I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Jeremiah tells the leaders of Jerusalem that they have sinned so much that the time of God’s judgment is at hand. God is going to smash Jerusalem such that no human agency will be able to restore it. When he finishes that prophecy Jeremiah expresses the desire that he be able to keep his mouth shut. However, he writes that he has no choice, the Spirit of God overwhelms him and he has no choice but speak the words which God gives him.
After Jeremiah prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem, the authorities had him whipped and imprisoned. Yet when Nebuchadnezzar attacked Judah they came to Jeremiah and asked him to beg God to save them as He had done in the past when the Assyrians attacked. Jeremiah replied to them that God would not defend them, that instead God would act to strengthen their enemies. Jeremiah tells them that they have a choice, surrender to the Babylonians and live, or stay in the city, fight the Babylonians, and die.
Yet even at this point, Jeremiah appears to say that God offers the rulers of Jerusalem a chance to regain His favor. Jeremiah tells them that unless they give justice each morning, help those who have been robbed, and rescue the oppressed, God’s anger will burn against them. This suggests that if they were to do those things, God would have mercy on them and save them from their troubles. As bad as things are, if only the people will turn to God, He will forgive them and bring them under His wings.
While Christ’s return will come unexpectedly, if we are living in the light we will not be surprised by it. Let us be clear headed and on guard. Christ died for us so that we can live with Him forever. This provides us with the basis to encourage and build up our fellow believers. Paul then gives a list of things we should do, both to encourage and build up others and for our own well-being:
- Honor our leaders
- Warn those who are laxy
- Encourage the timid
- Take care of the weak
- Be patient with everyone
- Do not pay back evil for evil
- Always try to do good to all people
- Always be joyful
- Pray continually (there’s that stuff about prayer before, I was wondering if I was going to get another reminder today)
- Be thankful in all circumstances (not just the good times, but all the time)
Then Paul gets to a few things that I think all fit together in a way.
- Do not stifle the Holy Spirit
- Do not scoff at prophecies
- But test everything that is said (so, we should not scoff at those who think they have been given a prophecy, but we should examine what they say with care)
- Hold on to what is good
- Stay away from(reject) what is evil
These last two are not limited to how we deal with prophecies, but I think Paul was giving those instructions as to how we are to deal with prophecies.
I am going to give an example here from my personal life. A fellow believer approached me the other day and told me that God had given him a word for me. I encouraged him to tell me what he felt God had told him for me. When he was finished telling me what he felt he was to tell me, I had no idea how it applied to my life. What he said contained some good advice, however I was not experiencing the type of situation which that advice would apply to. When he was finished speaking, I thanked him sincerely. I never mentioned that I did not see how what he said applied to me. I made a mental note of what he said, in case it represented something that had yet to happen. I did not, and will not, reject it because there was no evil in it. I have made a mental note of what he said, so that if it proves to be related to something that has not yet happened I can ask him further.
Based on what others have said and my interactions with him, I believe that the Spirit does at times talk through this man. In this case I do not know if in his eagerness to hear what the Spirit had to say he heard his own thoughts as those of the Spirit, or if, just as likely, he misinterpreted what the Spirit was telling him in light of his previous experiences (that misinterpretation could be a product of not knowing me well). If the latter, in time, the Spirit will make His meaning clear. If the former, I will encourage him to continue coming to me because he is sincere and perhaps the Spirit will help me aid him in coming to a clearer understanding of how to know when the Spirit is speaking to him (and the next time it may be a message from the Spirit. If, indeed, this was not a message from the Spirit, something I am not yet ready to say).
The psalmist tells us that God calls upon those who govern to stop handing down unjust decisions which favor the wicked. God instructs them to recognize their mortality, even though they are sons of the Most High, and give justice to the weak and fatherless. If they want God’s favor they must rescue the poor and helpless from the power of the wicked. God will pass judgment on all those who rule nations for their failure to be just judges.
The proverb writer warns against using secrets learned in confidence to win an argument. You may still lose the argument and your reputation along with it.