Tue.’s Devo - Restoration is the Goal

Read: Jeremiah 26:1-27:22; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-13; Palm 85:1-13; Proverbs 25:16
Jeremiah had gone to the kings and officials and they refused to heed his words so this time God sent him to the courtyard of the Temple and speak to all the people of the town who came to worship. He was to tell them to turn from their evil ways because God was going to judge their deeds. The priests and the prophets listened but when he was finished they seized him to kill him.
The officers heard about it and went to sit in the place of judgment so they could hear the charges against Jeremiah and his defense. The priests told the officers what Jeremiah had prophesied about the city and their fates then Jeremiah told them how God was going to punish them for their sins. Jeremiah was sentenced to death. But, some of the elders stepped forward and reminded them about Micah who had prophesied the same thing during Hezekiah’s reign. He didn’t have Micah killed, but repented and it went well for the city and the king. They warned the officials that by not listening to Jeremiah they were bringing disaster upon themselves.
Jeremiah was saved but the same fate did not come for Uriah, another of God’s prophets who prophesied the same message at the same time. Uriah heard that they planned to kill him so he fled to Egypt. He was brought back to Jerusalem and killed.
Jeremiah also had a friend in high places named Ahikam who had Jeremiah spared.
During Zedikiah’s reign, Jeremiah was told to send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon, (Jerusalem’s enemies) that the kingdom of Babylon was going to reign over the world because God was going to put every nation under them. Any nation that refused to bow to Babylon would be destroyed. Jeremiah told his own king that this would happen and told him to submit to Nebuchadnezzar because this was the Lord’s doing. He told the king to not listen to his own lying prophets because the treasures of the temple would go to Babylon until God released them to be brought back.
Paul was serious about their walk of righteousness. It wasn’t the law he was concerned about, it was the fact that they should walk in love toward one another and God and their deeds should follow their heart. Each person was to use the gifts God had given them and walk in them, then they wouldn’t have time to fulfill the desires of the flesh. If they did have someone in their group that was idle or walking in sin, they needed to disassociate with him and warn him as a brother, not an enemy. The goal was always to be restoration and fellowship.
Lord, we pray for our nation that righteousness would be restored and you would be lifted high. May faithfulness spring up from the earth and meet with love.