Sunday
8-23-15 (Red Bluff for Ministry)
Scripture
reading: Jer. 31 – 32 1 John 4
S=Scripture O=Observation A=Application P=Prayer SOAP for
the soul.
S. Jer. 32:2-3 Jerusalem was under siege from the Babylonian army, and
Jeremiah was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace.
Vs 6-7 At that time the LORD sent me a message. He said,
"Your cousin Hanamel son of Shallum will come and say to you, 'Buy my
field at Anathoth. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to
anyone else.' "
Vs
9-10 So I bought the field at Anathoth,
paying Hanamel seventeen pieces of silver for it. I signed and sealed the
deed of purchase before witnesses, weighed out the silver, and paid him.
Vs 13-15 Then I said to Baruch as they all listened, "The
LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take both this sealed deed and the
unsealed copy, and put them into a pottery jar to preserve them for a long
time. For the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Someday people will
again own property here in this land and will buy and sell houses and vineyards
and fields." NLT
O. For 40 years Jeremiah had
been preaching a violent overtaking of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and
pleading for Israel to repent. He has not been given a date for this to
happen… and he is laughed to scorn… during many years of prosperity. At
this time he is imprisoned by the king for spreading such a negative
message. And now Jerusalem is under siege and all hope is lost. In
days the city will be ravaged and burned to the ground.
But the
Lord has given Jeremiah a message of hope as well. After 70 years of
slavery in Babylonia, the Israelites will be free to return to their
homeland.** Now Jeremiah is ordered by the Lord to buy a worthless piece
of property, worthless because everything in the city will soon be in the hands
of the enemy. But he is to securely protect and hide the deed 70 years
until their return. It is a sign from the Lord that there is hope out
there in the future.
A. Jeremiah’s prophecy was
made 2,600 years ago. Later Daniel was captured with many others and
taken to Babylonia. But he had read a copy of Jeremiah‘s prophecy… and
could look forward with “God given hope” to the end of the 70 years. And
God was right on time.
Today I can
see specific prophecies of the end times all around me. The enemy of my
soul seems to be winning the battle. Tragic days may be just ahead.
Like Jeremiah, I am not given the dates for these evil days to begin. But
I am given the signs of the times. And I would have to be blind to not
recognize that the date is near.
But I can
see beyond the conquests of the evil one. I have a “sealed title-deed”
called the New Testament that gives me a “blessed hope” based upon God’s
truth.
P. Heavenly Father, thank You
for the title-deed, signed and sealed in the blood of Your Son, Jesus. I
need not despair. I have a hope that reaches to the other side of all the
tragedies that are foretold. I have a “safe home” waiting for me… and so
does everyone that has taken Your message to heart… a message reaching to the
other side of Your judgment and to a beautiful “blessed hope”… based upon Your
infallible truth. Amen.
Ralph
**Jer
29:10 This is what the LORD says:
"When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and
fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. (Also
Jer. 23:17 and 25:11-12) NIV
No comments:
Post a Comment