(click on the date above for today's readings)
Jeremiah 51:54-52:34 ~ Titus 3:1-15
Psalm 100:1-5 ~ Proverbs 26:18-19
We reach the end of the book of Jeremiah today! :( This has been a fascinating book for me to read this year. I definitely learned a lot more about prophets, the fall of Jerusalem and Babylon. I hope this has been a good learning experience for you as well.
Jeremiah chapter 51 closes out Jeremiah's prophecies, ending with his prophecies against Babylon. Tomorrow we start the book of Lamentations. And actually, we're getting a bit of a good set up for Lamentations in Chapter 52 of Jeremiah today. I think as you read the end of chapter 51, you might think - okay, this should be the end of this book, correct, as verse 64 in chapter 51 tells us - "This is the end of Jeremiah's messages." But... it looks like chapter 52 is in here to remind the readers of the fall of Jerusalem, and to segue way into the book of Lamentations.
Chapter 52 is sad to read - particularly when you think back to all of the work of the Israelites in Solomon's day in creating the temple. Also I think back to the work of others earlier in the Old Testament who built up the walls of Jerusalem. All of this destroyed and burned. I read somewhere that it's speculated that the Ark of the Covenant was probably destroyed in this time period, in the fire at the Temple. Or... maybe it wasn't.... hence we have Raiders of the Lost Ark!! :)
At the very end of chapter 52 we see a few verses giving hope for Israel's line to continue.
So, how has been reading the book of the prophet Jeremiah been for you? What have you learned from this book? How can you apply these learnings to your life today?
Today we also finish up Paul's letter to Titus. The first couple verses of chapter 3 are interesting to me - "Remind your people to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good. They must not speak evil of anyone, and they must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone." It looks like Paul is reminding the church at that time to submit to governmental authority - being obedient. And doing what is good. Obeying laws of the government seems to be implied here. This reminds me of Jesus saying in the Gospels - "give to Caesar what is Caesar's. And to God what is God." So, there does certainly seem to be a call to be good citizens of the world - as we strive to be good citizens of the kingdom of God simultaneously. Can these two go hand in hand? Or are there points where their may be a conflict between our obedience to God and obedience to the world's laws/governments?
Does our reading of Psalm 100 today speak to you? Do you feel joy while reading this song? I am currently reading “The Life You’ve Always Wanted" by John Ortberg – a great book by the way… and he has a great chapter on JOY being a spiritual discipline. It is amazing to realize that Joy is a gift from God we should be experiencing every day. I pray you are experiencing joy… think this Psalmist was?....
Proverbs 26 verses 18 & 19 are so true... please don't lie to your friends as a joke... bad idea...
What verses or insights jumped out for you in today's readings? Please post up in the Comments section below!
Grace,
Mike
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