Daily Notes & Observations is a 365-part series that follows a chronological daily Bible reading schedule and contains a short article based on something found in the text for each day. This material is also available in paperback.

August 21, 2012

Burning Sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven (8/21)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Jeremiah 41-45.

Divine judgment was coming against Judah for the idolatry of the people. Yet they were not willing to listen and refused to acknowledge the negative consequences of their behavior. Those who are caught up in false religions today do the same things.

“Then all the men who were aware that their wives were burning sacrifices to other gods, along with all the women who were standing by, as a large assembly, including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying, ‘As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to listen to you! But rather we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food and were well off and saw no misfortune. But since we stopped burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have met our end by the sword and by famine’” (Jeremiah 44:15-18).

These people, in their error, refused to accept certain things:
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August 20, 2012

"Their Justice and Authority Originate with Themselves" (8/20)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Habakkuk 1-3.

The Lord was sending the Chaldeans (Babylonians) to punish the people of Judah. The Chaldeans were not chosen because they were a righteous people or because their works were approved by God. They were simply a tool that the Lord used to accomplish His work of punishing His people for their sins.

“For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that fierce and impetuous people who march throughout the earth to seize dwelling places which are not theirs. They are dreaded and feared; their justice and authority originate with themselves” (Habakkuk 1:6-7).

There are a few points we can take from these verses:
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August 19, 2012

"They Continually Mocked the Messengers of God" (8/19)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from 2 Kings 24-25; 2 Chronicles 36.

God’s judgment of the people of Judah happened in stages at the hands of the Babylonians. But even after it started, He still loved the people and sent messengers to them so that they would listen and repent.

“The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, until there was no remedy. Therefore He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hand” (2 Chronicles 36:15-17).

Despite the fact that judgment was already happening against them, the people still refused to listen to the prophets. But more than just closing their ears for lack of interest, they actively mocked, despised, and scoffed at the message and the messengers of God.

God’s patience has a limit. In this case, the people who refused to listen were taken off into captivity. Though we do not stand to face a Babylonian captivity, we will still be judged and punished if we mock those who teach the truth and reject the word of God.

Once God’s patience runs out, we will have no hope; we will be destroyed. We must take advantage of our time now, when God still extends His patience and mercy toward us, so that we might correct anything that might be amiss in our lives and conform to His will.

Tomorrow’s reading: Habakkuk 1-3

[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]

Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.

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August 18, 2012

"This Man is Not Seeking the Well-Being of This People" (8/18)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Jeremiah 28-40; Psalm 74, 79.

Jeremiah’s message was one that was filled with warnings of destruction. As we might expect, his “negative” message was generally not well-received. The attitude of his opponents is very similar to the attitude of those today who oppose the truth.

“‘Thus says the Lord, “This city will certainly be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and he will capture it.”‘ Then the officials said to the king, ‘Now let this man be put to death, inasmuch as he is discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and all the people, by speaking such words to them; for this man is not seeking the well-being of the people but rather their harm’” (Jeremiah 38:3-4).

Jeremiah’s message, though unpopular and uncomfortable, was one that the people desperately needed to hear. The ones who would heed his words and obey them would deliver themselves (Jeremiah 38:2). For those who rejected him, there would be punishment. But the officials did not like Jeremiah’s message and tried to turn the king against him by making two accusations:
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August 17, 2012

"They Have Obeyed Their Father’s Command" (8/17)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Jeremiah 35-37.

The Lord told Jeremiah to go to the Rechabites, bring them to the house of the Lord, and give them wine to drink (Jeremiah 35:2). This was not an endorsement of the consumption of alcohol, but there was a point to this. Notice the response of these men to the offering of wine:

“We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons or daughters, nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; and we do not have vineyard or field or seed. We have only dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and have done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us” (Jeremiah 35:8-10).

These were grown men (evidenced by the fact that they had wives and children). They were free to make their own choices about drinking wine, dwelling in houses, and tending to fields or vineyards. But their continued obedience to the will of the earthly father indicates a deep respect for him, especially since following these instructions would mean living a very different lifestyle than their fellow countrymen.
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August 16, 2012

You Turned Around and Took Them Back (8/16)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Jeremiah 32-34.

Though it was permitted under the Law of Moses, slavery was a practice that was strictly regulated. One of the regulations placed a limit on the amount of time in which one could have a slave work for him. The Lord, through Jeremiah, reminded the people of this instruction and the fact that their forefathers had disobeyed it.

“At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who has been sold to you and has served you six years, you shall send him out free from you; but your forefathers did not obey Me or incline their ear to Me” (Jeremiah 34:14).

Because this instruction had been disregarded, God commanded that “each man should set free his male servant and…his female servant” (Jeremiah 34:9). They obeyed this command and set all of the slaves free (Jeremiah 34:10).  Unfortunately, they quickly turned back to their old ways.
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August 15, 2012

A New Covenant (8/15)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Jeremiah 30-31.

Many Jewish Christians in the first century had a hard time giving up the Old Law in favor of wholehearted devotion to the gospel of Christ. Similarly, there are some Christians today who desire to hold onto parts of the Old Law that have not been carried over into the New Testament. Yet the following prophecy from Jeremiah makes it clear that a change was coming in which the Old Law/covenant would be taken out of the way.

“‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the first covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,’ declares the Lord. ‘But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more’ “(Jeremiah 31:31-34).

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