Day 329 – November 25, 2022 

Jeremiah 42-44

​¹ The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim king of Judah, saying, ² “Go to the house of the Rechabites; and you shall bring them to the house of the Lord, into one of the courts, and give them wine to drink.” ³ So I brought out Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and his sons, and all the house of the Rechabites, ⁴ and I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was near the house of the ruler who was over the house of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, who kept the court. ⁵ I set before them a pitcher of wine and cups, and said, “Drink wine.”
⁶ But they said, “We will drink no wine, for our father, Jonadab the son of Rechab, commanded us, saying, ‘Drink no wine, neither you nor your sons forever; ⁷ nor shall you build a house, nor sow any seed, nor shall you have a vineyard; for you shall dwell in tents all your days, so you may live many days in the land where you are sojourners.’ ⁸ So we obeyed the voice of Jonadab our father so as to drink no wine all our days, we and our wives, and our sons and daughters, ⁹ and so as to build no houses to dwell in. Thus, we have no vineyard, field, or seed, ¹⁰ for we dwell in tents; because we obeyed everything Jonadab our father commanded us. ¹¹ Then it came to pass, when Nebuchadnezzar came up against the land, we said, ‘Let us go and enter Jerusalem because of the presence of the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Assyrians.’ So we dwelt there.”
¹² Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹³ “Thus says the Lord: ‘Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not receive correction to obey My words? ¹⁴ The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab kept the word he commanded his children so as to drink no wine, and they did not drink it. But I spoke to you early. I spoke, but you did not obey. ¹⁵ I also sent to you My servants the prophets, saying, ‘Let each of you turn from his evil way, and amend your doings. Do not go after other gods to serve them, and you will dwell in the land I gave you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear, nor did you obey. ¹⁶ Yet the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab kept the commandment of their father, but this people did not obey Me.’ ” ¹⁷ Therefore, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will bring on Judah and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evils I pronounced against them.’
¹⁸ “Therefore, thus says the Lord: ‘Since the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab obeyed the commandment of their father to do as their father commanded them, ¹⁹ there shall never be wanting a man of the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab to stand before My face while the earth remains.’ ”
The Scroll Is Read in the Temple
​¹ Now in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Take for yourself the scroll of a book, and write on it all the words I instructed you against Jerusalem, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah king of Judah even to this day. ³ Perhaps the house of Judah will hear all the calamities I purpose to bring upon them, so as to turn them from their evil way; and I shall be merciful to their wrongdoings and sins.”
⁴ So Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and he wrote on a scroll all the words of the Lord from the mouth of Jeremiah, which he spoke to him. ⁵ Thus Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, “I am under guard and unable to go into the house of the Lord, ⁶ so you shall read from this scroll in the ears of the people in the house of the Lord on the day of fasting, and in the hearing of Judah, who come from their city. You shall read to them. ⁷ Perhaps their supplication will come before the face of the Lord, and they will turn from their evil way; for great is the anger and wrath of the Lord which He pronounced against this people.” ⁸ So Baruch did according to all Jeremiah commanded him, to read from the book the words of the Lord in the house of the Lord.
  ⁹ Then it came to pass in the eighth year of King Jehoiakim, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and in the house of Judah proclaimed a fast before the Lord. ¹⁰ Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, in the house of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, and in the upper court at the entry of the new gate of the Lord’s house, in the hearing of all the people.
The Scroll Is Read to the Rulers and People
¹¹ Now Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the book. ¹² He then went down to the house of the king, into the home of the scribe, and behold, there were sitting all the rulers: Elishama the scribe, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the rulers. ¹³ So Michaiah declared to them all the words he heard Baruch read in the ears of the people. ¹⁴ Then all the rulers sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch the son of Neriah, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll to read in the hearing of the people and come.” So Baruch took the scroll and went down to them. ¹⁵ Then they said to him, “Read it again in our ears.” So Baruch read it. ¹⁶ Now it came to pass, when they heard all the words, they took counsel each with his neighbor, and said, “Let us report all these words to the king.” ¹⁷ So they asked Baruch, saying, “How did you come to write all these words?” ¹⁸ Baruch replied, “Jeremiah proclaimed all these words to me from his mouth, and I wrote them in the book.” ¹⁹ Then they said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and the man Jeremiah. Let no one know where you are.”
The King Burns the Scroll
²⁰ So they went to the king, into the court, but gave the scroll for safekeeping in the house of Elishama; and they reported to the king all these words. ²¹ The king then sent Jehudi to fetch the scroll, and he took it from the house of Elishama. Jehudi then read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the rulers who stood around the king. ²² Now the king was sitting in the winter house, and a hearth with a burning fire was before him. ²³ Then it came to pass, as Jehudi was reading the third or fourth page, he cut them off with the scribe’s knife and cast them into the fire of the hearth, until all of the scroll was consumed by the fire of the hearth. ²⁴ But the king and his servants who heard all these words did not seek the Lord, neither did they tear their garments. ²⁵ But Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah pointed out to the king that he should not burn up the scroll. ²⁶ The king then commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son and Seraiah the son of Azriel to seize Baruch and Jeremiah, but they were hidden.
Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll
²⁷ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after the king burned the scroll containing all the words Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah, saying, ²⁸ “Take again another scroll, and write on the scroll all the words which King Jehoiakim burned. ²⁹ Then you shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord: “You burned this scroll, saying, ‘Why did you write in it, saying, “The king of Babylon will certainly come in and utterly destroy this land; and man and cattle will cease from it”?’ ” ³⁰ Therefore thus says the Lord against Jehoiakim king of Judah: “He shall have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out into the heat of the day and the frost of the night. ³¹ So I will visit him, his family, and his servants. I will bring upon them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the land of Judah, all the calamities I spoke regarding them, for they did not heed them.” ’ ” ³² Then Baruch took another scroll, and he wrote on it all the words of the book from the mouth of Jeremiah which Jehoiakim burned. There were yet more words added to it like the former.
Zedekiah Becomes King
​¹ Then Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar appointed to reign over Judah. ² But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land gave heed to the words of the Lord which He spoke by the hand of Jeremiah. ³ Then Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah, saying, “Indeed, pray to the Lord for us.” ⁴ Now Jeremiah came and passed through the midst of the city, and they did not put him in the prison. ⁵ Then the army of Pharaoh came up from Egypt; and the Chaldeans heard the report concerning them, and they departed from Jerusalem.
  ⁶ The word of the Lord then came to Jeremiah, saying, ⁷ “Thus says the Lord: ‘In this way you shall speak to the king of Judah who sent you to seek Me: “Behold, the army of Pharaoh which came up to help you, they shall return to the land of Egypt, ⁸ and the Chaldeans shall return again to fight against this city. They shall take it and burn it with fire.’ ” ⁹ Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not suppose in your souls, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely depart from us,” yet they will not depart. ¹⁰ For though you should smite the whole army of the Chaldeans who wage war against you, and they left certain wounded men, these men would rise up and burn this city with fire.’ ”
Jeremiah Is Imprisoned
¹¹ Then it came to pass, when the army of the Chaldeans left Jerusalem because of the presence of Pharaoh’s army, ¹² Jeremiah left Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin to buy goods from among the people. ¹³ He came to the Gate of Benjamin, and there was a man in that place with whom he lodged, Irijah the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he seized Jeremiah, saying, “You are fleeing to the Chaldeans!” ¹⁴ But he said, “That is a lie! I am not fleeing to the Chaldeans.” Yet he did not listen to him. So Irijah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the rulers. ¹⁵ The rulers were embittered against Jeremiah; and they struck him and sent him to the house of Jonathan the scribe; for they made this into a prison. ¹⁶ So Jeremiah entered the dungeon and the cells and sat there many days.
¹⁷ Then Zedekiah sent and called for him. The king secretly asked him, saying, “Is there a word from the Lord?” He replied, “There is. You shall be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon.” ¹⁸ Then Jeremiah said to the king, “What offense have I committed against you, your servants, or this people, that you have put me in the prison? ¹⁹ Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against the land’? ²⁰ Now, O lord the king, let my supplication come before your face. For why do you return me to the house of Jonathan the scribe? Do not let me die there.” ²¹ Then the king gave the command, and they cast him into the prison. They gave him one loaf of bread daily from their bakery until the bread in the city failed. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

Psalm 118:33–48

³³ Give me as law, O Lord, the way of Your ordinances,
And I shall always search them.
³⁴ Cause me to understand, and I shall search out Your law;
And I shall keep it with my whole heart.
³⁵ Guide me in the path of Your commandments,
For I desire it.
³⁶ Incline my heart to Your testimonies
And not to greediness.
³⁷ Turn away my eyes that I may not see vanity;
Give me life in Your way.
³⁸ Establish Your teaching in Your servant
In regard to Your fear.
³⁹ Take away my blame, which I have suspected,
For Your judgments are good.
⁴⁰ Behold, I long for Your commandments;
Give me life in Your righteousness.
⁴¹ And may Your mercy come upon me, O Lord,
Your salvation according to Your teaching.
⁴² And I shall answer those who insult me with a word,
For I hope in Your words.
⁴³ Do not take away the word of truth completely from my mouth,
For I hope in Your judgments.
⁴⁴ So I shall keep Your law always,
Forever and unto ages of ages.
⁴⁵ And I walk in a broad space,
For I searched Your commandments.
⁴⁶ I spoke of Your testimonies
Before kings, and I was not ashamed.
⁴⁷ And I meditate on Your commandments,
Which I love exceedingly.
⁴⁸ And I raise my hands to Your commandments, which I love,
And I meditate on Your ordinances.

Proverbs 25:27–31

²⁷ It is better to dwell in a corner on a housetop
Than in a house shared with an abusive woman.
²⁸ As cold water is agreeable to a thirsty soul,
So is good news from a far-off land.
²⁹ As if someone would stop a spring and corrupt an outlet of water,
So it is unseemly for a righteous man to fall before the ungodly.
³⁰ It is not good to eat too much honey,
But it is necessary to honor words held in honor.
³¹ As an unfortified city whose walls are broken down,
So is a man who does something without counsel.

1 Peter 1

​¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
² elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:
  Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
A Heavenly Inheritance
³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
⁴ to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
⁵ who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
⁶ In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,
⁷ that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
⁸ whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
⁹ receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
¹⁰ Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,
¹¹ searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
¹² To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.
Living Before God Our Father
¹³ Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
¹⁴ as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;
¹⁵ but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
¹⁶ because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
¹⁷ And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;
¹⁸ knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
²⁰ He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you
²¹ who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
The Enduring Word
²² Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
  ²³ having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,
²⁴ because
“All flesh is as grass,
And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
And its flower falls away,
²⁵ But the word of the Lord endures forever.”
Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.