Through the Bible – Day 312

Bible text(s)

Jeremiah 44

The people refuse to worship the LORD

₁₅A large number of Jews from both northern and southern Egypt listened to me as I told them what the LORD had said. Most of the men in the crowd knew that their wives often burnt incense to other gods. So they and their wives shouted:

₁₆Jeremiah, what do we care if you speak in the LORD's name? We refuse to listen! ₁₇We have promised to worship the goddess Astarte, the Queen of Heaven, and that is exactly what we are going to do. We will burn incense and offer sacrifices of wine to her, just as we, our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders did when we lived in Jerusalem and the other towns of Judah. We had plenty of food back then. We were well off, and nothing bad ever happened to us. ₁₈But since the time we stopped burning incense and offering wine sacrifices to her, we have been dying from war and hunger.

₁₉Then the women said, “When we lived in Judah, we worshipped the Queen of Heaven and offered sacrifices of wine and special loaves of bread shaped like her. Our husbands knew what we were doing, and they approved of it.”

₂₀Then I told the crowd:

₂₁Don't you think the LORD knew that you and your ancestors, your leaders and kings, and the rest of the people were burning incense to other gods in Jerusalem and everywhere else in Judah? ₂₂And when he could no longer put up with your disgusting sins, he placed a curse on your land and turned it into a desert, as it is today. ₂₃This disaster happened because you worshipped other gods and rebelled against the LORD by refusing to obey him or follow his laws and teachings.

_24-25Then I told the men and their wives, that the LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, had said:

Here in Egypt you still keep your promises to burn incense and offer sacrifices of wine to the so called Queen of Heaven. ₂₆Keep these promises! But let me tell you what will happen. As surely as I am the LORD God, I swear that I will never again accept any promises you make in my name. ₂₇Instead of watching over you, I will watch for chances to harm you. Some of you will die in war, and others will starve to death. ₂₈Only a few will escape and return to Judah. Then everyone who went to live in Egypt will know that when I say something will happen, it will—no matter what you say.

₂₉And here is how you will know that I will keep my threats to punish you in Egypt. ₃₀I will hand over King Hophra of Egypt to those who want to kill him, just as I handed Zedekiah over to Nebuchadnezzar, who wanted to kill him.

Jeremiah 45

A message for Baruch

The LORD will not let Baruch be killed

₁In the fourth year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah, Baruch wrote down everything I had told him. ₂Then later, the LORD God of Israel told me to say to Baruch:

₃You are moaning and blaming me, the LORD, for your troubles and sorrow, and for being so tired that you can't even rest. ₄But all over the earth I am tearing down what I built and pulling up what I planted. ₅I am bringing disaster everywhere, so don't even think about making any big plans for yourself. However, I promise that wherever you go, I will at least protect you from death. I, the LORD, have spoken.

Jeremiah 46

The Lord speaks about the nations

₁The LORD often told me what to say about the different nations of the world.

What the LORD says about Egypt

₂In the fourth year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia defeated King Neco of Egypt in a battle at the city of Carchemish near the River Euphrates. And here is what the LORD told me to say about the Egyptian army:

₃It's time to go into battle!

So grab your shields,

₄saddle your horses,

and polish your spears.

Put on your helmets and armour,

then take your positions.

₅I can see the battle now—

you are defeated

and running away,

never once looking back.

Terror is all around.

₆You are strong and run fast,

but you can't escape.

You fall in battle

near the River Euphrates.

₇What nation is this,

that rises like the River Nile

overflowing its banks?

₈It is Egypt, rising with a roar

like a raging river

and saying,

“I'll flood the earth,

destroying cities, and killing

everyone in them.”

₉Go ahead, Egypt.

Tell your chariots and cavalry

to attack and fight hard.

Order your troops to march out,

with Ethiopians and Libyans

carrying shields,

and the Lydians armed with bows

and arrows.

₁₀But the LORD All-Powerful

will win this battle

and take revenge

on his enemies.

His sword will eat them

and drink their blood

until it is full.

They will be killed in the north

near the River Euphrates,

as a sacrifice to the LORD.

₁₁Egypt, no medicine can heal you,

not even the soothing lotion

from Gilead.

₁₂All nations have heard you weep;

you are disgraced,

and they know it.

Your troops fall to the ground,

stumbling over each other.

A warning for Egypt

_13-14When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia was on his way to attack Egypt, the LORD sent me with a warning for every Egyptian town, but especially for Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes. He said I must tell them:

Prepare to defend yourselves!

Everywhere in your nation,

people are dying in war.

₁₅I have struck down

your mighty god Apis

and chased him away.

₁₆Your soldiers stumble

over each other

and say, “Get up!

The enemy will kill us,

unless we can escape

to our own land.”

₁₇Give the king of Egypt

this new name,

“Talks-Big-Does-Nothing”.

₁₈Egypt, I am the true king,

the LORD All-Powerful,

and as surely as I live,

those enemies who attack

will tower over you

like Mount Tabor among the hills

or Mount Carmel by the sea.

₁₉You will be led away captive,

so pack a few things

to bring with you.

Your capital, Memphis,

will lie empty and in ruins.

₂₀An enemy from the north

will attack you, beautiful Egypt,

like a fly biting a cow.

₂₁The foreign soldiers you hired

will turn and run.

But they are doomed,

like well-fed calves

being led to the butcher.

_22-23The enemy army will go forward

like a swarm of locusts.

Your troops will feel helpless,

like a snake in a forest

when men with axes

start chopping down trees.

It can only hiss

and try to escape.

₂₄Your people will be disgraced

and captured by the enemy

from the north.

₂₅I am the LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel. Soon I will punish the god Amon of Thebes and the other Egyptian gods, the Egyptian kings, the people of Egypt, and everyone who trusts in the Egyptian power. ₂₆I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar and his army. But I also promise that Egypt will some day have people living here again, just as it had before. I, the LORD, have spoken.

The LORD will bring Israel home

The LORD said:

₂₇Israel, don't be afraid.

Some day I will bring you home

from foreign lands.

You and your descendants

will live in peace and safety,

with nothing to fear.

₂₈So don't be afraid,

even though now

you deserve to be punished

and have been scattered

among other nations.

But when I destroy them,

I will protect you.

I, the LORD, have spoken.

Jeremiah 44:15-46:28CEVOpen in Bible reader

Hebrews 9

Jesus' sacrifice is once and for all

₂₃These things are only copies of what is in heaven, and so they had to be made holy by these ceremonies. But the real things in heaven must be made holy by something better. ₂₄This is why Christ did not go into a tent that had been made by humans and was only a copy of the real one. Instead, he went into heaven and is now there with God to help us.

₂₅Christ did not have to offer himself many times. He wasn't like a high priest who goes into the most holy place each year to offer the blood of an animal. ₂₆If he had offered himself every year, he would have suffered many times since the creation of the world. But instead, near the end of time he offered himself once and for all, so that he could be a sacrifice that does away with sin.

₂₇We die only once, and then we are judged. ₂₈So Christ died only once to take away the sins of many people. But when he comes again, it will not be to take away sin. He will come to save everyone who is waiting for him.

Hebrews 10

₁The Law of Moses is like a shadow of the good things to come. This shadow isn't the good things themselves, because it cannot free people from sin by the sacrifices that are offered year after year. ₂If there were worshippers who already have their sins washed away and their consciences made clear, there would not be any need to go on offering sacrifices. _3-4But the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins. It only reminds people of their sins from one year to the next.

₅When Christ came into the world, he said to God,

“Sacrifices and offerings

are not what you want,

but you have given me

my body.

₆No, you are not pleased

with animal sacrifices

and offerings for sin.”

₇Then Christ said,

“And so, my God,

I have come to do

what you want,

as the Scriptures say.”

₈The Law teaches that offerings and sacrifices must be made because of sin. But why did Christ mention these things and say that God did not want them? ₉Well, it was to do away with offerings and sacrifices and to replace them. That is what he meant by saying to God, “I have come to do what you want.” ₁₀So we are made holy because Christ obeyed God and offered himself once for all.

₁₁The priests do their work each day, and they keep on offering sacrifices that can never take away sins. ₁₂But Christ offered himself as a sacrifice that is good for ever. Now he is sitting at God's right side, ₁₃and he will stay there until his enemies are put under his power. ₁₄By his one sacrifice he has for ever set free from sin the people he brings to God.

₁₅The Holy Spirit also speaks of this by telling us that the Lord said,

₁₆“When the time comes,

I will make an agreement

with them.

I will write my laws

on their minds and hearts.

₁₇Then I will forget

about their sins

and no longer remember

their evil deeds.”

₁₈When sins are forgiven, there is no more need to offer sacrifices.

Hebrews 9:23-10:18CEVOpen in Bible reader