Category: More Than Bread

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LAMENTATIONS 1:1-2:22 | PHILEMON 1:1-25 | PSALM 101:1-8 | PROVERBS 26:20

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We enter a new book today titled Lamentations, but it is authored by none other than Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. 

Having delivered and witnessed a series of prophecies against Jerusalem as well as many of her neighbors, Jeremiah is said to have retired to the edge of the city after the destruction of the Temple in 586 BC, and there he composed these writings of lament. 

Jeremiah’s capacity for sorrow knows no bounds, and these writings bear witness to this fact. 

Serving as a mouthpiece to his beloved Jerusalem, he says:

¹⁴ “My sins have been bound into a yoke;
by his hands they were woven together.
They have been hung on my neck,
and the Lord has sapped my strength.
He has given me into the hands
of those I cannot withstand.

And if you’re wondering about the cause for Jerusalem’s grief, it is noted here.  After the decimation of the city, the destruction of the Temple, and the forceful taking away of the people into captivity, this is the reason for the lament of Jerusalem.  Jeremiah says:

¹⁶ “This is why I weep
and my eyes overflow with tears.
No one is near to comfort me,
no one to restore my spirit.
My children are destitute
because the enemy has prevailed.”

Jeremiah adopts a most contrite tone in beseeching the Almighty in these verses:

²⁰ “See, LORD, how distressed I am!
I am in torment within,
and in my heart I am disturbed,
for I have been most rebellious.
Outside, the sword bereaves;
inside, there is only death.

It is indeed a mirthless recognition of the woe that has befallen the children of Israel, and Jerusalem, the capital city of Judah, stands as the symbol of her people’s miseries.  Jeremiah continues his lament:

¹⁷ The LORD has done what he planned;
he has fulfilled his word,
which he decreed long ago.
He has overthrown you without pity,
he has let the enemy gloat over you,
he has exalted the horn of your foes.

We turn now to our New Testament reading, and find a brand new book here as well.  This is yet another one of Paul’s letters from prison in Rome, titled The Epistle of Paul to Philemon, or simply Philemon. 

Paul is writing to a friend by the name of Philemon, who must have evidently become a believer in Christ recently, and was most likely attending one of the newly planted churches in Colosse. 

The purpose of the letter is to persuade Philemon to take back his former slave, Onesimus, who had apparently run away from Philemon, his master, and most likely had stolen from him at the time.  Onesiums, however, finds his way to Rome, comes into contact with Paul (who is actually under house-arrest—a form of imprisonment), becomes a changed person, ministers to Paul possibly by way of running errands for him and such, and above all, becomes a follower of Christ.

In time, Paul most likely comes to view Onesimus as a son, and it would have served his purposes well to have retained Onesimus with him, but Paul wishes to do the right thing. 

By sending Onesimus back to his master, Philemon, Paul is sending a clear message to both parties:  to Philemon the message is that Paul does not covet what is not his, but more importantly, there is now no difference between bond and free in the love of Christ, and he therefore exhorts Philemon to accept Onesimus as a brother.  To Onesimus, the message is to make amends with his master by way of returning to him, apologizing to him, and returning to him anything that was illicitly taken from him.

Paul says to Philemon: 

¹² I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. ¹³ I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. ¹⁴ But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. ¹⁵ Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— ¹⁶ no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.

Paul appeals to Philemon’s sense of Christian brotherliness to take back Onesimus, and offers to pay Onesimus’ debt to Philemon himself. 

He says:  ¹⁷ So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. ¹⁸ If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. ¹⁹ I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. ²⁰ I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. ²¹ Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

Could there be a greater example of caring for another? 

To accept one who has done wrong, to rehabilitate their way of thinking, to have them go back and make amends, and to offer to personally bear the burden of all the expenses incurred in the process—this is the face of true love, and Paul is demonstrating this by way of his letter concerning this matter.

In a day and age where Roman law permitted harsh treatment of runaway slaves, it was a radical thing to suggest that Philemon accept his slave back as a “dear brother,” but that is exactly what Paul is doing. 

In Christ’s love, we are commanded to forgive one another, so as to be forgiven ourselves.  If that is too radical a concept to fathom, I trust this little letter of Paul’s will give us pause for thought, and allow us to consider the importance of putting into practice what we are sometimes quick to preach but slow to follow.

We turn now to our reading of the Psalms, and find David making an affirmation, and asking a question of the Lord that we also might wish to emulate.  David says:

¹ I will sing of your love and justice;
to you, LORD, I will sing praise.
² I will be careful to lead a blameless life—
when will you come to me?

Finally, a verse from the book of Proverbs, in which Solomon, wise king of Israel, discourages the act of gossip-mongering.  He says:

²⁰ Without wood a fire goes out;
without a gossip a quarrel dies down.

May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.  Amen.

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JEREMIAH 51:54-52:34 | TITUS 3:1-15 | PSALM 100:1-5 | PROVERBS 26:18-19

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The weeping prophet has come to the end of his prophecies. 

Jeremiah wraps up with a final foretelling of the doomsday that Babylon will soon see.  Not only does he speak these prophecies, but he writes them down and sends the scroll to Babylon to have it publicly read and then tossed into the mighty Euphrates. 

Any Babylonian with half an ear would have done well to have heard these words, and one can only wonder if there might have been any who might have made further inquiries and efforts to reverse these horrific prophecies against them! 

Regardless, Nebuchadnezzar’s reign will not last long. 

Next, there is some back-tracking of the account of the fall of Jerusalem, and in this way, the book of Jeremiah comes to a close.

We turn now to our reading of Paul’s letter to Titus, and continue to learn more about Paul’s intent in giving out these many detailed directives on personal and corporate conduct.  One can only hope that Paul’s attempts at clarity concerning the reasons advocated for doing good come through to his readers in the church. 

Paul starts out by offering a broad exhortation to be mindful of authority, and mentions in passing “to be ready to do whatever is good,” but it is only a few lines further that he lays out the plan of salvation and takes care to state unequivocally the non-association between our good works, also known as “righteous things” and the “kindness and love of God” who “because of his mercy” has “justified (us) by his grace” and made us “heirs having the hope of eternal life.”

So powerful and essential is this doctrine that Paul follows it up by saying, “And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

“Doing good” is a fundamental part of the Christian life, and a by-product of our “rebirth and renewal” in the new law of Christ. 

Remember, this is a new law, a new covenant between God and man which makes null and void the previous one, also known as the Mosaic Law. 

Paul has already addressed the old law earlier on in this very letter in pointing out the purpose of the law which was to make us aware of our sinful nature, but the fulfillment of the law has been accomplished by the work of Christ on the cross.  The knowledge, realization, and acceptance of this truth brings about salvation, i.e., the saving of one’s soul. 

The two most fundamental aspects of this phenomenon are:  Salvation cannot be earned by good works, and is free to all who believe in the saving grace of the work of Christ on the cross.

One might ask this question of Paul: You mean to say there’s nothing further I must do to earn it?  Perhaps a pilgrimage,  or a penance, or a feeding of the poor that would demonstrate and measure my good works to further earn meritorious favor with God? 

And Paul’s answer would be:  That’s right, you need do nothing more, but you would WANT to do it because it is the right thing to do, and because you can!

But enough of my paraphrasing Paul’s words.  In his own words, these are his fundamental statements that point to the fact that we are saved in order to do good.  Not the other way around! 

Paul says: ³ At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. ⁸ This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

Paul also has some very practical advice that is quite timeless in its relevance and appeal. 

He says to Titus, ⁹ But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. ¹⁰ Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. ¹¹ You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned. 

Is that sufficiently clear, gentle reader?  Paul’s rule of thumb is as simple as it comes:  once, twice, and that’s all, folks!

And in this way, Paul wraps us this short letter to Titus.  He has dwelt much on the business of advocating “doing good” and has backed that up with an infrastructure of contextual information and advice that is as broad as it is deep. 

But one last time, Paul exhorts Titus to instill in the church the good practice of doing good.  He goes on to say: ¹⁴ Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives. 

Finally, Paul ends his letter in his affectionate style of sending greetings to friends, and asking Titus to come and visit him in the winter.  His inimitable style is evident in these lines: ¹⁵ Everyone with me sends you greetings.  Greet those who love us in the faith.  Grace be with you all.

Next, we turn to our Psalm of the day.  Psalm 100 is another Psalm that I have had committed to memory since my childhood, thanks to my mother.  I reproduce it in its entirety in the King James Version that I am familiar with:

¹Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.

 ²Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

 ³Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

 ⁴Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

 ⁵For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Finally, a couple of verses from the book of Proverbs in which Solomon, wise king of Israel, speaks of the ills of afflicting pain on another in a deceptive way.  He says:

¹⁸ Like a maniac shooting
   flaming arrows of death
¹⁹ is one who deceives their neighbor
   and says, “I was only joking!”

May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.  Amen.

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JEREMIAH 51:1-53 | TITUS 2:1-15 | PSALM 99:1-9 | PROVERBS 26:17

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Jeremiah has been on a roll.  After prophesying the downfall of Jerusalem and of ten Gentile nations, he now takes a moment to catch his breath. 

But only long enough to exhale, and then he returns with a vengeance, but this time to predict the fall of Babylon itself.

For all practical purposes, Israel is no more: the holy city of Jerusalem has been decimated; the people taken into captivity; the rest of the people have hastened to go into exile; and barely a handful remain where they are—desolate, and in despair.

But Jeremiah has words of promise for this pathetic group. This is what he prophesies for the “remnant”:

⁵ For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken
by their God, the LORD Almighty,
though their land is full of guilt
before the Holy One of Israel.

And that is not all.  There is a time and place for everything.  It is Babylon that receives a most harsh verdict in the foretellings of Jeremiah.  This is what is in store for them, says Jeremiah:

The LORD will carry out his purpose,
his decree against the people of Babylon.
¹³ You who live by many waters
and are rich in treasures,
your end has come,
the time for you to be destroyed.

Jeremiah has no qualms in telling it like it is, and he does so yet again.  He has many a time lamented the abhorrent practice of idolatry, and he is reiterating his views on the matter in the following verses.  He says:

¹⁷ “…every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud;
they have no breath in them.
¹⁸ They are worthless, the objects of mockery;
when their judgment comes, they will perish.
¹⁹ He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these,
for he is the Maker of all things,
including the people of his inheritance—
the LORD Almighty is his name.

And as for Babylon, a day will soon come, when this will be their fate, says Jeremiah:

³¹ One courier follows another
and messenger follows messenger
to announce to the king of Babylon
that his entire city is captured,
³² the river crossings seized,
the marshes set on fire,
and the soldiers terrified.”

No, it does not bode well for Babylon.  Her worst nightmare will certainly come to pass, as per the word of the Lord delivered to Jeremiah, who goes on to say:

³⁷ Babylon will be a heap of ruins,
a haunt of jackals,
an object of horror and scorn,
a place where no one lives.

Well, we must leave this domain for a little while, and turn now to our reading of Paul’s letter to Titus. 

Titus, a young man, not unlike Timothy, has found a mentor in Paul, who cares deeply for the church that has been planted in Crete, and to which Titus has been sent to minister to.  Paul takes care to go over so many details, both small and large, that I never cease to be amazed at his capacity for thinking of every possible thing concerning one’s conduct, one to another. 

He has specific advice for all, and pays attention to each group.  There was evidently a mix of people from every walk of life in these newly founded churches:  Jew and Gentile, bond and free—no one was barred from accepting the free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, and all were a part of the church. 

Paul’s advice to Titus, the pastor of this church, is therefore specific to the various groups.  The advice, is timeless, however, and it would behoove us to note how essential each aspect ought to be in these modern times as well.

For the older men, Paul says:  ¹ You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. ² Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. 

For the older women who would in turn teach younger women, his advice is: ³ Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. ⁴ Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

For young men, the advice is: ⁶ Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. ⁷ In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness ⁸ and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. 

And for the slaves, there is specific advice as well: ⁹ Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, ¹⁰ and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

And if there was any doubt about why even bother about instructing this one or that one, Paul makes it clear with this statement:

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 

Is that sufficiently clear, gentle reader? 

Paul carries on: ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Therefore, do good for the sake of doing good, and nothing more, he seems to say.  Not because you can earn something from it, but because it is the right thing to do, and because it is the least that you can do after so great a gift of redemption in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ has been given to you. 

Given all that, why would you NOT do good?!

We turn now to our Psalm of the day, and find in Psalm 99, a majestic psalm of praise.  In these simple lines, the psalmist speaks of the Lord’s great love and forgiveness to his people, Israel.  David says:

⁸ LORD our God,
you answered them;
you were to Israel a forgiving God,
though you punished their misdeeds.

Finally, a marvelously graphic verse concerning busybodies:

¹⁷ Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears
is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own.

May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.  Amen.

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JEREMIAH 49:23-50:46 | TITUS 1:1-16 | PSALM 97:1-98:9 | PROVERBS 26:13-16

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Jeremiah is running down the list of nations that don’t have very favorable fortunes in their future.

Damascus, Kedar, Hazor, Elam, and Babylon are mentioned in this passage, and following everything that he has to say about the misfortunes coming their way, Jeremiah finally does change gears, and has something positive to say about the “remnant,” i.e., the few people that were left behind in Judah after the pillage and plunder of Nebuchadnezzar. 

Jeremiah speaks these words from the Lord:

¹⁸ Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

“I will punish the king of Babylon and his land
as I punished the king of Assyria.
¹⁹ But I will bring Israel back to their own pasture,
and they will graze on Carmel and Bashan;
their appetite will be satisfied
on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.
²⁰ In those days, at that time,”
declares the LORD,
“search will be made for Israel’s guilt,
but there will be none,
and for the sins of Judah,
but none will be found,
for I will forgive the remnant I spare.

We turn now to a brand new book titled The Epistle of Paul to Titus, or simply Titus. 

This is yet another letter, much like the two letters to Timothy, in which Paul is writing to a young man, Titus, who has been his colleague and friend in his missionary travels, especially to the Island of Crete.  Paul wishes that the newly established churches have competent leaders so that the new believers in the Christian faith will have the guidance and support that they need.  Paul is writing here about the appointment of leaders, or elders, who love that which is good.

Toward this end, he says, ⁵ The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. ⁶ An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. ⁷ Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. ⁸ Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. ⁹ He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

Paul is concerned about the gross malteachings of those steeped in the Jewish tradition who are evidently sowing seeds of doubt among the new believers, and leading astray the flock of young Christians with their cries for observing this or that traditional practice. 

Paul says of these people—and like-minded folks are to be found in modern times as well:  ¹⁵ To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. ¹⁶ They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. 

Well, there you have it—nothing ambivalent about Paul’s views there. Is that sufficiently clear, gentle reader?

We turn next to our Psalm for the day, and find a most joyful one of praise.  David, the psalmist, offers up these words of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord:

⁹ For you, LORD, are the Most High over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.
¹⁰ Let those who love the LORD hate evil,
for he guards the lives of his faithful ones
and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
¹¹ Light shines on the righteous
   and joy on the upright in heart.
¹² Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous,
and praise his holy name.

And in the next Psalm as well, we sing a similar strain of jubilant praise:

⁴ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;

⁵ make music to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,

⁶ with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
shout for joy before the LORD, the King.

Finally, a few verses from the book of Proverbs in which Solomon, wise king of Israel, explores the vice of slothfulness:

¹³ A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road,
a fierce lion roaming the streets!”

¹⁴ As a door turns on its hinges,
so a sluggard turns on his bed.

¹⁵ A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

¹⁶ A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
   than seven people who answer discreetly.

May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.  Amen.

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JEREMIAH 48:1-49:22 | 2 TIMOTHY 4:1-22 | PSALM 95:1-96:13 | PROVERBS 26:9-12

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Jeremiah is on a roll. 

After castigating the poor choices of the children of Israel in fleeing from Judah down to Egypt in hopes of getting aid and succor from them, Jeremiah begins another round of lambasting—and this time around it is Moab, Ammon, and Edom that have their misfortunes spelled out for them. 

These aren’t happy times by any stretch of the imagination.  Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, has spoken the word of the Lord, and so it shall come to pass.

We turn now to our reading of Paul’s second letter to Timothy, and find Paul carefully instructing Timothy in the right and proper way to carry out his ministry of preaching the gospel of Christ. 

Paul says:  ² Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. ³ For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. 

Paul speaks of the short time left to him in his ministry and in his life, and says:  ⁶ For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Unlike Paul’s many other letters to the churches, in these letters to Timothy, Paul is careful to remember many a person by name, and he does this in some detail as he ends this letter.  He is desirous of Timothy’s company, and we see the affectionate manner in which he asks Timothy to come and visit him, and to bring his cloak and other effects.  In these verses, we get a glimpse of the very practical side to Paul.

We turn now to our Psalm of the day, and find the very first verse to be an excellent example of thanksgiving and praise.  David says:

¹ Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
² Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.

Also, the very last verse of the next Psalm is worthy of record for the grandiose way in which David offers up praises to the Almighty:

¹¹ Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
¹² Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
¹³ Let all creation rejoice before the LORD, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Finally, a few choice verses from the book of Proverbs in which Solomon, wise king of Israel, continues with the theme of correctly identifying and categorizing each kind of fool—be it in another, or in one’s own self:

⁹ Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

¹⁰ Like an archer who wounds at random
is one who hires a fool or any passer-by.

¹¹ As a dog returns to its vomit,
so fools repeat their folly.

¹² Do you see a person wise in their own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for them.

May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.  Amen.

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JEREMIAH 44:24-47:7 | 2 TIMOTHY 2:22-3:17 | PSALM 94:1-23 | PROVERBS 26:6-8

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If the children of Israel’s capacity for being stiff-necked and stubborn is unequaled, the capacity of the Almighty’s stubborn and unending passion for his people is also unparalleled. 

The people have thrown to the winds Jeremiah’s doomsday prophecies for their disobedience and his exhortations for repentance.  Jerusalem has fallen; the best of the best have been carried off into captivity.  There has been an uprising with the remaining people within Judah.  And following an outbreak of warring factions that assassin the appointed governor of Judah, there is a mass exodus back into Egypt. 

Things could not have been any worse.

Jeremiah’s laments and warnings against the people leaving their homeland, and his petitions to have them turn back to Yahweh, the God of their fathers, gets tossed out by the wayside, and the people are most outraged at his continued prophecies of doom.  They carry on with even more idol-worship, invoking new and varied gods beyond Baal, and Jeremiah is left to his own devices. 

Well, Jeremiah is not one to be quiet, and beseeches the Lord for revelation and guidance.  The remnant in Judah is negligible, but not so insignificant in the sight of the Lord.  Because while there is further devastation that is predicted for Egypt and even Babylon, the Lord has the most amazing words for his people. 

In a most uncharacteristic style, Jeremiah delivers these amazing words of comfort.  The Lord says through him:

²⁷ “Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant;
do not be dismayed, Israel.
I will surely save you out of a distant place,
your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,
and no one will make him afraid.
²⁸ Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant,
for I am with you,” declares the LORD.
“Though I completely destroy all the nations
among which I scatter you,
I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you but only in due measure;
I will not let you go entirely unpunished.”

We turn now to our reading of Paul’s second letter to Timothy, and find Paul taking pains to put forth his views on the recommended course of conduct with all persons, especially concerning non-believers.  He reiterates his views on the futility of engaging with a person in a combative way in “foolish and stupid arguments.” 

Paul puts it like this:  ²² Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. ²³ Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. ²⁴ And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. ²⁵ Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

Paul then switches gears and offers an exhortation concerning signs of the end-times.  One wonders if we are not already living in such times, but then again, I wonder if every generation since these writings has not wondered the same thing. 

Paul says:   ¹ But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ² People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴ treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

Timothy receives a final charge from Paul in these following verses.  Paul has confidence in this young man, and is writing to build him up even more, and to  encourage him in the Christian faith.  Timothy has had the support of a godly mother and grandmother, as Paul has already mentioned, and having taken Timothy under his own wing, Paul wishes to equip him with all the relevant information and advice in order to help him grow in the faith, and to be a minister for the gospel of Christ. 

Paul’s advice to Timothy is:  ¹² In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³ while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, ¹⁵ and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

We turn now to our Psalm for the day, and find one in which David is acknowledging the omnipotence of the Almighty.  While imploring his people to pay heed to the word of the Lord, David is employing a literary device of ascribing human characteristics to the Almighty. 

By invoking the use of sight and sound, is not the Almighty—who has created the instruments of eyes and ears in the human body—familiar with the proper use of these faculties, asks David:

⁸ Take notice, you senseless ones among the people;
you fools, when will you become wise?
⁹ Does he who fashioned the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see?
¹⁰ Does he who disciplines nations not punish?
Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge?
¹¹ The LORD knows all human plans;
he knows that they are futile.

And if David is the picture of humility, he is also unparalleled in his capacity to offer up praise and thanksgiving.  David says of the Lord:

¹⁶ Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?
¹⁷ Unless the LORD had given me help,
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
¹⁸ When I said, “My foot is slipping,”
   your unfailing love, LORD, supported me.
¹⁹ When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought me joy.

Finally, a few verses from the book of Proverbs in which Solomon, wise king of Israel, expounds upon the hallmarks of a fool.  Pay heed, one and all:  this is the way to identify one, and/or to become one!

⁶ Sending a message by the hands of a fool
is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison.

⁷ Like the useless legs of one who is lame
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

⁸ Like tying a stone in a sling
is the giving of honor to a fool.

May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.  Amen.

Click Here For Today’s Reading

JEREMIAH 42:1-44:23 | 2 TIMOTHY 2:1-21 | PSALM 92:1-93:5 | PROVERBS 26:3-5

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Nebuchadnezzar and his armies have decimated Jerusalem, and have taken the best of the people as prisoners of war back to Babylon.  What is left is a sad remnant of those who have been left behind after the assassination of the puppet governor installed by Nebuchadnezzar in Judah and after the exodus of others following the assassination to Egypt. 

If you think things are bad for the children of Israel, they’re actually very bad as things go.  But the few that do remain in the land seem to show some understanding of the gravity of the situation, and it must have been truly a thoughtful man who decides that the next best course of action might be to approach Jeremiah, the prophet. 

He’s not so crazy anymore, is what the people must have realized. And so, they go to Jeremiah with a view to beseeching him for advice from the Lord. 

They say to him, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the LORD your God sends you to tell us. ⁶ Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the LORD our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the LORD our God.”

And so, Jeremiah seeks the Lord’s advice, and ten days later, this is what he tells the people that the Lord has said:  ¹⁰ ‘If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I have relented concerning the disaster I have inflicted on you. ¹¹ Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the LORD, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. ¹² I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.’

There is also an alternate scenario presented if the people decide to spurn this instruction and flee to Egypt instead—like many before them have already done.  You would think the people would have by now realized that the words of this man Jeremiah must carry some weight, and that it might be better to heed him at this time—you would think that—but no, on the contrary, this is what the people reply to Jeremiah.

They say:  “You are lying! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to settle there.’ ³ But Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Babylonians, so they may kill us or carry us into exile to Babylon.”

Well, there is only so much that may be said and done with a stubborn people.  The people spurn the words of Jeremiah, and continue with their original mission to go back to Egypt. 

The horror of it, can you imagine?! For it is from Egypt that they were originally delivered by Moses.

And so Jeremiah says this to his people:  ² “This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You saw the great disaster I brought on Jerusalem and on all the towns of Judah. Today they lie deserted and in ruins ³ because of the evil they have done. They aroused my anger by burning incense to and worshiping other gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors ever knew. ⁴ Again and again I sent my servants the prophets, who said, ‘Do not do this detestable thing that I hate!’ ⁵ But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their wickedness or stop burning incense to other gods. ⁶ Therefore, my fierce anger was poured out; it raged against the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem and made them the desolate ruins they are today.

What could be more pathetic than a people who have ears to hear but do not hear, eyes to see and do not see, and a prophet amongst them who speaks out loud and clear, but whose words are never heeded.  This was the pathetic state of affairs of the people of Israel.  The God of their fathers has been put aside, and the most abhorrent act of idol-worship has been taken up again by the people. 

Without shame or remorse, this is what the people tell Jeremiah:  ¹⁶ “We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD! ¹⁷ We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. ¹⁸ But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine.”

It is to be seen what might be next in store for these erring children of Israel. 

But in the meantime, we must now turn to Paul’s second letter to Timothy.  Paul is like a father-figure to young Timothy, and writes these letters to him in the most patient, instructive, and indulgent tone. 

He say to Timothy:  ¹ You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ² And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. ³ Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. ⁵ Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. ⁶ The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. ⁷ Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

Paul then goes on to reiterate the primary focus of the gospel, or good news, viz. Jesus Christ himself.  He says, ⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, ⁹ for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. ¹⁰ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

Next, Paul wishes to address the seemingly prevalent issue of false teachers who constantly desire to debate doctrines and theologies.  While there is nothing untoward about such endeavors, there is a limit to such debates, and Paul cautions Timothy against falling prey to such exercises too often.  

He says, ¹⁴ Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. ¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. ¹⁶ Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. ¹⁷ Their teaching will spread like gangrene.

Paul has the highest hopes for Timothy, and wishes for him to shine in his person and teachings.  He offers an analogy of various vessels in the house, and exhorts Timothy to strive to be the best. 

Paul says:  ²⁰ In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. ²¹ Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

Turning now to our reading of the Psalms, we find a joyful psalm of praise.  It is so very heartening to read and repeat these words of thanksgiving and praise, authored by David, a man after God’s own heart.  David says:

⁴ For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD;
   I sing for joy at what your hands have done.

⁵ How great are your works, LORD,
how profound your thoughts!

Finally, a few verses from the book of Proverbs that speak to the futility of engaging a fool in conversation.  Solomon, the wise king of Israel, gives us some food for thought when he says:

⁴ Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
or you yourself will be just like him.

⁵ Answer a fool according to his folly,
or he will be wise in his own eyes.

May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.  Amen.