DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR THURSDAY AUGUST 23:
WORD OF WISDOM
If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never ever have enough!
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DAILY DEVOTION
Missing the Point
"Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his
rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel
preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them,
not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed
do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall
enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of
the world."
Hebrews 4:1-3
Queen Victoria had nine children and forty-two grandchildren, so besides the
responsibilities she had as monarch of England, there were many family
duties as well. The story goes that there was one grandson about whom she
was particularly concerned. He was notably loose with his money, constantly
asking for advances and gifts to allow him to keep spending. As his birthday
was approaching, he wrote the queen a letter hinting that a cash gift would
be most appreciated. She responded not with a gift but with a letter filled
with advice regarding the importance of self control and the dangers of
extravagance. After a little while he wrote back, thanking her for the
letter-and telling her he had sold it to a collector for five pounds!
The Bible often speaks of the importance and value of seeking counsel from
others. "Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of
counsellors there is safety" (Proverbs 11:14). However we must realize that
there is no value in the advice unless we put it into practice and do as we
are counseled. There are times when we are reluctant to follow good advice
we receive because it is simply not what we want to hear. Yet it is even
more foolish to ignore good counsel than not to seek it in the first place.
We need to do right regardless of whether it is easiest.
There is no benefit gained from receiving good advice unless we also follow
it.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
Jeremiah 37-39 The Message (MSG)
In an Underground Dungeon
37 1-2 King Zedekiah son of Josiah, a puppet king set on the throne by
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the land of Judah, was now king in place
of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim. But neither he nor his officials nor the
people themselves paid a bit of attention to the Message God gave by
Jeremiah the prophet.
3 However, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the
priest, son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "Pray for us-pray
hard!-to the Master, our God."
4-5 Jeremiah was still moving about freely among the people in those days.
This was before he had been put in jail. Pharaoh's army was marching up from
Egypt. The Chaldeans fighting against Jerusalem heard that the Egyptians
were coming and pulled back.
6-10 Then Jeremiah the prophet received this Message from God: "I, the God
of Israel, want you to give this Message to the king of Judah, who has just
sent you to me to find out what he should do. Tell him, 'Get this: Pharaoh's
army, which is on its way to help you, isn't going to stick it out. No
sooner will they get here than they'll leave and go home to Egypt. And then
the Babylonians will come back and resume their attack, capture this city
and burn it to the ground. I, God, am telling you: Don't kid yourselves,
reassuring one another, "The Babylonians will leave in a few days." I tell
you, they aren't leaving. Why, even if you defeated the entire attacking
Chaldean army and all that was left were a few wounded soldiers in their
tents, the wounded would still do the job and burn this city to the
ground.'"
11-13 When the Chaldean army pulled back from Jerusalem, Jeremiah left
Jerusalem to go over to the territory of Benjamin to take care of some
personal business. When he got to the Benjamin Gate, the officer on guard
there, Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, grabbed Jeremiah the
prophet, accusing him, "You're deserting to the Chaldeans!"
14-16 "That's a lie," protested Jeremiah. "I wouldn't think of deserting to
the Chaldeans."
But Irijah wouldn't listen to him. He arrested him and took him to the
police. The police were furious with Jeremiah. They beat him up and threw
him into jail in the house of Jonathan the secretary of state. (They were
using the house for a prison cell.) So Jeremiah entered an underground cell
in a cistern turned into a dungeon. He stayed there a long time.
17 Later King Zedekiah had Jeremiah brought to him. The king questioned him
privately, "Is there a Message from God?"
"There certainly is," said Jeremiah. "You're going to be turned over to the
king of Babylon."
18-20 Jeremiah continued speaking to King Zedekiah: "Can you tell me why you
threw me into prison? What crime did I commit against you or your officials
or this people? And tell me, whatever has become of your prophets who
preached all those sermons saying that the king of Babylon would never
attack you or this land? Listen to me, please, my master-my king! Please
don't send me back to that dungeon in the house of Jonathan the secretary.
I'll die there!"
21 So King Zedekiah ordered that Jeremiah be assigned to the courtyard of
the palace guards. He was given a loaf of bread from Bakers' Alley every day
until all the bread in the city was gone. And that's where Jeremiah
remained-in the courtyard of the palace guards.
From the Dungeon to the Palace
38 Shaphatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashur, Jehucal son of
Shelemiah, and Pashur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling the
people, namely:
2 "This is God's Message: 'Whoever stays in this town will die-will be
killed or starve to death or get sick and die. But those who go over to the
Babylonians will save their necks and live.'
3 "And, God's sure Word: 'This city is destined to fall to the army of the
king of Babylon. He's going to take it over.'"
4 These officials told the king, "Please, kill this man. He's got to go!
He's ruining the resolve of the soldiers who are still left in the city, as
well as the people themselves, by spreading these words. This man isn't
looking after the good of this people. He's trying to ruin us!"
5 King Zedekiah caved in: "If you say so. Go ahead, handle it your way.
You're too much for me."
6 So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malkijah the
king's son that was in the courtyard of the palace guard. They lowered him
down with ropes. There wasn't any water in the cistern, only mud. Jeremiah
sank into the mud.
7-9 Ebed-melek the Ethiopian, a court official assigned to the royal palace,
heard that they had thrown Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was
holding court in the Benjamin Gate, Ebed-melek went immediately from the
palace to the king and said, "My master, O king-these men are committing a
great crime in what they're doing, throwing Jeremiah the prophet into the
cistern and leaving him there to starve. He's as good as dead. There isn't a
scrap of bread left in the city."
10 So the king ordered Ebed-melek the Ethiopian, "Get three men and pull
Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies."
11-12 Ebed-melek got three men and went to the palace wardrobe and got some
scraps of old clothing, which they tied together and lowered down with ropes
to Jeremiah in the cistern. Ebed-melek the Ethiopian called down to
Jeremiah, "Put these scraps of old clothing under your armpits and around
the ropes." Jeremiah did what he said.
13 And so they pulled Jeremiah up out of the cistern by the ropes. But he
was still confined in the courtyard of the palace guard.
14 Later, King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to
the third entrance of the Temple of God. The king said to Jeremiah, "I'm
going to ask you something. Don't hold anything back from me."
15 Jeremiah said, "If I told you the whole truth, you'd kill me. And no
matter what I said, you wouldn't pay any attention anyway."
16 Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah right there, but in secret, "As sure as God
lives, who gives us life, I won't kill you, nor will I turn you over to the
men who are trying to kill you."
17-18 So Jeremiah told Zedekiah, "This is the Message from God,
God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: 'If you will turn yourself over
to the generals of the king of Babylon, you will live, this city won't be
burned down, and your family will live. But if you don't turn yourself over
to the generals of the king of Babylon, this city will go into the hands of
the Chaldeans and they'll burn it down. And don't for a minute think there's
any escape for you.'"
19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "But I'm afraid of the Judeans who have
already deserted to the Chaldeans. If they get hold of me, they'll rough me
up good."
20-22 Jeremiah assured him, "They won't get hold of you. Listen, please.
Listen to God's voice. I'm telling you this for your own good so that you'll
live. But if you refuse to turn yourself over, this is what God has shown me
will happen: Picture this in your mind-all the women still left in the
palace of the king of Judah, led out to the officers of the king of Babylon,
and as they're led out they are saying:
"'They lied to you and did you in,
those so-called friends of yours;
And now you're stuck, about knee-deep in mud,
and your "friends," where are they now?'
23 "They'll take all your wives and children and give them to the Chaldeans.
And you, don't think you'll get out of this-the king of Babylon will seize
you and then burn this city to the ground."
24-26 Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Don't let anyone know of this
conversation, if you know what's good for you. If the government officials
get wind that I've been talking with you, they may come and say, 'Tell us
what went on between you and the king, what you said and what he said. Hold
nothing back and we won't kill you.' If this happens, tell them, 'I
presented my case to the king so that he wouldn't send me back to the
dungeon of Jonathan to die there.'"
27 And sure enough, all the officials came to Jeremiah and asked him. He
responded as the king had instructed. So they quit asking. No one had
overheard the conversation.
28 Jeremiah lived in the courtyard of the palace guards until the day that
Jerusalem was captured.
Bad News, Not Good News
39 1-2 In the ninth year and tenth month of Zedekiah king of Judah,
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with his entire army and laid siege to
Jerusalem. In the eleventh year and fourth month, on the ninth day of
Zedekiah's reign, they broke through into the city.
3 All the officers of the king of Babylon came and set themselves up as a
ruling council from the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer of Simmagar,
Nebushazban the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, along with all the
other officials of the king of Babylon.
4-7 When Zedekiah king of Judah and his remaining soldiers saw this, they
ran for their lives. They slipped out at night on a path in the king's
garden through the gate between two walls and headed for the wilderness,
toward the Jordan Valley. The Babylonian army chased them and caught
Zedekiah in the wilderness of Jericho. They seized him and took him to
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the country of Hamath.
Nebuchadnezzar decided his fate. The king of Babylon killed all the sons of
Zedekiah in Riblah right before his eyes and then killed all the nobles of
Judah. After Zedekiah had seen the slaughter, Nebuchadnezzar blinded him,
chained him up, and then took him off to Babylon.
8-10 Meanwhile, the Babylonians burned down the royal palace, the Temple,
and all the homes of the people. They leveled the walls of Jerusalem.
Nebuzaradan, commander of the king's bodyguard, rounded up everyone left in
the city, along with those who had surrendered to him, and herded them off
to exile in Babylon. He didn't bother taking the few poor people who had
nothing. He left them in the land of Judah to eke out a living as best they
could in the vineyards and fields.
11-12 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave Nebuzaradan captain of the king's
bodyguard special orders regarding Jeremiah: "Look out for him. Make sure
nothing bad happens to him. Give him anything he wants."
13-14 So Nebuzaradan, chief of the king's bodyguard, along with Nebushazban
the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, and all the chief officers of the
king of Babylon, sent for Jeremiah, taking him from the courtyard of the
royal guards and putting him under the care of Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the
son of Shaphan, to be taken home. And so he was able to live with the
people.
15-18 Earlier, while Jeremiah was still in custody in the courtyard of the
royal guards, God's Message came to him: "Go and speak with Ebed-melek the
Ethiopian. Tell him, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says,
Listen carefully: I will do exactly what I said I would do to this city-bad
news, not good news. When it happens, you will be there to see it. But I'll
deliver you on that doomsday. You won't be handed over to those men whom you
have good reason to fear. Yes, I'll most certainly save you. You won't be
killed. You'll walk out of there safe and sound because you trusted me.'"
God's Decree.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright C 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
