Bible Reading Plan

Month: March 2024

  • Jeremiah 11

    Jeremiah 11

    Read Jeremiah 11

    The Covenant Is Broken

    11 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Listen to the terms of this covenant and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. 3 Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursed is the one who does not obey the terms of this covenant— 4 the terms I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.’ I said, ‘Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. 5 Then I will fulfill the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’—the land you possess today.”

    I answered, “Amen, Lord.”

    6 The Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and followthem. 7 From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, “Obey me.” 8 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts.So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.’”

    9 Then the Lord said to me, “There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the sins of their ancestors, who refused to listen to my words. They have followed other gods to serve them. Both Israel and Judah have broken the covenant I made with their ancestors. 11 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. 12 The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they will not help them at all when disaster strikes. 13 You, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shamefulgod Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’

    14 “Do not pray for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress.

    15 “What is my beloved doing in my temple
        as she, with many others, works out her evil schemes?
        Can consecrated meat avert your punishment?
    When you engage in your wickedness,
        then you rejoice.”

    16 The Lord called you a thriving olive tree
        with fruit beautiful in form.
    But with the roar of a mighty storm
        he will set it on fire,
        and its branches will be broken.

    17 The Lord Almighty, who planted you, has decreed disaster for you, because the people of both Israel and Judah have done evil and aroused my anger by burning incense to Baal.

    Plot Against Jeremiah

    18 Because the Lord revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing. 19 I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not realize that they had plotted against me, saying,

    “Let us destroy the tree and its fruit;
        let us cut him off from the land of the living,
        that his name be remembered no more.”
    20 But you, Lord Almighty, who judge righteously
        and test the heart and mind,
    let me see your vengeance on them,
        for to you I have committed my cause.

    21 Therefore this is what the Lord says about the people of Anathoth who are threatening to kill you, saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lordor you will die by our hands”— 22 therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. 23 Not even a remnant will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.”

    Go Deeper

    This chapter begins with a reminder of the covenant that God had established with His people centuries before. At the time of the exodus as the Israelites were anxiously awaiting their opportunity to enter the promised land, God established the Mosaic Covenant. This covenant built upon the Abrahamic Covenant, going all the way back to Genesis 12:7 when God promised land to Abraham’s offspring. The Mosaic Covenant was how the Israelites were to fulfill their end of the covenant: by following God’s laws.

    As we know, they wandered and strayed from their end of the bargain. God’s people ended up wandering from God’s instructions. They disregarded God’s Word and built idols of their own. Judah even had as many idols as they did cities (v. 13)! As a result of their unfaithfulness, all of the curses God had promised (Deuteronomy 27) were headed their way due to their stubbornness and wickedness. Their actions had reached such a tipping point that God told Jeremiah he wasn’t going to hear Israel’s prayers anymore (v. 14). 

    Towards the end of this chapter, Jeremiah reveals that he has been preaching and prophesying to people that want to kill him. They had grown tired of the message he was delivering (on behalf of Yahweh), so they wanted him put to death despite having only done what God instructed him to do. As we have discussed previously in our study of Jeremiah, he is the prophet most often compared to Jesus and the plot to kill them, despite both only trying to fulfill the will of God, is yet another way there are similarities between the two. 

    Reading this chapter today, there are elements of it that are difficult for us to stomach. The idea of God not hearing the prayers of His people can be hard for us to reconcile. We, however, have the benefit of reading this chapter through the lens of the Gospel. Because we (as followers of Jesus) have the Holy Spirit, we aren’t cut off from God. We have an Advocate (John 14:16)! Even when we wander and even when we stray, God offers us a pathway of repentance that draws us back to Him.

    Questions

    1. What stuck out to you as you first read this passage? Why?
    2. Why is it so important to know about the covenants? Why are they such an important piece in understanding the story of scripture?
    3. After reading this chapter, how does it impact the way you will follow Jesus today?

    Did You Know?

    Dr. Thomas Constable, a retired seminary professor from Dallas Theological Seminary, has this note on the timing of this passage:

    “Most scholars believe that it dates from the reign of Josiah, perhaps after the discovery of the Law but before he initiated his reforms (about 621 B.C.; cf. 2 Chronicles 34:8-33).”

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  • Jeremiah 10

    Jeremiah 10

    Read Jeremiah 10

    God and Idols

    10 Hear what the Lord says to you, people of Israel. 2 This is what the Lord says:

    “Do not learn the ways of the nations
        or be terrified by signs in the heavens,
        though the nations are terrified by them.
    3 For the practices of the peoples are worthless;
        they cut a tree out of the forest,
        and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.
    4 They adorn it with silver and gold;
        they fasten it with hammer and nails
        so it will not totter.
    5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field,
        their idols cannot speak;
    they must be carried
        because they cannot walk.
    Do not fear them;
        they can do no harm
        nor can they do any good.”

    6 No one is like you, Lord;
        you are great,
        and your name is mighty in power.
    7 Who should not fear you,
        King of the nations?
        This is your due.
    Among all the wise leaders of the nations
        and in all their kingdoms,
        there is no one like you.

    8 They are all senseless and foolish;
        they are taught by worthless wooden idols.
    9 Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish
        and gold from Uphaz.
    What the craftsman and goldsmith have made
        is then dressed in blue and purple—
        all made by skilled workers.
    10 But the Lord is the true God;
        he is the living God, the eternal King.
    When he is angry, the earth trembles;
        the nations cannot endure his wrath.

    11 “Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.’”

    12 But God made the earth by his power;
        he founded the world by his wisdom
        and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
    13 When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;
        he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
    He sends lightning with the rain
        and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

    14 Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
        every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.
    The images he makes are a fraud;
        they have no breath in them.
    15 They are worthless, the objects of mockery;
        when their judgment comes, they will perish.
    16 He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these,
        for he is the Maker of all things,
    including Israel, the people of his inheritance—
        the Lord Almighty is his name.

    Coming Destruction

    17 Gather up your belongings to leave the land,
        you who live under siege.
    18 For this is what the Lord says:
        “At this time I will hurl out
        those who live in this land;
    I will bring distress on them
        so that they may be captured.”

    19 Woe to me because of my injury!
        My wound is incurable!
    Yet I said to myself,
        “This is my sickness, and I must endure it.”
    20 My tent is destroyed;
        all its ropes are snapped.
    My children are gone from me and are no more;
        no one is left now to pitch my tent
        or to set up my shelter.
    21 The shepherds are senseless
        and do not inquire of the Lord;
    so they do not prosper
        and all their flock is scattered.
    22 Listen! The report is coming—
        a great commotion from the land of the north!
    It will make the towns of Judah desolate,
        a haunt of jackals.

    Jeremiah’s Prayer

    23 Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own;
        it is not for them to direct their steps.
    24 Discipline me, Lord, but only in due measure—
        not in your anger,
        or you will reduce me to nothing.
    25 Pour out your wrath on the nations
        that do not acknowledge you,
        on the peoples who do not call on your name.
    For they have devoured Jacob;
        they have devoured him completely
        and destroyed his homeland.

    Go Deeper

    We have all heard the phrase “when in Rome, do as the Romans do”. The people of Judah sure took that to heart. The people had been warned by God not to follow the practices of those around them, but they just could not resist. 

    The beginning of this chapter tells how the people of Judah had begun to practice worshiping man made idols. These idols were made of wood and adorned with gold and silver. But through the prophet Jeremiah, God tells His people these idols will fade away. Nothing good will come from devotion to something that is made by man. This can seem really foreign to some in today’s world, but remember an idol is simply something we put as a higher priority than God.

    Paul reminds us in Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. As we can see, idol worship is nothing new, but in today’s world it is very important that we are transformed daily. If we choose to follow the patterns of this world, then we will ultimately end up with the consequences of this world. Those consequences often lead us down a path that goes away from God and not toward our loving Father. 

    The good news is that by the end of Jeremiah 10, God again shows us the path that leads straight to Himself. Jeremiah begins a prayer in verses 23-25. In this prayer we see Jeremiah ask for 2 things. First he asks God to direct, and secondly he asks God to correct. Jeremiah is bold in this difficult prayer. Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us to trust in the Lord and He will direct our paths. Yes, even if we are on the wrong path, once we Trust God he will direct us straight back to Himself. The second part of the prayer might be the most difficult because Jeremiah asks God for correction. We know that God only corrects those that he loves (Hebrews 12:5-6), but asking for that correction is very difficult.

    Questions

    1. Are there things in your life that you are putting before God?
    2. How is God currently directing your life?
    3. What area of your life needs to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind?”

    A Quote

    “If my ruling disposition is self-interest, I perceive that everything that happens to me is always for or against my self-interest; if, on the other hand, my ruling disposition is obedience to God, I perceive Him to be at work for my perfecting in everything that happens to me.”

    Oswald Chambers

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  • Jeremiah 9

    Jeremiah 9

    Read Jeremiah 9

    9 1 Oh, that my head were a spring of water
        and my eyes a fountain of tears!
    I would weep day and night
        for the slain of my people.
    2 Oh, that I had in the desert
        a lodging place for travelers,
    so that I might leave my people
        and go away from them;
    for they are all adulterers,
        a crowd of unfaithful people.

    3 “They make ready their tongue
        like a bow, to shoot lies;
    it is not by truth
        that they triumph in the land.
    They go from one sin to another;
        they do not acknowledge me,”
    declares the Lord.
    4 “Beware of your friends;
        do not trust anyone in your clan.
    For every one of them is a deceiver,
        and every friend a slanderer.
    5 Friend deceives friend,
        and no one speaks the truth.
    They have taught their tongues to lie;
        they weary themselves with sinning.
    6 You live in the midst of deception;
        in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
    declares the Lord.

    7 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:

    “See, I will refine and test them,
        for what else can I do
        because of the sin of my people?
    8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
        it speaks deceitfully.
    With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors,
        but in their hearts they set traps for them.
    9 Should I not punish them for this?”
        declares the Lord.
    “Should I not avenge myself
        on such a nation as this?”

    10 I will weep and wail for the mountains
        and take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands.
    They are desolate and untraveled,
        and the lowing of cattle is not heard.
    The birds have all fled
        and the animals are gone.

    11 “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
        a haunt of jackals;
    and I will lay waste the towns of Judah
        so no one can live there.”

    12 Who is wise enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?

    13 The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. 14 Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.” 15 Therefore this is what the LordAlmighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter foodand drink poisoned water. 16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known, and I will pursue them with the sworduntil I have made an end of them.”

    17 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

    “Consider now! Call for the wailing women to come;
        send for the most skillful of them.
    18 Let them come quickly
        and wail over us
    till our eyes overflow with tears
        and water streams from our eyelids.
    19 The sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
        ‘How ruined we are!
        How great is our shame!
    We must leave our land
        because our houses are in ruins.’”

    20 Now, you women, hear the word of the Lord;
        open your ears to the words of his mouth.
    Teach your daughters how to wail;
        teach one another a lament.
    21 Death has climbed in through our windows
        and has entered our fortresses;
    it has removed the children from the streets
        and the young men from the public squares.

    22 Say, “This is what the Lord declares:

    “‘Dead bodies will lie
        like dung on the open field,
    like cut grain behind the reaper,
        with no one to gather them.’”

    23 This is what the Lord says:

    “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
        or the strong boast of their strength
        or the rich boast of their riches,
    24 but let the one who boasts boast about this:
        that they have the understanding to know me,
    that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
        justice and righteousness on earth,
        for in these I delight,”
    declares the Lord.

    25 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places. For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”

    Go Deeper

    It has often been said that if you don’t learn from history you are destined to repeat it. Jeremiah 9 gives us a lot to learn from. While it may appear that the chapter is only about sin and the coming judgment, we can learn so much more from the passage.  

    On the surface the first part of the chapter may seem like a typical scenario of doing wrong equals punishment. However, as we dig deeper we can see that God only disciplines those he loves (Proverbs 3:11-12). And that the storms that arise through the consequences of sin are storms that we often start. The people of Judah had gotten so deep into sin that verse 3 says “They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me”. But God again says that He will refine the people just like in Jeremiah 6:27. That shows that God is not out to destroy us, but to lead us back to a path that leads us to Himself. The refining process is often difficult and sometimes painful, but be encouraged that no matter what we have done in life, God will see us through. He went to the cross knowing everything about us and still died for us.  

    The second lesson we can learn from the people of Judah is that God wants our heart to turn to Him. So often as humans we judge others by their outward appearance, but God judges our motives and desires (Proverbs 16:2). The chapter ends with God telling the people that they will be judged just like the uncircumcised because they have uncircumcised hearts. God clearly shows us that the outward physical covenant means nothing if the heart doesn’t also follow the path to Christ. 

    God so desperately longs for the people to turn their hearts towards Him. Paul addresses the same issue in Romans 2:29. As followers of Christ we learn that we can never perfectly follow the law, because we will fail. God is asking us to surrender our heart and experience the freedom that can only be found in His grace.

    Questions

    1. What can we learn from the mistakes of the people of Judah?
    2. Will we allow God to refine and mold us into a vessel that can be used by HIm?
    3. What area can we surrender to Christ today?

    Pray This

    Lord,

    Please refine and mold me into a vessel that can be used for your honor and glory. Thank you for the gift of discipline and that just as a human parent hurts when needing to discipline their child, you also sorrow when you need to discipline me. Help me to turn my heart towards you and accept the grace and mercy that you so lovingly give. Amen.

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  • Jeremiah 8

    Jeremiah 8

    Read Jeremiah 8

    8 “‘At that time, declares the Lord, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the bones of the priests and prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be removed from their graves. 2 They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and served and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped. They will not be gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground. 3 Wherever I banish them, all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life, declares the Lord Almighty.’

    Sin and Punishment

    4 “Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

    “‘When people fall down, do they not get up?
        When someone turns away, do they not return?
    5 Why then have these people turned away?
        Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
    They cling to deceit;
        they refuse to return.
    6 I have listened attentively,
        but they do not say what is right.
    None of them repent of their wickedness,
        saying, “What have I done?”
    Each pursues their own course
        like a horse charging into battle.
    7 Even the stork in the sky
        knows her appointed seasons,
    and the dove, the swift and the thrush
        observe the time of their migration.
    But my people do not know
        the requirements of the Lord.

    8 “‘How can you say, “We are wise,

        for we have the law of the Lord,”

    when actually the lying pen of the scribes

        has handled it falsely?

    9 The wise will be put to shame;

        they will be dismayed and trapped.
    Since they have rejected the word of the Lord,
        what kind of wisdom do they have?
    10 Therefore I will give their wives to other men
        and their fields to new owners.
    From the least to the greatest,
        all are greedy for gain;
    prophets and priests alike,
        all practice deceit.
    11 They dress the wound of my people
        as though it were not serious.
    “Peace, peace,” they say,
        when there is no peace.
    12 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
        No, they have no shame at all;
        they do not even know how to blush.
    So they will fall among the fallen;
        they will be brought down when they are punished,
    says the Lord.

    13 “‘I will take away their harvest,
    declares the Lord.
        There will be no grapes on the vine.
    There will be no figs on the tree,
        and their leaves will wither.
    What I have given them
        will be taken from them.’”

    14 Why are we sitting here?
        Gather together!
    Let us flee to the fortified cities
        and perish there!
    For the Lord our God has doomed us to perish
        and given us poisoned water to drink,
        because we have sinned against him.
    15 We hoped for peace
        but no good has come,
    for a time of healing
        but there is only terror.
    16 The snorting of the enemy’s horses
        is heard from Dan;
    at the neighing of their stallions
        the whole land trembles.
    They have come to devour
        the land and everything in it,
        the city and all who live there.

    17 “See, I will send venomous snakes among you,
        vipers that cannot be charmed,
        and they will bite you,”
    declares the Lord.

    18 You who are my Comforter in sorrow,
        my heart is faint within me.
    19 Listen to the cry of my people
        from a land far away:
    “Is the Lord not in Zion?
        Is her King no longer there?”

    “Why have they aroused my anger with their images,

        with their worthless foreign idols?”

    20 “The harvest is past,
        the summer has ended,
        and we are not saved.”

    21 Since my people are crushed, I am crushed;
        I mourn, and horror grips me.
    22 Is there no balm in Gilead?
        Is there no physician there?
    Why then is there no healing
        for the wound of my people?

    Go Deeper

    Jeremiah 8 is hard to read as we feel the anguish in the heart of Jeremiah over the rebellion of his people. However, as we shall see, he also reveals the deep love of God to a rebellious nation and rebellious man. His heart is deeply grieved over Judah’s continual rejection of God and His ways as we read in verse 18 which says, “You who are my comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me.” This is written during the time of the Babylonian captivity, and the people have either died or been exiled out of the Promised Land. Verse 3 puts an exclamation point on Israel’s self-inflicted situation saying, “Wherever I banish them, all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life, declares the Lord Almighty.” 

    God’s judgment and conviction through the chapter includes the priests and scribes who were to be the holy and righteous representatives of God to the people. They and the nation were sadly described as backslidden, apostate (which means renouncing their faith), deceitful, liars, and unrepentant. God’s holy and chosen people have chosen their way over God’s ways, deceit over holiness, and willful disobedience over submission to the Law. Verse 12 describes this position of their hearts saying, “Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even blush.” 

    However, we see the answer for the fallen nation, and for anyone of us today who find ourselves far from God and in a dark place in our lives. It says, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?” God, in His goodness and mercy cries out to His people through Jeremiah to return to Him. Today, this same cry for goodness and mercy is found in His son Jesus Christ! As Gilead, a day’s walk from Jerusalem, offered its medicinal balm that healed people in Jeremiah’s day, Jesus is the spiritual healing balm of Gilead for us now if we simply turn to Him. 

    The nation of Israel simply needed to repent and turn away from their sin and return back to their God who loves them deeply. Through belief and acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we can return to God to receive forgiveness, and find grace, mercy, and goodness. Hence, we can choose life over death and His ways over our own. First John 1:9 offers the simple “how” in returning to God saying, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

    Charles Spurgeon preached a beautiful sermon on Jeremiah 8 which mentions how migratory birds know the when, where, and way to go, and they show their wisdom by actually going to their sunny place. What a beautiful picture that paints for us as well. Let us all turn to the sunny place of forgiveness and wholeness only found in Jesus Christ.

    Questions

    1. What is the burden that Jeremiah is feeling over the nation of Israel?
    2. What posture do the people of Judah have towards God in this chapter and why is this such a perilous place? Discuss this with your Life Group.
    3. What can we do to return to God as described in 1 John 1:9? If you have followed these steps, please reach out to another Christian friend for support and encouragement.

    A Quote

    Charles Spurgeon, a 19th century British preacher, said, “Shake off thy depression, dear brother. Abide not in the dark but abide in the light. In Jesus is thy hope, thy joy, thy heaven. Look to Him, to Him only, and thou shalt rejoice as the birds rejoice at sunrise and as angels rejoice before the throne.” 

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  • Jeremiah 7

    Jeremiah 7

    Read Jeremiah 7

    False Religion Worthless

    7 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:

    “‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. 3 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” 5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestorsfor ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.

    9 “‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10 and then come and standbefore me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? 11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.

    12 “‘Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name,and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel.13 While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer.14 Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors.15 I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.’

    16 “So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offeringsto other gods to arouse my anger. 19 But am I the one they are provoking?declares the Lord. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame?

    20 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place—on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land—and it will burn and not be quenched.

    21 “‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves!22 For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, 23 but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. 24 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. 25 From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. 26 But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their ancestors.’

    27 “When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not answer. 28 Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips.

    29 “‘Cut off your hair and throw it away; take up a lament on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath.

    The Valley of Slaughter

    30 “‘The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it. 31 They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind. 32 So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 33 Then the carcasses of this people will become food for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away. 34 I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, for the land will become desolate.

    Go Deeper

    Jeremiah is told by the Lord to stand at the gate of the Lord’s house to proclaim a prophecy to those who were entering the temple courts to worship. Dr. Thomas Constable, a retired professor from Dallas Theological Seminary, notes there was a custom at that time (which was most likely abandoned by the people) in which a priest of the temple would stand and ask the pilgrims coming to worship to examine their lives before entering the temple courtyard. 

    God speaks through Jeremiah and tells the people to amend their ways and He will have mercy on them and let them dwell in the land He has given their ancestors (v. 7). God does not want followers who proclaim to the world, “We are delivered”, only to go on sinning, living like the rest of the world. Some of the sins listed are egregious, like stealing, murder, or adultery. Others we may commit without realizing, like sacrificing to false “gods”. We are prone to worship anything but the Lord, whether it’s extra 0s in the bank account, fewer pounds on the scale, or our favorite sports teams. As the late Tim Keller has said, “Idolatry happens when we take good things and make them ultimate things.” 

    Jesus quoted Jeremiah 7:11 when He cleansed the temple in Matthew 21:13. Jesus seeing the sale of animals that would be sacrificed in the temple courts (the only place that gentiles were able to enter to worship the one true God) He overthrew the tables of the money changers and said, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers”. 

    In Jeremiah 7:14 Jeremiah declared that God would destroy the temple. Centuries later, Jesus did the same in Mark 13:2 and John 2. Paul said that the believer’s body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). We should constantly be cleansing ourselves to ensure we are worshiping the Lord alone and making no provision for the flesh (Romans 13:14).

    It’s easy to read this chapter and think it’s about non-believers, but in reality this is Jeremiah prophesying over people coming to the temple claiming to follow God. The issue with this is they were attempting to worship Him on their terms and not His. In verses 22-23, God says when He brought their ancestors out of Egypt He didn’t speak to them about offerings and sacrifices but their hearts. Let this serve as a reminder today to check our hearts and ask God to purify them today.

    Questions

    1. Ask the Lord to search your heart for any idols that are getting in the way of your worship of the one true God. Does anything come to mind for you?
    2. Invite your Life Group or community to speak into your life and call you to a higher standard, to point out any sin that may be in your blind spot. 
    3. Who is the most Christlike person you know? What marks them that makes you say that? Call him/her and encourage them today!

    Did You Know?

    Dr. Constable also has this note on the similarities between between Jesus and Jeremiah:

    • In both of their cases: Jerusalem was about to fall, the temple would suffer destruction soon, the worship of Yahweh had become formalistic, and there was a need for emphasis on an individual relationship with God.
    • Both men had a message for Israel and the whole world.
    • Both of them used nature quite extensively for illustrative purposes in their teaching.
    • Both came from a high tradition: Jeremiah from a priestly, prophetic heritage, and Jesus from a divine, royal position. 
    • Both were very conscious of their call from God.
    • Both condemned the commercialism of temple worship in their day.
    • Their enemies charged both of them with political treason.
    • Both experienced persecutions, trials, and imprisonments.
    • Both foretold the destruction of the temple (7:14; Mark 13:2).
    • Both wept over Jerusalem (9:1; Luke 19:41).
    • Both condemned the priests of their day.
    • Both experienced rejection by members of their own families (12:6; John 1:11).
    • Both were so tenderhearted that some Jewish leaders identified them with the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53.
    • Both loved Israel deeply.
    • Both were lonely (15:10; Isa. 53:3).
    • Both enjoyed unusually intimate fellowship with God (20:7; John 11:41-42).

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  • Jeremiah 6

    Jeremiah 6

    Read Jeremiah 6

    Jerusalem Under Siege

    6 “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin!
        Flee from Jerusalem!
    Sound the trumpet in Tekoa!
        Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem!
    For disaster looms out of the north,
        even terrible destruction.
    2 I will destroy Daughter Zion,
        so beautiful and delicate.
    3 Shepherds with their flocks will come against her;
        they will pitch their tents around her,
        each tending his own portion.”

    4 “Prepare for battle against her!
        Arise, let us attack at noon!
    But, alas, the daylight is fading,
        and the shadows of evening grow long.
    5 So arise, let us attack at night
        and destroy her fortresses!”

    6 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

    “Cut down the trees
        and build siege ramps against Jerusalem.
    This city must be punished;
        it is filled with oppression.
    7 As a well pours out its water,
        so she pours out her wickedness.
    Violence and destruction resound in her;
        her sickness and wounds are ever before me.
    8 Take warning, Jerusalem,
        or I will turn away from you
    and make your land desolate
        so no one can live in it.”

    9 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

    “Let them glean the remnant of Israel
        as thoroughly as a vine;
    pass your hand over the branches again,
        like one gathering grapes.”

    10 To whom can I speak and give warning?
        Who will listen to me?
    Their ears are closed
        so they cannot hear.
    The word of the Lord is offensive to them;
        they find no pleasure in it.
    11 But I am full of the wrath of the Lord,
        and I cannot hold it in.

    “Pour it out on the children in the street
        and on the young men gathered together;
    both husband and wife will be caught in it,
        and the old, those weighed down with years.
    12 Their houses will be turned over to others,
        together with their fields and their wives,
    when I stretch out my hand
        against those who live in the land,”
    declares the Lord.
    13 “From the least to the greatest,
        all are greedy for gain;
    prophets and priests alike,
        all practice deceit.
    14 They dress the wound of my people
        as though it were not serious.
    ‘Peace, peace,’ they say,
        when there is no peace.
    15 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
        No, they have no shame at all;
        they do not even know how to blush.
    So they will fall among the fallen;
        they will be brought down when I punish them,”
    says the Lord.

    16 This is what the Lord says:

    “Stand at the crossroads and look;
        ask for the ancient paths,
    ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
        and you will find rest for your souls.
        But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
    17 I appointed watchmen over you and said,
        ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
        But you said, ‘We will not listen.’
    18 Therefore hear, you nations;
        you who are witnesses,
        observe what will happen to them.
    19 Hear, you earth:
        I am bringing disaster on this people,
        the fruit of their schemes,
    because they have not listened to my words
        and have rejected my law.
    20 What do I care about incense from Sheba
        or sweet calamus from a distant land?
    Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;
        your sacrifices do not please me.”

    21 Therefore this is what the Lord says:

    “I will put obstacles before this people.
        Parents and children alike will stumble over them;
        neighbors and friends will perish.”

    22 This is what the Lord says:

    “Look, an army is coming
        from the land of the north;
    a great nation is being stirred up
        from the ends of the earth.
    23 They are armed with bow and spear;
        they are cruel and show no mercy.
    They sound like the roaring sea
        as they ride on their horses;
    they come like men in battle formation
        to attack you, Daughter Zion.”

    24 We have heard reports about them,
        and our hands hang limp.
    Anguish has gripped us,
        pain like that of a woman in labor.
    25 Do not go out to the fields
        or walk on the roads,
    for the enemy has a sword,
        and there is terror on every side.
    26 Put on sackcloth, my people,
        and roll in ashes;
    mourn with bitter wailing
        as for an only son,
    for suddenly the destroyer
        will come upon us.

    27 “I have made you a tester of metals
        and my people the ore,
    that you may observe
        and test their ways.
    28 They are all hardened rebels,
        going about to slander.
    They are bronze and iron;
        they all act corruptly.
    29 The bellows blow fiercely
        to burn away the lead with fire,
    but the refining goes on in vain;
        the wicked are not purged out.
    30 They are called rejected silver,
        because the Lord has rejected them.”

    Go Deeper

    The prophets throughout the scriptures reveal God’s heart for His children to come home. Amidst all their corruption and rebellion, God would raise His people to boldly proclaim what God would bring about if they continued in the whoredom after other “gods”. Jeremiah is another example of bold declaration and he is rejected; the people of Judah refuse to return to God. 

    In Jeremiah 2:13 God says the people have forsaken Him…but how so? They saw “God’s Word as a scorn to them and took no pleasure in it” (v. 10). They had passively “paid no attention to God’s words and therefore rejected His law” (v. 19). At the root of this issue is the belief that God’s Law is to withhold, not protect. Jeremiah shared God’s heart to protect the people–but they simply did not trust God, so they did not trust His messenger.

    They are guilty of greed, offering false peace, and growing comfortable with the exact things Gods detest (v. 13-15). How would God respond to this spiritual adultery? He extends an invitation to “find rest for their souls in the ancient paths” (v. 16). The only place where our souls will find rest is in the ways of the Lord. This is possibly what Jesus had in mind in Matthew 11:29. Even when communicating His incoming judgment, God desires them to repent and experience life to the full, both here and for eternity with Him (John 10:10).

    God sets Jeremiah as a watchman over them to warn them but they refuse (v. 17). They simply do not want to worship God. They bring “frankincense that comes from Sheba, or sweet cane from a distant land?” (v. 20), but God is not pleased with empty sacrifices. He is after our hearts. David in Psalm 51:16-17 after his sin with Bathsheba writes, “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Judgment is surely coming but not without warning and invitation to fellowship with the Lord.

    Questions

    1. How have you benefited from paying attention to the Lord’s Word daily?
    2. Who has the Lord set you as a watchman to invite into life with God through repentance?
    3. What are the things in your life that you have grown comfortable with that God detests?

    Pray This

    Father,

    Please reveal to me the ways I break Your heart and empower me through Your Spirit to forsake them. Grow my love for those who do not know You and use me as a “watchman” to the watching world of the hope I have in Jesus. Amen.

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  • Jeremiah 5

    Jeremiah 5

    Read Jeremiah 5

    Not One Is Upright

    5 “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem,
        look around and consider,
        search through her squares.
    If you can find but one person
        who deals honestly and seeks the truth,
        I will forgive this city.
    2 Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’
        still they are swearing falsely.”

    3 Lord, do not your eyes look for truth?
        You struck them, but they felt no pain;
        you crushed them, but they refused correction.
    They made their faces harder than stone
        and refused to repent.
    4 I thought, “These are only the poor;
        they are foolish,
    for they do not know the way of the Lord,
        the requirements of their God.
    5 So I will go to the leaders
        and speak to them;
    surely they know the way of the Lord,
        the requirements of their God.”
    But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke
        and torn off the bonds.
    6 Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them,
        a wolf from the desert will ravage them,
    a leopard will lie in wait near their towns
        to tear to pieces any who venture out,
    for their rebellion is great
        and their backslidings many.

    7 “Why should I forgive you?
        Your children have forsaken me
        and sworn by gods that are not gods.
    I supplied all their needs,
        yet they committed adultery
        and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.
    8 They are well-fed, lusty stallions,
        each neighing for another man’s wife.
    9 Should I not punish them for this?”
        declares the Lord.
    “Should I not avenge myself
        on such a nation as this?

    10 “Go through her vineyards and ravage them,
        but do not destroy them completely.
    Strip off her branches,
        for these people do not belong to the Lord.
    11 The people of Israel and the people of Judah
        have been utterly unfaithful to me,”
    declares the Lord.

    12 They have lied about the Lord;
        they said, “He will do nothing!
    No harm will come to us;
        we will never see sword or famine.
    13 The prophets are but wind
        and the word is not in them;
        so let what they say be done to them.”

    14 Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty says:

    “Because the people have spoken these words,
        I will make my words in your mouth a fire
        and these people the wood it consumes.
    15 People of Israel,” declares the Lord,
        “I am bringing a distant nation against you—
    an ancient and enduring nation,
        a people whose language you do not know,
        whose speech you do not understand.
    16 Their quivers are like an open grave;
        all of them are mighty warriors.
    17 They will devour your harvests and food,
        devour your sons and daughters;
    they will devour your flocks and herds,
        devour your vines and fig trees.
    With the sword they will destroy
        the fortified cities in which you trust.

    18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not destroy you completely. 19 And when the people ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ you will tell them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own.’

    20 “Announce this to the descendants of Jacob
        and proclaim it in Judah:
    21 Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,
        who have eyes but do not see,
        who have ears but do not hear:
    22 Should you not fear me?” declares the Lord.
        “Should you not tremble in my presence?
    I made the sand a boundary for the sea,
        an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
    The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
        they may roar, but they cannot cross it.
    23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;
        they have turned aside and gone away.
    24 They do not say to themselves,
        ‘Let us fear the Lord our God,
    who gives autumn and spring rains in season,
        who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’
    25 Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
        your sins have deprived you of good.

    26 “Among my people are the wicked
        who lie in wait like men who snare birds
        and like those who set traps to catch people.
    27 Like cages full of birds,
        their houses are full of deceit;
    they have become rich and powerful
    28     and have grown fat and sleek.
    Their evil deeds have no limit;
        they do not seek justice.
    They do not promote the case of the fatherless;
        they do not defend the just cause of the poor.
    29 Should I not punish them for this?”
        declares the Lord.
    “Should I not avenge myself
        on such a nation as this?

    30 “A horrible and shocking thing
        has happened in the land:
    31 The prophets prophesy lies,
        the priests rule by their own authority,
    and my people love it this way.
        But what will you do in the end?

    Go Deeper

    Jeremiah’s confrontation of Judah’s rebellion and unfaithfulness continues in this chapter. The Lord challenges Jeremiah to find one person who seeks the truth in Jerusalem, but sadly his quest discovers there is no one. The people of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to the Lord. They refuse to believe the warnings from the Lord concluding that God will do nothing: “No harm will come to us.” Even the prophets lie about God and the priests rule in their own power apart from the Lord. Therefore, the Lord Almighty tells Jeremiah to warn Judah of a distant nation coming against them. Because they have forsaken the Lord and worshiped foreign gods, they will serve foreigners in another land. Jeremiah continues to reveal the consequences of their refusal to fear the Lord. 

    Admittedly, reading the warnings and description of the Lord’s judgment is intense. It is also disturbing to consider Jeremiah’s assessment of the unfaithful, foolish, and senseless people of Judah. They have rejected the Lord who has supplied all their needs, given autumn and spring rains, and provided regular weeks of harvest. They have pursued other gods rather than their God and their evil deeds have no limit. It is not shocking to read the question God asks, “Should I not punish them for this?” Jeremiah concludes in this chapter that not only have the prophets lied about God and the priests abused their God given authority, but also the people love it this way. 

    These sobering words given to Jeremiah from the Lord reveal the hard, wicked unrepentant hearts of the people. No wonder Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet! However, in the middle of this chapter, there is a glimpse of God’s mercy that we must not miss. In verse 10, the Lord declares “Do not destroy them completely.” In verse 18, He repeats these merciful words, “Yet, even in those days (of the distant nation attack), I will not destroy you completely.” From God’s warning of judgment to His mercy by not fully eliminating the unfaithful in Jerusalem, we can cling to the truth: God is merciful!

    Today, we experience His mercy through God’s Son, Jesus. Just as Jeremiah was unsuccessful in finding one faithful, righteous person, the same failed quest would be true in our midst. Romans 3:10 describes this: “there is no one righteous, not even one…” Thanks be to our Merciful and Gracious God for providing our salvation, our rescue through faith in Jesus! 

    Questions

    1. How does Jeremiah’s description of the people of Judah resemble our culture? 
    2. How deeply are you burdened for the spiritual peril of others
    3. With whom will you share the hope of our Merciful Savior today or this week?

    Pray This

    Lord,
    Please forgive me for my refusal to see the desperate need around me and the numbness to the disaster awaiting those who refuse to call out to You as Lord and Savior. Break my heart, as you touched Jeremiah’s, for what breaks Yours. Lead me to share boldly the mercy and hope You offer in Jesus.

    Amen.

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  • Jeremiah 4

    Jeremiah 4

    Read Jeremiah 4

    4 “If you, Israel, will return,
        then return to me,”
    declares the Lord.
    “If you put your detestable idols out of my sight
        and no longer go astray,
    2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
        you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’
    then the nations will invoke blessings by him
        and in him they will boast.”

    3 This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:

    “Break up your unplowed ground
        and do not sow among thorns.
    4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
        circumcise your hearts,
        you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
    or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire
        because of the evil you have done—
        burn with no one to quench it.

    Disaster From the North

    5 “Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say:
        ‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’
    Cry aloud and say:
        ‘Gather together!
        Let us flee to the fortified cities!’
    6 Raise the signal to go to Zion!
        Flee for safety without delay!
    For I am bringing disaster from the north,
        even terrible destruction.”

    7 A lion has come out of his lair;
        a destroyer of nations has set out.
    He has left his place
        to lay waste your land.
    Your towns will lie in ruins
        without inhabitant.
    8 So put on sackcloth,
        lament and wail,
    for the fierce anger of the Lord
        has not turned away from us.

    9 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
        “the king and the officials will lose heart,
    the priests will be horrified,
        and the prophets will be appalled.”

    10 Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! How completely you have deceivedthis people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ when the sword is at our throats!”

    11 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; 12 a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them.”

    13 Look! He advances like the clouds,
        his chariots come like a whirlwind,
    his horses are swifter than eagles.
        Woe to us! We are ruined!
    14 Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved.
        How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?
    15 A voice is announcing from Dan,
        proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.
    16 “Tell this to the nations,
        proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
    ‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,
        raising a war cry against the cities of Judah.
    17 They surround her like men guarding a field,
        because she has rebelled against me,’”
    declares the Lord.
    18 “Your own conduct and actions
        have brought this on you.
    This is your punishment.
        How bitter it is!
        How it pierces to the heart!”

    19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!
        I writhe in pain.
    Oh, the agony of my heart!
        My heart pounds within me,
        I cannot keep silent.
    For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;
        I have heard the battle cry.
    20 Disaster follows disaster;
        the whole land lies in ruins.
    In an instant my tents are destroyed,
        my shelter in a moment.
    21 How long must I see the battle standard
        and hear the sound of the trumpet?

    22 “My people are fools;
        they do not know me.
    They are senseless children;
        they have no understanding.
    They are skilled in doing evil;
        they know not how to do good.”

    23 I looked at the earth,
        and it was formless and empty;
    and at the heavens,
        and their light was gone.
    24 I looked at the mountains,
        and they were quaking;
        all the hills were swaying.
    25 I looked, and there were no people;
        every bird in the sky had flown away.
    26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;
        all its towns lay in ruins
        before the Lord, before his fierce anger.

    27 This is what the Lord says:

    “The whole land will be ruined,
        though I will not destroy it completely.
    28 Therefore the earth will mourn
        and the heavens above grow dark,
    because I have spoken and will not relent,
        I have decided and will not turn back.”

    29 At the sound of horsemen and archers
        every town takes to flight.
    Some go into the thickets;
        some climb up among the rocks.
    All the towns are deserted;
        no one lives in them.

    30 What are you doing, you devastated one?
        Why dress yourself in scarlet
        and put on jewels of gold?
    Why highlight your eyes with makeup?
        You adorn yourself in vain.
    Your lovers despise you;
        they want to kill you.

    31 I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,
        a groan as of one bearing her first child—
    the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath,
        stretching out her hands and saying,
    “Alas! I am fainting;
        my life is given over to murderers.”

    Go Deeper

    This chapter boils down to a promise that Israel will be destroyed if she does not turn from her wicked ways. That may sound familiar. The Old Testament, and particularly Jeremiah, are filled with prophecies of what will happen if things don’t change. God’s patient mercy for the Israelites is nearing an end, and only by His grace through Jeremiah’s prophecy are they warned of the pending reality of their own suffering. The usual suspects are to blame: idol worship, the abandonment of God’s law, and the slow adoption of norms that are outside of God’s design for His people. 

    Perhaps the most striking image—and one we should note with great interest—comes from verses 23-26. He describes what amounts to a reversing of the original creation story that is documented in Genesis 1. Instead of the void being filled, he sees the earth as becoming formless and empty. Instead of the creation of light, he sees light leave the sky. Rather than the formation of mountains and hills, they quake on the verge of destruction. The birds no longer fly. The people are gone. Life as we know it ceases to exist. Creation is being undone. 

    This image speaks to the conquest of an army, certainly. Even more so, this speaks to an interruption of God’s design for us. We were formed in Genesis 1 for communion with Him. When we, as individuals and as communities, abandon the original intention, it is like we are participating in the undoing of creation itself. To reject God is to act in opposition to creation. 

    Thousands of years later that rings true. Where we submit to His design, life blooms. Where we act without Him, or in outright hostility towards Him, life dwindles until it is gone completely. 

    But pay particular attention to the opening word of this chapter: If. The vision of destruction Jeremiah presents is dependent on Israel maintaining her wicked ways. This is not a foregone conclusion. There is still time to change. By His grace, there is still time for us too. 

    Questions

    1. What is your ‘if’? What part of your own life do you need to change to be obedient to God’s design for your life and your abundance?
    2. In addition to the image of creation being undone, what other images are presented in this chapter? (v. 22, 29, 30, 31, etc.)
    3. If the people turn from their wickedness and call upon the name of the Lord, what does He promise them? (v.1-3)

    By the Way

    Read Genesis 1 to be reminded of God’s intention and design for the earth, and for us:

    “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”

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