A Chronological Daily Bible Study of the Old Testament
7-Day Sections with a Summary-Commentary, Discussion Questions, and a Practical Daily Application

Week 43

Sunday (Nahum 1-3)

Introduction

1:1 The oracle against Nineveh; the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite:

God Takes Vengeance against His Enemies

1:2 The Lord is a zealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and very angry. The Lord takes vengeance against his foes; he sustains his rage against his enemies.

1:3 The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will certainly not allow the wicked to go unpunished.

The Divine Warrior Destroys His Enemies but Protects His People

He marches out in the whirlwind and the raging storm; dark storm clouds billow like dust under his feet.

1:4 He shouts a battle cry against the sea and makes it dry up; he makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither; the blossom of Lebanon withers.

1:5 The mountains tremble before him, the hills convulse; the earth is laid waste before him, the world and all its inhabitants are laid waste.

1:6 No one can withstand his indignation! No one can resist his fierce anger! His wrath is poured out like volcanic fire, boulders are broken up as he approaches.

1:7 The Lord is good – indeed, he is a fortress in time of distress, and he protects those who seek refuge in him.

1:8 But with an overwhelming flood he will make a complete end of Nineveh; he will drive his enemies into darkness.

Denunciation and Destruction of Nineveh

1:9 Whatever you plot against the Lord, he will completely destroy! Distress will not arise a second time.

1:10 Surely they will be totally consumed like entangled thorn bushes, like the drink of drunkards, like very dry stubble.

1:11 From you, O Nineveh, one has marched forth who plots evil against the Lord, a wicked military strategist.

Oracle of Deliverance to Judah

1:12 This is what the Lord says: “Even though they are powerful – and what is more, even though their army is numerous – nevertheless, they will be destroyed and trickle away! Although I afflicted you, I will afflict you no more.

1:13 And now, I will break Assyria’s yoke bar from your neck; I will tear apart the shackles that are on you.”

Oracle of Judgment against the King of Nineveh

1:14 The Lord has issued a decree against you: “Your dynasty will come to an end. I will destroy the idols and images in the temples of your gods. I will desecrate your grave – because you are accursed!”

Proclamation of the Deliverance of Judah

1:15 Look! A herald is running on the mountains! A messenger is proclaiming deliverance: “Celebrate your sacred festivals, O Judah! Fulfill your sacred vows to praise God! For never again will the wicked Assyrians invade you, they have been completely destroyed.”

Proclamation of the Destruction of Nineveh

2:1 The watchmen of Nineveh shout: “An enemy who will scatter you is marching out to attack you!” “Guard the rampart! Watch the road! Prepare yourselves for battle! Muster your mighty strength!”

2:2 For the Lord will restore the majesty of Jacob, as well as the majesty of Israel, though their enemies have plundered them and have destroyed their fields.

Prophetic Vision of the Fall of Nineveh

2:3 The shields of his warriors are dyed red; the mighty soldiers are dressed in scarlet garments. The metal fittings of the chariots shine like fire on the day of battle; the soldiers brandish their spears.

2:4 The chariots race madly through the streets, they rush back and forth in the broad plazas; they look like lightning bolts, they dash here and there like flashes of lightning.

2:5 The commander orders his officers; they stumble as they advance; they rush to the city wall and they set up the covered siege tower.

2:6 The sluice gates are opened; the royal palace is deluged and dissolves.

2:7 Nineveh is taken into exile and is led away; her slave girls moan like doves while they beat their breasts.

2:8 Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days, but now her people are running away; she cries out: “Stop! Stop!” – but no one turns back.

2:9 Her conquerors cry out: “Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!” There is no end to the treasure; riches of every kind of precious thing.

2:10 Destruction, devastation, and desolation! Their hearts faint, their knees tremble, each stomach churns, each face turns pale!

Taunt against the Once-Mighty Lion

2:11 Where now is the den of the lions, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion, lioness, and lion cub once prowled and no one disturbed them?

2:12 The lion tore apart as much prey as his cubs needed and strangled prey to provide food for his lionesses; he filled his lairs with prey and his dens with torn flesh.

Battle Cry of the Divine Warrior

2:13 “I am against you!” declares the Lord who commands armies: “I will burn your chariots with fire; the sword will devour your young lions; you will no longer prey upon the land; the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.”

Reason for Judgment: Sins of Nineveh

3:1 Woe to the city guilty of bloodshed! She is full of lies; she is filled with plunder; she has hoarded her spoil!

Portrayal of the Destruction of Nineveh

3:2 The chariot drivers will crack their whips; the chariot wheels will shake the ground; the chariot horses will gallop; the war chariots will bolt forward!

3:3 The charioteers will charge ahead; their swords will flash and their spears will glimmer! There will be many people slain; there will be piles of the dead, and countless casualties – so many that people will stumble over the corpses.

Taunt against the Harlot City

3:4 “Because you have acted like a wanton prostitute – a seductive mistress who practices sorcery, who enslaves nations by her harlotry, and entices peoples by her sorcery –

3:5 I am against you,” declares the Lord who commands armies. “I will strip off your clothes! I will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms;

3:6 I will pelt you with filth; I will treat you with contempt; I will make you a public spectacle.

3:7 Everyone who sees you will turn away from you in disgust; they will say, ‘Nineveh has been devastated! Who will lament for her?’ There will be no one to comfort you!”

Nineveh Will Suffer the Same Fate as Thebes

3:8 You are no more secure than Thebes – she was located on the banks of the Nile; the waters surrounded her, her rampart was the sea, the water was her wall.

3:9 Cush and Egypt had limitless strength; Put and the Libyans were among her allies.

3:10 Yet she went into captivity as an exile; even her infants were smashed to pieces at the head of every street. They cast lots for her nobility; all her dignitaries were bound with chains.

3:11 You too will act like drunkards; you will go into hiding; you too will seek refuge from the enemy.

The Assyrian Defenses Will Fail

3:12 All your fortifications will be like fig trees with first-ripe fruit: If they are shaken, their figs will fall into the mouth of the eater!

3:13 Your warriors will be like women in your midst; the gates of your land will be wide open to your enemies; fire will consume the bars of your gates.

3:14 Draw yourselves water for a siege! Strengthen your fortifications! Trample the mud and tread the clay! Make mud bricks to strengthen your walls!

3:15 There the fire will consume you; the sword will cut you down; it will devour you like the young locust would.

The Assyrian Defenders Will Flee

Multiply yourself like the young locust; multiply yourself like the flying locust!

3:16 Increase your merchants more than the stars of heaven! They are like the young locust which sheds its skin and flies away.

3:17 Your courtiers are like locusts, your officials are like a swarm of locusts! They encamp in the walls on a cold day, yet when the sun rises, they fly away; and no one knows where they are.

Concluding Dirge

3:18 Your shepherds are sleeping, O king of Assyria! Your officers are slumbering! Your people are scattered like sheep on the mountains and there is no one to regather them!

3:19 Your destruction is like an incurable wound; your demise is like a fatal injury! All who hear what has happened to you will clap their hands for joy, for no one ever escaped your endless cruelty!

Prayer

Lord, You offered Ninevah mercy through Jonah but they had forgotten You and returned to their evil ways, thus You judged them. May I be careful not to backslide.

Scripture In Perspective

Nahum prophesied to Ninevah about a century after Jonah’s visit. They had apparently drifted back into their pre-Jonah evil ways.

He described Ninevah’s great power to destroy other nations, the Lord’s permission for them to destroy Israel and Judah as judgment, then stated that they faced even worse punishment for worse sin than those they conquered.

Nahum declared “The Lord is good – indeed, he is a fortress in time of distress, and he protects those who seek refuge in him. But with an overwhelming flood he will make a complete end of Nineveh; he will drive his enemies into darkness.”

Interact with the text

Consider

Ninevah had a wonderful opportunity to start-over and to receive blessings from the Lord God, but they instead returned to their pagan and violent ways of the past.

Discuss

Why would the Ninevites have drifted backward?

Reflect

Despite their massive numbers and massive captured wealth the Ninevites could not stand before a God of judgment.

Share

When have you experienced or observed the giving of a second chance that was squandered due to a return to bad behavior?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place where you are backsliding some.

Act

Today I will confess and repent, seek and receive the Lord God's forgiveness, and then make the necessary adjustments to resist backsliding – including inviting a fellow believer to hold me accountable and to pray in-agreement with me.

Be Specific ________________________________________________

Monday (2 Kings 22–23, 2 Chronicles 34-35)

2 Kings

Josiah Repents

22:1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jedidah, daughter of Adaiah, from Bozkath. 22:2 He did what the Lord approved and followed in his ancestor David’s footsteps; he did not deviate to the right or the left.

22:3 In the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, the king sent the scribe Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to the Lord’s temple with these orders: 22:4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him melt down the silver that has been brought by the people to the Lord’s temple and has been collected by the guards at the door. 22:5 Have them hand it over to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord’s temple. They in turn should pay the temple workers to repair it, 22:6 including craftsmen, builders, and masons, and should buy wood and chiseled stone for the repair work. 22:7 Do not audit the foremen who disburse the silver, for they are honest.”

22:8 Hilkiah the high priest informed Shaphan the scribe, “I found the law scroll in the Lord’s temple.” Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan and he read it. 22:9 Shaphan the scribe went to the king and reported, “Your servants melted down the silver in the temple and handed it over to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord’s temple.” 22:10 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” Shaphan read it out loud before the king. 22:11 When the king heard the words of the law scroll, he tore his clothes. 22:12 The king ordered Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, 22:13 “Go, seek an oracle from the Lord for me and the people – for all Judah. Find out about the words of this scroll that has been discovered. For the Lord’s fury has been ignited against us, because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this scroll by doing all that it instructs us to do.”

22:14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shullam son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, the supervisor of the wardrobe. (She lived in Jerusalem in the Mishneh district.) They stated their business, 22:15 and she said to them: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Say this to the man who sent you to me: 22:16 “This is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to bring disaster on this place and its residents, the details of which are recorded in the scroll which the king of Judah has read. 22:17 This will happen because they have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to other gods, angering me with all the idols they have made. My anger will ignite against this place and will not be extinguished!’” 22:18 Say this to the king of Judah, who sent you to seek an oracle from the Lord: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says concerning the words you have heard: 22:19 ‘You displayed a sensitive spirit and humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard how I intended to make this place and its residents into an appalling example of an accursed people. You tore your clothes and wept before me, and I have heard you,’ says the Lord. 22:20 ‘Therefore I will allow you to die and be buried in peace. You will not have to witness all the disaster I will bring on this place.’”‘” Then they reported back to the king.

The King Institutes Religious Reform

23:1 The king summoned all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. 23:2 The king went up to the Lord’s temple, accompanied by all the people of Judah, all the residents of Jerusalem, the priests, and the prophets. All the people were there, from the youngest to the oldest. He read aloud all the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been discovered in the Lord’s temple. 23:3 The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant before the Lord, agreeing to follow the Lord and to obey his commandments, laws, and rules with all his heart and being, by carrying out the terms of this covenant recorded on this scroll. All the people agreed to keep the covenant.

23:4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the high-ranking priests, and the guards to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the items that were used in the worship of Baal, Asherah, and all the stars of the sky. The king burned them outside of Jerusalem in the terraces of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 23:5 He eliminated the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the area right around Jerusalem. (They offered sacrifices to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the constellations, and all the stars in the sky.) 23:6 He removed the Asherah pole from the Lord’s temple and took it outside Jerusalem to the Kidron Valley, where he burned it. He smashed it to dust and then threw the dust in the public graveyard. 23:7 He tore down the quarters of the male cultic prostitutes in the Lord’s temple, where women were weaving shrines for Asherah.

23:8 He brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and ruined the high places where the priests had offered sacrifices, from Geba to Beer Sheba. He tore down the high place of the goat idols situated at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the city official, on the left side of the city gate. 23:9 (Now the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they did eat unleavened cakes among their fellow priests.) 23:10 The king ruined Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that no one could pass his son or his daughter through the fire to Molech. 23:11 He removed from the entrance to the Lord’s temple the statues of horses that the kings of Judah had placed there in honor of the sun god. (They were kept near the room of Nathan Melech the eunuch, which was situated among the courtyards.) He burned up the chariots devoted to the sun god. 23:12 The king tore down the altars the kings of Judah had set up on the roof of Ahaz’s upper room, as well as the altars Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple. He crushed them up and threw the dust in the Kidron Valley. 23:13 The king ruined the high places east of Jerusalem, south of the Mount of Destruction, that King Solomon of Israel had built for the detestable Sidonian goddess Astarte, the detestable Moabite god Chemosh, and the horrible Ammonite god Milcom. 23:14 He smashed the sacred pillars to bits, cut down the Asherah pole, and filled those shrines with human bones.

23:15 He also tore down the altar in Bethel at the high place made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who encouraged Israel to sin. He burned all the combustible items at that high place and crushed them to dust; including the Asherah pole. 23:16 When Josiah turned around, he saw the tombs there on the hill. So he ordered the bones from the tombs to be brought; he burned them on the altar and defiled it. This fulfilled the Lord’s announcement made by the prophet while Jeroboam stood by the altar during a festival. King Josiah turned and saw the grave of the prophet who had foretold this. 23:17 He asked, “What is this grave marker I see?” The men from the city replied, “It’s the grave of the prophet who came from Judah and foretold these very things you have done to the altar of Bethel.” 23:18 The king said, “Leave it alone! No one must touch his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed, as well as the bones of the Israelite prophet buried beside him.

23:19 Josiah also removed all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria. The kings of Israel had made them and angered the Lord. He did to them what he had done to the high place in Bethel. 23:20 He sacrificed all the priests of the high places on the altars located there, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

23:21 The king ordered all the people, “Observe the Passover of the Lord your God, as prescribed in this scroll of the covenant.” 23:22 He issued this edict because a Passover like this had not been observed since the days of the judges; it was neglected for the entire period of the kings of Israel and Judah. 23:23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, such a Passover of the Lord was observed in Jerusalem.

23:24 Josiah also got rid of the ritual pits used to conjure up spirits, the magicians, personal idols, disgusting images, and all the detestable idols that had appeared in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. In this way he carried out the terms of the law recorded on the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the Lord’s temple. 23:25 No king before or after repented before the Lord as he did, with his whole heart, soul, and being in accordance with the whole law of Moses.

23:26 Yet the Lord’s great anger against Judah did not subside; he was still infuriated by all the things Manasseh had done. 23:27 The Lord announced, “I will also spurn Judah, just as I spurned Israel. I will reject this city that I chose – both Jerusalem and the temple, about which I said, “I will live there.”

23:28 The rest of the events of Josiah’s reign and all his accomplishments are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 23:29 During Josiah’s reign Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt marched toward the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to fight him, but Necho killed him at Megiddo when he saw him. 23:30 His servants transported his dead body from Megiddo in a chariot and brought it to Jerusalem, where they buried him in his tomb. The people of the land took Josiah’s son Jehoahaz, poured olive oil on his head, and made him king in his father’s place.

Jehoahaz’s Reign over Judah

23:31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. 23:32 He did evil in the sight of the Lord as his ancestors had done. 23:33 Pharaoh Necho imprisoned him in Riblah in the land of Hamath and prevented him from ruling in Jerusalem. He imposed on the land a special tax of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 23:34 Pharaoh Necho made Josiah’s son Eliakim king in Josiah’s place, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He took Jehoahaz to Egypt, where he died. 23:35 Jehoiakim paid Pharaoh the required amount of silver and gold, but to meet Pharaoh’s demands Jehoiakim had to tax the land. He collected an assessed amount from each man among the people of the land in order to pay Pharaoh Necho.

Jehoiakim’s Reign over Judah

23:36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah, from Rumah. 23:37 He did evil in the sight of the Lord as his ancestors had done.

2 Chronicles

Josiah Institutes Religious Reforms

34:1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 34:2 He did what the Lord approved and followed in his ancestor David’s footsteps; he did not deviate to the right or the left.

34:3 In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his ancestor David. In his twelfth year he began ridding Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, Asherah poles, idols, and images. 34:4 He ordered the altars of the Baals to be torn down, and broke the incense altars that were above them. He smashed the Asherah poles, idols and images, crushed them up and sprinkled the dust over the tombs of those who had sacrificed to them. 34:5 He burned the bones of the pagan priests on their altars; he purified Judah and Jerusalem. 34:6 In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them, 34:7 he tore down the altars and Asherah poles, demolished the idols, and smashed all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

34:8 In the eighteenth year of his reign, he continued his policy of purifying the land and the temple. He sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the city official, and Joah son of Joahaz the secretary to repair the temple of the Lord his God. 34:9 They went to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the silver that had been brought to God’s temple. The Levites who guarded the door had collected it from the people of Manasseh and Ephraim and from all who were left in Israel, as well as from all the people of Judah and Benjamin and the residents of Jerusalem. 34:10 They handed it over to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord’s temple. They in turn paid the temple workers to restore and repair it. 34:11 They gave money to the craftsmen and builders to buy chiseled stone and wood for the braces and rafters of the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into disrepair. 34:12 The men worked faithfully. Their supervisors were Jahath and Obadiah (Levites descended from Merari), as well as Zechariah and Meshullam (descendants of Kohath). The Levites, all of whom were skilled musicians, 34:13 supervised the laborers and all the foremen on their various jobs. Some of the Levites were scribes, officials, and guards.

34:14 When they took out the silver that had been brought to the Lord’s temple, Hilkiah the priest found the law scroll the Lord had given to Moses. 34:15 Hilkiah informed Shaphan the scribe, “I found the law scroll in the Lord’s temple.” Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan. 34:16 Shaphan brought the scroll to the king and reported, “Your servants are doing everything assigned to them. 34:17 They melted down the silver in the Lord’s temple and handed it over to the supervisors of the construction foremen.” 34:18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” Shaphan read it out loud before the king. 34:19 When the king heard the words of the law scroll, he tore his clothes. 34:20 The king ordered Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, 34:21 “Go, seek an oracle from the Lord for me and those who remain in Israel and Judah. Find out about the words of this scroll that has been discovered. For the Lord’s fury has been ignited against us, because our ancestors have not obeyed the word of the Lord by doing all that this scroll instructs!”

34:22 So Hilkiah and the others sent by the king went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the supervisor of the wardrobe. (She lived in Jerusalem in the Mishneh district.) They stated their business, 34:23 and she said to them: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Say this to the man who sent you to me: 34:24 “This is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to bring disaster on this place and its residents, the details of which are recorded in the scroll which they read before the king of Judah. 34:25 This will happen because they have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to other gods, angering me with all the idols they have made. My anger will ignite against this place and will not be extinguished!’” 34:26 Say this to the king of Judah, who sent you to seek an oracle from the Lord: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says concerning the words you have heard: 34:27 ‘You displayed a sensitive spirit and humbled yourself before God when you heard his words concerning this place and its residents. You humbled yourself before me, tore your clothes and wept before me, and I have heard you,’ says the Lord. 34:28 ‘Therefore I will allow you to die and be buried in peace. You will not have to witness all the disaster I will bring on this place and its residents.’”‘” Then they reported back to the king.

34:29 The king summoned all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. 34:30 The king went up to the Lord’s temple, accompanied by all the people of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, the priests, and the Levites. All the people were there, from the oldest to the youngest. He read aloud all the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been discovered in the Lord’s temple. 34:31 The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant before the Lord, agreeing to follow the Lord and to obey his commandments, laws, and rules with all his heart and being, by carrying out the terms of this covenant recorded on this scroll. 34:32 He made all who were in Jerusalem and Benjamin agree to it. The residents of Jerusalem acted in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors. 34:33 Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the areas belonging to the Israelites and encouraged all who were in Israel to worship the Lord their God. Throughout the rest of his reign they did not turn aside from following the Lord God of their ancestors.

Josiah Observes the Passover

35:1 Josiah observed a Passover festival for the Lord in Jerusalem. They slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month. 35:2 He appointed the priests to fulfill their duties and encouraged them to carry out their service in the Lord’s temple. 35:3 He told the Levites, who instructed all Israel about things consecrated to the Lord, “Place the holy ark in the temple which King Solomon son of David of Israel built. Don’t carry it on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel! 35:4 Prepare yourselves by your families according to your divisions, as instructed by King David of Israel and his son Solomon. 35:5 Stand in the sanctuary and, together with the Levites, represent the family divisions of your countrymen. 35:6 Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves, and make preparations for your countrymen to do what the Lord commanded through Moses.”

35:7 From his own royal flocks and herds, Josiah supplied the people with 30,000 lambs and goats for the Passover sacrifice, as well as 3,000 cattle. 35:8 His officials also willingly contributed to the people, priests, and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the leaders of God’s temple, supplied 2,600 Passover sacrifices and 300 cattle. 35:9 Konaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, along with Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, the officials of the Levites, supplied the Levites with 5,000 Passover sacrifices and 500 cattle. 35:10 Preparations were made, and the priests stood at their posts and the Levites in their divisions as prescribed by the king. 35:11 They slaughtered the Passover lambs and the priests splashed the blood, while the Levites skinned the animals. 35:12 They reserved the burnt offerings and the cattle for the family divisions of the people to present to the Lord, as prescribed in the scroll of Moses. 35:13 They cooked the Passover sacrifices over the open fire as prescribed and cooked the consecrated offerings in pots, kettles, and pans. They quickly served them to all the people. 35:14 Afterward they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were offering burnt sacrifices and fat portions until evening. The Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron. 35:15 The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, manned their posts, as prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s prophet. The guards at the various gates did not need to leave their posts, for their fellow Levites made preparations for them. 35:16 So all the preparations for the Lord’s service were made that day, as the Passover was observed and the burnt sacrifices were offered on the altar of the Lord, as prescribed by King Josiah. 35:17 So the Israelites who were present observed the Passover at that time, as well as the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 35:18 A Passover like this had not been observed in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had observed a Passover like the one celebrated by Josiah, the priests, the Levites, all the people of Judah and Israel who were there, and the residents of Jerusalem. 35:19 This Passover was observed in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign.

Josiah’s Reign Ends

35:20 After Josiah had done all this for the temple, King Necho of Egypt marched up to do battle at Carchemish on the Euphrates River. Josiah marched out to oppose him. 35:21 Necho sent messengers to him, saying, “Why are you opposing me, O king of Judah? I am not attacking you today, but the kingdom with which I am at war. God told me to hurry. Stop opposing God, who is with me, or else he will destroy you.” 35:22 But Josiah did not turn back from him; he disguised himself for battle. He did not take seriously the words of Necho which he had received from God; he went to fight him in the Plain of Megiddo. 35:23 Archers shot King Josiah; the king ordered his servants, “Take me out of this chariot, for I am seriously wounded.” 35:24 So his servants took him out of the chariot, put him in another chariot that he owned, and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors; all the people of Judah and Jerusalem mourned Josiah. 35:25 Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah which all the male and female singers use to mourn Josiah to this very day. It has become customary in Israel to sing these; they are recorded in the Book of Laments.

35:26 The rest of the events of Josiah’s reign, including the faithful acts he did in obedience to what is written in the law of the Lord 35:27 and his accomplishments, from start to finish, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

Prayer

Lord, You know the hearts of every person among even a huge nation of people, so even the right heart of a single king cannot redeem a people bent upon rebellion. May I constantly check my heart-condition with Your Holy Spirit so that I never drift into a rebellious mind-set. You allow us to choose to repent – turn away – and to return to You, and You bless us when we do. May I be faithful to respond with humble repentance every time your Holy Spirit shows me where I have had any part in disobedience.

Scripture In Perspective

Josiah became king at the age of eight. By the time he was sixteen he was inquiring about the expectations of the Lord God and therefore went throughout the land to remove the altars to the false gods.

During his thirty-one years as king Josiah restored the faithful leadership of his grandfather, Hezekiah, following the rebellious leadership of his father Manassah.

Josiah destroyed every evil thing that Manassah had built and located and destroyed that which even his grandfather had missed.

Josiah instructed that the Temple be repaired. He instructed the priests to gather and melt silver for the repair of the temple and as the construction progressed and the silver was being transferred they discovered a scroll.

When the scroll was read aloud to Josiah he discovered that the Lord God was angry with Israel and Judah for rebellion. Josiah was heart-sick and tore his clothes and wept, then instructed the priests to get an oracle from the Lord via a prophet(ess) of God.

He commanded the people to gather to renew their vow of obedience before the Lord God. He also restored the Passover celebration which had been neglected during the entire period of the kings.

The prophesy contained in the scrolls was that the Lord God did intend to bring complete disaster upon the people for their rebellion but because Josiah responded righteously to the contents of the scroll he would not see that terrible day.

In his thirty-first year as king Josiah led his forces against the kings of Assyria and Egypt and was killed in battle.

King Necho of Egypt marched to help the king of Assyria (at the urging of God) and Josiah, without consulting the Lord God, went out to oppose him. Necho tried to explain but Josiah refused to listen and was struck by the arrows of the archers. He returned to Jerusalem where he died. The prophet Jeremiah celebrated his God-honoring leadership as king with songs that were sung for a long time after his death.

Josiah’s son Jehoahaz was made king by the people.

Jehoahaz was king for three months and did evil – so Pharoah Necho imprisoned him, levied a heavy tribute on the people, and installed Josiah’s son Eliakim king in Josiah’s place, and changed his name to Jehoiakim – he ruled for eleven years.

Interact with the text

Consider

Josiah was zealous for the Lord even before he read the scrolls. Between the age of eight and sixteen someone must have discipled Josiah so that he knew at age sixteen the right things to do.

Discuss

What might have prompted Josiah to choose the path of his grandfather rather than that of his father? Why would Josiah have neglected to consult the Lord God before challenging Necho?

Reflect

The scrolls provided Josiah the information he needed to fully restore the practices of the Israelites, and he did so; David and Solomon (and possibly other kings) had access to them – why would those practices have been abandoned? God chose to use the Egyptians to punish the remnants of Israel and Judah.

Share

When have you discovered something about the Lord, that you had not been taught in discipleship, and have then tried to live it out? When have you experienced or observed an otherwise faithful Christian making a choice or choices and setting out upon a path that proved, upon reflection, to be against God’s will – all because they did not pause to ask Him first?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you something from the Word about which you have had either a wrong understanding or no awareness and to reveal to you a place where you think that you are making the right choices but are wrong because you failed to consult Him first.

Act

Today I will celebrate what the Holy Spirit has illuminated in my mind from the Word. I will be jealous in searching the Word for the most-complete Holy Spirit-inspired understanding and will be equally zealous in applying the combined knowledge and understanding to my life as transforming-wisdom from the Lord God. I will also repent of the choices I have made, and/or am making, without first consulting the Lord God. I will humbly pray and redirect my way.

Be Specific _____________________________________________

Tuesday (Zephaniah 1–3)

Introduction

1:1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. Zephaniah delivered this message during the reign of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah:

The Lord’s Day of Judgment is Approaching

1:2 “I will destroy everything from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.

1:3 “I will destroy people and animals; I will destroy the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea. (The idolatrous images of these creatures will be destroyed along with evil people.)

I will remove humanity from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.

1:4 “I will attack Judah and all who live in Jerusalem. I will remove from this place every trace of Baal worship, as well as the very memory of the pagan priests.

1:5 I will remove those who worship the stars in the sky from their rooftops, those who swear allegiance to the Lord while taking oaths in the name of their ‘king,’

1:6 and those who turn their backs on the Lord and do not want the Lord’s help or guidance.”

1:7 Be silent before the Lord God, for the Lord’s day of judgment is almost here. The Lord has prepared a sacrificial meal; he has ritually purified his guests.

1:8 “On the day of the Lord’s sacrificial meal, I will punish the princes and the king’s sons, and all who wear foreign styles of clothing.

1:9 On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, who fill the house of their master with wealth taken by violence and deceit.

1:10 On that day,” says the Lord, “a loud cry will go up from the Fish Gate, wailing from the city’s newer district, and a loud crash from the hills.

1:11 Wail, you who live in the market district, for all the merchants will disappear and those who count money will be removed.

1:12 At that time I will search through Jerusalem with lamps. I will punish the people who are entrenched in their sin, those who think to themselves, ‘The Lord neither rewards nor punishes.’

1:13 Their wealth will be stolen and their houses ruined! They will not live in the houses they have built, nor will they drink the wine from the vineyards they have planted.

1:14 The Lord’s great day of judgment is almost here; it is approaching very rapidly! There will be a bitter sound on the Lord’s day of judgment; at that time warriors will cry out in battle.

1:15 That day will be a day of God’s anger, a day of distress and hardship, a day of devastation and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and dark skies,

1:16 a day of trumpet blasts and battle cries. Judgment will fall on the fortified cities and the high corner towers.

1:17 I will bring distress on the people and they will stumble like blind men, for they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be poured out like dirt; their flesh will be scattered like manure.

1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s angry judgment. The whole earth will be consumed by his fiery wrath. Indeed, he will bring terrifying destruction on all who live on the earth.”

The Prophet Warns the People

2:1 Bunch yourselves together like straw, you undesirable nation,

2:2 before God’s decree becomes reality and the day of opportunity disappears like windblown chaff, before the Lord’s raging anger overtakes you – before the day of the Lord’s angry judgment overtakes you!

2:3 Seek the Lord’s favor, all you humble people of the land who have obeyed his commands! Strive to do what is right! Strive to be humble! Maybe you will be protected on the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.

Judgment on Surrounding Nations

2:4 Indeed, Gaza will be deserted and Ashkelon will become a heap of ruins. Invaders will drive away the people of Ashdod by noon, and Ekron will be overthrown.

2:5 Those who live by the sea, the people who came from Crete, are as good as dead. The Lord has decreed your downfall, Canaan, land of the Philistines: “I will destroy everyone who lives there!”

2:6 The seacoast will be used as pasture lands by the shepherds and as pens for their flocks.

2:7 Those who are left from the kingdom of Judah will take possession of it. By the sea they will graze, in the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening, for the Lord their God will intervene for them and restore their prosperity.

2:8 “I have heard Moab’s taunts and the Ammonites’ insults. They taunted my people and verbally harassed those living in Judah.

2:9 Therefore, as surely as I live,” says the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel, “be certain that Moab will become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah. They will be overrun by weeds, filled with salt pits, and permanently desolate. Those of my people who are left will plunder their belongings; those who are left in Judah will take possession of their land.”

2:10 This is how they will be repaid for their arrogance, for they taunted and verbally harassed the people of the Lord who commands armies.

2:11 The Lord will terrify them, for he will weaken all the gods of the earth. All the distant nations will worship the Lord in their own lands.

2:12 “You Ethiopians will also die by my sword!”

2:13 The Lord will attack the north and destroy Assyria. He will make Nineveh a heap of ruins; it will be as barren as the desert.

2:14 Flocks and herds will lie down in the middle of it, as well as every kind of wild animal. Owls will sleep in the tops of its support pillars; they will hoot through the windows. Rubble will cover the thresholds; even the cedar work will be exposed to the elements.

2:15 This is how the once-proud city will end up – the city that was so secure. She thought to herself, “I am unique! No one can compare to me!” What a heap of ruins she has become, a place where wild animals live! Everyone who passes by her taunts her and shakes his fist.

Jerusalem is Corrupt

3:1 The filthy, stained city is as good as dead; the city filled with oppressors is finished!

3:2 She is disobedient; she refuses correction. She does not trust the Lord; she does not seek the advice of her God.

3:3 Her princes are as fierce as roaring lions; her rulers are as hungry as wolves in the desert, who completely devour their prey by morning.

3:4 Her prophets are proud; they are deceitful men. Her priests defile what is holy; they break God’s laws.

3:5 The just Lord resides within her; he commits no unjust acts. Every morning he reveals his justice. At dawn he appears without fail. Yet the unjust know no shame.

The Lord’s Judgment will Purify

3:6 “I destroyed nations; their walled cities are in ruins. I turned their streets into ruins; no one passes through them. Their cities are desolate; no one lives there.

3:7 I thought, ‘Certainly you will respect me! Now you will accept correction!’ If she had done so, her home would not be destroyed by all the punishments I have threatened. But they eagerly sinned in everything they did.

3:8 Therefore you must wait patiently for me,” says the Lord, “for the day when I attack and take plunder. I have decided to gather nations together and assemble kingdoms, so I can pour out my fury on them – all my raging anger. For the whole earth will be consumed by my fiery anger.

3:9 Know for sure that I will then enable the nations to give me acceptable praise. All of them will invoke the Lord’s name when they pray, and will worship him in unison.

3:10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, those who pray to me will bring me tribute.

3:11 In that day you will not be ashamed of all your rebelliousness against me, for then I will remove from your midst those who proudly boast, and you will never again be arrogant on my holy hill.

3:12 I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people, and they will find safety in the Lord’s presence.

3:13 The Israelites who remain will not act deceitfully. They will not lie, and a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouth. Indeed, they will graze peacefully like sheep and lie down; no one will terrify them.”

3:14 Shout for joy, Daughter Zion! Shout out, Israel! Be happy and boast with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!

3:15 The Lord has removed the judgment against you; he has turned back your enemy. Israel’s king, the Lord, is in your midst! You no longer need to fear disaster.

3:16 On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Don’t be afraid, Zion! Your hands must not be paralyzed from panic!

3:17 The Lord your God is in your midst; he is a warrior who can deliver. He takes great delight in you; he renews you by his love; he shouts for joy over you.”

3:18 “As for those who grieve because they cannot attend the festivals – I took them away from you; they became tribute and were a source of shame to you.

3:19 Look, at that time I will deal with those who mistreated you. I will rescue the lame sheep and gather together the scattered sheep. I will take away their humiliation and make the whole earth admire and respect them.

3:20 At that time I will lead you – at the time I gather you together. Be sure of this! I will make all the nations of the earth respect and admire you when you see me restore you,” says the Lord.

Prayer

Lord, You always offer hope, even as you punish as Your ultimate purpose is to purify the willing and to purge the unwilling. May I be teachable so that You will not need to take extreme measures to purify me.

Scripture In Perspective

Zephaniah served at about the same time as Nahum, approximately between 650 and 600 BC. He prophesied to all of Israel and in some ways to all people.

He explained why the Lord God was angry and warned that the day of judgment was coming soon.

Zephaniah proclaimed the justice and mercy of the Lord “Seek the Lord’s favor, all you humble people of the land who have obeyed his commands! Strive to do what is right! Strive to be humble! Maybe you will be protected on the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.”

He challenged the people of Jerusalem with their chosen circumstance “The just Lord resides within her; he commits no unjust acts. Every morning he reveals his justice. At dawn he appears without fail. Yet the unjust know no shame.”

Zephaniah concluded with hope “... will rescue the lame sheep and gather together the scattered sheep. I will take away their humiliation and make the whole earth admire and respect them. At that time I will lead you – at the time I gather you together. Be sure of this! I will make all the nations of the earth respect and admire you when you see me restore you,” says the Lord.”

Interact With The Text

Consider

The judgment of the Lord God would come against every nation, first in judgment-to-purify Israel, then in judgment to punish the pagan nations.

Discuss

How is it that “The just Lord resides within her ...”, Jerusalem, could they have fallen into such sin?

Reflect

The entire time that He caused prophesies of judgment the Lord also caused prophesies of hope.

Share

When have you experienced or observed sin even in the high-level presence of the Lord?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you His presence through the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Act

Today I will celebrate and give praise for the indwelling Holy Spirit and I will commit myself for a more intentional walk so as to not offend Him.

Be Specific _________________________________________________

Wednesday (Jeremiah 1–11:17)

The Superscription

1:1 The following is a record of what Jeremiah son of Hilkiah prophesied. He was one of the priests who lived at Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. 1:2 The Lord began to speak to him in the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon ruled over Judah. 1:3 The Lord also spoke to him when Jehoiakim son of Josiah ruled over Judah, and he continued to speak to him until the fifth month of the eleventh year that Zedekiah son of Josiah ruled over Judah. That was when the people of Jerusalem were taken into exile.

Jeremiah’s Call and Commission

1:4 The Lord said to me,

1:5 “Before I formed you in your mother’s womb I chose you. Before you were born I set you apart. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”

1:6 I answered, “Oh, Lord God, I really do not know how to speak well enough for that, for I am too young.” 1:7 The Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ But go to whomever I send you and say whatever I tell you. 1:8 Do not be afraid of those to whom I send you, for I will be with you to protect you,” says the Lord. 1:9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I will most assuredly give you the words you are to speak for me. 1:10 Know for certain that I hereby give you the authority to announce to nations and kingdoms that they will be uprooted and torn down, destroyed and demolished, rebuilt and firmly planted.”

Visions Confirming Jeremiah’s Call and Commission

1:11 Later the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I answered, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” 1:12 Then the Lord said, “You have observed correctly. This means I am watching to make sure my threats are carried out.”

1:13 The Lord again asked me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a pot of boiling water; it is tipped toward us from the north.” 1:14 Then the Lord said, “This means destruction will break out from the north on all who live in the land. 1:15 For I will soon summon all the peoples of the kingdoms of the north,” says the Lord. “They will come and their kings will set up their thrones near the entrances of the gates of Jerusalem. They will attack all the walls surrounding it, and all the towns in Judah. 1:16 In this way I will pass sentence on the people of Jerusalem and Judah because of all their wickedness. For they rejected me and offered sacrifices to other gods, worshiping what they made with their own hands.”

1:17 “But you, Jeremiah, get yourself ready! Go and tell these people everything I instruct you to say. Do not be terrified of them, or I will give you good reason to be terrified of them. 1:18 I, the Lord, hereby promise to make you as strong as a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. You will be able to stand up against all who live in the land, including the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and all the people of the land. 1:19 They will attack you but they will not be able to overcome you, for I will be with you to rescue you,” says the Lord.

The Lord Recalls Israel’s Earlier Faithfulness

2:1 The Lord spoke to me. He said: 2:2 “Go and declare in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem: ‘This is what the Lord says: “I have fond memories of you, how devoted you were to me in your early years. I remember how you loved me like a new bride; you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted. 2:3 Israel was set apart to the Lord; they were like the first fruits of a harvest to him. All who tried to devour them were punished; disaster came upon them,” says the Lord.’”

The Lord Reminds Them of the Unfaithfulness of Their Ancestors

2:4 Now listen to what the Lord has to say, you descendants of Jacob, all you family groups from the nation of Israel.

2:5 This is what the Lord says: “What fault could your ancestors have possibly found in me that they strayed so far from me? They paid allegiance to worthless idols, and so became worthless to me.

2:6 They did not ask: ‘Where is the Lord who delivered us out of Egypt, who brought us through the wilderness, through a land of desert sands and rift valleys, through a land of drought and deep darkness, through a land in which no one travels, and where no one lives?’

2:7 I brought you into a fertile land so you could enjoy its fruits and its rich bounty. But when you entered my land, you defiled it; you made the land I call my own loathsome to me.

2:8 Your priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those responsible for teaching my law did not really know me. Your rulers rebelled against me. Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal. They all worshiped idols that could not help them.

The Lord Charges Contemporary Israel with Spiritual Adultery

2:9 “So, once more I will state my case against you,” says the Lord. “I will also state it against your children and grandchildren.

2:10 Go west across the sea to the coasts of Cyprus and see. Send someone east to Kedar and have them look carefully. See if such a thing as this has ever happened:

2:11 Has a nation ever changed its gods (even though they are not really gods at all)? But my people have exchanged me, their glorious God, for a god that cannot help them at all!

2:12 Be amazed at this, O heavens! Be shocked and utterly dumbfounded,” says the Lord.

2:13 “Do so because my people have committed a double wrong: they have rejected me, the fountain of life-giving water, and they have dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns which cannot even hold water.”

Israel’s Reliance on Foreign Alliances (not on God)

2:14 “Israel is not a slave, is he? He was not born into slavery, was he? If not, why then is he being carried off?

2:15 Like lions his enemies roar victoriously over him; they raise their voices in triumph. They have laid his land waste; his cities have been burned down and deserted.

2:16 Even the soldiers from Memphis and Tahpanhes have cracked your skulls, people of Israel.

2:17 You have brought all this on yourself, Israel, by deserting the Lord your God when he was leading you along the right path.

2:18 What good will it do you then to go down to Egypt to seek help from the Egyptians? What good will it do you to go over to Assyria to seek help from the Assyrians?

2:19 Your own wickedness will bring about your punishment. Your unfaithful acts will bring down discipline on you. Know, then, and realize how utterly harmful it was for you to reject me, the Lord your God, to show no respect for me,” says the Lord God who rules over all.

The Lord Expresses His Exasperation at Judah’s Persistent Idolat

2:20 “Indeed, long ago you threw off my authority and refused to be subject to me. You said, ‘I will not serve you.’ Instead, you gave yourself to other gods on every high hill and under every green tree, like a prostitute sprawls out before her lovers.

2:21 I planted you in the land like a special vine of the very best stock. Why in the world have you turned into something like a wild vine that produces rotten, foul-smelling grapes?

2:22 You can try to wash away your guilt with a strong detergent. You can use as much soap as you want.

But the stain of your guilt is still there for me to see,” says the Lord God.

2:23 “How can you say, ‘I have not made myself unclean. I have not paid allegiance to the gods called Baal.’ Just look at the way you have behaved in the Valley of Hinnom! Think about the things you have done there! You are like a flighty, young female camel that rushes here and there, crisscrossing its path.

2:24 You are like a wild female donkey brought up in the wilderness. In her lust she sniffs the wind to get the scent of a male. No one can hold her back when she is in heat. None of the males need wear themselves out chasing after her. At mating time she is easy to find.

2:25 Do not chase after other gods until your shoes wear out and your throats become dry. But you say, ‘It is useless for you to try and stop me because I love those foreign gods and want to pursue them!’

2:26 Just as a thief has to suffer dishonor when he is caught, so the people of Israel will suffer dishonor for what they have done. So will their kings and officials, their priests and their prophets.

2:27 They say to a wooden idol, ‘You are my father.’ They say to a stone image, ‘You gave birth to me.’ Yes, they have turned away from me instead of turning to me. Yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’

2:28 But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them save you when you are in trouble. The sad fact is that you have as many gods as you have towns, Judah.

2:29 “Why do you try to refute me? All of you have rebelled against me,” says the Lord.

2:30 “It did no good for me to punish your people. They did not respond to such correction. You slaughtered your prophets like a voracious lion.”

2:31 You people of this generation, listen to what the Lord says. “Have I been like a wilderness to you, Israel? Have I been like a dark and dangerous land to you? Why then do you say, ‘We are free to wander. We will not come to you any more?’

2:32 Does a young woman forget to put on her jewels? Does a bride forget to put on her bridal attire? But my people have forgotten me for more days than can even be counted.

2:33 “My, how good you have become at chasing after your lovers! Why, you could even teach prostitutes a thing or two!

2:34 Even your clothes are stained with the lifeblood of the poor who had not done anything wrong; you did not catch them breaking into your homes. Yet, in spite of all these things you have done,

2:35 you say, ‘I have not done anything wrong, so the Lord cannot really be angry with me any more.’ But, watch out! I will bring down judgment on you because you say, ‘I have not committed any sin.’

2:36 Why do you constantly go about changing your political allegiances? You will get no help from Egypt just as you got no help from Assyria.

2:37 Moreover, you will come away from Egypt with your hands covering your faces in sorrow and shame because the Lord will not allow your reliance on them to be successful and you will not gain any help from them.

3:1 “If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife, he may not take her back again. Doing that would utterly defile the land. But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. So what makes you think you can return to me?” says the Lord.

3:2 “Look up at the hilltops and consider this. You have had sex with other gods on every one of them. You waited for those gods like a thief lying in wait in the desert. You defiled the land by your wicked prostitution to other gods.

3:3 That is why the rains have been withheld, and the spring rains have not come. Yet in spite of this you are obstinate as a prostitute. You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done.

3:4 Even now you say to me, ‘You are my father! You have been my faithful companion ever since I was young.

3:5 You will not always be angry with me, will you? You will not be mad at me forever, will you?’ That is what you say, but you continually do all the evil that you can.”

3:6 When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done. You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods. 3:7 Yet even after she had done all that, I thought that she might come back to me. But she did not. Her sister, unfaithful Judah, saw what she did. 3:8 She also saw that I gave wayward Israel her divorce papers and sent her away because of her adulterous worship of other gods. Even after her unfaithful sister Judah had seen this, she still was not afraid, and she too went and gave herself like a prostitute to other gods. 3:9 Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she defiled the land through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone. 3:10 In spite of all this, Israel’s sister, unfaithful Judah, has not turned back to me with any sincerity; she has only pretended to do so,” says the Lord. 3:11 Then the Lord said to me, “Under the circumstances, wayward Israel could even be considered less guilty than unfaithful Judah.

The Lord Calls on Israel and Judah to Repent

3:12 “Go and shout this message to my people in the countries in the north. Tell them, ‘Come back to me, wayward Israel,’ says the Lord. ‘I will not continue to look on you with displeasure. For I am merciful,’ says the Lord. ‘I will not be angry with you forever.

3:13 However, you must confess that you have done wrong, and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God. You must confess that you have given yourself to foreign gods under every green tree, and have not obeyed my commands,’ says the Lord.

3:14 “Come back to me, my wayward sons,” says the Lord, “for I am your true master. If you do, I will take one of you from each town and two of you from each family group, and I will bring you back to Zion. 3:15 I will give you leaders who will be faithful to me. They will lead you with knowledge and insight. 3:16 In those days, your population will greatly increase in the land. At that time,” says the Lord, “people will no longer talk about having the ark that contains the Lord’s covenant with us. They will not call it to mind, remember it, or miss it. No, that will not be done any more! 3:17 At that time the city of Jerusalem will be called the Lord’s throne. All nations will gather there in Jerusalem to honor the Lord’s name. They will no longer follow the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. 3:18 At that time the nation of Judah and the nation of Israel will be reunited. Together they will come back from a land in the north to the land that I gave to your ancestors as a permanent possession. “

3:19 “I thought to myself, ‘Oh what a joy it would be for me to treat you like a son! What a joy it would be for me to give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful piece of property there is in all the world!’ I thought you would call me, ‘Father’ and would never cease being loyal to me.

3:20 But, you have been unfaithful to me, nation of Israel, like an unfaithful wife who has left her husband,” says the Lord.

3:21 “A noise is heard on the hilltops. It is the sound of the people of Israel crying and pleading to their gods. Indeed they have followed sinful ways; they have forgotten to be true to the Lord their God.

3:22 Come back to me, you wayward people. I want to cure your waywardness. Say, ‘Here we are. We come to you because you are the Lord our God.

3:23 We know our noisy worship of false gods on the hills and mountains did not help us. We know that the Lord our God is the only one who can deliver Israel.

3:24 From earliest times our worship of that shameful god, Baal, has taken away all that our ancestors worked for. It has taken away our flocks and our herds, and even our sons and daughters.

3:25 Let us acknowledge our shame. Let us bear the disgrace that we deserve. For we have sinned against the Lord our God, both we and our ancestors. From earliest times to this very day we have not obeyed the Lord our God.’

4:1 “If you, Israel, want to come back,” says the Lord, “if you want to come back to me you must get those disgusting idols out of my sight and must no longer go astray.

4:2 You must be truthful, honest and upright when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ If you do, the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are and will make him the object of their boasting.”

4:3 Yes, the Lord has this to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground, you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning; just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted, you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives.

4:4 Just as ritual circumcision cuts away the foreskin as an external symbol of dedicated covenant commitment, you must genuinely dedicate yourselves to the Lord and get rid of everything that hinders your commitment to me, people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. If you do not, my anger will blaze up like a flaming fire against you that no one will be able to extinguish. That will happen because of the evil you have done.”

Warning of Coming Judgment

4:5 The Lord said, “Announce this in Judah and proclaim it in Jerusalem: ‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’ Shout out loudly, ‘Gather together! Let us flee into the fortified cities!’

4:6 Raise a signal flag that tells people to go to Zion. Run for safety! Do not delay! For I am about to bring disaster out of the north. It will bring great destruction.

4:7 Like a lion that has come up from its lair the one who destroys nations has set out from his home base. He is coming out to lay your land waste. Your cities will become ruins and lie uninhabited.

4:8 So put on sackcloth! Mourn and wail, saying, ‘The fierce anger of the Lord has not turned away from us!’”

4:9 “When this happens,” says the Lord, “the king and his officials will lose their courage. The priests will be struck with horror, and the prophets will be speechless in astonishment.”

4:10 In response to all this I said, “Ah, Lord God, you have surely allowed the people of Judah and Jerusalem to be deceived by those who say, ‘You will be safe!’ But in fact a sword is already at our throats.”

4:11 “At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be told, ‘A scorching wind will sweep down from the hilltops in the desert on my dear people. It will not be a gentle breeze for winnowing the grain and blowing away the chaff.

4:12 No, a wind too strong for that will come at my bidding. Yes, even now I, myself, am calling down judgment on them.’

4:13 Look! The enemy is approaching like gathering clouds. The roar of his chariots is like that of a whirlwind. His horses move more swiftly than eagles.” I cry out, “We are doomed, for we will be destroyed!”

4:14 “Oh people of Jerusalem, purify your hearts from evil so that you may yet be delivered. How long will you continue to harbor up wicked schemes within you?

4:15 For messengers are coming, heralding disaster, from the city of Dan and from the hills of Ephraim.

4:16 They are saying, ‘Announce to the surrounding nations, “The enemy is coming!” Proclaim this message to Jerusalem: “Those who besiege cities are coming from a distant land. They are ready to raise the battle cry against the towns in Judah.”‘

4:17 They will surround Jerusalem like men guarding a field because they have rebelled against me,” says the Lord.

4:18 “The way you have lived and the things you have done will bring this on you. This is the punishment you deserve, and it will be painful indeed. The pain will be so bad it will pierce your heart.”

4:19 I said, “Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach! I writhe in anguish. Oh, the pain in my heart! My heart pounds within me. I cannot keep silent. For I hear the sound of the trumpet; the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul!

4:20 I see one destruction after another taking place, so that the whole land lies in ruins. I see our tents suddenly destroyed, their curtains torn down in a mere instant.

4:21 “How long must I see the enemy’s battle flags and hear the military signals of their bugles?”

4:22 The Lord answered, “This will happen because my people are foolish. They do not know me. They are like children who have no sense. They have no understanding. They are skilled at doing evil. They do not know how to do good.”

4:23 “I looked at the land and saw that it was an empty wasteland. I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.

4:24 I looked at the mountains and saw that they were shaking. All the hills were swaying back and forth!

4:25 I looked and saw that there were no more people, and that all the birds in the sky had flown away.

4:26 I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert and that all of the cities had been laid in ruins. The Lord had brought this all about because of his blazing anger.

4:27 All this will happen because the Lord said, “The whole land will be desolate; however, I will not completely destroy it.

4:28 Because of this the land will mourn and the sky above will grow black. For I have made my purpose known and I will not relent or turn back from carrying it out.”

4:29 At the sound of the approaching horsemen and archers the people of every town will flee. Some of them will hide in the thickets. Others will climb up among the rocks. All the cities will be deserted. No one will remain in them.

4:30 And you, Zion, city doomed to destruction, you accomplish nothing by wearing a beautiful dress, decking yourself out in jewels of gold, and putting on eye shadow! You are making yourself beautiful for nothing. Your lovers spurn you. They want to kill you.

4:31 In fact, I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby. It is the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, reaching out for help, saying, “I am done in! My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”

Judah is Justly Deserving of Coming Judgment

5:1 The Lord said, “Go up and down through the streets of Jerusalem. Look around and see for yourselves. Search through its public squares. See if any of you can find a single person who deals honestly and tries to be truthful. If you can, then I will not punish this city.

5:2 These people make promises in the name of the Lord. But the fact is, what they swear to is really a lie.”

5:3 Lord, I know you look for faithfulness. But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse. Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected. They have become as hardheaded as a rock. They refuse to change their ways.

5:4 I thought, “Surely it is only the ignorant poor who act this way. They act like fools because they do not know what the Lord demands. They do not know what their God requires of them.

5:5 I will go to the leaders and speak with them. Surely they know what the Lord demands. Surely they know what their God requires of them.” Yet all of them, too, have rejected his authority and refuse to submit to him.

5:6 So like a lion from the thicket their enemies will kill them. Like a wolf from the desert they will destroy them. Like a leopard they will lie in wait outside their cities and totally destroy anyone who ventures out. For they have rebelled so much and done so many unfaithful things.

5:7 The Lord asked, “How can I leave you unpunished, Jerusalem? Your people have rejected me and have worshiped gods that are not gods at all. Even though I supplied all their needs, they were like an unfaithful wife to me. They went flocking to the houses of prostitutes.

5:8 They are like lusty, well-fed stallions. Each of them lusts after his neighbor’s wife.

5:9 I will surely punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord. “I will surely bring retribution on such a nation as this!”

5:10 The Lord commanded the enemy, “March through the vineyards of Israel and Judah and ruin them. But do not destroy them completely. Strip off their branches for these people do not belong to the Lord.

5:11 For the nations of Israel and Judah have been very unfaithful to me,” says the Lord.

5:12 “These people have denied what the Lord says. They have said, ‘That is not so! No harm will come to us. We will not experience war and famine.

5:13 The prophets will prove to be full of wind. The Lord has not spoken through them. So, let what they say happen to them.’”

5:14 Because of that, the Lord, the God who rules over all, said to me, “Because these people have spoken like this, I will make the words that I put in your mouth like fire. And I will make this people like wood which the fiery judgments you speak will burn up.”

5:15 The Lord says, “Listen, nation of Israel! I am about to bring a nation from far away to attack you. It will be a nation that was founded long ago and has lasted for a long time. It will be a nation whose language you will not know. Its people will speak words that you will not be able to understand.

5:16 All of its soldiers are strong and mighty. Their arrows will send you to your grave.

5:17 They will eat up your crops and your food. They will kill off your sons and your daughters. They will eat up your sheep and your cattle. They will destroy your vines and your fig trees. Their weapons will batter down the fortified cities you trust in.

5:18 Yet even then I will not completely destroy you,” says the Lord. 5:19 “So then, Jeremiah, when your people ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ tell them, ‘It is because you rejected me and served foreign gods in your own land. So you must serve foreigners in a land that does not belong to you.’

5:20 “Proclaim this message among the descendants of Jacob. Make it known throughout Judah.

5:21 Tell them: ‘Hear this, you foolish people who have no understanding, who have eyes but do not discern, who have ears but do not perceive:

5:22 “You should fear me!” says the Lord. “You should tremble in awe before me! I made the sand to be a boundary for the sea, a permanent barrier that it can never cross. Its waves may roll, but they can never prevail. They may roar, but they can never cross beyond that boundary.”

5:23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned aside and gone their own way.

5:24 They do not say to themselves, “Let us revere the Lord our God. It is he who gives us the autumn rains and the spring rains at the proper time. It is he who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.”

5:25 Your misdeeds have stopped these things from coming. Your sins have deprived you of my bounty.’

5:26 “Indeed, there are wicked scoundrels among my people. They lie in wait like bird catchers hiding in ambush. They set deadly traps to catch people.

5:27 Like a cage filled with the birds that have been caught, their houses are filled with the gains of their fraud and deceit. That is how they have gotten so rich and powerful.

5:28 That is how they have grown fat and sleek. There is no limit to the evil things they do. They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it. They do not defend the rights of the poor.

5:29 I will certainly punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord. “I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this!

5:30 “Something horrible and shocking is going on in the land of Judah:

5:31 The prophets prophesy lies. The priests exercise power by their own authority. And my people love to have it this way. But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes!

The Destruction of Jerusalem Depicted

6:1 “Run for safety, people of Benjamin! Get out of Jerusalem! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa! Light the signal fires at Beth Hakkerem! For disaster lurks out of the north; it will bring great destruction.

6:2 I will destroy Daughter Zion, who is as delicate and defenseless as a young maiden.

6:3 Kings will come against it with their armies. They will encamp in siege all around it. Each of them will devastate the portion assigned to him.

6:4 They will say, ‘Prepare to do battle against it! Come on! Let’s attack it at noon!’ But later they will say, ‘Oh, oh! Too bad! The day is almost over and the shadows of evening are getting long.

6:5 So come on, let’s go ahead and attack it by night and destroy all its fortified buildings.’

6:6 All of this is because the Lord who rules over all has said: ‘Cut down the trees around Jerusalem and build up a siege ramp against its walls. This is the city which is to be punished. Nothing but oppression happens in it.

6:7 As a well continually pours out fresh water so it continually pours out wicked deeds. Sounds of violence and destruction echo throughout it. All I see are sick and wounded people.’

6:8 So take warning, Jerusalem, or I will abandon you in disgust and make you desolate, a place where no one can live.”

6:9 This is what the Lord who rules over all said to me: “Those who remain in Israel will be like the grapes thoroughly gleaned from a vine. So go over them again, as though you were a grape harvester passing your hand over the branches one last time.”

6:10 I answered, “Who would listen if I spoke to them and warned them? Their ears are so closed that they cannot hear! Indeed, what the Lord says is offensive to them. They do not like it at all.

6:11 I am as full of anger as you are, Lord, I am tired of trying to hold it in.” The Lord answered, “Vent it, then, on the children who play in the street and on the young men who are gathered together. Husbands and wives are to be included, as well as the old and those who are advanced in years.

6:12 Their houses will be turned over to others as will their fields and their wives. For I will unleash my power against those who live in this land,” says the Lord.

6:13 “That is because, from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all of them practice deceit.

6:14 They offer only superficial help for the harm my people have suffered. They say, ‘Everything will be all right!’ But everything is not all right!

6:15 Are they ashamed because they have done such shameful things? No, they are not at all ashamed. They do not even know how to blush! So they will die, just like others have died. They will be brought to ruin when I punish them,” says the Lord.

6:16 The Lord said to his people: “You are standing at the crossroads. So consider your path. Ask where the old, reliable paths are. Ask where the path is that leads to blessing and follow it. If you do, you will find rest for your souls.” But they said, “We will not follow it!”

6:17 The Lord said, “I appointed prophets as watchmen to warn you, saying: ‘Pay attention to the warning sound of the trumpet!’” But they said, “We will not pay attention!”

6:18 So the Lord said, “Hear, you nations! Be witnesses and take note of what will happen to these people.

6:19 Hear this, you peoples of the earth: ‘Take note! I am about to bring disaster on these people. It will come as punishment for their scheming. For they have paid no attention to what I have said, and they have rejected my law.

6:20 I take no delight when they offer up to me frankincense that comes from Sheba or sweet-smelling cane imported from a faraway land. I cannot accept the burnt offerings they bring me. I get no pleasure from the sacrifices they offer to me.’

6:21 So, this is what the Lord says: ‘I will assuredly make these people stumble to their doom. Parents and children will stumble and fall to their destruction. Friends and neighbors will die.’

6:22 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Beware! An army is coming from a land in the north. A mighty nation is stirring into action in faraway parts of the earth.

6:23 Its soldiers are armed with bows and spears. They are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride forth on their horses. Lined up in formation like men going into battle to attack you, Daughter Zion.’”

6:24 The people cry out, “We have heard reports about them! We have become helpless with fear! Anguish grips us, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby!

6:25 Do not go out into the countryside. Do not travel on the roads. For the enemy is there with sword in hand. They are spreading terror everywhere.”

6:26 So I said, “Oh, my dear people, put on sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with painful sobs as though you had lost your only child. For any moment now that destructive army will come against us.”

6:27 The Lord said to me, “I have made you like a metal assayer to test my people like ore. You are to observe them and evaluate how they behave.”

6:28 I reported, “All of them are the most stubborn of rebels! They are as hard as bronze or iron. They go about telling lies. They all deal corruptly.

6:29 The fiery bellows of judgment burn fiercely. But there is too much dross to be removed. The process of refining them has proved useless. The wicked have not been purged.

6:30 They are regarded as ‘rejected silver’ because the Lord rejects them.”

Faulty Religion and Unethical Behavior Will Lead to Judgment

7:1 The Lord said to Jeremiah: 7:2 “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s temple and proclaim this message: ‘Listen, all you people of Judah who have passed through these gates to worship the Lord. Hear what the Lord has to say. 7:3 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says: Change the way you have been living and do what is right. If you do, I will allow you to continue to live in this land. 7:4 Stop putting your confidence in the false belief that says, “We are safe! The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here!” 7:5 You must change the way you have been living and do what is right. You must treat one another fairly. 7:6 Stop oppressing foreigners who live in your land, children who have lost their fathers, and women who have lost their husbands. Stop killing innocent people in this land. Stop paying allegiance to other gods. That will only bring about your ruin. 7:7 If you stop doing these things, I will allow you to continue to live in this land which I gave to your ancestors as a lasting possession.

7:8 “‘But just look at you! You are putting your confidence in a false belief that will not deliver you. 7:9 You steal. You murder. You commit adultery. You lie when you swear on oath. You sacrifice to the god Baal. You pay allegiance to other gods whom you have not previously known. 7:10 Then you come and stand in my presence in this temple I have claimed as my own and say, “We are safe!” You think you are so safe that you go on doing all those hateful sins! 7:11 Do you think this temple I have claimed as my own is to be a hideout for robbers? You had better take note! I have seen for myself what you have done! says the Lord. 7:12 So, go to the place in Shiloh where I allowed myself to be worshiped in the early days. See what I did to it because of the wicked things my people Israel did. 7:13 You also have done all these things, says the Lord, and I have spoken to you over and over again. But you have not listened! You have refused to respond when I called you to repent! 7:14 So I will destroy this temple which I have claimed as my own, this temple that you are trusting to protect you. I will destroy this place that I gave to you and your ancestors, just like I destroyed Shiloh. 7:15 And I will drive you out of my sight just like I drove out your relatives, the people of Israel.’”

7:16 Then the Lord said, “As for you, Jeremiah, do not pray for these people! Do not cry out to me or petition me on their behalf! Do not plead with me to save them, because I will not listen to you. 7:17 Do you see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 7:18 Children are gathering firewood, fathers are building fires with it, and women are mixing dough to bake cakes to offer to the goddess they call the Queen of Heaven. They are also pouring out drink offerings to other gods. They seem to do all this just to trouble me. 7:19 But I am not really the one being troubled!” says the Lord. “Rather they are bringing trouble on themselves to their own shame! 7:20 So,” the Lord God says, “my raging fury will be poured out on this land. It will be poured out on human beings and animals, on trees and crops. And it will burn like a fire which cannot be extinguished.”

7:21 The Lord said to the people of Judah, “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says: ‘You might as well go ahead and add the meat of your burnt offerings to that of the other sacrifices and eat it, too! 7:22 Consider this: When I spoke to your ancestors after I brought them out of Egypt, I did not merely give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices. 7:23 I also explicitly commanded them: “Obey me. If you do, I will be your God and you will be my people. Live exactly the way I tell you and things will go well with you.” 7:24 But they did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They followed the stubborn inclinations of their own wicked hearts. They acted worse and worse instead of better. 7:25 From the time your ancestors departed the land of Egypt until now, I sent my servants the prophets to you again and again, day after day. 7:26 But your ancestors did not listen to me nor pay attention to me. They became obstinate and were more wicked than even their own forefathers.’”

7:27 Then the Lord said to me, “When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you. When you call out to them, they will not respond to you. 7:28 So tell them: ‘This is a nation that has not obeyed the Lord their God and has not accepted correction. Faithfulness is nowhere to be found in it. These people do not even profess it anymore. 7:29 So, mourn, you people of this nation. Cut off your hair and throw it away. Sing a song of mourning on the hilltops. For the Lord has decided to reject and forsake this generation that has provoked his wrath!’”

7:30 The Lord says, “I have rejected them because the people of Judah have done what I consider evil. They have set up their disgusting idols in the temple which I have claimed for my own and have defiled it. 7:31 They have also built places of worship in a place called Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they can sacrifice their sons and daughters by fire. That is something I never commanded them to do! Indeed, it never even entered my mind to command such a thing! 7:32 So, watch out!” says the Lord. “The time will soon come when people will no longer call those places Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom. But they will call that valley the Valley of Slaughter and they will bury so many people in Topheth they will run out of room. 7:33 Then the dead bodies of these people will be left on the ground for the birds and wild animals to eat. There will not be any survivors to scare them away. 7:34 I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, or the glad celebration of brides and grooms throughout the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. For the whole land will become a desolate wasteland.”

8:1 The Lord says, “When that time comes, the bones of the kings of Judah and its leaders, the bones of the priests and prophets and of all the other people who lived in Jerusalem will be dug up from their graves. 8:2 They will be spread out and exposed to the sun, the moon and the stars. These are things they adored and served, things to which they paid allegiance, from which they sought guidance, and worshiped. The bones of these people will never be regathered and reburied. They will be like manure used to fertilize the ground. 8:3 However, I will leave some of these wicked people alive and banish them to other places. But wherever these people who survive may go, they will wish they had died rather than lived,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Willful Disregard of God Will Lead to Destruction

8:4 The Lord said to me, “Tell them, ‘The Lord says, Do people not get back up when they fall down? Do they not turn around when they go the wrong way?

8:5 Why, then, do these people of Jerusalem continually turn away from me in apostasy? They hold fast to their deception. They refuse to turn back to me.

8:6 I have listened to them very carefully, but they do not speak honestly. None of them regrets the evil he has done. None of them says, “I have done wrong!” All of them persist in their own wayward course like a horse charging recklessly into battle.

8:7 Even the stork knows when it is time to move on. The turtledove, swallow, and crane recognize the normal times for their migration. But my people pay no attention to what I, the Lord, require of them.

8:8 How can you say, “We are wise! We have the law of the Lord”? The truth is, those who teach it have used their writings to make it say what it does not really mean.

8:9 Your wise men will be put to shame. They will be dumbfounded and be brought to judgment. Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what wisdom do they really have?

8:10 So I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.

8:11 They offer only superficial help for the hurt my dear people have suffered. They say, “Everything will be all right!” But everything is not all right!

8:12 Are they ashamed because they have done such disgusting things? No, they are not at all ashamed! They do not even know how to blush! So they will die just like others have died. They will be brought to ruin when I punish them, says the Lord.

8:13 I will take away their harvests, says the Lord. There will be no grapes on their vines. There will be no figs on their fig trees. Even the leaves on their trees will wither. The crops that I gave them will be taken away.’”

Jeremiah Laments over the Coming Destruction

8:14 The people say, “Why are we just sitting here? Let us gather together inside the fortified cities. Let us at least die there fighting, since the Lord our God has condemned us to die. He has condemned us to drink the poison waters of judgment because we have sinned against him.

8:15 We hoped for good fortune, but nothing good has come of it. We hoped for a time of relief, but instead we experience terror.

8:16 The snorting of the enemy’s horses is already being heard in the city of Dan. The sound of the neighing of their stallions causes the whole land to tremble with fear. They are coming to destroy the land and everything in it! They are coming to destroy the cities and everyone who lives in them!”

8:17 The Lord says, “Yes indeed, I am sending an enemy against you that will be like poisonous snakes which cannot be charmed away. And they will inflict fatal wounds on you.”

8:18 Then I said, “There is no cure for my grief! I am sick at heart!

8:19 I hear my dear people crying out throughout the length and breadth of the land. They are crying, ‘Is the Lord no longer in Zion? Is her divine King no longer there?’” The Lord answers, “Why then do they provoke me to anger with their images, with their worthless foreign idols?”

8:20 “They cry, ‘Harvest time has come and gone, and the summer is over, and still we have not been delivered.’

8:21 My heart is crushed because my dear people are being crushed. I go about crying and grieving. I am overwhelmed with dismay.

8:22 There is still medicinal ointment available in Gilead! There is still a physician there! Why then have my dear people not been restored to health?

9:1 I wish that my head were a well full of water and my eyes were a fountain full of tears! If they were, I could cry day and night for those of my dear people who have been killed.

9:2 I wish I had a lodging place in the desert where I could spend some time like a weary traveler. Then I would desert my people and walk away from them because they are all unfaithful to God, a congregation of people that has been disloyal to him.

The Lord Laments That He Has No Choice But to Judge Them

9:3 The Lord says, “These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows. Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. They have become powerful in the land, but they have not done so by honest means. Indeed, they do one evil thing after another and do not pay attention to me.

9:4 Everyone must be on his guard around his friends. He must not even trust any of his relatives. For every one of them will find some way to cheat him. And all of his friends will tell lies about him.

9:5 One friend deceives another and no one tells the truth. These people have trained themselves to tell lies. They do wrong and are unable to repent.

9:6 They do one act of violence after another, and one deceitful thing after another. They refuse to pay attention to me,” says the Lord.

9:7 Therefore the Lord who rules over all says, “I will now purify them in the fires of affliction and test them. The wickedness of my dear people has left me no choice. What else can I do?

9:8 Their tongues are like deadly arrows. They are always telling lies. Friendly words for their neighbors come from their mouths. But their minds are thinking up ways to trap them.

9:9 I will certainly punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord. “I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this!”

The Coming Destruction Calls For Mourning

9:10 I said, “I will weep and mourn for the grasslands on the mountains, I will sing a mournful song for the pastures in the wilderness because they are so scorched no one travels through them. The sound of livestock is no longer heard there. Even the birds in the sky and the wild animals in the fields have fled and are gone.”

9:11 The Lord said, “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins. Jackals will make their home there. I will destroy the towns of Judah so that no one will be able to live in them.”

9:12 I said, “Who is wise enough to understand why this has happened? Who has a word from the Lord that can explain it? Why does the land lie in ruins? Why is it as scorched as a desert through which no one travels?”

9:13 The Lord answered, “This has happened because these people have rejected my laws which I gave them. They have not obeyed me or followed those laws. 9:14 Instead they have followed the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts. They have paid allegiance to the gods called Baal, as their fathers taught them to do. 9:15 So then, listen to what I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, say. ‘I will make these people eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment. 9:16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known anything about. I will send people chasing after them with swords until I have destroyed them.’”

9:17 The Lord who rules over all told me to say to this people, “Take note of what I say. Call for the women who mourn for the dead! Summon those who are the most skilled at it!”

9:18 I said, “Indeed, let them come quickly and sing a song of mourning for us. Let them wail loudly until tears stream from our own eyes and our eyelids overflow with water.

9:19 For the sound of wailing is soon to be heard in Zion. They will wail, ‘We are utterly ruined! We are completely disgraced! For our houses have been torn down and we must leave our land.’”

9:20 I said, “So now, you wailing women, hear what the Lord says. Open your ears to the words from his mouth. Teach your daughters this mournful song, and each of you teach your neighbor this lament.

9:21 ‘Death has climbed in through our windows. It has entered into our fortified houses. It has taken away our children who play in the streets. It has taken away our young men who gather in the city squares.’

9:22 Tell your daughters and neighbors, ‘The Lord says, “The dead bodies of people will lie scattered everywhere like manure scattered on a field. They will lie scattered on the ground like grain that has been cut down but has not been gathered.”‘”

9:23 The Lord says, “Wise people should not boast that they are wise. Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful. Rich people should not boast that they are rich.

9:24 If people want to boast, they should boast about this: They should boast that they understand and know me. They should boast that they know and understand that I, the Lord, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the earth and that I desire people to do these things,” says the Lord.

9:25 The Lord says, “Watch out! The time is soon coming when I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the flesh. 9:26 That is, I will punish the Egyptians, the Judeans, the Edomites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and all the desert people who cut their hair short at the temples. I will do so because none of the people of those nations are really circumcised in the Lord’s sight. Moreover, none of the people of Israel are circumcised when it comes to their hearts.”

The Lord, not Idols, is the Only Worthy Object of Worship

10:1 You people of Israel, listen to what the Lord has to say to you.

10:2 The Lord says, “Do not start following pagan religious practices. Do not be in awe of signs that occur in the sky even though the nations hold them in awe.

10:3 For the religion of these people is worthless. They cut down a tree in the forest, and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools.

10:4 He decorates it with overlays of silver and gold. He uses hammer and nails to fasten it together so that it will not fall over.

10:5 Such idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field. They cannot talk. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them because they cannot hurt you. And they do not have any power to help you.”

10:6 I said, “There is no one like you, Lord. You are great. And you are renowned for your power.

10:7 Everyone should revere you, O King of all nations, because you deserve to be revered. For there is no one like you among any of the wise people of the nations nor among any of their kings.

10:8 The people of those nations are both stupid and foolish. Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless!

10:9 Hammered-out silver is brought from Tarshish and gold is brought from Uphaz to cover those idols. They are the handiwork of carpenters and goldsmiths. They are clothed in blue and purple clothes. They are all made by skillful workers.

10:10 The Lord is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King. When he shows his anger the earth shakes. None of the nations can stand up to his fury.

10:11 You people of Israel should tell those nations this: ‘These gods did not make heaven and earth. They will disappear from the earth and from under the heavens.’

10:12 The Lord is the one who by his power made the earth. He is the one who by his wisdom established the world. And by his understanding he spread out the skies.

10:13 When his voice thunders, the heavenly ocean roars. He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons. He makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain. He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it.

10:14 All these idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols.

10:15 They are worthless, mere objects to be mocked. When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed.

10:16 The Lord, who is the inheritance of Jacob’s descendants, is not like them. He is the one who created everything. And the people of Israel are those he claims as his own. He is known as the Lord who rules over all.”

Jeremiah Laments for and Prays for the Soon-to-be-Judged People

10:17 Gather your belongings together and prepare to leave the land, you people of Jerusalem who are being besieged.

10:18 For the Lord says, “I will now throw out those who live in this land. I will bring so much trouble on them that they will actually feel it.”

10:19 And I cried out, “We are doomed! Our wound is severe! We once thought, ‘This is only an illness. And we will be able to bear it!’

10:20 But our tents have been destroyed. The ropes that held them in place have been ripped apart. Our children are gone and are not coming back. There is no survivor to put our tents back up, no one left to hang their tent curtains in place.

10:21 For our leaders are stupid. They have not sought the Lord’s advice. So they do not act wisely, and the people they are responsible for have all been scattered.

10:22 Listen! News is coming even now. The rumble of a great army is heard approaching from a land in the north. It is coming to turn the towns of Judah into rubble, places where only jackals live.

10:23 Lord, we know that people do not control their own destiny. It is not in their power to determine what will happen to them.

10:24 Correct us, Lord, but only in due measure. Do not punish us in anger or you will reduce us to nothing.

10:25 Vent your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you. Vent it on the peoples who do not worship you. For they have destroyed the people of Jacob. They have completely destroyed them and left their homeland in utter ruin.

The People Have Violated Their Covenant with God

11:1 The Lord said to Jeremiah: 11:2 “Hear the terms of the covenant I made with Israel and pass them on to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. 11:3 Tell them that the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Anyone who does not keep the terms of the covenant will be under a curse. 11:4 Those are the terms that I charged your ancestors to keep when I brought them out of Egypt, that place which was like an iron-smelting furnace. I said at that time, “Obey me and carry out the terms of the agreement exactly as I commanded you. If you do, you will be my people and I will be your God. 11:5 Then I will keep the promise I swore on oath to your ancestors to give them a land flowing with milk and honey.” That is the very land that you still live in today.’” And I responded, “Amen! Let it be so, Lord!”

11:6 The Lord said to me, “Announce all the following words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of my covenant with you and carry them out! 11:7 For I solemnly warned your ancestors to obey me. I warned them again and again, ever since I delivered them out of Egypt until this very day. 11:8 But they did not listen to me or pay any attention to me! Each one of them followed the stubborn inclinations of his own wicked heart. So I brought on them all the punishments threatened in the covenant because they did not carry out its terms as I commanded them to do.’”

11:9 The Lord said to me, “The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem have plotted rebellion against me! 11:10 They have gone back to the evil ways of their ancestors of old who refused to obey what I told them. They, too, have paid allegiance to other gods and worshiped them. Both the nation of Israel and the nation of Judah have violated the covenant I made with their ancestors. 11:11 So I, the Lord, say this: ‘I will soon bring disaster on them which they will not be able to escape! When they cry out to me for help, I will not listen to them. 11:12 Then those living in the towns of Judah and in Jerusalem will go and cry out for help to the gods to whom they have been sacrificing. However, those gods will by no means be able to save them when disaster strikes them. 11:13 This is in spite of the fact that the people of Judah have as many gods as they have towns and the citizens of Jerusalem have set up as many altars to sacrifice to that disgusting god, Baal, as they have streets in the city!’ 11:14 So, Jeremiah, do not pray for these people. Do not cry out to me or petition me on their behalf. Do not plead with me to save them. For I will not listen to them when they call out to me for help when disaster strikes them.”

11:15 The Lord says to the people of Judah, “What right do you have to be in my temple, my beloved people? Many of you have done wicked things. Can your acts of treachery be so easily canceled by sacred offerings that you take joy in doing evil even while you make them?

11:16 I, the Lord, once called you a thriving olive tree, one that produced beautiful fruit. But I will set you on fire, fire that will blaze with a mighty roar. Then all your branches will be good for nothing.

11:17 For though I, the Lord who rules over all, planted you in the land, I now decree that disaster will come on you because the nations of Israel and Judah have done evil and have made me angry by offering sacrifices to the god Baal.”

Prayer

Lord, when You called Jeremiah You made it clear that he was to be fearless in his work for You. May I also, with Your indwelling presence through the Holy Spirit, also be fearless. The foolish idolatry of false gods breaks the covenant of intimacy with You. May I learn from the past and be careful to place nothing between You and me.

Scripture In Perspective

Jeremiah was called to the prophetic ministry by the Lord God about 600BC. According to the text he was young, though no specific age was given, and was encouraged (as Paul later encouraged Timothy) to not to allow his age to be an impediment to ministry.

His calling was a powerful one “... get yourself ready! Go and tell these people everything I instruct you to say. Do not be terrified of them, or I will give you good reason to be terrified of them. I, the Lord, hereby promise to make you as strong as a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. You will be able to stand up against all who live in the land, including the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and all the people of the land. They will attack you but they will not be able to overcome you, for I will be with you to rescue you,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah was instructed to remind the people of their early faithfulness, followed by unfaithfulness, then what the Lord God described as “spiritual adultery”.

He proclaimed the Lord God’s challenge for seeking protection from pagan foreign governments and His ridicule for trusting pagan idols “They say to a wooden idol, ‘You are my father.’ They say to a stone image, ‘You gave birth to me.’ Yes, they have turned away from me instead of turning to me. Yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’

Jeremiah shared the frustration of the Lord God with their arrogant presumption “Even now you say to me, ‘You are my father! You have been my faithful companion ever since I was young. You will not always be angry with me, will you? You will not be mad at me forever, will you?’ That is what you say, but you continually do all the evil that you can.”

He chastised Judah for their foolishness, which was bring them the Lord God’s condemnation “... wayward Israel could even be considered less guilty than unfaithful Judah.” because they had seen that had happened to Israel yet they followed the same path and merely pretended to be faithful.

Jeremiah delivered the Lord God’s plea to Israel to repent of their sinful rebellion so that he might forgive, reconcile, and restore them – even reuniting them with Judah.

He delivered the Lord God’s warning of impending disastrous-judgment.

Jeremiah was challenged by the Lord God to seek out even one person of integrity in Jerusalem, an even lesser-standard than that which would have triggered His willingness to withhold destruction from Sodom and Gomorrah, but he could not find one.

He was sure that it was only the ‘ignorant’ who rebelled and went to those who were supposed to be the ‘elders’ but they also were in rebellion – and very-intentionally so. The Lord God declared a terrible judgment, but not annihilation.

He was assigned to deliver a tribulation and then to observe their response, he said “All of them are the most stubborn of rebels! They are as hard as bronze or iron. They go about telling lies. They all deal corruptly. The fiery bellows of judgment burn fiercely. But there is too much dross to be removed. The process of refining them has proved useless. The wicked have not been purged. They are regarded as ‘rejected silver’ because the Lord rejects them.”

Jeremiah was heartsick.

Jeremiah delivered a wisdom that the apostle Paul later paraphrased “If people want to boast, they should boast about this: They should boast that they understand and know me. They should boast that they know and understand that I, the Lord, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the earth and that I desire people to do these things,” says the Lord.”

Jeremiah had been warned by the Lord God to not pray for his people to be pardoned from their punishment but he did lament, as he instructed them to prepare to be dispersed “Gather your belongings together and prepare to leave the land, you people of Jerusalem who are being besieged. For the Lord says, “I will now throw out those who live in this land. I will bring so much trouble on them that they will actually feel it.” And I cried out, “We are doomed! Our wound is severe! We once thought, ‘This is only an illness. And we will be able to bear it!’”

He lamented that the very human leaders they had demanded, rather than the Lord God-alone as their king, had predictably failed them “For our leaders are stupid. They have not sought the Lord’s advice. So they do not act wisely, and the people they are responsible for have all been scattered.”

He acknowledged that their corporate covenant with the Lord meant that He chose their fate “Lord, we know that people do not control their own destiny. It is not in their power to determine what will happen to them. Correct us, Lord, but only in due measure. Do not punish us in anger or you will reduce us to nothing.”

Interact With The Text

Consider

Jeremiah received a ‘no fear’ commission from the Lord God. Despite all of their sinful rebellion the Lord God still longed for them to make a new and right-choice to repent and to return home to Him.

Discuss

Why would the people of Judah have copied Israel when they saw the horrible things that happened to Israel as a result? How isolated must Jeremiah have felt, knowing that his fellow citizens were about to be destroyed, yet finding no one who would listen to his warnings?

Reflect

The Lord God wanted Israel, and then Judah, to choose Him but they refused.

Share

When have you observed a group of people, whose poor choices had resulted in trouble, reject the counsel of the wise to change their ways?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a mission He has for you and to reveal to you a place in your walk where you are forgetting to consult the Lord God first.

Act

Today I will gratefully and humbly accept the mission of the Lord God and prayerfully search-out the details He has provided as to how I should proceed. I will be a “good Berean”, consulting the Word, and will ask fellow believers to pray in-agreement for clarity and courage. Today I will repent and seek and receive the Lord’s forgiveness, then I will follow the Holy Spirit along the path of healing and restoration as I surrender that part of my life to His Lordship.

Be Specific ________________________________________________

Thursday (Jeremiah 11:18-22)

A Plot Against Jeremiah is Revealed and He Complains of Injustice

11:18 The Lord gave me knowledge, that I might have understanding. Then he showed me what the people were doing.

11:19 Before this I had been like a docile lamb ready to be led to the slaughter. I did not know they were making plans to kill me. I did not know they were saying, “Let’s destroy the tree along with its fruit! Let’s remove Jeremiah from the world of the living so people will not even be reminded of him any more.”

11:20 So I said to the Lord, “O Lord who rules over all, you are a just judge! You examine people’s hearts and minds. I want to see you pay them back for what they have done because I trust you to vindicate my cause.”

11:21 Then the Lord told me about some men from Anathoth who were threatening to kill me. They had threatened, “Stop prophesying in the name of the Lord or we will kill you!” 11:22 So the Lord who rules over all said, “I will surely punish them! Their young men will be killed in battle. Their sons and daughters will die of starvation. 11:23 Not one of them will survive. I will bring disaster on those men from Anathoth who threatened you. A day of reckoning is coming for them.”

12:1 Lord, you have always been fair whenever I have complained to you. However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice. Why are wicked people successful? Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives?

12:2 You plant them like trees and they put down their roots. They grow prosperous and are very fruitful. They always talk about you, but they really care nothing about you.

12:3 But you, Lord, know all about me. You watch me and test my devotion to you. Drag these wicked men away like sheep to be slaughtered! Appoint a time when they will be killed!

12:4 How long must the land be parched and the grass in every field be withered? How long must the animals and the birds die because of the wickedness of the people who live in this land? For these people boast, “God will not see what happens to us.”

12:5 The Lord answered, “If you have raced on foot against men and they have worn you out, how will you be able to compete with horses? And if you feel secure only in safe and open country, how will you manage in the thick undergrowth along the Jordan River?

12:6 As a matter of fact, even your own brothers and the members of your own family have betrayed you too. Even they have plotted to do away with you. So do not trust them even when they say kind things to you.

12:7 “I will abandon my nation. I will forsake the people I call my own. I will turn my beloved people over to the power of their enemies.

12:8 The people I call my own have turned on me like a lion in the forest. They have roared defiantly at me. So I will treat them as though I hate them.

12:9 The people I call my own attack me like birds of prey or like hyenas. But other birds of prey are all around them. Let all the nations gather together like wild beasts. Let them come and destroy these people I call my own.

12:10 Many foreign rulers will ruin the land where I planted my people. They will trample all over my chosen land. They will turn my beautiful land into a desolate wasteland.

12:11 They will lay it waste. It will lie parched and empty before me. The whole land will be laid waste. But no one living in it will pay any heed.

12:12 A destructive army will come marching over the hilltops in the desert. For the Lord will use them as his destructive weapon against everyone from one end of the land to the other. No one will be safe.

12:13 My people will sow wheat, but will harvest weeds. They will work until they are exhausted, but will get nothing from it. They will be disappointed in their harvests because the Lord will take them away in his fierce anger.

12:14 “I, the Lord, also have something to say concerning the wicked nations who surround my land and have attacked and plundered the land that I gave to my people as a permanent possession. I say: ‘I will uproot the people of those nations from their lands and I will free the people of Judah who have been taken there. 12:15 But after I have uprooted the people of those nations, I will relent and have pity on them. I will restore the people of each of those nations to their own lands and to their own country. 12:16 But they must make sure you learn to follow the religious practices of my people. Once they taught my people to swear their oaths using the name of the god Baal. But then, they must swear oaths using my name, saying, “As surely as the Lord lives, I swear.” If they do these things, then they will be included among the people I call my own. 12:17 But I will completely uproot and destroy any of those nations that will not pay heed,’” says the Lord.

An Object Lesson from Ruined Linen Shorts

13:1 The Lord said to me, “Go and buy some linen shorts and put them on. Do not put them in water.” 13:2 So I bought the shorts as the Lord had told me to do and put them on. 13:3 Then the Lord spoke to me again and said, 13:4 “Take the shorts that you bought and are wearing and go at once to Perath. Bury the shorts there in a crack in the rocks.” 13:5 So I went and buried them at Perath as the Lord had ordered me to do. 13:6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go at once to Perath and get the shorts I ordered you to bury there.” 13:7 So I went to Perath and dug up the shorts from the place where I had buried them. I found that they were ruined; they were good for nothing.

13:8 Then the Lord said to me, 13:9 “I, the Lord, say: ‘This shows how I will ruin the highly exalted position in which Judah and Jerusalem take pride. 13:10 These wicked people refuse to obey what I have said. They follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts and pay allegiance to other gods by worshiping and serving them. So they will become just like these linen shorts which are good for nothing. 13:11 For,’ I say, ‘just as shorts cling tightly to a person’s body, so I bound the whole nation of Israel and the whole nation of Judah tightly to me.’ I intended for them to be my special people and to bring me fame, honor, and praise. But they would not obey me.

13:12 “So tell them, ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, says, “Every wine jar is made to be filled with wine.”‘ And they will probably say to you, ‘Do you not think we know that every wine jar is supposed to be filled with wine?’ 13:13 Then tell them, ‘The Lord says, “I will soon fill all the people who live in this land with stupor. I will also fill the kings from David’s dynasty, the priests, the prophets, and the citizens of Jerusalem with stupor. 13:14 And I will smash them like wine bottles against one another, children and parents alike. I will not show any pity, mercy, or compassion. Nothing will keep me from destroying them,’ says the Lord.”

13:15 Then I said to the people of Judah, “Listen and pay attention! Do not be arrogant! For the Lord has spoken.

13:16 Show the Lord your God the respect that is due him. Do it before he brings the darkness of disaster. Do it before you stumble into distress like a traveler on the mountains at twilight. Do it before he turns the light of deliverance you hope for into the darkness and gloom of exile.

13:17 But if you will not pay attention to this warning, I will weep alone because of your arrogant pride. I will weep bitterly and my eyes will overflow with tears because you, the Lord’s flock, will be carried into exile.”

13:18 The Lord told me, “Tell the king and the queen mother, ‘Surrender your thrones, for your glorious crowns will be removed from your heads.

13:19 The gates of the towns in southern Judah will be shut tight. No one will be able to go in or out of them. All Judah will be carried off into exile. They will be completely carried off into exile.’”

13:20 Then I said, “Look up, Jerusalem, and see the enemy that is coming from the north. Where now is the flock of people that were entrusted to your care? Where now are the ‘sheep’ that you take such pride in?

13:21 What will you say when the Lord appoints as rulers over you those allies that you, yourself, had actually prepared as such? Then anguish and agony will grip you like that of a woman giving birth to a baby.

13:22 You will probably ask yourself, ‘Why have these things happened to me? Why have I been treated like a disgraced adulteress whose skirt has been torn off and her limbs exposed?’ It is because you have sinned so much.

13:23 But there is little hope for you ever doing good, you who are so accustomed to doing evil. Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard remove its spots?

13:24 “The Lord says, ‘That is why I will scatter your people like chaff that is blown away by a desert wind.

13:25 This is your fate, the destiny to which I have appointed you, because you have forgotten me and have trusted in false gods.

13:26 So I will pull your skirt up over your face and expose you to shame like a disgraced adulteress!

13:27 People of Jerusalem, I have seen your adulterous worship, your shameless prostitution to, and your lustful pursuit of, other gods. I have seen your disgusting acts of worship on the hills throughout the countryside. You are doomed to destruction! How long will you continue to be unclean?’”

A Lament over the Ravages of Drought

14:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah about the drought.

14:2 “The people of Judah are in mourning. The people in her cities are pining away. They lie on the ground expressing their sorrow. Cries of distress come up to me from Jerusalem.

14:3 The leading men of the cities send their servants for water. They go to the cisterns, but they do not find any water there. They return with their containers empty. Disappointed and dismayed, they bury their faces in their hands.

14:4 They are dismayed because the ground is cracked because there has been no rain in the land. The farmers, too, are dismayed and bury their faces in their hands.

14:5 Even the doe abandons her newborn fawn in the field because there is no grass.

14:6 Wild donkeys stand on the hilltops and pant for breath like jackals. Their eyes are strained looking for food, because there is none to be found.”

14:7 Then I said, “O Lord, intervene for the honor of your name even though our sins speak out against us. Indeed, we have turned away from you many times. We have sinned against you.

14:8 You have been the object of Israel’s hopes. You have saved them when they were in trouble. Why have you become like a resident foreigner in the land? Why have you become like a traveler who only stops in to spend the night?

14:9 Why should you be like someone who is helpless, like a champion who cannot save anyone? You are indeed with us, and we belong to you. Do not abandon us!”

14:10 Then the Lord spoke about these people. “They truly love to go astray. They cannot keep from running away from me. So I am not pleased with them. I will now call to mind the wrongs they have done and punish them for their sins.”

Judgment for Believing the Misleading Lies of the False Prophets

14:11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for good to come to these people! 14:12 Even if they fast, I will not hear their cries for help. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will kill them through wars, famines, and plagues.”

14:13 Then I said, “Oh, Lord God, look! The prophets are telling them that you said, ‘You will not experience war or suffer famine. I will give you lasting peace and prosperity in this land.’”

14:14 Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority! I did not send them. I did not commission them. I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions, and the delusions of their own mind. 14:15 I did not send those prophets, though they claim to be prophesying in my name. They may be saying, ‘No war or famine will happen in this land.’ But I, the Lord, say this about them: ‘War and starvation will kill those prophets.’ 14:16 The people to whom they are prophesying will die through war and famine. Their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem and there will be no one to bury them. This will happen to the men and their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out on them the destruction they deserve.”

Lament over Present Destruction and Threat of More to Come

14:17 “Tell these people this, Jeremiah: ‘My eyes overflow with tears day and night without ceasing. For my people, my dear children, have suffered a crushing blow. They have suffered a serious wound.

14:18 If I go out into the countryside, I see those who have been killed in battle. If I go into the city, I see those who are sick because of starvation. For both prophet and priest go about their own business in the land without having any real understanding.’”

14:19 Then I said, “Lord, have you completely rejected the nation of Judah? Do you despise the city of Zion? Why have you struck us with such force that we are beyond recovery? We hope for peace, but nothing good has come of it. We hope for a time of relief from our troubles, but experience terror.

14:20 Lord, we confess that we have been wicked. We confess that our ancestors have done wrong. We have indeed sinned against you.

14:21 For the honor of your name, do not treat Jerusalem with contempt. Do not treat with disdain the place where your glorious throne sits. Be mindful of your covenant with us. Do not break it!

14:22 Do any of the worthless idols of the nations cause rain to fall? Do the skies themselves send showers? Is it not you, O Lord our God, who does this? So we put our hopes in you because you alone do all this.”

15:1 Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, I would not feel pity for them! Get them away from me! Tell them to go away! 15:2 If they ask you, ‘Where should we go?’ tell them the Lord says this: “Those who are destined to die of disease will go to death by disease. Those who are destined to die in war will go to death in war. Those who are destined to die of starvation will go to death by starvation. Those who are destined to go into exile will go into exile.”

15:3 “I will punish them in four different ways: I will have war kill them. I will have dogs drag off their dead bodies. I will have birds and wild beasts devour and destroy their corpses. 15:4 I will make all the people in all the kingdoms of the world horrified at what has happened to them because of what Hezekiah’s son Manasseh, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.”

15:5 The Lord cried out, “Who in the world will have pity on you, Jerusalem? Who will grieve over you? Who will stop long enough to inquire about how you are doing?

15:6 I, the Lord, say: ‘You people have deserted me! You keep turning your back on me.’ So I have unleashed my power against you and have begun to destroy you. I have grown tired of feeling sorry for you!”

15:7 The Lord continued, “In every town in the land I will purge them like straw blown away by the wind. I will destroy my people. I will kill off their children. I will do so because they did not change their behavior.

15:8 Their widows will become in my sight more numerous than the grains of sand on the seashores. At noontime I will bring a destroyer against the mothers of their young men. I will cause anguish and terror to fall suddenly upon them.

15:9 The mother who had seven children will grow faint. All the breath will go out of her. Her pride and joy will be taken from her in the prime of their life. It will seem as if the sun had set while it was still day. She will suffer shame and humiliation. I will cause any of them who are still left alive to be killed in war by the onslaughts of their enemies,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah Complains about His Lot and The Lord Responds

15:10 I said, “Oh, mother, how I regret that you ever gave birth to me! I am always starting arguments and quarrels with the people of this land. I have not lent money to anyone and I have not borrowed from anyone. Yet all of these people are treating me with contempt.”

15:11 The Lord said, “Jerusalem, I will surely send you away for your own good. I will surely bring the enemy upon you in a time of trouble and distress.

15:12 Can you people who are like iron and bronze break that iron fist from the north?

15:13 I will give away your wealth and your treasures as plunder. I will give it away free of charge for the sins you have committed throughout your land.

15:14 I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you know nothing about. For my anger is like a fire that will burn against you.”

15:15 I said, “Lord, you know how I suffer. Take thought of me and care for me. Pay back for me those who have been persecuting me. Do not be so patient with them that you allow them to kill me. Be mindful of how I have put up with their insults for your sake.

15:16 As your words came to me I drank them in, and they filled my heart with joy and happiness because I belong to you.

15:17 I did not spend my time in the company of other people, laughing and having a good time. I stayed to myself because I felt obligated to you and because I was filled with anger at what they had done.

15:18 Why must I continually suffer such painful anguish? Why must I endure the sting of their insults like an incurable wound? Will you let me down when I need you like a brook one goes to for water, but that cannot be relied on?”

15:19 Because of this, the Lord said, “You must repent of such words and thoughts! If you do, I will restore you to the privilege of serving me. If you say what is worthwhile instead of what is worthless, I will again allow you to be my spokesman. They must become as you have been. You must not become like them.

15:20 I will make you as strong as a wall to these people, a fortified wall of bronze. They will attack you, but they will not be able to overcome you. For I will be with you to rescue you and deliver you,” says the Lord.

15:21 “I will deliver you from the power of the wicked. I will free you from the clutches of violent people.”

Jeremiah Forbidden to Marry, to Mourn, or to Feast

16:1 The Lord said to me, 16:2 “Do not get married and do not have children here in this land. 16:3 For I, the Lord, tell you what will happen to the children who are born here in this land and to the men and women who are their mothers and fathers. 16:4 They will die of deadly diseases. No one will mourn for them. They will not be buried. Their dead bodies will lie like manure spread on the ground. They will be killed in war or die of starvation. Their corpses will be food for the birds and wild animals.

16:5 “Moreover I, the Lord, tell you: ‘Do not go into a house where they are having a funeral meal. Do not go there to mourn and express your sorrow for them. For I have stopped showing them my good favor, my love, and my compassion. I, the Lord, so affirm it! 16:6 Rich and poor alike will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned. People will not cut their bodies or shave off their hair to show their grief for them. 16:7 No one will take any food to those who mourn for the dead to comfort them. No one will give them any wine to drink to console them for the loss of their father or mother.

16:8 “‘Do not go to a house where people are feasting and sit down to eat and drink with them either. 16:9 For I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, tell you what will happen. I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, to the glad celebration of brides and grooms in this land. You and the rest of the people will live to see this happen.’”

The Lord Promises Exile (But Also Restoration)

16:10 “When you tell these people about all this, they will undoubtedly ask you, ‘Why has the Lord threatened us with such great disaster? What wrong have we done? What sin have we done to offend the Lord our God?’ 16:11 Then tell them that the Lord says, ‘It is because your ancestors rejected me and paid allegiance to other gods. They have served them and worshiped them. But they have rejected me and not obeyed my law. 16:12 And you have acted even more wickedly than your ancestors! Each one of you has followed the stubborn inclinations of your own wicked heart and not obeyed me. 16:13 So I will throw you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your ancestors have ever known. There you must worship other gods day and night, for I will show you no mercy.’”

16:14 Yet I, the Lord, say: “A new time will certainly come. People now affirm their oaths with ‘I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt.’ 16:15 But in that time they will affirm them with ‘I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished them.’ At that time I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors.”

16:16 But for now I, the Lord, say: “I will send many enemies who will catch these people like fishermen. After that I will send others who will hunt them out like hunters from all the mountains, all the hills, and the crevices in the rocks. 16:17 For I see everything they do. Their wicked ways are not hidden from me. Their sin is not hidden away where I cannot see it. 16:18 Before I restore them I will punish them in full for their sins and the wrongs they have done. For they have polluted my land with the lifeless statues of their disgusting idols. They have filled the land I have claimed as my own with their detestable idols.”

16:19 Then I said, “Lord, you give me strength and protect me. You are the one I can run to for safety when I am in trouble. Nations from all over the earth will come to you and say, ‘Our ancestors had nothing but false gods – worthless idols that could not help them at all.

16:20 Can people make their own gods? No, what they make are not gods at all.”

16:21 The Lord said, “So I will now let this wicked people know – I will let them know my mighty power in judgment. Then they will know that my name is the Lord.”

17:1 The sin of Judah is engraved with an iron chisel on their stone-hard hearts. It is inscribed with a diamond point on the horns of their altars.

17:2 Their children are always thinking about their altars and their sacred poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, set up beside the green trees on the high hills

17:3 and on the mountains and in the fields. I will give your wealth and all your treasures away as plunder. I will give it away as the price for the sins you have committed throughout your land.

17:4 You will lose your hold on the land which I gave to you as a permanent possession. I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you know nothing about. For you have made my anger burn like a fire that will never be put out.”

Individuals Are Challenged to Put Their Trust in the Lord

17:5 The Lord says, “I will put a curse on people who trust in mere human beings, who depend on mere flesh and blood for their strength, and whose hearts have turned away from the Lord.

17:6 They will be like a shrub in the desert. They will not experience good things even when they happen. It will be as though they were growing in the desert, in a salt land where no one can live.

17:7 My blessing is on those people who trust in me, who put their confidence in me.

17:8 They will be like a tree planted near a stream whose roots spread out toward the water. It has nothing to fear when the heat comes. Its leaves are always green. It has no need to be concerned in a year of drought. It does not stop bearing fruit.

17:9 The human mind is more deceitful than anything else. It is incurably bad. Who can understand it?

17:10 I, the Lord, probe into people’s minds. I examine people’s hearts. I deal with each person according to how he has behaved. I give them what they deserve based on what they have done.

17:11 The person who gathers wealth by unjust means is like the partridge that broods over eggs but does not hatch them. Before his life is half over he will lose his ill-gotten gains. At the end of his life it will be clear he was a fool.”

Jeremiah Appeals to the Lord for Vindication

17:12 Then I said, “Lord, from the very beginning you have been seated on your glorious throne on high. You are the place where we can find refuge.

17:13 You are the one in whom Israel may find hope. All who leave you will suffer shame. Those who turn away from you will be consigned to the nether world. For they have rejected you, the Lord, the fountain of life.

17:14 Lord, grant me relief from my suffering so that I may have some relief. Rescue me from those who persecute me so that I may be rescued.

17:15 Listen to what they are saying to me. They are saying, “Where are the things the Lord threatens us with? Come on! Let’s see them happen!”

17:16 But I have not pestered you to bring disaster. I have not desired the time of irreparable devastation. You know that. You are fully aware of every word that I have spoken.

17:17 Do not cause me dismay! You are my source of safety in times of trouble.

17:18 May those who persecute me be disgraced. Do not let me be disgraced. May they be dismayed. Do not let me be dismayed. Bring days of disaster on them. Bring on them the destruction they deserve.”

Observance of the Sabbath Day Is a Key to the Future

17:19 The Lord told me, “Go and stand in the People’s Gate through which the kings of Judah enter and leave the city. Then go and stand in all the other gates of the city of Jerusalem. 17:20 As you stand in those places announce, ‘Listen, all you people who pass through these gates. Listen, all you kings of Judah, all you people of Judah and all you citizens of Jerusalem. Listen to what the Lord says. 17:21 The Lord says, ‘Be very careful if you value your lives! Do not carry any loads in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. 17:22 Do not carry any loads out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath day. But observe the Sabbath day as a day set apart to the Lord, as I commanded your ancestors. 17:23 Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They stubbornly refused to pay attention or to respond to any discipline.’ 17:24 The Lord says, ‘You must make sure to obey me. You must not bring any loads through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day. You must set the Sabbath day apart to me. You must not do any work on that day. 17:25 If you do this, then the kings and princes who follow in David’s succession and ride in chariots or on horses will continue to enter through these gates, as well as their officials and the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. This city will always be filled with people. 17:26 Then people will come here from the towns in Judah, from the villages surrounding Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin, from the western foothills, from the southern hill country, and from the southern part of Judah. They will come bringing offerings to the temple of the Lord: burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and incense along with their thank offerings. 17:27 But you must obey me and set the Sabbath day apart to me. You must not carry any loads in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. If you disobey, I will set the gates of Jerusalem on fire. It will burn down all the fortified dwellings in Jerusalem and no one will be able to put it out.’”

An Object Lesson from the Making of Pottery

18:1 The Lord said to Jeremiah: 18:2 “Go down at once to the potter’s house. I will speak to you further there.” 18:3 So I went down to the potter’s house and found him working at his wheel. 18:4 Now and then there would be something wrong with the pot he was molding from the clay with his hands. So he would rework the clay into another kind of pot as he saw fit.

18:5 Then the Lord said to me, 18:6 “I, the Lord, say: ‘O nation of Israel, can I not deal with you as this potter deals with the clay? In my hands, you, O nation of Israel, are just like the clay in this potter’s hand.’ 18:7 There are times, Jeremiah, when I threaten to uproot, tear down, and destroy a nation or kingdom. 18:8 But if that nation I threatened stops doing wrong, I will cancel the destruction I intended to do to it. 18:9 And there are times when I promise to build up and establish a nation or kingdom. 18:10 But if that nation does what displeases me and does not obey me, then I will cancel the good I promised to do to it. 18:11 So now, tell the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem this: The Lord says, ‘I am preparing to bring disaster on you! I am making plans to punish you. So, every one of you, stop the evil things you have been doing. Correct the way you have been living and do what is right.’ 18:12 But they just keep saying, ‘We do not care what you say! We will do whatever we want to do! We will continue to behave wickedly and stubbornly!’”

18:13 Therefore, the Lord says, “Ask the people of other nations whether they have heard of anything like this. Israel should have been like a virgin. But she has done something utterly revolting!

18:14 Does the snow ever completely vanish from the rocky slopes of Lebanon? Do the cool waters from those distant mountains ever cease to flow?

18:15 Yet my people have forgotten me and offered sacrifices to worthless idols! This makes them stumble along in the way they live and leave the old reliable path of their fathers. They have left them to walk in bypaths, in roads that are not smooth and level.

18:16 So their land will become an object of horror. People will forever hiss out their scorn over it. All who pass that way will be filled with horror and will shake their heads in derision.

18:17 I will scatter them before their enemies like dust blowing in front of a burning east wind. I will turn my back on them and not look favorably on them when disaster strikes them.”

Jeremiah Petitions the Lord to Punish Those Who Attack Him

18:18 Then some people said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word. Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him! Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”

18:19 Then I said, “Lord, pay attention to me. Listen to what my enemies are saying.

18:20 Should good be paid back with evil? Yet they are virtually digging a pit to kill me. Just remember how I stood before you pleading on their behalf to keep you from venting your anger on them.

18:21 So let their children die of starvation. Let them be cut down by the sword. Let their wives lose their husbands and children. Let the older men die of disease and the younger men die by the sword in battle.

18:22 Let cries of terror be heard in their houses when you send bands of raiders unexpectedly to plunder them. For they have virtually dug a pit to capture me and have hidden traps for me to step into.

18:23 But you, Lord, know all their plots to kill me. Do not pardon their crimes! Do not ignore their sins as though you had erased them! Let them be brought down in defeat before you! Deal with them while you are still angry!

An Object Lesson from a Broken Clay Jar

19:1 The Lord told Jeremiah, “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take with you some of the leaders of the people and some of the leaders of the priests. 19:2 Go out to the part of the Hinnom Valley which is near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Announce there what I tell you. 19:3 Say, ‘Listen to what the Lord says, you kings of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem! The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, “I will bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it ring! 19:4 I will do so because these people have rejected me and have defiled this place. They have offered sacrifices in it to other gods which neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah knew anything about. They have filled it with the blood of innocent children. 19:5 They have built places here for worship of the god Baal so that they could sacrifice their children as burnt offerings to him in the fire. Such sacrifices are something I never commanded them to make! They are something I never told them to do! Indeed, such a thing never even entered my mind! 19:6 So I, the Lord, say: “The time will soon come that people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Hinnom Valley. But they will call this valley the Valley of Slaughter! 19:7 In this place I will thwart the plans of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. I will deliver them over to the power of their enemies who are seeking to kill them. They will die by the sword at the hands of their enemies. I will make their dead bodies food for the birds and wild beasts to eat. 19:8 I will make this city an object of horror, a thing to be hissed at. All who pass by it will be filled with horror and will hiss out their scorn because of all the disasters that have happened to it. 19:9 I will reduce the people of this city to desperate straits during the siege imposed on it by their enemies who are seeking to kill them. I will make them so desperate that they will eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters and the flesh of one another.”‘”

19:10 The Lord continued, “Now break the jar in front of those who have come here with you. 19:11 Tell them the Lord who rules over all says, ‘I will do just as Jeremiah has done. I will smash this nation and this city as though it were a potter’s vessel which is broken beyond repair. The dead will be buried here in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.’ 19:12 I, the Lord, say: ‘That is how I will deal with this city and its citizens. I will make it like Topheth. 19:13 The houses in Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled by dead bodies just like this place, Topheth. For they offered sacrifice to the stars and poured out drink offerings to other gods on the roofs of those houses.’”

19:14 Then Jeremiah left Topheth where the Lord had sent him to give that prophecy. He went to the Lord’s temple and stood in its courtyard and called out to all the people. 19:15 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘I will soon bring on this city and all the towns surrounding it all the disaster I threatened to do to it. I will do so because they have stubbornly refused to pay any attention to what I have said!’”

Jeremiah is Flogged and Put in A Cell

20:1 Now Pashhur son of Immer heard Jeremiah prophesy these things. He was the priest who was chief of security in the Lord’s temple. 20:2 When he heard Jeremiah’s prophecy, he had the prophet flogged. Then he put him in the stocks which were at the Upper Gate of Benjamin in the Lord’s temple. 20:3 But the next day Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks. When he did, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord’s name for you is not ‘Pashhur’ but ‘Terror is Everywhere.’ 20:4 For the Lord says, ‘I will make both you and your friends terrified of what will happen to you. You will see all of them die by the swords of their enemies. I will hand all the people of Judah over to the king of Babylon. He will carry some of them away into exile in Babylon and he will kill others of them with the sword. 20:5 I will hand over all the wealth of this city to their enemies. I will hand over to them all the fruits of the labor of the people of this city and all their prized possessions, as well as all the treasures of the kings of Judah. Their enemies will seize it all as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. 20:6 You, Pashhur, and all your household will go into exile in Babylon. You will die there and you will be buried there. The same thing will happen to all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.’”

Jeremiah Complains about the Reaction to His Ministry

20:7 Lord, you coerced me into being a prophet, and I allowed you to do it. You overcame my resistance and prevailed over me. Now I have become a constant laughingstock. Everyone ridicules me.

20:8 For whenever I prophesy, I must cry out, “Violence and destruction are coming!” This message from the Lord has made me an object of continual insults and derision.

20:9 Sometimes I think, “I will make no mention of his message. I will not speak as his messenger any more.” But then his message becomes like a fire locked up inside of me, burning in my heart and soul. I grow weary of trying to hold it in; I cannot contain it.

20:10 I hear many whispering words of intrigue against me. Those who would cause me terror are everywhere! They are saying, “Come on, let’s publicly denounce him!” All my so-called friends are just watching for something that would lead to my downfall. They say, “Perhaps he can be enticed into slipping up, so we can prevail over him and get our revenge on him.

20:11 But the Lord is with me to help me like an awe-inspiring warrior. Therefore those who persecute me will fail and will not prevail over me. They will be thoroughly disgraced because they did not succeed. Their disgrace will never be forgotten.

20:12 O Lord who rules over all, you test and prove the righteous. You see into people’s hearts and minds. Pay them back for what they have done because I trust you to vindicate my cause.

20:13 Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For he rescues the oppressed from the clutches of evildoers.

20:14 Cursed be the day I was born! May that day not be blessed when my mother gave birth to me.

20:15 Cursed be the man who made my father very glad when he brought him the news that a baby boy had been born to him!

20:16 May that man be like the cities that the Lord destroyed without showing any mercy. May he hear a cry of distress in the morning and a battle cry at noon.

20:17 For he did not kill me before I came from the womb, making my pregnant mother’s womb my grave forever.

20:18 Why did I ever come forth from my mother’s womb? All I experience is trouble and grief, and I spend my days in shame.

The Lord Will Hand Jerusalem over to Enemies

21:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. Zedekiah sent them to Jeremiah to ask, 21:2 “Please ask the Lord to come and help us, because King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is attacking us. Maybe the Lord will perform one of his miracles as in times past and make him stop attacking us and leave.” 21:3 Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah 21:4 that the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘The forces at your disposal are now outside the walls fighting against King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Babylonians who have you under siege. I will gather those forces back inside the city. 21:5 In anger, in fury, and in wrath I myself will fight against you with my mighty power and great strength! 21:6 I will kill everything living in Jerusalem, people and animals alike! They will die from terrible diseases. 21:7 Then I, the Lord, promise that I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and any of the people who survive the war, starvation, and disease. I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. He will slaughter them with the sword. He will not show them any mercy, compassion, or pity.’

21:8 “But tell the people of Jerusalem that the Lord says, ‘I will give you a choice between two courses of action. One will result in life; the other will result in death. 21:9 Those who stay in this city will die in battle or of starvation or disease. Those who leave the city and surrender to the Babylonians who are besieging it will live. They will escape with their lives. 21:10 For I, the Lord, say that I am determined not to deliver this city but to bring disaster on it. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon and he will destroy it with fire.’”

Warnings to the Royal Court

21:11 The Lord told me to say to the royal court of Judah, “Listen to what the Lord says,

21:12 O royal family descended from David. The Lord says: ‘See to it that people each day are judged fairly. Deliver those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Otherwise, my wrath will blaze out against you. It will burn like a fire that cannot be put out because of the evil that you have done.

21:13 Listen, you who sit enthroned above the valley on a rocky plateau. I am opposed to you,’ says the Lord. ‘You boast, “No one can swoop down on us. No one can penetrate into our places of refuge.”

21:14 But I will punish you as your deeds deserve,’ says the Lord. ‘I will set fire to your palace; it will burn up everything around it.’”

22:1 The Lord told me, “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah. Give him a message from me there. 22:2 Say: ‘Listen, O king of Judah who follows in David’s succession. You, your officials, and your subjects who pass through the gates of this palace must listen to what the Lord says. 22:3 The Lord says, “Do what is just and right. Deliver those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Do not exploit or mistreat foreigners who live in your land, children who have no fathers, or widows. Do not kill innocent people in this land. 22:4 If you are careful to obey these commands, then the kings who follow in David’s succession and ride in chariots or on horses will continue to come through the gates of this palace, as will their officials and their subjects. 22:5 But, if you do not obey these commands, I solemnly swear that this palace will become a pile of rubble. I, the Lord, affirm it!”

22:6 “‘For the Lord says concerning the palace of the king of Judah, “This place looks like a veritable forest of Gilead to me. It is like the wooded heights of Lebanon in my eyes. But I swear that I will make it like a wilderness whose towns have all been deserted.

22:7 I will send men against it to destroy it with their axes and hatchets. They will hack up its fine cedar panels and columns and throw them into the fire.

22:8 “‘People from other nations will pass by this city. They will ask one another, “Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?” 22:9 The answer will come back, “It is because they broke their covenant with the Lord their God and worshiped and served other gods.”

Judgment on Jehoahaz

22:10 “‘Do not weep for the king who was killed. Do not grieve for him. But weep mournfully for the king who has gone into exile. For he will never return to see his native land again.

22:11 “‘For the Lord has spoken about Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but was carried off into exile. He has said, “He will never return to this land. 22:12 For he will die in the country where they took him as a captive. He will never see this land again.”

Judgment on Jehoiakim

22:13 “‘Sure to be judged is the king who builds his palace using injustice and treats people unfairly while adding its upper rooms. He makes his countrymen work for him for nothing. He does not pay them for their labor.

22:14 He says, “I will build myself a large palace with spacious upper rooms.” He cuts windows in its walls, panels it with cedar, and paints its rooms red.

22:15 Does it make you any more of a king that you outstrip everyone else in building with cedar? Just think about your father. He was content that he had food and drink. He did what was just and right. So things went well with him.

22:16 He upheld the cause of the poor and needy. So things went well for Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’

22:17 But you are always thinking and looking for ways to increase your wealth by dishonest means. Your eyes and your heart are set on killing some innocent person and committing fraud and oppression.

22:18 So the Lord has this to say about Josiah’s son, King Jehoiakim of Judah: People will not mourn for him, saying, “This makes me sad, my brother! This makes me sad, my sister!” They will not mourn for him, saying, “Poor, poor lord! Poor, poor majesty!”

22:19 He will be left unburied just like a dead donkey. His body will be dragged off and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.’”

Warning to Jerusalem

22:20 People of Jerusalem, go up to Lebanon and cry out in mourning. Go to the land of Bashan and cry out loudly. Cry out in mourning from the mountains of Moab. For your allies have all been defeated.

22:21 While you were feeling secure I gave you warning. But you said, “I refuse to listen to you.” That is the way you have acted from your earliest history onward. Indeed, you have never paid attention to me.

22:22 My judgment will carry off all your leaders like a storm wind! Your allies will go into captivity. Then you will certainly be disgraced and put to shame because of all the wickedness you have done.

22:23 You may feel as secure as a bird nesting in the cedars of Lebanon. But oh how you will groan when the pains of judgment come on you. They will be like those of a woman giving birth to a baby.

Jeconiah Will Be Permanently Exiled

22:24 The Lord says, “As surely as I am the living God, you, Jeconiah, king of Judah, son of Jehoiakim, will not be the earthly representative of my authority. Indeed, I will take that right away from you. 22:25 I will hand you over to those who want to take your life and of whom you are afraid. I will hand you over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his Babylonian soldiers. 22:26 I will force you and your mother who gave you birth into exile. You will be exiled to a country where neither of you were born, and you will both die there. 22:27 You will never come back to this land to which you will long to return!”

22:28 This man, Jeconiah, will be like a broken pot someone threw away. He will be like a clay vessel that no one wants. Why will he and his children be forced into exile? Why will they be thrown out into a country they know nothing about?

22:29 O land of Judah, land of Judah, land of Judah! Listen to what the Lord has to say!

22:30 The Lord says, “Enroll this man in the register as though he were childless. Enroll him as a man who will not enjoy success during his lifetime. For none of his sons will succeed in occupying the throne of David or ever succeed in ruling over Judah.”

Prayer

Lord, the responsibility for the destiny of the people was upon them, You had given them generations of grace and now temporal justice and law had to be satisfied (present-day before You, not Your eternal Final White Throne Judgment). May I recognize that You still balance grace and justice and that there is a difference between Your present-day chastising and hard-knocks teaching and Your perfect and final eternal judgment.

Scripture In Perspective

Jeremiah asked the Lord for a wisdom-teaching “Lord, you have always been fair whenever I have complained to you. However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice. Why are wicked people successful? Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives? … The Lord answered, “If you have raced on foot against men and they have worn you out, how will you be able to compete with horses? And if you feel secure only in safe and open country, how will you manage in the thick undergrowth along the Jordan River?” - essentially, he was reminded that it was not in his strength or wisdom that he would complete the ministry of the Lord God.

Jeremiah was told that when the people feign ignorance of the reason for their terrible punishment “Why has the Lord threatened us with such great disaster? What wrong have we done? What sin have we done to offend the Lord our God?’” he was to “… tell them that the Lord says, ‘It is because your ancestors rejected me and paid allegiance to other gods. They have served them and worshiped them. But they have rejected me and not obeyed my law. And you have acted even more wickedly than your ancestors! Each one of you has followed the stubborn inclinations of your own wicked heart and not obeyed me.”

He was also given a word of hope from the Lord God “A new time will certainly come. People now affirm their oaths with ‘I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt.’ But in that time they will affirm them with ‘I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished them.’ At that time I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors.”“

Jeremiah was reminded that there was no chance of relief from this punishment The sin of Judah is engraved with an iron chisel on their stone-hard hearts. It is inscribed with a diamond point on the horns of their altars … You will lose your hold on the land which I gave to you as a permanent possession. I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you know nothing about. For you have made my anger burn like a fire that will never be put out.”“

Jeremiah confronted the people with the Lord God’s summary of choices and consequences.

He was indignant that the very people for whom he sought mercy from the Lord God now attacked and threatened him “So let their children die of starvation. Let them be cut down by the sword. Let their wives lose their husbands and children. Let the older men die of disease and the younger men die by the sword in battle.”

Jeremiah concluded with the Lord God’s declaration of imminent destruction.

Jeremiah shared the description of the Lord God as to the terrible end for Jerusalem and Judah.

He then described the flogging and time in the stocks at the order of the priest who was responsible for Temple security and that when released he announced the Lord’s specific curse upon that priest, his family and his friends.

Jeremiah informed the people that they were not to mourn the king who had been killed, the king who was to be killed, and the king who was to be deported and forgotten – none to follow him into royalty from his descendants – all because of their reckless and rebellious leadership.

Interact With The Text

Consider

The Lord God promised to have Jeremiah’s back – and He demonstrated it to Jeremiah – first making him aware of a secret plot against him, then describing the terrible consequences for the plotters. The blessing and suffering experienced by the people was always linked to their obedience.

Discuss

Is it possible that the Lord God allowed the flogging of Jeremiah to jog him loose from his reluctance to pronounce condemnation upon the rebellious people? After all of his prophesies, and his mistreatment at the hands of leaders and the people, why would king Zedekiah imagine that Jeremiah would even want to intervene for him with the Lord God – let alone imagine that the Lord might save them?

Reflect

When the term “destined” was used it did not imply fatalistic-predestination but merely the Lord God’s perfect awareness of where their choices and circumstances would lead. Just as the fire of hell is described as “never going out”, so it was written here “... you have made my anger burn like a fire that will never be put out.”, but it isn’t intended eternally. Jeremiah reached the same point of frustration as David and in an ‘imprecatory prayer’ asked the Lord God to take terrible vengeance upon the people. The phrase “... he did not kill me before I came from the womb, making my pregnant mother’s womb my grave forever.” creates a painful word picture for the mother of an aborted or miscarried child. The kings had failed the people as God warned them that they would.

Share

When have you experienced of observed someone pleading for a person who had spoiled so many ‘second chances’ as to have destroyed any possibility of yet another. When have you observed someone expecting help when they ignored multiple previous efforts to assist them when it could have made a difference?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you knowledge, to then be followed by understanding – said understanding to come from His perspective, and ultimately leading to wisdom. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place in your life where fear has caused you to resist telling the Lord’s story and testifying to His truth.

Act

Today I will humbly and joyfully receive the teaching the Holy Spirit has for me. I will partner with Him as He transforms my thinking to that of the Lord rather than that of the world. And I will praise Him! I will confess and repent, seek and accept the forgiveness of the Lord God, and then I will accept His courage to speak what He has been pressing me to speak.

Be Specific _____________________________________________

Friday (Jeremiah 23-33)

New Leaders over a Regathered Remnant

23:1 The Lord says, “The leaders of my people are sure to be judged. They were supposed to watch over my people like shepherds watch over their sheep. But they are causing my people to be destroyed and scattered. 23:2 So the Lord God of Israel has this to say about the leaders who are ruling over his people: “You have caused my people to be dispersed and driven into exile. You have not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil that you have done. I, the Lord, affirm it! 23:3 Then I myself will regather those of my people who are still alive from all the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their homeland. They will greatly increase in number. 23:4 I will install rulers over them who will care for them. Then they will no longer need to fear or be terrified. None of them will turn up missing. I, the Lord, promise it!

23:5 “I, the Lord, promise that a new time will certainly come when I will raise up for them a righteous branch, a descendant of David. He will rule over them with wisdom and understanding and will do what is just and right in the land.

23:6 Under his rule Judah will enjoy safety and Israel will live in security. This is the name he will go by: ‘The Lord has provided us with justice.’

23:7 “So I, the Lord, say: ‘A new time will certainly come. People now affirm their oaths with “I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt.” 23:8 But at that time they will affirm them with “I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the descendants of the former nation of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished them.” At that time they will live in their own land.’”

Oracles Against the False Prophets

23:9 Here is what the Lord says concerning the false prophets: My heart and my mind are deeply disturbed. I tremble all over. I am like a drunk person, like a person who has had too much wine, because of the way the Lord and his holy word are being mistreated.

23:10 For the land is full of people unfaithful to him. They live wicked lives and they misuse their power. So the land is dried up because it is under his curse. The pastures in the wilderness are withered.

23:11 Moreover, the Lord says, “Both the prophets and priests are godless. I have even found them doing evil in my temple!

23:12 So the paths they follow will be dark and slippery. They will stumble and fall headlong. For I will bring disaster on them. A day of reckoning is coming for them.” The Lord affirms it!

23:13 The Lord says, “I saw the prophets of Samaria doing something that was disgusting. They prophesied in the name of the god Baal and led my people Israel astray.

23:14 But I see the prophets of Jerusalem doing something just as shocking. They are unfaithful to me and continually prophesy lies. So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil, with the result that they do not stop their evildoing. I consider all of them as bad as the people of Sodom, and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah.

23:15 So then I, the Lord who rules over all, have something to say concerning the prophets of Jerusalem: ‘I will make these prophets eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment. For the prophets of Jerusalem are the reason that ungodliness has spread throughout the land.’”

23:16 The Lord who rules over all says to the people of Jerusalem: “Do not listen to what those prophets are saying to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They are reporting visions of their own imaginations, not something the Lord has given them to say.

23:17 They continually say to those who reject what the Lord has said, ‘Things will go well for you!’ They say to all those who follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts, ‘Nothing bad will happen to you!’

23:18 Yet which of them has ever stood in the Lord’s inner circle so they could see and hear what he has to say? Which of them have ever paid attention or listened to what he has said?

23:19 But just watch! The wrath of the Lord will come like a storm! Like a raging storm it will rage down on the heads of those who are wicked.

23:20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has fully carried out his intended purposes. In days to come you people will come to understand this clearly.

23:21 I did not send those prophets. Yet they were in a hurry to give their message. I did not tell them anything. Yet they prophesied anyway.

23:22 But if they had stood in my inner circle, they would have proclaimed my message to my people. They would have caused my people to turn from their wicked ways and stop doing the evil things they are doing.

23:23 Do you people think that I am some local deity and not the transcendent God?” the Lord asks.

23:24 “Do you really think anyone can hide himself where I cannot see him?” the Lord asks. “Do you not know that I am everywhere?” the Lord asks.

23:25 The Lord says, “I have heard what those prophets who are prophesying lies in my name are saying. They are saying, ‘I have had a dream! I have had a dream!’ 23:26 Those prophets are just prophesying lies. They are prophesying the delusions of their own minds. 23:27 How long will they go on plotting to make my people forget who I am through the dreams they tell one another? That is just as bad as what their ancestors did when they forgot who I am by worshiping the god Baal. 23:28 Let the prophet who has had a dream go ahead and tell his dream. Let the person who has received my message report that message faithfully. What is like straw cannot compare to what is like grain! I, the Lord, affirm it! 23:29 My message is like a fire that purges dross! It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces! I, the Lord, so affirm it! 23:30 So I, the Lord, affirm that I am opposed to those prophets who steal messages from one another that they claim are from me. 23:31 I, the Lord, affirm that I am opposed to those prophets who are using their own tongues to declare, ‘The Lord declares….’ 23:32 I, the Lord, affirm that I am opposed to those prophets who dream up lies and report them. They are misleading my people with their reckless lies. I did not send them. I did not commission them. They are not helping these people at all. I, the Lord, affirm it!”

23:33 The Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, when one of these people, or a prophet, or a priest asks you, ‘What burdensome message do you have from the Lord?’ Tell them, ‘You are the burden, and I will cast you away. I, the Lord, affirm it! 23:34 I will punish any prophet, priest, or other person who says “The Lord’s message is burdensome.” I will punish both that person and his whole family.’”

23:35 So I, Jeremiah, tell you, “Each of you people should say to his friend or his relative, ‘How did the Lord answer? Or what did the Lord say?’ 23:36 You must no longer say that the Lord’s message is burdensome. For what is ‘burdensome’ really pertains to what a person himself says. You are misrepresenting the words of our God, the living God, the Lord who rules over all. 23:37 Each of you should merely ask the prophet, ‘What answer did the Lord give you? Or what did the Lord say?’ 23:38 But just suppose you continue to say, ‘The message of the Lord is burdensome.’ Here is what the Lord says will happen: ‘I sent word to you that you must not say, “The Lord’s message is burdensome.” But you used the words “The Lord’s message is burdensome” anyway. 23:39 So I will carry you far off and throw you away. I will send both you and the city I gave to you and to your ancestors out of my sight. 23:40 I will bring on you lasting shame and lasting disgrace which will never be forgotten!’”

Good Figs and Bad Figs

24:1 The Lord showed me two baskets of figs sitting before his temple. This happened after King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon deported Jehoiakim’s son, King Jeconiah of Judah. He deported him and the leaders of Judah, along with the craftsmen and metal workers, and took them to Babylon. 24:2 One basket had very good-looking figs in it. They looked like those that had ripened early. The other basket had very bad-looking figs in it, so bad they could not be eaten. 24:3 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I answered, “I see figs. The good ones look very good. But the bad ones look very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”

24:4 The Lord said to me, 24:5 “I, the Lord, the God of Israel, say: ‘The exiles whom I sent away from here to the land of Babylon are like those good figs. I consider them to be good. 24:6 I will look after their welfare and will restore them to this land. There I will build them up and will not tear them down. I will plant them firmly in the land and will not uproot them. 24:7 I will give them the desire to acknowledge that I am the Lord. I will be their God and they will be my people. For they will wholeheartedly return to me.’

24:8 “I, the Lord, also solemnly assert: ‘King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the people who remain in Jerusalem or who have gone to live in Egypt are like those bad figs. I consider them to be just like those bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. 24:9 I will bring such disaster on them that all the kingdoms of the earth will be horrified. I will make them an object of reproach, a proverbial example of disaster. I will make them an object of ridicule, an example to be used in curses. That is how they will be remembered wherever I banish them. 24:10 I will bring war, starvation, and disease on them until they are completely destroyed from the land I gave them and their ancestors.’”

Seventy Years of Servitude for Failure to Give Heed

25:1 In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah. (That was the same as the first year that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon.) 25:2 So the prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the people who were living in Jerusalem. 25:3 “For the last twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was ruling in Judah until now, the Lord has been speaking to me. I told you over and over again what he said. But you would not listen. 25:4 Over and over again the Lord has sent his servants the prophets to you. But you have not listened or paid attention. 25:5 He said through them, ‘Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and stop doing the evil things you are doing. If you do, I will allow you to continue to live here in the land that I gave to you and your ancestors as a lasting possession. 25:6 Do not pay allegiance to other gods and worship and serve them. Do not make me angry by the things that you do. Then I will not cause you any harm.’ 25:7 So, now the Lord says, ‘You have not listened to me. But you have made me angry by the things that you have done. Thus you have brought harm on yourselves.’

25:8 “Therefore, the Lord who rules over all says, ‘You have not listened to what I said. 25:9 So I, the Lord, affirm that I will send for all the peoples of the north and my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and all the nations that surround it. I will utterly destroy this land, its inhabitants, and all the nations that surround it and make them everlasting ruins. I will make them objects of horror and hissing scorn. 25:10 I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, to the glad celebration of brides and grooms in these lands. I will put an end to the sound of people grinding meal. I will put an end to lamps shining in their houses. 25:11 This whole area will become a desolate wasteland. These nations will be subject to the king of Babylon for seventy years.’

25:12 “‘But when the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation for their sins. I will make the land of Babylon an everlasting ruin. I, the Lord, affirm it! 25:13 I will bring on that land everything that I said I would. I will bring on it everything that is written in this book. I will bring on it everything that Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 25:14 For many nations and great kings will make slaves of the king of Babylon and his nation too. I will repay them for all they have done!’”

Judah and the Nations Will Experience God’s Wrath

25:15 So the Lord, the God of Israel, spoke to me in a vision. “Take this cup from my hand. It is filled with the wine of my wrath. Take it and make the nations to whom I send you drink it. 25:16 When they have drunk it, they will stagger to and fro and act insane. For I will send wars sweeping through them.”

25:17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand. I made all the nations to whom he sent me drink the wine of his wrath. 25:18 I made Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its officials drink it. I did it so Judah would become a ruin. I did it so Judah, its kings, and its officials would become an object of horror and of hissing scorn, an example used in curses. Such is already becoming the case! 25:19 I made all of these other people drink it: Pharaoh, king of Egypt; his attendants, his officials, his people, 25:20 the foreigners living in Egypt; all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the land of the Philistines, the people of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, the people who had been left alive from Ashdod; 25:21 all the people of Edom, Moab, Ammon; 25:22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon; all the kings of the coastlands along the sea; 25:23 the people of Dedan, Tema, Buz, all the desert people who cut their hair short at the temples; 25:24 all the kings of Arabia who live in the desert; 25:25 all the kings of Zimri; all the kings of Elam; all the kings of Media; 25:26 all the kings of the north, whether near or far from one another; and all the other kingdoms which are on the face of the earth. After all of them have drunk the wine of the Lord’s wrath, the king of Babylon must drink it.

25:27 Then the Lord said to me, “Tell them that the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘Drink this cup until you get drunk and vomit. Drink until you fall down and can’t get up. For I will send wars sweeping through you.’ 25:28 If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, tell them that the Lord who rules over all says ‘You most certainly must drink it! 25:29 For take note, I am already beginning to bring disaster on the city that I call my own. So how can you possibly avoid being punished? You will not go unpunished! For I am proclaiming war against all who live on the earth. I, the Lord who rules over all, affirm it!’

25:30 “Then, Jeremiah, make the following prophecy against them: ‘Like a lion about to attack, the Lord will roar from the heights of heaven; from his holy dwelling on high he will roar loudly. He will roar mightily against his land. He will shout in triumph like those stomping juice from the grapes against all those who live on the earth.

25:31 The sounds of battle will resound to the ends of the earth. For the Lord will bring charges against the nations. He will pass judgment on all humankind and will hand the wicked over to be killed in war.’ The Lord so affirms it!

25:32 The Lord who rules over all says, ‘Disaster will soon come on one nation after another. A mighty storm of military destruction is rising up from the distant parts of the earth.’

25:33 Those who have been killed by the Lord at that time will be scattered from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned over, gathered up, or buried. Their dead bodies will lie scattered over the ground like manure.

25:34 Wail and cry out in anguish, you rulers! Roll in the dust, you who shepherd flocks of people! The time for you to be slaughtered has come. You will lie scattered and fallen like broken pieces of fine pottery.

25:35 The leaders will not be able to run away and hide. The shepherds of the flocks will not be able to escape.

25:36 Listen to the cries of anguish of the leaders. Listen to the wails of the shepherds of the flocks. They are wailing because the Lord is about to destroy their lands.

25:37 Their peaceful dwelling places will be laid waste by the fierce anger of the Lord.

25:38 The Lord is like a lion who has left his lair. So their lands will certainly be laid waste by the warfare of the oppressive nation and by the fierce anger of the Lord.”

Jeremiah Is Put on Trial as a False Prophet

26:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah at the beginning of the reign of Josiah’s son, King Jehoiakim of Judah. 26:2 The Lord said, “Go stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. Speak out to all the people who are coming from the towns of Judah to worship in the Lord’s temple. Tell them everything I command you to tell them. Do not leave out a single word! 26:3 Maybe they will pay attention and each of them will stop living the evil way they do. If they do that, then I will forgo destroying them as I had intended to do because of the wicked things they have been doing. 26:4 Tell them that the Lord says, ‘You must obey me! You must live according to the way I have instructed you in my laws. 26:5 You must pay attention to the exhortations of my servants the prophets. I have sent them to you over and over again. But you have not paid any attention to them. 26:6 If you do not obey me, then I will do to this temple what I did to Shiloh. And I will make this city an example to be used in curses by people from all the nations on the earth.’”

26:7 The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah say these things in the Lord’s temple. 26:8 Jeremiah had just barely finished saying all the Lord had commanded him to say to all the people. All at once some of the priests, the prophets, and the people grabbed him and shouted, “You deserve to die! 26:9 How dare you claim the Lord’s authority to prophesy such things! How dare you claim his authority to prophesy that this temple will become like Shiloh and that this city will become an uninhabited ruin!” Then all the people crowded around Jeremiah.

26:10 However, some of the officials of Judah heard about what was happening and they rushed up to the Lord’s temple from the royal palace. They set up court at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s temple. 26:11 Then the priests and the prophets made their charges before the officials and all the people. They said, “This man should be condemned to die because he prophesied against this city. You have heard him do so with your own ears.”

26:12 Then Jeremiah made his defense before all the officials and all the people. “The Lord sent me to prophesy everything you have heard me say against this temple and against this city. 26:13 But correct the way you have been living and do what is right. Obey the Lord your God. If you do, the Lord will forgo destroying you as he threatened he would. 26:14 As to my case, I am in your power. Do to me what you deem fair and proper. 26:15 But you should take careful note of this: If you put me to death, you will bring on yourselves and this city and those who live in it the guilt of murdering an innocent man. For the Lord has sent me to speak all this where you can hear it. That is the truth!”

26:16 Then the officials and all the people rendered their verdict to the priests and the prophets. They said, “This man should not be condemned to die. For he has spoken to us under the authority of the Lord our God.” 26:17 Then some of the elders of Judah stepped forward and spoke to all the people gathered there. They said, 26:18 “Micah from Moresheth prophesied during the time Hezekiah was king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, ‘The Lord who rules over all says, “Zion will become a plowed field. Jerusalem will become a pile of rubble. The temple mount will become a mere wooded ridge.”‘

26:19 King Hezekiah and all the people of Judah did not put him to death, did they? Did not Hezekiah show reverence for the Lord and seek the Lord’s favor? Did not the Lord forgo destroying them as he threatened he would? But we are on the verge of bringing great disaster on ourselves.”

26:20 Now there was another man who prophesied as the Lord’s representative against this city and this land just as Jeremiah did. His name was Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim. 26:21 When the king and all his bodyguards and officials heard what he was prophesying, the king sought to have him executed. But Uriah found out about it and fled to Egypt out of fear. 26:22 However, King Jehoiakim sent some men to Egypt, including Elnathan son of Achbor, 26:23 and they brought Uriah back from there. They took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him executed and had his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.

26:24 However, Ahikam son of Shaphan used his influence to keep Jeremiah from being handed over and executed by the people.

Jeremiah Counsels Submission to Babylon

27:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah early in the reign of Josiah’s son, King Zedekiah of Judah. 27:2 The Lord told me, “Make a yoke out of leather straps and wooden crossbars and put it on your neck. 27:3 Use it to send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. Send them through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to King Zedekiah of Judah. 27:4 Charge them to give their masters a message from me. Tell them, ‘The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says to give your masters this message. 27:5 “I made the earth and the people and animals on it by my mighty power and great strength, and I give it to whomever I see fit. 27:6 I have at this time placed all these nations of yours under the power of my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even made all the wild animals subject to him. 27:7 All nations must serve him and his son and grandson until the time comes for his own nation to fall. Then many nations and great kings will in turn subjugate Babylon. 27:8 But suppose a nation or a kingdom will not be subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Suppose it will not submit to the yoke of servitude to him. I, the Lord, affirm that I will punish that nation. I will use the king of Babylon to punish it with war, starvation, and disease until I have destroyed it. 27:9 So do not listen to your prophets or to those who claim to predict the future by divination, by dreams, by consulting the dead, or by practicing magic. They keep telling you, ‘You do not need to be subject to the king of Babylon.’ 27:10 Do not listen to them, because their prophecies are lies. Listening to them will only cause you to be taken far away from your native land. I will drive you out of your country and you will die in exile. 27:11 Things will go better for the nation that submits to the yoke of servitude to the king of Babylon and is subject to him. I will leave that nation in its native land. Its people can continue to farm it and live in it. I, the Lord, affirm it!”‘”

27:12 I told King Zedekiah of Judah the same thing. I said, “Submit to the yoke of servitude to the king of Babylon. Be subject to him and his people. Then you will continue to live. 27:13 There is no reason why you and your people should die in war or from starvation or disease! That’s what the Lord says will happen to any nation that will not be subject to the king of Babylon. 27:14 Do not listen to the prophets who are telling you that you do not need to serve the king of Babylon. For they are prophesying lies to you. 27:15 For I, the Lord, affirm that I did not send them. They are prophesying lies to you. If you listen to them, I will drive you and the prophets who are prophesying lies out of the land and you will all die in exile.”

27:16 I also told the priests and all the people, “The Lord says, ‘Do not listen to what your prophets are saying. They are prophesying to you that the valuable articles taken from the Lord’s temple will be brought back from Babylon very soon. But they are prophesying a lie to you. 27:17 Do not listen to them. Be subject to the king of Babylon. Then you will continue to live. Why should this city be made a pile of rubble?’” 27:18 I also told them, “If they are really prophets and the Lord is speaking to them, let them pray earnestly to the Lord who rules over all. Let them plead with him not to let the valuable articles that are still left in the Lord’s temple, in the royal palace, and in Jerusalem be taken away to Babylon. 27:19 For the Lord who rules over all has already spoken about the two bronze pillars, the large bronze basin called ‘The Sea,’ and the movable bronze stands. He has already spoken about the rest of the valuable articles that are left in this city. 27:20 He has already spoken about these things that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take away when he carried Jehoiakim’s son King Jeconiah of Judah and the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem away as captives. 27:21 Indeed, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all has already spoken about the valuable articles that are left in the Lord’s temple, in the royal palace of Judah, and in Jerusalem. 27:22 He has said, ‘They will be carried off to Babylon. They will remain there until it is time for me to show consideration for them again. Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.’ I, the Lord, affirm this!”

Jeremiah Confronted by a False Prophet

28:1 The following events occurred in that same year, early in the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. To be more precise, it was the fifth month of the fourth year of his reign. The prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, spoke to Jeremiah in the Lord’s temple in the presence of the priests and all the people. 28:2 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘I will break the yoke of servitude to the king of Babylon. 28:3 Before two years are over, I will bring back to this place everything that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took from it and carried away to Babylon. 28:4 I will also bring back to this place Jehoiakim’s son King Jeconiah of Judah and all the exiles who were taken to Babylon.’ Indeed, the Lord affirms, ‘I will break the yoke of servitude to the king of Babylon.’”

28:5 Then the prophet Jeremiah responded to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the Lord’s temple. 28:6 The prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do all this! May the Lord make your prophecy come true! May he bring back to this place from Babylon all the valuable articles taken from the Lord’s temple and the people who were carried into exile. 28:7 But listen to what I say to you and to all these people. 28:8 From earliest times, the prophets who preceded you and me invariably prophesied war, disaster, and plagues against many countries and great kingdoms. 28:9 So if a prophet prophesied peace and prosperity, it was only known that the Lord truly sent him when what he prophesied came true.”

28:10 The prophet Hananiah then took the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. 28:11 Then he spoke up in the presence of all the people. “The Lord says, ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of servitude of all the nations to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon before two years are over.’” After he heard this, the prophet Jeremiah departed and went on his way.

28:12 But shortly after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. 28:13 “Go and tell Hananiah that the Lord says, ‘You have indeed broken the wooden yoke. But you have only succeeded in replacing it with an iron one! 28:14 For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, “I have put an irresistible yoke of servitude on all these nations so they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And they will indeed serve him. I have even given him control over the wild animals.”‘” 28:15 Then the prophet Jeremiah told the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you! You are making these people trust in a lie! 28:16 So the Lord says, ‘I will most assuredly remove you from the face of the earth. You will die this very year because you have counseled rebellion against the Lord.’”

28:17 In the seventh month of that very same year the prophet Hananiah died.

Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles

29:1 The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter to the exiles Nebuchadnezzar had carried off from Jerusalem to Babylon. It was addressed to the elders who were left among the exiles, to the priests, to the prophets, and to all the other people who were exiled in Babylon. 29:2 He sent it after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the palace officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had been exiled from Jerusalem. 29:3 He sent it with Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah. King Zedekiah of Judah had sent these men to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The letter said:

29:4 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says to all those he sent into exile to Babylon from Jerusalem, 29:5 ‘Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what they produce. 29:6 Marry and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and allow your daughters get married so that they too can have sons and daughters. Grow in number; do not dwindle away. 29:7 Work to see that the city where I sent you as exiles enjoys peace and prosperity. Pray to the Lord for it. For as it prospers you will prosper.’

29:8 “For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘Do not let the prophets or those among you who claim to be able to predict the future by divination deceive you. And do not pay any attention to the dreams that you are encouraging them to dream. 29:9 They are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so. But I did not send them. I, the Lord, affirm it!’

29:10 “For the Lord says, ‘Only when the seventy years of Babylonian rule are over will I again take up consideration for you. Then I will fulfill my gracious promise to you and restore you to your homeland. 29:11 For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord. ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope. 29:12 When you call out to me and come to me in prayer, I will hear your prayers. 29:13 When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul, 29:14 I will make myself available to you,’ says the Lord. ‘Then I will reverse your plight and will regather you from all the nations and all the places where I have exiled you,’ says the Lord. ‘I will bring you back to the place from which I exiled you.’

29:15 “You say, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets of good news for us here in Babylon.’ 29:16 But just listen to what the Lord has to say about the king who occupies David’s throne and all your fellow countrymen who are still living in this city of Jerusalem and were not carried off into exile with you. 29:17 The Lord who rules over all says, ‘I will bring war, starvation, and disease on them. I will treat them like figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten. 29:18 I will chase after them with war, starvation, and disease. I will make all the kingdoms of the earth horrified at what happens to them. I will make them examples of those who are cursed, objects of horror, hissing scorn, and ridicule among all the nations where I exile them. 29:19 For they have not paid attention to what I said to them through my servants the prophets whom I sent to them over and over again,’ says the Lord. ‘And you exiles have not paid any attention to them either,’ says the Lord. 29:20 ‘So pay attention to what I, the Lord, have said, all you exiles whom I have sent to Babylon from Jerusalem.’

29:21 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all also has something to say about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so. ‘I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and he will execute them before your very eyes. 29:22 And all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will use them as examples when they put a curse on anyone. They will say, “May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab whom the king of Babylon roasted to death in the fire!” 29:23 This will happen to them because they have done what is shameful in Israel. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken lies while claiming my authority. They have spoken words that I did not command them to speak. I know what they have done. I have been a witness to it,’ says the Lord.”

A Response to the Letter and a Subsequent Letter

29:24 The Lord told Jeremiah, “Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite 29:25 that the Lord God of Israel who rules over all has a message for him. Tell him, ‘On your own initiative you sent a letter to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah and to all the other priests and to all the people in Jerusalem. In your letter you said to Zephaniah, 29:26 “The Lord has made you priest in place of Jehoiada. He has put you in charge in the Lord’s temple of controlling any lunatic who pretends to be a prophet. And it is your duty to put any such person in the stocks with an iron collar around his neck. 29:27 You should have reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth who is pretending to be a prophet among you! 29:28 For he has even sent a message to us here in Babylon. He wrote and told us, “You will be there a long time. Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what they produce.”‘”

29:29 Zephaniah the priest read that letter to the prophet Jeremiah. 29:30 Then the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. 29:31 “Send a message to all the exiles in Babylon. Tell them, ‘The Lord has spoken about Shemaiah the Nehelamite. “Shemaiah has spoken to you as a prophet even though I did not send him. He is making you trust in a lie. 29:32 Because he has done this,” the Lord says, “I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his whole family. There will not be any of them left to experience the good things that I will do for my people. I, the Lord, affirm it! For he counseled rebellion against the Lord.”‘”

Introduction to the Book of Consolation

30:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah. 30:2 “The Lord God of Israel says, ‘Write everything that I am about to tell you in a scroll. 30:3 For I, the Lord, affirm that the time will come when I will reverse the plight of my people, Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors and they will take possession of it once again.’”

Israel and Judah Will Be Delivered after a Time of Deep Distress

30:4 So here is what the Lord has to say about Israel and Judah.

30:5 Yes, here is what he says: “You hear cries of panic and of terror; there is no peace in sight.

30:6 Ask yourselves this and consider it carefully: Have you ever seen a man give birth to a baby? Why then do I see all these strong men grabbing their stomachs in pain like a woman giving birth? And why do their faces turn so deathly pale?

30:7 Alas, what a terrible time of trouble it is! There has never been any like it. It is a time of trouble for the descendants of Jacob, but some of them will be rescued out of it.

30:8 When the time for them to be rescued comes,” says the Lord who rules over all, “I will rescue you from foreign subjugation. I will deliver you from captivity. Foreigners will then no longer subjugate them.

30:9 But they will be subject to the Lord their God and to the Davidic ruler whom I will raise up as king over them.

30:10 So I, the Lord, tell you not to be afraid, you descendants of Jacob, my servants. Do not be terrified, people of Israel. For I will rescue you and your descendants from a faraway land where you are captives. The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace. They will be secure and no one will terrify them.

30:11 For I, the Lord, affirm that I will be with you and will rescue you. I will completely destroy all the nations where I scattered you. But I will not completely destroy you. I will indeed discipline you, but only in due measure. I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished.”

The Lord Will Heal the Wounds of Judah

30:12 Moreover, the Lord says to the people of Zion, “Your injuries are incurable; your wounds are severe.

30:13 There is no one to plead your cause. There are no remedies for your wounds. There is no healing for you.

30:14 All your allies have abandoned you. They no longer have any concern for you. For I have attacked you like an enemy would. I have chastened you cruelly. For your wickedness is so great and your sin is so much.

30:15 Why do you complain about your injuries, that your pain is incurable? I have done all this to you because your wickedness is so great and your sin is so much.

30:16 But all who destroyed you will be destroyed. All your enemies will go into exile. Those who plundered you will be plundered. I will cause those who pillaged you to be pillaged.

30:17 Yes, I will restore you to health. I will heal your wounds. I, the Lord, affirm it! For you have been called an outcast, Zion, whom no one cares for.”

The Lord Will Restore Israel and Judah

30:18 The Lord says, “I will restore the ruined houses of the descendants of Jacob. I will show compassion on their ruined homes. Every city will be rebuilt on its former ruins. Every fortified dwelling will occupy its traditional site.

30:19 Out of those places you will hear songs of thanksgiving and the sounds of laughter and merriment. I will increase their number and they will not dwindle away. I will bring them honor and they will no longer be despised.

30:20 The descendants of Jacob will enjoy their former privileges. Their community will be reestablished in my favor and I will punish all who try to oppress them.

30:21 One of their own people will be their leader. Their ruler will come from their own number. I will invite him to approach me, and he will do so. For no one would dare approach me on his own. I, the Lord, affirm it!

30:22 Then you will again be my people and I will be your God.

30:23 Just watch! The wrath of the Lord will come like a storm. Like a raging storm it will rage down on the heads of those who are wicked.

30:24 The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has fully carried out his intended purposes. In days to come you will come to understand this.

31:1 At that time I will be the God of all the clans of Israel and they will be my people. I, the Lord, affirm it!”

Israel Will Be Restored and Join Judah in Worship

31:2 The Lord says, “The people of Israel who survived death at the hands of the enemy will find favor in the wilderness as they journey to find rest for themselves.

31:3 In a far-off land the Lord will manifest himself to them. He will say to them, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love. That is why I have continued to be faithful to you.

31:4 I will rebuild you, my dear children Israel, so that you will once again be built up. Once again you will take up the tambourine and join in the happy throng of dancers.

31:5 Once again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria. Those who plant them will once again enjoy their fruit.

31:6 Yes, a time is coming when watchmen will call out on the mountains of Ephraim, “Come! Let us go to Zion to worship the Lord our God!”‘”

31:7 Moreover, the Lord says, “Sing for joy for the descendants of Jacob. Utter glad shouts for that foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard. Then say, ‘Lord, rescue your people. Deliver those of Israel who remain alive.’

31:8 Then I will reply, ‘I will bring them back from the land of the north. I will gather them in from the distant parts of the earth. Blind and lame people will come with them, so will pregnant women and women about to give birth. A vast throng of people will come back here.

31:9 They will come back shedding tears of contrition. I will bring them back praying prayers of repentance. I will lead them besides streams of water, along smooth paths where they will never stumble. I will do this because I am Israel’s father; Ephraim is my firstborn son.’”

31:10 Hear what the Lord has to say, O nations. Proclaim it in the faraway lands along the sea. Say, “The one who scattered Israel will regather them. He will watch over his people like a shepherd watches over his flock.”

31:11 For the Lord will rescue the descendants of Jacob. He will secure their release from those who had overpowered them.

31:12 They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion. They will be radiant with joy over the good things the Lord provides, the grain, the fresh wine, the olive oil, the young sheep and calves he has given to them. They will be like a well-watered garden and will not grow faint or weary any more.

31:13 The Lord says, “At that time young women will dance and be glad. Young men and old men will rejoice. I will turn their grief into gladness. I will give them comfort and joy in place of their sorrow.

31:14 I will provide the priests with abundant provisions. My people will be filled to the full with the good things I provide.”

31:15 The Lord says, “A sound is heard in Ramah, a sound of crying in bitter grief. It is the sound of Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are gone.”

31:16 The Lord says to her, “Stop crying! Do not shed any more tears! For your heartfelt repentance will be rewarded. Your children will return from the land of the enemy. I, the Lord, affirm it!

31:17 Indeed, there is hope for your posterity. Your children will return to their own territory. I, the Lord, affirm it!

31:18 I have indeed heard the people of Israel say mournfully, ‘We were like a calf untrained to the yoke. You disciplined us and we learned from it. Let us come back to you and we will do so, for you are the Lord our God.

31:19 For after we turned away from you we repented. After we came to our senses we beat our breasts in sorrow. We are ashamed and humiliated because of the disgraceful things we did previously.’

31:20 Indeed, the people of Israel are my dear children. They are the children I take delight in. For even though I must often rebuke them, I still remember them with fondness. So I am deeply moved with pity for them and will surely have compassion on them. I, the Lord, affirm it!

31:21 I will say, ‘My dear children of Israel, keep in mind the road you took when you were carried off. Mark off in your minds the landmarks. Make a mental note of telltale signs marking the way back. Return, my dear children of Israel. Return to these cities of yours.

31:22 How long will you vacillate, you who were once like an unfaithful daughter? For I, the Lord, promise to bring about something new on the earth, something as unique as a woman protecting a man!’”

Judah Will Be Restored

31:23 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, “I will restore the people of Judah to their land and to their towns. When I do, they will again say of Jerusalem, ‘May the Lord bless you, you holy mountain, the place where righteousness dwells.’

31:24 The land of Judah will be inhabited by people who live in its towns as well as by farmers and shepherds with their flocks.

31:25 I will fully satisfy the needs of those who are weary and fully refresh the souls of those who are faint.

31:26 Then they will say, ‘Under these conditions I can enjoy sweet sleep when I wake up and look around.’”

Israel and Judah Will Be Repopulated

31:27 “Indeed, a time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will cause people and animals to sprout up in the lands of Israel and Judah. 31:28 In the past I saw to it that they were uprooted and torn down, that they were destroyed and demolished. But now I will see to it that they are built up and firmly planted. I, the Lord, affirm it!”

The Lord Will Make a New Covenant with Israel and Judah

31:29 “When that time comes, people will no longer say, ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but the children’s teeth have grown numb.’ 31:30 Rather, each person will die for his own sins. The teeth of the person who eats the sour grapes will themselves grow numb.

31:31 “Indeed, a time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 31:32 It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them,” says the Lord. 31:33 “But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel after I plant them back in the land,” says the Lord. “I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts and minds. I will be their God and they will be my people.

31:34 “People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” says the Lord. “For I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”

The Lord Guarantees Israel’s Continuance

31:35 The Lord has made a promise to Israel. He promises it as the one who fixed the sun to give light by day and the moon and stars to give light by night. He promises it as the one who stirs up the sea so that its waves roll. He promises it as the one who is known as the Lord who rules over all.

31:36 The Lord affirms, “The descendants of Israel will not cease forever to be a nation in my sight. That could only happen if the fixed ordering of the heavenly lights were to cease to operate before me.”

31:37 The Lord says, “I will not reject all the descendants of Israel because of all that they have done. That could only happen if the heavens above could be measured or the foundations of the earth below could all be explored,” says the Lord.

Jerusalem Will Be Enlarged

31:38 “Indeed a time is coming,” says the Lord, “when the city of Jerusalem will be rebuilt as my special city. It will be built from the Tower of Hananel westward to the Corner Gate. 31:39 The boundary line will extend beyond that, straight west from there to the Hill of Gareb and then turn southward to Goah. 31:40 The whole valley where dead bodies and sacrificial ashes are thrown and all the terraced fields out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far north as the Horse Gate will be included within this city that is sacred to the Lord. The city will never again be torn down or destroyed.”

Jeremiah Buys a Field

32:1 In the tenth year that Zedekiah was ruling over Judah the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. That was the same as the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

32:2 Now at that time, the armies of the king of Babylon were besieging Jerusalem. The prophet Jeremiah was confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse attached to the royal palace of Judah. 32:3 For King Zedekiah had confined Jeremiah there after he had reproved him for prophesying as he did. He had asked Jeremiah, “Why do you keep prophesying these things? Why do you keep saying that the Lord says, ‘I will hand this city over to the king of Babylon? I will let him capture it. 32:4 King Zedekiah of Judah will not escape from the Babylonians. He will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon. He must answer personally to the king of Babylon and confront him face to face. 32:5 Zedekiah will be carried off to Babylon and will remain there until I have fully dealt with him. I, the Lord, affirm it! Even if you continue to fight against the Babylonians, you cannot win.’”

32:6 So now, Jeremiah said, “The Lord told me, 32:7 ‘Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you soon. He will say to you, “Buy my field at Anathoth because you are entitled as my closest relative to buy it.”‘ 32:8 Now it happened just as the Lord had said! My cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guardhouse. He said to me, ‘Buy my field which is at Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. Buy it for yourself since you are entitled as my closest relative to take possession of it for yourself.’ When this happened, I recognized that the Lord had indeed spoken to me. 32:9 So I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out seven ounces of silver and gave it to him to pay for it. 32:10 I signed the deed of purchase, sealed it, and had some men serve as witnesses to the purchase. I weighed out the silver for him on a scale. 32:11 There were two copies of the deed of purchase. One was sealed and contained the order of transfer and the conditions of purchase. The other was left unsealed. 32:12 I took both copies of the deed of purchase and gave them to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah. I gave them to him in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase, and all the Judeans who were housed in the courtyard of the guardhouse. 32:13 In the presence of all these people I instructed Baruch, 32:14 ‘The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, “Take these documents, both the sealed copy of the deed of purchase and the unsealed copy. Put them in a clay jar so that they may be preserved for a long time to come.”‘ 32:15 For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, “Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”‘

Jeremiah’s Prayer of Praise and Bewilderment

32:16 “After I had given the copies of the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, 32:17 ‘Oh, Lord God, you did indeed make heaven and earth by your mighty power and great strength. Nothing is too hard for you! 32:18 You show unfailing love to thousands. But you also punish children for the sins of their parents. You are the great and powerful God who is known as the Lord who rules over all. 32:19 You plan great things and you do mighty deeds. You see everything people do. You reward each of them for the way they live and for the things they do. 32:20 You did miracles and amazing deeds in the land of Egypt which have had lasting effect. By this means you gained both in Israel and among humankind a renown that lasts to this day. 32:21 You used your mighty power and your great strength to perform miracles and amazing deeds and to bring great terror on the Egyptians. By this means you brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt. 32:22 You kept the promise that you swore on oath to their ancestors. You gave them a land flowing with milk and honey. 32:23 But when they came in and took possession of it, they did not obey you or live as you had instructed them. They did not do anything that you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster on them. 32:24 Even now siege ramps have been built up around the city in order to capture it. War, starvation, and disease are sure to make the city fall into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it. Lord, you threatened that this would happen. Now you can see that it is already taking place. 32:25 The city is sure to fall into the hands of the Babylonians. Yet, in spite of this, you, Lord God, have said to me, “Buy that field with silver and have the transaction legally witnessed.”‘”

The Lord Answers Jeremiah’s Prayer

32:26 The Lord answered Jeremiah. 32:27 “I am the Lord, the God of all humankind. There is, indeed, nothing too difficult for me. 32:28 Therefore I, the Lord, say: ‘I will indeed hand this city over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Babylonian army. They will capture it. 32:29 The Babylonian soldiers that are attacking this city will break into it and set it on fire. They will burn it down along with the houses where people have made me angry by offering sacrifices to the god Baal and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods on their rooftops. 32:30 This will happen because the people of Israel and Judah have repeatedly done what displeases me from their earliest history until now and because they have repeatedly made me angry by the things they have done. I, the Lord, affirm it! 32:31 This will happen because the people of this city have aroused my anger and my wrath since the time they built it until now. They have made me so angry that I am determined to remove it from my sight. 32:32 I am determined to do so because the people of Israel and Judah have made me angry with all their wickedness – they, their kings, their officials, their priests, their prophets, and especially the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem have done this wickedness. 32:33 They have turned away from me instead of turning to me. I tried over and over again to instruct them, but they did not listen and respond to correction. 32:34 They set up their disgusting idols in the temple which I have claimed for my own and defiled it. 32:35 They built places of worship for the god Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they could sacrifice their sons and daughters to the god Molech. Such a disgusting practice was not something I commanded them to do! It never even entered my mind to command them to do such a thing! So Judah is certainly liable for punishment.’

32:36 “You and your people are right in saying, ‘War, starvation, and disease are sure to make this city fall into the hands of the king of Babylon.’ But now I, the Lord God of Israel, have something further to say about this city: 32:37 ‘I will certainly regather my people from all the countries where I will have exiled them in my anger, fury, and great wrath. I will bring them back to this place and allow them to live here in safety. 32:38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 32:39 I will give them a single-minded purpose to live in a way that always shows respect for me. They will want to do that for their own good and the good of the children who descend from them. 32:40 I will make a lasting covenant with them that I will never stop doing good to them. I will fill their hearts and minds with respect for me so that they will never again turn away from me. 32:41 I will take delight in doing good to them. I will faithfully and wholeheartedly plant them firmly in the land.’

32:42 “For I, the Lord, say: ‘I will surely bring on these people all the good fortune that I am hereby promising them. I will be just as sure to do that as I have been in bringing all this great disaster on them. 32:43 You and your people are saying that this land will become desolate, uninhabited by either people or animals. You are saying that it will be handed over to the Babylonians. But fields will again be bought in this land. 32:44 Fields will again be bought with silver, and deeds of purchase signed, sealed, and witnessed. This will happen in the territory of Benjamin, the villages surrounding Jerusalem, the towns in Judah, the southern hill country, the western foothills, and southern Judah. For I will restore them to their land. I, the Lord, affirm it!’”

The Lord Promises a Second Time to Restore Israel and Judah

33:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah a second time while he was still confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse. 33:2 “I, the Lord, do these things. I, the Lord, form the plan to bring them about. I am known as the Lord. I say to you, 33:3 ‘Call on me in prayer and I will answer you. I will show you great and mysterious things which you still do not know about.’ 33:4 For I, the Lord God of Israel, have something more to say about the houses in this city and the royal buildings which have been torn down for defenses against the siege ramps and military incursions of the Babylonians: 33:5 ‘The defenders of the city will go out and fight with the Babylonians. But they will only fill those houses and buildings with the dead bodies of the people that I will kill in my anger and my wrath. That will happen because I have decided to turn my back on this city on account of the wicked things they have done. 33:6 But I will most surely heal the wounds of this city and restore it and its people to health. I will show them abundant peace and security. 33:7 I will restore Judah and Israel and will rebuild them as they were in days of old. 33:8 I will purify them from all the sin that they committed against me. I will forgive all their sins which they committed in rebelling against me. 33:9 All the nations will hear about all the good things which I will do to them. This city will bring me fame, honor, and praise before them for the joy that I bring it. The nations will tremble in awe at all the peace and prosperity that I will provide for it.’

33:10 “I, the Lord, say: ‘You and your people are saying about this place, “It lies in ruins. There are no people or animals in it.” That is true. The towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem will soon be desolate, uninhabited either by people or by animals. But happy sounds will again be heard in these places. 33:11 Once again there will be sounds of joy and gladness and the glad celebrations of brides and grooms. Once again people will bring their thank offerings to the temple of the Lord and will say, “Give thanks to the Lord who rules over all. For the Lord is good and his unfailing love lasts forever.” For I, the Lord, affirm that I will restore the land to what it was in days of old.’

33:12 “I, the Lord who rules over all, say: ‘This place will indeed lie in ruins. There will be no people or animals in it. But there will again be in it and in its towns sheepfolds where shepherds can rest their sheep. 33:13 I, the Lord, say that shepherds will once again count their sheep as they pass into the fold. They will do this in all the towns in the southern hill country, the western foothills, the southern hill country, the territory of Benjamin, the villages surrounding Jerusalem, and the towns of Judah.’

The Lord Reaffirms His Covenant with David, Israel, and Levi

33:14 “I, the Lord, affirm: ‘The time will certainly come when I will fulfill my gracious promise concerning the nations of Israel and Judah. 33:15 In those days and at that time I will raise up for them a righteous descendant of David.

“‘He will do what is just and right in the land. 33:16 Under his rule Judah will enjoy safety and Jerusalem will live in security. At that time Jerusalem will be called “The Lord has provided us with justice.” 33:17 For I, the Lord, promise: “David will never lack a successor to occupy the throne over the nation of Israel. 33:18 Nor will the Levitical priests ever lack someone to stand before me and continually offer up burnt offerings, sacrifice cereal offerings, and offer the other sacrifices.”‘”

33:19 The Lord spoke further to Jeremiah. 33:20 “I, Lord, make the following promise: ‘I have made a covenant with the day and with the night that they will always come at their proper times. Only if you people could break that covenant 33:21 could my covenant with my servant David and my covenant with the Levites ever be broken. So David will by all means always have a descendant to occupy his throne as king and the Levites will by all means always have priests who will minister before me. 33:22 I will make the children who follow one another in the line of my servant David very numerous. I will also make the Levites who minister before me very numerous. I will make them all as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sands which are on the seashore.’”

33:23 The Lord spoke still further to Jeremiah. 33:24 “You have surely noticed what these people are saying, haven’t you? They are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two families of Israel and Judah that he chose.’ So they have little regard that my people will ever again be a nation. 33:25 But I, the Lord, make the following promise: I have made a covenant governing the coming of day and night. I have established the fixed laws governing heaven and earth. 33:26 Just as surely as I have done this, so surely will I never reject the descendants of Jacob. Nor will I ever refuse to choose one of my servant David’s descendants to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Indeed, I will restore them and show mercy to them.”

Prayer

Lord, Your great plan included a purge and punishment of Israel and Judah and a desire to rescue and restore those whose hearts had turned toward You. May I be careful to keep my eyes and heart on You so that I do not require Your discipline.

Scripture In Perspective

Jeremiah delivered the angry observation of the Lord God that the religious leaders were failing His people “They were supposed to watch over my people like shepherds watch over their sheep. But they are causing my people to be destroyed and scattered.”

Jeremiah was challenged by the false prophets but he challenged them right back in the authority of the Lord God.

He prophesied that the Lord God would also rescue the people of Israel, and that He would destroy any who troubled them.

He prophesied that there would be a new covenant where “... each person will die for his own sins.” and knowledge of the Lord God would be individualized “I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts and minds. I will be their God and they will be my people.” and all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” says the Lord. “For I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”

Interact With The Text

Consider

Rebellious religious leaders generally represent a rebellious people and that is why the people were not innocent when the Lord God condemned the apostate leaders. In the midst of chronic rebellion the Lord God still sought a reason for hope among the exiles in Babylon. The Lord God would rescue a contrite and repentant people.

Discuss

Why would the false prophet have imagined that he could get away with lying about the Lord God, especially in the presence of Jeremiah? Given their propensity to trust false gods was it not necessary for the Lord God to remind the people that their situation was impossible for any but the One True God to alter?

Reflect

The people could make it possible to be returned from exile, if they turned back to the Lord God; otherwise, they would have to wait for the Messiah “This is the name he will go by: ‘The Lord has provided us with justice.’” The time of family or fellowship or national or tribal righteousness-to-salvation was soon to be over “... each person will die for his own sins.”

Share

When have you been in a difficult situation and realized that the only way out was to turn fully away from your heart-condition (repent) and to surrender to the Lordship of Christ? When have you been faced with a lengthy wait to accomplish or to be liberated and found yourself tempted by potential short-cuts? When have you been troubled and it was only the Lord’s promise of Heaven that could bring you certain joy? When have you discovered that a contrite and repentant heart before God brought blessing?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to a place where you need to become more closely aligned with the desires of the Lord God rather than merely responding to the demands of the world and a place in your life where a contrite and repentant heart would open the door to His blessing.

Act

Today I will prayerfully reflect in order to hear clearly where I need to make changes. The changes may be in my parenting, dealing with family and friends, in the classroom or the workplace, or in some other context. I will consider all things in the light of the Lord’s perfect and constant awareness and His desire and encouragement for me to choose rightly. I will confess and repent, seek and receive forgiveness from the Lord God, then I will invest myself in an “Ultrafidian” (beyond-faith) commitment to surrender everything to Him.

Be Specific _____________________________________________

Saturday (Jeremiah 34–40, Psalms 74, 79)

The Lord Makes an Ominous Promise to Zedekiah

34:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah while King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was attacking Jerusalem and the towns around it with a large army. This army consisted of troops from his own army and from the kingdoms and peoples of the lands under his dominion. 34:2 The Lord God of Israel told Jeremiah to go and give King Zedekiah of Judah a message. He told Jeremiah to tell him, “The Lord says, ‘I am going to hand this city over to the king of Babylon and he will burn it down. 34:3 You yourself will not escape his clutches, but will certainly be captured and handed over to him. You must confront the king of Babylon face to face and answer to him personally. Then you must go to Babylon. 34:4 However, listen to what I, the Lord, promise you, King Zedekiah of Judah. I, the Lord, promise that you will not die in battle or be executed. 34:5 You will die a peaceful death. They will burn incense at your burial just as they did at the burial of your ancestors, the former kings who preceded you. They will mourn for you, saying, “Poor, poor master!” Indeed, you have my own word on this. I, the Lord, affirm it!’”

34:6 The prophet Jeremiah told all this to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem. 34:7 He did this while the army of the king of Babylon was attacking Jerusalem and the cities of Lachish and Azekah. He was attacking these cities because they were the only fortified cities of Judah which were still holding out.

The Lord Threatens to Destroy Those Who Wronged Their Slaves

34:8 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to grant their slaves their freedom. 34:9 Everyone was supposed to free their male and female Hebrew slaves. No one was supposed to keep a fellow Judean enslaved. 34:10 All the people and their leaders had agreed to this. They had agreed to free their male and female slaves and not keep them enslaved any longer. They originally complied with the covenant and freed them. 34:11 But later they had changed their minds. They had taken back their male and female slaves that they had freed and forced them to be slaves again. 34:12 That was when the Lord spoke to Jeremiah, 34:13 “The Lord God of Israel has a message for you. ‘I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt where they had been slaves. It stipulated, 34:14 “Every seven years each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you for six years, you shall set them free.” But your ancestors did not obey me or pay any attention to me. 34:15 Recently, however, you yourselves showed a change of heart and did what is pleasing to me. You granted your fellow countrymen their freedom and you made a covenant to that effect in my presence in the house that I have claimed for my own. 34:16 But then you turned right around and showed that you did not honor me. Each of you took back your male and female slaves whom you had freed as they desired, and you forced them to be your slaves again. 34:17 So I, the Lord, say: “You have not really obeyed me and granted freedom to your neighbor and fellow countryman. Therefore, I will grant you freedom, the freedom to die in war, or by starvation or disease. I, the Lord, affirm it! I will make all the kingdoms of the earth horrified at what happens to you. 34:18 I will punish those people who have violated their covenant with me. I will make them like the calf they cut in two and passed between its pieces. I will do so because they did not keep the terms of the covenant they made in my presence. 34:19 I will punish the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests, and all the other people of the land who passed between the pieces of the calf. 34:20 I will hand them over to their enemies who want to kill them. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals. 34:21 I will also hand King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials over to their enemies who want to kill them. I will hand them over to the army of the king of Babylon, even though they have temporarily withdrawn from attacking you. 34:22 For I, the Lord, affirm that I will soon give the order and bring them back to this city. They will fight against it and capture it and burn it down. I will also make the towns of Judah desolate so that there will be no one living in them.”‘”

Judah’s Unfaithfulness Contrasted with the Rechabites’ Fai

35:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah when Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah. 35:2 “Go to the Rechabite community. Invite them to come into one of the side rooms of the Lord’s temple and offer them some wine to drink.” 35:3 So I went and got Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah the grandson of Habazziniah, his brothers, all his sons, and all the rest of the Rechabite community. 35:4 I took them to the Lord’s temple. I took them into the room where the disciples of the prophet Hanan son of Igdaliah stayed. That room was next to the one where the temple officers stayed and above the room where Maaseiah son of Shallum, one of the doorkeepers of the temple, stayed. 35:5 Then I set cups and pitchers full of wine in front of the members of the Rechabite community and said to them, “Have some wine.” 35:6 But they answered, “We do not drink wine because our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab commanded us not to. He told us, ‘You and your children must never drink wine. 35:7 Do not build houses. Do not plant crops. Do not plant a vineyard or own one. Live in tents all your lives. If you do these things you will live a long time in the land that you wander about on.’ 35:8 We and our wives and our sons and daughters have obeyed everything our ancestor Jonadab commanded us. We have never drunk wine. 35:9 We have not built any houses to live in. We do not own any vineyards, fields, or crops. 35:10 We have lived in tents. We have obeyed our ancestor Jonadab and done exactly as he commanded us. 35:11 But when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded the land we said, ‘Let’s get up and go to Jerusalem to get away from the Babylonian and Aramean armies.’ That is why we are staying here in Jerusalem.”

35:12 Then the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. 35:13 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all told him, “Go and speak to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. Tell them, ‘I, the Lord, say: “You must learn a lesson from this about obeying what I say! 35:14 Jonadab son of Rechab ordered his descendants not to drink wine. His orders have been carried out. To this day his descendants have drunk no wine because they have obeyed what their ancestor commanded them. But I have spoken to you over and over again, but you have not obeyed me! 35:15 I sent all my servants the prophets to warn you over and over again. They said, “Every one of you, stop doing the evil things you have been doing and do what is right. Do not pay allegiance to other gods and worship them. Then you can continue to live in this land that I gave to you and your ancestors.” But you did not pay any attention or listen to me. 35:16 Yes, the descendants of Jonadab son of Rechab have carried out the orders that their ancestor gave them. But you people have not obeyed me! 35:17 So I, the Lord, the God who rules over all, the God of Israel, say: “I will soon bring on Judah and all the citizens of Jerusalem all the disaster that I threatened to bring on them. I will do this because I spoke to them but they did not listen. I called out to them but they did not answer.”‘”

35:18 Then Jeremiah spoke to the Rechabite community, “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘You have obeyed the orders of your ancestor Jonadab. You have followed all his instructions. You have done exactly as he commanded you.’ 35:19 So the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘Jonadab son of Rechab will never lack a male descendant to serve me.’”

Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll Containing the Lord’s Messages

36:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah. 36:2 “Get a scroll. Write on it everything I have told you to say about Israel, Judah, and all the other nations since I began to speak to you in the reign of Josiah until now. 36:3 Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about all the disaster I intend to bring on them, they will all stop doing the evil things they have been doing. If they do, I will forgive their sins and the wicked things they have done.”

36:4 So Jeremiah summoned Baruch son of Neriah. Then Jeremiah dictated to Baruch everything the Lord had told him to say and Baruch wrote it all down in a scroll. 36:5 Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am no longer allowed to go into the Lord’s temple. 36:6 So you go there the next time all the people of Judah come in from their towns to fast in the Lord’s temple. Read out loud where all of them can hear you what I told you the Lord said, which you wrote in the scroll. 36:7 Perhaps then they will ask the Lord for mercy and will all stop doing the evil things they have been doing. For the Lord has threatened to bring great anger and wrath against these people.”

36:8 So Baruch son of Neriah did exactly what the prophet Jeremiah had told him to do. He read what the Lord had said from the scroll in the temple of the Lord. 36:9 All the people living in Jerusalem and all the people who came into Jerusalem from the towns of Judah came to observe a fast before the Lord. The fast took place in the ninth month of the fifth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah. 36:10 At that time Baruch went into the temple of the Lord. He stood in the entrance of the room of Gemariah the son of Shaphan who had been the royal secretary. That room was in the upper court near the entrance of the New Gate. There, where all the people could hear him, he read from the scroll what Jeremiah had said.

36:11 Micaiah, who was the son of Gemariah and the grandson of Shaphan, heard Baruch read from the scroll everything the Lord had said. 36:12 He went down to the chamber of the royal secretary in the king’s palace and found all the court officials in session there. Elishama the royal secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials were seated there. 36:13 Micaiah told them everything he had heard Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people. 36:14 All the officials sent Jehudi, who was the son of Nethaniah and the grandson of Cushi, to Baruch. They ordered him to tell Baruch, “Come here and bring with you the scroll you read in the hearing of the people.” So Baruch son of Neriah went to them, carrying the scroll in his hand. 36:15 They said to him, “Please sit down and read it to us.” So Baruch sat down and read it to them. 36:16 When they had heard it all, they expressed their alarm to one another. Then they said to Baruch, “We must certainly give the king a report about everything you have read!” 36:17 Then they asked Baruch, “How did you come to write all these words? Do they actually come from Jeremiah’s mouth?” 36:18 Baruch answered, “Yes, they came from his own mouth. He dictated all these words to me and I wrote them down in ink on this scroll.” 36:19 Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must go and hide. You must not let anyone know where you are.”

36:20 The officials put the scroll in the room of Elishama, the royal secretary, for safekeeping. Then they went to the court and reported everything to the king. 36:21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. He went and got it from the room of Elishama, the royal secretary. Then he himself read it to the king and all the officials who were standing around him. 36:22 Since it was the ninth month of the year, the king was sitting in his winter quarters. A fire was burning in the firepot in front of him. 36:23 As soon as Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king would cut them off with a penknife and throw them on the fire in the firepot. He kept doing so until the whole scroll was burned up in the fire. 36:24 Neither he nor any of his attendants showed any alarm when they heard all that had been read. Nor did they tear their clothes to show any grief or sorrow. 36:25 The king did not even listen to Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah, who had urged him not to burn the scroll. 36:26 He also ordered Jerahmeel, who was one of the royal princes, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah. However, the Lord hid them.

Baruch and Jeremiah Write Another Scroll

36:27 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah after Jehoiakim had burned the scroll containing what Jeremiah had spoken and Baruch had written down. 36:28 “Get another scroll and write on it everything that was written on the original scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah burned. 36:29 Tell King Jehoiakim of Judah, ‘The Lord says, “You burned the scroll. You asked Jeremiah, ‘How dare you write in this scroll that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and wipe out all the people and animals on it?’” 36:30 So the Lord says concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah, “None of his line will occupy the throne of David. His dead body will be thrown out to be exposed to scorching heat by day and frost by night. 36:31 I will punish him and his descendants and the officials who serve him for the wicked things they have done. I will bring on them, the citizens of Jerusalem, and the people of Judah all the disaster that I threatened to do to them. I will punish them because I threatened them but they still paid no heed.”‘” 36:32 Then Jeremiah got another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah. As Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote on this scroll everything that had been on the scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah burned in the fire. They also added on this scroll several other messages of the same kind.

Introduction to Incidents During the Reign of Zedekiah

37:1 Zedekiah son of Josiah succeeded Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim as king. He was elevated to the throne of the land of Judah by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. 37:2 Neither he nor the officials who served him nor the people of Judah paid any attention to what the Lord said through the prophet Jeremiah.

The Lord Responds to Zedekiah’s Hope for Help

37:3 King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to the prophet Jeremiah. He told them to say, “Please pray to the Lord our God on our behalf.” 37:4 (Now Jeremiah had not yet been put in prison. So he was still free to come and go among the people as he pleased. 37:5 At that time the Babylonian forces had temporarily given up their siege against Jerusalem. They had had it under siege, but withdrew when they heard that the army of Pharaoh had set out from Egypt.) 37:6 The Lord gave the prophet Jeremiah a message for them. He told him to tell them, 37:7 “The Lord God of Israel says, ‘Give a message to the king of Judah who sent you to ask me to help him. Tell him, “The army of Pharaoh that was on its way to help you will go back home to Egypt. 37:8 Then the Babylonian forces will return. They will attack the city and will capture it and burn it down. 37:9 Moreover, I, the Lord, warn you not to deceive yourselves into thinking that the Babylonian forces will go away and leave you alone. For they will not go away. 37:10 For even if you were to defeat all the Babylonian forces fighting against you so badly that only wounded men were left lying in their tents, they would get up and burn this city down.”‘”

Jeremiah is Charged with Deserting, Arrested, and Imprisoned

37:11 The following events also occurred while the Babylonian forces had temporarily withdrawn from Jerusalem because the army of Pharaoh was coming. 37:12 Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the territory of Benjamin. He wanted to make sure he got his share of the property that was being divided up among his family there. 37:13 But he only got as far as the Benjamin Gate. There an officer in charge of the guards named Irijah, who was the son of Shelemiah and the grandson of Hananiah, stopped him. He seized Jeremiah and said, “You are deserting to the Babylonians!” 37:14 Jeremiah answered, “That’s a lie! I am not deserting to the Babylonians.” But Irijah would not listen to him. Irijah put Jeremiah under arrest and took him to the officials. 37:15 The officials were very angry at Jeremiah. They had him flogged and put in prison in the house of Jonathan, the royal secretary, which they had converted into a place for confining prisoners.

37:16 So Jeremiah was put in prison in a cell in the dungeon in Jonathan’s house. He was kept there for a long time. 37:17 Then King Zedekiah had him brought to the palace. There he questioned him privately and asked him, “Is there any message from the Lord?” Jeremiah answered, “Yes, there is.” Then he announced, “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.” 37:18 Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “What crime have I committed against you, or the officials who serve you, or the people of Judah? What have I done to make you people throw me into prison? 37:19 Where now are the prophets who prophesied to you that the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land? 37:20 But now please listen, your royal Majesty, and grant my plea for mercy. Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan, the royal secretary. If you do, I will die there.” 37:21 Then King Zedekiah ordered that Jeremiah be committed to the courtyard of the guardhouse. He also ordered that a loaf of bread be given to him every day from the baker’s street until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah was kept in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

Jeremiah Is Charged with Treason and Put in a Cistern to Die

38:1 Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah had heard the things that Jeremiah had been telling the people. They had heard him say, 38:2 “The Lord says, ‘Those who stay in this city will die in battle or of starvation or disease. Those who leave the city and surrender to the Babylonians will live. They will escape with their lives.’” 38:3 They had also heard him say, “The Lord says, ‘This city will certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon. They will capture it.’” 38:4 So these officials said to the king, “This man must be put to death. For he is demoralizing the soldiers who are left in the city as well as all the other people there by these things he is saying. This man is not seeking to help these people but is trying to harm them.” 38:5 King Zedekiah said to them, “Very well, you can do what you want with him. For I cannot do anything to stop you.” 38:6 So the officials took Jeremiah and put him in the cistern of Malkijah, one of the royal princes, that was in the courtyard of the guardhouse. There was no water in the cistern, only mud. So when they lowered Jeremiah into the cistern with ropes he sank in the mud.

An Ethiopian Official Rescues Jeremiah from the Cistern

38:7 An Ethiopian, Ebed Melech, a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put in the cistern. While the king was holding court at the Benjamin Gate, 38:8 Ebed Melech departed the palace and went to speak to the king. He said to him, 38:9 “Your royal Majesty, those men have been very wicked in all that they have done to the prophet Jeremiah. They have thrown him into a cistern and he is sure to die of starvation there because there is no food left in the city. 38:10 Then the king gave Ebed Melech the Ethiopian the following order: “Take thirty men with you from here and go pull the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.” 38:11 So Ebed Melech took the men with him and went to a room under the treasure room in the palace. He got some worn-out clothes and old rags from there and let them down by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. 38:12 Ebed Melech called down to Jeremiah, “Put these rags and worn-out clothes under your armpits to pad the ropes. Jeremiah did as Ebed Melech instructed. 38:13 So they pulled Jeremiah up from the cistern with ropes. Jeremiah, however, still remained confined to the courtyard of the guardhouse.

Jeremiah Responds to Zedekiah’s Request for Secret Advice

38:14 Some time later Zedekiah sent and had Jeremiah brought to him at the third entrance of the Lord’s temple. The king said to Jeremiah, “I would like to ask you a question. Do not hide anything from me when you answer.” 38:15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I answer you, you will certainly kill me. If I give you advice, you will not listen to me.” 38:16 So King Zedekiah made a secret promise to Jeremiah and sealed it with an oath. He promised, “As surely as the Lord lives who has given us life and breath, I promise you this: I will not kill you or hand you over to those men who want to kill you.”

38:17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “The Lord, the God who rules over all, the God of Israel, says, ‘You must surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon. If you do, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down. Indeed, you and your whole family will be spared. 38:18 But if you do not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be handed over to the Babylonians and they will burn it down. You yourself will not escape from them.’” 38:19 Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Babylonians. The Babylonians might hand me over to them and they will torture me.” 38:20 Then Jeremiah answered, “You will not be handed over to them. Please obey the Lord by doing what I have been telling you. Then all will go well with you and your life will be spared. 38:21 But if you refuse to surrender, the Lord has shown me a vision of what will happen. Here is what I saw: 38:22 All the women who are left in the royal palace of Judah will be led out to the officers of the king of Babylon. They will taunt you saying,

‘Your trusted friends misled you; they have gotten the best of you. Now that your feet are stuck in the mud, they have turned their backs on you.’

38:23 “All your wives and your children will be turned over to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape from them but will be captured by the king of Babylon. This city will be burned down.”

38:24 Then Zedekiah told Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know about the conversation we have had. If you do, you will die. 38:25 The officials may hear that I have talked with you. They may come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you. Do not hide anything from us. If you do, we will kill you.’ 38:26 If they do this, tell them, ‘I was pleading with the king not to send me back to die in the dungeon of Jonathan’s house.’” 38:27 All the officials did indeed come and question Jeremiah. He told them exactly what the king had instructed him to say. They stopped questioning him any further because no one had actually heard their conversation. 38:28 So Jeremiah remained confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse until the day Jerusalem was captured.

38:28b The Fall of Jerusalem and Its Aftermath

The following events occurred when Jerusalem was captured.

39:1 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it. The siege began in the tenth month of the ninth year that Zedekiah ruled over Judah. 39:2 It lasted until the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year. On that day they broke through the city walls. 39:3 Then Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim, who was a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer, who was a high official, and all the other officers of the king of Babylon came and set up quarters in the Middle Gate. 39:4 When King Zedekiah of Judah and all his soldiers saw them, they tried to escape. They departed from the city during the night. They took a path through the king’s garden and passed out through the gate between the two walls. Then they headed for the Jordan Valley. 39:5 But the Babylonian army chased after them. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho and captured him. They took him to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon at Riblah in the territory of Hamath and Nebuchadnezzar passed sentence on him there. 39:6 There at Riblah the king of Babylon had Zedekiah’s sons put to death while Zedekiah was forced to watch. The king of Babylon also had all the nobles of Judah put to death. 39:7 Then he had Zedekiah’s eyes put out and had him bound in chains to be led off to Babylon. 39:8 The Babylonians burned down the royal palace, the temple of the Lord, and the people’s homes, and they tore down the wall of Jerusalem. 39:9 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, took captive the rest of the people who were left in the city. He carried them off to Babylon along with the people who had deserted to him. 39:10 But he left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing. He gave them fields and vineyards at that time.

39:11 Now King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had issued orders concerning Jeremiah. He had passed them on through Nebuzaradan, the captain of his royal guard, 39:12 “Find Jeremiah and look out for him. Do not do anything to harm him, but do with him whatever he tells you.” 39:13 So Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, Nebushazban, who was a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer, who was a high official, and all the other officers of the king of Babylon 39:14 sent and had Jeremiah brought from the courtyard of the guardhouse. They turned him over to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and the grandson of Shaphan, to take him home with him. But Jeremiah stayed among the people.

Ebed Melech Is Promised Deliverance because of His Faith

39:15 Now the Lord had spoken to Jeremiah while he was still confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse, 39:16 “Go and tell Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, ‘The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, “I will carry out against this city what I promised. It will mean disaster and not good fortune for it. When that disaster happens, you will be there to see it. 39:17 But I will rescue you when it happens. I, the Lord, affirm it! You will not be handed over to those whom you fear. 39:18 I will certainly save you. You will not fall victim to violence. You will escape with your life because you trust in me. I, the Lord, affirm it!”‘”

Jeremiah Is Set Free A Second Time

40:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah after Nebuzaradan the captain of the royal guard had set him free at Ramah. He had taken him there in chains along with all the people from Jerusalem and Judah who were being carried off to exile to Babylon. 40:2 The captain of the royal guard took Jeremiah aside and said to him, “The Lord your God threatened this place with this disaster. 40:3 Now he has brought it about. The Lord has done just as he threatened to do. This disaster has happened because you people sinned against the Lord and did not obey him. 40:4 But now, Jeremiah, today I will set you free from the chains on your wrists. If you would like to come to Babylon with me, come along and I will take care of you. But if you prefer not to come to Babylon with me, you are not required to do so. You are free to go anywhere in the land you want to go. Go wherever you choose.” 40:5 Before Jeremiah could turn to leave, the captain of the guard added, “Go back to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon appointed to govern the towns of Judah. Go back and live with him among the people. Or go wherever else you choose.” Then the captain of the guard gave Jeremiah some food and a present and let him go. 40:6 So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and lived there with him. He stayed there to live among the people who had been left in the land of Judah.

A Small Judean Province is Established at Mizpah

40:7 Now some of the officers of the Judean army and their troops had been hiding in the countryside. They heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam to govern the country. They also heard that he had been put in charge over the men, women, and children from the poorer classes of the land who had not been carried off into exile in Babylon. 40:8 So all these officers and their troops came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The officers who came were Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maacathite. 40:9 Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. “Do not be afraid to submit to the Babylonians. Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you. 40:10 I for my part will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians whenever they come to us. You for your part go ahead and harvest the wine, the dates, the figs, and the olive oil, and store them in jars. Go ahead and settle down in the towns that you have taken over.” 40:11 Moreover, all the Judeans who were in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and all the other countries heard what had happened. They heard that the king of Babylon had allowed some people to stay in Judah and that he had appointed Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, to govern them. 40:12 So all these Judeans returned to the land of Judah from the places where they had been scattered. They came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. Thus they harvested a large amount of wine and dates and figs.

Ishmael Murders Gedaliah and Carries the Judeans at Mizpah off as Capt

40:13 Johanan and all the officers of the troops that had been hiding in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. 40:14 They said to him, “Are you at all aware that King Baalis of Ammon has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to kill you?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam would not believe them. 40:15 Then Johanan son of Kareah spoke privately to Gedaliah there at Mizpah, “Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah before anyone knows about it. Otherwise he will kill you and all the Judeans who have rallied around you will be scattered. Then what remains of Judah will disappear.” 40:16 But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, “Do not do that because what you are saying about Ishmael is not true.”

Prayer

Lord, You had to send a foreigner to rescue Jeremiah because none of his people were listening to you. May I be watchful as Your blessing may come from an unexpected source.

Scripture In Perspective

Jeremiah delivered the Lord’s judgment because as king Zedekiah, his court, and the people of Judah ignored the Lord God “... even if you were to defeat all the Babylonian forces fighting against you so badly that only wounded men were left lying in their tents, they would get up and burn this city down.”

He was falsely accused of intent to deserting to the Babylonians, flogged and imprisoned. When the king summoned him and asked if there was word from the Lord he told him what he had before, that the Babylonians would destroy the city and take him prisoner. He asked not to be left in prison and was moved to the courtyard and given a loaf of bread a day until all of the bread in the city was gone – due to the siege.

Jeremiah was falsely charged with treason and lowered into a muddy cistern [a shallow well] and left to die. The king was aware of the plan but said he could not prevent it. An Ethiopian official received the king’s permission to rescue him from the cistern but not the courtyard.

He was secretly summoned to the king where he repeated the requirement that he surrender or he and the city would be destroyed. He was instructed by the king to tell no one of his conversation. He remain imprisoned in the courtyard.

Just as Jeremiah had warned, the failure of the king to surrender to the Babylonians resulted in terrible consequences; no only was Jerusalem destroyed and the people taken away to Babylon “There at Riblah the king of Babylon had Zedekiah’s sons put to death while Zedekiah was forced to watch. The king of Babylon also had all the nobles of Judah put to death. 39:7 Then he had Zedekiah’s eyes put out and had him bound in chains to be led off to Babylon.”

Jeremiah was protected by the orders of the Babylonian king and allowed to remain among the people. Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian was also protected for acting from faith in rescuing Jeremiah.

Gedaliah was appointed by the Babylonians to oversee the remnant people and a community rose at Mizpah. Some soldiers who had been hiding, as well as civilians who also managed to hide from the Babylonian army, joined them. “Thus they harvested a large amount of wine and dates and figs.”

Interact With The Text

Consider

The Rechabites proved that it was possible to keep ones word across many generations. King Zedekiah was so confused that even as he deliberately ignored the Lord God and mistreated His prophet he still asked him for help and information from the Lord. The Lord God kept providing opportunities for the people to choose faithful-obedience to Him and they persisted in rebellion.

Discuss

Why would the people have imagined that they could renege on the covenant promise to free their fellow Israelite slaves and suffer no consequences? Why would the Ethiopian official have responded to Jeremiah’s need but no one else? Isn’t it amazing that the Lord God caused the king of Babylon to preserve Jeremiah and the Ethiopian in the midst of the battle and the deportations?

Reflect

The arrogance of King Jehoiakim cost he and his family and friends dearly. The Lord God allowed the people extra time to make a choice to obey but they refused. Even in the sad times following the destruction of Jerusalem and the deportation of the people Ishmael attacked and tried to force the remnant into slavery under the Ammonites.

Share

When have you observed a family or a fellowship keeping a sacrificial promise across generations? When have you experienced or observed help coming from a source other than expected? When have you had your own pity-party because things were going badly all around you?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place where you have read the Word of the Lord God but have chosen to ignore it, even in a small way, a way that He blessed you from an unexpected source of which you have been unaware, and a place where you are too obsessed with your own stuff to notice what the Lord is doing all around you.

Act

Today I will confess and repent, seek and receive the Lord’s forgiveness, and intentionally begin looking at the world through His eyes.

Be Specific _________________________________________________

All Bible text is from the NET unless otherwise indicated - http://bible.org

Note 1: These Studies often rely upon the guidance of the NET Translators from their associated notes. Careful attention has been given to cite that source where it has been quoted directly or closely paraphrased. Feedback is encouraged where credit has not been sufficiently assigned.

Note 2: When NET text is quoted in commentary and discussion all pronouns referring to God are capitalized, though they are lower-case in the original NET text.

Commentary text is from David M. Colburn, D.Min. unless otherwise noted.

Copyright © 2012 by David M. Colburn. This is a BibleSeven Study –“Genesis 3. Prepared by David M. Colburn and edited for bible.org in August of 2012. This text may be used for non-profit educational purposes only, with credit; all other usage requires prior written consent of the author.

A Chronological Daily Bible Study of the Old Testament
7-Day Sections with a Summary-Commentary, Discussion Questions, and a Practical Daily Application

Week 40

Sunday (2 Kings 5–8)

Elisha Heals a Syrian General

5:1 Now Naaman, the commander of the king of Syria’s army, was esteemed and respected by his master, for through him the Lord had given Syria military victories. But this great warrior had a skin disease. 5:2 Raiding parties went out from Syria and took captive from the land of Israel a young girl, who became a servant to Naaman’s wife. 5:3 She told her mistress, “If only my master were in the presence of the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his skin disease.”

5:4 Naaman went and told his master what the girl from the land of Israel had said. 5:5 The king of Syria said, “Go! I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten suits of clothes. 5:6 He brought the letter to king of Israel. It read: “This is a letter of introduction for my servant Naaman, whom I have sent to be cured of his skin disease.” 5:7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill or restore life? Why does he ask me to cure a man of his skin disease? Certainly you must see that he is looking for an excuse to fight me!”

5:8 When Elisha the prophet heard that the king had torn his clothes, he sent this message to the king, “Why did you tear your clothes? Send him to me so he may know there is a prophet in Israel.” 5:9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood in the doorway of Elisha’s house. 5:10 Elisha sent out a messenger who told him, “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan; your skin will be restored and you will be healed.” 5:11 Naaman went away angry. He said, “Look, I thought for sure he would come out, stand there, invoke the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the area, and cure the skin disease. 5:12 The rivers of Damascus, the Abana and Pharpar, are better than any of the waters of Israel! Could I not wash in them and be healed?” So he turned around and went away angry. 5:13 His servants approached and said to him, “O master, if the prophet had told you to do some difficult task, you would have been willing to do it. It seems you should be happy that he simply said, “Wash and you will be healed.” 5:14 So he went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times, as the prophet had instructed. His skin became as smooth as a young child’s and he was healed.

5:15 He and his entire entourage returned to the prophet. Naaman came and stood before him. He said, “For sure I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel! Now, please accept a gift from your servant.” 5:16 But Elisha replied, “As certainly as the Lord lives (whom I serve), I will take nothing from you.” Naaman insisted that he take it, but he refused. 5:17 Naaman said, “If not, then please give your servant a load of dirt, enough for a pair of mules to carry, for your servant will never again offer a burnt offering or sacrifice to a god other than the Lord. 5:18 May the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to worship, and he leans on my arm and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.” 5:19 Elisha said to him, “Go in peace.”

When he had gone a short distance, 5:20 Gehazi, the prophet Elisha’s servant, thought, “Look, my master did not accept what this Syrian Naaman offered him. As certainly as the Lord lives, I will run after him and accept something from him.” 5:21 So Gehazi ran after Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from his chariot to meet him and asked, “Is everything all right?” 5:22 He answered, “Everything is fine. My master sent me with this message, ‘Look, two servants of the prophets just arrived from the Ephraimite hill country. Please give them a talent of silver and two suits of clothes.’” 5:23 Naaman said, “Please accept two talents of silver. He insisted, and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, along with two suits of clothes. He gave them to two of his servants and they carried them for Gehazi. 5:24 When he arrived at the hill, he took them from the servants and put them in the house. Then he sent the men on their way.

5:25 When he came and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” He answered, “Your servant hasn’t been anywhere.” 5:26 Elisha replied, “I was there in spirit when a man turned and got down from his chariot to meet you. This is not the proper time to accept silver or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, cattle, and male and female servants. 5:27 Therefore Naaman’s skin disease will afflict you and your descendants forever!” When Gehazi went out from his presence, his skin was as white as snow.

Elisha Makes an Ax Head Float

6:1 Some of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too cramped for us. 6:2 Let’s go to the Jordan. Each of us will get a log from there and we will build a meeting place for ourselves there.” He said, “Go.” 6:3 One of them said, “Please come along with your servants.” He replied, “All right, I’ll come.” 6:4 So he went with them. When they arrived at the Jordan, they started cutting down trees. 6:5 As one of them was felling a log, the ax head dropped into the water. He shouted, “Oh no, my master! It was borrowed!” 6:6 The prophet asked, “Where did it drop in?” When he showed him the spot, Elisha cut off a branch, threw it in at that spot, and made the ax head float. 6:7 He said, “Lift it out.” So he reached out his hand and grabbed it.

Elisha Defeats an Army

6:8 Now the king of Syria was at war with Israel. He consulted his advisers, who said, “Invade at such and such a place.” 6:9 But the prophet sent this message to the king of Israel, “Make sure you don’t pass through this place because Syria is invading there.” 6:10 So the king of Israel sent a message to the place the prophet had pointed out, warning it to be on its guard. This happened on several occasions. 6:11 This made the king of Syria upset. So he summoned his advisers and said to them, “One of us must be helping the king of Israel.” 6:12 One of his advisers said, “No, my master, O king. The prophet Elisha who lives in Israel keeps telling the king of Israel the things you say in your bedroom.” 6:13 The king ordered, “Go, find out where he is, so I can send some men to capture him.” The king was told, “He is in Dothan.” 6:14 So he sent horses and chariots there, along with a good-sized army. They arrived during the night and surrounded the city.

6:15 The prophet’s attendant got up early in the morning. When he went outside there was an army surrounding the city, along with horses and chariots. He said to Elisha, “Oh no, my master! What will we do?” 6:16 He replied, “Don’t be afraid, for our side outnumbers them.” 6:17 Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he can see.” The Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw that the hill was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 6:18 As they approached him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike these people with blindness.” The Lord struck them with blindness as Elisha requested. 6:19 Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the right road or city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you’re looking for.” He led them to Samaria.

6:20 When they had entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O Lord, open their eyes, so they can see.” The Lord opened their eyes and they saw that they were in the middle of Samaria. 6:21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Should I strike them down, my master?” 6:22 He replied, “Do not strike them down! You did not capture them with your sword or bow, so what gives you the right to strike them down? Give them some food and water, so they can eat and drink and then go back to their master.” 6:23 So he threw a big banquet for them and they ate and drank. Then he sent them back to their master. After that no Syrian raiding parties again invaded the land of Israel.

The Lord Saves Samaria

6:24 Later King Ben Hadad of Syria assembled his entire army and attacked and besieged Samaria. 6:25 Samaria’s food supply ran out. They laid siege to it so long that a donkey’s head was selling for eighty shekels of silver and a quarter of a kab of dove’s droppings for five shekels of silver.

6:26 While the king of Israel was passing by on the city wall, a woman shouted to him, “Help us, my master, O king!” 6:27 He replied, “No, let the Lord help you. How can I help you? The threshing floor and winepress are empty.” 6:28 Then the king asked her, “What’s your problem?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Hand over your son; we’ll eat him today and then eat my son tomorrow.’ 6:29 So we boiled my son and ate him. Then I said to her the next day, ‘Hand over your son and we’ll eat him.’ But she hid her son!” 6:30 When the king heard what the woman said, he tore his clothes. As he was passing by on the wall, the people could see he was wearing sackcloth under his clothes. 6:31 Then he said, “May God judge me severely if Elisha son of Shaphat still has his head by the end of the day!”

6:32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house with the community leaders. The king sent a messenger on ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the leaders, “Do you realize this assassin intends to cut off my head?” Look, when the messenger arrives, shut the door and lean against it. His master will certainly be right behind him.” 6:33 He was still talking to them when the messenger approached and said, “Look, the Lord is responsible for this disaster! Why should I continue to wait for the Lord to help?”

7:1 Elisha replied, “Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord says, ‘About this time tomorrow a seah of finely milled flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.’” 7:2 An officer who was the king’s right-hand man responded to the prophet, “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” Elisha said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!”

7:3 Now four men with a skin disease were sitting at the entrance of the city gate. They said to one another, “Why are we just sitting here waiting to die? 7:4 If we go into the city, we’ll die of starvation, and if we stay here we’ll die! So come on, let’s defect to the Syrian camp! If they spare us, we’ll live; if they kill us – well, we were going to die anyway.” 7:5 So they started toward the Syrian camp at dusk. When they reached the edge of the Syrian camp, there was no one there. 7:6 The Lord had caused the Syrian camp to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a large army. Then they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has paid the kings of the Hittites and Egypt to attack us!” 7:7 So they got up and fled at dusk, leaving behind their tents, horses, and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives. 7:8 When the men with a skin disease reached the edge of the camp, they entered a tent and had a meal. They also took some silver, gold, and clothes and went and hid it all. Then they went back and entered another tent. They looted it and went and hid what they had taken. 7:9 Then they said to one another, “It’s not right what we’re doing! This is a day to celebrate, but we haven’t told anyone. If we wait until dawn, we’ll be punished. So come on, let’s go and inform the royal palace.” 7:10 So they went and called out to the gatekeepers of the city. They told them, “We entered the Syrian camp and there was no one there. We didn’t even hear a man’s voice. But the horses and donkeys are still tied up, and the tents remain up.” 7:11 The gatekeepers relayed the news to the royal palace.

7:12 The king got up in the night and said to his advisers, “I will tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know we are starving, so they left the camp and hid in the field, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we will capture them alive and enter the city.’” 7:13 One of his advisers replied, “Pick some men and have them take five of the horses that are left in the city. (Even if they are killed, their fate will be no different than that of all the Israelite people – we’re all going to die!) Let’s send them out so we can know for sure what’s going on.” 7:14 So they picked two horsemen and the king sent them out to track the Syrian army. He ordered them, “Go and find out what’s going on.” 7:15 So they tracked them as far as the Jordan. The road was filled with clothes and equipment that the Syrians had discarded in their haste. The scouts went back and told the king. 7:16 Then the people went out and looted the Syrian camp. A seah of finely milled flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, just as the Lord had said they would.

7:17 Now the king had placed the officer who was his right-hand man at the city gate. When the people rushed out, they trampled him to death in the gate. This fulfilled the prophet’s word which he had spoken when the king tried to arrest him. 7:18 The prophet told the king, “Two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel, and a seah of finely milled flour for a shekel; this will happen about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria.” 7:19 But the officer replied to the prophet, “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” Elisha said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” 7:20 This is exactly what happened to him. The people trampled him to death in the city gate.

Elisha Again Helps the Shunammite Woman

8:1 Now Elisha advised the woman whose son he had brought back to life, “You and your family should go and live somewhere else for a while, for the Lord has decreed that a famine will overtake the land for seven years.” 8:2 So the woman did as the prophet said. She and her family went and lived in the land of the Philistines for seven years. 8:3 After seven years the woman returned from the land of the Philistines and went to ask the king to give her back her house and field. 8:4 Now the king was talking to Gehazi, the prophet’s servant, and said, “Tell me all the great things which Elisha has done.” 8:5 While Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had brought the dead back to life, the woman whose son he had brought back to life came to ask the king for her house and field. Gehazi said, “My master, O king, this is the very woman and this is her son whom Elisha brought back to life!” 8:6 The king asked the woman about it, and she gave him the details. The king assigned a eunuch to take care of her request and ordered him, “Give her back everything she owns, as well as the amount of crops her field produced from the day she left the land until now.”

Elisha Meets with Hazael

8:7 Elisha traveled to Damascus while King Ben Hadad of Syria was sick. The king was told, “The prophet has come here.” 8:8 So the king told Hazael, “Take a gift and go visit the prophet. Request from him an oracle from the Lord. Ask him, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” 8:9 So Hazael went to visit Elisha. He took along a gift, as well as forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus. When he arrived, he stood before him and said, “Your son, King Ben Hadad of Syria, has sent me to you with this question, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” 8:10 Elisha said to him, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover,’ but the Lord has revealed to me that he will surely die.” 8:11 Elisha just stared at him until Hazael became uncomfortable. Then the prophet started crying. 8:12 Hazael asked, “Why are you crying, my master?” He replied, “Because I know the trouble you will cause the Israelites. You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, smash their children to bits, and rip open their pregnant women.” 8:13 Hazael said, “How could your servant, who is as insignificant as a dog, accomplish this great military victory?” Elisha answered, “The Lord has revealed to me that you will be the king of Syria.” 8:14 He left Elisha and went to his master. Ben Hadad asked him, “What did Elisha tell you?” Hazael replied, “He told me you would surely recover.” 8:15 The next day Hazael took a piece of cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over Ben Hadad’s face until he died. Then Hazael replaced him as king.

Jehoram’s Reign over Judah

8:16 In the fifth year of the reign of Israel’s King Joram, son of Ahab, Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram became king over Judah. 8:17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem. 8:18 He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel, just as Ahab’s dynasty had done, for he married Ahab’s daughter. He did evil in the sight of the Lord. 8:19 But the Lord was unwilling to destroy Judah. He preserved Judah for the sake of his servant David to whom he had promised a perpetual dynasty.

8:20 During his reign Edom freed themselves from Judah’s control and set up their own king. 8:21 Joram crossed over to Zair with all his chariots. The Edomites, who had surrounded him, attacked at night and defeated him and his chariot officers. The Israelite army retreated to their homeland. 8:22 So Edom has remained free from Judah’s control to this very day. At that same time Libnah also rebelled.

8:23 The rest of the events of Joram’s reign, including a record of his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 8:24 Joram passed away and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Ahaziah replaced him as king.

Ahaziah Takes the Throne of Judah

8:25 In the twelfth year of the reign of Israel’s King Joram, son of Ahab, Jehoram’s son Ahaziah became king over Judah. 8:26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king and he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. His mother was Athaliah, the granddaughter of King Omri of Israel. 8:27 He followed in the footsteps of Ahab’s dynasty and did evil in the sight of the Lord, like Ahab’s dynasty, for he was related to Ahab’s family.

8:28 He joined Ahab’s son Joram in a battle against King Hazael of Syria at Ramoth Gilead in which the Syrians defeated Joram. 8:29 King Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received from the Syrians in Ramah when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. King Ahaziah son of Jehoram of Judah went down to visit Joram son of Ahab in Jezreel, for he was ill.

Prayer

Lord, You grant blessings on Your terms and in Your time, and You often do so through Your human servants. May I never be confused that Your gifts, poured out through me, are for my direct or indirect (financial or other) benefit. Being used as Your instrument of blessing is more than enough. Your power is greater that that of armies, and those who refuse to trust You are doomed to miss out on Your blessings. May I never doubt that You are the omnipotent God and never question anything that You say. Your knowledge is perfect, and though You know the evil men plan in their hearts, Your perfecting timing means that sometimes You respond and sometimes not. May I never question Your perfect knowledge and wisdom even when I do not like or understand what is happening.

Scripture In Perspective

Naaman, a Syrian general, had a skin disease and a captured Israelite servant girl told his wife that he could be healed by a prophet who lived in Samaria.

Naaman told the king who wrote a letter to the king of Israel and Naaman headed off along with valuable gifts. When he presented the simple letter to the king of Israel, which only said here is Naaman for you to cure of his skin disease, the king tore his clothes in the expectation that Syria was picking a fight.

Elisha heard that the king of Israel was in mourning over the letter and sent word to have Naaman sent to him. When Naaman arrived, expecting a formal and official welcome, Elisha sent a messenger to him to dip in the Jordan River seven times and he’d be cured.

Naaman was angered at the apparent disrespect and dismissed the instructions but when he turned away in anger to return home his servants persuaded him to reconsider. They argued that if the prophet had challenged him to a more onerous process he’d have complied so why not give it a try? Naaman did so and was healed.

When Naaman returned to the prophet’s home, testifying that there was no God but the God of Israel, and he offered the gifts he had brought but Elisha refused them. Naaman asked to take a load of dirt home so he could only make offerings to the God of Israel. He also asked for forgiveness that the king of Syria would require his company when he went to worship their false god and Elisha told him to go in peace.

One of Elisha’s students was upset that Elisha refused the gifts and snuck out to catch Naaman to lie and say that Elisha had changed his mind. Naaman gladly consented, giving him more than he requested, but when Elisha confronted him the skin disease of Naaman became the punishment for Gehazi’s offense.

The student prophets asked to build a larger meeting place and Elisha agreed. When they began felling trees one of the ax heads fell into the water. The prophet informed Elisha that it was a borrowed tool and pointed to where it fell. Elisha tossed a branch in that location and the ax head floated to the surface where it was retrieved.

Syria was at war with Israel but every time they planned a place of ambush or attack Elisha warned the king of Israel. At first the Syrians thought they had a traitor but their spies explained that it was Elisha. The Syrians sent an army to capture him but the Lord God provided an army of horses and chariots of fire to protect Elisha then blinded the Syrians at Elisha’s request. He then led them, unknown to them, to Samaria where the King of Israel waited.

The King of Israel wanted to kill them but Elisha reminded him that he had nothing to do their capture so he had nothing to say about their treatment. Elisha instead instructed that they be given water and a feast and sent home. They did so and after they returned to Syria no raiding parties were sent for a long time.

King Ben Hadad of Syria some time later laid siege to Samaria for so long that the people were so desperate for food that some actually killed and ate a child. The king was angry and blamed Elisha and set out to kill him.

When the king’s messenger arrived Elisha informed him that the people would be feasting the next day, but a military man who overheard expressed his doubt because there were no crops to grow nor animals to slaughter – so Elisha repeated the prophesy but added that the doubting soldier would not participate in the feast.

Four men who were ceremonially unclean from a skin disease were starving outside the city gates and decided to defect to the Syrians in hopes of food – they knew they would die of starvation so if the Syrians killed them they’d be no worse off.

When they arrived in the Syrian camp they found it abandoned. The Lord God had caused them to hear the sound of chariots and they thought the Samarians had hired Egyptians and Hittites to attack them. There was food enough for an army, so they ate, then decided to tell the others.

The king sent two horsemen to check on the Syrians and they found nothing but discarded supplies as the Syrians fled in terror. The people stormed out of through the city gate, trampling to death the soldier who had doubted Elisha, thus fulfilling the prophesy of abundant food and nothing for him.

Elisha warned the Shunnamite woman to take her son to another region as a famine was coming. She went to the land of the Philistines and when she returned she petitioned the king for the return of her property. Elisha’s assistant, Gehazi, was just-then telling the king of Elisha’s expressions of God’s power – including the story of bringing the Shunnamite woman’s son back to life – so the king inquired then hearing her story returned her property and all that her property had produced while she was gone.

Elisha traveled to Damascus, in Syria, when the king was ill. The king requested an oracle from a prophet and his assistant found Elisha. Hazael learned that the king would survive the illness but would still die.

Elisha stared at Hazael then cried as the Lord God revealed to him the horrors he would visit upon the Israeli people, Hazael didn’t understand until Elisha told him he would be come king.Hazael gave the king the news of his recovery then smothered him to death in his sick bed and took over as king of Syria.

Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram became king over Judah but he married Ahab’s daughter and did evil like Ahab and the other kings of Judah. The Edomites rebelled and when Joram, king of Israel, went to challenge them he was overwhelmingly defeated.

Jehoram’s son Ahaziah became king of Judah but was a descendant of Ahab and sinned against God. He joined Joram in attacking King Hazael of Syria but things went badly and Joram was injured, so Jehoram went to see him in Jezreel.

Interact with the text

Consider

Naaman was apparently an intelligent, teachable, man. He listened to his wife’s servant girl, then to his other servants. Rather than consult Elisha, and ask for the Lord God’s intervention, the king of Samaria doubted God and blamed Elisha. The Lord God continued to use Elisha to bless the faithfulness of the Shunnamite widow and her son.

Discuss

Why would Elisha’s student have imagined Elisha would not uncover his foolish actions? Why would the kings have attacked Syria without first consulting Elisha?

Reflect

The Lord God used many people to teach Naaman and the enemy tried to interfere, via the king of Syria's careless letter, and Elisha's selfish student. The Syrians, who worshiped false gods, were used by the Lord God to provide for the Samarians. Elisha, through God, knew what Hazael would do but he was not empowered by God to stop him as the people of Israel and Judah were constantly rebellious.

Share

When have you been blessed because you were teachable? When have you experienced or observed a situation where the Lord God was either not consulted or doubted and then blamed for bad circumstances? When have you experienced or observed the Lord God returning to bless again someone whom He had previously blessed?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place in your life where you have resisted His leading, to reveal to you a place in your life where He has blessed you through someone whose intent was to be your enemy, or where He is in the process of doing so, and/or to reveal to you a place where you have set-off on a course of action without pausing to consult and patiently wait on God's leadership.

Act

Today I will accept the challenge of the Holy Spirit to trust Him and be led to where He desires to bless me with healing. I will ask a fellow believer to pray in-agreement that I will hear rightly, obey completely, and not turn back until the Lord’s work in me is complete. I will praise the Lord for His amazing provision, be it past or present, and I will testify to His faithfulness to a fellow believer as an encouragement to them. I will stop what I am doing and consult the Lord God via prayer and searching His Word. I will also ask a fellow believer to pray in-agreement that I recognize the leadership of the Lord for my life.

Be Specific ________________________________________________

Monday (2 Kings 9-13)

Jehu Becomes King

9:1 Now Elisha the prophet summoned a member of the prophetic guild and told him, “Tuck your robes into your belt, take this container of olive oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. 9:2 When you arrive there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi and take him aside into an inner room. 9:3 Take the container of olive oil, pour it over his head, and say, ‘This is what the Lord says, “I have designated you as king over Israel.”‘ Then open the door and run away quickly!”

9:4 So the young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead. 9:5 When he arrived, the officers of the army were sitting there. So he said, “I have a message for you, O officer.” Jehu asked, “For which one of us?” He replied, “For you, O officer.” 9:6 So Jehu got up and went inside. Then the prophet poured the olive oil on his head and said to him, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I have designated you as king over the Lord’s people Israel. 9:7 You will destroy the family of your master Ahab. I will get revenge against Jezebel for the shed blood of my servants the prophets and for the shed blood of all the Lord’s servants. 9:8 Ahab’s entire family will die. I will cut off every last male belonging to Ahab in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. 9:9 I will make Ahab’s dynasty like those of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah. 9:10 Dogs will devour Jezebel on the plot of ground in Jezreel; she will not be buried.’” Then he opened the door and ran away.

9:11 When Jehu rejoined his master’s servants, they asked him, “Is everything all right? Why did this madman visit you?” He replied, “Ah, it’s not important. You know what kind of man he is and the kinds of things he says.” 9:12 But they said, “You’re lying! Tell us what he said.” So he told them what he had said. He also related how he had said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘I have designated you as king over Israel.’” 9:13 Each of them quickly took off his cloak and they spread them out at Jehu’s feet on the steps. The trumpet was blown and they shouted, “Jehu is king!” 9:14 Then Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi conspired against Joram.

Jehu the Assassin

Now Joram had been in Ramoth Gilead with the whole Israelite army, guarding against an invasion by King Hazael of Syria. 9:15 But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received from the Syrians when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. Jehu told his supporters, “If you really want me to be king, then don’t let anyone escape from the city to go and warn Jezreel.” 9:16 Jehu drove his chariot to Jezreel, for Joram was recuperating there. (Now King Ahaziah of Judah had come down to visit Joram.)

9:17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and saw Jehu’s troops approaching. He said, “I see troops!” Jehoram ordered, “Send a rider out to meet them and have him ask, ‘Is everything all right?’” 9:18 So the horseman went to meet him and said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” Jehu replied, “None of your business! Follow me.” The watchman reported, “The messenger reached them, but hasn’t started back.” 9:19 So he sent a second horseman out to them and he said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” Jehu replied, “None of your business! Follow me.” 9:20 The watchman reported, “He reached them, but hasn’t started back. The one who drives the lead chariot drives like Jehu son of Nimshi; he drives recklessly.” 9:21 Jehoram ordered, “Hitch up my chariot.” When his chariot had been hitched up, King Jehoram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went out in their respective chariots to meet Jehu. They met up with him in the plot of land that had once belonged to Naboth of Jezreel.

9:22 When Jehoram saw Jehu, he asked, “Is everything all right, Jehu?” He replied, “How can everything be all right as long as your mother Jezebel promotes idolatry and pagan practices?” 9:23 Jehoram turned his chariot around and took off. He said to Ahaziah, “It’s a trap, Ahaziah!” 9:24 Jehu aimed his bow and shot an arrow right between Jehoram’s shoulders. The arrow went through his heart and he fell to his knees in his chariot. 9:25 Jehu ordered his officer Bidkar, “Pick him up and throw him into the part of the field that once belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. Remember, you and I were riding together behind his father Ahab, when the Lord pronounced this judgment on him, 9:26 ‘“Know for sure that I saw the shed blood of Naboth and his sons yesterday,” says the Lord, “and that I will give you what you deserve right here in this plot of land,” says the Lord.’ So now pick him up and throw him into this plot of land, just as the Lord said.”

9:27 When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what happened, he took off up the road to Beth Haggan. Jehu chased him and ordered, “Shoot him too.” They shot him while he was driving his chariot up the ascent of Gur near Ibleam. He fled to Megiddo and died there. 9:28 His servants took his body back to Jerusalem and buried him in his tomb with his ancestors in the city of David. 9:29 Ahaziah had become king over Judah in the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab.

9:30 Jehu approached Jezreel. When Jezebel heard the news, she put on some eye liner, fixed up her hair, and leaned out the window. 9:31 When Jehu came through the gate, she said, “Is everything all right, Zimri, murderer of his master?” 9:32 He looked up at the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked down at him. 9:33 He said, “Throw her down!” So they threw her down, and when she hit the ground, her blood splattered against the wall and the horses, and Jehu drove his chariot over her. 9:34 He went inside and had a meal. Then he said, “Dispose of this accursed woman’s corpse. Bury her, for after all, she was a king’s daughter.” 9:35 But when they went to bury her, they found nothing left but the skull, feet, and palms of the hands. 9:36 When they went back and told him, he said, “The Lord’s word through his servant, Elijah the Tishbite, has come to pass. He warned, ‘In the plot of land at Jezreel, dogs will devour Jezebel’s flesh. 9:37 Jezebel’s corpse will be like manure on the surface of the ground in the plot of land at Jezreel. People will not be able to even recognize her.’”

Jehu Wipes Out Ahab’s Family

10:1 Ahab had seventy sons living in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the leading officials of Jezreel and to the guardians of Ahab’s dynasty. This is what the letters said, 10:2 “You have with you the sons of your master, chariots and horses, a fortified city, and weapons. So when this letter arrives, 10:3 pick the best and most capable of your master’s sons, place him on his father’s throne, and defend your master’s dynasty.”

10:4 They were absolutely terrified and said, “Look, two kings could not stop him! How can we?” 10:5 So the palace supervisor, the city commissioner, the leaders, and the guardians sent this message to Jehu, “We are your subjects! Whatever you say, we will do. We will not make anyone king. Do what you consider proper.”

10:6 He wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are really on my side and are willing to obey me, then take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel at this time tomorrow.” Now the king had seventy sons, and the prominent men of the city were raising them. 10:7 When they received the letter, they seized the king’s sons and executed all seventy of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to him in Jezreel. 10:8 The messenger came and told Jehu, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” Jehu said, “Stack them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning.” 10:9 In the morning he went out and stood there. Then he said to all the people, “You are innocent. I conspired against my master and killed him. But who struck down all of these men? 10:10 Therefore take note that not one of the judgments the Lord announced against Ahab’s dynasty has failed to materialize. The Lord had done what he announced through his servant Elijah.” 10:11 Then Jehu killed all who were left of Ahab’s family in Jezreel, and all his nobles, close friends, and priests. He left no survivors.

10:12 Jehu then left there and set out for Samaria. While he was traveling through Beth Eked of the Shepherds, 10:13 Jehu encountered the relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah. He asked, “Who are you?” They replied, “We are Ahaziah’s relatives. We have come down to see how the king’s sons and the queen mother’s sons are doing.” 10:14 He said, “Capture them alive!” So they captured them alive and then executed all forty-two of them in the cistern at Beth Eked. He left no survivors.

10:15 When he left there, he met Jehonadab, son of Rekab, who had been looking for him. Jehu greeted him and asked, “Are you as committed to me as I am to you?” Jehonadab answered, “I am!” Jehu replied, “If so, give me your hand.” So he offered his hand and Jehu pulled him up into the chariot. 10:16 Jehu said, “Come with me and see how zealous I am for the Lord’s cause.” So he took him along in his chariot. 10:17 He went to Samaria and exterminated all the members of Ahab’s family who were still alive in Samaria, just as the Lord had announced to Elijah.

Jehu Executes the Prophets and Priests of Baal

10:18 Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, “Ahab worshiped Baal a little; Jehu will worship him with great devotion. 10:19 So now, bring to me all the prophets of Baal, as well as all his servants and priests. None of them must be absent, for I am offering a great sacrifice to Baal. Any of them who fail to appear will lose their lives.” But Jehu was tricking them so he could destroy the servants of Baal. 10:20 Then Jehu ordered, “Make arrangements for a celebration for Baal.” So they announced it. 10:21 Jehu sent invitations throughout Israel, and all the servants of Baal came; not one was absent. They arrived at the temple of Baal and filled it up from end to end. 10:22 Jehu ordered the one who was in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out robes for all the servants of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them. 10:23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went to the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the servants of Baal, “Make sure there are no servants of the Lord here with you; there must be only servants of Baal.” 10:24 They went inside to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside. He had told them, “If any of the men inside get away, you will pay with your lives!”

10:25 When he finished offering the burnt sacrifice, Jehu ordered the royal guard and officers, “Come in and strike them down! Don’t let any escape!” So the royal guard and officers struck them down with the sword and left their bodies lying there. Then they entered the inner sanctuary of the temple of Baal. 10:26 They hauled out the sacred pillar of the temple of Baal and burned it. 10:27 They demolished the sacred pillar of Baal and the temple of Baal; it is used as a latrine to this very day. 10:28 So Jehu eradicated Baal worship from Israel.

A Summary of Jehu’s Reign

10:29 However, Jehu did not repudiate the sins which Jeroboam son of Nebat had encouraged Israel to commit; the golden calves remained in Bethel and Dan. 10:30 The Lord said to Jehu, “You have done well. You have accomplished my will and carried out my wishes with regard to Ahab’s dynasty. Therefore four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel.” 10:31 But Jehu did not carefully and wholeheartedly obey the law of the Lord God of Israel. He did not repudiate the sins which Jeroboam had encouraged Israel to commit.

10:32 In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel’s territory. Hazael attacked their eastern border. 10:33 He conquered all the land of Gilead, including the territory of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh, extending all the way from the Aroer in the Arnon Valley through Gilead to Bashan.

10:34 The rest of the events of Jehu’s reign, including all his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 10:35 Jehu passed away and was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoahaz replaced him as king. 10:36 Jehu reigned over Israel for twenty-eight years in Samaria.

Athaliah is Eliminated

11:1 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she was determined to destroy the entire royal line. 11:2 So Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram and sister of Ahaziah, took Ahaziah’s son Joash and sneaked him away from the rest of the royal descendants who were to be executed. She hid him and his nurse in the room where the bed covers were stored. So he was hidden from Athaliah and escaped execution. 11:3 He hid out with his nurse in the Lord’s temple for six years, while Athaliah was ruling over the land.

11:4 In the seventh year Jehoiada summoned the officers of the units of hundreds of the Carians and the royal bodyguard. He met with them in the Lord’s temple. He made an agreement with them and made them swear an oath of allegiance in the Lord’s temple. Then he showed them the king’s son. 11:5 He ordered them, “This is what you must do. One third of the unit that is on duty during the Sabbath will guard the royal palace. 11:6 Another third of you will be stationed at the Foundation Gate. Still another third of you will be stationed at the gate behind the royal guard. You will take turns guarding the palace. 11:7 The two units who are off duty on the Sabbath will guard the Lord’s temple and protect the king. 11:8 You must surround the king. Each of you must hold his weapon in his hand. Whoever approaches your ranks must be killed. You must accompany the king wherever he goes.”

11:9 The officers of the units of hundreds did just as Jehoiada the priest ordered. Each of them took his men, those who were on duty during the Sabbath as well as those who were off duty on the Sabbath, and reported to Jehoiada the priest. 11:10 The priest gave to the officers of the units of hundreds King David’s spears and the shields that were kept in the Lord’s temple. 11:11 The royal bodyguard took their stations, each holding his weapon in his hand. They lined up from the south side of the temple to the north side and stood near the altar and the temple, surrounding the king. 11:12 Jehoiada led out the king’s son and placed on him the crown and the royal insignia. They proclaimed him king and poured olive oil on his head. They clapped their hands and cried out, “Long live the king!”

11:13 When Athaliah heard the royal guard shout, she joined the crowd at the Lord’s temple. 11:14 Then she saw the king standing by the pillar, according to custom. The officers stood beside the king with their trumpets and all the people of the land were celebrating and blowing trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, “Treason, treason!” 11:15 Jehoiada the priest ordered the officers of the units of hundreds, who were in charge of the army, “Bring her outside the temple to the guards. Put the sword to anyone who follows her.” The priest gave this order because he had decided she should not be executed in the Lord’s temple. 11:16 They seized her and took her into the precincts of the royal palace through the horses’ entrance. There she was executed.

11:17 Jehoiada then drew up a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, stipulating that they should be loyal to the Lord. 11:18 All the people of the land went and demolished the temple of Baal. They smashed its altars and idols to bits. They killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altar. Jehoiada the priest then placed guards at the Lord’s temple. 11:19 He took the officers of the units of hundreds, the Carians, the royal bodyguard, and all the people of land, and together they led the king down from the Lord’s temple. They entered the royal palace through the Gate of the Royal Bodyguard, and the king sat down on the royal throne. 11:20 All the people of the land celebrated, for the city had rest now that they had killed Athaliah with the sword in the royal palace.

Joash’s Reign over Judah

11:21 (12:1) Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign.

12:1 (12:2) In Jehu’s seventh year Jehoash became king; he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother was Zibiah, who was from Beer Sheba. 12:2 Throughout his lifetime Jehoash did what the Lord approved, just as Jehoiada the priest taught him. 12:3 But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places.

12:4 Jehoash said to the priests, “I place at your disposal all the consecrated silver that has been brought to the Lord’s temple, including the silver collected from the census tax, the silver received from those who have made vows, and all the silver that people have voluntarily contributed to the Lord’s temple. 12:5 The priests should receive the silver they need from the treasurers and repair any damage to the temple they discover.”

12:6 By the twenty-third year of King Jehoash’s reign the priests had still not repaired the damage to the temple. 12:7 So King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest along with the other priests, and said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damage to the temple? Now, take no more silver from your treasurers unless you intend to use it to repair the damage.” 12:8 The priests agreed not to collect silver from the people and relieved themselves of personal responsibility for the temple repairs.

12:9 Jehoiada the priest took a chest and drilled a hole in its lid. He placed it on the right side of the altar near the entrance of the Lord’s temple. The priests who guarded the entrance would put into it all the silver brought to the Lord’s temple. 12:10 When they saw the chest was full of silver, the royal secretary and the high priest counted the silver that had been brought to the Lord’s temple and bagged it up. 12:11 They would then hand over the silver that had been weighed to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord’s temple. They hired carpenters and builders to work on the Lord’s temple, 12:12 as well as masons and stonecutters. They bought wood and chiseled stone to repair the damage to the Lord’s temple and also paid for all the other expenses. 12:13 The silver brought to the Lord’s temple was not used for silver bowls, trimming shears, basins, trumpets, or any kind of gold or silver implements. 12:14 It was handed over to the foremen who used it to repair the Lord’s temple. 12:15 They did not audit the treasurers who disbursed the funds to the foremen, for they were honest. 12:16 (The silver collected in conjunction with reparation offerings and sin offerings was not brought to the Lord’s temple; it belonged to the priests.)

12:17 At that time King Hazael of Syria attacked Gath and captured it. Hazael then decided to attack Jerusalem. 12:18 King Jehoash of Judah collected all the sacred items that his ancestors Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, kings of Judah, had consecrated, as well as his own sacred items and all the gold that could be found in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and the royal palace. He sent it all to King Hazael of Syria, who then withdrew from Jerusalem.

12:19 The rest of the events of Joash’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 12:20 His servants conspired against him and murdered Joash at Beth-Millo, on the road that goes down to Silla. 12:21 His servants Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer murdered him. He was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Amaziah replaced him as king.

Jehoahaz’s Reign over Israel

13:1 In the twenty-third year of the reign of Judah’s King Joash son of Ahaziah, Jehu’s son Jehoahaz became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for seventeen years. 13:2 He did evil in the sight of the Lord. He continued in the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who had encouraged Israel to sin; he did not repudiate those sins. 13:3 The Lord was furious with Israel and handed them over to King Hazael of Syria and to Hazael’s son Ben Hadad for many years.

13:4 Jehoahaz asked for the Lord’s mercy and the Lord responded favorably, for he saw that Israel was oppressed by the king of Syria. 13:5 The Lord provided a deliverer for Israel and they were freed from Syria’s power. The Israelites once more lived in security. 13:6 But they did not repudiate the sinful ways of the family of Jeroboam, who encouraged Israel to sin; they continued in those sins. There was even an Asherah pole standing in Samaria. 13:7 Jehoahaz had no army left except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers. The king of Syria had destroyed his troops and trampled on them like dust.

13:8 The rest of the events of Jehoahaz’s reign, including all his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 13:9 Jehoahaz passed away and was buried in Samaria. His son Joash replaced him as king.

Jehoash’s Reign over Israel

13:10 In the thirty-seventh year of King Joash’s reign over Judah, Jehoahaz’s son Jehoash became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for sixteen years. 13:11 He did evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin; he continued in those sins. 13:12 The rest of the events of Joash’s reign, including all his accomplishments and his successful war with King Amaziah of Judah, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 13:13 Joash passed away and Jeroboam succeeded him on the throne. Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

Elisha Makes One Final Prophecy

13:14 Now Elisha had a terminal illness. King Joash of Israel went down to visit him. He wept before him and said, “My father, my father! The chariot and horsemen of Israel!” 13:15 Elisha told him, “Take a bow and some arrows,” and he did so. 13:16 Then Elisha told the king of Israel, “Aim the bow.” He did so, and Elisha placed his hands on the king’s hands. 13:17 Elisha said, “Open the east window,” and he did so. Elisha said, “Shoot!” and

he did so. Elisha said, “This arrow symbolizes the victory the Lord will give you over Syria. You will annihilate Syria in Aphek!” 13:18 Then Elisha said, “Take the arrows,” and he did so. He told the king of Israel, “Strike the ground!” He struck the ground three times and stopped. 13:19 The prophet got angry at him and said, “If you had struck the ground five or six times, you would have annihilated Syria! But now, you will defeat Syria only three times.”

13:20 Elisha died and was buried. Moabite raiding parties invaded the land at the beginning of the year. 13:21 One day some men were burying a man when they spotted a raiding party. So they threw the dead man into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man came to life and stood on his feet.

13:22 Now King Hazael of Syria oppressed Israel throughout Jehoahaz’s reign. 13:23 But the Lord had mercy on them and felt pity for them. He extended his favor to them because of the promise he had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He has been unwilling to destroy them or remove them from his presence to this very day. 13:24 When King Hazael of Syria died, his son Ben Hadad replaced him as king. 13:25 Jehoahaz’s son Jehoash took back from Ben Hadad son of Hazael the cities that he had taken from his father Jehoahaz in war. Joash defeated him three times and recovered the Israelite cities.

Prayer

Lord, Your prophesies always come true, even though fallen man makes things messier than they need to be. May I trust You and not try to rush things that You have ordained. You use the available tools to fulfill Your prophesy and the occasional willing leader to purge the land of evil. May I be more than available, and more than occasionally willing, but rather strive to be always-available and always-willing. Partial faithfulness to You results in partial blessings from You. May I mature day by day so that I draw ever closer and more obedient to You.

Scripture In Perspective

Elisha sent one of his young student prophets to Jehu with instructions to privately anoint him with oil and inform him that he would become king of Israel in place of Joram, a descendant of Ahab.

The young prophet did as he was told. He is recorded in the text as having delivered a much more detailed message than that recorded in Elisha’s instructions to him.

Jehu tried to pretend with his nearby friends that the young prophet said nothing worth repeating but they chided him until he shared and then they laid down their jackets and celebrated as if he was already king. Jehu immediately began a conspiracy to kill Joram.

Jehu marched to Jezreel where king Joram of Israel was recovering from his battle injuries and king Ahaziah of Judah was visiting him. When Jehu refused to reply to the two messengers he sent, and they were informed that the chariot driver drove wildly in the style of Jehu, Joram and Ahaziah rode out to meet him.

Jehu murdered Joram and then chased and murdered Ahaziah as well. As he was chasing Ahaziah he encouraged his men by quoting the prophesy of God’s vengeance against the families of both kings.

Jehu then went into Jezreel and was challenged by Jezebel. He challenged her eunuchs to prove their loyalty to him as their new king and they threw her out the window. She died and was devoured by dogs as had been prophesied.

Jehu convinced the frightened leaders in the home town of Ahab to kill his sons, then he killed the rest of his family and associates. He also killed forty-two of the relatives of Ahaziah.

Jehu then tricked the priest of Baal into their temple and had them all killed, he destroyed their temple, and their idols and altars.

Jehu did not destroy the sacred cows and therefore was only partially obedient to the Lord God. He was promised only four generations of descendants as kings.

Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah conspired to destroy the rest of the family line after his death, but his sister hid his son Joash. The priest Jehoiada gathered warriors to protect Joash and then crowned him king of Judah.

They executed Athaliah, and Mattan the priest of Baal, and destroyed the temples and artifacts of the worship of the false god of Baal.

Joash/Jeh’oash became king at seven years old and generally followed the Lord God, other than failing to abolish the high places of improper worship.

He commanded that the temple silver be used to repair the temple but the priests failed to get the job done and some time later he challenged Jehoiada the high priest to get the job done, so they hired contractors and the work was immediately begun.

King Hazael marched on Jerusalem so Joash/Jeh’oash sent all of the gold and gold articles he could find and Hazael was satisfied to turn away from his attack.

In the same year that Joash/Jeh’oash caused the repairs to the temple in Judah to finally begin Jehu’s son Jehoahaz became king over Israel. Jehoahaz was disobedient to the Lord God so the Syrians were allowed to destroy their army and oppress them for a time. Jehoahaz cried out to the Lord and He broke the hold of the Syrians.

Jehoahaz’s son Jehoash became king over Israel but continued his father’s evil ways.

King Joash/Jeh’oash of Judah was murdered by some evil servants and his son Jeroboam became king.

Interact with the text

Consider

The names Joram and Jeho’ram are, inexplicably, used interchangeably in the text. Easton’s Bible Dictionary asserts that both are acceptable renderings of the name from the original text. There is no explanation given as to why each translation would not choose one or the other in order to avoid confusion. Jehu used clever strategy to fulfill part of the prophesy of the Lord God, to purge the land of the descendants of disobedient kings, and to purge the places of worship of Baal. It was a form of warfare, just as was the original taking of the Promised Land, which made the strategy and violence acceptable before the Lord. King Joash/Jeh’oash was enthroned by the Lord God to accomplish more but he, inexplicably, failed to remove the high places of worship.

Discuss

Does it not seem that the arrogance of Jezebel contributed to her death? Rather than welcome Jehu and attempt an alliance she insulted him. Why would Jehu not get rid of the golden calves at the same time he was getting rid of the Baal worship? Why would the priests have failed to make repairs to the temple? The text doesn’t say that they were stealing the silver, perhaps they lacked the skills?

Reflect

The prophet had not instructed Jehu to kill either of the kings, though when He sent the prophesy to Jehu via the prophet the Lord God surely knew that he was not a mature or patient man. The Lord God used the aunt of young Joash to keep him alive, then the priest and many soldiers to protect him as they elevated him to king of Judah. This was a pattern of God, choosing to work through several faithful and willing people. Joash/Jeh’oash was wise enough to bribe the Syrians to not attack Jerusalem in Judah, Jehoahaz was so rebellious before the Lord God that the Syrians were allowed to overrun Israel for a time.

Share

When have you experienced or observed someone who believed they were receiving a promotion and either tried to rush the process or began to act as if they had already been promoted? When have you observed leaders dealing with one obvious problem but leaving another equally-obvious problem unaddressed? When have you experienced or observed a situation where the resources to do a good work were available but were hoarded rather than used for the intended purpose?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place he plans to increase your authority and your responsibilities, to reveal to you a place in your life where an idol, great or small, still needs to be removed, and/or to reveal to you a place here you may be failing to act out of fear of failure or neglect even though the Lord God has otherwise provided the necessary resources.

Act

Today I will ask a fellow believer to pray in-agreement, and be my accountability-partner so that I do not get out ahead of the Lord and that I am careful to use my new authority to meet my responsibilities with wisdom from Him. I will celebrate the work of the Holy Spirit in my life, in removing one idol, and I will partner with Him to remove the one that I previously ignored, missed, or have tolerated. (It may be too much attention focused on a mere human celebrity, displacing the Lord God. It may a hobby, or money, a worry or an obsession, it may be something from the past or the present which I don’t allow the Lord to heal, it may be a lust for a pleasure in this world or a retreat from the world to where I am useless for evangelistic-missions.)

Be Specific _____________________________________________

Tuesday (2 Chronicles 24, 2 Kings 14:1-22, 2 Chronicles 25)

2 Chronicles

Joash’s Reign

24:1 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign. He reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother was Zibiah, who was from Beer Sheba. 24:2 Joash did what the Lord approved throughout the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest. 24:3 Jehoiada chose two wives for him who gave him sons and daughters.

24:4 Joash was determined to repair the Lord’s temple. 24:5 He assembled the priests and Levites and ordered them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect the annual quota of silver from all Israel for repairs on the temple of your God. Be quick about it!” But the Levites delayed.

24:6 So the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest, and said to him, “Why have you not made the Levites collect from Judah and Jerusalem the tax authorized by Moses the Lord’s servant and by the assembly of Israel at the tent containing the tablets of the law?” 24:7 (Wicked Athaliah and her sons had broken into God’s temple and used all the holy items of the Lord’s temple in their worship of the Baals.) 24:8 The king ordered a chest to be made and placed outside the gate of the Lord’s temple. 24:9 An edict was sent throughout Judah and Jerusalem requiring the people to bring to the Lord the tax that Moses, God’s servant, imposed on Israel in the wilderness. 24:10 All the officials and all the people gladly brought their silver and threw it into the chest until it was full. 24:11 Whenever the Levites brought the chest to the royal accountant and they saw there was a lot of silver, the royal scribe and the accountant of the high priest emptied the chest and then took it back to its place. They went through this routine every day and collected a large amount of silver.

24:12 The king and Jehoiada gave it to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord’s temple. They hired carpenters and craftsmen to repair the Lord’s temple, as well as those skilled in working with iron and bronze to restore the Lord’s temple. 24:13 They worked hard and made the repairs. They followed the measurements specified for God’s temple and restored it. 24:14 When they were finished, they brought the rest of the silver to the king and Jehoiada. They used it to make items for the Lord’s temple, including items used in the temple service and for burnt sacrifices, pans, and various other gold and silver items. Throughout Jehoiada’s lifetime, burnt sacrifices were offered regularly in the Lord’s temple.

24:15 Jehoiada grew old and died at the age of 130. 24:16 He was buried in the City of David with the kings, because he had accomplished good in Israel and for God and his temple.

24:17 After Jehoiada died, the officials of Judah visited the king and declared their loyalty to him. The king listened to their advice. 24:18 They abandoned the temple of the Lord God of their ancestors, and worshiped the Asherah poles and idols. Because of this sinful activity, God was angry with Judah and Jerusalem. 24:19 The Lord sent prophets among them to lead them back to him. They warned the people, but they would not pay attention. 24:20 God’s Spirit energized Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why are you violating the commands of the Lord? You will not be prosperous! Because you have rejected the Lord, he has rejected you!’” 24:21 They plotted against him and by royal decree stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. 24:22 King Joash disregarded the loyalty his father Jehoiada had shown him and killed Jehoiada’s son. As Zechariah was dying, he said, “May the Lord take notice and seek vengeance!”

24:23 At the beginning of the year the Syrian army attacked Joash and invaded Judah and Jerusalem. They wiped out all the leaders of the people and sent all the plunder they gathered to the king of Damascus. 24:24 Even though the invading Syrian army was relatively weak, the Lord handed over to them Judah’s very large army, for the people of Judah had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors. The Syrians gave Joash what he deserved. 24:25 When they withdrew, they left Joash badly wounded. His servants plotted against him because of what he had done to the son of Jehoiada the priest. They murdered him on his bed. Thus he died and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. 24:26 The conspirators were Zabad son of Shimeath (an Ammonite woman) and Jehozabad son of Shimrith (a Moabite woman).

24:27 The list of Joash’s sons, the many prophetic oracles pertaining to him, and the account of his building project on God’s temple are included in the record of the Scroll of the Kings. His son Amaziah replaced him as king.

2 Kings

Amaziah’s Reign over Judah

14:1 In the second year of the reign of Israel’s King Joash son of Joahaz, Joash’s son Amaziah became king over Judah. 14:2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jehoaddan, who was from Jerusalem. 14:3 He did what the Lord approved, but not like David his father. He followed the example of his father Joash. 14:4 But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places.

14:5 When he had secured control of the kingdom, he executed the servants who had assassinated his father. 14:6 But he did not execute the sons of the assassins. He obeyed the Lord’s commandment as recorded in the law scroll of Moses, “Fathers must not be put to death for what their sons do, and sons must not be put to death for what their fathers do. A man must be put to death only for his own sin.”

14:7 He defeated 10,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley; he captured Sela in battle and renamed it Joktheel, a name it has retained to this very day. 14:8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel. He said, “Come, let’s meet face to face.” 14:9 King Jehoash of Israel sent this message back to King Amaziah of Judah, “A thornbush in Lebanon sent this message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ Then a wild animal of Lebanon came by and trampled down the thorn. 14:10 You thoroughly defeated Edom and it has gone to your head! Gloat over your success, but stay in your palace. Why bring calamity on yourself? Why bring down yourself and Judah along with you?” 14:11 But Amaziah would not heed the warning, so King Jehoash of Israel attacked. He and King Amaziah of Judah met face to face in Beth Shemesh of Judah. 14:12 Judah was defeated by Israel, and each man ran back home. 14:13 King Jehoash of Israel captured King Amaziah of Judah, son of Jehoash son of Ahaziah, in Beth Shemesh. He attacked Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate – a distance of about six hundred feet. 14:14 He took away all the gold and silver, all the items found in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace, and some hostages. Then he went back to Samaria.

( 14:15 The rest of the events of Jehoash’s reign, including all his accomplishments and his successful war with King Amaziah of Judah, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 14:16 Jehoash passed away and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. His son Jeroboam replaced him as king.)

14:17 King Amaziah son of Joash of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of King Jehoash son of Jehoahaz of Israel. 14:18 The rest of the events of Amaziah’s reign are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 14:19 Conspirators plotted against him in Jerusalem, so he fled to Lachish. But they sent assassins after him and they killed him there. 14:20 His body was carried back by horses and he was buried in Jerusalem with his ancestors in the city of David. 14:21 All the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in his father Amaziah’s place. 14:22 Azariah built up Elat and restored it to Judah after the king had passed away.

2 Chronicles

25:1 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jehoaddan, who was from Jerusalem. 25:2 He did what the Lord approved, but not with wholehearted devotion.

25:3 When he had secured control of the kingdom, he executed the servants who had assassinated his father. 25:4 However, he did not execute their sons. He obeyed the Lord’s commandment as recorded in the law scroll of Moses, “Fathers must not be executed for what their sons do, and sons must not be executed for what their fathers do. A man must be executed only for his own sin.”

25:5 Amaziah assembled the people of Judah and assigned them by families to the commanders of units of a thousand and the commanders of units of a hundred for all Judah and Benjamin. He counted those twenty years old and up and discovered there were 300,000 young men of fighting age equipped with spears and shields. 25:6 He hired 100,000 Israelite warriors for a hundred talents of silver.

25:7 But a prophet visited him and said: “O king, the Israelite troops must not go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel or any of the Ephraimites. 25:8 Even if you go and fight bravely in battle, God will defeat you before the enemy. God is capable of helping or defeating.” 25:9 Amaziah asked the prophet: “But what should I do about the hundred talents of silver I paid the Israelite troops?” The prophet replied, “The Lord is capable of giving you more than that.” 25:10 So Amaziah dismissed the troops that had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home. They were very angry at Judah and returned home incensed. 25:11 Amaziah boldly led his army to the Valley of Salt, where he defeated 10,000 Edomites. 25:12 The men of Judah captured 10,000 men alive. They took them to the top of a cliff and threw them over. All the captives fell to their death. 25:13 Now the troops Amaziah had dismissed and had not allowed to fight in the battle raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth Horon. They killed 3,000 people and carried off a large amount of plunder.

25:14 When Amaziah returned from defeating the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people of Seir and made them his personal gods. He bowed down before them and offered them sacrifices. 25:15 The Lord was angry at Amaziah and sent a prophet to him, who said, “Why are you following these gods that could not deliver their own people from your power?” 25:16 While he was speaking, Amaziah said to him, “Did we appoint you to be a royal counselor? Stop prophesying or else you will be killed!” So the prophet stopped, but added, “I know that the Lord has decided to destroy you, because you have done this thing and refused to listen to my advice.”

25:17 After King Amaziah of Judah consulted with his advisers, he sent this message to the king of Israel, Joash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, “Come, face me on the battlefield.” 25:18 King Joash of Israel sent this message back to King Amaziah of Judah, “A thorn bush in Lebanon sent this message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ Then a wild animal of Lebanon came by and trampled down the thorn bush. 25:19 You defeated Edom and it has gone to your head. Gloat over your success, but stay in your palace. Why bring calamity on yourself? Why bring down yourself and Judah along with you?”

25:20 But Amaziah did not heed the warning, for God wanted to hand them over to Joash because they followed the gods of Edom. 25:21 So King Joash of Israel attacked. He and King Amaziah of Judah faced each other on the battlefield in Beth Shemesh of Judah. 25:22 Judah was defeated by Israel, and each man ran back home. 25:23 King Joash of Israel captured King Amaziah of Judah, son of Joash son of Jehoahaz, in Beth Shemesh and brought him to Jerusalem. He broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate – a distance of about six hundred feet. 25:24 He took away all the gold and silver, all the items found in God’s temple that were in the care of Obed-Edom, the riches in the royal palace, and some hostages. Then he went back to Samaria.

25:25 King Amaziah son of Joash of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of King Joash son of Jehoahaz of Israel. 25:26 The rest of the events of Amaziah’s reign, from start to finish, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 25:27 From the time Amaziah turned from following the Lord, conspirators plotted against him in Jerusalem, so he fled to Lachish. But they sent assassins after him and they killed him there. 25:28 His body was carried back by horses, and he was buried in Jerusalem with his ancestors in the City of David.

Prayer

Lord, given the clear history of failure from rebellion king after king still chose rebellion against You and brought trouble to the people. May I take care not to drift into rebellion.

Scripture In Perspective

Joash was only seven years old so Jehoiada assisted him greatly in purging the land of false idols. When Jehoiada died Joash listened to the bad counsel of members of his court and turned-away from the Lord God.

Zechariah, son of Jehoiada, delivered the Lord’s challenge to him and Joash had Zechariah stoned to death. As he died Zechariah asked the Lord God to take notice and punish Joash. God empowered the weaker Syrians to overwhelm the army of Judah and Joash was badly injured. Joash was murdered in his bed for killing Zechariah. He was not buried in the royal tombs.

Amaziah began his time as king in loyalty to the Lord God but after the Lord gave him victory over the Edomites he brought home their false idols and worshiped them.               When a prophet of God challenged him he was threatened with execution, so the prophet did not trouble him further, other than to inform him that God had decided to end his reign and his life badly.

Amaziah became king of Judah and led a very successful battle against the Edomites and then he challenged King Joash of Israel. Joash warned him to not be too bold after only one victory but Amaziah continued to threaten them so Israel attacked and defeated Judah.

He was captured, and the walls of Jerusalem were destroyed. He was in captivity many years and then assassinated.

Interact With The Text

Consider

The pattern of blessed loyalty to the Lord God versus troubles for rebellion continued for the kings and the people of Israel and Judah.

Discuss

Why would the kings, sons of blessed kings, choose the path of rebellion and trouble rather than that of faithfulness and blessing?

Reflect

The prophets had a tough time of things, sometimes kings and other leaders listened, and sometimes they were ignored – and even killed – in their service to the Lord.

Share

When have you experienced or observed someone speaking-up for the truth of God, only to be ignored, and/or punished by those who claimed to be followers of Christ?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you someone who is being faithful to the Lord and who faces challenges as a result.

Act

Today I will diligently pray for, and as is appropriate, otherwise assist the one to whom the Lord God directs my attention. They may be domestic or foreign missionaries, leaders or members in a local fellowship, or activists within the larger community of faith.

Wednesday (Jonah 1–4)

Jonah Tries to Run from the Lord

1:1 The Lord said to Jonah son of Amittai, 1:2 “Go immediately to Nineveh, that large capital city, and announce judgment against its people because their wickedness has come to my attention.”

1:3 Instead, Jonah immediately headed off to Tarshish to escape from the commission of the Lord. He traveled to Joppa and found a merchant ship heading to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard it to go with them to Tarshish far away from the Lord.

1:4 But the Lord hurled a powerful wind on the sea. Such a violent tempest arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break up! 1:5 The sailors were so afraid that each cried out to his own god and they flung the ship’s cargo overboard to make the ship lighter. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold below deck, had lain down, and was sound asleep. 1:6 The ship’s captain approached him and said, “What are you doing asleep? Get up! Cry out to your god! Perhaps your god might take notice of us so that we might not die!” 1:7 The sailors said to one another, “Come on, let’s cast lots to find out whose fault it is that this disaster has overtaken us.” So they cast lots, and Jonah was singled out. 1:8 They said to him, “Tell us, whose fault is it that this disaster has overtaken us? What’s your occupation? Where do you come from? What’s your country? And who are your people?”

1:9 He said to them, “I am a Hebrew! And I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

1:10 Hearing this, the men became even more afraid and said to him, “What have you done?” (The men said this because they knew that he was trying to escape from the Lord, because he had previously told them.) 1:11 Because the storm was growing worse and worse, they said to him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” 1:12 He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea to make the sea quiet down, because I know it’s my fault you are in this severe storm.” 1:13 Instead, they tried to row back to land, but they were not able to do so because the storm kept growing worse and worse.

1:14 So they cried out to the Lord, “Oh, please, Lord, don’t let us die on account of this man! Don’t hold us guilty of shedding innocent blood. After all, you, Lord, have done just as you pleased.” 1:15 So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped raging. 1:16 The men feared the Lord greatly, and earnestly vowed to offer lavish sacrifices to the Lord.

Jonah Prays

1:17 The Lord sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

2:1 Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish 2:2 and said, “I called out to the Lord from my distress, and he answered me; from the belly of Sheol I cried out for help, and you heard my prayer.

2:3 You threw me into the deep waters, into the middle of the sea; the ocean current engulfed me; all the mighty waves you sent swept over me.

2:4 I thought I had been banished from your sight, that I would never again see your holy temple!

2:5 Water engulfed me up to my neck; the deep ocean surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.

2:6 I went down to the very bottoms of the mountains; the gates of the netherworld barred me in forever; but you brought me up from the Pit, O Lord, my God.

2:7 When my life was ebbing away, I called out to the Lord, and my prayer came to your holy temple.

2:8 Those who worship worthless idols forfeit the mercy that could be theirs.

2:9 But as for me, I promise to offer a sacrifice to you with a public declaration of praise; I will surely do what I have promised.

Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

2:10 Then the Lord commanded the fish and it disgorged Jonah on dry land.

The People of Nineveh Respond to Jonah’s Warning

3:1 The Lord said to Jonah a second time, 3:2 “Go immediately to Nineveh, that large city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” 3:3 So Jonah went immediately to Nineveh, as the Lord had said. (Now Nineveh was an enormous city – it required three days to walk through it!) 3:4 When Jonah began to enter the city one day’s walk, he announced, “At the end of forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!”

3:5 The people of Nineveh believed in God, and they declared a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 3:6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth, and sat on ashes. 3:7 He issued a proclamation and said, “In Nineveh, by the decree of the king and his nobles: No human or animal, cattle or sheep, is to taste anything; they must not eat and they must not drink water. 3:8 Every person and animal must put on sackcloth and must cry earnestly to God, and everyone must turn from their evil way of living and from the violence that they do. 3:9 Who knows? Perhaps God might be willing to change his mind and relent and turn from his fierce anger so that we might not die.” 3:10 When God saw their actions – they turned from their evil way of living! – God relented concerning the judgment he had threatened them with and he did not destroy them.

Jonah Responds to God’s Kindness

4:1 This displeased Jonah terribly and he became very angry. 4:2 He prayed to the Lord and said, “Oh, Lord, this is just what I thought would happen when I was in my own country. This is what I tried to prevent by attempting to escape to Tarshish! – because I knew that you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and one who relents concerning threatened judgment. 4:3 So now, Lord, kill me instead, because I would rather die than live!” 4:4 The Lord said, “Are you really so very angry?”

4:5 Jonah left the city and sat down east of it. He made a shelter for himself there and sat down under it in the shade to see what would happen to the city. 4:6 The Lord God appointed a little plant and caused it to grow up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to rescue him from his misery. Now Jonah was very delighted about the little plant.

4:7 So God sent a worm at dawn the next day, and it attacked the little plant so that it dried up. 4:8 When the sun began to shine, God sent a hot east wind. So the sun beat down on Jonah’s head, and he grew faint. So he despaired of life, and said, “I would rather die than live!” 4:9 God said to Jonah, “Are you really so very angry about the little plant?” And he said, “I am as angry as I could possibly be!” 4:10 The Lord said, “You were upset about this little plant, something for which you have not worked nor did you do anything to make it grow. It grew up overnight and died the next day. 4:11 Should I not be even more concerned about Nineveh, this enormous city? There are more than one hundred twenty thousand people in it who do not know right from wrong, as well as many animals!”

Prayer

Lord, Your desire to bring hope to wretches like us, as well as to the historically-brutal Ninevites, is consistent with Your character as a loving God of grace and of mercy. May I praise You for Your patient and persistent love for me. You brought Jonah where he could recognize and repent of his sin, then You rescued him. May I not make it necessary for You to get my attention in such a profound way. Jonah tried to foil Your plan to offer mercy to the enemies of his people, but You overcame his resistance. May I be a willing instrument of Your mercy no matter to whom You may choose to offer it.

Scripture In Perspective

The Lord said go and Jonah said no.

The beneficiaries of the prophetic ministry assigned to Jonah were the people of Ninevah. Jonah and his people despised them because of their exceptionally brutal conduct during war and their vicious treatment of captive people.

Jonah discovered that what David had written was true – there is nowhere one may go to escape the presence of the Lord God.

Because of his rebellion Jonah placed many others, the Ninevites and the sailors (and fellow passengers) in jeopardy.

When confronted Jonah finally acknowledged his responsibility for the trouble and accepted that he had to sacrifice himself to save the others, despite their resistance he finally persuaded them to throw him overboard, which they reluctantly did.

The men promised to sacrifice to the Lord to cover their fear of punishment.

Jonah was rescued by the Lord God Who sent a great fish to swallow him, keeping him from drowning.

While inside the fish Jonah prayed and reflected – confessed his sin and his fear that his separation from the Lord God could be permanent - then he repented.

Jonah observed that just as he thought he would die the Lord God reached-out and saved him. He also observed that those who worshiped false idols would miss that mercy.

The Lord caused the fish to swim to a beach near the city of Ninevah and to spit-out Jonah there.

Jonah obeyed the Lord God, went to Ninevah, and walked a third of the way across the city (one-days walk) then proclaimed the message he had been given “At the end of forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!”

From the people to the king they were terrified and responded with repentance and by fasting and they even turned “... from their evil way of living and from ... violence”.

The Lord God was impressed by their repentance and relented from His angry judgment.

Jonah, who despised the Ninevites for their violence against his people, was angry – for the Lord had done as he feared – shown mercy, and He had used him as His agent to make that possible. He declared that he would rather die than see the Ninevites forgiven and that he had fled from his mission from the Lord God because he wanted to prevent them from being forgiven.

The Lord God questioned him if he was really that angry and watched as Jonah left the city, made himself a shelter from the sun, and watched in hope that the city would not succeed in avoiding destruction.

The Lord God caused a small plant to grow very large and to provide Jonah with a great deal more shade than his little shelter and so Jonah was quite pleased with the plant. In the morning the Lord caused the plant to die and a hot wind to overcome Jonah – who complained again that he’d be better-off dead.

The Lord questioned him about his anger at the death of the plant, which he had neither planted nor fed, but not the greatly-populated city of Ninevah “... more than one hundred twenty thousand people in it who do not know right from wrong, as well as many animals!”

Interact With The Text

Consider

Jonah placed national/tribal emotions ahead of the calling of the Lord. The Lord God said that the Ninevites “... do not know right from wrong”, which means that they had never been taught about Him. Jonah must have been preaching the entire first day’s walk into the city before declaring the impending judgment of the Lord.

Discuss

Why would Jonah have thought he could disobey and then hide from the Lord God? Why would the Lord God have confronted Jonah rather than discarding him and replacing him? Why would Jonah have continued to watch the city in expectation of destruction when the Lord God had already told him that He had decided to withhold it?

Reflect

The sailors were placed in a terrible predicament, to die in a storm that was caused by a prophet of the Lord God, or to throw that prophet into the sea to die and maybe survive the storm – then be punished by the Lord God. While needing the mercy of the Lord, in the way that Jonah did, is something we’d rather avoid – it is encouraging to know that it is available – and sad that the unsaved have no such access. Jonah’s petulant disregard for the Lord’s sovereign decision to give mercy to those whom he, a mere human, thought unworthy was hypocritical since he had only just experienced mercy – both before and after his ministry to the city.

Share

When have you been trapped between emotional desires of the world and what you know to be different expectations of the Lord? When have you benefited from the mercy of the Lord? When have you experienced or observed someone challenging the Lord God’s decision(s)?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place where you are placing your human emotional response ahead of His heavenly spiritual perspective, to reveal to you a place where you have been resisting the Lord God’s call to a ministry project and He may have to get your attention because you are allowing some flesh-based attitude to block the way, and to reveal to you a place where you have, in the past, questioned a decision of the Lord – but learned and come to appreciate His perfect wisdom.

Act

Today I will give praise and thanks to the Lord God for His patience with me. I will confess and repent of that place in my life where I have been allowing anger, bitterness, greed, laziness, lust, revenge, selfishness, or some other emotion to hold first-place instead of the fruits of Your Holy Spirit Who lives in me. I will confess and repent, seek and receive the Lord God’s forgiveness, and then overcome my flesh-based resistance and in-faith with His power complete the task He has assigned to me. It may be confronting a brother or sister in sin, it may be sharing the Word with someone who is considering-Christ, it may be confessing your own sin, it may be seeking forgiveness from someone you find difficult to deal with, or something else. I will humbly and prayerfully ask that I be shown another place where I may be doubting the mercy, or some other redemptive action, of the Lord - so that I may again learn to trust His grace and wisdom even more.

Be Specific ________________________________________________

Thursday (Isaiah 1–5)

1:1 Here is the message about Judah and Jerusalem that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz during the time when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah reigned over Judah.

Obedience, not Sacrifice

1:2 Listen, O heavens, pay attention, O earth!

For the Lord speaks: “I raised children, I brought them up, but they have rebelled against me!

1:3 An ox recognizes its owner, a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food; but Israel does not recognize me, my people do not understand.”

1:4

The sinful nation is as good as dead, the people weighed down by evil deeds.

They are offspring who do wrong, children who do wicked things. They have abandoned the Lord, and rejected the Holy One of Israel. They are alienated from him.

1:5 Why do you insist on being battered? Why do you continue to rebel? Your head has a massive wound, your whole body is weak.

1:6 From the soles of your feet to your head, there is no spot that is unharmed. There are only bruises, cuts, and open wounds. They have not been cleansed or bandaged, nor have they been treated with olive oil.

1:7 Your land is devastated, your cities burned with fire. Right before your eyes your crops are being destroyed by foreign invaders. They leave behind devastation and destruction.

1:8 Daughter Zion is left isolated, like a hut in a vineyard, or a shelter in a cucumber field; she is a besieged city.

1:9 If the Lord who commands armies had not left us a few survivors, we would have quickly become like Sodom, we would have become like Gomorrah.

1:10 Listen to the Lord’s word, you leaders of Sodom! Pay attention to our God’s rebuke, people of Gomorrah!

1:11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” says the Lord. “I am stuffed with burnt sacrifices of rams and the fat from steers. The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats I do not want.

1:12 When you enter my presence, do you actually think I want this – animals trampling on my courtyards?

1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless offerings; I consider your incense detestable!

You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations, but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations!

1:14 I hate your new moon festivals and assemblies; they are a burden that I am tired of carrying.

1:15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I look the other way; when you offer your many prayers, I do not listen, because your hands are covered with blood.

1:16 Wash! Cleanse yourselves! Remove your sinful deeds from my sight. Stop sinning!

1:17 Learn to do what is right! Promote justice! Give the oppressed reason to celebrate! Take up the cause of the orphan! Defend the rights of the widow!

1:18 Come, let’s consider your options,” says the Lord. “Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become white like wool.

1:19 If you have a willing attitude and obey, then you will again eat the good crops of the land.

1:20 But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” Know for certain that the Lord has spoken.

Purifying Judgment

1:21 How tragic that the once-faithful city has become a prostitute! She was once a center of justice, fairness resided in her, but now only murderers.

1:22 Your silver has become scum, your beer is diluted with water.

1:23 Your officials are rebels, they associate with thieves. All of them love bribery, and look for payoffs. They do not take up the cause of the orphan, or defend the rights of the widow.

1:24 Therefore, the sovereign Lord who commands armies, the powerful ruler of Israel, says this: “Ah, I will seek vengeance against my adversaries, I will take revenge against my enemies.

1:25 I will attack you; I will purify your metal with flux. I will remove all your slag.

1:26 I will reestablish honest judges as in former times, wise advisers as in earlier days. Then you will be called, ‘The Just City, Faithful Town.’”

1:27 Zion will be freed by justice, and her returnees by righteousness.

1:28 All rebellious sinners will be shattered, those who abandon the Lord will perish.

1:29 Indeed, they will be ashamed of the sacred trees you find so desirable; you will be embarrassed because of the sacred orchards where you choose to worship.

1:30 For you will be like a tree whose leaves wither,like an orchard that is unwatered.

1:31 The powerful will be like a thread of yarn, their deeds like a spark;both will burn together, and no one will put out the fire.

The Future Glory of Jerusalem

2:1 Here is the message about Judah and Jerusalem that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz.

2:2 In the future the mountain of the Lord’s temple will endure as the most important of mountains, and will be the most prominent of hills. All the nations will stream to it,

2:3 many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain, to the temple of the God of Jacob, so he can teach us his requirements, and we can follow his standards.” For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem.

2:4 He will judge disputes between nations; he will settle cases for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations will not take up the sword against other nations, and they will no longer train for war.

2:5 O descendants of Jacob, come, let us walk in the Lord’s guiding light.

The Lord’s Day of Judgment

2:6 Indeed, O Lord, you have abandoned your people, the descendants of Jacob. For diviners from the east are everywhere; they consult omen readers like the Philistines do.

Plenty of foreigners are around.

2:7 Their land is full of gold and silver; there is no end to their wealth. Their land is full of horses; there is no end to their chariots.

2:8 Their land is full of worthless idols; they worship the product of their own hands, what their own fingers have fashioned.

2:9 Men bow down to them in homage, they lie flat on the ground in worship. Don’t spare them!

2:10 Go up into the rocky cliffs, hide in the ground. Get away from the dreadful judgment of the Lord, from his royal splendor!

2:11 Proud men will be brought low, arrogant men will be humiliated; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

2:12 Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has planned a day of judgment, for all the high and mighty, for all who are proud – they will be humiliated;

2:13 for all the cedars of Lebanon, that are so high and mighty, for all the oaks of Bashan;

2:14 for all the tall mountains, for all the high hills,

2:15 for every high tower, for every fortified wall,

2:16 for all the large ships, for all the impressive ships.

2:17 Proud men will be humiliated, arrogant men will be brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

2:18 The worthless idols will be completely eliminated.

2:19 They will go into caves in the rocky cliffs and into holes in the ground, trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord and his royal splendor, when he rises up to terrify the earth.

2:20 At that time men will throw their silver and gold idols, which they made for themselves to worship, into the caves where rodents and bats live,

2:21 so they themselves can go into the crevices of the rocky cliffs and the openings under the rocky overhangs, trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord and his royal splendor, when he rises up to terrify the earth.

2:22 Stop trusting in human beings, whose life’s breath is in their nostrils. For why should they be given special consideration?

A Coming Leadership Crisis

3:1 Look, the sovereign Lord who commands armies is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah every source of security, including all the food and water,

3:2 the mighty men and warriors, judges and prophets, omen readers and leaders,

3:3 captains of groups of fifty, the respected citizens, advisers and those skilled in magical arts, and those who know incantations.

3:4 The Lord says, “I will make youths their officials; malicious young men will rule over them.

3:5 The people will treat each other harshly; men will oppose each other; neighbors will fight. Youths will proudly defy the elderly and riffraff will challenge those who were once respected.

3:6 Indeed, a man will grab his brother right in his father’s house and say, ‘You own a coat – you be our leader! This heap of ruins will be under your control.’

3:7 At that time the brother will shout, ‘I am no doctor, I have no food or coat in my house; don’t make me a leader of the people!’”

3:8 Jerusalem certainly stumbles, Judah falls, for their words and their actions offend the Lord; they rebel against his royal authority.

3:9 The look on their faces testifies to their guilt; like the people of Sodom they openly boast of their sin. Too bad for them! For they bring disaster on themselves.

3:10 Tell the innocent it will go well with them, for they will be rewarded for what they have done.

3:11 Too bad for the wicked sinners! For they will get exactly what they deserve.

3:12 Oppressors treat my people cruelly; creditors rule over them. My people’s leaders mislead them; they give you confusing directions.

3:13 The Lord takes his position to judge; he stands up to pass sentence on his people.

3:14 The Lord comes to pronounce judgment on the leaders of his people and their officials. He says, “It is you who have ruined the vineyard! You have stashed in your houses what you have stolen from the poor.

3:15 Why do you crush my people and grind the faces of the poor?” The sovereign Lord who commands armies has spoken.

Washing Away Impurity

3:16 The Lord says, “The women of Zion are proud. They walk with their heads high and flirt with their eyes. They skip along and the jewelry on their ankles jingles.

3:17 So the sovereign master will afflict the foreheads of Zion’s women with skin diseases, the Lord will make the front of their heads bald.”

3:18 At that time the sovereign master will remove their beautiful ankle jewelry, neck ornaments, crescent shaped ornaments, 3:19 earrings, bracelets, veils, 3:20 headdresses, ankle ornaments, sashes, sachets, amulets, 3:21 rings, nose rings, 3:22 festive dresses, robes, shawls, purses, 3:23 garments, vests, head coverings, and gowns.

3:24 A putrid stench will replace the smell of spices, a rope will replace a belt, baldness will replace braided locks of hair, a sackcloth garment will replace a fine robe, and a prisoner’s brand will replace beauty.

3:25 Your men will fall by the sword, your strong men will die in battle.

3:26 Her gates will mourn and lament; deprived of her people, she will sit on the ground.

4:1 Seven women will grab hold of one man at that time. They will say, “We will provide our own food, we will provide our own clothes; but let us belong to you – take away our shame!”

The Branch of the Lord

4:2 At that time the crops given by the Lord will bring admiration and honor; the produce of the land will be a source of pride and delight to those who remain in Israel.

4:3 Those remaining in Zion, those left in Jerusalem, will be called “holy,” all in Jerusalem who are destined to live.

4:4 At that time the sovereign master will wash the excrement from Zion’s women, he will rinse the bloodstains from Jerusalem’s midst, as he comes to judge and to bring devastation.

4:5 Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over its convocations a cloud and smoke by day and a bright flame of fire by night; indeed a canopy will accompany the Lord’s glorious presence.

4:6 By day it will be a shelter to provide shade from the heat, as well as safety and protection from the heavy downpour.

A Love Song Gone Sour

5:1 I will sing to my love – a song to my lover about his vineyard. My love had a vineyard on a fertile hill.

5:2 He built a hedge around it, removed its stones, and planted a vine. He built a tower in the middle of it, and constructed a winepress. He waited for it to produce edible grapes, but it produced sour ones instead.

5:3 So now, residents of Jerusalem, people of Judah, you decide between me and my vineyard!

5:4 What more can I do for my vineyard beyond what I have already done? When I waited for it to produce edible grapes, why did it produce sour ones instead?

5:5 Now I will inform you what I am about to do to my vineyard: I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture, I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there.

5:6 I will make it a wasteland; no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground, and thorns and briers will grow there. I will order the clouds not to drop any rain on it.

5:7 Indeed Israel is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies, the people of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight. He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience! He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help!

Disaster is Coming

5:8 Those who accumulate houses are as good as dead, those who also accumulate landed property until there is no land left, and you are the only landowners remaining within the land.

5:9 The Lord who commands armies told me this: “Many houses will certainly become desolate, large, impressive houses will have no one living in them.

5:10 Indeed, a large vineyard will produce just a few gallons, and enough seed to yield several bushels will produce less than a bushel.”

5:11 Those who get up early to drink beer are as good as dead, those who keep drinking long after dark until they are intoxicated with wine.

5:12 They have stringed instruments, tambourines, flutes, and wine at their parties. So they do not recognize what the Lord is doing, they do not perceive what he is bringing about.

5:13 Therefore my people will be deported because of their lack of understanding. Their leaders will have nothing to eat, their masses will have nothing to drink.

5:14 So Death will open up its throat, and open wide its mouth; Zion’s dignitaries and masses will descend into it, including those who revel and celebrate within her.

5:15 Men will be humiliated, they will be brought low; the proud will be brought low.

5:16 The Lord who commands armies will be exalted when he punishes, the sovereign God’s authority will be recognized when he judges.

5:17 Lambs will graze as if in their pastures, amid the ruins the rich sojourners will graze.

5:18 Those who pull evil along using cords of emptiness are as good as dead, who pull sin as with cart ropes.

5:19 They say, “Let him hurry, let him act quickly, so we can see; let the plan of the Holy One of Israel take shape and come to pass, then we will know it!”

5:20 Those who call evil good and good evil are as good as dead, who turn darkness into light and light into darkness, who turn bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter.

5:21 Those who think they are wise are as good as dead, those who think they possess understanding.

5:22 Those who are champions at drinking wine are as good as dead, who display great courage when mixing strong drinks.

5:23 They pronounce the guilty innocent for a payoff, they ignore the just cause of the innocent.

5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire devours straw, and dry grass disintegrates in the flames, so their root will rot, and their flower will blow away like dust. For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies, they have spurned the commands of the Holy One of Israel.

5:25 So the Lord is furious with his people; he lifts his hand and strikes them. The mountains shake, and corpses lie like manure in the middle of the streets. Despite all this, his anger does not subside, and his hand is ready to strike again.

5:26 He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation, he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth. Look, they come quickly and swiftly.

5:27 None tire or stumble, they don’t stop to nap or sleep. They don’t loosen their belts, or unstrap their sandals to rest.

5:28 Their arrows are sharpened, and all their bows are prepared. The hooves of their horses are hard as flint, and their chariot wheels are like a windstorm.

5:29 Their roar is like a lion’s; they roar like young lions. They growl and seize their prey; they drag it away and no one can come to the rescue.

5:30 At that time they will growl over their prey, it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster, clouds will turn the light into darkness.

Prayer

Lord, You are holy and righteous and in return for your grace, protection, and provision You require that we respond in obedience and righteousness. May I be increasingly grateful and therefore increasingly faithful in seeking after righteousness through surrender to the working of the Holy Spirit in and through me. You love the people whom You created, and Your desire is to bless them. You ask for integrity, in our relationship with You, and with fellow humankind. May I be attentive to what it is that You want, rather than what the world values, and so become a conduit of Your blessing and truth to others.

Scripture In Perspective

Isaiah was a prophet to Israel a little over 200 years after the reign of King Solomon. His service to the Lord spanned the times of kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

Isaiah delivered the message of the Lord God which compared the people of Israel to an ox and a donkey and found the people wanting because of their foolish rebellion.

The Lord observed that they are beaten and bruised, suffering and over-run by their enemies, yet they persisted in their rebellion.

He further observed that it was only the Lord God who preserved a few survivors, otherwise they would have been utterly destroyed as were the people in Sodom and Gomorrah.

The Lord God said, through Isaiah, that He did not want their sacrifices while they were in active rebellion, and that He would not listen to their prayers either.

He told them that they must “Learn to do what is right! Promote justice! Give the oppressed reason to celebrate! Take up the cause of the orphan! Defend the rights of the widow!”

He then reminded them of His grace “Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like snow”, but warned that they had been warned and were without excuse were they to fail to repent of their sinful ways in rebellion.

His final word of the first chapter is that He would purify them by fire, all who rebelled – regardless of their station in life – would be destroyed. Only righteousness could result in a reconciliation and restoration of their relationship with the Lord God – and the blessings that would flow from that.

Isaiah began with what Constable’s Notes explains was a preference of the Lord God for Israel, followed by what was and what was coming as a result, and then a return to His preference. [The middle part is more of a prophesy whereas the rest represents a conditional offer from the Lord Who wants to bless His people for obedience.] Through Isaiah the Lord challenged the people to repent of the worship of mere men and other elements of temporary fallen Creation and to return to Him.

Isaiah announced the Lord’s discipline, that He would remove from them the leaders – kings and others – so that they no longer had the excuse to blame them and so that they would individually and corporately reap the consequences of their rebellion.

He continued to detail the consequences, beginning with facial sores on the women whose pride and abuse of their sexuality was offensive to Him, then make the fronts of their heads bald, followed by destitution and slavery.

He would also cause the strong young men to die in battle so that there would be seven women begging one man to marry them so that they would no longer be without husbands.

The desire of the Lord God would be to make the crops of those who remained in Jerusalem, those whom He had found to be obedient, to be exceptional and He would wipe clean the shame of the women.

The Lord God declared that He had created a “vineyard” of opportunity for relationship and for blessing but the people had rebelled and made the “grapes ... sour”, so He was about to destroy it all.

Interact With The Text

Consider

Despite all of the losses they had experienced, and the reprieves they had received when they were momentarily repentant, the people continued their rebellious ways. When the people of Israel first demanded of the Lord God a mere human king “like the nations around them” they were warned via God’s prophet that these kings would bring them trouble, He reminded them that He was the only King they needed, yet they insisted – and He gave them their demand and along with it - the inevitable consequences.

Discuss

Why would the people have bothered to pray and to make sacrifices when they refused to obey the Lord God? Why was it so difficult for the people to see that the Lord God wanted to bless them and that all of their rebellion was getting them nowhere?

Reflect

Despite their persistent rebellion the Lord God stood ready and willing to forgive and restore them. The evidence of true repentance that the Lord God sought was “... justice, but look what he got – disobedience! He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help!”

Share

When have you experienced or observed a person going through the motions of ‘religion’ while living a pagan lifestyle, then expressing frustration that things went badly for them? When have you experienced or observed that a leader who practiced justice and created a healthier environment rather than one that was arbitrary and selfish?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place in your journey where you have been ‘talking the talk’ but not ‘walking the walk’ because you have preferred the values of the world over those of the Lord God.

Act

Today I will confess and repent, seek and receive forgiveness from the Lord God, and make the necessary changes to better align my words with my deeds and to surrender more completely to the Lordship of Christ in my life. (It may be in a gray area of financial dealings, integrity in academics, truth-telling in social relationships, or in some other area.)

Be Specific _____________________________________________

Friday (Isaiah 6–8)

Isaiah’s Commission

6:1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the sovereign master seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple. 6:2 Seraphs stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and they used the remaining two to fly. 6:3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord who commands armies! His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!” 6:4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames, and the temple was filled with smoke.

6:5 I said, “Too bad for me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies.” 6:6 But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs. 6:7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven.” 6:8 I heard the voice of the sovereign master say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?” I answered, “Here I am, send me!” 6:9 He said, “Go and tell these people:

‘Listen continually, but don’t understand!

Look continually, but don’t perceive!’

6:10 Make the hearts of these people calloused; make their ears deaf and their eyes blind!

Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.”

6:11 I replied, “How long, sovereign master?” He said, “Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated, and houses are uninhabited, and the land is ruined and devastated,

6:12 and the Lord has sent the people off to a distant place, and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned.

6:13 Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, like one of the large sacred trees or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.”

Ahaz Receives a Sign

7:1 During the reign of Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel marched up to Jerusalem to do battle, but they were unable to prevail against it.

7:2 It was reported to the family of David, “Syria has allied with Ephraim.” They and their people were emotionally shaken, just as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. 7:3 So the Lord told Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub and meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. 7:4 Tell him, ‘Make sure you stay calm! Don’t be afraid! Don’t be intimidated by these two stubs of smoking logs, or by the raging anger of Rezin, Syria, and the son of Remaliah. 7:5 Syria has plotted with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah to bring about your demise. 7:6 They say, “Let’s attack Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it. Then we’ll set up the son of Tabeel as its king.” 7:7 For this reason the sovereign master, the Lord, says: “It will not take place; it will not happen.

7:8 For Syria’s leader is Damascus, and the leader of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will no longer exist as a nation.

7:9 Ephraim’s leader is Samaria, and Samaria’s leader is the son of Remaliah. If your faith does not remain firm, then you will not remain secure.”

7:10 The Lord again spoke to Ahaz: 7:11 “Ask for a confirming sign from the Lord your God. You can even ask for something miraculous.” 7:12 But Ahaz responded, “I don’t want to ask; I don’t want to put the Lord to a test.” 7:13 So Isaiah replied, “Pay attention, family of David. Do you consider it too insignificant to try the patience of men? Is that why you are also trying the patience of my God? 7:14 For this reason the sovereign master himself will give you a confirming sign. Look, this young woman is about to conceive and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him Immanuel. 7:15 He will eat sour milk and honey, which will help him know how to reject evil and choose what is right. 7:16 Here is why this will be so: Before the child knows how to reject evil and choose what is right, the land whose two kings you fear will be desolate. 7:17 The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your father’s family a time unlike any since Ephraim departed from Judah – the king of Assyria!”

7:18 At that time the Lord will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria. 7:19 All of them will come and make their home in the ravines between the cliffs, and in the crevices of the cliffs, in all the thorn bushes, and in all the watering holes. 7:20 At that time the sovereign master will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River, the king of Assyria, to shave the head and the pubic hair; it will also shave off the beard. 7:21 At that time a man will keep alive a young cow from the herd and a couple of goats. 7:22 From the abundance of milk they produce, he will have sour milk for his meals. Indeed, everyone left in the heart of the land will eat sour milk and honey. 7:23 At that time every place where there had been a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels will be overrun with thorns and briers. 7:24 With bow and arrow men will hunt there, for the whole land will be covered with thorns and briers. 7:25 They will stay away from all the hills that were cultivated, for fear of the thorns and briers. Cattle will graze there and sheep will trample on them.

A Sign-Child is Born

8:1 The Lord told me, “Take a large tablet and inscribe these words on it with an ordinary stylus: ‘Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.’ 8:2 Then I will summon as my reliable witnesses Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.” 8:3 I then had sexual relations with the prophetess; she conceived and gave birth to a son. The Lord told me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, 8:4 for before the child knows how to cry out, ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”

8:5 The Lord spoke to me again: 8:6 “These people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and melt in fear over Rezin and the son of Remaliah. 8:7 So look, the sovereign master is bringing up against them the turbulent and mighty waters of the Euphrates River – the king of Assyria and all his majestic power. It will reach flood stage and overflow its banks. 8:8 It will spill into Judah, flooding and engulfing, as it reaches to the necks of its victims. He will spread his wings out over your entire land, O Immanuel.”

8:9 You will be broken, O nations; you will be shattered! Pay attention, all you distant lands of the earth! Get ready for battle, and you will be shattered! Get ready for battle, and you will be shattered!

8:10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted! Issue your orders, but they will not be executed! For God is with us!

The Lord Encourages Isaiah

8:11 Indeed this is what the Lord told me. He took hold of me firmly and warned me not to act like these people:

8:12 “Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ every time these people say the word. Don’t be afraid of what scares them; don’t be terrified.

8:13 You must recognize the authority of the Lord who commands armies. He is the one you must respect; he is the one you must fear.

8:14 He will become a sanctuary, but a stone that makes a person trip, and a rock that makes one stumble – to the two houses of Israel. He will become a trap and a snare to the residents of Jerusalem.

8:15 Many will stumble over the stone and the rock, and will fall and be seriously injured, and will be ensnared and captured.”

8:16 Tie up the scroll as legal evidence, seal the official record of God’s instructions and give it to my followers.

8:17 I will wait patiently for the Lord, who has rejected the family of Jacob; I will wait for him.

8:18 Look, I and the sons whom the Lord has given me are reminders and object lessons in Israel, sent from the Lord who commands armies, who lives on Mount Zion.

Darkness Turns to Light as an Ideal King Arrives

8:19 They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?” 8:20 Then you must recall the Lord’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened. 8:21 They will pass through the land destitute and starving. Their hunger will make them angry, and they will curse their king and their God as they look upward. 8:22 When one looks out over the land, he sees distress and darkness, gloom and anxiety, darkness and people forced from the land.

Prayer

Lord, You are holy, we are not. May I be as aware of Your holiness as was Isaiah. You rule over all armies and nations, therefore You may choose which will fail and which will have victory – especially where it impacts Your people. May I never fear (as a child of God) that in the battles of life anything of significance, in the eyes of the Lord, will go other than the way that You decide. You loved the people and they rejected You, and after generations of grace Your discipline fell upon them. May I remember to respond appropriately and obediently to Your love and not give you a reason to discipline me.

Scripture In Perspective

Isaiah explained the experience of his calling to the prophetic ministry “I saw the sovereign master seated on a high, elevated throne ...” and He was surrounded by angelic beings who celebrated “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord ...”

He was frightened “Too bad for me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. My eyes have seen the king, the Lord ...” because his (and that of the people around him) imperfection could not survive the presence of the Lord God. He was correct.

Isaiah then reported “But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven.”“

It was at that moment that Isaiah’s heard the call “I heard the voice of the sovereign master say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?”“ … and he answered ... “Here I am, send me!”

The Lord God then defined Isaiah’s prophetic ministry “Go and tell these people ...” who “Listen continually, but don’t understand! Look continually, but don’t perceive!’”

The Lord God then declared that He would “Make the hearts of these people calloused; make their ears deaf and their eyes blind! Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.”“

Isaiah asked the Lord how long would this punishment last, to which He replied “Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated, and houses are uninhabited, and the land is ruined and devastated, and the Lord has sent the people off to a distant place, and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned.”

The Lord concluded His edict of complete national obliteration within the land “Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, like one of the large sacred trees or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.”

The news had come the king of Judah (of the former nation of Israel, since divided into Israel and Judah) that King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel and the nation of Ephraim (which had splintered off from Judah) were about to attack, and they were terrified because they were unable to resist such a combined military force.

The Lord God directed Isaiah “Go out with your son Shear-jashub and meet Ahaz … Tell him ... Don’t be afraid! Don’t be intimidated by these two stubs of smoking logs … It will not take place; it will not happen.”

The Lord God, through Isaiah, challenged Ahaz to test His promise by asking for a sign or even a miracle, but Ahaz refused, fearful of testing the Lord, so He declared that Ephraim and Syria would soon be desolate, saying “Look, this young woman is about to conceive and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him Immanuel.” but before he reached the age of accountability “... the land whose two kings you fear will be desolate.”

Isaiah was instructed by the Lord God to write a name that meant something similar to “come quickly” and for that name to be witnessed on the tablet by others.

Isaiah then went to his wife, labeled as a “prophetess” as was the custom for the wife of a prophet, and they had a child – whom they obediently named as instructed. Before he was of the age of accountability the king of Assyria was to plunder Ephraim and Syria as prophesied. [Note: There is scholarly debate as to the possible rhetorical vs literal meaning of Isaiah’s son as a foreshadowing of Jesus, but the text fails to support that, and such is unnecessary to the later 7:14 text in which Jesus is prophesied.]

The Lord then prophesied that after obliterating Ephraim and Syria the Assyrians would over-run Israel and Judah and all of the nations around them. [Note: The term “Immanuel” (God with us) is used to describe the nations of Israel, as they were the earthly expression of the Lord God, were also a vague shadow compared to Jesus the Christ – The Immanuel” (God literally with/among us - in the flesh.)

The Lord God warned Isaiah to take care not to follow the actions and thinking of the people:

“Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ every time these people say the word. Don’t be afraid of what scares them; don’t be terrified.”

“... recognize the authority of the Lord who commands armies. He is the one you must respect; he is the one you must fear.”

“He will become a sanctuary, but [also] a stone that makes a person trip, and a rock that makes one stumble – to the two houses of Israel. He will become a trap and a snare to the residents of Jerusalem. Many will stumble over the stone and the rock, and will fall and be seriously injured, and will be ensnared and captured.”

“Tie up the scroll as legal evidence, seal the official record of God’s instructions and give it to my followers.”

Isaiah then said “I will wait patiently for the Lord, who has rejected the family of Jacob; I will wait for him. Look, I and the sons whom the Lord has given me are reminders and object lessons in Israel, sent from the Lord who commands armies, who lives on Mount Zion.”

Isaiah was warned further that the people, filled with spiritual darkness in their rebellion, would ask him to call upon demons and ghosts and witches in the hope that the dead might tell them of the future of the living. It would be yet another act of foolishness and of rebellion; he was to ignore them as their due punishment descended upon them.

Interact With The Text

Consider

The celebration of the holiness of the Lord God in Heaven is an amazing thing to imagine. The people of Judah saw things only through their human eyes, and so they were terrified, but the Lord God saw their enemies as already defeated; indeed, destroyed. The Lord God would protect Isaiah, and others, who honored their relationship with Him but would bring trouble to rebels and create challenges for others who denied His presence.

Discuss

Would you have the presence of mind, like Isaiah, to cry out “Here I am, send me!” to the Lord? Why might Ahaz have been so fearful of asking the Lord God for a sign or a miracle? Why would the Lord God cause Isaiah to write ‘Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.’ (come quickly) on a tablet for others to see?

Reflect

Isaiah’s very challenging ministry was to people who “Listen continually, but don’t understand! Look continually, but don’t perceive!’” He was to tell them that terrible trouble, beyond what they had already experienced, awaited them. At one moment the people of Judah were terrified and in the next they learned that their fearful enemies were soon to be wiped from the map, by the Lord God. Just as Saul turned to witchcraft so also did the people of Isaiah’s time.

Share

When have you experienced or observed a moment in praise and worship, or in prayerful and intense study of the Word of God, where a sense of His unique holiness overwhelmed you? When have you been fearful of a person or situation only to have your prayers answered and the entire threat disappear? When have you observed people acting and thinking in pagan ways in hopes of a God-less magical solution to their problems?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place in your journey where you “Listen continually, but don’t understand! Look continually, but don’t perceive!’”, to reveal to you today something of which you are afraid, with legitimate cause, but which He intends to remove from your life, and a place in your life where you think ‘magically’, hoping for a solution to a problem, rather than taking it to the Lord God in faithful and trusting prayer and then leaving it with Him.

Act

Today I will confess and repent, ask forgiveness and receive it from the Lord, and then surrender to the Holy Spirit as He leads me to listen with His ears, understand with His wisdom, see with His filter (so that I notice what He says is important), and perceive with His perspective of eternity. I will raise grateful prayers of praise and thanks to the Lord God. I will begin a daily discipline to bring everything to the Lord in prayer.

Be Specific _____________________________________________

Saturday (Amos 1–9, 2 Kings 14:23-15, 2 Chronicles 26)

Amos

Introduction

1:1 The following is a record of what Amos prophesied. He was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him during the time of King Uzziah of Judah and King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

God Will Judge the Surrounding Nations

1:2 Amos said: “The Lord comes roaring out of Zion; from Jerusalem he comes bellowing! The shepherds’ pastures wilt; the summit of Carmel withers.”

1:3 This is what the Lord says: “Because Damascus has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They ripped through Gilead like threshing sledges with iron teeth.

1:4 So I will set Hazael’s house on fire; fire will consume Ben Hadad’s fortresses.

1:5 I will break the bar on the gate of Damascus. I will remove the ruler from Wicked Valley, the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden. The people of Aram will be deported to Kir.” The Lord has spoken!

1:6 This is what the Lord says: “Because Gaza has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They deported a whole community and sold them to Edom.

1:7 So I will set Gaza’s city wall on fire; fire will consume her fortresses.

1:8 I will remove the ruler from Ashdod, the one who holds the royal scepter from Ashkelon. I will strike Ekron with my hand; the rest of the Philistines will also die.” The sovereign Lord has spoken!

1:9 This is what the Lord says: “Because Tyre has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They sold a whole community to Edom; they failed to observe a treaty of brotherhood.

1:10 So I will set fire to Tyre’s city wall; fire will consume her fortresses.”

1:11 This is what the Lord says: “Because Edom has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. He chased his brother with a sword; he wiped out his allies. In his anger he tore them apart without stopping to rest; in his fury he relentlessly attacked them.

1:12 So I will set Teman on fire; fire will consume Bozrah’s fortresses.”

1:13 This is what the Lord says: “Because the Ammonites have committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They ripped open Gilead’s pregnant women so they could expand their territory.

1:14 So I will set fire to Rabbah’s city wall; fire will consume her fortresses. War cries will be heard on the day of battle; a strong gale will blow on the day of the windstorm.

1:15 Ammon’s king will be deported; he and his officials will be carried off together.” The Lord has spoken!

2:1 This is what the Lord says: “Because Moab has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They burned the bones of Edom’s king into lime.

2:2 So I will set Moab on fire, and it will consume Kerioth’s fortresses. Moab will perish in the heat of battle amid war cries and the blaring of the ram’s horn.

2:3 I will remove Moab’s leader; I will kill all Moab’s officials with him.” The Lord has spoken!

2:4 This is what the Lord says: “Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They rejected the Lord’s law; they did not obey his commands. Their false gods, to which their fathers were loyal, led them astray.

2:5 So I will set Judah on fire, and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.”

God Will Judge Israel

2:6 This is what the Lord says: “Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They sold the innocent for silver, the needy for a pair of sandals.

2:7 They trample on the dirt-covered heads of the poor; they push the destitute away. A man and his father go to the same girl; in this way they show disrespect for my moral purity.

2:8 They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral; they do so right beside every altar! They drink wine bought with the fines they have levied; they do so right in the temple of their God!

2:9 For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites. They were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks, but I destroyed the fruit on their branches and their roots in the ground.

2:10 I brought you up from the land of Egypt; I led you through the wilderness for forty years so you could take the Amorites’ land as your own.

2:11 I made some of your sons prophets and some of your young men Nazirites. Is this not true, you Israelites?” The Lord is speaking!

2:12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine; you commanded the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy!’

2:13 Look! I will press you down, like a cart loaded down with grain presses down.

2:14 Fast runners will find no place to hide; strong men will have no strength left; warriors will not be able to save their lives.

2:15 Archers will not hold their ground; fast runners will not save their lives, nor will those who ride horses.

2:16 Bravehearted warriors will run away naked in that day.” The Lord is speaking!

Every Effect has its Cause

3:1 Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up from the land of Egypt: 3:2 “I have chosen you alone from all the clans of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”

3:3 Do two walk together without having met?

3:4 Does a lion roar in the woods if he has not cornered his prey? Does a young lion bellow from his den if he has not caught something?

3:5 Does a bird swoop down into a trap on the ground if there is no bait? Does a trap spring up from the ground unless it has surely caught something?

3:6 If an alarm sounds in a city, do people not fear? If disaster overtakes a city, is the Lord not responsible?

3:7 Certainly the sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

3:8 A lion has roared! Who is not afraid? The sovereign Lord has spoken! Who can refuse to prophesy?

Samaria Will Fall

3:9 Make this announcement in the fortresses of Ashdod and in the fortresses in the land of Egypt. Say this: “Gather on the hills around Samaria! Observe the many acts of violence taking place within the city, the oppressive deeds occurring in it.”

3:10 “They do not know how to do what is right.” (The Lord is speaking.) “They store up the spoils of destructive violence in their fortresses.

3:11 Therefore,” says the sovereign Lord, “an enemy will encircle the land. He will take away your power; your fortresses will be looted.”

3:12 This is what the Lord says: “Just as a shepherd salvages from the lion’s mouth a couple of leg bones or a piece of an ear, so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be salvaged. They will be left with just a corner of a bed, and a part of a couch.”

3:13 Listen and warn the family of Jacob! The sovereign Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking!

3:14 “Certainly when I punish Israel for their covenant transgressions, I will destroy Bethel’s altars. The horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.

3:15 I will destroy both the winter and summer houses. The houses filled with ivory will be ruined, the great houses will be swept away.” The Lord is speaking!

4:1 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan who live on Mount Samaria! You oppress the poor; you crush the needy. You say to your husbands, “Bring us more to drink!”

4:2 The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his own holy character: “Certainly the time is approaching when you will be carried away in baskets, every last one of you in fishermen’s pots.

4:3 Each of you will go straight through the gaps in the walls; you will be thrown out toward Harmon.” The Lord is speaking!

Israel has an Appointment with God

4:4 “Go to Bethel and rebel! At Gilgal rebel some more! Bring your sacrifices in the morning, your tithes on the third day!

4:5 Burn a thank offering of bread made with yeast! Make a public display of your voluntary offerings! For you love to do this, you Israelites.” The sovereign Lord is speaking!

4:6 “But surely I gave you no food to eat in any of your cities; you lacked food everywhere you live. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking!

4:7 “I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. I gave rain to one city, but not to another. One field would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up.

4:8 People from two or three cities staggered into one city to get water, but remained thirsty. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking!

4:9 “I destroyed your crops with blight and disease. Locusts kept devouring your orchards, vineyards, fig trees, and olive trees. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking!

4:10 “I sent against you a plague like one of the Egyptian plagues. I killed your young men with the sword, along with the horses you had captured. I made the stench from the corpses rise up into your nostrils. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking!

4:11 “I overthrew some of you the way God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the flames. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking!

4:12 “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel. Because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, Israel!

4:13 For here he is! He formed the mountains and created the wind. He reveals his plans to men. He turns the dawn into darkness and marches on the heights of the earth. The Lord, the God who commands armies, is his name!”

Death is Imminent

5:1 Listen to this funeral song I am ready to sing about you, family of Israel:

5:2 “The virgin Israel has fallen down and will not get up again. She is abandoned on her own land with no one to help her get up.”

5:3 The sovereign Lord says this: “The city that marches out with a thousand soldiers will have only a hundred left; the town that marches out with a hundred soldiers will have only ten left for the family of Israel.”

5:4 The Lord says this to the family of Israel: “Seek me so you can live!

5:5 Do not seek Bethel! Do not visit Gilgal! Do not journey down to Beer Sheba! For the people of Gilgal will certainly be carried into exile; and Bethel will become a place where disaster abounds.”

5:6 Seek the Lord so you can live! Otherwise he will break out like fire against Joseph’s family; the fire will consume and no one will be able to quench it and save Bethel.

5:7 The Israelites turn justice into bitterness; they throw what is fair and right to the ground.

5:8 (But there is one who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion; he can turn the darkness into morning and daylight into night. He summons the water of the seas and pours it out on the earth’s surface. The Lord is his name!

5:9 He flashes destruction down upon the strong so that destruction overwhelms the fortified places.)

5:10 The Israelites hate anyone who arbitrates at the city gate; they despise anyone who speaks honestly.

5:11 Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops and exact a grain tax from them, you will not live in the houses you built with chiseled stone, nor will you drink the wine from the fine vineyards you planted.

5:12 Certainly I am aware of your many rebellious acts and your numerous sins. You torment the innocent, you take bribes, and you deny justice to the needy at the city gate.

5:13 For this reason whoever is smart keeps quiet in such a time, for it is an evil time.

5:14 Seek good and not evil so you can live! Then the Lord, the God who commands armies, just might be with you, as you claim he is.

5:15 Hate what is wrong, love what is right! Promote justice at the city gate! Maybe the Lord, the God who commands armies, will have mercy on those who are left from Joseph.

5:16 Because of Israel’s sins this is what the Lord, the God who commands armies, the sovereign One, says: “In all the squares there will be wailing, in all the streets they will mourn the dead. They will tell the field workers to lament and the professional mourners to wail.

5:17 In all the vineyards there will be wailing, for I will pass through your midst,” says the Lord.

The Lord Demands Justice

5:18 Woe to those who wish for the day of the Lord! Why do you want the Lord’s day of judgment to come? It will bring darkness, not light.

5:19 Disaster will be inescapable, as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear, then escaped into a house, leaned his hand against the wall, and was bitten by a poisonous snake.

5:20 Don’t you realize the Lord’s day of judgment will bring darkness, not light – gloomy blackness, not bright light?

5:21 “I absolutely despise your festivals! I get no pleasure from your religious assemblies!

5:22 Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, I will not be satisfied; I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves.

5:23 Take away from me your noisy songs; I don’t want to hear the music of your stringed instruments.

5:24 Justice must flow like torrents of water, righteous actions like a stream that never dries up.

5:25 You did not bring me sacrifices and grain offerings during the forty years you spent in the wilderness, family of Israel.

5:26 You will pick up your images of Sikkuth, your king, and Kiyyun, your star god, which you made for yourselves,

5:27 and I will drive you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord. He is called the God who commands armies!

The Party is over for the Rich

6:1 Woe to those who live in ease in Zion, to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria. They think of themselves as the elite class of the best nation. The family of Israel looks to them for leadership.

6:2 They say to the people: “Journey over to Calneh and look at it! Then go from there to Hamath-Rabbah! Then go down to Gath of the Philistines! Are they superior to our two kingdoms? Is their territory larger than yours?”

6:3 You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, but you establish a reign of violence.

6:4 They lie around on beds decorated with ivory, and sprawl out on their couches. They eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the middle of the pen.

6:5 They sing to the tune of stringed instruments; like David they invent musical instruments.

6:6 They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, and pour the very best oils on themselves. Yet they are not concerned over the ruin of Joseph.

6:7 Therefore they will now be the first to go into exile, and the religious banquets where they sprawl on couches will end.

6:8 The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his very own life. The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking: “I despise Jacob’s arrogance; I hate their fortresses. I will hand over to their enemies the city of Samaria and everything in it.”

6:9 If ten men are left in one house, they too will die. 6:10 When their close relatives, the ones who will burn the corpses, pick up their bodies to remove the bones from the house, they will say to anyone who is in the inner rooms of the house, “Is anyone else with you?” He will respond, “Be quiet! Don’t invoke the Lord’s name!”

6:11 Indeed, look! The Lord is giving the command. He will smash the large house to bits, and the small house into little pieces.

6:12 Can horses run on rocky cliffs? Can one plow the sea with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into a poisonous plant, and the fruit of righteous actions into a bitter plant.

6:13 You are happy because you conquered Lo-Debar. You say, “Did we not conquer Karnaim by our own power?”

6:14 “Look! I am about to bring a nation against you, family of Israel.” The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking. “They will oppress you all the way from Lebo-Hamath to the Stream of the Arabah.”

Symbolic Visions of Judgment

7:1 The sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw him making locusts just as the crops planted late were beginning to sprout. (The crops planted late sprout after the royal harvest.) 7:2 When they had completely consumed the earth’s vegetation, I said, “Sovereign Lord, forgive Israel! How can Jacob survive? He is too weak!”

7:3 The Lord decided not to do this. “It will not happen,” the Lord said.

7:4 The sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw the sovereign Lord summoning a shower of fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the fields.

7:5 I said, “Sovereign Lord, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is too weak!”

7:6 The Lord decided not to do this. The sovereign Lord said, “This will not happen either.”

7:7 He showed me this: I saw the sovereign One standing by a tin wall holding tin in his hand. 7:8 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” I said, “Tin.” The sovereign One then said, “Look, I am about to place tin among my people Israel. I will no longer overlook their sin.

7:9 Isaac’s centers of worship will become desolate; Israel’s holy places will be in ruins. I will attack Jeroboam’s dynasty with the sword.”

Amos Confronts a Priest

7:10 Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent this message to King Jeroboam of Israel: “Amos is conspiring against you in the very heart of the kingdom of Israel! The land cannot endure all his prophecies. 7:11 As a matter of fact, Amos is saying this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword and Israel will certainly be carried into exile away from its land.’”

7:12 Amaziah then said to Amos, “Leave, you visionary! Run away to the land of Judah! Earn your living and prophesy there! 7:13 Don’t prophesy at Bethel any longer, for a royal temple and palace are here!”

7:14 Amos replied to Amaziah, “I was not a prophet by profession. No, I was a herdsman who also took care of sycamore fig trees. 7:15 Then the Lord took me from tending flocks and gave me this commission, ‘Go! Prophesy to my people Israel!’ 7:16 So now listen to the Lord’s message! You say, ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel! Don’t preach against the family of Isaac!’

7:17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the streets and your sons and daughters will die violently. Your land will be given to others and you will die in a foreign land. Israel will certainly be carried into exile away from its land.’”

More Visions and Messages of Judgment

8:1 The sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw a basket of summer fruit.

8:2 He said, “What do you see, Amos?” I replied, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The end has come for my people Israel! I will no longer overlook their sins.

8:3 The women singing in the temple will wail in that day.” The sovereign Lord is speaking. “There will be many corpses littered everywhere! Be quiet!”

8:4 Listen to this, you who trample the needy, and do away with the destitute in the land.

8:5 You say, “When will the new moon festival be over, so we can sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, so we can open up the grain bins? We’re eager to sell less for a higher price, and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales!

8:6 We’re eager to trade silver for the poor, a pair of sandals for the needy! We want to mix in some chaff with the grain!”

8:7 The Lord confirms this oath by the arrogance of Jacob: “I swear I will never forget all you have done!

8:8 Because of this the earth will quake, and all who live in it will mourn. The whole earth will rise like the River Nile, it will surge upward and then grow calm, like the Nile in Egypt.

8:9 In that day,” says the sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun set at noon, and make the earth dark in the middle of the day.

8:10 I will turn your festivals into funerals, and all your songs into funeral dirges. I will make everyone wear funeral clothes and cause every head to be shaved bald. I will make you mourn as if you had lost your only son; when it ends it will indeed have been a bitter day.

8:11 Be certain of this, the time is coming,” says the sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land – not a shortage of food or water but an end to divine revelation!

8:12 People will stagger from sea to sea, and from the north around to the east. They will wander about looking for a revelation from the Lord, but they will not find any.

8:13 In that day your beautiful young women and your young men will faint from thirst. 8:14 These are the ones who now take oaths in the name of the sinful idol goddess of Samaria. They vow, ‘As surely as your god lives, O Dan,’ or ‘As surely as your beloved one lives, O Beer Sheba!’ But they will fall down and not get up again.”

9:1 I saw the sovereign One standing by the altar and he said, “Strike the tops of the support pillars, so the thresholds shake! Knock them down on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the survivors with the sword. No one will be able to run away; no one will be able to escape.

9:2 Even if they could dig down into the netherworld, my hand would pull them up from there. Even if they could climb up to heaven, I would drag them down from there.

9:3 Even if they were to hide on the top of Mount Carmel, I would hunt them down and take them from there. Even if they tried to hide from me at the bottom of the sea, from there I would command the Sea Serpent to bite them.

9:4 Even when their enemies drive them into captivity, from there I will command the sword to kill them. I will not let them out of my sight; they will experience disaster, not prosperity.”

9:5 The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this. He touches the earth and it dissolves; all who live on it mourn. The whole earth rises like the River Nile, and then grows calm like the Nile in Egypt.

9:6 He builds the upper rooms of his palace in heaven and sets its foundation supports on the earth. He summons the water of the sea and pours it out on the earth’s surface. The Lord is his name.

9:7 “You Israelites are just like the Ethiopians in my sight,” says the Lord. “Certainly I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt, but I also brought the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir.

9:8 Look, the sovereign Lord is watching the sinful nation, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth. But I will not completely destroy the family of Jacob,” says the Lord.

9:9 “For look, I am giving a command and I will shake the family of Israel together with all the nations. It will resemble a sieve being shaken, when not even a pebble falls to the ground.

9:10 All the sinners among my people will die by the sword – the ones who say, ‘Disaster will not come near, it will not confront us.’

The Restoration of the Davidic Dynasty

9:11 “In that day I will rebuild the collapsing hut of David. I will seal its gaps, repair its ruins, and restore it to what it was like in days gone by.

9:12 As a result they will conquer those left in Edom and all the nations subject to my rule.” The Lord, who is about to do this, is speaking!

9:13 “Be sure of this, the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when the plowman will catch up to the reaper and the one who stomps the grapes will overtake the planter. Juice will run down the slopes, it will flow down all the hillsides.

9:14 I will bring back my people, Israel; they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble and settle down. They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce; they will grow orchards and eat the fruit they produce.

9:15 I will plant them on their land and they will never again be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God.

2 Kings

Jeroboam II’s Reign over Israel

14:23 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Judah’s King Amaziah, son of Joash, Jeroboam son of Joash became king over Israel. He reigned for forty-one years in Samaria. 14:24 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 14:25 He restored the border of Israel from Lebo Hamath in the north to the sea of the Arabah in the south, in accordance with the word of the Lord God of Israel announced through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher. 14:26 The Lord saw Israel’s intense suffering; everyone was weak and incapacitated and Israel had no deliverer. 14:27 The Lord had not decreed that he would blot out Israel’s memory from under heaven, so he delivered them through Jeroboam son of Joash.

14:28 The rest of the events of Jeroboam’s reign, including all his accomplishments, his military success in restoring Israelite control over Damascus and Hamath, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 14:29 Jeroboam passed away and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. His son Zechariah replaced him as king.

Azariah’s Reign over Judah

15:1 In the twenty-seventh year of King Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Amaziah’s son Azariah became king over Judah. 15:2 He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah, who was from Jerusalem. 15:3 He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Amaziah had done. 15:4 But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. 15:5 The Lord afflicted the king with an illness; he suffered from a skin disease until the day he died. He lived in separate quarters, while his son Jotham was in charge of the palace and ruled over the people of the land.

15:6 The rest of the events of Azariah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 15:7 Azariah passed away and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Jotham replaced him as king.

Zechariah’s Reign over Israel

15:8 In the thirty-eighth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Jeroboam’s son Zechariah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for six months. 15:9 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his ancestors had done. He did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 15:10 Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against him; he assassinated him in Ibleam and took his place as king. 15:11 The rest of the events of Zechariah’s reign are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 15:12 His assassination brought to fulfillment the Lord’s word to Jehu, “Four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel.” That is exactly what happened.

15:13 Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of King Uzziah’s reign over Judah. He reigned for one month in Samaria. 15:14 Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah to Samaria and attacked Shallum son of Jabesh. He killed him and took his place as king. 15:15 The rest of the events of Shallum’s reign, including the conspiracy he organized, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 15:16 At that time Menahem came from Tirzah and attacked Tiphsah. He struck down all who lived in the city and the surrounding territory, because they would not surrender. He even ripped open the pregnant women.

Menahem’s Reign over Israel

15:17 In the thirty-ninth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel. He reigned for twelve years in Samaria. 15:18 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin.

During his reign, 15:19 Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem paid him a thousand talents of silver to gain his support and to solidify his control of the kingdom. 15:20 Menahem got this silver by taxing all the wealthy men in Israel; he took fifty shekels of silver from each one of them and paid it to the king of Assyria. Then the king of Assyria left; he did not stay there in the land.

15:21 The rest of the events of Menahem’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 15:22 Menahem passed away and his son Pekahiah replaced him as king.

Pekahiah’s Reign over Israel

15:23 In the fiftieth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Menahem’s son Pekahiah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for two years. 15:24 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 15:25 His officer Pekah son of Remaliah conspired against him. He and fifty Gileadites assassinated Pekahiah, as well as Argob and Arieh, in Samaria in the fortress of the royal palace. Pekah then took his place as king.

15:26 The rest of the events of Pekahiah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

Pekah’s Reign over Israel

15:27 In the fifty-second year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for twenty years. 15:28 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 15:29 During Pekah’s reign over Israel, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the territory of Naphtali. He deported the people to Assyria. 15:30 Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah. He assassinated him and took his place as king, in the twentieth year of the reign of Jotham son of Uzziah.

15:31 The rest of the events of Pekah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

Jotham’s Reign over Judah

15:32 In the second year of the reign of Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah, Uzziah’s son Jotham became king over Judah. 15:33 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. 15:34 He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Uzziah had done. 15:35 But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. He built the Upper Gate to the Lord’s temple.

15:36 The rest of the events of Jotham’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 15:37 In those days the Lord prompted King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah to attack Judah. 15:38 Jotham passed away and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David. His son Ahaz replaced him as king.

2 Chronicles

Uzziah’s Reign

26:1 All the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in his father Amaziah’s place. 26:2 Uzziah built up Elat and restored it to Judah after King Amaziah had passed away.

26:3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah, who was from Jerusalem. 26:4 He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Amaziah had done. 26:5 He followed God during the lifetime of Zechariah, who taught him how to honor God. As long as he followed the Lord, God caused him to succeed.

26:6 Uzziah attacked the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. He built cities in the region of Ashdod and throughout Philistine territory. 26:7 God helped him in his campaigns against the Philistines, the Arabs living in Gur Baal, and the Meunites. 26:8 The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah and his fame reached the border of Egypt, for he grew in power.

26:9 Uzziah built and fortified towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, Valley Gate, and at the Angle. 26:10 He built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns, for he owned many herds in the lowlands and on the plain. He had workers in the fields and vineyards in the hills and in Carmel, for he loved agriculture.

26:11 Uzziah had an army of skilled warriors trained for battle. They were organized by divisions according to the muster rolls made by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer under the authority of Hananiah, a royal official. 26:12 The total number of family leaders who led warriors was 2,600. 26:13 They commanded an army of 307,500 skilled and able warriors who were ready to defend the king against his enemies. 26:14 Uzziah supplied shields, spears, helmets, breastplates, bows, and slingstones for the entire army. 26:15 In Jerusalem he made war machines carefully designed to shoot arrows and large stones from the towers and corners of the walls. He became very famous, for he received tremendous support and became powerful.

26:16 But once he became powerful, his pride destroyed him. He disobeyed the Lord his God. He entered the Lord’s temple to offer incense on the incense altar. 26:17 Azariah the priest and eighty other brave priests of the Lord followed him in. 26:18 They confronted King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not proper for you, Uzziah, to offer incense to the Lord. That is the responsibility of the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to offer incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have disobeyed and the Lord God will not honor you!” 26:19 Uzziah, who had an incense censer in his hand, became angry. While he was ranting and raving at the priests, a skin disease appeared on his forehead right there in front of the priests in the Lord’s temple near the incense altar. 26:20 When Azariah the high priest and the other priests looked at him, there was a skin disease on his forehead. They hurried him out of there; even the king himself wanted to leave quickly because the Lord had afflicted him. 26:21 King Uzziah suffered from a skin disease until the day he died. He lived in separate quarters, afflicted by a skin disease and banned from the Lord’s temple. His son Jotham was in charge of the palace and ruled over the people of the land.

26:22 The rest of the events of Uzziah’s reign, from start to finish, were recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 26:23 Uzziah passed away and was buried near his ancestors in a cemetery belonging to the kings. (This was because he had a skin disease.) His son Jotham replaced him as king.

Prayer

Lord, when leaders compromise with Your great and perfect plan everyone around them suffers. May I take care to do things Your way and not make excuses for exceptions which are really rebellion.

Scripture In Perspective

Amos delivered his prophesies “Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up from the land of Egypt: “I have chosen you alone from all the clans of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all your sins.” Do two walk together without having met? If an alarm sounds in a city, do people not fear? If disaster overtakes a city, is the Lord not responsible? Certainly the sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who is not afraid? The sovereign Lord has spoken! Who can refuse to prophesy?”

He warned them that judgment was coming for all of the nations and all of the tribes who had rebelled and who had committed terrible sins – and who remained unrepentant. While the Lord God continued to plead with them to return to Him there was to be no escape from a terrible judgment in their immediate future.

Amos was primarily delivering his prophesy of judgment to Israel, the Northern region of the divided people of God.

He recorded an exchange with the Lord God where three symbolic visions were presented, the first two were of the destruction of Israel, Kudah, and Jerusalem, to which he responded with the plea that Judah could not bear it, the third was against Israel alone.

The high priest of Israel, Amaziah, challenged Amos to cease prophesy in Israel and to relocate to Judah. Amos replied that the Lord God had called him into his prophetic ministry and that he would continue as instructed – and, since Amaziah had disrespected him, terrible things would happen to his family and he would be exiled.

Amos concluded with a prophesy of hope, that one day the Lord God would restore all of His people to a land made-new.

Joash tore down part of the wall around Jerusalem and sacked the temple and royal palace for gold and silver, then took Amaziah and several others captive.

Joash died and his son Jeroboam replaced him as king of Israel. Amaziah also died and his son Azariah became king of Judah. Although he failed to discourage false gods Jeroboam was successful in restoring Israelite control of border regions.

Azariah became king over Judah at the age of 16 but failed to remove the high places – after a time the Lord God visited him with a skin disease so his son Jotham functioned as the public ruler while he was hidden away in his private quarters.

Jeroboam’s son Zechariah became king over Israel for six months, he was an evil king who promoted the worship of false gods, Shallum son of Jabesh murdered him and became king for one month until Menahem son of Gadi killed him and took his place as king.

Menahem was so evil that during one attack he even cut open pregnant women. Pul, king of Assyria, invaded Israel so Menahem paid him a thousand talents of silver (taken from wealthy citizens) to buy Pul’s support and solidify his own power.

Menahem’s son Pekahiah became king over Israel for two years, he was evil like his predecessors and was murdered by his officer Pekah, who then reigned for twenty-two years. Pekah was also evil and King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria captured several regions of Israel, deporting many of the people to Assyria as slaves.

Jotham became king over Judah for sixteen years, he was generally obedient to the Lord God but did not remove the high places. At the Lord’s prompting King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel attacked Judah. During his reign Jotham built the Upper Gate to the Lord’s Temple. After his death Jotham’s son Ahaz became king.

Jereboam possessed military skills and God desired to restore much of the coastline which Israel had lost, so despite his failure to purge evil from Israel the Lord God used him.

Uzziah, as king of Judah, followed God while Zechariah was king of Israel – then he turned away. His pride led him to charge into the Temple to offer incense and as Azariah (the priest, not the former king) warned him the Lord struck him with a disease on his face and he remained isolated the rest of his life, his son Jotham served as king in his stead.

Interact With The Text

Consider

The prophets of the Lord God, despite their reluctance to deliver a prophesy of judgment, felt compelled to do so once He gave that prophesy to them. The arrogance of the Israelites to imagine that the Lord God would not fulfill His prophesies and that they would not suffer consequences for the worship of false idols and for unrepentant sin is incredible. Jereboam possessed military skills and God desired to restore much of the coastline which Israel had lost, so despite his failure to purge evil from Israel the Lord God used him. Menahem was evil but clever, he tolerated the domination of Pul of Assyria – rather than fight and probably lose - paying Pul with wealth taken from the wealthy, so he could remain as king.

Discuss

Do you find it encouraging that so great was the love of the Lord was that even as He was initiating the judgment of Israel He was still seeking those who would repent and return to Him so that they might be His instruments to preserve a remnant in the exile? Why would the priest think that he could get away with disrespecting God’s prophet? Why would Amaziah of Judah threaten Joash of Israel? Given the history of troubles why did none of these kings figure out that ignoring God’s expectation that they remove the high places was a major reason for the absence of blessing?

Reflect

Israel, Damascus, Moab, and others were judged first but Judah and Jerusalem were placed on-notice that unless they ceased from their rebellion what they were about to observe would be their fate as well. The Lord’s love for His Creation, despite the Fall, is amazing. Had Joash listened closely to Elisha and obeyed fully he would have been empowered to obliterate Syria as an enemy. Tolerance of the evil “high places” created an evil environment where king after king was murdered and replaced by their murderers.

Share

When have you experienced or observed the delivery of some sort of punishment – deserved - yet the one delivering it held-out hope for a future reconciliation? When have you drifted into sin and resisted efforts to encourage you to repent – and suffered some consequences you should have known were coming? When have you experienced or observed the Lord God blessing someone either in spite of their limited obedience and not as completely as He might have because of their limited obedience? When have you experienced or observed troubles that flowed from disobedience yet the disobedience continued?

Faith In Action

Prayer

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a warning that He wants you to share with someone who is making choices that are harming their relationship with Him and his children, to reveal to you a place in your life where you are at risk of trouble because of continuing sin, to reveal to you a place where you are not listening closely and not obeying fully, and/or to reveal to you a place in your life where you have made excuses for something that you know to be offensive to the Lord God.

Act

Today I will humbly and prayerfully deliver the Lord’s warning. I will share my own experience with His chastising, I will share my own struggle to remain faithful in all things, and I will ask them to pray for me as well. I will confess and repent, seek and receive the Lord God’s forgiveness, and I will listen more-closely to the Holy Spirit so that I will have the strength and wisdom to live rightly. I will pause and pray and listen closely to the Lord God for what He has been trying to tell me. I will do so several times during the day and make time to reflect upon what I believe He is saying and to consult my Bible. As appropriate I will ask a fellow believer to listen to my reflections, to pray in-agreement for wisdom, and to share anything the Lord may reveal to them. I will begin the process of purging that which offends the Lord God from my life. I will ask a fellow believer to be my accountability partner and to pray in-agreement for my complete and continued freedom.

Be Specific _________________________________________________

All Bible text is from the NET unless otherwise indicated - http://bible.org

Note 1: These Studies often rely upon the guidance of the NET Translators from their associated notes. Careful attention has been given to cite that source where it has been quoted directly or closely paraphrased. Feedback is encouraged where credit has not been sufficiently assigned.

Note 2: When NET text is quoted in commentary and discussion all pronouns referring to God are capitalized, though they are lower-case in the original NET text.

Commentary text is from David M. Colburn, D.Min. unless otherwise noted.

Copyright © 2012 by David M. Colburn. This is a BibleSeven Study. Prepared by David M. Colburn and edited for bible.org in August of 2012. This text may be used for non-profit educational purposes only, with credit; all other usage requires prior written consent of the author.

A Chronological Daily Bible Study of the Old Testament
7-Day Sections with a Summary-Commentary, Discussion Questions, and a Practical Daily Application

Week 37

Sunday (Ecclesiastes 1-3)

Title

1:1 The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:

Introduction: Utter Futility

1:2 “Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher, “Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”

Futility Illustrated from Nature

1:3 What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?

1:4 A generation comes and a generation goes, but the earth remains the same through the ages.

1:5 The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries away to a place from which it rises again.

1:6 The wind goes to the south and circles around to the north; round and round the wind goes and on its rounds it returns.

1:7 All the streams flow into the sea, but the sea is not full, and to the place where the streams flow, there they will flow again.

1:8 All this monotony is tiresome; no one can bear to describe it: The eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear ever content with hearing.

1:9 What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth.

1:10 Is there anything about which someone can say, “Look at this! It is new!”? It was already done long ago, before our time.

1:11 No one remembers the former events, nor will anyone remember the events that are yet to happen; they will not be remembered by the future generations.

Futility of Secular Accomplishment

1:12 I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

1:13 I decided to carefully and thoroughly examine all that has been accomplished on earth.

I concluded: God has given people a burdensome task that keeps them occupied.

1:14 I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile – like chasing the wind!

1:15 What is bent cannot be straightened, and what is missing cannot be supplied.

Futility of Secular Wisdom

1:16 I thought to myself, “I have become much wiser than any of my predecessors who ruled over Jerusalem; I have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.”

1:17 So I decided to discern the benefit of wisdom and knowledge over foolish behavior and ideas; however, I concluded that even this endeavor is like trying to chase the wind!

1:18 For with great wisdom comes great frustration; whoever increases his knowledge merely increases his heartache.

Futility of Self-Indulgent Pleasure

2:1 I thought to myself, “Come now, I will try self-indulgent pleasure to see if it is worthwhile.”

But I found that it also is futile.

2:2 I said of partying, “It is folly,” and of self-indulgent pleasure, “It accomplishes nothing!”

2:3 I thought deeply about the effects of indulging myself with wine (all the while my mind was guiding me with wisdom) and the effects of behaving foolishly, so that I might discover what is profitable for people to do on earth during the few days of their lives.

Futility of Materialism

2:4 I increased my possessions: I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself.

2:5 I designed royal gardens and parks for myself, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.

2:6 I constructed pools of water for myself, to irrigate my grove of flourishing trees.

2:7 I purchased male and female slaves, and I owned slaves who were born in my house; I also possessed more livestock – both herds and flocks – than any of my predecessors in Jerusalem.

2:8 I also amassed silver and gold for myself, as well as valuable treasures taken from kingdoms and provinces. I acquired male singers and female singers for myself, and what gives a man sensual delight – a harem of beautiful concubines!

2:9 So I was far wealthier than all my predecessors in Jerusalem, yet I maintained my objectivity:

2:10 I did not restrain myself from getting whatever I wanted; I did not deny myself anything that would bring me pleasure. So all my accomplishments gave me joy; this was my reward for all my effort.

2:11 Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded: “All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless – like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”

Wisdom is Better than Folly

2:12 Next, I decided to consider wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas. For what more can the king’s successor do than what the king has already done?

2:13 I realized that wisdom is preferable to folly, just as light is preferable to darkness:

2:14 The wise man can see where he is going, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also realized that the same fate happens to them both.

2:15 So I thought to myself, “The fate of the fool will happen even to me!

Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively wise?”

So I lamented to myself, “The benefits of wisdom are ultimately meaningless!”

2:16 For the wise man, like the fool, will not be remembered for very long, because in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies – just like the fool!

2:17 So I loathed life because what happens on earth seems awful to me; for all the benefits of wisdom are futile – like chasing the wind.

Futility of Being a Workaholic

2:18 So I loathed all the fruit of my effort, for which I worked so hard on earth, because I must leave it behind in the hands of my successor.

2:19 Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool?

Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so wisely on earth! This also is futile!

2:20 So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth.

2:21 For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice!

Painful Days and Restless Nights

2:22 What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth?

2:23 For all day long his work produces pain and frustration, and even at night his mind cannot relax! This also is futile!

Enjoy Work and its Benefits

2:24 There is nothing better for people than to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in their work. I also perceived that this ability to find enjoyment comes from God.

2:25 For no one can eat and drink or experience joy apart from him.

2:26 For to the one who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing wealth – only to give it to the one who pleases God. This task of the wicked is futile – like chasing the wind!

A Time for All Events in Life

3:1 For everything there is an appointed time, and an appropriate time for every activity on earth:

3:2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what was planted;

3:3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

3:5 A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

3:6 A time to search, and a time to give something up as lost; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

3:7 A time to rip, and a time to sew; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak.

3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

Man is Ignorant of God’s Timing

3:9 What benefit can a worker gain from his toil?

3:10 I have observed the burden that God has given to people to keep them occupied.

3:11 God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives.

Enjoy Life in the Present

3:12 I have concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live,

3:13 and also that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil, for these things are a gift from God.

God’s Sovereignty

3:14 I also know that whatever God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it. God has made it this way, so that men will fear him.

3:15 Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been; for God will seek to do again what has occurred in the past.

The Problem of Injustice and Oppression

3:16 I saw something else on earth: In the place of justice, there was wickedness, and in the place of fairness, there was wickedness.

3:17 I thought to myself, “God will judge both the righteous and the wicked; for there is an appropriate time for every activity, and there is a time of judgment for every deed.

3:18 I also thought to myself, “It is for the sake of people, so God can clearly show them that they are like animals.

3:19 For the fate of humans and the fate of animals are the same: As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath. There is no advantage for humans over animals, for both are fleeting.

3:20 Both go to the same place, both come from the dust, and to dust both return.

3:21 Who really knows if the human spirit ascends upward, and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth?

3:22 So I perceived there is nothing better than for people to enjoy their work, because that is their reward; for who can show them what the future holds?

Prayer

Lord, You are the source of appropriate pleasure and of wisdom. May I always look to You, rather than the world, so that my pleasures are blessed by You and my choices flow from Your wisdom. You have decided that You will allow humankind a free will in matters that are not reserved for Your sovereign will and therefore many of the activities of man are directed by man. May I be in constant communication with the Holy Spirit so that I will recognize the difference between Your moral will and Your sovereign will and give You the glory in both.

Scripture In Perspective

Solomon began the lament of Ecclesiastes with a sweeping declaration ““Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher, “Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”“

He then stepped through a series of contexts where his thesis is supported:

“Futility Illustrated from Nature”

“Futility of Secular Accomplishment”

“Futility of Secular Wisdom”

“Futility of Self-Indulgent Pleasure”

“Futility of Materialism”

He paused to contrast wisdom with folly and found wisdom the better:

“Wisdom is Better than Folly”

Then he returned to his litany of futility:

“Futility of Being a Workaholic”

“Painful Days and Restless Nights”

And finally, at the conclusion of his first two chapters, he completed his summary with the discovery that the Lord God is the One Who gives meaning to appropriate pleasure.

“Enjoy Work and its Benefits”

Solomon declared that the Lord God allows for order – but that He has delegated much of that to humankind “For everything there is an appointed time, and an appropriate time for every activity on earth:”

He then provided a list of examples:

“A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what was planted;”

“A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;”

“A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”

“A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;”

“A time to search, and a time to give something up as lost; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;”

“A time to rip, and a time to sew; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak.”

“A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”

Solomon then observed that the Lord God has a perfect plan for each of us, but that he allows us to make our own choices, and therefore we are unaware of His big-picture plan, rather we wrestle with His moral preferences at every decision-point.

He repeated, from the Psalms, that humankind is expected to work hard and to reap benefits from their labors, and not to postpone all enjoyment for Heaven “... everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil, for these things are a gift from God”

Solomon then contrasted God’s Sovereignty with his just-described moral will.

He concluded the chapter in a pessimistic mood, wondering when he found injustice in the courts, and observing that both animal and man return to dust; then wondering if the human spirit rose toward heaven at death whereas those of animals descended.

Interact with the text

Consider

Solomon’s use of the phrase “like chasing the wind” is very similar to a phrase in the Book of Proverbs “grasping oil in your right hand”. Both are impossible endeavors. His puzzled question re. The relative eternal destiny of animals versus humans is, of course, a wrong-headed postulate as animals have no eternal spirit and humans-alone will be divided between Heaven and Hell.

Discuss

Why would Solomon, with all of his God-gifted wisdom, need to go through so much effort to discern that “There is nothing better for people than to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in their work. I also perceived that this ability to find enjoyment comes from God.”? Also, is it possible to have a genuine two-way relationship if all of the meaningful decisions made by both parties to it are imposed by One?

Reflect

People in the secular world rise in the morning knowing that in the eyes of their peers, and apart from the Lord God, they have no inherent value, thus they spend their day trying to earn value in the eyes of others who also awoke feeling equally-empty and valueless. It is important to ponder the NET Translator's Notes explanation that the Lord God directs some activities but allows humankind to determine the “appointed time”.

Share

When have you experienced futility in the pursuit of worldly priorities? When have you experienced or observed the truth that enjoying the fruits of your honest labor proved a blessing of the Lord God?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place in your life where you are striving toward worldly values rather than the Lord God's priorities, even in some small and unaware way, and also to reveal to you an activity about which timing you were troubled only to discover that it was all in the Lord God's perfect timing as He worked through humankind to guide the events.

Act

Today I will confess and repent, seek and receive the Lord God's forgiveness, and then act to alter the priorities of my life; great or small. It may be about my appearance, car, finances, home, power, prestige, or some other area. I will ask a fellow believer to assist me with accountability and prayers in-agreement. I will reflect and marvel, - then give thanks and praise to the Lord God.

Be Specific ________________________________________________

Monday (Ecclesiastes 4-5)

Evil Oppression on Earth

4:1 So I again considered all the oppression that continually occurs on earth.

This is what I saw:

The oppressed were in tears, but no one was comforting them; no one delivers them from the power of their oppressors.

4:2 So I considered those who are dead and gone more fortunate than those who are still alive.

4:3 But better than both is the one who has not been born and has not seen the evil things that are done on earth.

Labor Motivated by Envy

4:4 Then I considered all the skillful work that is done: Surely it is nothing more than competition between one person and another. This also is profitless – like chasing the wind.

4:5 The fool folds his hands and does no work, so he has nothing to eat but his own flesh.

4:6 Better is one handful with some rest than two hands full of toil and chasing the wind.

Labor Motivated by Greed

4:7 So I again considered another futile thing on earth:

4:8 A man who is all alone with no companion, he has no children nor siblings; yet there is no end to all his toil, and he is never satisfied with riches. He laments, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is futile and a burdensome task!

Labor is Beneficial When Its Rewards Are Shared

4:9 Two people are better than one, because they can reap more benefit from their labor.

4:10 For if they fall, one will help his companion up, but pity the person who falls down and has no one to help him up.

4:11 Furthermore, if two lie down together, they can keep each other warm, but how can one person keep warm by himself?

4:12 Although an assailant may overpower one person, two can withstand him. Moreover, a three-stranded cord is not quickly broken.

Labor Motivated by Prestige-Seeking

4:13 A poor but wise youth is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive advice.

4:14 For he came out of prison to become king, even though he had been born poor in what would become his kingdom.

4:15 I considered all the living who walk on earth, as well as the successor who would arise in his place.

4:16 There is no end to all the people nor to the past generations, yet future generations will not rejoice in him. This also is profitless and like chasing the wind.

Rash Vows

5:1 Be careful what you do when you go to the temple of God; draw near to listen rather than to offer a sacrifice like fools, for they do not realize that they are doing wrong.

5:2 Do not be rash with your mouth or hasty in your heart to bring up a matter before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth! Therefore, let your words be few.

5:3 Just as dreams come when there are many cares, so the rash vow of a fool occurs when there are many words.

5:4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay in paying it. For God takes no pleasure in fools: Pay what you vow!

5:5 It is better for you not to vow than to vow and not pay it.

5:6 Do not let your mouth cause you to sin, and do not tell the priest, “It was a mistake!” Why make God angry at you so that he would destroy the work of your hands?”

5:7 Just as there is futility in many dreams, so also in many words. Therefore, fear God!

Government Corruption

5:8 If you see the extortion of the poor, or the perversion of justice and fairness in the government, do not be astonished by the matter. For the high official is watched by a higher official, and there are higher ones over them!

5:9 The produce of the land is seized by all of them, even the king is served by the fields.

Covetousness

5:10 The one who loves money will never be satisfied with money, he who loves wealth will never be satisfied with his income. This also is futile.

5:11 When someone’s prosperity increases, those who consume it also increase; so what does its owner gain, except that he gets to see it with his eyes?

5:12 The sleep of the laborer is pleasant – whether he eats little or much – but the wealth of the rich will not allow him to sleep.

Materialism Thwarts Enjoyment of Life

5:13 Here is a misfortune on earth that I have seen: Wealth hoarded by its owner to his own misery.

5:14 Then that wealth was lost through bad luck; although he fathered a son, he has nothing left to give him.

5:15 Just as he came forth from his mother’s womb, naked will he return as he came, and he will take nothing in his hand that he may carry away from his toil.

5:16 This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?

5:17 Surely, he ate in darkness every day of his life, and he suffered greatly with sickness and anger.

Enjoy the Fruit of Your Labor

5:18 I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all their hard work on earth during the few days of their life which God has given them, for this is their reward.

5:19 To every man whom God has given wealth, and possessions, he has also given him the ability to eat from them, to receive his reward and to find enjoyment in his toil; these things are the gift of God.

5:20 For he does not think much about the fleeting days of his life because God keeps him preoccupied with the joy he derives from his activity.

Prayer

Lord, You teach us to be in balance, to enjoy every moment of life as a gift from You, and to share what we have as Your blessing through us to others. May I be generous, never envious of others, never coveting wealth for its own sake, and participate fully in each day – as tomorrow in this world is promised to no one.

Scripture In Perspective

Solomon decided to “… again consider(ed) all the oppression that continually occurs on earth.” and in his flesh decided that due to the lack of compassion those who died were better-off than those who continued to live, and those who had never been born the most-blessed.

He considered the matter of balance in how one engaged in skilled work, observing that some acted from a heart of pride – competing against others – while others didn’t develop their skills at all. He concluded that a balance was necessary.

He considered a person who worked and lived alone, with no children or sibling(s), yet worked hard and then wondered to what purpose – for lack of someone to bless and to share. He then observed that two were likely to be more productive working in harmony, could help one-another when ill or injured, and could defend themselves better than if alone. He illustrated using the physics of a woven rope where two cords were stronger than one and three even stronger.

Solomon observed that an old king who had become unteachable, because he still longed for more-prestige, was less-valuable than a younger king with some humility.

He warned that one who rushed into the presence of God to make promises had best be careful that they are ones he can fulfill, otherwise he may anger the Lord God.

Solomon people to not be surprised by government corruption as foolishness and greed would lead them to confiscate the produce of fields whose produce was already theirs. He further observed that there may be some accountability found in levels of government.

He warned that when one coveted money it would always be spent as quickly as it was earned and would keep one awake worrying about the acquisition of more. This he contrasted with the peace of the one who worked to pay bills but who was not obsessed with greater and greater wealth.

Solomon observed that one who hoarded money for the sake of amassing wealth would find himself constantly-troubled by fear of its loss, and when lost through misfortune, discover an empty life was all that remained.

He concluded that one should enjoy what the Lord God has provided in each moment as a gift and not worry about the future.

Interact with the text

Consider

When Solomon said that one should enjoy what the Lord God has provided in each moment as a gift and not worry about the future, he was not teaching carelessness and a failure to prepare, but rather was speaking about enjoying moments that would pass and never return.

Discuss

Why would Solomon make such a big deal about money?

Reflect

In each illustration of Solomon is not the heart-condition of the person the primary determiner of wisdom versus foolishness?

Share

When have you experienced or observed an obsession with competing with others, out or envy and pride, leading to an empty and troubled life?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place where you have become so worried about money that you’ve missed what is truly important and once-passed, irretrievable.

Act

Today I will confess and repent of my obsession or worries about money, ask and receive the Lord’s forgiveness, then partner with a fellow-believer as I restructure my priorities based on trust in the Lord versus money.

Be Specific _____________________________________________

Tuesday (Ecclesiastes 6–7:14)

Not Everyone Enjoys Life

6:1 Here is another misfortune that I have seen on earth, and it weighs heavily on people:

6:2 God gives a man riches, property, and wealth so that he lacks nothing that his heart desires, yet God does not enable him to enjoy the fruit of his labor – instead, someone else enjoys it! This is fruitless and a grave misfortune.

6:3 Even if a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years – even if he lives a long, long time, but cannot enjoy his prosperity – even if he were to live forever – I would say, “A stillborn child is better off than he is!”

6:4 Though the stillborn child came into the world for no reason and departed into darkness, though its name is shrouded in darkness,

6:5 though it never saw the light of day nor knew anything, yet it has more rest than that man –

6:6 if he should live a thousand years twice, yet does not enjoy his prosperity. For both of them die!

6:7 All of man’s labor is for nothing more than to fill his stomach – yet his appetite is never satisfied!

6:8 So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool?

And what advantage does a pauper gain by knowing how to survive?

6:9 It is better to be content with what the eyes can see than for one’s heart always to crave more.

This continual longing is futile – like chasing the wind.

The Futile Way Life Works

6:10 Whatever has happened was foreordained, and what happens to a person was also foreknown. It is useless for him to argue with God about his fate because God is more powerful than he is.

6:11 The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. How does that benefit him?

6:12 For no one knows what is best for a person during his life – during the few days of his fleeting life – for they pass away like a shadow. Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth.

Life is Brief and Death is Certain!

7:1 A good reputation is better than precious perfume; likewise, the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.

7:2 It is better to go to a funeral than a feast. For death is the destiny of every person, and the living should take this to heart.

7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter, because sober reflection is good for the heart.

7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of merrymaking.

Frivolous Living Versus Wisdom

7:5 It is better for a person to receive a rebuke from those who are wise than to listen to the song of fools.

7:6 For like the crackling of quick-burning thorns under a cooking pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This kind of folly also is useless.

Human Wisdom Overturned by Adversity

7:7 Surely oppression can turn a wise person into a fool; likewise, a bribe corrupts the heart.

7:8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning; likewise, patience is better than pride.

7:9 Do not let yourself be quickly provoked, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

7:10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these days?” for it is not wise to ask that.

Wisdom Can Lengthen One’s Life

7:11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing; it benefits those who see the light of day.

7:12 For wisdom provides protection, just as money provides protection. But the advantage of knowledge is this:

Wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

Wisdom Acknowledges God’s Orchestration of Life

7:13 Consider the work of God: For who can make straight what he has bent?

7:14 In times of prosperity be joyful, but in times of adversity consider this: God has made one as well as the other, so that no one can discover what the future holds.

Prayer

Lord, Your message is consistent and simple – if we look toward Your perfect will for our lives and live through the wisdom that You provide we may expect a better result than if we disobey and foolishly disregard Your perfect wisdom. May my heart be submitted to You, no matter what.

Scripture In Perspective

Solomon argued that a man may be given, by the Lord God, everything that his heart desires but may not find joy in it. The things of his hearts-desires may bring him little joy, and at his passing be given to others who do find joy. Under these circumstances his life is worse than one never born. [The text does not clearly explain but it seems that the man was irresponsible and/or ungrateful with what he had been given. The text following suggests that the problem was an absence of being content with that he had and therefore obsessed with the constant acquisition of more.]

He then argued that it was pointless for the man to argue with the Lord God about his fate because everything was “... foreordained, and what happens to a person was also foreknown.” This sounds like fatalism but really represents covenant-related outcomes based upon choices. If the man is ungrateful and obsessed with the endless pursuit of wealth then he has no expectation of the Lord God’s blessing. If the man is grateful and content with has been given him by the Lord then he will be blessed. The consequences of his choices have foreordained consequences and God’s knowledge is not time-bound.

Solomon taught that “A good reputation is better than precious perfume;”, which means that an morals-based ethical lifestyle was very important, and “...likewise, the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.”, because one no longer had to strive to keep a good reputation.

He declared “It is better to go to a funeral than a feast. For death is the destiny of every person, and the living should take this to heart ...Sorrow is better than laughter, because sober reflection is good for the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of merrymaking.” because the ones left behind could find value in the study of the life of the recently deceased. The mourners could also recognize that they would not live forever and should bring closure to things they had left undone and/or unsaid and/or unreconciled.

Solomon returned to a theme of Proverbs, warning that one who lived a shallow and meaningless life will have wasted his or her life.

He then warned that one who appeared wise, based on mere human knowledge and philosophy, would abandon their prideful-certainty in times of trouble. He also warned that looking back upon human achievements and worldly history and declaring the “old days” better than today was foolish.

Solomon taught that wisdom preserved life, because it protected one from foolish choices, and wisdom also acknowledged God’s involvement in life based upon man’s heart-centered choices to obey or disobey – and the consequences of those choices.

He concluded that one must at all times be joyful that one belongs to the Lord God, be those times good or difficult, because one cannot know what things lie ahead nor why, and one often cannot change them, so one must trust the Lord to make it through.

Interact With The Text

Consider

Accepting that the Lord God has the big-picture under control, and that He does all things for His perfectly-good purpose, makes dealing with worldly imperfections more bearable.

Discuss

Why did Solomon repeat the phrase that death was often better than life?

Reflect

As is the consistent teaching throughout the Bible, the Lord God knows our hearts, so He knows why we do what we do. It does not matter to Him if we manage to create the appearance of wisdom or foolishness in the eyes of fellow human beings.

Share

When have you observed someone with many blessings from the Lord God still waste their life in striving because they were never satisfied?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you an opportunity to celebrate the promise of Heaven, and the many gifts of the Lord God, even in the midst of difficulty.

Act

Today I will take the time to remember all that the Lord God has done for me and I will praise Him. I will also seek what I may learn from any present difficulty and praise Him for maturing me. Finally, I will allow Him to be my comfort and strength and I will praise Him for that.

Be Specific _________________________________________________

Wednesday (Ecclesiastes 7:15-8)

Exceptions to the Law of Retribution

7:15 During the days of my fleeting life I have seen both of these things: Sometimes a righteous person dies prematurely in spite of his righteousness, and sometimes a wicked person lives long in spite of his evil deeds.

7:16 So do not be excessively righteous or excessively wise; otherwise you might be disappointed.

7:17 Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool; otherwise you might die before your time.

7:18 It is best to take hold of one warning without letting go of the other warning; for the one who fears God will follow both warnings.

Wisdom Needed Because No One is Truly Righteous

7:19 Wisdom gives a wise person more protection than ten rulers in a city.

7:20 For there is not one truly righteous person on the earth who continually does good and never sins.

7:21 Also, do not pay attention to everything that people say; otherwise, you might even hear your servant cursing you.

7:22 For you know in your own heart that you also have cursed others many times.

Human Wisdom is Limited

7:23 I have examined all this by wisdom; I said, “I am determined to comprehend this” – but it was beyond my grasp.

7:24 Whatever has happened is beyond human understanding; it is far deeper than anyone can fathom.

True Righteousness and Wisdom are Virtually Nonexistent

7:25 I tried to understand, examine, and comprehend the role of wisdom in the scheme of things, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the insanity of folly.

7:26 I discovered this: More bitter than death is the kind of woman who is like a hunter’s snare; her heart is like a hunter’s net and her hands are like prison chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is captured by her.

7:27 The Teacher says: I discovered this while trying to discover the scheme of things, item by item.

7:28 What I have continually sought, I have not found; I have found only one upright man among a thousand, but I have not found one upright woman among all of them.

7:29 This alone have I discovered: God made humankind upright, but they have sought many evil schemes.

Human Government Demonstrates Limitations of Wisdom

8:1 Who is a wise person? Who knows the solution to a problem?

A person’s wisdom brightens his appearance, and softens his harsh countenance.

8:2 Obey the king’s command, because you took an oath before God to be loyal to him.

8:3 Do not rush out of the king’s presence in haste – do not delay when the matter is unpleasant, for he can do whatever he pleases.

8:4 Surely the king’s authority is absolute; no one can say to him, “What are you doing?”

8:5 Whoever obeys his command will not experience harm, and a wise person knows the proper time and procedure.

8:6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, for the oppression of the king is severe upon his victim.

8:7 Surely no one knows the future, and no one can tell another person what will happen.

8:8 Just as no one has power over the wind to restrain it, so no one has power over the day of his death. Just as no one can be discharged during the battle, so wickedness cannot rescue the wicked.

8:9 While applying my mind to everything that happens in this world, I have seen all this: Sometimes one person dominates other people to their harm.

Contradictions to the Law of Retribution

8:10 Not only that, but I have seen the wicked approaching and entering the temple, and as they left the holy temple, they boasted in the city that they had done so. This also is an enigma.

8:11 When a sentence is not executed at once against a crime, the human heart is encouraged to do evil.

8:12 Even though a sinner might commit a hundred crimes and still live a long time, yet I know that it will go well with God-fearing people – for they stand in fear before him.

8:13 But it will not go well with the wicked, nor will they prolong their days like a shadow, because they do not stand in fear before God.

8:14 Here is another enigma that occurs on earth: Sometimes there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve, and sometimes there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve. I said, “This also is an enigma.”

Enjoy Life In Spite of Its Injustices

8:15 So I recommend the enjoyment of life, for there is nothing better on earth for a person to do except to eat, drink, and enjoy life. So joy will accompany him in his toil during the days of his life which God gives him on earth.

Limitations of Human Wisdom

8:16 When I tried to gain wisdom and to observe the activity on earth – even though it prevents anyone from sleeping day or night –

8:17 then I discerned all that God has done: No one really comprehends what happens on earth. Despite all human efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp it. Even if a wise person claimed that he understood, he would not really comprehend it.

Prayer

Lord, You see endless details that we fail to notice, let alone understand. May I simply trust You and not try to understand everything about You with my limited human capacity.

Scripture In Perspective

Solomon warned that attempting, in the flesh, to be at an extreme of righteousness or unrighteousness would likely have a bad outcome; in the first case a lack of joy and a disappointing ending, in the second foolishness that could lead to an early demise after a pointless and destructive existence.

He observed that none go without sinning therefore wisdom is necessary to restore them to right-thinking and acting. He also warned that the compliments of other people might lead one to a distorted self-image.

Solomon confessed that he tried to understand the dilemma of too-righteous versus too-unrighteous, having declared “I am determined to comprehend this”, only to discover “... it was beyond my grasp. Whatever has happened is beyond human understanding; it is far deeper than anyone can fathom … This alone have I discovered: God made humankind upright, but they have sought many evil schemes.”

He taught that one way to discern a “wise person” who may know “the solution to a problem” one might observe that a “... person’s wisdom brightens his appearance, and softens his harsh countenance.”

He further instructed “Obey the king’s command, because you took an oath before God to be loyal to him.” with the qualifier that while the king did no know the future, he had power over your immediate future – so obey and stay out of trouble with him – disobey and risk great trouble.

In the context of kings [and others with authority] Solomon shared the warning “Sometimes one person dominates other people to their harm.”

He struggled with what he called “the law of retribution”, which he had believed to mean that evil was always punished “... I have seen the wicked approaching and entering the temple, and as they left the holy temple, they boasted in the city that they had done so. This also is an enigma.”

Solomon warned “When a sentence is not executed at once against a crime, the human heart is encouraged to do evil.”

He recognized the power of forgiveness as part of the Lord God’s grace toward those who surrender to Him “Even though a sinner might commit a hundred crimes and still live a long time, yet I know that it will go well with God-fearing people – for they stand in fear before him.”

He also recognized that the unrepentant would face an angry God “But it will not go well with the wicked, nor will they prolong their days like a shadow, because they do not stand in fear before God.”

Solomon was puzzled because he could not see as the Lord God sees and thus it appeared to him that “Sometimes there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve, and sometimes there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve.”

He taught “So I recommend the enjoyment of life, for there is nothing better on earth for a person to do except to eat, drink, and enjoy life. So joy will accompany him in his toil during the days of his life which God gives him on earth.”

Solomon concluded that trying “... to gain wisdom and to observe the activity on earth … would prevent one “... from sleeping day or night”, because “... all that God has done” is beyond “... all human efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp it. Even if a wise person claimed that he understood, he would not really comprehend it.”

Interact With The Text

Consider

One has to stuff the Lord God into a man-sized box in order to comprehend Him, all that He has done, and the reasons why. He simply does not fit into our boxes nor are we capable of fully perceiving either God or His absolute knowledge..

Discuss

Where might Solomon have come up with the notion of “the law of retribution”?

Reflect

If Solomon, with the gift of extraordinary wisdom, could not comprehend all of the Lord God how could any other person imagine they could do so better? “7:29 This alone have I discovered: God made humankind upright, but they have sought many evil schemes.” The Fall poisoned all – no one can point to anything in this world that is the same as the original Creation – not a single thing. As someone quipped “God don’t make junk.”

Share

When have you experienced or observed the forgiveness and grace of the Lord God that overcame a long history of sin?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place where you may not be enjoying the gifts of the Lord God fully because you are too troubled with attempting to understand all of the details.

Act

Today I will pause to enjoy the gifts of the Lord God and I will give thanks.

Be Specific ________________________________________________

Thursday (Ecclesiastes 9-12)

Everyone Will Die

9:1 So I reflected on all this, attempting to clear it all up.

I concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God; whether a person will be loved or hated – no one knows what lies ahead.

9:2 Everyone shares the same fate – the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the ceremonially clean and unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

What happens to the good person, also happens to the sinner; what happens to those who make vows, also happens to those who are afraid to make vows.

9:3 This is the unfortunate fact about everything that happens on earth: the same fate awaits everyone.

In addition to this, the hearts of all people are full of evil, and there is folly in their hearts during their lives – then they die.

Better to Be Poor but Alive than Rich but Dead

9:4 But whoever is among the living has hope; a live dog is better than a dead lion.

9:5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything; they have no further reward – and even the memory of them disappears.

9:6 What they loved, as well as what they hated and envied, perished long ago, and they no longer have a part in anything that happens on earth.

Life is Brief, so Cherish its Joys

9:7 Go, eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, because God has already approved your works.

9:8 Let your clothes always be white, and do not spare precious ointment on your head.

9:9 Enjoy life with your beloved wife during all the days of your fleeting life that God has given you on earth during all your fleeting days; for that is your reward in life and in your burdensome work on earth.

9:10 Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, the place where you will eventually go.

Wisdom Cannot Protect against Seemingly Chance Events

9:11 Again, I observed this on the earth: the race is not always won by the swiftest, the battle is not always won by the strongest; prosperity does not always belong to those who are the wisest, wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning, nor does success always come to those with the most knowledge – for time and chance may overcome them all.

9:12 Surely, no one knows his appointed time!

Like fish that are caught in a deadly net, and like birds that are caught in a snare – just like them, all people are ensnared at an unfortunate time that falls upon them suddenly.

Most People Are Not Receptive to Wise Counsel

9:13 This is what I also observed about wisdom on earth, and it is a great burden to me:

9:14 There was once a small city with a few men in it, and a mighty king attacked it, besieging it and building strong siege works against it.

9:15 However, a poor but wise man lived in the city, and he could have delivered the city by his wisdom, but no one listened to that poor man.

9:16 So I concluded that wisdom is better than might, but a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens to his advice.

Wisdom versus Fools, Sin, and Folly

9:17 The words of the wise are heard in quiet, more than the shouting of a ruler is heard among fools.

9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.

10:1 One dead fly makes the perfumer’s ointment give off a rancid stench, so a little folly can outweigh much wisdom.

Wisdom Can Be Nullified By the Caprice of Rulers

10:2 A wise person’s good sense protects him, but a fool’s lack of sense leaves him vulnerable.

10:3 Even when a fool walks along the road he lacks sense, and shows everyone what a fool he is.

10:4 If the anger of the ruler flares up against you, do not resign from your position, for a calm response can undo great offenses.

10:5 I have seen another misfortune on the earth: It is an error a ruler makes.

10:6 Fools are placed in many positions of authority, while wealthy men sit in lowly positions.

10:7 I have seen slaves on horseback and princes walking on foot like slaves.

Wisdom is Needed to Avert Dangers in Everyday Life

10:8 One who digs a pit may fall into it, and one who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.

10:9 One who quarries stones may be injured by them; one who splits logs may be endangered by them.

10:10 If an iron axhead is blunt and a workman does not sharpen its edge, he must exert a great deal of effort; so wisdom has the advantage of giving success.

10:11 If the snake should bite before it is charmed, the snake charmer is in trouble.

Words and Works of Wise Men and Fools

10:12 The words of a wise person win him favor, but the words of a fool are self-destructive.

10:13 At the beginning his words are foolish and at the end his talk is wicked madness,

10:14 yet a fool keeps on babbling. No one knows what will happen; who can tell him what will happen in the future?

10:15 The toil of a stupid fool wears him out, because he does not even know the way to the city.

The Problem with Foolish Rulers

10:16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is childish, and your princes feast in the morning!

10:17 Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time – with self-control and not in drunkenness.

10:18 Because of laziness the roof caves in, and because of idle hands the house leaks.

10:19 Feasts are made for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything.

10:20 Do not curse a king even in your thoughts, and do not curse the rich while in your bedroom; for a bird might report what you are thinking, or some winged creature might repeat your words.

Ignorance of the Future Demands Diligence in the Present

11:1 Send your grain overseas, for after many days you will get a return.

11:2 Divide your merchandise among seven or even eight investments, for you do not know what calamity may happen on earth.

11:3 If the clouds are full of rain, they will empty themselves on the earth, and whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, the tree will lie wherever it falls.

11:4 He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who observes the clouds will not reap.

11:5 Just as you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones form in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

11:6 Sow your seed in the morning, and do not stop working until the evening; for you do not know which activity will succeed – whether this one or that one, or whether both will prosper equally.

Life Should Be Enjoyed Because Death is Inevitable

11:7 Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for a person to see the sun.

11:8 So, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many – all that is about to come is obscure.

Enjoy Life to the Fullest under the Fear of God

11:9 Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.

Follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes, but know that God will judge your motives and actions.

11:10 Banish emotional stress from your mind. and put away pain from your body; for youth and the prime of life are fleeting.

Fear God Now Because Old Age and Death Come Quickly

12:1 So remember your Creator in the days of your youth – before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

12:2 before the sun and the light of the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds disappear after the rain;

12:3 when those who keep watch over the house begin to tremble, and the virile men begin to stoop over, and the grinders begin to cease because they grow few, and those who look through the windows grow dim,

12:4 and the doors along the street are shut; when the sound of the grinding mill grows low, and one is awakened by the sound of a bird, and all their songs grow faint,

12:5 and they are afraid of heights and the dangers in the street; the almond blossoms grow white, and the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caper berry shrivels up – because man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about in the streets –

12:6 before the silver cord is removed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the well, or the water wheel is broken at the cistern –

12:7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the life’s breath returns to God who gave it.

Concluding Refrain: Qoheleth Restates His Thesis

12:8 “Absolutely futile!” laments the Teacher, “All of these things are futile!”

Concluding Epilogue: Qoheleth’s Advice is Wise

12:9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also taught knowledge to the people; he carefully evaluated and arranged many proverbs.

12:10 The Teacher sought to find delightful words, and to write accurately truthful sayings.

12:11 The words of the sages are like prods, and the collected sayings are like firmly fixed nails; they are given by one shepherd.

Concluding Exhortation: Fear God and Obey His Commands!

12:12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. There is no end to the making of many books, and much study is exhausting to the body.

12:13 Having heard everything, I have reached this conclusion: Fear God and keep his commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.

12:14 For God will evaluate every deed, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Prayer

Lord, everyone will one day die, and so what is in this world will one day pass away. May I remember that this time is brief and temporary compared to eternity with You my Lord. You desire that we enjoy the gifts You give us in this life, but in the context of what is honoring to You – and you want us to know that You see everything. May I be constantly aware of Your presence, so that when I enjoy Your gifts, I do not lose perspective and dishonor You in my flesh.

Scripture In Perspective

Solomon acknowledged; drawing upon all of his God-gifted wisdom, and after all of his flesh-driven research, that everyone dies. He further qualified this “... the hearts of all people are full of evil, and there is folly in their hearts during their lives, then they die.”

He then observed, from a flesh-based perspective, that once-dead a person has no value in this world – so from a flesh-based perspective any living being has more value than any dead one. He encouraged the living to enjoy the positive things of this life fully as they are gone at death.

Solomon reported his observation that neither the wise or the foolish can control their future, either may dies in a sudden event.

He observed that wisdom is superior to might but “... a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens to his advice.”, so those who will not listen – based only on the external appearance – become fools, absent the wisdom they missed.

Solomon taught that one foolish person in the wrong position of authority can overwhelm the wisdom of the wise and that those in power should be very careful whom they choose.

Likewise, he taught that in everyday life wisdom can protect us from trouble; e.g. falling in the hole we are digging, working around places where there may be snakes, avoiding injury from stones and logs in the workplace.

Solomon contrasted the positive reputation of the wise person with the worthless words and deeds of a fool. He also observed that leaders needed to be wise for if they are foolish they will also be worthless to themselves and the people.

Solomon shared his learning that one must invest in diverse enterprises as one cannot be certain that any single investment will prosper, he further shared that one should start work early on a good weather day and continue throughout as one could not know what tomorrow might bring.

He advised “Follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes, but know that God will judge your motives and actions.” because life is short, and also to avoid emotional stress and physical pain [presumably via the application of wisdom].

Solomon counseled “So remember your Creator in the days of your youth – before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them” … and the dust [from which you came] returns to the earth as it was, and the life’s breath returns to God who gave it.”

There is some scholarly debate as to the meaning of the phrase “Qoheleth’s Advice is Wise”, especially as to the identity of Qoheleth. The most-common thought is that it referred to Solomon but the phraseology that follows implies more than one person is intended as the source of the wisdom writings. “Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also taught knowledge to the people; he carefully evaluated and arranged many proverbs. The Teacher sought to find delightful words, and to write accurately truthful sayings. The words of the sages are like prods, and the collected sayings are like firmly fixed nails; they are given by one shepherd.” [Clearly the “one shepherd” is the Lord God.]

He concluded with the stern advice to not accept anything external to the wisdom teaching as equivalent because such would cause endless “... study” which would be “... exhausting to the body.” He also advised “Fear God and keep his commandments, because this is the whole duty of man. For God will evaluate every deed, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.”

Interact With The Text

Consider

The death that comes to all proves that the things of this earth are not to be considered nearly as important as the things of the Lord God. Diversification of investments has become a modern practice but Solomon recommended it long ago.

Discuss

Why might it have been so difficult for Solomon to see the truth that death is ‘the great equalizer’? Does it not seem that Pharisees and Saducees ignored Solomon’s warning to avoid adding to the wisdom teaching, because the additions would become burdensome, which is precisely what happened?

Reflect

When leaders unwisely choose the unwise as advisers it goes badly for everyone. The balance between following “... the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes” while remaining constantly aware (and therefore guided by the knowledge) that “... God will judge your motives and actions.” remains a challenging one.

Share

When have you experienced, or observed, an unwise leader surround himself with fools? When have you struggled with the balance between following “... the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes” and living righteously before the Lord God?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you someone from whom you would not usually seek wisdom but who has some for you and to reveal to you a place where you have become out of balance in your walk; following “... the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes” too far from the path of righteousness.

Act

Today I will humbly seek-out the one whom the Holy Spirit designates and ask them to share what the Lord God has gifted them to share. I will confess and repent of my flesh-driven drift from righteousness, seek and accept forgiveness from the Lord God, and adjust my walk in the direction of righteousness and away from the things of the flesh.

Be Specific _____________________________________________

Friday (1 Kings 10–11, 2 Chronicles 9)

1 Kings

Solomon Entertains a Queen

10:1 When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, she came to challenge him with difficult questions. 10:2 She arrived in Jerusalem with a great display of pomp, bringing with her camels carrying spices, a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind. 10:3 Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king. 10:4 When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon’s extensive wisdom, the palace he had built, 10:5 the food in his banquet hall, his servants and attendants, their robes, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he presented in the Lord’s temple, she was amazed. 10:6 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight was true! 10:7 I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn’t hear even half the story! Your wisdom and wealth surpass what was reported to me. 10:8 Your attendants, who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings, are truly happy! 10:9 May the Lord your God be praised because he favored you by placing you on the throne of Israel! Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he made you king so you could make just and right decisions.” 10:10 She gave the king 120 talents of gold, a very large quantity of spices, and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched. 10:11 (Hiram’s fleet, which carried gold from Ophir, also brought from Ophir a very large quantity of fine timber and precious gems. 10:12 With the timber the king made supports for the Lord’s temple and for the royal palace and stringed instruments for the musicians. No one has seen so much of this fine timber to this very day.) 10:13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, besides what he had freely offered her. Then she left and returned to her homeland with her attendants.

Solomon’s Wealth

10:14 Solomon received 666 talents of gold per year, 10:15 besides what he collected from the merchants, traders, Arabian kings, and governors of the land. 10:16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures of gold were used for each shield. 10:17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold were used for each of these shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest.

10:18 The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 10:19 There were six steps leading up to the throne, and the back of it was rounded on top. The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side. 10:20 There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom.

10:21 All of King Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon’s time. 10:22 Along with Hiram’s fleet, the king had a fleet of large merchant ships that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet came into port with cargoes of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

10:23 King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth. 10:24 Everyone in the world wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom. 10:25 Year after year visitors brought their gifts, which included items of silver, items of gold, clothes, perfume, spices, horses, and mules.

10:26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He kept them in assigned cities and in Jerusalem. 10:27 The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the lowlands. 10:28 Solomon acquired his horses from Egypt and from Que; the king’s traders purchased them from Que. 10:29 They paid 600 silver pieces for each chariot from Egypt and 150 silver pieces for each horse. They also sold chariots and horses to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria.

The Lord Punishes Solomon for Idolatry

11:1 King Solomon fell in love with many foreign women (besides Pharaoh’s daughter), including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. 11:2 They came from nations about which the Lord had warned the Israelites, “You must not establish friendly relations with them! If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods.” But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them.

11:3 He had 700 royal wives and 300 concubines; his wives had a powerful influence over him. 11:4 When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his father David had been. 11:5 Solomon worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte and the detestable Ammonite god Milcom. 11:6 Solomon did evil in the Lord’s sight; he did not remain loyal to the Lord, like his father David had. 11:7 Furthermore, on the hill east of Jerusalem Solomon built a high place for the detestable Moabite god Chemosh and for the detestable Ammonite god Milcom. 11:8 He built high places for all his foreign wives so they could burn incense and make sacrifices to their gods.

11:9 The Lord was angry with Solomon because he had shifted his allegiance away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him on two occasions 11:10 and had warned him about this very thing, so that he would not follow other gods. But he did not obey the Lord’s command. 11:11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you insist on doing these things and have not kept the covenantal rules I gave you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 11:12 However, for your father David’s sake I will not do this while you are alive. I will tear it away from your son’s hand instead. 11:13 But I will not tear away the entire kingdom; I will leave your son one tribe for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of my chosen city Jerusalem.”

11:14 The Lord brought against Solomon an enemy, Hadad the Edomite, a descendant of the Edomite king. 11:15 During David’s campaign against Edom, Joab, the commander of the army, while on a mission to bury the dead, killed every male in Edom. 11:16 For six months Joab and the entire Israelite army stayed there until they had exterminated every male in Edom. 11:17 Hadad, who was only a small boy at the time, escaped with some of his father’s Edomite servants and headed for Egypt. 11:18 They went from Midian to Paran; they took some men from Paran and went to Egypt. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, supplied him with a house and food and even assigned him some land. 11:19 Pharaoh liked Hadad so well he gave him his sister-in-law (Queen Tahpenes’ sister) as a wife. 11:20 Tahpenes’ sister gave birth to his son, named Genubath. Tahpenes raised him in Pharaoh’s palace; Genubath grew up in Pharaoh’s palace among Pharaoh’s sons. 11:21 While in Egypt Hadad heard that David had passed away and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead. So Hadad asked Pharaoh, “Give me permission to leave so I can return to my homeland.” 11:22 Pharaoh said to him, “What do you lack here that makes you want to go to your homeland?” Hadad replied, “Nothing, but please give me permission to leave.”

11:23 God also brought against Solomon another enemy, Rezon son of Eliada who had run away from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah. 11:24 He gathered some men and organized a raiding band. When David tried to kill them, they went to Damascus, where they settled down and gained control of the city. 11:25 He was Israel’s enemy throughout Solomon’s reign and, like Hadad, caused trouble. He loathed Israel and ruled over Syria.

11:26 Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon’s servants, rebelled against the king. He was an Ephraimite from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. 11:27 This is what prompted him to rebel against the king: Solomon built a terrace and he closed up a gap in the wall of the city of his father David. 11:28 Jeroboam was a talented man; when Solomon saw that the young man was an accomplished worker, he made him the leader of the work crew from the tribe of Joseph. 11:29 At that time, when Jeroboam had left Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road; the two of them were alone in the open country. Ahijah was wearing a brand new robe, 11:30 and he grabbed the robe and tore it into twelve pieces. 11:31 Then he told Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces, for this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Look, I am about to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and I will give ten tribes to you. 11:32 He will retain one tribe, for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. 11:33 I am taking the kingdom from him because they have abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, like Solomon’s father David did. 11:34 I will not take the whole kingdom from his hand. I will allow him to be ruler for the rest of his life for the sake of my chosen servant David who kept my commandments and rules. 11:35 I will take the kingdom from the hand of his son and give ten tribes to you. 11:36 I will leave his son one tribe so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home. 11:37 I will select you; you will rule over all you desire to have and you will be king over Israel. 11:38 You must obey all I command you to do, follow my instructions, do what I approve, and keep my rules and commandments, like my servant David did. Then I will be with you and establish for you a lasting dynasty, as I did for David; I will give you Israel. 11:39 I will humiliate David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.” 11:40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam escaped to Egypt and found refuge with King Shishak of Egypt. He stayed in Egypt until Solomon died.

Solomon’s Reign Ends

11:41 The rest of the events of Solomon’s reign, including all his accomplishments and his wise decisions, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of Solomon. 11:42 Solomon ruled over all Israel from Jerusalem for forty years. 11:43 Then Solomon passed away and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam replaced him as king.

2 Chronicles

Solomon Entertains a Queen

9:1 When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, she came to challenge him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a great display of pomp, bringing with her camels carrying spices, a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind. 9:2 Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king. 9:3 When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon’s extensive wisdom, the palace he had built, 9:4 the food in his banquet hall, his servants and attendants in their robes, his cupbearers in their robes, and his burnt sacrifices which he presented in the Lord’s temple, she was amazed. 9:5 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight was true! 9:6 I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn’t hear even half the story! Your wisdom surpasses what was reported to me. 9:7 Your attendants, who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings, are truly happy! 9:8 May the Lord your God be praised because he favored you by placing you on his throne as the one ruling on his behalf! Because of your God’s love for Israel and his lasting commitment to them, he made you king over them so you could make just and right decisions.” 9:9 She gave the king 120 talents of gold and a very large quantity of spices and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched. 9:10 (Huram’s servants, aided by Solomon’s servants, brought gold from Ophir, as well as fine timber and precious gems. 9:11 With the timber the king made steps for the Lord’s temple and royal palace as well as stringed instruments for the musicians. No one had seen anything like them in the land of Judah prior to that.) 9:12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, more than what she had brought him. Then she left and returned to her homeland with her attendants.

Solomon’s Wealth

9:13 Solomon received 666 talents of gold per year, 9:14 besides what he collected from the merchants and traders. All the Arabian kings and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon. 9:15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures of hammered gold were used for each shield. 9:16 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; 300 measures of gold were used for each of those shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest.

9:17 The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 9:18 There were six steps leading up to the throne, and a gold footstool was attached to the throne. The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side. 9:19 There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom.

9:20 All of King Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon’s time. 9:21 The king had a fleet of large merchant ships manned by Huram’s men that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet came into port with cargoes of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

9:22 King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth. 9:23 All the kings of the earth wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom. 9:24 Year after year visitors brought their gifts, which included items of silver, items of gold, clothes, perfume, spices, horses, and mules.

9:25 Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses and 12,000 horses. He kept them in assigned cities and in Jerusalem. 9:26 He ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines as far as the border of Egypt. 9:27 The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the lowlands. 9:28 Solomon acquired horses from Egypt and from all the lands.

Solomon’s Reign Ends

9:29 The rest of the events of Solomon’s reign, from start to finish, are recorded in the Annals of Nathan the Prophet, the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the Vision of Iddo the Seer pertaining to Jeroboam son of Nebat. 9:30 Solomon ruled over all Israel from Jerusalem for forty years. 9:31 Then Solomon passed away and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam replaced him as king.

Prayer

Lord, the blessings of Israel through Solomon were amazing, a testament to Your fulfillment of Your promise. May I remind people of this time in Biblical history whenever doubt is raised as to Your faithfulness. You have made it clear since the Garden of Eden that rebellion is forbidden, and the consequences are severe. May I have accountability and prayer-partners to help me to avoid drifting into even the smallest area of rebellion.

Scripture In Perspective

The queen of Sheba had heard stories about Israel under the leadership of king Solomon and how the Lord God had blessed him with extraordinary wisdom, and the nation with wealth, so she traveled to see for herself.

The queen was amazed both by the degree to which Solomon’s wisdom extended across her many questions and the level of wealth. She shared massive gifts of spices from her home country as well as gold and jewels.

King Hiram of Tyre apparently arrived during her visit bring exotic wood and more gold, the wood was added to the interior of the Temple and palace and some used to make stringed instruments for the musicians. The gold was added to the treasury.

Solomon had so much gold that he covered everything with it, even his throne, and meanwhile he spread silver around to the people, along with great quantities of cedar.

Visitors were arriving constantly to hear Solomon’s wisdom and to view the great display of wealth and artistic creativity. Traders used silver to acquire horses and chariots and ships brought home more treasures.

Solomon’s appetite for the pleasures of the flesh extended to women whom he found attractive, without regard to their national or religious affiliation, and too often this was in direct disobedience to the clear commandment of the Lord God.

As an old man he sought to please these foreign women by building places for them to worship their false gods and then by worshiping them himself.

God informed Solomon that due to his rebellion He would remove all but one tribe from his son, and that only to preserve Jerusalem, and that the peace the kingdom had enjoyed would be lost immediately.

Hadad the Edomite, the only male (then a very young child) who escaped David and Joab’s effort to exterminate the Edomites, returned from exile in Egypt with a small force of fighters. Also, Rezon son of Eliada, who had run away to Damascus and eventually took control of Syria began raids on Israel.

Jeroboam, son of Nebat and and Ephramite from the tribe of Joseph was informed by the prophet Ahijah that he was to become king over nine of the tribes, and so he rebelled against Solomon and when Solomon tried to kill him he escaped to Egypt until Solomon’s death.

After a forty year reign King Solomon died and his son Rehoboam took the throne.

Interact With The Text

Consider

The story of Solomon’s kingship begins to have a circus-like feeling to it, people traveling to hear his wisdom in-person, and to view all of the gathered riches. Despite the gift of great wisdom Solomon’s flesh overwhelmed his wisdom and he foolishly turned away from the Lord God because of it.

Discuss

Should Solomon have worried that such a extravagant display of wealth might encourage invasion or rebellion from jealous men? Were not the warning signs of Solomon’s imbalanced priorities present somewhat early in his reign as he built his personal palace larger than God’s Temple, when he covered everything in sight with gold, and he built lavishly like the pagan Pharaohs of Egypt?

Reflect

Solomon appeared to share the wealth with the people through the distribution of cedar and silver, spreading the Lord God’s blessing, and building loyalty.

Share

When have you observed someone with a unique gift or great wealth become a celebrity, with that attention and those resources becoming an unhealthy influence on them after a while? When have you observed someone who seemed to have it all make such foolish choices that they lost most or all of it?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the wealth of resources and wisdom (knowledge + understanding) He has given to you and to reveal to you a place in your life where you are allowing the lust of the flesh to draw you away from Him.

Act

Today I will praise the Lord God for His good gifts and seek a practical way to share them. I will gratefully accept the chastising and instruction of the Holy Spirit so that now matter how small I may extinguish the seed of rebellion in my life. I will ask a fellow believer to be my accountability and to pray in-agreement as I walk through the process of repentance and restoration to a personal revival.

Be Specific _____________________________________________

Saturday (Proverbs 30-31)

The Words of Agur

30:1 The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh; an oracle:

This man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ukal:

30:2 Surely I am more brutish than any other human being, and I do not have human understanding;

30:3 I have not learned wisdom, nor do I have knowledge of the Holy One.

30:4 Who has ascended into heaven, and then descended?

Who has gathered up the winds in his fists?

Who has bound up the waters in his cloak?

Who has established all the ends of the earth?

What is his name, and what is his son’s name? – if you know!

30:5 Every word of God is purified; he is like a shield for those who take refuge in him.

30:6 Do not add to his words, lest he reprove you, and prove you to be a liar.

30:7 Two things I ask from you; do not refuse me before I die:

30:8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me; do not give me poverty or riches, feed me with my allotted portion of bread,

30:9 lest I become satisfied and act deceptively and say, “Who is the Lord?”

Or lest I become poor and steal and demean the name of my God.

30:10 Do not slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you are found guilty.

30:11 There is a generation who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.

30:12 There is a generation who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not washed from their filthiness.

30:13 There is a generation whose eyes are so lofty, and whose eyelids are lifted up disdainfully.

30:14 There is a generation whose teeth are like swords and whose molars are like knives to devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among the human race.

30:15 The leech has two daughters: “Give! Give!”

There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, “Enough” –

30:16 the grave, the barren womb, land that is not satisfied with water, and fire that never says, “Enough!”

30:17 The eye that mocks at a father and despises obeying a mother – the ravens of the valley will peck it out and the young vultures will eat it.

30:18 There are three things that are too wonderful for me, four that I do not understand:

30:19 the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship in the sea, and the way of a man with a woman.

30:20 This is the way of an adulterous woman: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, “I have not done wrong.”

30:21 Under three things the earth trembles, and under four things it cannot bear up:

30:22 under a servant who becomes king, under a fool who is stuffed with food,

30:23 under an unloved woman who is married, and under a female servant who dispossesses her mistress.

30:24 There are four things on earth that are small, but they are exceedingly wise:

30:25 ants are creatures with little strength, but they prepare their food in the summer;

30:26 rock badgers are creatures with little power, but they make their homes in the crags;

30:27 locusts have no king, but they all go forward by ranks;

30:28 a lizard you can catch with the hand, but it gets into the palaces of the king.

30:29 There are three things that are magnificent in their step, four things that move about magnificently:

30:30 a lion, mightiest of the beasts, who does not retreat from anything;

30:31 a strutting rooster, a male goat, and a king with his army around him.

30:32 If you have done foolishly by exalting yourself or if you have planned evil, put your hand over your mouth!

30:33 For as the churning of milk produces butter and as punching the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.

The Words of Lemuel

31:1 The words of King Lemuel, an oracle that his mother taught him:

31:2 O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows,

31:3 Do not give your strength to women, nor your ways to that which ruins kings.

31:4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink,

31:5 lest they drink and forget what is decreed, and remove from all the poor their legal rights.

31:6 Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those who are bitterly distressed;

31:7 let them drink and forget their poverty, and remember their misery no more.

31:8 Open your mouth on behalf of those unable to speak, for the legal rights of all the dying.

31:9 Open your mouth, judge in righteousness, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.

The Wife of Noble Character

31:10 Who can find a wife of noble character? For her value is far more than rubies.

31:11 The heart of her husband has confidence in her, and he has no lack of gain.

31:12 She brings him good and not evil all the days of her life.

31:13 She obtains wool and flax, and she is pleased to work with her hands.

31:14 She is like the merchant ships; she brings her food from afar.

31:15 She also gets up while it is still night, and provides food for her household and a portion to her female servants.

31:16 She considers a field and buys it; from her own income she plants a vineyard.

31:17 She begins her work vigorously, and she strengthens her arms.

31:18 She knows that her merchandise is good, and her lamp does not go out in the night.

31:19 Her hands take hold of the distaff, and her hands grasp the spindle.

31:20 She extends her hand to the poor, and reaches out her hand to the needy.

31:21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all of her household are clothed with scarlet.

31:22 She makes for herself coverlets; her clothing is fine linen and purple.

31:23 Her husband is well-known in the city gate when he sits with the elders of the land.

31:24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.

31:25 She is clothed with strength and honor, and she can laugh at the time to come.

31:26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and loving instruction is on her tongue.

31:27 She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.

31:28 Her children rise up and call her blessed, her husband also praises her:

31:29 “Many daughters have done valiantly, but you surpass them all!”

31:30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.

31:31 Give her credit for what she has accomplished, and let her works praise her in the city gates.

Prayer

Lord, You cause us to learn from the past and you tell us of things that are important to our present and our future, and all the while You remind us of Jesus. May I take heed of Your Word and center my life upon it! You lead a mother to counsel her son with wisdom that applies to all sons, and which elevates the status and value of women who belong to You to the level of value You desire for them. May I see women through Your eyes and respect them as You have instructed.

Scripture In Perspective

There is much scholarly debate as to the authorship of the Thirtieth Proverb. There is no reference to Agur, or his father Jakeh, elsewhere in the Word of God. Some have speculated that the name Agur was an assumed name used by Solomon for some reason, others that it was indeed another person, just as some of the Psalms were not of David. The Book was included in the Biblical canon at the prompting of Holy Spirit – so it matters not who was the human scribe.

Proverbs Thirty begins with a parable of a sort “This man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ukal: Surely I am more brutish than any other human being, and I do not have human understanding; I have not learned wisdom, nor do I have knowledge of the Holy One.” It then continues with a litany of the things about the Lord God which “This man” does not understand.

[Note: This was written a very long time before the birth of Jesus.]

“Who has ascended into heaven, and then descended?

Who has gathered up the winds in his fists?

Who has bound up the waters in his cloak?

Who has established all the ends of the earth?

What is his name, and what is his son’s name? – if you know!”

The sanctity of the Word of God was emphasized: “Every word of God is purified; he is like a shield for those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he reprove you, and prove you to be a liar.”

The NET Translator’s Notes explain that one should understand the term “generation” in the following texts to refer to a subpopulation in the society and time of the author “There is a generation who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers. There is a generation who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation whose eyes are so lofty, and whose eyelids are lifted up disdainfully. There is a generation whose teeth are like swords and whose molars are like knives to devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among the human race.”

It was common in ancient times, from Biblical and extra-Biblical writings, to use an incremental phrase which began with one number for a list and to then expand it “There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, “Enough” – the grave, the barren womb, land that is not satisfied with water, and fire that never says, “Enough!” … There are three things that are too wonderful for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship in the sea, and the way of a man with a woman ... Under three things the earth trembles, and under four things it cannot bear up: under a servant who becomes king, under a fool who is stuffed with food, under an unloved woman who is married, and under a female servant who dispossesses her mistress ... There are four things on earth that are small, but they are exceedingly wise: ants are creatures with little strength, but they prepare their food in the summer; rock badgers are creatures with little power, but they make their homes in the crags; locusts have no king, but they all go forward by ranks; a lizard you can catch with the hand, but it gets into the palaces of the king ... There are three things that are magnificent in their step, four things that move about magnificently: a lion, mightiest of the beasts, who does not retreat from anything; a strutting rooster, a male goat, and a king with his army around him.”

The warning of Solomon to recognize that choices have consequences was continued here: “If you have done foolishly by exalting yourself or if you have planned evil, put your hand over your mouth! For as the churning of milk produces butter and as punching the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.”

There is considerable scholarly debate as to the authorship of this Proverb. Some insist that Lemuel is a forgotten synonym for Solomon; making the “mother” Bathsheba. Some insist that it is the name of a non-Jewish king of a non-Jewish nation whose writing was believed to have been prompted by the Lord God. And some insist that it is a latter king, and again, Lemuel would be a forgotten synonym for their Biblically-recorded name.

There is one other possibility, it could be Solomon, and he could have been using synonyms for all kings (“my son”) and for wisdom (“mother”) which had previously been characterized or humanized as “she” [e.g. Prov. 1:20].

What all of these speculations have in common is that the object of the mother’s writing is a son whom she anticipates will become king, and who at the time of his written recollections of her teaching, is indeed a king (literally or rhetorically).

An additional perspective, as one reads the text, is that the context of the man in relationship with his lifestyle choices and his wife is therefore initially that of a king-in-waiting, and then the context of the king with a wife. The lingering question is, therefore, to what degree may the instructions of the text be extrapolated to non-royalty?

Prior to his marriage, and perhaps even his kingship, the son is warned to be cautious about his choices “Do not give your strength to women, nor your ways to that which ruins kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink, lest they drink and forget what is decreed, and remove from all the poor their legal rights.”

Once he has become king the son is to be an advocate for justice “Open your mouth on behalf of those unable to speak, for the legal rights of all the dying. Open your mouth, judge in righteousness, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.”

If a man is to marry then there are some characteristics of a wife which wisdom defines and in this fallen world ones which are exceptional “Who can find a wife of noble character? For her value is far more than rubies. The heart of her husband has confidence in her, and he has no lack of gain. She brings him good and not evil all the days of her life.”

The characteristics of the women were further detailed; she is competent in the acquisition of resources and not afraid of hard and humble labor “She obtains wool and flax, and she is pleased to work with her hands.”

She has servants, yet she chooses to rise early to see that they and the rest of her household has food (thought it does not say that she prepares it – she “provides” it) “She also gets up while it is still night, and provides food for her household and a portion to her female servants.”

She is an entrepreneur who is allowed to engage in commerce “She considers a field and buys it; from her own income she plants a vineyard.”

The clothing she makes, or perhaps causes to be made, bear the colors of royalty and of wealth “She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all of her household are clothed with scarlet. She makes for herself coverlets; her clothing is fine linen and purple.”

One did not sit with the “elders of the land” at the “city gate” unless one has standing in the community and, as the NET Translator’s Notes explains, they were there to judge the people and he would have been a peer – a judge – as well “Her husband is well-known in the city gate when he sits with the elders of the land.”

She is a woman of confidence, of integrity, and of substance “She is clothed with strength and honor, and she can laugh at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and loving instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.”

She has earned the respect of her children and of her husband “Her children rise up and call her blessed, her husband also praises her: “Many daughters have done valiantly, but you surpass them all!”“

Because she belongs to, and obeys, the Lord God she is found worthy of approval by the judges at the “city gates” - it is the “works” that flow from her faithfulness that they judge – and they find nothing in her ‘resume’ to hold against her “Charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised. Give her credit for what she has accomplished, and let her works praise her in the city gates.”

Interact With The Text

Consider

Whether written by Solomon, at the behest of the Lord God, or by another these Proverbs bring great wisdom. It would be a considerable stretch to make of Proverbs 31 a pure riddle, within which one must find alternative meanings for every detail, but some have done so. It seems more probable that the descriptions are intended to be more generic, describing the practical living-out of wisdom in the life of the man (the son and later the husband), and of the wife.

Discuss

How could anyone observe these examples in Creation, despite the ravages of the Fall, and not see the Hand of the Lord God? “... ants are creatures with little strength, but they prepare their food in the summer; rock badgers are creatures with little power, but they make their homes in the crags; locusts have no king, but they all go forward by ranks; a lizard you can catch with the hand, but it gets into the palaces of the king”? If one accepts the high-value and huge-freedom granted to the woman, with the praise of the judges at the city gates, how is it that religious leaders later chose to make of women something much less?

Reflect

The problem of the subpopulation of rebellious people in the author’s time remains a problem in ours as well. Also, would the author’s son have been worthy of marriage to this remarkable woman had he failed to live in the wisdom of his mother?

Share

When have you closely-observed the activities of ants and marveled at Creation? When have you experienced or observed the wisdom of the Lord God poured-out through a mother? [Consider the mother and aunt of Paul’s NT protege Timothy.]

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you something that is “... so wonderful in your eyes” that it causes you to look to the Lord God in awe, and also to reveal to you a young person with whom you might share this Proverb.

Act

Today I will take the time to pause and study Creation all-around me. I will then give praise to the Lord God for His mighty works. I will share Proverbs 31 with the one whom the Holy Spirit has directed. My purpose will be to focus them on the working-out of wisdom that may occur in their lives and the positive fruit of that wisdom.

Be Specific _________________________________________________

All Bible text is from the NET unless otherwise indicated - http://bible.org

Note 1: These Studies often rely upon the guidance of the NET Translators from their associated notes. Careful attention has been given to cite that source where it has been quoted directly or closely paraphrased. Feedback is encouraged where credit has not been sufficiently assigned.

Note 2: When NET text is quoted in commentary and discussion all pronouns referring to God are capitalized, though they are lower-case in the original NET text.

Commentary text is from David M. Colburn, D.Min. unless otherwise noted.

Copyright © 2012 by David M. Colburn. This is a BibleSeven Study. Prepared by David M. Colburn and edited for bible.org in August of 2012. This text may be used for non-profit educational purposes only, with credit; all other usage requires prior written consent of the author.

A Chronological Daily Bible Study of the Old Testament
7-Day Sections with a Summary-Commentary, Discussion Questions, and a Practical Daily Application

Week 35

Sunday (Proverbs 12-13)

12:1 The one who loves discipline loves knowledge, but the one who hates reproof is stupid.

12:2 A good person obtains favor from the Lord, but the Lord condemns a person with wicked schemes.

12:3 No one can be established through wickedness, but a righteous root cannot be moved.

12:4 A noble wife is the crown of her husband, but the wife who acts shamefully is like rottenness in his bones.

12:5 The plans of the righteous are just; the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.

12:6 The words of the wicked lie in wait to shed innocent blood, but the words of the upright will deliver them.

12:7 The wicked are overthrown and perish, but the righteous household will stand.

12:8 A person is praised in accordance with his wisdom, but the one who has a twisted mind is despised.

12:9 Better is a person of humble standing who nevertheless has a servant, than one who pretends to be somebody important yet has no food.

12:10 A righteous person cares for the life of his animal, but even the most compassionate acts of the wicked are cruel.

12:11 The one who works his field will have plenty of food, but whoever chases daydreams lacks wisdom.

12:12 The wicked person desires a stronghold, but the righteous root endures.

12:13 The evil person is ensnared by the transgression of his speech, but the righteous person escapes out of trouble.

12:14 A person will be satisfied with good from the fruit of his words, and the work of his hands will be rendered to him.

12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own opinion, but the one who listens to advice is wise.

12:16 A fool’s annoyance is known at once, but the prudent overlooks an insult.

12:17 The faithful witness tells what is right, but a false witness speaks deceit.

12:18 Speaking recklessly is like the thrusts of a sword, but the words of the wise bring healing.

12:19 The one who tells the truth will endure forever, but the one who lies will last only for a moment.

12:20 Deceit is in the heart of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy.

12:21 The righteous do not encounter any harm, but the wicked are filled with calamity.

12:22 The Lord abhors a person who lies, but those who deal truthfully are his delight.

12:23 The shrewd person conceals knowledge, but foolish people publicize folly.

12:24 The diligent person will rule, but the slothful will become a slave.

12:25 Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs him down, but an encouraging word brings him joy.

12:26 The righteous person is cautious in his friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

12:27 The lazy person does not roast his prey, but personal possessions are precious to the diligent.

12:28 In the path of righteousness there is life, but another path leads to death.

13:1 A wise son accepts his father’s discipline, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

13:2 From the fruit of his speech a person eats good things, but the faithless desire the fruit of violence.

13:3 The one who guards his words guards his life, but whoever is talkative will come to ruin.

13:4 The appetite of the sluggard craves but gets no thing, but the desire of the diligent will be abundantly satisfied.

13:5 The righteous person hates anything false, but the wicked person acts in shameful disgrace.

13:6 Righteousness guards the one who lives with integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.

13:7 There is one who pretends to be rich and yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor and yet possesses great wealth.

13:8 The ransom of a person’s life is his wealth, but the poor person hears no threat.

13:9 The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked goes out.

13:10 With pride comes only contention, but wisdom is with the well-advised.

13:11 Wealth gained quickly will dwindle away, but the one who gathers it little by little will become rich.

13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is like a tree of life.

13:13 The one who despises instruction will pay the penalty, but whoever esteems instruction will be rewarded.

13:14 Instruction from the wise is like a life-giving fountain, to turn a person from deadly snares.

13:15 Keen insight wins favor, but the conduct of the unfaithful is harsh.

13:16 Every shrewd person acts with knowledge, but a fool displays his folly.

13:17 An unreliable messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing.

13:18 The one who neglects discipline ends up in poverty and shame, but the one who accepts reproof is honored.

13:19 A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but fools abhor turning away from evil.

13:20 The one who associates with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.

13:21 Calamity pursues sinners, but prosperity rewards the righteous.

13:22 A benevolent person leaves an inheritance for his grandchildren, but the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous.

13:23 There is abundant food in the field of the poor, but it is swept away by injustice.

13:24 The one who spares his rod hates his child, but the one who loves his child is diligent in disciplining him.

13:25 The righteous has enough food to satisfy his appetite, but the belly of the wicked lacks food.

Prayer

Lord, You instruct in the best way to live and of the consequences of rebellion, and You do so frankly. May I never be offended by Your truth.

Scripture In Perspective

Solomon began with no pretense of worry for the feelings of those who read his Proverbs, merely wanting the truth to be known to all who were teachable “The one who loves discipline loves knowledge, but the one who hates reproof is stupid.”

He continued his frank declarations “A noble wife is the crown of her husband, but the wife who acts shamefully is like rottenness in his bones.”

Solomon warned of the folly of ‘good intentions’ coming from one who lacks wisdom “A righteous person cares for the life of his animal, but even the most compassionate acts of the wicked are cruel.”

He again reminded that choices have consequences “The one who works his field will have plenty of food, but whoever chases daydreams lacks wisdom.”

Solomon continued the theme of teachability “The way of a fool is right in his own opinion, but the one who listens to advice is wise.” and he returned again to theme that a wise person is patient and thoughtful while the corollary is equally true “A fool’s annoyance is known at once, but the prudent overlooks an insult.” and as the two respond to challenges the results differ dramatically “Speaking recklessly is like the thrusts of a sword, but the words of the wise bring healing.”

He reminded that it is not always best to broadcast everything of which one may be aware, and even more-so, to refrain from speaking without careful thought “The shrewd person conceals knowledge, but foolish people publicize folly.”

Concluding Chapter Twelve Solomon returned to the eternal principle “In the path of righteousness there is life, but another path leads to death.”

In Chapter Thirteen Solomon paralleled the worldly son-father relationship and the spiritual one “A wise son accepts his father’s discipline, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.”

He addressed gossips and false teachers versus encouragers and faithful teachers “An unreliable messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing.”

Solomon challenged those who would be wise to dig deeply for understanding-in-application “A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but fools abhor turning away from evil.”

He warned that the company one keeps has an impact “The one who associates with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.”

He observed that in this fallen world there are problems, and that the weakest are the most easily victimized by the selfish who abuse power “There is abundant food in the field of the poor, but it is swept away by injustice.”

Solomon advised parents that children in this fallen world are sometimes too immature to respond only to reason and that they will also benefit from unpleasant consequences “The one who spares his rod hates his child, but the one who loves his child is diligent in disciplining him.”

Interact with the text

Consider

A Biblically-accurate preacher/teacher is a “faithful envoy”.

Discuss

Why do so many people worry so much about offending other people with the truth of the Lord God when He does not?

Reflect

There is a lot contained in the Proverbs that shines light upon the troubles we see today.

Share

When have you observed an “unreliable messenger” of God’s Word falling into trouble?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you which of the 'company that you keep' is drawing you away from a close relationship with the Lord God.

Act

Today I will acknowledge the negative influence of those whom the Holy Spirit has made me aware, whether they are neighbors, relatives, workplace associates, or people with whom I associate on the Internet. I will place boundaries around those relationships, limiting them where that seems effective, and terminating them as is appropriate.

Be Specific ________________________________________________

Monday (Proverbs 14-15)

14:1 Every wise woman builds her household, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.

14:2 The one who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord, but the one who is perverted in his ways despises him.

14:3 In the speech of a fool is a rod for his back, but the words of the wise protect them.

14:4 Where there are no oxen, the feeding trough is clean, but an abundant harvest is produced by strong oxen.

14:5 A truthful witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies.

14:6 The scorner seeks wisdom but finds none, but understanding is easy for a discerning person.

14:7 Leave the presence of a foolish person, or you will not understand wise counsel.

14:8 The wisdom of the shrewd person is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deception.

14:9 Fools mock at reparation, but among the upright there is favor.

14:10 The heart knows its own bitterness, and with its joy no one else can share.

14:11 The household of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.

14:12 There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way that leads to death.

14:13 Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief.

14:14 The backslider will be paid back from his own ways, but a good person will be rewarded for his.

14:15 A naive person believes everything, but the shrewd person discerns his steps.

14:16 A wise person is cautious and turns from evil, but a fool throws off restraint and is overconfident.

14:17 A person who has a quick temper does foolish things, and a person with crafty schemes is hated.

14:18 The naive inherit folly, but the shrewd are crowned with knowledge.

14:19 Those who are evil will bow before those who are good, and the wicked will bow at the gates of the righteous.

14:20 A poor person is disliked even by his neighbors, but those who love the rich are many.

14:21 The one who despises his neighbor sins, but whoever is kind to the needy is blessed.

14:22 Do not those who devise evil go astray?

But those who plan good exhibit faithful covenant love.

14:23 In all hard work there is profit, but merely talking about it only brings poverty.

14:24 The crown of the wise is their riches, but the folly of fools is folly.

14:25 A truthful witness rescues lives, but the one who breathes lies brings deception.

14:26 In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and it will be a refuge for his children.

14:27 The fear of the Lord is like a life-giving fountain, to turn people from deadly snares.

14:28 A king’s glory is the abundance of people, but the lack of subjects is the ruin of a ruler.

14:29 The one who is slow to anger has great understanding, but the one who has a quick temper exalts folly.

14:30 A tranquil spirit revives the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones.

14:31 The one who oppresses the poor insults his Creator, but whoever shows favor to the needy honors him.

14:32 The wicked will be thrown down in his trouble, but the righteous have refuge even in the threat of death.

14:33 Wisdom rests in the heart of the discerning; it is known even in the heart of fools.

14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.

14:35 The king shows favor to a wise servant, but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully.

15:1 A gentle response turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath.

15:2 The tongue of the wise treats knowledge correctly, but the mouth of the fool spouts out folly.

15:3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on those who are evil and those who are good.

15:4 Speech that heals is like a life-giving tree, but a perverse tongue breaks the spirit.

15:5 A fool rejects his father’s discipline, but whoever heeds reproof shows good sense.

15:6 In the house of the righteous is abundant wealth, but the income of the wicked brings trouble.

15:7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but not so the heart of fools.

15:8 The Lord abhors the sacrifices of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.

15:9 The Lord abhors the way of the wicked, but he loves those who pursue righteousness.

15:10 Severe discipline is for the one who abandons the way; the one who hates reproof will die.

15:11 Death and Destruction are before the Lord – how much more the hearts of humans!

15:12 The scorner does not love one who corrects him; he will not go to the wise.

15:13 A joyful heart makes the face cheerful, but by a painful heart the spirit is broken.

15:14 The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on folly.

15:15 All the days of the afflicted are bad, but one with a cheerful heart has a continual feast.

15:16 Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth and turmoil with it.

15:17 Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened ox where there is hatred.

15:18 A quick-tempered person stirs up dissension, but one who is slow to anger calms a quarrel.

15:19 The way of the sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is like a highway.

15:20 A wise child brings joy to his father, but a foolish person despises his mother.

15:21 Folly is a joy to one who lacks sense, but one who has understanding follows an upright course.

15:22 Plans fail when there is no counsel, but with abundant advisers they are established.

15:23 A person has joy in giving an appropriate answer, and a word at the right time – how good it is!

15:24 The path of life is upward for the wise person, to keep him from going downward to Sheol.

15:25 The Lord tears down the house of the proud, but he maintains the boundaries of the widow.

15:26 The Lord abhors the plans of the wicked, but pleasant words are pure.

15:27 The one who is greedy for gain troubles his household, but whoever hates bribes will live.

15:28 The heart of the righteous considers how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

15:29 The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

15:30 A bright look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the body.

15:31 The person who hears the reproof that leads to life is at home among the wise.

15:32 The one who refuses correction despises himself, but whoever hears reproof acquires understanding.

15:33 The fear of the Lord provides wise instruction, and before honor comes humility.

Prayer

Lord, Your gift of wisdom brings blessing to every part of our lives. May I pursue and honor Your wisdom wherever I find it.

Scripture In Perspective

Solomon contrasted the wise and foolish woman “Every wise woman builds her household, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.”

He warned that keeping the wrong company may interfere with understanding “Leave the presence of a foolish person, or you will not understand wise counsel.” and he warned that when a mere man imagines that he is more-wise than God there is trouble “There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way that leads to death.”

Solomon repeated his contrast between the thoughtfulness of a wise person versus a fool “A wise person is cautious and turns from evil, but a fool throws off restraint and is overconfident.”

He noted the consequences of different heart-conditions “A tranquil spirit revives the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones.”

Solomon observed “Wisdom rests in the heart of the discerning; it is known even in the heart of fools.”, which is why the fool is guilty before the Lord – he chooses to reject wisdom.

He continued the theme of consequences for choices “A gentle response turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath ... Speech that heals is like a life-giving tree, but a perverse tongue breaks the spirit … A fool rejects his father’s discipline, but whoever heeds reproof shows good sense … A joyful heart makes the face cheerful, but by a painful heart the spirit is broken … The fear of the Lord provides wise instruction, and before honor comes humility.” and that merely because someone speaks with confidence does not mean that they are correct “The tongue of the wise treats knowledge correctly, but the mouth of the fool spouts out folly.”

Solomon warned that there is no where to hide from the Lord God and that He knows who are good and evil “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on those who are evil and those who are good.”

He observed that poor choices aren’t obvious to the one who rejects wisdom “Folly is a joy to one who lacks sense, but one who has understanding follows an upright course.”

Solomon explained that ones heart-condition when praying impacts how one is received in the throne-room of the Lord God “The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.”

Interact with the text

Consider

It has long been known that foolish people, even when confronted with their foolishness, will deny it as they are blind to truth and wisdom.

Discuss

Why can spending time in the company of “a foolish person” get in the way of ones recognition of “wise counsel”?

Reflect

Solomon’s warning is important – as an earnest speaker is not necessarily an honest speaker – in business, politics, or religion.

Share

When have you observed a person so convinced that there is no greater wisdom than their pursuit of momentary pleasure that they were unable to recognize obvious truth?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place in your life where envy sometimes interferes with the blessing of a tranquil heart that the Lord God desires for you.

Act

Today I will confess and repent, seek and receive the Lord’s forgiveness, and cease from any envy so that I might rest in the tranquility of knowing that in all things that matter - He is sufficient.

Be Specific _____________________________________________

Tuesday (Proverbs 16)

16:1 The intentions of the heart belong to a man, but the answer of the tongue comes from the Lord.

16:2 All a person’s ways seem right in his own opinion, but the Lord evaluates the motives.

16:3 Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

16:4 The Lord works everything for its own ends – even the wicked for the day of disaster.

16:5 The Lord abhors every arrogant person; rest assured that they will not go unpunished.

16:6 Through loyal love and truth iniquity is appeased; through fearing the Lord one avoids evil.

16:7 When a person’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he even reconciles his enemies to himself.

16:8 Better to have a little with righteousness than to have abundant income without justice.

16:9 A person plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps.

16:10 The divine verdict is in the words of the king, his pronouncements must not act treacherously against justice.

16:11 Honest scales and balances are from the Lord; all the weights in the bag are his handiwork.

16:12 Doing wickedness is an abomination to kings, because a throne is established in righteousness.

16:13 The delight of kings is righteous counsel, and they love the one who speaks uprightly.

16:14 A king’s wrath is like a messenger of death, but a wise person appeases it.

16:15 In the light of the king’s face there is life, and his favor is like the clouds of the spring rain.

16:16 How much better it is to acquire wisdom than gold; to acquire understanding is more desirable than silver.

16:17 The highway of the upright is to turn away from evil; the one who guards his way safeguards his life.

16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

16:19 It is better to be lowly in spirit with the afflicted than to share the spoils with the proud.

16:20 The one who deals wisely in a matter will find success, and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.

16:21 The one who is wise in heart is called discerning, and kind speech increases persuasiveness.

16:22 Insight is like a life-giving fountain to the one who possesses it, but folly leads to the discipline of fools.

16:23 A wise person’s heart makes his speech wise and it adds persuasiveness to his words.

16:24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

16:25 There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way that leads to death.

16:26 A laborer’s appetite works on his behalf, for his hunger urges him to work.

16:27 A wicked scoundrel digs up evil, and his slander is like a scorching fire.

16:28 A perverse person spreads dissension, and a gossip separates the closest friends.

16:29 A violent person entices his neighbor, and leads him down a path that is terrible.

16:30 The one who winks his eyes devises perverse things, and one who compresses his lips brings about evil.

16:31 Gray hair is like a crown of glory; it is attained in the path of righteousness.

16:32 Better to be slow to anger than to be a mighty warrior, and one who controls his temper is better than one who captures a city.

16:33 The dice are thrown into the lap, but their every decision is from the Lord.

Prayer

Lord, You are in control, You are the standard for good and evil, right and wrong, wise and unwise, righteous and unrighteous. When I need answers may You always be the first place I go.

Scripture In Perspective

Solomon returned to his theme that when a person is apart from the Lord and His wisdom “All a person’s ways seem right in his own opinion, but the Lord evaluates the motives.” and that one must choose to “Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”

He observed that for the one who belongs to the Lord God “A person plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps.”

Solomon declared the standard of earthly ethics and justice, and the certain justice of eternity, to be of the Lord “Honest scales and balances are from the Lord; all the weights in the bag are his handiwork.”

He warned again that choices have consequences “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”, a haughty spirit being arrogant and unteachable.

Solomon noted the linkage between the essential physical needs, not optional lusts, of the body and positive motivation “A laborer’s appetite works on his behalf, for his hunger urges him to work.”

He returned to his warning as to the influence of those with whom associates “A wicked scoundrel digs up evil, and his slander is like a scorching fire.”

Solomon warned again of the trouble caused by gossip “A perverse person spreads dissension, and a gossip separates the closest friends. A violent person entices his neighbor, and leads him down a path that is terrible.”

He observed that, among those who obey the Lord God, wisdom is gathered over time “Gray hair is like a crown of glory; it is attained in the path of righteousness.”

Solomon returned to the outward expression of an inward peace “Better to be slow to anger than to be a mighty warrior, and one who controls his temper is better than one who captures a city.”

And he concluded Chapter Sixteen with a return to the observation that the events of life for one who belongs to the Lord are not random “The dice are thrown into the lap, but their every decision is from the Lord.”

Interact With The Text

Consider

The life of one who truly belongs to the Lord is not random, unlike most of what happens in the life of the one who lives without the Lord.

Discuss

Why would an emphasis on the Lord God's justice and His involvement in the life of a believer be so important to emphasize? Could it be part of his strategy to keep people from arrogance?

Reflect

Solomon repeatedly warned about the bad consequences of bad company and living without the wise counsel of the Lord God.

Share

When have you experienced or observed the destructive impact of gossip?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place in your walk where He has “guided your steps”, of which you had not previously been aware.

Act

Today I will give thanks for the Lord God’s loving care and His blessed intervention in my life when I needed it.

Be Specific _________________________________________________

Wednesday (Proverbs 17)

17:1 Better is a dry crust of bread where there is quietness than a house full of feasting with strife.

17:2 A servant who acts wisely will rule over an heir who behaves shamefully, and will share the inheritance along with the relatives.

17:3 The crucible is for refining silver and the furnace is for gold, likewise the Lord tests hearts.

17:4 One who acts wickedly pays attention to evil counsel; a liar listens to a malicious tongue.

17:5 The one who mocks the poor insults his Creator; whoever rejoices over disaster will not go unpunished.

17:6 Grandchildren are like a crown to the elderly, and the glory of children is their parents.

17:7 Excessive speech is not becoming for a fool; how much less are lies for a ruler!

17:8 A bribe works like a charm for the one who offers it; in whatever he does he succeeds.

17:9 The one who forgives an offense seeks love, but whoever repeats a matter separates close friends.

17:10 A rebuke makes a greater impression on a discerning person than a hundred blows on a fool.

17:11 An evil person seeks only rebellion, and so a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

17:12 It is better for a person to meet a mother bear being robbed of her cubs, than to encounter a fool in his folly.

17:13 As for the one who repays evil for good, evil will not leave his house.

17:14 Starting a quarrel is like letting out water; stop it before strife breaks out!

17:15 The one who acquits the guilty and the one who condemns the innocent – both of them are an abomination to the Lord.

17:16 Of what use is money in the hand of a fool, since he has no intention of acquiring wisdom?

17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a relative is born to help in adversity.

17:18 The one who lacks wisdom strikes hands in pledge, and puts up financial security for his neighbor.

17:19 The one who loves a quarrel loves transgression; whoever builds his gate high seeks destruction.

17:20 The one who has a perverse heart does not find good, and the one who is deceitful in speech falls into trouble.

17:21 Whoever brings a fool into the world does so to his grief, and the father of a fool has no joy.

17:22 A cheerful heart brings good healing, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

17:23 A wicked person receives a bribe secretly to pervert the ways of justice.

17:24 Wisdom is directly in front of the discerning person, but the eyes of a fool run to the ends of the earth.

17:25 A foolish child is a grief to his father, and bitterness to the mother who bore him.

17:26 It is terrible to punish a righteous person, and to flog honorable men is wrong.

17:27 The truly wise person restrains his words, and the one who stays calm is discerning.

17:28 Even a fool who remains silent is considered wise, and the one who holds his tongue is deemed discerning.

Prayer

Lord, You are with those who are truly Yours at all times, and some of those times are difficult because we have made it necessary for You to teach us the hard way. May I never doubt Your love or Your presence and may I always seek-out what it is I may learn from You in every circumstance.

Scripture In Perspective

Solomon reinforced the message that the Lord God uses challenges in our lives to mature us “The crucible is for refining silver and the furnace is for gold, likewise the Lord tests hearts.”

He also reinforced the message that a wise person is teachable and an unwise one is not “A rebuke makes a greater impression on a discerning person than a hundred blows on a fool.”

He reinforced the message of consequences for choices “As for the one who repays evil for good, evil will not leave his house. Starting a quarrel is like letting out water; stop it before strife breaks out! The one who acquits the guilty and the one who condemns the innocent – both of them are an abomination to the Lord …. A cheerful heart brings good healing, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

Solomon taught that true friendship is a significantly more valuable relationship than a casual acquaintance and that a fellow family member (among people of common-faith) is dependable “A friend loves at all times, and a relative is born to help in adversity.”

He returned to the theme of justice “It is terrible to punish a righteous person, and to flog honorable men is wrong.”

Solomon concluded with a reminder that there are outward symbols of a wise person which are also true of a not-yet-wise person who is available to receive wisdom “The truly wise person restrains his words, and the one who stays calm is discerning. Even a fool who remains silent is considered wise, and the one who holds his tongue is deemed discerning.”

Interact With The Text

Consider

There is a cause and effect relationship between choosing wisdom and playing the fool.

Discuss

How dark must the spiritual condition of a person be to “... punish a righteous person, and to flog honorable men ...”?

Reflect

Investing in one true friendship is far more valuable than selling-out for momentary pleasure or recognition and is more valuable than dozens of casual acquaintances.

Share

When have you observed one person learning from an appropriate rebuke and another repeating the same error despite bad result over and over again?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a person into whom He wants you to invest for a true friendship. This person will be a fellow believer, will not be a romantic interest, will not be someone whose resources you seek for personal benefit, and will be one who will gratefully return the friendship-investment equally.

Act

Today I will humbly accept the leading of the Holy Spirit and I will begin a conversation about building a deeper friendship. If it is of the Lord they will have received the same directive from the Holy Spirit and it will have been confirmed by at least one other believer.

Be Specific ________________________________________________

Thursday (Proverbs 18-19)

18:1 One who has isolated himself seeks his own desires; he rejects all sound judgment.

18:2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding but only in disclosing what is on his mind.

18:3 When a wicked person arrives, contempt shows up with him, and with shame comes a reproach.

18:4 The words of a person’s mouth are like deep waters, and the fountain of wisdom is like a flowing brook.

18:5 It is terrible to show partiality to the wicked, by depriving a righteous man of justice.

18:6 The lips of a fool enter into strife, and his mouth invites a flogging.

18:7 The mouth of a fool is his ruin, and his lips are a snare for his life.

18:8 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down into the person’s innermost being.

18:9 The one who is slack in his work is a brother to one who destroys.

18:10 The name of the Lord is like a strong tower; the righteous person runs to it and is set safely on high.

18:11 The wealth of a rich person is like a strong city, and it is like a high wall in his imagination.

18:12 Before destruction the heart of a person is proud, but humility comes before honor.

18:13 The one who gives an answer before he listens – that is his folly and his shame.

18:14 A person’s spirit sustains him through sickness – but who can bear a crushed spirit?

18:15 The discerning person acquires knowledge, and the wise person seeks knowledge.

18:16 A person’s gift makes room for him, and leads him before important people.

18:17 The first to state his case seems right, until his opponent begins to cross-examine him.

18:18 A toss of a coin ends disputes, and settles the issue between strong opponents.

18:19 A relative offended is harder to reach than a strong city, and disputes are like the barred gates of a fortified citadel.

18:20 From the fruit of a person’s mouth his stomach is satisfied, with the product of his lips is he satisfied.

18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love its use will eat its fruit.

18:22 The one who finds a wife finds what is enjoyable, and receives a pleasurable gift from the Lord.

18:23 A poor person makes supplications, but a rich man answers harshly.

18:24 A person who has friends may be harmed by them, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

19:1 Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is perverse in his speech and is a fool.

19:2 It is dangerous to have zeal without knowledge, and the one who acts hastily makes poor choices.

19:3 A person’s folly subverts his way, and his heart rages against the Lord.

19:4 Wealth adds many friends, but a poor person is separated from his friend.

19:5 A false witness will not go unpunished, and the one who spouts out lies will not escape punishment.

19:6 Many people entreat the favor of a generous person, and everyone is the friend of the person who gives gifts.

19:7 All the relatives of a poor person hate him; how much more do his friends avoid him – he pursues them with words, but they do not respond.

19:8 The one who acquires wisdom loves himself; the one who preserves understanding will prosper.

19:9 A false witness will not go unpunished, and the one who spouts out lies will perish.

19:10 Luxury is not appropriate for a fool; how much less for a servant to rule over princes!

19:11 A person’s wisdom makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

19:12 A king’s wrath is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

19:13 A foolish child is the ruin of his father, and a contentious wife is like a constant dripping.

19:14 A house and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.

19:15 Laziness brings on a deep sleep, and the idle person will go hungry.

19:16 The one who obeys commandments guards his life; the one who despises his ways will die.

19:17 The one who is gracious to the poor lends to the Lord, and the Lord will repay him for his good deed.

19:18 Discipline your child, for there is hope, but do not set your heart on causing his death.

19:19 A person with great anger bears the penalty, but if you deliver him from it once, you will have to do it again.

19:20 Listen to advice and receive discipline, that you may become wise by the end of your life.

19:21 There are many plans in a person’s mind, but it is the counsel of the Lord which will stand.

19:22 What is desirable for a person is to show loyal love, and a poor person is better than a liar.

19:23 Fearing the Lord leads to life, and one who does so will live satisfied; he will not be afflicted by calamity.

19:24 The sluggard plunges his hand in the dish, and he will not even bring it back to his mouth!

19:25 Flog a scorner, and as a result the simpleton will learn prudence; correct a discerning person, and as a result he will understand knowledge.

19:26 The one who robs his father and chases away his mother is a son who brings shame and disgrace.

19:27 If you stop listening to instruction, my child, you will stray from the words of knowledge.

19:28 A crooked witness scorns justice, and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.

19:29 Judgments are prepared for scorners, and floggings for the backs of fools.

Prayer

Lord, You make Your wisdom available, but we must choose to acquire it and to apply it. May I always respond to Your leading to seek out and apply Your gifts of wisdom to me.

Scripture In Perspective

Solomon returned to his theme of choices and consequences “One who has isolated himself seeks his own desires; he rejects all sound judgment … The name of the Lord is like a strong tower; the righteous person runs to it and is set safely on high … The one who gives an answer before he listens – that is his folly and his shame ... A foolish child is the ruin of his father, and a contentious wife is like a constant dripping … The one who is gracious to the poor lends to the Lord, and the Lord will repay him for his good deed … Listen to advice and receive discipline, that you may become wise by the end of your life … If you stop listening to instruction, my child, you will stray from the words of knowledge … A relative offended is harder to reach than a strong city, and disputes are like the barred gates of a fortified citadel.”

He again warned that many will speak without knowledge “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding but only in disclosing what is on his mind.”

Justice is important to the Lord God “It is terrible to show partiality to the wicked, by depriving a righteous man of justice.”

The Lord God expects everyone one to honor their contracts and to give their best-effort “The one who is slack in his work is a brother to one who destroys.”

Money can be isolating from the realities of daily life and may falsely persuade the wealthy that they are safer than others “The wealth of a rich person is like a strong city, and it is like a high wall in his imagination.”

We need encouragement in fellowship so that we may remain strong “A person’s spirit sustains him through sickness – but who can bear a crushed spirit?”

The value of a choice to listen and learn is amplified when one listens intentionally for additional wisdom “The discerning person acquires knowledge, and the wise person seeks knowledge.”

Solomon revisited the importance of the wife that is from the Lord and centered upon the Lord “The one who finds a wife finds what is enjoyable, and receives a pleasurable gift from the Lord … A house and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.”

The vulnerability that is required in the overall investment to build and maintain true friendships means that they can hurt one more-deeply than a casual acquaintance or a stranger, but even so, a true friend remains true in spite of some hurts “A person who has friends may be harmed by them, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

A wise person makes different choices for different reasons than an unwise person “A person’s wisdom makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.”

While a firm hand is necessary in parenting, excessive violence is not “Discipline your child, for there is hope, but do not set your heart on causing his death.”

We need to allow people to receive some of the consequences of their destructive behavior else they will fail to learn “A person with great anger bears the penalty, but if you deliver him from it once, you will have to do it again.”

Humankind has always had notions, from the Garden until the present, but in the end the sovereign big-picture plan of the Lord God is irresistible “There are many plans in a person’s mind, but it is the counsel of the Lord which will stand.”

Interact With The Text

Consider

An intentionally-wise person benefits not only him or herself but also others.

Discuss

Why is history so replete with people in power “showing partiality to the wicked” when that same history demonstrates irrefutably that then end of such choices is disaster?

Reflect

Wisdom brings discernment of where balance lies, be it in the discipline of a child, allowing violent people to learn from consequences, choosing to overlook an offense, choosing to seek more wisdom, and/or choosing to sacrifice for one more-needy.

Share

When have you observed a person excused from consequences for destructive choices – only to repeat the error?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place where you might acquire greater wisdom if you make the effort to seek it out, beyond merely listening to teaching.

Act

Today I will intentionally follow where the Holy Spirit leads, beginning each day in search of greater wisdom behind knowledge – where understanding and application will take me. I will share the blessing of that obedient experience with a fellow believer.

Be Specific _____________________________________________

Friday (Proverbs 20–22:16)

20:1 Wine is a mocker and strong drink is a brawler; whoever goes astray by them is not wise.

20:2 The king’s terrifying anger is like the roar of a lion; whoever provokes him sins against himself.

20:3 It is an honor for a person to cease from strife, but every fool quarrels.

20:4 The sluggard will not plow during the planting season, so at harvest time he looks for the crop but has nothing.

20:5 Counsel in a person’s heart is like deep water, but an understanding person draws it out.

20:6 Many people profess their loyalty, but a faithful person – who can find?

20:7 The righteous person behaves in integrity; blessed are his children after him.

20:8 A king sitting on the throne to judge separates out all evil with his eyes.

20:9 Who can say, “I have kept my heart clean; I am pure from my sin”?

20:10 Diverse weights and diverse measures – the Lord abhors both of them.

20:11 Even a young man is known by his actions, whether his activity is pure and whether it is right.

20:12 The ear that hears and the eye that sees – the Lord has made them both.

20:13 Do not love sleep, lest you become impoverished; open your eyes so that you might be satisfied with food.

20:14 “It’s worthless! It’s worthless!” says the buyer, but when he goes on his way, he boasts.

20:15 There is gold, and an abundance of rubies, but words of knowledge are like a precious jewel.

20:16 Take a man’s garment when he has given security for a stranger, and when he gives surety for strangers, hold him in pledge.

20:17 Bread gained by deceit tastes sweet to a person, but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.

20:18 Plans are established by counsel, so make war with guidance.

20:19 The one who goes about gossiping reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with someone who is always opening his mouth.

20:20 The one who curses his father and his mother, his lamp will be extinguished in the blackest darkness.

20:21 An inheritance gained easily in the beginning will not be blessed in the end.

20:22 Do not say, “I will pay back evil!” Wait for the Lord, so that he may vindicate you.

20:23 The Lord abhors differing weights, and dishonest scales are wicked.

20:24 The steps of a person are ordained by the Lord – so how can anyone understand his own way?

20:25 It is a snare for a person to rashly cry, “Holy!” and only afterward to consider what he has vowed.

20:26 A wise king separates out the wicked; he turns the threshing wheel over them.

20:27 The human spirit is like the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.

20:28 Loyal love and truth preserve a king, and his throne is upheld by loyal love.

20:29 The glory of young men is their strength, and the splendor of old men is gray hair.

20:30 Beatings and wounds cleanse away evil, and floggings cleanse the innermost being.

21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord like channels of water; he turns it wherever he wants.

21:2 All of a person’s ways seem right in his own opinion, but the Lord evaluates the motives.

21:3 To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

21:4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart – the agricultural product of the wicked is sin.

21:5 The plans of the diligent lead only to plenty, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.

21:6 Making a fortune by a lying tongue is like a vapor driven back and forth; they seek death.

21:7 The violence done by the wicked will drag them away because they refuse to do what is right.

21:8 The way of the guilty person is devious, but as for the pure, his way is upright.

21:9 It is better to live on a corner of the housetop than in a house in company with a quarrelsome wife.

21:10 The appetite of the wicked desires evil; his neighbor is shown no favor in his eyes.

21:11 When a scorner is punished, the naive becomes wise; when a wise person is instructed, he gains knowledge.

21:12 The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked; he overthrows the wicked to their ruin.

21:13 The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and will not be answered.

21:14 A gift given in secret subdues anger, and a bribe given secretly subdues strong wrath.

21:15 Doing justice brings joy to the righteous and terror to those who do evil.

21:16 The one who wanders from the way of wisdom will end up in the company of the departed.

21:17 The one who loves pleasure will be a poor person; whoever loves wine and anointing oil will not be rich.

21:18 The wicked become a ransom for the righteous, and the faithless are taken in the place of the upright.

21:19 It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and easily-provoked woman.

21:20 There is desirable treasure and olive oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish person devours all he has.

21:21 The one who pursues righteousness and love finds life, bounty, and honor.

21:22 The wise person can scale the city of the mighty and bring down the stronghold in which they trust.

21:23 The one who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps his life from troubles.

21:24 A proud and arrogant person, whose name is “Scoffer,” acts with overbearing pride.

21:25 What the sluggard desires will kill him, for his hands refuse to work.

21:26 All day long he craves greedily, but the righteous gives and does not hold back.

21:27 The wicked person’s sacrifice is an abomination; how much more when he brings it with evil intent!

21:28 A lying witness will perish, but the one who reports accurately speaks forever.

21:29 A wicked person shows boldness with his face, but as for the upright, he discerns his ways.

21:30 There is no wisdom and there is no understanding, and there is no counsel against the Lord.

21:31 A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory is from the Lord.

22:1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great wealth, good favor more than silver or gold.

22:2 The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the creator of them both.

22:3 A shrewd person sees danger and hides himself, but the naive keep right on going and suffer for it.

22:4 The reward for humility and fearing the Lord is riches and honor and life.

22:5 Thorns and snares are in the path of the perverse, but the one who guards himself keeps far from them.

22:6 Train a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

22:7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

22:8 The one who sows iniquity will reap trouble, and the rod of his fury will end.

22:9 A generous person will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor.

22:10 Drive out the scorner and contention will leave; strife and insults will cease.

22:11 The one who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious – the king will be his friend.

22:12 The eyes of the Lord guard knowledge, but he overthrows the words of the faithless person.

22:13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I will be killed in the middle of the streets!”

22:14 The mouth of an adulteress is like a deep pit; the one against whom the Lord is angry will fall into it.

22:15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.

22:16 The one who oppresses the poor to increase his own gain and the one who gives to the rich – both end up only in poverty.

Prayer

Lord, You remind us over and over that we have choices and are rewarded according to our choices. May I choose the path of Your wisdom.

Scripture In Perspective

Solomon cautioned against drunkenness, not against all alcohol consumption “Wine is a mocker and strong drink is a brawler; whoever goes astray by them is not wise.”

He observed that it is very difficult to discern the motives in a person’s heart “Counsel in a person’s heart is like deep water, but an understanding person draws it out … but that such discernment is necessary when seeking trusted advisors and confidants “Many people profess their loyalty, but a faithful person – who can find?”

He warned again against gossip “The one who goes about gossiping reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with someone who is always opening his mouth.”

He returned to his prior warning to children “The one who curses his father and his mother, his lamp will be extinguished in the blackest darkness.”

Solomon warned that receiving ‘easy money’ at a young age may have a troublesome impact on the perspectives and priorities of a person “An inheritance gained easily in the beginning will not be blessed in the end.”

He rephrased “Vengeance is Mine says the Lord” as “Do not say, “I will pay back evil!” Wait for the Lord, so that he may vindicate you.”

Solomon observed that for those who belong to the Lord – He is actively involved in their lives and it is not always apparent what is His long-term goal or path – we must be faithful in the moment and not imagine we know it all “The steps of a person are ordained by the Lord – so how can anyone understand his own way? All of a person’s ways seem right in his own opinion, but the Lord evaluates the motives.”

He warned against an emotional rush to “swear commitment” to a course of action “It is a snare for a person to rashly cry, “Holy!” and only afterward to consider what he has vowed.”

Speaking to wise people and not fools, Solomon encourages them to view difficulties – even physical trauma – as opportunities to learn and to grow “Beatings and wounds cleanse away evil, and floggings cleanse the innermost being.”

Solomon returned again to the choices (both of action and of attitude) and consequences teaching “To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice ... Doing justice brings joy to the righteous and terror to those who do evil ... Haughty eyes and a proud heart – the agricultural product of the wicked is sin … There is desirable treasure and olive oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish person devours all he has … The one who pursues righteousness and love finds life, bounty, and honor … The one who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps his life from troubles … A shrewd person sees danger and hides himself, but the naive keep right on going and suffer for it.”

He warned again that one should be very careful in choosing a spouse “It is better to live on a corner of the housetop than in a house in company with a quarrelsome wife … It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and easily-provoked woman.”

Solomon reminded that selfishness in the face of obvious need – that one can meet with a little sacrifice – is seen by the Lord “The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and will not be answered … The one who oppresses the poor to increase his own gain and the one who gives to the rich – both end up only in poverty … A generous person will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor.”

Solomon counseled that ones integrity-earned reputation is a major priority “A good name is to be chosen rather than great wealth, good favor more than silver or gold.”

He noted that it is not wealth that determines true value, but rather ones relationship with the Lord “The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the creator of them both.”

Solomon returned to his wisdom about raising children “Train a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it … Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.”

He warned that those who belong to the Lord God must set boundaries in their fellowships, and that will include sometimes ‘dis-inviting’ those who oppose Him “Drive out the scorner and contention will leave; strife and insults will cease.”

Solomon warned that one who has made the Lord God angry, likely due to chronic and unrepentant sin, rebellion, and a “haughty”/unteachable spirit will be give the world-without-God that they have demanded and earned “The mouth of an adulteress is like a deep pit; the one against whom the Lord is angry will fall into it.”

Interact With The Text

Consider

There are no places of significance in our lives into which the Word of God does not speak.

Discuss

Why would Solomon emphasize the importance of extra care in choosing a spouse?

Reflect

Blessings come to those who are faithful, be it to the Lord God’s call to care for the truly poor, His call that we be people of integrity, in the raising of children, and/or in the pursuit of righteousness.

Share

When have you observed someone, perhaps a celebrity or politician, whose birth into great wealth and/or celebrity appears to have caused them to lack wisdom?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you an opportunity to assist someone who is genuinely poor, perhaps only briefly-poor, or perhaps chronically poor.

Act

Today I will sacrificially assist the one whom the Lord has revealed, and it will be both in the form of physical assistance and of prayer.

Be Specific _____________________________________________

Saturday (Proverbs 22:17-24)

The Sayings of the Wise

22:17 Incline your ear and listen to the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my instruction.

22:18 For it is pleasing if you keep these sayings within you, and they are ready on your lips.

22:19 So that your confidence may be in the Lord, I am making them known to you today – even you.

22:20 Have I not written thirty sayings for you, sayings of counsel and knowledge,

22:21 to show you true and reliable words, so that you may give accurate answers to those who sent you?

22:22 Do not exploit a poor person because he is poor and do not crush the needy in court,

22:23 for the Lord will plead their case and will rob those who are robbing them.

22:24 Do not make friends with an angry person, and do not associate with a wrathful person,

22:25 lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.

22:26 Do not be one who strikes hands in pledge or who puts up security for debts.

22:27 If you do not have enough to pay, your bed will be taken right out from under you!

22:28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone which was put in place by your ancestors.

22:29 Do you see a person skilled in his work? He will take his position before kings; he will not take his position before obscure people.

23:1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you,

23:2 and put a knife to your throat if you possess a large appetite.

23:3 Do not crave that ruler’s delicacies, for that food is deceptive.

23:4 Do not wear yourself out to become rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.

23:5 When you gaze upon riches, they are gone, for they surely make wings for themselves, and fly off into the sky like an eagle!

23:6 Do not eat the food of a stingy person, do not crave his delicacies;

23:7 for he is like someone calculating the cost in his mind. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you;

23:8 you will vomit up the little bit you have eaten, and will have wasted your pleasant words.

23:9 Do not speak in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

23:10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone, or take over the fields of the fatherless,

23:11 for their Protector is strong; he will plead their case against you.

23:12 Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to the words of knowledge.

23:13 Do not withhold discipline from a child; even if you strike him with the rod, he will not die.

23:14 If you strike him with the rod, you will deliver him from death.

23:15 My child, if your heart is wise, then my heart also will be glad;

23:16 my soul will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.

23:17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, but rather be zealous in fearing the Lord all the time.

23:18 For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

23:19 Listen, my child, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right way.

23:20 Do not spend time among drunkards, among those who eat too much meat,

23:21 because drunkards and gluttons become impoverished, and drowsiness clothes them with rags.

23:22 Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

23:23 Acquire truth and do not sell it – wisdom, and discipline, and understanding.

23:24 The father of a righteous person will rejoice greatly; whoever fathers a wise child will have joy in him.

23:25 May your father and your mother have joy; may she who bore you rejoice.

23:26 Give me your heart, my son, and let your eyes observe my ways;

23:27 for a prostitute is like a deep pit; a harlot is like a narrow well.

23:28 Indeed, she lies in wait like a robber, and increases the unfaithful among men.

23:29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has contentions? Who has complaints?

Who has wounds without cause? Who has dullness of the eyes?

23:30 Those who linger over wine, those who go looking for mixed wine.

23:31 Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly.

23:32 Afterward it bites like a snake, and stings like a viper.

23:33 Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will speak perverse things.

23:34 And you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, and like one who lies down on the top of the rigging.

23:35 You will say, “They have struck me, but I am not harmed!

They beat me, but I did not know it!

When will I awake? I will look for another drink.”

24:1 Do not envy evil people, do not desire to be with them;

24:2 for their hearts contemplate violence, and their lips speak harm.

24:3 By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established;

24:4 by knowledge its rooms are filled with all kinds of precious and pleasing treasures.

24:5 A wise warrior is strong, and a man of knowledge makes his strength stronger;

24:6 for with guidance you wage your war, and with numerous advisers there is victory.

24:7 Wisdom is unattainable for a fool; in court he does not open his mouth.

24:8 The one who plans to do evil will be called a scheming person.

24:9 A foolish scheme is sin, and the scorner is an abomination to people.

24:10 If you faint in the day of trouble, your strength is small!

24:11 Deliver those being taken away to death, and hold back those slipping to the slaughter.

24:12 If you say, “But we did not know about this,” does not the one who evaluates hearts consider?

Does not the one who guards your life know?

Will he not repay each person according to his deeds?

24:13 Eat honey, my child, for it is good, and honey from the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.

24:14 Likewise, know that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, you will have a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

24:15 Do not lie in wait like the wicked against the place where the righteous live; do not assault his home.

24:16 Although a righteous person may fall seven times, he gets up again, but the wicked will be brought down by calamity.

24:17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and when he stumbles do not let your heart rejoice,

24:18 lest the Lord see it, and be displeased, and turn his wrath away from him.

24:19 Do not fret because of evil people or be envious of wicked people,

24:20 for the evil person has no future, and the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.

24:21 Fear the Lord, my child, as well as the king, and do not associate with rebels,

24:22 for suddenly their destruction will overtake them, and who knows the ruinous judgment both the Lord and the king can bring?

Further Sayings of the Wise

24:23 These sayings also are from the wise: To show partiality in judgment is terrible:

24:24 The one who says to the guilty, “You are innocent,” peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him.

24:25 But there will be delight for those who convict the guilty, and a pleasing blessing will come on them.

24:26 Like a kiss on the lips is the one who gives an honest answer.

24:27 Establish your work outside and get your fields ready; afterward build your house.

24:28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your words.

24:29 Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will pay him back according to what he has done.”

24:30 I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of one who lacks wisdom.

24:31 I saw that thorns had grown up all over it, the ground was covered with weeds, and its stone wall was broken down.

24:32 When I saw this, I gave careful consideration to it; I received instruction from what I saw:

24:33 “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to relax,

24:34 and your poverty will come like a bandit, and your need like an armed robber.”

Prayer

Lord, Your wisdom applies to every part of our lives, and You have made it plainly know in Your Book. May I read and trust and obey.

Scripture In Perspective

Solomon again pleaded with his readers to intentionally receive wisdom “Incline your ear and listen to the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my instruction. For it is pleasing if you keep these sayings within you, and they are ready on your lips … Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to the words of knowledge … By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; by knowledge its rooms are filled with all kinds of precious and pleasing treasures.”

He cautioned that against the love of money “Do not wear yourself out to become rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.”

Solomon addressed the raising of children “Do not withhold discipline from a child; even if you strike him with the rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will deliver him from death.” and the responsibilities of children My child, if your heart is wise, then my heart also will be glad; my soul will rejoice when your lips speak what is right … Listen, my child, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right way … Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old.”

He observed that the true power of genuine and maturing-faith shows under stress “If you faint in the day of trouble, your strength is small! Although a righteous person may fall seven times, he gets up again, but the wicked will be brought down by calamity.”

Solomon warned that we must keep our hearts right, desiring faith and blessing for others, even our enemies “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and when he stumbles do not let your heart rejoice, lest the Lord see it, and be displeased, and turn his wrath away from him.” and that we must leave vengeance to the Lord “Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will pay him back according to what he has done.”“

Interact With The Text

Consider

We must be constantly-seeking wisdom, even thought it may be inconvenient to acquire and equally inconvenient to apply.

Discuss

What is the down-side to celebrating the troubles of your enemy?

Reflect

A deep faith-walk with the Lord God brings confidence and power – and it will show under stress.

Share

When have you observed someone “wear [themselves] out to become rich” because of a lack of self-restraint?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you an opportunity in your life to “Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to the words of knowledge.”

Act

Today I will prayerfully follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit and will share the experience with a fellow believer as an encouragement to them.

Be Specific _________________________________________________

All Bible text is from the NET unless otherwise indicated - http://bible.org

Note 1: These Studies often rely upon the guidance of the NET Translators from their associated notes. Careful attention has been given to cite that source where it has been quoted directly or closely paraphrased. Feedback is encouraged where credit has not been sufficiently assigned.

Note 2: When NET text is quoted in commentary and discussion all pronouns referring to God are capitalized, though they are lower-case in the original NET text.

Commentary text is from David M. Colburn, D.Min. unless otherwise noted.

Copyright © 2012 by David M. Colburn. This is a BibleSeven Study. Prepared by David M. Colburn and edited for bible.org in August of 2012. This text may be used for non-profit educational purposes only, with credit; all other usage requires prior written consent of the author.