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.