Monday, August 3
Read Jeremiah 43
Think About It:
- Azariah, Johanan and the other proud men became angry with Jeremiah when he prophesied the Words of the LORD. Consider the following quote by Derek Kidner. “All along (had they realized it) they had regarded God as a power to enlist, not a Lord to obey; and they still cannot believe that His will can be radically different from their own.” When you are making plans for yourself do you ask God for help and guidance to know His will or do you look for His approval? Is it easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission?
- “Abraham’s descendants returned to Egypt long after their liberation from it. With great suffering they had been delivered from their bondage in Egypt only to return there a defeated and hopeless remnant nearly nine hundred years later” (Charles L. Feinberg). What motivated these descendants of Abraham to return to the land of their captivity in defiance of God?
- The remnant of Judah ignored the Word of Jehovah and followed their own desires, even taking Jeremiah and Baruch against their will. But they did not escape God’s reach, He spoke through Jeremiah even in Tahpanhes. Who else in the Bible ignored God’s directions and tried to run from God?
Family Time:
- In the previous chapter we see the captains of Judah ask for God’s direction (but in words only, not in their heart) and then reject the instructions God gave them when they didn’t like it. They chose their own wisdom over God’s wisdom and chose judgement over blessing.
- Think about where the Israelite people were when God called Moses to lead them and think about where they are here in this chapter—right back in the land God rescued them from—Egypt! Imagine how that must have grieved God’s heart for His people to once again chose Egypt.
- God wants us to live in His Kingdom, His Promised Land, in fellowship with Him as free sons and daughters—not slaves to sin.
