Week 34 Recap
Jeremiah chapter 34 is basically a 2-part chapter:
• Part1: The Warning to King Zedekiah of the Babylonian Invasion and the Results (vv. 1-7)
• Part 2: The Relief of Debtors According to God’s Covenant (vv.8-22)
Be sure to download the Show Notes from Week 34 to get the full picture of the chapter’s discussion on the livestream this past episode.
Obedience Has Its Own Rewards
Never take your obedience as the reason God blesses you; obedience is the outcome of being rightly related to God.
Oswald Chambers
The Old Testament gives a clear picture of the value of obedience in the Lord’s eyes. We see God using a lesson of stark contrast here in chapter 35 with Jeremiah. The Rechabites, descendants of Jonadab, refused to touch wine, but God instructed Jeremiah to offer them wine in the house of the Lord nonetheless.
God uses the Rechabites as a living and breathing example of what Judah and Israel have not been. In a word, it is called obedient. God’s words through Jeremiah posed the question: “Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?” (v. 13, NIV). His usage of the Rechabites in comparison to both Judah and Israel showed how much God desired for dedicated and devout followers like the Rechabites were to their ancestor Jonadab.
Let the lesson sink in for you. Obedience to God has its own rewards. By responding to God with obedience, we also confirm our own understanding of what God values of ritual sacrifices like burnt offerings. Since we have the ability to look back on it and see how the sacrifice of bulls and goats could never wash away our sins.
Friday Freebie
We’ve all heard some portion of the Book of Psalms in one way or another. We might have heard a worship leader use a psalm for the call to worship to kick off Sunday worship. Songs have been lifted up from the choir loft countless times with the Psalms as their foundation. And numerous prayers and sermons have been lifted from the 150 psalms contained in the Bible. In essence, the Book of Psalms is an essential part of the church and its worship as well as the believer and his or her celebration of God’s love through prayer, poetry and praise.
Take on the Book of Psalms Daily Bible Reading PLan. This offers a simple strategy for diving into the Book of Psalms. This reading plan offers a daily methodology for scheduling and journaling your adventure through the Book of Psalms day by day. Sign up for our newsletter and get a FREE copy of the companion Book of Psalms Reading Plan Schedule as a FREE gift.
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