Post by Woody Williams on Jul 10, 2006 8:22:22 GMT -5
Text for the Day -- Jeremiah 16:5-6, 10-12
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For thus says the Lord: Do not enter the house of mourning, or go to
lament, or bemoan them; for I have taken away my peace from this
people, says the Lord, my steadfast love and mercy. Both great and
small shall die in this land; they shall not be buried, and no one
shall lament for them; there shall be no gashing, no shaving of the
head for them.
And when you tell this people all these words, and they say to you,
'Why has the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? What is
our iniquity? What is the sin that we have committed against the Lord
our God?' then you shall say to them: It is because your ancestors
have forsaken me, says the Lord, and have gone after other gods and
have served and worshipped them, and have forsaken me and have not
kept my law; and because you have behaved worse than your ancestors,
for here you are, every one of you, following your stubborn, evil
will, refusing to listen to me.
Devotional
----------
Israel's rebellion toward God nullifies God's obligation to care for
Israel. Israel had violated the covenant. God's protective hand is
withdrawn. There will be no mercy or love at the moment, only
judgement. Israel will be alone and vulnerable. Sin does separate us
from God. In the end Israel will again experience God's mercy, but
only because of God's love and not their behavior.
Prayer
-------------
Call me to you when I stray, gracious God. Amen
----------
For thus says the Lord: Do not enter the house of mourning, or go to
lament, or bemoan them; for I have taken away my peace from this
people, says the Lord, my steadfast love and mercy. Both great and
small shall die in this land; they shall not be buried, and no one
shall lament for them; there shall be no gashing, no shaving of the
head for them.
And when you tell this people all these words, and they say to you,
'Why has the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? What is
our iniquity? What is the sin that we have committed against the Lord
our God?' then you shall say to them: It is because your ancestors
have forsaken me, says the Lord, and have gone after other gods and
have served and worshipped them, and have forsaken me and have not
kept my law; and because you have behaved worse than your ancestors,
for here you are, every one of you, following your stubborn, evil
will, refusing to listen to me.
Devotional
----------
Israel's rebellion toward God nullifies God's obligation to care for
Israel. Israel had violated the covenant. God's protective hand is
withdrawn. There will be no mercy or love at the moment, only
judgement. Israel will be alone and vulnerable. Sin does separate us
from God. In the end Israel will again experience God's mercy, but
only because of God's love and not their behavior.
Prayer
-------------
Call me to you when I stray, gracious God. Amen