Friday after the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on October 1, 2021 by under
Scripture: Jeremiah 13:15-25 (NKJV)
13:15 Hear and give ear:
Do not be proud, for the Lord has spoken.
16 Give glory to the Lord your God before He causes darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and while you are looking for light, He turns it into the shadow of death and makes it dense darkness.
17 But if you will not hear it, my soul will weep in secret for your pride; My eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.
18 Say to the king and to the queen mother, “Humble yourselves; Sit down, for your rule shall collapse, the crown of your glory.”
19 The cities of the South shall be shut up, and no one shall open them; Judah shall be carried away captive, all of it; It shall be wholly carried away captive.
20 Lift up your eyes and see those who come from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, your beautiful sheep?
21 What will you say when He punishes you? For you have taught them to be chieftains, to be head over you. Will not pangs seize you, like a woman in labor?
22 And if you say in your heart, “Why have these things come upon me?” For the greatness of your iniquity your skirts have been uncovered, your heels made bare.
23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.
24 “Therefore I will scatter them like stubble that passes away by the wind of the wilderness.
25 “This is your lot, the portion of your measures from Me,” says the Lord, “Because you have forgotten Me and trusted in falsehood.”
Devotion
Yesterday we heard of Ezra dealing with the sins of the Israelites after they had just been shown grace by the Lord God to return to the Promised Land and rebuild Jerusalem. Today, the prophet Jeremiah preaches against the sins of Judah before they are exiled into Babylon. The sin of the Israelites always seemed to be the same sin. They were constantly forsaking the truth of the Word of God for the falsehoods of the false religions of the Canaanite people which they were to utterly destroy. Because they allowed falsehood to remain in their midst, they fell into it very easily.
The same is true of us today when we allow false teachings to remain unchecked in our midst. This includes not only matters of theology, but also the sins of our society that continue to not be preached against. In many places and churches today they are embraced as virtues to be upheld. Our society allows the false doctrines of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh to remain among us unchecked. The prophet Jeremiah’s plea from the Lord is to throw off the false religions and teachings of this world and to embrace the truth of God’s Word.
Our sinfulness deserves to be punished. Those who willfully continue in impenitent sin are in danger of the Holy Ghost departing from them. Let us therefore heed the admonitions of the Lord and cling in faith to the works of the Christ.
Prayer: Lord, we beseech Thee, grant Thy people grace, to withstand the temptations of the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow Thee, the only God; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
