SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/22/2014
10:55 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
Being the Covenant people of God is no
assurance of spiritual understanding
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Jer. 9:17-26
Message of the
verses: We come today to the last
sub-point of Dr. Wiersbe’s outline form the third main point. We have been looking at the ninth chapter of
the book of Jeremiah in the last few days dealing with the pride of God’s
people, pride that came because of the covenant that God had with them. We noted that God has a covenant with the
children of Israel that started with Abraham and this covenant is unconditional. We also noted that the covenant that God made
with the children of Israel on Mt. Sinai is a conditional covenant and much of
this covenant can be seen in the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy. God says if you keep this covenant then I
will bless you, but if you don’t then I will curse you. I think that one of the problems is with the
Jews in Jeremiah’s day was that they disregarded the conditional covenant and
only though of the unconditional covenant.
Being God’s Covenant people is no assurance of Spiritual
Understanding (Jeremiah 0:17-26): “17 Thus says the LORD of hosts,
"Consider and call for the mourning women, that they may come; And send
for the wailing women, that they may come! 18 “Let them make haste and take up
a wailing for us, That our eyes may shed tears And our eyelids flow with water.
19 “For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion, ’How are we ruined! We are put
to great shame, For we have left the land, Because they have cast down our
dwellings.’" 20 Now
hear the word of the LORD, O you women, And let your ear receive the word
of His mouth; Teach your daughters wailing, And everyone her neighbor a dirge. 21
For death has come up
through our windows; It
has entered our palaces To cut off the children from the streets, The young men from the town
squares. 22 Speak, "Thus says the LORD, ’The corpses of men will
fall like dung on the open field, And like the sheaf after the reaper, But no
one will gather them.’"
23 Thus says the LORD, "Let not a wise man boast
of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich
man boast of his riches; 24 but
let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who
exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in
these things," declares the LORD. 25 “Behold, the days are
coming," declares the LORD, "that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet uncircumcised- 26
Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those
inhabiting the desert who clip the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all
the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart.’”
I have been trying to highlight the times when Jeremiah
writes the word “therefore” and also when he writes “Thus says the Lord” or “Now
hear the word of the Lord” because when you read these statements there seems
to be something important that is about to be said. As far as the word “therefore” when you see
that the author is trying to bring something to a conclusion from a point that
he has been making. I think that one of
the most famous “therefore” is found in the 12th chapter of the book
of Romans where Paul begins that chapter by saying “Therefore I urge you,
brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy
sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” Most Pastor’s and teachers that I have read
believe that the “therefore” found in this verse goes all the way back to what
Paul was teaching in the first eleven chapters of the book of Romans. In those first eleven chapters of Romans Paul
has much to say about sin and also about justification by faith and other
things that God has done for us, and so he begins chapter twelve by saying that
in light of all that I have taught you about what the Lord has done for you doesn’t
it seem logical that your give yourselves to the Lord as a living
sacrifice. (Sorry to get off track here).
When I look at the highlighted portion of verse
twenty-one I can’t help but think of the last plague that God put on the first
born of Egypt and for that matter all of the people who did not have the blood
applied to their door posts. Now
judgment is coming upon the Jews, where it was the Jews who were saved by the
blood while in the land of Egypt. There
is irony in that situation for sure. Dr.
Wiersbe writes this end note “Jeremiah 9:22 pictures death as the ‘grim reaper’
with the scythe in his hand, mowing people down like wheat in the field.”
Dr. Wiersbe begins his commentary on this section by
quoting verses 23-24 “23 Thus
says the LORD, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not
the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him who boasts boast of
this, that he
understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness,
justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,"
declares the LORD.” Then he goes
on to write: “No amount of education
power, or wealth—three things the world today depends on and boasts about—can guarantee
the blessing of God. God doesn’t delight
in a nation’s learning, political influence, armies, or gross national
product. He delights in a people who
practice kindness, justice, and righteousness because they know and fear the
Lord. God promises covenant blessings to
those who obey Him, not to those who only submit to religious ceremonies.”
Let us look again at verses 25-26 “25 “Behold, the days
are coming," declares the LORD, "that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet uncircumcised- 26
Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those
inhabiting the desert who clip the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all
the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart.’” I see more irony in these two verses as the
Jews were depending on circumcision to save them and God says that the Jews
along with the Gentiles were uncircumcised, as the Jews were uncircumcised in
their hearts. That is the kind of
circumcision that all believers have, the circumcision of their hearts as God
cuts away the sinfulness around the heart.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I can’t depend on
rituals for my salvation or for my spiritual growth for that takes time in
reading and studying and applying the things in the Word of God.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
Jeremiah 9:23-24 “23 Thus says the LORD,
"Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast
of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him who boasts boast of
this, that he
understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness,
justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,"
declares the LORD.”
Memory verses for the
week: Philippians 2:5-6
5 Have this attitude in
yourself that was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form
of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to grasped,
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “To see whether Baal or the
Lord would send fire from heaven” (1 Kings 18:21-24).
Today’s Bible
question: “For how long did Paul and
those shipwrecked with him stay on the island of Melita?”
Answer in our next SD.
2/22/2014 11:44 AM
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