One Year Bible - October 24, 2010

JEREMIAH 44:24 - 47:7                                                                                                          

GOD ACCEPTS THE CHALLENGE: The people told Jeremiah that they had no intentions of obeying the Lord. They would continue their abominable, filthy practice in worshipping the Queen of Heaven (Ashtoreth). God said He would remove His Name from them. (44:26-28) They lost the sense of God's Presence.  He abandoned them. They had nothing to go back to now.   INIQUITY'S REWARD: The heathen king in whom Judah had trusted will be slain and with him their false hopes of protection and deliverance.

Chapter 45 should really follow Chapter 36, but it is placed right here to add to God's case about the tendency of the flesh: "seeking great things for ourselves" (45:5). It is a basic problem of the flesh - it wants what it wants.

AN OLD MAN: Jeremiah's last days are in Egypt, probably martyred at the hands of his own countrymen.  He had preached to Judah for over 40 years and watched it crumble and morally self-destruct.  Remember as a teenager God had said to Jeremiah, (1:10) "See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."  Now we will read about those "nations and kingdoms".  Isaiah (13-23), Ezekiel (25-32) and Jeremiah all have a collection of messages to the nations.  All three prophets see God controlling the history of the world, not just one corner of it.  Here we have nine nations addressed - nine being the number of finality. Only God's Kingdom will stand forever. 

EGYPT: Egypt always stood for bondage to sin.  It stands for the world-thought, world-systems, world-spirit that is antichristian in nature.  Even tho we are used and enslaved in the world, strangely enough, we remember it fondly and look for ways to go back!  So Egypt represents the lure to turn back from God to seek for personal satisfaction, rather than living for the glory of God. Worldliness is the attitude of life that causes you to think of living only for your own happiness and pleasure. It is pictured here as surging in waves at us (46:7-8). We think we have things "licked", and here it comes again, trying to lure us back. This is why Egypt will be destroyed. It is anti-God.

PHILISTINES: Their name means "to roll in the dust", and they represent the earthy, carnal mind that wallows in SELF - all the self-hyphenated sins.  They were a perpetual enemy to David and Israel, as the SELF is an enemy to the spirit. Their champion was Goliath, a type of Satan. They claimed a place in the Church (the Land), but were enemies of faith. Rom 8:7 says "the natural mind hates God". They want the blessings of God without commitment or relationship. So it must be killed. It is anti-God.

RESPONSE: All of our "natural" props are going to be burned.  When we lean on substitutes for God, we are just daring Him to knock our props out!  Trial by fire is probably to keep us from returning to our bondage.  Slavery is "comfortable" to the flesh, just like law is, because both of them glorify the flesh.  One of the OT Hebrew words for "idol" (atsab) also means "grieve, trouble, worry, pain or anger, hurt, make sorry, vex. Another (gillulim) originally meant "dung pellets".  All the other OT words for "idol" are words that mean "terror, dread, fear" or "vain, empty, worthless." These are modern-day words to describe all our substitutes and counterfeits for God.

2 TIMOTHY 2:22 - 3:17                                                                                                     
HOLDING UP UNDER THE PRESSURE TO "TRY SOMETHING ELSE":

(1) chapter 1: Guard the Truth. V.13 says "hold fast the pattern of sound words".   The Bible reveals the actual nature of Reality. So it is to be much more trusted than anything else.

(2) chapter 2: Be strong in the Lord.  V.1 says "be strong in the grace of Jesus..."  We RECEIVE God's "dunamis" in the inner man.  "Dunamis"  is the Resources of God in me. Additional synonyms are "might, ability, strength, sufficiency, force, wealth, dominion, valor". Our part in this is to STAY STRONG, to "cash in" on what is inside us from God. To actually partake of that strength.  And we do that by staying committed like a soldier, by training rigorously like an athlete, being diligent like a farmer, enduring rather than denying the Lord, and watching out for the pitfalls - arguments over words, dangerous desires of the flesh (walk away from some; RUN from others; don't try to suppress them!), and rebellious or defiant attitudes.

(3) chapter 3: Form vs. Power: Rigorous training in the Scriptures will save you from pitfalls.  (3:1-9) The easiest pitfall to fall into is to be self-deceived.  It is the most dangerous pitfall of all, (opposite to training in the Scriptures) and leads to perversion and a defiant attitude to the Truth. These people are without the power to change their lives. What is really scary is that these people are in the church! They claim to be Christians, but are totally deceived.  Their lives are a complete sham because they lack the power to break the hold of sin in their lives.  (3:10-13) By contrast, true godliness is evidenced by a changed life, although it brings persecution with it.  (3:14-17) Submission and obedience to the Truth of Scripture is the way of safety from self-deception. Scripture is powerfully sufficient and has a proven track record of changed lives. Scripture is not just someone's speculation, or even just inspiration; it is came directly from God's mouth ("breathed"). Scripture is able to make us "perfect" - "able to fulfill our God-given purpose".   Or, as 2 Tim 3:17 puts it: "thoroughly furnished unto every good work." Heb 5:14 calls it "those who by practice (acquired habit) have their senses trained to discern good and evil."  The Word of God keeps us on the right path, (after showing us where the path is), corrects us when we veer off, and equips us for "this life which is in Christ Jesus".  To be "perfect" is to manifest Jesus, the Perfect One.  It means to walk in love and maturity; to love God completely; to refuse to compromise because we don't want to end up self-deceived.  Scripture that is believed and acted on has the power "to make me wise unto salvation"!  The Scriptures, coupled with a "sound mind" (2Tim 1:7) will keep us from running away, or from being swept up in something false. A "sound mind" is the OPPOSITE of sensual indulgence of the flesh - which is UNsound thinking.  Our goal, as given by 2 Timothy, is "godliness" - which is "the life which is in Christ Jesus".  Godliness is an attitude of submission to Truth and the fear of God. The "power of godliness" is the ability to change lives. Godliness is not a "fruit of the Spirit", but a strenuous pursuit on our part.

RESPONSE:  Salvation is not just about going to heaven when we die.  If that were true, then the Bible is irrelevant for life now. The Bible will "make me wise unto salvation".  It will equip me NOW for life NOW. "Salvation" means "wholeness".   It is the aim and goal of PERFECTION!  When I am "saved" or "whole", I manifest Jesus and His life in me because I am being "equipped" to do "all good works".  It's not easy being a Christian! The hard part is our obsession with ourselves!  People who don't know God can only HOPE for peace, HOPE for a good life, and even WORK toward those things; but for the Believer, these are GIFTS from God!  The Scriptures help us keep our heads on straight!  Keep our eyes on the goal! "Perfection" does not mean "faultless"; it means "blameless" - which is a whole other thing.  If we don't want to end up as vile as the godless people described in the first 9 verses of chapter 3, then we must stay focused on TRUTH, as defined by the Scriptures!  Remember, they got that way because they were self-deceived!

PSALM 94:1-23                                                                                                                 
(Please refer back to the background information of Psalm 90-106: the "Numbers" Psalms - "Labouring" to enter in to God's Rest. 

Psalm 94:   I must never defend myself (make excuses), insist on my own way, or complain.  "Lord God, to Whom vengeance belongs..." "Who will stand up for me against the evil-doers?"  God is described here as "judge of the earth". He is also the One Who "chastens the heathen", "teaches man knowledge", "knows the thoughts of man".  AND is "my defense", "the rock of my refuge".   The "spirit of the world" - which is antichristian in nature and habit, that opposes God and God's people - thinks that, because God hasn't judged us all yet, that maybe He isn't going to!   When I am tempted to feel the same way - that my situation is hopeless because my troubles are going to outlive me - that maybe God doesn't really care how other people treat me - I remember v. 22, "BUT the Lord is my defense; and my God is the rock of my refuge."

And even better, v.19 "In the multitude of my thoughts within me" (all my questions, all my fears) "Thy comforts delight my soul."  The word "delight" is written twice in the original language, to stress that this is "extreme joy".  V. 18 says that when I was "slipping" (about to give in to temptation) - "God's mercy held me up"! (with a "dead-lift" !!!)  So I KNOW He's with me.  And when my mind plays with my emotions, God's compassions (plural) excite me toward God again - His Spirit, His Word, His servants.  When these "rescues" come to us, there is nothing as joyful and laughter-provoking as they are!  I use my mouth to direct my heart to look for the rescue.  Speak confidently of God's goodness, God's greatness, God's glory. 

PROVERBS 26:6-8                                                                                                            
DEALING WITH FOOLS Prov 26) (fools are spiritual maniacs - not acknowledging accountability to God or any other authority - no fear of God.)
(1) It is inappropriate to give honor to a fool.
(2) A fool can be compared to a horse or a donkey: stubborn and unreasonable, so don't bother arguing with him; he only understands force.
(3) Don't be brought down to his level by taunting or sneering back at him.
(4) Give him an answer that makes sense, so that he doesn't think he has rendered you speechless! In other words, DO NOT answer when your answer will make you look as foolish as he is. DO answer when a non-answer will look like he has convinced you of something foolish.
(5) Never expect a fool to relay a message on your behalf; no one will believe him anyway, and you will end up bearing the damage he brings.
(6) Fools lack credibility. Don't trust anything they say.
(7) Respect is wasted on a fool; he'll just throw it away on something stupid.