Monday, January 27, 2014

Jeremiah Paints three more Pictures from Jeremiah chapter Two.

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/27/2014 8:17 PM
My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  More Pictures from Jer. 2
Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Jeremiah 2:26-37
            Message of the verses:  We will look at the last three pictures from the second chapter of Jeremiah that, as the rest of them will expose the sins of the people he is writing to.
            A Disgraced Thief (Jeremiah 2:26-28):  “26 “As the thief is shamed when he is discovered, So the house of Israel is shamed; They, their kings, their princes And their priests and their prophets, 27 Who say to a tree, ’You are my father,’ And to a stone, ’You gave me birth.’ 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 Which you made for yourself? 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.”
            If a true believer in Jehovah came into the Southern Kingdom at the time when Jeremiah was preaching they too would see what the people were doing, for they were making idols and worshiping them.  Jeremiah writes that there were as many gods as there were cities in Judah.
            Incorrigible Children (Jeremiah 2:29-35):  “29 "Why do you contend with Me? You have all transgressed against Me," declares the LORD. 30 “In vain I have struck your sons; They accepted no chastening. Your sword has devoured your prophets Like a destroying lion. 31 “O generation, heed the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness to Israel, Or a land of thick darkness? Why do My people say, ’We are free to roam; We will no longer come to You’? 32 “Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me Days without number. 33 “How well you prepare your way To seek love! Therefore even the wicked women You have taught your ways. 34 “Also on your skirts is found The lifeblood of the innocent poor; You did not find them breaking in. But in spite of all these things, 35 Yet you said, ’I am innocent; Surely His anger is turned away from me.’ Behold, I will enter into judgment with you Because you say, ’I have not sinned.’”
            I have to say that this section reminds me of those who have believed the lie that evolution teaches today.  When I was a young man we were taught evolution in the 9th grade of school, and at that time my parents were taking all of us children to church every Sunday, but I told them that I did not want to go to church anymore because I believed what I was taught in school about how the world began.  In this section the people have told God that they did not want to worship or believe in him anymore, and so they believed in something that was false, and that is what people in our age are doing.  If they don’t believe that God created the earth in six days like the Bible teaches then they don’t have to believe in God because creation to them was just an accident and so were they.
            The people of Israel had a rich heritage as they were privileged to have the Bible written by their people, and their ancestors had wittiness the miracles that the Lord had done to take them out of Egypt, but they chose not to get rid of all of the people that God told them to get rid of instead they chose to worship their gods, and thus they were now in great trouble with the Lord.
            Prisoners of War (Jeremiah 2:36-37):  “36 “Why do you go around so much Changing your way? Also, you will be put to shame by Egypt As you were put to shame by Assyria. 37 “From this place also you will go out With your hands on your head; For the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust, And you will not prosper with them.’”
            As we just finished studying the book of Isaiah we say that not only did the Assyrians capture all of the Northern Kingdom, but they also took captive some of the people in the Southern Kingdom.  We also learned from Isaiah that God killed 180,000 Assyrians to pretty much end their threat of attacking Judah anymore.  Still Judah filtered between these foreign nations to help them, but did not want to come to the Lord in repentance and ask His help.  When we look at verse 37 we get the idea of prisoners of war as we see their hands tied above their heads, being led away captive. 
            Dr. Wiersbe finishes his commentary on this 2nd chapter of Jeremiah and first main point in his commentary with these words:  “Was there any way Judah could escape the coming wrath?  Yes, and that was the theme of the next point in Jeremiah’s message.”  Lord willing we will look at that in our next SD. 
            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  What I see in this passage and many others like it is the long-suffering of the Lord, which is one of His wonderful attributes.  I am so glad that this is one of the Lord’s attributes.
My Steps of Faith for Today:  As the weather gets very cold in our part of the world I put my trust in the Lord to keep us warm and praise Him for doing this during this very cold winter we are experiencing.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Jerusalem” (Luke 19:41).
Today’s Bible Question:  “Who said ‘How can a man be born when he is old?”
Answer in our next SD.

1/27/2014 8:48 PM 

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