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Oct 30, 2023 06:00am

The Bible Recap: Days 225-231

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(The following are reflections from the writer’s personal journey through The Bible Recap by Tara-Leigh Cobble – a Bible reading plan to read the Bible chronologically in one year. To learn more about The Bible Recap, visit thebiblerecap.com. Find more posts from this series at lifeword.org/thebiblerecap.)

Day 225: Read Jeremiah Chapters 23-25

My Takeaways:

All I have to say is this: All those who preach God’s Word better be listening to the Almighty God Himself: otherwise, He is coming for you!

False prophets are the topic today—and these people keep preaching all the good stuff people want to hear—they are deluding the people, speaking visions from their mind (and not God’s heart), and they promise peace. They walk in lies.

And God tells them this will not go unpunished!

And amid the figs and the cup of wrath object lessons, God makes a promise:

“I will keep my eyes on my people who are exiled for their good, and they will return to this land. I will build them up and not demolish them. I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord.”

So, what’s the key in accessing all the good things in this promise?

The next line: “They will be my people and I will be their God because they return to me with all their heart.” (Jeremiah 24:7)

All their hearts.

All our hearts.

Closeness to God depends upon this key phrase.

How in the world do they (we) do this?

They turn to God in repentance by turning away from their evil deeds. They walk in God’s light, not the world’s. They live life God’s way. They follow God’s rules. And when they do, they will find freedom from the shackles of sin that have bound them. They will find the living water their dry cisterns have been craving. They will find peace amid the chaos. They will find strength when they are weak.

Turning back to God is surrendering our control to Him. Our dream for His. Our vices for forgiveness. Our sin-filled hearts for a new heart, one that follows its Shepherd.

A good shepherd is coming for these exiles and all future generations. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me…” (John 10:27)

Turning back to God is surrendering our stubborn ways to follow Him, wherever He leads us.

Because Father knows best.

The exiles will experience this. And any of us will, too, when we decide God’s way is better than our way and return to Him with all our hearts.

Day 226: Read Jeremiah Chapters 26-29

My Takeaways:

Promises.

That’s what sums up today’s reading. God, through Jeremiah, makes promises to His people:

You will be exiled to Babylon.
You will stay there 70 years.
You will call to me and I will answer. I will be found by you.
I will restore you.

Amid His people’s punishment for their rebellious hearts, God even promises to bless them! “Build homes, and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce….Multiply here; do not decrease. Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to God on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.”

We see that famous verse in our reading: “For I know the plans I have for you—plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you hope and a future.”

But, this verse is a specific promise to His people, the Israelites—it’s a promise of restoration. It’s kind of like saying, “Listen guys, I am going to punish you for 70 years, but after that, I am bringing you back home with a different heart. Thrive where you are and trust me. I keep my promises.”

I admit. I love this verse and use it often, even knowing it was for the Jews amid their exile. It is chock-full of hope and a promise to cling to when life is just plain hard. I am sure it represented this and so much more to the Israelites, as well.

No matter what life looks like, God knows. God worked it into His plans. And yes, He has a plan for us. One that involves us drawing close to Him in relationship and one that involves us living out our love for Him.

We are all living in “Babylon” today. We must pray for our Babylon. We are called to thrive here. But we are also called to worship God here and call out to Him.

Because when we call out with surrendered hearts, we will find Him…and with Him, come hope and restoration.

Day 227: Read Jeremiah Chapters 30-31

My Takeaways:

“You will be my people, and I will be your God.”

Today, God is encouraging His people that His wounds of exile will bring them health and healing.

That it would open their eyes to their own sin. That God’s punishment is just.

That they would be saved out of it.

God will break their yoke of slavery and tear off their chains and they will serve Him.

He will restore their fortunes and show compassion on their dwellings. That thanksgiving would come out of their mouths, a sound of rejoicing.

Because He has loved them with an everlasting love and will continue to show them faithful love.

That’s my God Shot, friends. Amid the persecution. Amid the pain. Amid the strife. Amid the banishment. God is there, allowing these blows to come out of His love. His hand is on the leash of the enemy and He allows just enough to shake them out of their sleepy, sin-induced slumber and wake them up to the reality of their consequences.

His discipline comes with faithful love…just like any of us parents who have had to discipline our kids’ rebellious hearts. We do it to get their attention something is wrong and they need to wake up and change their hearts to do right.

You know what? When we accept disciple and correction, especially that from the hand of God, we come out of it with a renewed heart for God and a fresh revelation of who He is. We come out with joy. He didn’t give up on us. He is restoring us. He is good, and His goodness refreshes us. It’s tough in the moment, but when we can look back with fresh eyes, we realize it was the best thing for us. We see His handprints and footprints all over it.

And at our most lonely, we can see one set of footprints in the sand. His.

Because we are His. And He is ours.

Isn’t it beautiful?

Day 228: Read Jeremiah Chapters 32-34

My Takeaways:

Reminders.

Today, the setting has changed: Jeremiah is in prison. But, the message hasn’t changed: exile is come in the hands of Babylon.

Jeremiah buys some land that he won’t get for 70 years. Like Tara-Leigh said, it’s an act of faith. Then, he does something we all can do when we walk out in faith: he cries out to God. He says a beautiful prayer of worship to God:

“O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you! You show unfailing love to thousands, but you also bring the consequences of one generation’s sin upon the next. You are the great and powerful God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. You have all wisdom and do great and mighty miracles.” (Jeremiah 32:17-19)

I love this portion of his prayer! He worships God upon his act of faith, reminding God of who He is….and then, God reminds Jeremiah who He is after that. He reminds Jeremiah of His promises of punishment for sin and restoration from Babylon.

You know what? We all need reminders, especially when our faith is being tested. Jeremiah was in prison for speaking God’s truth! That is a testing moment! Jeremiah buys land he won’t see for 70 years. That is a testing moment!

And at this moment, Jeremiah needs reminded of the truth-God’s truth.

Friends, that is what we are doing every day here—getting reminded of God’s truth. We need it when times are tough. We need His presence when we are being tested and feel imprisoned. We need it when everything around us feels like it is falling apart.

Because when God reminds me of who He is, that is enough to keep me going. Nothing is too hard for Him! He is great and powerful! His love is unfailing. He is in control.

And He’s where the joy is.

Day 229: Read Jeremiah Chapters 35-37

My Takeaways:

Once upon a time, a prophet named Elijah went up against all the prophets of Baal and Asherah. After a big showdown of Elijah’s God vs Baal, Elijah proved his God was THE God. Then, he killed the false prophets. But, Jezebel, that evil queen, threatened to kill him, and he ran for his life. He grew despondent and wanted to die.

After God fed him and sustained him, God spoke to him and told him something:

“I have remaining to me in Israel seven thousand, all whose knees have not bowed unto Baal, and all whose mouths have not kissed him.”

You see, Elijah didn’t feel like anyone was still following Yahweh in these days. His eyes told him he was one of the few. It was overwhelming to him and perhaps this is what drove him to want to die. It was a hard fight of faith when no one around you seemed to follow God.

And yet, God showed him his feelings didn’t reflect the truth: He had 7,000 followers who chose Him over Baal. It was enough to give Elijah the strength to carry on his job for one last mission.

In a way, I feel like that is what God is doing for Jeremiah and the Israelites in today’s reading: the Rechabites’ have followed their ancestors instructions, from Yahweh, about their lives. They have been faithfully obeying for 200 years. That, friends, should have gotten God’s people’s attention! The Recabites are outsiders and here they are listening to their ancestors’ faith and living it out.

And all the while, God’s people are bowing down to idols. Perhaps this was what Jeremiah needed to see to bolster him while trying to preach to a rebellious people? Perhaps God used it to show him his feelings didn’t reflect the truth?

There’s many moments God gives Jeremiah grace amid the tough, tough life he has. I feel like this was one of them. Another time, God hid Jeremiah from being seized. Later on, when Jeremiah was beaten up and imprisoned, God gave him grace with the king and he was put in a different place for his confinement (seeming much better!) and he was given bread amid a famine.

Friends, every day, my heart goes out to Jeremiah! He had a tough job! And yet, there was grace amid the hard and the difficult and the painful. God sustains him. He strengthens him.

And if He did it for Jeremiah, He can do it for us too. We need to remember Jeremiah’s story any time we struggle sharing our faith. If he did, by golly, we can too!

Day 230: Read Jeremiah Chapters 38-40 & Psalm Chapters 74, 79

My Takeaways:

Well, guess what? Everything God has been warning His people about has finally happened: they were overtaken by Babylon and the Israelites were taken captive and taken to Babylon.

And guess what? Jeremiah suffered more throughout this. He was put into a cistern by evil men, allowed by a weak king. And he sank into the mud. This had to be an all-time low for Jeremiah! Literally. Can you imagine?

And yet.

God doesn’t leave His man stranded. An Ethiopian, working for the king, rescues Jeremiah, upon the king’s command.

King Zedekiah even has a private conversation with Jeremiah about his/their future. And this is what got my attention: God was offering the king grace through surrender! If he surrendered, he and his family would not be killed and the city wouldn’t be burned….you guys! This blew my mind! What grace for this king who didn’t follow the Lord’s commands and who allowed Jeremiah to be lowered into a cistern!

But, this king doesn’t take God’s way and suffers the consequences when the city is overtaken. His sons are killed in front of his eyes, and he is then blinded and taken back to Babylon.

It didn’t have to go that way, but he was too fearful to follow God.

Then, Jeremiah was freed from his chains—yay! So, he settled among his people…where he was taken captive again—boo! (I wonder if he was used to it at this point? Or, crushed after everything he had been through?)

Either way, God intervenes and gives him protection and grace. He is released and given a choice of whether to stay home or go to Babylon. He chose to stay home—he was given a ration of bread and a gift before they released him! Again!

When our story ends, the remnants seem to have a good leader….who is being plotted against. Sigh.

My God Shot is this: when everything around Jeremiah screams unfairness, chaos, and strife, God takes care of him. Perhaps there was a peace in Jeremiah that transcended all understanding? It couldn’t have been easy for Jeremiah to suffer all these injustices, but God intervened and took care of him and his people, just like He said He would.

There was much grace amid the uprooting and chaos. I feel that is something we all can experience amid our chaos and strife, too. Trusting God’s plan is seldom easy, but when we choose to obey, there is much peace and grace along the way. We know He’s got us in the palm of His hand and is taking care of us. It makes all the other strife worth it. God’s got us.

Day 231: Read 2 Kings Chapters 24-25 & 2 Chronicles 36

My Takeaways:

Whew. Today’s reading was a whole lot of bad king after bad king. Add some sieges and famine to the mix, and they found out one thing: God was right.

God did what He had been warning about for years, and yet these kings still don’t repent. They are hardened against Yahweh, the only One who offers compassion and mercy and grace. Ironic, isn’t it? They put their fate into foreigners’ hands over their Creator.

We did end on a good note in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. I don’t think King Cyrus was a follower of Yahweh, but makes this proclamation:

“The Lord, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the Earth, and has appointed me to build him a temple in Jerusalem and Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord his God be with him.”

That’s the sovereignty of God, friends!

And my God Shot was with a king whose name started with “Evil” but his actions showed mercy and grace. He released Judah’s king, Jehoiachin, from prison, gave him a throne over other Babylonian kings, and ate with him daily. He gave him a regular allowance.

You guys, there’s no explanation why in the world this Babylon king would have done this other than God. He had no reason to befriend an enemy’s king, and yet, he does! He changes his prison clothes to fine garments and Chin gets a seat at the table, a seat of honor.

I wonder…was there a change in heart of Jehoiachin that prompted God to show him kindness?

I love this picture of what God does for us. What hope! What kindness! What mercy!