Jeremiah 12
Jeremiah Pleads His Case
1 O Lord, You are righteous, that I may plead my case with You, to speak to You concerning judgments. Why does the way of the ungodly prosper, and all who deal treacherously flourish?†
2 You planted them, and they took root. They bear children and are fruitful. You are near in their mouth, but far from their mind.
3 But You, O Lord, know me. You have proven my heart before You. Set them apart for the day of slaughter.
4 How long will the land mourn and the grass of the field wither, because of the vices of those who dwell in it? The cattle and the birds are destroyed, because they said, “God will not see our ways.”
The Lord Answers Him
5 “Your feet run and grow weary. How then will you prepare yourself to run with horses? You are confident when the land is peaceful, but what will you do when the Jordan floods the land?†
6 But even your brothers and the house of your father dealt treacherously with you. They cried out and gathered together in pursuit of you. Do not trust them because they will speak fair words to you.
7 “I forsook My house and left My inheritance. I gave My beloved inheritance into the hands of its enemies.†
8 For My inheritance became to Me like a lion in the forest. It raised its voice against Me; therefore, I hated it.
9 Is not My inheritance the cave of a hyena to Me, or a cave it walks around? Gather together all the wild beasts of the field and let them come to devour her.
10 Many shepherds destroyed My vineyard and defiled My portion. They turned My pleasant portion into an impassable desert.
11 It was made a complete ruin. The whole land was utterly destroyed for My sake, because there was no man who took it to heart.
12 The tormentors come to every passage in the desert, because the sword of the Lord will devour from one end of the land to the other. No flesh has any peace.
13 Sow fires and reap thorns. Their portions will not profit them. Be ashamed of your boasting because of your disgrace before the Lord.”
14 For thus says the Lord: “Concerning all the evil neighbors who touch My inheritance, which I divided to My people Israel—behold, I shall draw them away from their land and will cast out Judah from their midst.†
15 Then it shall come to pass, after I cast them out, that I will return them and have mercy on them. I will settle them, each in his inheritance and each in his land.
16 It shall be that if they carefully learn the way of My people, to swear by My name, saying, ‘The Lord lives,’ as they taught My people to swear by Baal, so they shall be built as a nation in the midst of My people.
17 But if they do not return, I will remove that nation by destruction and ruin.”
Psalms 105
32 They also provoked Him to anger at the water of Rebellion, And Moses was afflicted because of them;
33 For they embittered his spirit, And he spoke offensively with his lips;
34 They did not destroy the nations the Lord said to destroy,
35 But mingled with the nations And learned their works;
36 And they served their graven images, And this became a snare for them;
37 They also sacrificed their sons And their daughters to demons,
38 And shed innocent blood, The blood of their sons and daughters, Whom they sacrificed to the graven images of Canaan; So the land was polluted with their blood;
39 It was also defiled by their works; Thus they acted unfaithfully in their ways of living.
40 And the Lord was very angry with His people, And He abhorred His inheritance;
41 Then He delivered them into the hands of the nations, And those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies also afflicted them, And they were humbled under their hands.
43 He delivered them many times, But they rebelled against Him with their counsel, And were humbled by their transgressions.
44 And He saw them in their afflictions; He listened to their supplications,
45 And He remembered His covenant, And felt regret according to the multitude of His mercy;
46 So He aroused compassion for them Among all who made them captives.
47 Save us, O Lord our God, And gather us from the nations, So we may give thanks to Your holy name, And boast in Your praise.
48 Bless the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting. And all the people shall say, “Amen! Amen!”
Proverbs of Solomon 23
13 Do not withhold instruction from a child, For if you should strike him with a rod, he would not die;
14 For you shall strike him with a rod And deliver his soul from death.
15 My son, if your heart becomes wise, You will also gladden my heart;
16 And your lips shall spend time with the words on my lips, If they be upright.†
17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be in fear of the Lord the whole day long.
18 For if you keep these words, you shall have offspring, And your hope will not depart from you.
Hebrews 4
Entering God’s Rest
1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.†
2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.
3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works” ;
5 and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”
Christ’s Rest Is Superior
6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience,†
7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice , Do not harden your hearts.”
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day.†
9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.†
10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
Work to Enter His Rest
11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.†
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.†
13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
Our Merciful High Priest
14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.†
15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.†
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.†
Today’s commentary is one of the best I’ve ever hear of defining Jesus Christ as truly human and Devine. Thank you Fr. Alexis for continuing this ministry each year.
Thank Bill. It’s my pleasure and honor. God bless you!