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. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Jeremiah gives a message from God to Judah’s kings. He tells them to stop their evil deeds, to stop murdering the innocent and mistreating foreigners, orphans and widows. Instead they should be fair-minded and just, helping those who have been robbed. God warns them that if they do not do this, He will turn Jerusalem into a ruin. Jeremiah then has a prophecy for each of the kings who succeeded to the throne in a short time before Nebuchadnezzar finally led all of the people into exile. He talks of their greed and mistreatment of the people. He contrasts them with Josiah who preceded them and was a wise and just king. Jeremiah tells them that God will bring judgement on them because they divided and destroyed those they were supposed to unite and protect. But Jeremiah prophecies that God will raise up a descendant of David who will rule with justice and righteousness and will gather His people together and unite them.
Jeremiah then speaks of the false prophets who tell the people what they want to hear, rather than the word of God. Not only do they promise them that they will have peace and prosperity when God is bringing judgement and destruction, but they encourage the people to sin and even join them in their sins. Overall this passage reminds me of the U.S. today. Our political leaders seek after their own power and well-being at the expense of the common man. They divide the people against one another in order to gather and hold power, rather than unite the people to accomplish good in the world. In addition, many prominent religious leaders promote sinful lifestyles and proclaim them to be righteous. They tell the people that God loves them and not to worry about following His commands. I fear for this people and this land if those of us who are Christians do not stand up and declare what God is demanding of those who wish to follow Him. If we are not willing to look like fools to those who choose to ignore righteousness. We need to fast and pray and ask God to send His Spirit onto our friends and neighbors. I need to fast and pray.
Paul praises the Thessalonians because their faith is flourishing and their love for one another is growing. I believe that these things are linked. Our faith will only flourish if our love for one another grows and our love for one another will grow as our faith flourishes. Paul also praises them for their faithfulness and endurance in the face of persecution and hardship. God will provide rest for those of us who are being persecuted when Jesus returns, if not before. Those who refuse to accept the gospel will be punished by eternal separation from God. This is what Hell is. It is eternal separation from God. All of the other torments that are ascribed to Hell grow out of this separation. While Hell is indeed a punishment, what other recourse does God have for those who desire to avoid Him and separate themselves from Him?
In addition Paul prays that God will enable the Thessalonians to live a life worthy of God’s call and that He will give them the power to accomplish the good things that their faith prompts them to do. These are prayers that we should pray for ourselves and for those around us. They are prayers that we can be sure will be granted. Let us not hold back from doing the good things that our faith prompts because we fear that we lack the ability to accomplish them. God will grant us what we need to accomplish that which He calls us to do.
Those who plot against the people of God will be brought to ruin. God will bring judgement on those who refuse to live justly and persecute those who follow His commands. In doing so He will bring honor to His name.
Saying the right thing at the right time is of immense value to both the speaker and the listener. Those who listen find wise constructive criticism valuable beyond measure. A messenger who can be relied upon to deliver messages accurately and completely is a great relief to those who send them.