jer.810-12, p959-960), what does HE mean?  What is lacking in their lives? 

 

4.    Consider the things of which a man could boast (Jer.9:23-24, p.963).  What is the one thing in which man should boast?  Why so?  What is wrong in boasting in the other things? 

 

5.    Of what one thing were the Jews confident that it would provide protection (Jer.9:25-26, p.963)?  What is the difference in the way this was viewed by the Jews and the way it was viewed by GOD?  In what way were the Jews like everybody else? 

 

6.    In Jer.10 (p.963-965), GOD again enumerates the differences between HIMSELF and idols.  List those differences and let’s discuss them. 

 

7.    Consider the plot to kill Jeremiah (Jer.11:18-23, p.966).  Explain the mindset of the Jews as demonstrated by this behavior?  What does this tell us about the way some react to hearing the truth?  What is our present day idiom that fits this situation? 

 

8.    Consider what Jeremiah asks GOD in Jer.12:14 (p.967).  What is the answer?  If GOD is righteous (and HE is!) then why do the wicked prosper? 

 

9.    When we consider all the evil that is about to befall

Judah (Jer.13, p.968-970), why is it happening?  What is the cause of this evil?  What is the message for us today? 

 

10.                       Why was it hard for the Jews to accept the preaching of Jeremiah?   (Give at least three reasons)  Is a similar thought addressed in NT scripture?

Thursday 7/29

 

Jeremiah 9:3-26

3 “ And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies.

      They are not valiant for the truth on the earth.

      For they proceed from evil to evil,

      And they do not know Me,” says the LORD.

       4 “ Everyone take heed to his neighbor,

      And do not trust any brother;

      For every brother will utterly supplant,

      And every neighbor will walk with slanderers.

       5 Everyone will deceive his neighbor,

      And will not speak the truth;

      They have taught their tongue to speak lies;

      They weary themselves to commit iniquity.

       6 Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit;

      Through deceit they refuse to know Me,” says the LORD.

7 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts:

      “ Behold, I will refine them and try them;

      For how shall I deal with the daughter of My people?

       8 Their tongue is an arrow shot out;

      It speaks deceit;

      One speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth,

      But in his heart he lies in wait.

       9 Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the LORD.

      “ Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?”

       10 I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains,

      And for the dwelling places of the wilderness a lamentation,

      Because they are burned up,

      So that no one can pass through;

      Nor can men hear the voice of the cattle.

      Both the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled;

      They are gone.

       11 “ I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of jackals.

      I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.”

12 Who is the wise man who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD has spoken, that he may declare it? Why does the land perish and burn up like a wilderness, so that no one can pass through?

13 And the LORD said, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it, 14 but they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them,” 15 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. 16 I will scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them.”

The People Mourn in Judgment

   

17 Thus says the LORD of hosts:

      “ Consider and call for the mourning women,

      That they may come;

      And send for skillful wailing women,

      That they may come.

       18 Let them make haste

      And take up a wailing for us,

      That our eyes may run with tears,

      And our eyelids gush with water.

       19 For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion:

      ‘ How we are plundered!

      We are greatly ashamed,

      Because we have forsaken the land,

      Because we have been cast out of our dwellings.’”

       20 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O women,

      And let your ear receive the word of His mouth;

      Teach your daughters wailing,

      And everyone her neighbor a lamentation.

       21 For death has come through our windows,

      Has entered our palaces,

      To kill off the children—no longer to be outside!

      And the young men—no longer on the streets!

       22 Speak, “Thus says the LORD:

      ‘ Even the carcasses of men shall fall as refuse on the open field,

      Like cuttings after the harvester,

      And no one shall gather them.’”

23 Thus says the LORD:

      “ Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,

      Let not the mighty man glory in his might,

      Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;

       24 But let him who glories glory in this,

      That he understands and knows Me,

      That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.

      For in these I delight,” says the LORD.

25 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that I will punish all who are circumcised with the uncircumcised— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, and all who are in the farthest corners, who dwell in the wilderness. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.”

 

Jeremiah 10:1-23

 

Idols and the True God

 

1 Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel.

2 Thus says the LORD:

      “ Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;

      Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,

      For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.

       3 For the customs of the peoples are futile;

      For one cuts a tree from the forest,

      The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.

       4 They decorate it with silver and gold;

      They fasten it with nails and hammers

      So that it will not topple.

       5 They are upright, like a palm tree,

      And they cannot speak;

      They must be carried,

      Because they cannot go by themselves.

      Do not be afraid of them,

      For they cannot do evil,

      Nor can they do any good.”

       6 Inasmuch as there is none like You, O LORD

      (You are great, and Your name is great in might),

       7 Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?

      For this is Your rightful due.

      For among all the wise men of the nations,

      And in all their kingdoms,

      There is none like You.

       8 But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish;

      A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine.

       9 Silver is beaten into plates;

      It is brought from Tarshish,

      And gold from Uphaz,

      The work of the craftsman

      And of the hands of the metalsmith;

      Blue and purple are their clothing;

      They are all the work of skillful men.

       10 But the LORD is the true God;

      He is the living God and the everlasting King.

      At His wrath the earth will tremble,

      And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.

11 Thus you shall say to them: “The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.”

       12 He has made the earth by His power,

      He has established the world by His wisdom,

      And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.

       13 When He utters His voice,

      There is a multitude of waters in the heavens:

      “ And He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth.

      He makes lightning for the rain,

      He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”[a]

       14 Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge;

      Every metalsmith is put to shame by an image;

      For his molded image is falsehood,

      And there is no breath in them.

       15 They are futile, a work of errors;

      In the time of their punishment they shall perish.

       16 The Portion of Jacob is not like them,

      For He is the Maker of all things,

      And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;

      The LORD of hosts is His name.

The Coming Captivity of Judah

    17 Gather up your wares from the land,

      O inhabitant of the fortress!

18 For thus says the LORD:

      “ Behold, I will throw out at this time

      The inhabitants of the land,

      And will distress them,

      That they may find it so.”

       19 Woe is me for my hurt!

      My wound is severe.

      But I say, “Truly this is an infirmity,

      And I must bear it.”

       20 My tent is plundered,

      And all my cords are broken;

      My children have gone from me,

      And they are no more.

      There is no one to pitch my tent anymore,

      Or set up my curtains.

       21 For the shepherds have become dull-hearted,

      And have not sought the LORD;

      Therefore they shall not prosper,

      And all their flocks shall be scattered.

       22 Behold, the noise of the report has come,

      And a great commotion out of the north country,

      To make the cities of Judah desolate, a den of jackals.

       23 O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself;

      It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.

      

Footnotes:

1. Jeremiah 10:13 Psalm 135:7

 

Jeremiah 11:1-23

 

The Broken Covenant

 

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 3 and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant 4 which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God,’ 5 that I may establish the oath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’[a] as it is this day.”’”

And I answered and said, “So be it, LORD.”

6 Then the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying: ‘Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I earnestly exhorted your fathers in the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, until this day, rising early and exhorting, saying, “Obey My voice.” 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone followed the dictates of his evil heart; therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but which they have not done.’”

9 And the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers.”

11 Therefore thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will surely bring calamity on them which they will not be able to escape; and though they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they offer incense, but they will not save them at all in the time of their trouble. 13 For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem you have set up altars to that shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal.

14 “So do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry out to Me because of their trouble.

       15 “ What has My beloved to do in My house,

      Having done lewd deeds with many?

      And the holy flesh has passed from you.

      When you do evil, then you rejoice.

       16 The LORD called your name,

      Green Olive Tree, Lovely and of Good Fruit.

      With the noise of a great tumult

      He has kindled fire on it,

      And its branches are broken.

17 “For the LORD of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced doom against you for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke Me to anger in offering incense to Baal.”

Jeremiah’s Life Threatened

   

18 Now the LORD gave me knowledge of it, and I know it; for You showed me their doings. 19 But I was like a docile lamb brought to the slaughter; and I did not know that they had devised schemes against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more.”

       20 But, O LORD of hosts,

      You who judge righteously,

      Testing the mind and the heart,

      Let me see Your vengeance on them,

      For to You I have revealed my cause.

21 “Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth who seek your life, saying, ‘Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, lest you die by our hand’— 22 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine; 23 and there shall be no remnant of them, for I will bring catastrophe on the men of Anathoth, even the year of their punishment.’”

Footnotes:

1. Jeremiah 11:5 Exodus 3:8

 

Jeremiah 12:1-17

 

Jeremiah’s Question

 

1 Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead with You;

      Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments.

      Why does the way of the wicked prosper?

      Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?

       2 You have planted them, yes, they have taken root;

      They grow, yes, they bear fruit.

      You are near in their mouth

      But far from their mind.

       3 But You, O LORD, know me;

      You have seen me,

      And You have tested my heart toward You.

      Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,

      And prepare them for the day of slaughter.

       4 How long will the land mourn,

      And the herbs of every field wither?

      The beasts and birds are consumed,

      For the wickedness of those who dwell there,

      Because they said, “He will not see our final end.”

The LORD Answers Jeremiah

    5 “ If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you,

      Then how can you contend with horses?

      And if in the land of peace,

      In which you trusted, they wearied you,

      Then how will you do in the floodplain[a] of the Jordan?

       6 For even your brothers, the house of your father,

      Even they have dealt treacherously with you;

      Yes, they have called a multitude after you.

      Do not believe them,

      Even though they speak smooth words to you.

       7 “ I have forsaken My house, I have left My heritage;

      I have given the dearly beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies.

       8 My heritage is to Me like a lion in the forest;

      It cries out against Me;

      Therefore I have hated it.

       9 My heritage is to Me like a speckled vulture;

      The vultures all around are against her.

      Come, assemble all the beasts of the field,

      Bring them to devour!

       10 “ Many rulers[b] have destroyed My vineyard,

      They have trodden My portion underfoot;

      They have made My pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.

       11 They have made it desolate;

      Desolate, it mourns to Me;

      The whole land is made desolate,

      Because no one takes it to heart.

       12 The plunderers have come

      On all the desolate heights in the wilderness,

      For the sword of the LORD shall devour

      From one end of the land to the other end of the land;

      No flesh shall have peace.

       13 They have sown wheat but reaped thorns;

      They have put themselves to pain but do not profit.

      But be ashamed of your harvest

      Because of the fierce anger of the LORD.”

14 Thus says the LORD: “Against all My evil neighbors who touch the inheritance which I have caused My people Israel to inherit—behold, I will pluck them out of their land and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. 15 Then it shall be, after I have plucked them out, that I will return and have compassion on them and bring them back, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land. 16 And it shall be, if they will learn carefully the ways of My people, to swear by My name, ‘As the LORD lives,’ as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they shall be established in the midst of My people. 17 But if they do not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation,” says the LORD.

 

Friday 7/30

 

Jeremiah 13:1-27

 

Symbol of the Linen Sash

 

1 Thus the LORD said to me: “Go and get yourself a linen sash, and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water.” 2 So I got a sash according to the word of the LORD, and put it around my waist.

3 And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying, 4 “Take the sash that you acquired, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates,[a] and hide it there in a hole in the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me.

6 Now it came to pass after many days that the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the sash which I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the sash from the place where I had hidden it; and there was the sash, ruined. It was profitable for nothing.

8 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 9 “Thus says the LORD: ‘In this manner I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing. 11 For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the LORD, ‘that they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear.’

Symbol of the Wine Bottles

   

12 “Therefore you shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Every bottle shall be filled with wine.”’

“And they will say to you, ‘Do we not certainly know that every bottle will be filled with wine?’

13 “Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land—even the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with drunkenness! 14 And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together,” says the LORD. “I will not pity nor spare nor have mercy, but will destroy them.”’”

Pride Precedes Captivity

    15 Hear and give ear:

      Do not be proud,

      For the LORD has spoken.

       16 Give glory to the LORD your God

      Before He causes darkness,

      And before your feet stumble

      On the dark mountains,

      And while you are looking for light,

      He turns it into the shadow of death

      And makes it dense darkness.

       17 But if you will not hear it,

      My soul will weep in secret for your pride;

      My eyes will weep bitterly

      And run down with tears,

      Because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.

       18 Say to the king and to the queen mother,

      “ Humble yourselves;

      Sit down,

      For your rule shall collapse, the crown of your glory.”

       19 The cities of the South shall be shut up,

      And no one shall open them;

      Judah shall be carried away captive, all of it;

      It shall be wholly carried away captive.

       20 Lift up your eyes and see

      Those who come from the north.

      Where is the flock that was given to you,

      Your beautiful sheep?

       21 What will you say when He punishes you?

      For you have taught them

      To be chieftains, to be head over you.

      Will not pangs seize you,

      Like a woman in labor?

       22 And if you say in your heart,

      “ Why have these things come upon me?”

      For the greatness of your iniquity

      Your skirts have been uncovered,

      Your heels made bare.

       23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots?

      Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.

       24 “ Therefore I will scatter them like stubble

      That passes away by the wind of the wilderness.

       25 This is your lot,

      The portion of your measures from Me,” says the LORD,

      “ Because you have forgotten Me

      And trusted in falsehood.

       26 Therefore I will uncover your skirts over your face,

      That your shame may appear.

       27 I have seen your adulteries

      And your lustful neighings,

      The lewdness of your harlotry,

      Your abominations on the hills in the fields.

      Woe to you, O Jerusalem!

      Will you still not be made clean?”

Footnotes:

1. Jeremiah 13:4 Hebrew Perath

 

Jeremiah 14:1-22

 

Sword, Famine, and Pestilence

 

1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts.

       2 “ Judah mourns,

      And her gates languish;

      They mourn for the land,

      And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.

       3 Their nobles have sent their lads for water;

      They went to the cisterns and found no water.

      They returned with their vessels empty;

      They were ashamed and confounded

      And covered their heads.

       4 Because the ground is parched,

      For there was no rain in the land,

      The plowmen were ashamed;

      They covered their heads.

       5 Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field,

      But left because there was no grass.

       6 And the wild donkeys stood in the desolate heights;

      They sniffed at the wind like jackals;

      Their eyes failed because there was no grass.”

       7 O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us,

      Do it for Your name’s sake;

      For our backslidings are many,

      We have sinned against You.

       8 O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble,

      Why should You be like a stranger in the land,

      And like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?

       9 Why should You be like a man astonished,

      Like a mighty one who cannot save?

      Yet You, O LORD, are in our midst,

      And we are called by Your name;

      Do not leave us!

10 Thus says the LORD to this people:

      “ Thus they have loved to wander;

      They have not restrained their feet.

      Therefore the LORD does not accept them;

      He will remember their iniquity now,

      And punish their sins.”

11 Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for this people, for their good. 12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.”

13 Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’”

14 And the LORD said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart. 15 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not be in this land’—‘By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed! 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; they will have no one to bury them—them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters—for I will pour their wickedness on them.’

17 “Therefore you shall say this word to them:

      ‘ Let my eyes flow with tears night and day,

      And let them not cease;

      For the virgin daughter of my people

      Has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow.

       18 If I go out to the field,

      Then behold, those slain with the sword!

      And if I enter the city,

      Then behold, those sick from famine!

      Yes, both prophet and priest go about in a land they do not know.’”

The People Plead for Mercy

    19 Have You utterly rejected Judah?

      Has Your soul loathed Zion?

      Why have You stricken us so that there is no healing for us?

      We looked for peace, but there was no good;

      And for the time of healing, and there was trouble.

       20 We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness

      And the iniquity of our fathers,

      For we have sinned against You.

       21 Do not abhor us, for Your name’s sake;

      Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory.

      Remember, do not break Your covenant with us.

       22 Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain?

      Or can the heavens give showers?

      AreYou not He, O LORD our God?

      Therefore we will wait for You,

      Since You have made all these.

 

Saturday 7/31

 

Jeremiah 15:1-21

 

The LORD Will Not Relent

 

1 Then the LORD said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth. 2 And it shall be, if they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you shall tell them, ‘Thus says the LORD:

      “ Such as are for death, to death;

      And such as are for the sword, to the sword;

      And such as are for the famine, to the famine;

      And such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.”’

3 “And I will appoint over them four forms of destruction,” says the LORD: “the sword to slay, the dogs to drag, the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 I will hand them over to trouble, to all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

       5 “ For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem?

      Or who will bemoan you?

      Or who will turn aside to ask how you are doing?

       6 You have forsaken Me,” says the LORD,

      “ You have gone backward.

      Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you;

      I am weary of relenting!

       7 And I will winnow them with a winnowing fan in the gates of the land;

      I will bereave them of children;

      I will destroy My people,

      Since they do not return from their ways.

       8 Their widows will be increased to Me more than the sand of the seas;

      I will bring against them,

      Against the mother of the young men,

      A plunderer at noonday;

      I will cause anguish and terror to fall on them suddenly.

       9 “ She languishes who has borne seven;

      She has breathed her last;

      Her sun has gone down

      While it was yet day;

      She has been ashamed and confounded.

      And the remnant of them I will deliver to the sword

      Before their enemies,” says the LORD.

Jeremiah’s Dejection

    10 Woe is me, my mother,

      That you have borne me,

      A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!

      I have neither lent for interest,

      Nor have men lent to me for interest.

      Every one of them curses me.

11 The LORD said:

      “ Surely it will be well with your remnant;

      Surely I will cause the enemy to intercede with you

      In the time of adversity and in the time of affliction.

       12 Can anyone break iron,

      The northern iron and the bronze?

       13 Your wealth and your treasures

      I will give as plunder without price,

      Because of all your sins,

      Throughout your territories.

       14 And I will make you cross over with[a] your enemies

      Into a land which you do not know;

      For a fire is kindled in My anger,

      Which shall burn upon you.”

       15 O LORD, You know;

      Remember me and visit me,

      And take vengeance for me on my persecutors.

      In Your enduring patience, do not take me away.

      Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.

       16 Your words were found, and I ate them,

      And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;

      For I am called by Your name,

      O LORD God of hosts.

       17 I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers,

      Nor did I rejoice;

      I sat alone because of Your hand,

      For You have filled me with indignation.

       18 Why is my pain perpetual

      And my wound incurable,

      Which refuses to be healed?

      Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream,

      As waters that fail?

The LORD Reassures Jeremiah

   

19 Therefore thus says the LORD:

      “ If you return,

      Then I will bring you back;

      You shall stand before Me;

      If you take out the precious from the vile,

      You shall be as My mouth.

      Let them return to you,

      But you must not return to them.

       20 And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall;

      And they will fight against you,

      But they shall not prevail against you;

      For I am with you to save you

      And deliver you,” says the LORD.

       21 “ I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,

      And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”

Footnotes:

1. Jeremiah 15:14 Following Masoretic Text and Vulgate; Septuagint, Syriac, and Targum read cause you to serve (compare 17:4).

 

Jeremiah 16:1-21

 

Jeremiah’s Life-Style and Message

 

1 The word of the LORD also came to me, saying, 2 “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.” 3 For thus says the LORD concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land: 4 “They shall die gruesome deaths; they shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.”

5 For thus says the LORD: “Do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this people,” says the LORD, “lovingkindness and mercies. 6 Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried; neither shall men lament for them, cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them. 7 Nor shall men break bread in mourning for them, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or their mother. 8 Also you shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink.”

9 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will cause to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.

10 “And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?’ 11 then you shall say to them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ says the LORD; ‘they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law. 12 And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me. 13 Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.’

God Will Restore Israel

   

14 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ 15 but, ‘The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.

16 “Behold, I will send for many fishermen,” says the LORD, “and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. 17 For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes. 18 And first I will repay double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols.”

       19 O LORD, my strength and my fortress,

      My refuge in the day of affliction,

      The Gentiles shall come to You

      From the ends of the earth and say,

      “ Surely our fathers have inherited lies,

      Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”

       20 Will a man make gods for himself,

      Which are not gods?

       21 “ Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know,

      I will cause them to know

      My hand and My might;

      And they shall know that My name is the LORD.

 

Jeremiah 17:1-18

 

Judah’s Sin and Punishment

 

1 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron;

      With the point of a diamond it is engraved

      On the tablet of their heart,

      And on the horns of your altars,

       2 While their children remember

      Their altars and their wooden images[a]

      By the green trees on the high hills.

       3 O My mountain in the field,

      I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures,

      And your high places of sin within all your borders.

       4 And you, even yourself,

      Shall let go of your heritage which I gave you;

      And I will cause you to serve your enemies

      In the land which you do not know;

      For you have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever.”

5 Thus says the LORD:

      “ Cursed is the man who trusts in man

      And makes flesh his strength,

      Whose heart departs from the LORD.

       6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,

      And shall not see when good comes,

      But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,

      In a salt land which is not inhabited.

       7 “ Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,

      And whose hope is the LORD.

       8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,

      Which spreads out its roots by the river,

      And will not fear[b] when heat comes;

      But its leaf will be green,

      And will not be anxious in the year of drought,

      Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

       9 “ The heart is deceitful above all things,

      And desperately wicked;

      Who can know it?

       10 I, the LORD, search the heart,

      I test the mind,

      Even to give every man according to his ways,

      According to the fruit of his doings.

       11 “ As a partridge that broods but does not hatch,

      So is he who gets riches, but not by right;

      It will leave him in the midst of his days,

      And at his end he will be a fool.”

       12 A glorious high throne from the beginning

      Is the place of our sanctuary.

       13 O LORD, the hope of Israel,

      All who forsake You shall be ashamed.

      “ Those who depart from Me

      Shall be written in the earth,

      Because they have forsaken the LORD,

      The fountain of living waters.”

Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance

    14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed;

      Save me, and I shall be saved,

      For You are my praise.

       15 Indeed they say to me,

      “ Where is the word of the LORD?

      Let it come now!”

       16 As for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd who follows You,

      Nor have I desired the woeful day;

      You know what came out of my lips;

      It was right there before You.

       17 Do not be a terror to me;

      You are my hope in the day of doom.

       18 Let them be ashamed who persecute me,

      But do not let me be put to shame;

      Let them be dismayed,

      But do not let me be dismayed.

      Bring on them the day of doom,

      And destroy them with double destruction!

Footnotes:

1. Jeremiah 17:2 Hebrew Asherim, Canaanite deities
2. Jeremiah 17:8 Qere and Targum read see.

   

IN JANUARY 2010, WE STARTED A NEW BLOG USING “THE DAILY BIBLE” FORMAT OF CHRONOLOGICAL READINGS.  TO THOSE OF YOU WHO WORSHIP AT PERRY HILL ROAD CHURCH OF CHRIST, WE WILL HAVE A SUNDAY AND WEDNESDAY CLASS THAT WILL FOLLOW THESE READINGS.  COME JOIN IN BOTH.

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EXCITING NEWS!! OUR BIBLE CORRESPONDENCE COURSE IS NOW ON-LINE. INVITE EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO TAKE THE COURSE. JUST HAVE THEM GO TO: http://www.perryhillchurch.org/Jesus (Try it yourself.) Email this link to your friends. ^^^

This blog format is another approach to expanding our joint effort to increase our knowledge of God’s will and to keep us “preparing for Heaven” daily. Hopefully, too, it will give many more of our number an opportunity to participate in the study. The format is simple: In our face-to-face Sunday-Wednesday class meetings, the teacher summarizes the readings and provides some background.   Questions will be asked by all and answered by all. It is just a good exercise in spiritual growth. The blog format will be similar. I’ll try to insert an outline of paragraph headings from the readings and will usually put down a thought or two, but most of the discussion will be from each participant.  Let’s all keep preparing for Heaven! For each week’s readings, scroll through the comments from me and others, then add your comments, questions, or musings for the rest of us who take part.

EXCITING NEWS!! OUR BIBLE CORRESPONDENCE COURSE IS NOW ON-LINE. INVITE EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO TAKE THE COURSE. JUST HAVE THEM GO TO: http://www.perryhillchurch.org/Jesus (Try it yourself.) Email this link to your friends. ^^^   

 

Sunday - July 18, 2010

 

Isaiah 54:4-17

4 “ Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed;

      Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame;

      For you will forget the shame of your youth,

      And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.

       5 For your Maker is your husband,

      The LORD of hosts is His name;

      And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;

      He is called the God of the whole earth.

       6 For the LORD has called you

      Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,

      Like a youthful wife when you were refused,”

      Says your God.

       7 “ For a mere moment I have forsaken you,

      But with great mercies I will gather you.

       8 With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;

      But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”

      Says the LORD, your Redeemer.

       9 “ For this is like the waters of Noah to Me;

      For as I have sworn

      That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,

      So have I sworn

      That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.

       10 For the mountains shall depart

      And the hills be removed,

      But My kindness shall not depart from you,

      Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”

      Says the LORD, who has mercy on you.

       11 “ O you afflicted one,

      Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,

      Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems,

      And lay your foundations with sapphires.

       12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies,

      Your gates of crystal,

      And all your walls of precious stones.

       13 All your children shall be taught by the LORD,

      And great shall be the peace of your children.

       14 In righteousness you shall be established;

      You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;

      And from terror, for it shall not come near you.

       15 Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.

      Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.

       16 “ Behold, I have created the blacksmith

      Who blows the coals in the fire,

      Who brings forth an instrument for his work;

      And I have created the spoiler to destroy.

       17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper,

      And every tongue which rises against you in judgment

      You shall condemn.

      This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,

      And their righteousness is from Me,”

      Says the LORD.

 

Isaiah 55:1-13

 

An Invitation to Abundant Life

 

1 “Ho! Everyone who thirsts,

      Come to the waters;

      And you who have no money,

      Come, buy and eat.

      Yes, come, buy wine and milk

      Without money and without price.

       2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread,

      And your wages for what does not satisfy?

      Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,

      And let your soul delight itself in abundance.

       3 Incline your ear, and come to Me.

      Hear, and your soul shall live;

      And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—

      The sure mercies of David.

       4 Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people,

      A leader and commander for the people.

       5 Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,

      And nations who do not know you shall run to you,

      Because of the LORD your God,

      And the Holy One of Israel;

      For He has glorified you.”

       6 Seek the LORD while He may be found,

      Call upon Him while He is near.

       7 Let the wicked forsake his way,

      And the unrighteous man his thoughts;

      Let him return to the LORD,

      And He will have mercy on him;

      And to our God,

      For He will abundantly pardon.

       8 “ For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

      Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.

       9 “ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

      So are My ways higher than your ways,

      And My thoughts than your thoughts.

       10 “ For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,

      And do not return there,

      But water the earth,

      And make it bring forth and bud,

      That it may give seed to the sower

      And bread to the eater,

       11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;

      It shall not return to Me void,

      But it shall accomplish what I please,

      And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

       12 “ For you shall go out with joy,

      And be led out with peace;

      The mountains and the hills

      Shall break forth into singing before you,

      And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

       13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,

      And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;

      And it shall be to the LORD for a name,

      For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

 

Isaiah 56:1-12

 

Salvation for the Gentiles

 

1 Thus says the LORD:

      “ Keep justice, and do righteousness,

      For My salvation is about to come,

      And My righteousness to be revealed.

       2 Blessed is the man who does this,

      And the son of man who lays hold on it;

      Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,

      And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

       3 Do not let the son of the foreigner

      Who has joined himself to the LORD

      Speak, saying,

      “ The LORD has utterly separated me from His people”;

      Nor let the eunuch say,

      “ Here I am, a dry tree.”

       4 For thus says the LORD:

      “ To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,

      And choose what pleases Me,

      And hold fast My covenant,

       5 Even to them I will give in My house

      And within My walls a place and a name

      Better than that of sons and daughters;

      I will give them[a] an everlasting name

      That shall not be cut off.

       6 “ Also the sons of the foreigner

      Who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him,

      And to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants—

      Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,

      And holds fast My covenant—

       7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain,

      And make them joyful in My house of prayer.

      Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices

      Will be accepted on My altar;

      For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

       8 The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,

      “ Yet I will gather to him

      Others besides those who are gathered to him.”

Israel’s Irresponsible Leaders

    9 All you beasts of the field, come to devour,

      All you beasts in the forest.

       10 His watchmen are blind,

      They are all ignorant;

      They are all dumb dogs,

      They cannot bark;

      Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.

       11 Yes, they are greedy dogs

      Which never have enough.

      And they are shepherds

      Who cannot understand;

      They all look to their own way,

      Every one for his own gain,

      From his own territory.

       12 “ Come,” one says, “I will bring wine,

      And we will fill ourselves with intoxicating drink;

      Tomorrow will be as today,

      And much more abundant.”

Footnotes:

1. Isaiah 56:5 Literally him