Tue.’s Devo - God’s Yoke

Read: Jeremiah 26:1-27:22; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-18; Psalm 85:1-13; Proverbs 25:16 Jeremiah’s prophecies are not in order. This one we read today was given during Jehoiakim’s reign. Here is the order of the last five kings of Judah: Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, Zedikiah. God sent Jeremiah to stand in the courtyard in front of the Temple and give them God’s word. If they didn’t listen to the prophets that God sent them, he was going to destroy this Temple like he destroyed Shiloh (where the Tabernacle had been.) As soon as he finished speaking, he was mobbed by the priests and leaders and the people. They wanted to have him killed. *** The officials in the palace heard the commotion and ran over to hold court. They listened to what the priests and prophets were saying about Jeremiah. They wanted him to die a traitor. *** Jeremiah spoke and said he was just saying what the Lord told him to say. If they would stop sinning and begin to obey the Lord, he would change his mind about bringing disaster upon the. If they kill him, they will be killing an innocent man and they will be judged accordingly. The officials told the priests and prophets that there was no grounds to kill him. Some of the elders spoke and reminded them of Micah who prophesied during the reign of King Hezekiah. He prophecied the same thing about Jerusalem but King Hezekiah didn’t kill him. He led the nation to repent and God changed his mind. *** Around this time, Uriah son of Shemaiah was also prophesying the same thing in Kiriath-jearim. When the king and his army officers heard what he said they sent someone to kill him, but Uriah ran to hide in Egypt. He was found and brought back to King Jehoiakim where he was killed and buried in an unmarked grave. Uriah’s brother, Ahikam stood up for Jeremiah and persuaded the court not to turn Jeremiah over to the mob to be killed. *** Chapter 27 happened early in Jehoiakim’s reign. The Lord told Jeremiah to make a yoke and fasten it on his neck with leather straps. He was to give a message to the ambassadors to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. God was going to give their nations to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon. God has given control of the whole earth to Nebuchadnezzar until his time is up. Then, God would send a nation to conquer him and rule over Babylon. They were to put themselves under Babylon’s yoke. He warned them not to listen to their false prophets who told them Babylon would not rule them; they were liars. But, any nation who submitted to the king of Babylon would get to live in their own land. *** Jeremiah also told King Zedekiah this same message and begged him to submit to Babylon’s yoke so they could stay in the land. He told the king and the priests not to listen to their false prophets who told them that Babylon was soon returning the things they stole from the Temple. This was a lie. Instead, they should be praying that the things still in the Temple will stay and not be taken also. As for them, they needed to surrender to the king of Babylon and not die by famine and the sword. All the articles in the Temple will be taken to Babylon and stay there until God sends for them. Then God will bring them back to Jerusalem. *** Paul writes from Corinth where not everyone is a believer. He asks for prayer that their teaching would spread and be honored by those who hear it. He warns them to stay away from people who want to live off everyone else and not work. Idleness is the parent to busybodies. They should stay away from these people. *** Paul ends with our prayer: May the Lord of peace himself give you us peace at all times and in every situation. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all!

Mon.’s Devo - Be Not Deceived

Read: Jeremiah 23:21-25:38; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17; Psalm 84:1-12; Proverbs 25:15 God brings up the false prophets again. They were going around claiming to have dreams from Him. They are not true prophets but prophets of deceit and the dreams they claimed to have were not from the Lord. God called the true prophets to give his words. They were like grain that would bring life, but the false prophet’s words were like straw that caused the people to sin. *** God told Jeremiah if they asked him ‘What prophecy has the Lord burdened you with now?’ He is to respond, ‘You are the burden.’ God was tired of them saying they got their words from the Lord when it was a lie. He warned them, He would expel them from his presence along with Jerusalem. He would make them an object of ridicule and their name would be infamous throughout the ages. *** King Nebuchadnezzar took King Jehoiachin, his officers and all the craftsmen and artisans to Babylon. Jeremiah was left and God gave him a vision of two baskets of figs placed in front of the Lord’s Temple. One was filled with fresh, ripe figs and the other with bad figs, too rotten to eat. God told him that the good figs reprinted the exiles he sent to Babylon. He would watch over them and bring them back again. They would recognize him as the Lord and return to him wholeheartedly. But the bad figs represent King Zedekiah who was left in Jerusalem and those who lived in Egypt. He would make them an object of horror and a symbol of evil to every nation on the earth. He would eventually kill them all off. *** Chapter 25 was written before they went into exile. Jeremiah had prophecied for 23 years that the land was going to be taken by a foreign nation and sent into exile. He begged them to turn from their idols and worship the Lord, but they refused to turn so they would go into exile for 70 years. When the time was over, God would punish Babylon and make it a wasteland. They will become enslaved just as they had enslaved Judah. *** God had a cup of his anger and Jeremiah was sent in the spirit to give it to the Pharaoh in Egypt and all his attendants, officials and people. He was also taken to the land of Uz and the Philistine kings to make them drink from the cup. From there he was taken to the nations of Edom. Moab, Ammon, Tyre, Sidon, Dedan, Tema, Buz, Zimri, Elam and Media…all the kingdoms of the world. Finally, the king of Babylon had to drink from the cup of the Lord’s anger. This would signal the fall of their nations. The Lord of Heavens Armies would accomplish this. *** In Thessalonians, Paul wants to clarify some misconceptions about Jesus’ second coming. Some were saying that the day of the Lord had already began, but Paul told them not to be deceived by this. This day would not come until a great rebellion against God had happened and the man of lawlessness was revealed. This man would bring destruction and exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He would even sit in the temple of God and claim that he is God. *** He can only be revealed when the one who is holding him back steps out of the way. But Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming. *** This man of lawlessness will have counterfeit power to do signs and miracles. He will use deceit to fool those on their way to destruction because they refuse to be saved. They will be condemned for choosing evil over truth. *** Thank you, Jesus, for salvation and truth. Help us to stand firm on your Word and in your spirit. Thank you for the comfort you strengthen us with to keep going with confidence. You are our rock.

Sun.’s Devo - A Righteous King is Coming

Read: Jeremiah 22:1-23:20; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12; Psalm 83:1-18; Proverbs 25:11-14 Jeremiah was sent to speak to the king face to face. He was to tell King Zedekiah to stop robbing the people, mistreating the poor and murdering the innocent. Josiah had been a good king who gave justice and help to the poor and everything had gone good for him, but the last three kings: Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin had done the opposite. *** Jeremiah told them that when Jehoiakim is dragged out of Jerusalem, the people will not mourn for him. His son, Jehoiachin will take his place and God would abandon him also. He would be handed over to Nebuchadnezzar and be taken to Babylon where he would die. None of his children would ascend to the throne. All the shepherds who were supposed to care for the people will be taken away. They will be judged for the evil they had done. *** At the appointed time, God will gather a remnant from the countries they are scattered to and bring them back. Then they will be fruitful and increase in number. God will appoint responsible shepherds to care for them. A righteous descendant of David will be their King and he will do what is just and right. His name will be The Lord Is Our Righteousness. *** God rebuked the prophets of Jerusalem because they committed adultery and loved dishonesty. They encouraged evil and would not repent. He likened them to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. God will cause them to drink poison for what they have done. Jeremiah warned the people not to listen to what they said. They didn’t speak for the Lord. In the end, they will understand that Jeremiah spoke the truth. *** In Paul’s second letter to the church in Thessalonica, he commends them again of their faith and love for one another in the midst of all their persecution. He tells them that God will justify them and give them rest. His angels will bring judgment on those that still refuse to obey the Lord. They will receive punishment with eternal destruction and forever be separated from the Lord. Lord we pray with Paul asking for you to enable us to live a life worthy of the call on our lives. May you give us the power to accomplish all the good things our faith prompts us to do and may the name of Jesus be honored because of the way we live.

Sat.’s Devo - The Coming Judgment

Read: Jeremiah 19:1-21:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:4-28: Psalm 82:1-8; Proverbs 25:9-10 God told Jeremiah to go and buy a clay jar and take it to the place where they sacrificed children to Baal. He told them that this place would become a place of slaughter. They would be slaughtered by foreign armies and Jerusalem would be reduced to ruins making it a monument to their stupidity. They would be besieged and end up eating their own sons, daughters, and friends. *** He was to break the jar and tell them that as this jar scattered when it broke, so their nation would be scattered and shattered beyond repair. There would be so many dead bodies to bury they would run out of room to bury them. *** The priest, Pashhur, who in charge of the Temple heard what Jeremiah was saying and had him arrested, beat and put in stocks at the gate of the Temple. He was released the next day. *** Jeremiah told Pashhur that the Lord had changed his name to “The Man Who Lives in Terror”. God would send terror upon them and his friends and they will watch as they are slaughtered by the swords of the enemy. All their wealth will be taken to Babylon also. He and all his friends will die in Babylon and all will know that his prophecies about how everything was going to be all right will be proven false. *** Jeremiah goes through great internal conflict as he is persecuted for all his words. He feels like he has shamed his family and himself but can not keep the words the Lord gives him to himself. *** When Jeremiah’s prophecies began to come true and Babylon came and attacked Judah, King Zedekiah sent Pashhur to him to ask him what God was saying. Amazing how conflict and fear brings humility. They were hoping for God to deliver them. *** No such luck. Jeremiah told them that their weapons would be useless against the Babylonians and when they fought, they would be fighting against God. King Zedekiah and his staff would be handed over to Nebuchadnezzar and everyone would die of disease, war or famine. There would be no mercy. *** The only hope they would have would be to the ones who surrendered and let them take them to Babylon. They would live while Jerusalem would be reduced to ashes. *** He told the royal family to begin giving justice to the people and help the oppressed. This will help them when they are judged. *** Paul warned his people of judgment also. One day the Lord would come like a thief to the world. It will not be that way for those who are children of the day. They will be protected by their faith. God is not coming to judge the righteous, but the wicked. *** We are to live lives of diligence, love for one another and peace. We are to be bold and tenderly care for those who are weak. We are not to make fun of or treat lightly prophets or their words. We are to avoid all and every kind of evil. *** Lord, may your peace make us holy in every way and may our whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless until Jesus Christ comes again.

Fri.’s Devo - Trust in the Lord

Read: Jeremiah 16:16-18:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-5:3; Psalm 81:1-16: Proverbs 25:6-8 God was sending out his fishers and hunters to fish the evil people out of their hiding places and hunt them down. At last, they will know that the Lord is powerful and mighty - the only God. God will give all their wealth and treasures to their enemies. They will take the people to a foreign land. *** Those who trusted in people will be greatly disappointed, but those who trust in the Lord will not be bothered during the long months of drought. They will thrive. They will never stop producing fruit. *** God searches the hearts of men and examines all of their secret motives. He gives people their due rewards according to their actions. Those who get rich unjustly will lose it in midlife and end up poor. Those who turn away from the Lord will end up disgraced. God is the fountain of living water. *** God told Jeremiah to go and stand at the gates of Jerusalem and tell the people to stop trading and opening their gates on the Sabbath and instead, make the Sabbath a holy day. If they obeyed, there would always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne in Jerusalem. He reminded them that their ancestors had been told the same warning and they didn’t listen. Neither did the ones Jeremiah told. He warned them that if they didn’t listen and obey, God would set fire to their gates and it would spread to the palaces and no one would be able to put the fire out. *** Then the Lord sent Jeremiah to the potter’s house and he watched as the potter was making a pot on his wheel. It didn’t turn out the way he hoped so he crushed it into a lump and started over. That was just what God was going to do to his people. *** When Jeremiah told the people this, they told him to stop talking to them. They choose to live the way they want to…following their own evil desires. *** God said he would turn his back on them and in their time of trouble, he will refuse to help them. *** The people were tired of hearing all the words Jeremiah was telling them. Killing him hadn’t worked the time before, so this time they spread rumors about him. *** Jeremiah cried out to the Lord for help. He told God that he was trying to help the people, but all they want to do is kill him. Jeremiah cursed them and their children. Now, Jeremiah knows how the Lord feels. That is exactly what they did to Him. *** Paul urges the believers in Thessalonica to live their lives to please the Lord. He told them to live in holiness and avoid the sexual sins of the pagans. They are to love the Lord and have love and respect for one another. *** Paul didn’t want them to grieve over loved ones who died as believers. Their bodies will resurrect when Jesus returns. Those who are alive on earth will meet the Lord in the air. His coming will happen when everything is peaceful and secure. It will begin with pains like labor pains and when they start, there is no going back. *** Lord, may we learn from scripture that when You are ready to judge, we need to agree that your judgment is just and fair. Help us to see things through your perspective and work with you.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Coming Destruction

Read: Jeremiah 14:11-16:15; 1 Thessalonians 2:9-3:13; Psalm 80:1-19; Proverbs 25:1-5 Again, God tells Jeremiah to stop praying for the people who were set on sin and doomed to destruction. Their false prophets told them that all was well and that war will not come. They will become victims of the war and famine they say will not come. *** Jeremiah can’t help praying and mourning over the disaster he sees coming to the people. He sees visions of their dead bodies lying in the streets. He can’t help himself; he confesses the sins of his people for them and prays for God’s mercy. He prays for the sake of God’s reputation for him to save his people. He prays that God would relent and send rain. *** God responds by saying if Moses or Samuel was standing before him, he would not listen to their cry for rain. He gives the people four options: death, war, famine or captivity. That is their fate. He describes four scenarios they would face; the sword to kill, dogs to drag away, vultures to devour and wild animals to finish up what was left. God was done with second chances. *** God would first come to take away the children, then the fathers, then the mothers. Then their wealth will be taken and they will be exiled to a foreign land. *** Jeremiah finally prays for himself. He reminds God how he loved his word and was obedient to say what God had told him to say. He petitioned for his own life. *** God told him if he continued to be faithful to him and not let the people influence him but he became the influencer, God would make Jeremiah secure and he would not fall. God would protect and rescue him. He also told Jeremiah not to get married or have children in this place or they would die of disease. He also told him not to go to funerals or mourn those who do die. Nor was he to go to their parties of celebration. When he’s asked why, he is to tell the people that their ancestors sinned against God and they had done even worse. He ends by saying that one day God would bring them back from the land of the north to their own land. *** The church at Thessalonica was made up of many Gentiles. Paul had encouraged the church in their walk and they had accepted his written teachings as if they were from God. They had received much persecution from the devout Jewish people in their city for following Christ. Paul reminded them of how the Jews killed the prophets and how it was them that crucified Jesus. Those then, were of the same spirit that was persecuting them now. They were only piling up their sins till the judgment day. *** Paul had sent Timothy to strengthen and encourage them in their faith. He had returned and reported about their strong faith in the Lord in spite of the persecution they were facing. Paul was very thankful and proud of their walk. He promised to pray continually for them. Lord, we pray that we would stand strong in persecution and let our joy and faith shine. May we love one another and may our hearts be strong, blameless and holy.

Wed.’s Devo - Godly Boldness

Read: Jeremiah 12:1-14:10; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-2:8; Psalm 79:1-13; Proverbs 24:30-34 Jeremiah brought his complaint before God. He saw how prosperous and happy the wicked were, or seemed to be. They talked about God, but he was not in their hearts. Their wickedness was affecting nature - the grass and the animals. The people doubted his prophecies. *** God responded by saying, if just seeing the towns people in their rebellion wears him out, how is he going to stand before kings and the officers of the nation. He has no ally among them. They are all his enemy just like they are God’s enemy. But, they are going to be soon surrounded by their enemy and all their beauty is going to turn into barren wilderness. They will not be boasting much longer. *** God was going to uproot them to a foreign land and then after 70 years, bring them back to their own land. They will learn to swear by his name and not Baal’s. *** God told Jeremiah to take a loin cloth and bury it in the ground in a hole by the Euphrates River. When God told him to go and dig it back up, it was rotten and falling apart, good for nothing. God said that that was a picture of how he was going to rot away the pride of Judah and Jerusalem. They had gone into idolatry and were like the loincloth - good for nothing. *** God told Jeremiah to tell them, “may all your jars be filled with wine.” Then he explained that God was going to fill the land with drunkenness and they would stumble and fall in the darkness. They would look for light but find only darkness and gloom. Jeremiah would be the only one lamenting their sins knowing they were going to be led into exile. *** God stopped the rains to get their attention. They blamed God for not taking care of them. It wasn’t God’s fault; it was their own because they refused to make God their Lord and king. *** The church at Thessalonica was started by Paul when he visited their city and went to the synagogue and taught about Jesus. Some of the people who attended the synagogue weekly and responded to Paul’s teaching were “devout Greeks” as well as prominent women. This got the attention of the Roman officials and people who opposed the Jews. They were not pleased with the conversion of the people and their new-found loyalty. They accused Paul of insurrection and Paul had to secretly escape to save his life. *** Paul sent them this letter to encourage them in the faith, love and hope they had in Jesus. They had endured much persecution for their beliefs which made them a good example for others. Many had turned from idols to worship the true God and Lord, Jesus Christ. Their witness was reaching people beyond Macedonia and Achaia. They testified of their faith in the resurrection and the return of Christ. *** Lords may we keep you as our first love always. May we be bold in our witness and may it spread far and wide. May we not be afraid of what man can do to us.