SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/17/2014
6:15 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
The Times Were Difficult
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Jeremiah 1:2-3; 2 Kings 21-25; 2 Chron. 33-36
Message of the
verses: We will not look at the
verses in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles as much as what is in Jeremiah. I did do commentary on these verses but have
not as yet put them on the blog.
“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 exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.”
We can begin this SD by saying that it is never an easy
time to serve the Lord if one is doing it fervently, but there are times like
in Jeremiah’s day that it can even be harder.
Rebellion instead of obedience. Jeremiah was born during the reign of
Manasseh who was probably one of Judah’s worst kings and reigned the
longest. He was the son of one of the
most godly kings that reigned in Judah, Hezekiah was his father and we would
not even realize that Manasseh became a believer if we didn’t read about it in
2 Chronicles. I suppose that we would
not have realized that Lot was a believer if Peter did not write about it in
his letter, so some times it is difficult to tell whether or not a person is a
believer or not. I was told that when we
get to heaven we will have three surprises, the first one is who is there, the
second is who is not there, and the third is that we are there. The Bible states that it is because of
Manasseh’s sins that God caused the Babylonians to capture Judah.
Jeremiah grew up in Anathoth, which was a city in Benjamin,
and it was about an hour’s walk to Jerusalem so the priests would go to
Jerusalem when it was their turn to serve in the temple. However this was a very idolatries time and
so the priest would make other places for the people to come which was contrary
to the Law of Moses. Just as in our day
today godly priests and in our day godly Christians were not appreciated.
Reformation instead of Repentance: In 639 BC King Amon was
assassinated by some of his servants and Josiah, his son became king at a very
young age. Later on the priest Hilkiah
found the Law of the Lord in the temple and brought it to the king who had it
read to him. He tore his clothes and
called for the prophetess Huldah who
told him that the Lord was going to bring judgment upon Judah, but because
Josiah had repented it would not come in his day. Josiah cleansed the temple and rebuilt it
along with getting rid of all the idols, but the people did not truly repent of
their sins and so Jeremiah said the following in Jeremiah 3:10 “Judah has no
turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense.”
Dr. Wiersbe writes:
“Josiah led the nation in a reformation but not in a heart-changing
revival. The idols were removed, the
temple was repaired, and the worship of Jehovah was restored, but the people
had not turned to the Lord with their whole heart and soul.”
Politics instead of principle: After Josiah was killed on the battlefield and
his son became king the nation quickly turned back to idols. His name was
Jehoahaz and the ruler of Egypt, Pharaoh Necho had him removed and put in his
place his brother Eliakim and was then given the name Jehoiakim, and he was a puppet
king and did evil in the sight of the Lord all of his days as king. Jehoiakim son Jehoiachin then reigned only
three months and he was similar to his brother.
Next Mattaniah became king who was Josiah’s third king became king and his
name became Zedekiah, and he was the same as the rulers before him. He had Jeremiah put in prison, but still
wanted to talk to him. This reminds me
of Herod who put John the Baptist in prison, but still spoke with him.
Dr. Wiersbe writes “It’s easy for political leaders to
invite religious leaders in for consultation and then do exactly what they’d already
planned to do. Today, it’s good public
relations to give people the impression that ‘religion’ is important, but
talking to a popular preacher isn’t the same as humbling yourself before God.”
We can see that Jeremiah lived in very difficult times,
but he remained true to the Lord, and this is a good example for us to follow.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: Living for the
Lord when times are tough is a tough thing to do, and we are not to compromise
our beliefs when times get tough.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trust the Lord when times are hard, and when
times are not as difficult which may be harder.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
Question: “All were military judges.”
Today’s Bible
Question: “Was Jacob still afraid of
Esau when he returned home after being away twenty years?”
Answer in our next SD.
1/17/2014 7:03 PM
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