October 9

Today's Reading

Jeremiah was given several tasks by God, each to illustrate God's coming judgment on the nation. The loincloth is one example. The Euphrates was several hundred miles from Israel. Why would God send Jeremiah all the way there to bury the loincloth in the rocks? Obviously, it was symbolic because the conquering nation would come from the region of the Euphrates. Judah would be taken away from her land and "buried" near the Euphrates until God's judgment was complete.

From Paul's introduction in this first letter to the Thessalonians, it is obvious that some were skeptical of the motives Paul had when he had previously been there. Even then, some were abusing the message of the Gospel to enrich themselves. Paul wanted it clear that his motives were pure and his hear was set on them growing up in Christ.

Psalms today helps put some other things in context. We have been reading (and will continue to do so) in Isaiah and Jeremiah about coming judgment upon God's people. This Psalm was written after the judgment came. It depicts a broken heart for the past sins of the nation and a desire to God to restore His people. Notice how it describes God's judgment when it came: "1 O God, pagan nations have conquered your land,
your special possession.
They have defiled your holy Temple
and made Jerusalem a heap of ruins.
2 They have left the bodies of your servants
as food for the birds of heaven.
The flesh of your godly ones
has become food for the wild animals.
3 Blood has flowed like water all around Jerusalem;
no one is left to bury the dead.
4 We are mocked by our neighbors,
an object of scorn and derision to those around us."

Proverbs: I often find it tempting to lapse into laziness. That is hard for some to believe, but it's true. These verses have prodded me many times over the years.

What verses speak to you today?