Post by Woody Williams on Jul 7, 2008 8:08:14 GMT -5
Text for the Day -- Jeremiah 27:1-11, 16-22
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In the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah son of Josiah of
Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD. Thus the LORD said
to me: Make yourself a yoke of straps and bars, and put them on your
neck. Send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of
the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of
the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to King Zedekiah of Judah. Give
them this charge for their masters: Thus says the LORD of hosts, the
God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: It is I
who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth,
with the people and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to
whomsoever I please. Now I have given all these lands into the hand
of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him
even the wild animals of the field to serve him. All the nations
shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his
own land comes; then many nations and great kings shall make him
their slave.
But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this king, Nebuchadnezzar
of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon,
then I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with
pestilence, says the LORD, until I have completed its destruction by
his hand. You, therefore, must not listen to your prophets, your
diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who are
saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’ For they
are prophesying a lie to you, with the result that you will be
removed far from your land; I will drive you out, and you will
perish. But any nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the
king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, says the
LORD, to till it and live there.
Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus says
the LORD: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who are
prophesying to you, saying, ‘The vessels of the LORD’s house will
soon be brought back from Babylon’, for they are prophesying a lie to
you. Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and live. Why
should this city become a desolation? If indeed they are prophets,
and if the word of the LORD is with them, then let them intercede
with the LORD of hosts, that the vessels left in the house of the
LORD, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go
to Babylon. For thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars,
the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in
this city, which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take away
when he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon King Jeconiah son
of Jehoiakim of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem—
thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the
vessels left in the house of the LORD, in the house of the king of
Judah, and in Jerusalem: They shall be carried to Babylon, and there
they shall stay, until the day when I give attention to them, says
the LORD. Then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.
Devotional
----------
Jeremiah puts on a yoke symbolizing the burden Israel will have to
carry during its years of exile. God's judgment against Israel gave
its land and people to the king of Babylon. Jeremiah prophecies a
long servitude. False prophets in Israel spoke a message of false
hope, promising a short judgment on Israel. The work of God can be
both consolation and desolation. When we are being judged or led
deeper by God we can experience a desolation - a seeming absence of
God in our lives. This desolation is not a time for false hope. Enter
into the desolation and learn from it as you patiently wait for God's
time and purpose to unfold. Such times of desolation are often a
prelude to a deepening and renewing experience with God.
Prayer
-----------
Gracious God, help me sense when you are seeking to challenge or
deepen my life. Amen
----------
In the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah son of Josiah of
Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD. Thus the LORD said
to me: Make yourself a yoke of straps and bars, and put them on your
neck. Send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of
the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of
the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to King Zedekiah of Judah. Give
them this charge for their masters: Thus says the LORD of hosts, the
God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: It is I
who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth,
with the people and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to
whomsoever I please. Now I have given all these lands into the hand
of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him
even the wild animals of the field to serve him. All the nations
shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his
own land comes; then many nations and great kings shall make him
their slave.
But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this king, Nebuchadnezzar
of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon,
then I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with
pestilence, says the LORD, until I have completed its destruction by
his hand. You, therefore, must not listen to your prophets, your
diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who are
saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’ For they
are prophesying a lie to you, with the result that you will be
removed far from your land; I will drive you out, and you will
perish. But any nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the
king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, says the
LORD, to till it and live there.
Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus says
the LORD: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who are
prophesying to you, saying, ‘The vessels of the LORD’s house will
soon be brought back from Babylon’, for they are prophesying a lie to
you. Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and live. Why
should this city become a desolation? If indeed they are prophets,
and if the word of the LORD is with them, then let them intercede
with the LORD of hosts, that the vessels left in the house of the
LORD, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go
to Babylon. For thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars,
the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in
this city, which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take away
when he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon King Jeconiah son
of Jehoiakim of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem—
thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the
vessels left in the house of the LORD, in the house of the king of
Judah, and in Jerusalem: They shall be carried to Babylon, and there
they shall stay, until the day when I give attention to them, says
the LORD. Then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.
Devotional
----------
Jeremiah puts on a yoke symbolizing the burden Israel will have to
carry during its years of exile. God's judgment against Israel gave
its land and people to the king of Babylon. Jeremiah prophecies a
long servitude. False prophets in Israel spoke a message of false
hope, promising a short judgment on Israel. The work of God can be
both consolation and desolation. When we are being judged or led
deeper by God we can experience a desolation - a seeming absence of
God in our lives. This desolation is not a time for false hope. Enter
into the desolation and learn from it as you patiently wait for God's
time and purpose to unfold. Such times of desolation are often a
prelude to a deepening and renewing experience with God.
Prayer
-----------
Gracious God, help me sense when you are seeking to challenge or
deepen my life. Amen