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 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 13, 2012

Nebuchadnezzar, My Servant (8/13)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Jeremiah 23-25.

“Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them and make them a horror and a hissing, and an everlasting desolation’” (Jeremiah 25:8-9).

Divine judgment was coming against the Lord’s people by means of Nebuchadnezzar and the nation of Babylon. God refers to Nebuchadnezzar as His servant, meaning that the king was doing the work of God in punishing the people of Judah.
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August 11, 2012

You Too Have Done Evil and Have Not Listened (8/11)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Jeremiah 14-17.

“Now when you tell this people all these words, they will say to you, ‘For what reason has the Lord declared all this great calamity against us? And what is our iniquity, or what is our sin which we have committed against the Lord our God?’ Then you are to say to them, ‘It is because your forefathers have forsaken Me,‘ declares the Lord, ‘and have followed other gods and served them and bowed down to them; but Me they have forsaken and have not kept My law. You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers; for behold, you are each one walking according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me. So I will hurl you out of this land into the land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will grant you no favor” (Jeremiah 16:10-13).

The people could not understand why God would be punishing them. They had been deceived by the false prophets into thinking they were secure, yet Jeremiah spoke of calamity. They were blind to their own sin, so they challenged Jeremiah’s message. But Jeremiah gave them three reasons why God was sending a great calamity against them.
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August 6, 2012

Stagnant in Spirit (8/6)

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

Zephaniah warned the people of Judah that judgment was coming against them from the Lord. The riches in which they trusted would be taken away. The houses in which they lived would become uninhabited. The blessings of the good land that God had given them would be lost.

“It will come about at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are stagnant in spirit, who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good or evil!’ Moreover, their wealth will become plunder and their houses desolate; yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them, and plant vineyards but not drink their wine” (Zephaniah 1:12-13).

These people had allowed their sinful state to progress to the point in which they would receive God’s wrath because they were “stagnant in spirit.” They were no longer interested in spiritual things. All that mattered to them were those things which were temporal and material. They had no desire to serve the Lord.
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August 4, 2012

"Behold, Your People Are Women" (8/4)

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

As the prophet Nahum announces God’s coming judgment against Nineveh, there is an interesting phrase that is used to describe the mighty city.

“Behold, your people are women in your midst! The gates of your land are opened wide to your enemies; fire consumes your gate bars” (Nahum 3:13).

This is not meant to be a disparaging remark against women. Nor does it mean that there would be no males in the city. Rather, it is simply pointing out that in the face of God’s judgment, their soldiers would not be able to fight against Him. In those days, the warriors would be men. Even in our modern culture, this is still generally true. So the point is that the warriors would be unwilling or unable to defend against God’s judgment. Notice a few other passages that use this same type of language:
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July 30, 2012

"Seek the Lord While He May Be Found" (7/30)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Isaiah 54-58.

The Lord abounds in mercy and is willing to save us. Yet we must appreciate the urgency of the salvation He offers. Notice what Isaiah says:

“Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:6-7).

God is willing to show “compassion” and is able to “abundantly pardon,” but there is a time limit on his mercy. He does not offer salvation indefinitely. We must seek Him “while He may be found” and “call upon Him while He is near.” Otherwise, we will be too late.
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