Wednesday, October 17, 2007

October 17th - Day 290

Jeremiah 30-31:26



Jeremiah 30
Restoration of Israel

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD : 2 "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. 3 The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity [a] and restore them to the land I gave their forefathers to possess,' says the LORD."

4 These are the words the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah: 5 "This is what the LORD says:

" 'Cries of fear are heard—

terror, not peace.

6 Ask and see:

Can a man bear children?

Then why do I see every strong man

with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,

every face turned deathly pale?

7 How awful that day will be!

None will be like it.

It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,

but he will be saved out of it.

8 " 'In that day,' declares the LORD Almighty,

'I will break the yoke off their necks

and will tear off their bonds;

no longer will foreigners enslave them.

9 Instead, they will serve the LORD their God

and David their king,

whom I will raise up for them.

10 " 'So do not fear, O Jacob my servant;

do not be dismayed, O Israel,'

declares the LORD.

'I will surely save you out of a distant place,

your descendants from the land of their exile.

Jacob will again have peace and security,

and no one will make him afraid.

11 I am with you and will save you,'

declares the LORD.

'Though I completely destroy all the nations

among which I scatter you,

I will not completely destroy you.

I will discipline you but only with justice;

I will not let you go entirely unpunished.'

12 "This is what the LORD says:

" 'Your wound is incurable,

your injury beyond healing.

13 There is no one to plead your cause,

no remedy for your sore,

no healing for you.

14 All your allies have forgotten you;

they care nothing for you.

I have struck you as an enemy would

and punished you as would the cruel,

because your guilt is so great

and your sins so many.

15 Why do you cry out over your wound,

your pain that has no cure?

Because of your great guilt and many sins

I have done these things to you.

16 " 'But all who devour you will be devoured;

all your enemies will go into exile.

Those who plunder you will be plundered;

all who make spoil of you I will despoil.

17 But I will restore you to health

and heal your wounds,'

declares the LORD,

'because you are called an outcast,

Zion for whom no one cares.'

18 "This is what the LORD says:

" 'I will restore the fortunes of Jacob's tents

and have compassion on his dwellings;

the city will be rebuilt on her ruins,

and the palace will stand in its proper place.

19 From them will come songs of thanksgiving

and the sound of rejoicing.

I will add to their numbers,

and they will not be decreased;

I will bring them honor,

and they will not be disdained.

20 Their children will be as in days of old,

and their community will be established before me;

I will punish all who oppress them.

21 Their leader will be one of their own;

their ruler will arise from among them.

I will bring him near and he will come close to me,

for who is he who will devote himself

to be close to me?'

declares the LORD.

22 " 'So you will be my people,

and I will be your God.' "

23 See, the storm of the LORD

will burst out in wrath,

a driving wind swirling down

on the heads of the wicked.

24 The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back

until he fully accomplishes

the purposes of his heart.

In days to come

you will understand this.

Jeremiah 31


1 "At that time," declares the LORD, "I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they will be my people."

2 This is what the LORD says:

"The people who survive the sword

will find favor in the desert;

I will come to give rest to Israel."

3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, [b] saying:

"I have loved you with an everlasting love;

I have drawn you with loving-kindness.

4 I will build you up again

and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel.

Again you will take up your tambourines

and go out to dance with the joyful.

5 Again you will plant vineyards

on the hills of Samaria;

the farmers will plant them

and enjoy their fruit.

6 There will be a day when watchmen cry out

on the hills of Ephraim,

'Come, let us go up to Zion,

to the LORD our God.' "

7 This is what the LORD says:

"Sing with joy for Jacob;

shout for the foremost of the nations.

Make your praises heard, and say,

'O LORD, save your people,

the remnant of Israel.'

8 See, I will bring them from the land of the north

and gather them from the ends of the earth.

Among them will be the blind and the lame,

expectant mothers and women in labor;

a great throng will return.

9 They will come with weeping;

they will pray as I bring them back.

I will lead them beside streams of water

on a level path where they will not stumble,

because I am Israel's father,

and Ephraim is my firstborn son.

10 "Hear the word of the LORD, O nations;

proclaim it in distant coastlands:

'He who scattered Israel will gather them

and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.'

11 For the LORD will ransom Jacob

and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they.

12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion;

they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD—

the grain, the new wine and the oil,

the young of the flocks and herds.

They will be like a well-watered garden,

and they will sorrow no more.

13 Then maidens will dance and be glad,

young men and old as well.

I will turn their mourning into gladness;

I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.

14 I will satisfy the priests with abundance,

and my people will be filled with my bounty,"

declares the LORD.

15 This is what the LORD says:

"A voice is heard in Ramah,

mourning and great weeping,

Rachel weeping for her children

and refusing to be comforted,

because her children are no more."

16 This is what the LORD says:

"Restrain your voice from weeping

and your eyes from tears,

for your work will be rewarded,"

declares the LORD.

"They will return from the land of the enemy.

17 So there is hope for your future,"

declares the LORD.

"Your children will return to their own land.

18 "I have surely heard Ephraim's moaning:

'You disciplined me like an unruly calf,

and I have been disciplined.

Restore me, and I will return,

because you are the LORD my God.

19 After I strayed,

I repented;

after I came to understand,

I beat my breast.

I was ashamed and humiliated

because I bore the disgrace of my youth.'

20 Is not Ephraim my dear son,

the child in whom I delight?

Though I often speak against him,

I still remember him.

Therefore my heart yearns for him;

I have great compassion for him,"

declares the LORD.

21 "Set up road signs;

put up guideposts.

Take note of the highway,

the road that you take.

Return, O Virgin Israel,

return to your towns.

22 How long will you wander,

O unfaithful daughter?

The LORD will create a new thing on earth—

a woman will surround [
c] a man."

23 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "When I bring them back from captivity, [d] the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: 'The LORD bless you, O righteous dwelling, O sacred mountain.' 24 People will live together in Judah and all its towns—farmers and those who move about with their flocks. 25 I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint."

26 At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me.


Footnotes:


  1. Jeremiah 30:3 Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel and Judah
  2. Jeremiah 31:3 Or LORD has appeared to us from afar
  3. Jeremiah 31:22 Or will go about seeking ; or will protect
  4. Jeremiah 31:23 Or I restore their fortunes


1 Timothy 2:1-15



1 Timothy 2


Instructions on Worship

1I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time. 7And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.

8I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.

9I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

11A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. 13For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15But women[a] will be saved[b] through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.


Footnotes:


  1. 1 Timothy 2:15 Greek she
  2. 1 Timothy 2:15 Or restored


Psalm 87:1-7



Psalm 87


Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. A song.

1 He has set his foundation on the holy mountain;

2 the LORD loves the gates of Zion

more than all the dwellings of Jacob.

3 Glorious things are said of you,

O city of God:

Selah

4 "I will record Rahab [a] and Babylon

among those who acknowledge me—

Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush[
b]—

and will say, 'This [
c] one was born in Zion.' "

5 Indeed, of Zion it will be said,

"This one and that one were born in her,

and the Most High himself will establish her."

6 The LORD will write in the register of the peoples:

"This one was born in Zion."

Selah

7 As they make music they will sing,

"All my fountains are in you."


Footnotes:


  1. Psalm 87:4 A poetic name for Egypt
  2. Psalm 87:4 That is, the upper Nile region
  3. Psalm 87:4 Or "O Rahab and Babylon, / Philistia, Tyre and Cush, / I will record concerning those who acknowledge me: / 'This


Proverbs 25:18-19



18 Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow

is the man who gives false testimony against his neighbor.


19 Like a bad tooth or a lame foot

is reliance on the unfaithful in times of trouble.

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