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