Through the Bible – Day 300

Bible text(s)

Jeremiah 16

Jeremiah must live his message

1The LORD said to me:

2Jeremiah, don't get married and have children—Judah is no place to raise a family. 3I'll tell you what's going to happen to children and their parents here. 4They will die of horrible diseases and of war and starvation. No one will give them a funeral or bury them, and their bodies will be food for the birds and wild animals. And what's left will lie on the ground like manure.

5When someone dies, don't visit the family or show any sorrow. I will no longer love or bless or have any pity on the people of Judah. 6Rich and poor alike will die and be left unburied. No one will mourn and show their sorrow by cutting themselves or shaving their heads. 7No one will bring food and wine to help comfort those who are mourning the death of their father or mother.

8Don't even set foot in a house where there is eating and drinking and celebrating. 9Warn the people of Judah that I, the LORD All-Powerful, will put an end to all their parties and wedding celebrations. 10They will ask, “Why has the LORD our God threatened us with so many disasters? Have we done something wrong or sinned against him?”

11Then tell them I have said:

People of Judah, your ancestors turned away from me; they rejected my laws and teachings and started worshipping other gods. 12And you have done even worse! You are stubborn, and instead of obeying me, you do whatever evil comes to your mind. 13So I will throw you into a land that you and your ancestors know nothing about, a place where you will have to worship other gods both day and night. And I won't feel the least bit sorry for you.

14A time will come when you will again worship me. But you will no longer call me the Living God who rescued Israel from Egypt. 15Instead, you will call me the Living God who rescued you from that country in the north and from the other countries where I had forced you to go.

Some day I will bring you back to this land that I gave your ancestors. 16But for now, I am sending enemies who will catch you like fish and hunt you down like wild animals in the hills and the caves.

17I can see everything you are doing, even if you try to hide your sins from me. 18I will punish you double for your sins, because you have made my own land disgusting. You have filled it with lifeless idols that remind me of dead bodies.

The LORD gives strength

I prayed to the LORD:

19Our LORD, you are the one

who gives me strength

and protects me like a fortress

when I am in trouble.

People will come to you

from distant nations and say,

“Our ancestors worshipped

false and useless gods,

20worthless idols

made by human hands.”

21Then the LORD replied,

“That's why I will teach them

about my power,

and they will know

that I am the true God.”

Jeremiah 17

The LORD will punish Judah

The LORD said:

1People of Judah,

your sins cannot be erased.

They are written on your hearts

like words chiselled in stone

or carved on the corners

of your altars.

2-3One generation after another

has set up pagan altars

and worshipped the goddess Asherah

everywhere in your country—

on hills and mountains,

and under large trees.

So I'll take everything you own,

including your altars,

and give it all

to your enemies.

4You will lose the land

that I gave you,

and I will make you slaves

in a foreign country,

because you have made my anger

blaze up like a fire

that won't stop burning.

Trust the LORD

5I, the LORD, have put a curse

on those who turn from me

and trust in human strength.

6They will dry up like a bush

in salty desert soil,

where nothing can grow.

7But I will bless those

who trust me.

8They will be like trees

growing beside a stream—

trees with roots that reach

down to the water,

and with leaves

that are always green.

They bear fruit every year

and are never worried

by a lack of rain.

9You people of Judah

are so deceitful

that you even fool yourselves,

and you can't change.

10But I know your deeds

and your thoughts,

and I will make sure

you get what you deserve.

11You cheated others,

but everything you gained

will fly away, like birds

hatched from stolen eggs.

Then you will discover

what fools you are.

Jeremiah prays to the LORD

12Our LORD, your temple

is a glorious throne

that has stood on a mountain

from the beginning.

13You are a spring of water

giving Israel life and hope.

But if the people reject

what you have told me,

they will be swept away

like words written in dust.

14You, LORD, are the one I praise.

So heal me and rescue me!

Then I will be completely well

and perfectly safe.

15The people of Judah say to me,

“Jeremiah, you claimed to tell us

what the LORD has said.

So why hasn't it come true?”

16Our LORD, you chose me

to care for your people,

and that's what I have done.

You know everything I have said,

and I have never once

asked you to punish them.

17I trust you for protection

in times of trouble,

so don't frighten me.

18Keep me from failure

and disgrace,

but make my enemies fail

and be disgraced.

Send destruction to make

their worst fears come true.

Resting on the Sabbath

19-20The LORD said:

Jeremiah, stand at each city gate in Jerusalem, including the one the king uses, and speak to him and everyone else. Tell them I have said:

I am the LORD, so pay attention. 21-24If you value your lives, don't do any work on the Sabbath. Don't carry anything through the city gates or through the door of your house, or anywhere else. Keep the Sabbath day sacred!

I gave this command to your ancestors, but they were stubborn and refused to obey or to be corrected. But if you obey, 25then Judah and Jerusalem will always be ruled by kings from David's family. The king and his officials will ride through these gates on horses or in chariots, and the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be with them. There will always be people living in Jerusalem, 26and others will come here from the nearby villages, from the towns of Judah and Benjamin, from the hill country and the foothills to the west, and from the Southern Desert. They will bring sacrifices to please me and to give me thanks, as well as offerings of grain and incense.

27But if you keep on carrying things through the city gates on the Sabbath and keep treating it as any other day, I will set fire to these gates and burn down the whole city, including the fortresses.

Jeremiah 16:1-17:27CEVOpen in Bible reader

Titus 2

Instructions for church people

Instructions for different groups of people

1Titus, you must teach only what is correct. 2Tell the older men to have self-control and to be serious and sensible. Their faith, love, and patience must never fail.

3Tell the older women to behave as those who love the Lord should. They must not gossip about others or be slaves of wine. They must teach what is proper, 4so the younger women will be loving wives and mothers. 5Each of the younger women must be sensible and kind, as well as a good homemaker, who puts her own husband first. Then no one can say insulting things about God's message.

6Tell the young men to have self-control in everything.

7Always set a good example for others. Be sincere and serious when you teach. 8Use clean language that no one can criticize. Do this, and your enemies will be too ashamed to say anything against you.

9Tell slaves always to please their owners by obeying them in everything. Slaves must not talk back to their owners 10or steal from them. They must be completely honest and trustworthy. Then everyone will show great respect for what is taught about God our Saviour.

God's kindness and the new life

11God has shown us how kind he is by coming to save all people. 12He taught us to give up our wicked ways and our worldly desires and to live decent and honest lives in this world. 13We are filled with hope, as we wait for the glorious return of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ. 14He gave himself to rescue us from everything that is evil and to make our hearts pure. He wanted us to be his own people and to be eager to do right.

15Teach these things, as you use your full authority to encourage and correct people. Make sure you earn everyone's respect.

Titus 2:1-15CEVOpen in Bible reader
Canadian Bible Societyv.4.23.1
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