O. Addison Gethers
e-mail address [email protected] [email protected] twitter URL http//:twitter.com/OAddisonGethers Messenger contact window live/msn messenger: [email protected] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS rs ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donnie Parrett" <[email protected]> To: "Donnie Parrett" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, August 21, 2009 11:03 PM Subject: Daily Bible Reading For Saturday August 22 > Day 234 > > Jeremiah 34-36 (The Message) > > Jeremiah 34 > Freedom to the Slaves > 1 God's Message to Jeremiah at the time King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon > mounted an all-out attack on > Jerusalem and all the towns around it with his armies and allies and > everyone he could muster: > 2-3"I, God, the God of Israel, direct you to go and tell Zedekiah king of > Judah: 'This is God's > Message. Listen to me. I am going to hand this city over to the king of > Babylon, and he is going to > burn it to the ground. And don't think you'll get away. You'll be captured > and be his prisoner. You > will have a personal confrontation with the king of Babylon and be taken > off with him, captive, to > Babylon. > > 4-5"'But listen, O Zedekiah king of Judah, to the rest of the Message of > God. You won't be killed. > You'll die a peaceful death. They will honor you with funeral rites as > they honored your ancestors, > the kings who preceded you. They will properly mourn your death, weeping, > "Master, master!" This is > a solemn promise. God's Decree.'" > > 6-7The prophet Jeremiah gave this Message to Zedekiah king of Judah in > Jerusalem, gave it to him > word for word. It was at the very time that the king of Babylon was > mounting his all-out attack on > Jerusalem and whatever cities in Judah that were still standing-only > Lachish and Azekah, as it > turned out (they were the only fortified cities left in Judah). > > 8-10God delivered a Message to Jeremiah after King Zedekiah made a > covenant with the people of > Jerusalem to decree freedom to the slaves who were Hebrews, both men and > women. The covenant > stipulated that no one in Judah would own a fellow Jew as a slave. All the > leaders and people who > had signed the covenant set free the slaves, men and women alike. > > 11But a little while later, they reneged on the covenant, broke their > promise and forced their > former slaves to become slaves again. > > 12-14Then Jeremiah received this Message from God: "God, the God of > Israel, says, 'I made a > covenant with your ancestors when I delivered them out of their slavery in > Egypt. At the time I made > it clear: "At the end of seven years, each of you must free any fellow > Hebrew who has had to sell > himself to you. After he has served six years, set him free." But your > ancestors totally ignored me. > > 15-16"'And now, you-what have you done? First you turned back to the right > way and did the right > thing, decreeing freedom for your brothers and sisters-and you made it > official in a solemn covenant > in my Temple. And then you turned right around and broke your word, making > a mockery of both me and > the covenant, and made them all slaves again, these men and women you'd > just set free. You forced > them back into slavery. > > 17-20"'So here is what I, God, have to say: You have not obeyed me and set > your brothers and > sisters free. Here is what I'm going to do: I'm going to set you > free-God's Decree-free to get > killed in war or by disease or by starvation. I'll make you a spectacle of > horror. People all over > the world will take one look at you and shudder. Everyone who violated my > covenant, who didn't do > what was solemnly promised in the covenant ceremony when they split the > young bull into two halves > and walked between them, all those people that day who walked between the > two halves of the > bull-leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, palace officials, priests, and all > the rest of the people-I'm > handing the lot of them over to their enemies who are out to kill them. > Their dead bodies will be > carrion food for vultures and stray dogs. > > 21-22"'As for Zedekiah king of Judah and his palace staff, I'll also hand > them over to their > enemies, who are out to kill them. The army of the king of Babylon has > pulled back for a time, but > not for long, for I'm going to issue orders that will bring them back to > this city. They'll attack > and take it and burn it to the ground. The surrounding cities of Judah > will fare no better. I'll > turn them into ghost towns, unlivable and unlived in.'" God's Decree. > > Jeremiah 35 > Meeting in God's Temple > 1 The Message that Jeremiah received from God ten years earlier, during > the time of Jehoiakim son > of Josiah king of Israel: 2"Go visit the Recabite community. Invite them > to meet with you in one of > the rooms in God's Temple. And serve them wine." > 3-4So I went and got Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, along > with all his brothers and > sons-the whole community of the Recabites as it turned out-and brought > them to God's Temple and to > the meeting room of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God. It was next to > the meeting room of the > Temple officials and just over the apartment of Maaseiah son of Shallum, > who was in charge of Temple > affairs. > > 5Then I set out chalices and pitchers of wine for the Recabites and said, > "A toast! Drink up!" > > 6-7But they wouldn't do it. "We don't drink wine," they said. "Our > ancestor Jonadab son of Recab > commanded us, 'You are not to drink wine, you or your children, ever. > Neither shall you build houses > or settle down, planting fields and gardens and vineyards. Don't own > property. Live in tents as > nomads so that you will live well and prosper in a wandering life.' > > 8-10"And we've done it, done everything Jonadab son of Recab commanded. We > and our wives, our sons > and daughters, drink no wine at all. We don't build houses. We don't have > vineyards or fields or > gardens. We live in tents as nomads. We've listened to our ancestor > Jonadab and we've done > everything he commanded us. > > 11"But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded our land, we said, > 'Let's go to Jerusalem and > get out of the path of the Chaldean and Aramean armies, find ourselves a > safe place.' That's why > we're living in Jerusalem right now." > > Why Won't You Learn Your Lesson? > 12-15Then Jeremiah received this Message from God: > "God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, > wants you to go tell the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem > that I say, 'Why won't you > learn your lesson and do what I tell you?' God's Decree. 'The commands of > Jonadab son of Recab to > his sons have been carried out to the letter. He told them not to drink > wine, and they haven't > touched a drop to this very day. They honored and obeyed their ancestor's > command. But look at you! > I have gone to a lot of trouble to get your attention, and you've ignored > me. I sent prophet after > prophet to you, all of them my servants, to tell you from early morning to > late at night to change > your life, make a clean break with your evil past and do what is right, to > not take up with every > Tom, Dick, and Harry of a god that comes down the pike, but settle down > and be faithful in this > country I gave your ancestors. > 15-16"'And what do I get from you? Deaf ears. The descendants of Jonadab > son of Recab carried out > to the letter what their ancestor commanded them, but this people ignores > me.' > > 17"So here's what is going to happen. God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of > Israel, says, 'I will > bring calamity down on the heads of the people of Judah and Jerusalem-the > very calamity I warned you > was coming-because you turned a deaf ear when I spoke, turned your backs > when I called.'" > > 18-19Then, turning to the Recabite community, Jeremiah said, "And this is > what > God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says to you: Because you have > done what Jonadab your > ancestor told you, obeyed his commands and followed through on his > instructions, receive this > Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: There will always > be a descendant of > Jonadab son of Recab at my service! Always!'" > > Jeremiah 36 > Reading God's Message > 1 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, > Jeremiah received this Message from God: 2"Get a scroll and write down > everything I've told you > regarding Israel and Judah and all the other nations from the time I first > started speaking to you > in Josiah's reign right up to the present day. 3"Maybe the community of > Judah will finally get it, > finally understand the catastrophe that I'm planning for them, turn back > from their bad lives, and > let me forgive their perversity and sin." > > 4So Jeremiah called in Baruch son of Neriah. Jeremiah dictated and Baruch > wrote down on a scroll > everything that God had said to him. > > 5-6Then Jeremiah told Baruch, "I'm blacklisted. I can't go into God's > Temple, so you'll have to go > in my place. Go into the Temple and read everything you've written at my > dictation. Wait for a day > of fasting when everyone is there to hear you. And make sure that all the > people who come from the > Judean villages hear you. > > 7"Maybe, just maybe, they'll start praying and God will hear their > prayers. Maybe they'll turn back > from their bad lives. This is no light matter. God has certainly let them > know how angry he is!" > > 8Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do. > In the Temple of God he > read the Message of God from the scroll. > > 9It came about in December of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah > king of Judah that all the > people of Jerusalem, along with all the people from the Judean villages, > were there in Jerusalem to > observe a fast to God. > > 10Baruch took the scroll to the Temple and read out publicly the words of > Jeremiah. He read from > the meeting room of Gemariah son of Shaphan the secretary of state, which > was in the upper court > right next to the New Gate of God's Temple. Everyone could hear him. > > 11-12The moment Micaiah the son of Gemariah heard what was being read from > the scroll-God's > Message!-he went straight to the palace and to the chambers of the > secretary of state where all the > government officials were holding a meeting: Elishama the secretary, > Delaiah son of Shemaiah, > Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, > and all the other > government officials. > > 13Micaiah reported everything he had heard Baruch read from the scroll as > the officials listened. > > 14Immediately they dispatched Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Semaiah, son > of Cushi, to Baruch, > ordering him, "Take the scroll that you have read to the people and bring > it here." So Baruch went > and retrieved the scroll. > > 15The officials told him, "Sit down. Read it to us, please." Baruch read > it. > > 16When they had heard it all, they were upset. They talked it over. "We've > got to tell the king all > this." > > 17They asked Baruch, "Tell us, how did you come to write all this? Was it > at Jeremiah's dictation?" > > 18Baruch said, "That's right. Every word right from his own mouth. And I > wrote it down, word for > word, with pen and ink." > > 19The government officials told Baruch, "You need to get out of here. Go > into hiding, you and > Jeremiah. Don't let anyone know where you are!" > > 20-21The officials went to the court of the palace to report to the king, > having put the scroll for > safekeeping in the office of Elishama the secretary of state. The king > sent Jehudi to get the > scroll. He brought it from the office of Elishama the secretary. Jehudi > then read it to the king and > the officials who were in the king's service. > > 22-23It was December. The king was sitting in his winter quarters in front > of a charcoal fire. > After Jehudi would read three or four columns, the king would cut them off > the scroll with his > pocketknife and throw them in the fire. He continued in this way until the > entire scroll had been > burned up in the fire. > > 24-26Neither the king nor any of his officials showed the slightest twinge > of conscience as they > listened to the messages read. Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah tried to > convince the king not to > burn the scroll, but he brushed them off. He just plowed ahead and ordered > Prince Jerahameel, > Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Jeremiah the > prophet and his secretary > Baruch. But God had hidden them away. > > 27-28After the king had burned the scroll that Baruch had written at > Jeremiah's dictation, Jeremiah > received this Message from God: "Get another blank scroll and do it all > over again. Write out > everything that was in that first scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah > burned up. > > 29"And send this personal message to Jehoiakim king of Judah: 'God says, > You had the gall to burn > this scroll and then the nerve to say, "What kind of nonsense is this > written here-that the king of > Babylon will come and destroy this land and kill everything in it?" > > 30-31"'Well, do you want to know what God says about Jehoiakim king of > Judah? This: No descendant > of his will ever rule from David's throne. His corpse will be thrown in > the street and left > unburied, exposed to the hot sun and the freezing night. I will punish him > and his children and the > officials in his government for their blatant sin. I'll let loose on them > and everyone in Jerusalem > the doomsday disaster of which I warned them but they spit at.'" > > 32So Jeremiah went and got another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of > Neriah, his secretary. At > Jeremiah's dictation he again wrote down everything that Jehoiakim king of > Judah had burned in the > fire. There were also generous additions, but of the same kind of thing. > > > > > > > ~~~~~ > Please join us on Skype Monday thru Friday at 8:00 EST for our Morning > Skype Prayer Time. > Also, follow my tweets on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/Donnie1261 > > > Contact Me At: > Donnie Parrett > 1956 Asa Flat Road > Annville, Kentucky 40402 > Home Phone: 606-364-3321 > Church Phone: 606-364-PRAY > Skype Name: Donnie1261 > Email: [email protected] > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/dbilg?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
