HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1051
JER EM IAH 16
page 681
15 Then
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17
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19 This
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I said,
“Lord, you know what’s happening to me.
Please step in and help me. Punish my
persecutors!
Please give me time; don’t let me die young.
It’s for your sake that I am suffering.
When I discovered your words, I devoured
them.
They are my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name,
O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
I never joined the people in their merry
feasts.
I sat alone because your hand was on me.
I was filled with indignation at their sins.
Why then does my suffering continue?
Why is my wound so incurable?
Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal
brook,
like a spring that has gone dry.”
is how the Lord responds:
“If you return to me, I will restore you
so you can continue to serve me.
If you speak good words rather than
worthless ones,
you will be my spokesman.
You must influence them;
do not let them influence you!
They will fight against you like an
attacking army,
but I will make you as secure as
a fortified wall of bronze.
They will not conquer you,
for I am with you to protect and
rescue you.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
Yes, I will certainly keep you safe from
these wicked men.
I will rescue you from their cruel hands.”
Jeremiah Forbidden to Marry
The Lord gave me another message. He
said, 2 “Do not get married or have children in this place. 3 For this is what the Lord
says about the children born here in this city
and about their mothers and fathers: 4 They will
die from terrible diseases. No one will mourn for
them or bury them, and they will lie scattered
on the ground like manure. They will die from
war and famine, and their bodies will be food
for the vultures and wild animals.”
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Judah’s Coming Punishment
5 This is what the Lord says: “Do not go to funerals to mourn and show sympathy for these
people, for I have removed my protection and
peace from them. I have taken away my unfailing love and my mercy. 6 Both the great and the
lowly will die in this land. No one will bury
them or mourn for them. Their friends will not
cut themselves in sorrow or shave their heads
in sadness. 7 No one will offer a meal to comfort
those who mourn for the dead—not even at the
death of a mother or father. No one will send a
cup of wine to console them.
8 “And do not go to their feasts and parties. Do
not eat and drink with them at all. 9 For this is
what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of
Israel, says: In your own lifetime, before your
very eyes, I will put an end to the happy singing
and laughter in this land. The joyful voices of
bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard.
10 “When you tell the people all these things,
they will ask, ‘Why has the Lord decreed such
terrible things against us? What have we done to
deserve such treatment? What is our sin against
the Lord our God?’
11 “Then you will give them the Lord’s reply:
‘It is because your ancestors were unfaithful
to me. They worshiped other gods and served
them. They abandoned me and did not obey
my word. 12 And you are even worse than your
ancestors! You stubbornly follow your own evil
desires and refuse to listen to me. 13 So I will
throw you out of this land and send you into
a foreign land where you and your ancestors
have never been. There you can worship idols
day and night—and I will grant you no favors!’
Hope despite the Disaster
14 “But the time is coming,” says the Lord,
“when people who are taking an oath will no
longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who
rescued the people of Israel from the land of
Egypt.’ 15 Instead, they will say, ‘As surely as
the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the
north and from all the countries to which he
had exiled them.’ For I will bring them back to
this land that I gave their ancestors.
• Bible
JE R E M I A H 15:16
Our bodies originated in the soil of Eden.
It should not surprise us that they are
sustained by food that grows from the
soil. Every source of food ultimately finds
its nourishment in the soil, and that
nourishment sustains our bodies. Likewise, our souls were created by the
breath of God; it should not surprise us
that the Word of God, which is inspired
(or “God-breathed”), sustains our souls.
If we plan to eat food each day to keep
our bodies alive, shouldn’t we also plan
to feast on God’s Word each day to
sustain our souls?
