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.

     Early in King Jehoiakim’s reign God sent Jeremiah to preach in front of the Temple. Jeremiah told the people of Judah that if they did not listen to God’s message and turn from their sins, God would destroy the Temple just as He had destroyed Shiloh. When Jeremiah gave this message, a mob that included the priests gathered around him and demanded to know by what right he prophesied that the Temple would be destroyed. Government officials heard the disturbance and rushed over and set up court in the Temple gate. The priests and the official prophets demanded that Jeremiah be put to death as a traitor for making such a prophecy. Jeremiah replied to the charges by saying that he was giving them the message that God had sent him with, but if they would turn from their sins and obey God, God would turn aside His wrath and not destroy Jerusalem. Jeremiah further told them that they could do as they wished to him, but if they killed him they would be killing an innocent man. In this case, some older, wiser men stood up and told the crowd that they should not kill Jeremiah. Instead they should follow the example of the people of King Hezekiah’s reign who listened to a similar prophet and turned from their sins. At around the same time, another prophet had prophesied similarly and King Jehoiakim had had him killed, but on this occasion Jeremiah was spared.
     Later, during the reign of King Zedekiah, Jeremiah prophesied that King Zedekiah and the people of Judah should submit to the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar. He told them that if they continued in their rebellion against King Nebuchadnezzar, King Nebuchadnezzar would come and take them and the remaining treasures in Jerusalem back to Babylon. Those prophets who were telling them that they could stand up against King Nebuchadnezzar were liars who were not speaking the words of God.
     Through all of this I see a message for us today. If we do not turn back to God and pray for the transformation of our hearts and minds into what He wants us to be, God will bring judgement against us today. We, as the Church today, must focus our efforts on spreading God’s Word to those around us, praying that the Spirit will transform their hearts. We should not be concerned with the government, but instead with the hearts of the people.

     We should pray for those who are facing persecution. We should pray both that they be rescued from the hands of wicked and evil people and that the Gospel message be spread rapidly. We should stay away from those believers who do not work as hard as they are able to support themselves. Those unwilling to work will not eat. We should strive to do good and not be a burden on anyone. We should not lead idle lives, meddling in the lives of others. In addition, we should avoid those who lead such lives so that they become ashamed and change their ways and so that we are not tempted to imitate them. We should not see them as enemies, but as family members who need to be warned against bad habits.

     Let us listen carefully to what God says to us and not return again to our foolish ways. Then He will revive us again and our land will be filled with His glory. If we seek after God’s righteousness and avoid wallowing in our sinful desires, God will pour out His unfailing love upon us with many blessings.

     When you come upon good things in your life, do not take them in excess or they will cause you harm.