Yesterday the Lord rebuked false prophets who had spoken lies and tolerated evil, all in the name of the Lord. He told the people not to listen to worthless words from these false prophets who did not speak the Word of God. “’Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,’ says the Lord, ‘and tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all.’”

Today the Lord says that He will punish the false prophets and the people for not turning from them and their wickedness toward the Lord.

God tells Jeremiah that He is sending some of the people off into exile in Babylon for their own good and He will one day bring them back. “Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.” But the Lord will destroy the wicked King Zedekiah (who we will soon meet), his princes, and the rest left in Jerusalem.

Shortly after the second wave goes off into captivity, Jeremiah writes a letter to those in exile. He tells them to settle down in Babylon and build homes and lives for themselves there bc they will be in exile for 70 years before the Lord will bring them out. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” He warns the people not to listen to the false prophets in Babylon who are saying captivity will be short. The Lord will deal with these false prophets.

We end with the Lord giving the people in exile great hope for restoration. ”’He who scattered Israel will gather him, And keep him as a shepherd does his flock,’…Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, And they shall sorrow no more at all…For I will turn their mourning to joy, Will comfort them, And make them rejoice rather than sorrow…And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.” Amen! AND He does the same today for those who trust in Him!

Keep reading.

(Jeremiah 23:33-24:10, Jeremiah 29:1-31:14)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

Jeremiah continues to pronounce judgment against the nations:

– Ammon, Lot’s descendants, God will humble them and, “Afterwards I will bring back the captives of the people of Ammon.”

– Edom, Esau’s descendants, “Your fierceness has deceived you, the pride of your heart,” therefore, the Lord will destroy Edom like He did Sodom and Gomorrah.

– Damascus, a prominent city in Syria, their days of joy will be cut off and turned into days of sorrow.

– Kedar and Hazor, Arab tribes from the east, Babylon will destroy them and the land will become desolate.

King Jehoiakam dies after reigning 11 years and his son, Jehoiachin, becomes the next king of Judah. Jehoiachin will only reign 3 months before he is taken off to Babylon with Ezekiel during the second wave of captivity. He will spend 37 years in prison in Babylon (2 Kings 25:27).

Jehoiachin is wicked like his dad thus the Lord says, “None of his descendants shall prosper, sitting on the throne of David, and ruling anymore in Judah.” God will bring judgement upon all the wicked leaders and false prophets who have scattered His flock and have not attended to them. BUT the Lord will gather the remnant of His flock, “And they shall be fruitful and increase.”

The Lord is bringing a Righteous Ruler, Jesus Christ, for His people! “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.‘“ 🙌

Keep reading.

(Jeremiah 49:1-33, 2 Kings 24:5-7, 2 Chronicles 36:6-8, 2 Kings 24:8-9, 2 Chronicles 36:9, Jeremiah 22:24-23:32)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

God tells Jeremiah not to marry or have a family bc things are about to get ugly. He also says don’t mourn for the ones who die bc they will die as a result of their great sins and unrepentant hearts. However, the Lord is sending some into captivity and one day He will bring them back to their land.

But Judah just continues on in their sins. God rebukes them for trusting in themselves instead of the Lord. “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength.” “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord.” God goes on to say, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”

As a potter shapes clay, so the Lord shapes the nations according to His divine purposes. If He speaks to destroy a nation and the nation repents, then He will relent of the disaster He was going to bring. If He speaks to build up a nation and the nation turns to evil then He will relent of the good He was going to bring. Therefore the Lord tells Jeremiah to tell the people to, “Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.” “And they said, ‘That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.’” The people are right. Apart from the Lord it is hopeless.

Later in the Story the disciples will ask Jesus, “Who then can be saved?” and Jesus will say, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:25-26). And Paul will tell us that, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We are all in desperate need of a Savior and the Lord knows this. That is why He is working His plan to send Jesus who is, “Able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

We end the reading with Jeremiah commanding the Rechabites, a clan of Judah, to drink wine but they refuse bc their earthly father, Jonadab, forbidden it. The Lord uses this example to rebuke the people of Judah. This clan obeys their earthly father but the people of Judah refuse to obey their Heavenly Father, the God of Creation. The Lord then tells the Rechabites that since they obeyed their father, Jonadab, they, “Shall not lack a man to stand before Me forever.”

Tomorrow Judah gets a new king so keep reading.

(Jeremiah 16:1-18:23, Jeremiah 35:1-19)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

Jeremiah wonders why the wicked prosper. The Lord tells Jeremiah not to grow weary bc He has a plan and Jeremiah is part of His plan but it will be a long, hard road.

God says that He will punish all of Israel’s evil neighbors but they too will have a chance to be redeemed. “And it shall be, if they will learn carefully the ways of My people, to swear by My name…then they shall be established in the midst of My people.”

The Lord has Jeremiah perform symbolic acts to nail home His message:

– God has him purchase a sash and wear it. Then He tells him to go to the Euphrates and bury it. After some time He has him return and dig it up; thus illustrating how the Lord was going to destroy the pride of the people who at one time clung to Him, as the sash did Jeremiah’s waist, but left Him for pagan worship.

– Jeremiah instructs the people to fill their jugs with wine. For as wine leads to drunkenness, the sins of the people will lead to their destruction.

In an attempt to lead the people to repentance, the Lord sends a drought. He tells Jeremiah not to intercede for them bc they will experience judgement for their sins. The false prophets, who keep telling the people that all is fine when it is not fine, will also experience God’s wrath for they do not speak the word of the Lord but lies.

Jeremiah asks if the Lord has totally rejected Judah and he prays for healing. The Lord says at this point, not even Moses or Samuel could intercede for them bc King Manasseh lead Judah to a state of corruption where the people had completely abandoned the Lord. God says the people have 3 options: death by sword, death by famine, or captivity.

We end the reading with Jeremiah struggling bc everyone hates him for speaking God’s Words and he asks the Lord to remember him and to protect him, “For I am called by Your name.” So the Lord assures Jeremiah, “I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”

More from Jeremiah tomorrow. Keep reading.

(Jeremiah 12:1-15:21)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

Today the Lord lays out Judah’s wickedness:

– they have rejected God’s Word

– everyone is given to covetousness, from prophet to priest

– everyone deals falsely

– no one is ashamed of their abominations

“Therefore they shall fall among those who fall.”

Jeremiah mourns with the Lord over the state of the people. “And the Lord said, ‘Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it, but they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them,’ therefore thus says the Lord…’I will scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them.’”

The Lord tells them when this distress comes upon them they are not to trust in themselves. “‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the Lord.” Judah has broken their covenant with the Lord and nothing will save them, not even Jeremiah’s prayers, except for a repentant heart.

The reading ends with Jeremiah’s enemies plotting to kill him for speaking the words of the Lord but God assures Jeremiah that He has Jeremiah’s back and He will destroy those enemies.

More from Jeremiah tomorrow. Keep reading.

(Jeremiah 8:4-11:23)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

Nebuchadnezzar has a dream and he gathers all the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and Chaldeans to tell him his dream and interpret it. Well none of them can do that so Nebuchadnezzar orders all of them to be killed including Daniel and his friends.

Daniel and his buddies pray to the Lord and the Lord responds by revealing the secret of the dream to Daniel in a night vision. Daniel says a prayer of thanks to God for giving him knowledge and wisdom bc Daniel knows that the Lord, “Reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells in Him.”

Daniel then goes to the man Nebuchadnezzar ordered to kill all the wise men and tells him not to bc he can interpret the dream. When Daniel is before the king he explains that no man can tell him his dream but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets and He is the one who interprets dreams.

Daniel shares with Nebuchadnezzar what the Lord revealed to him: 2 inferior kingdoms will rise, Medo-Persia and Greece, and then a another really powerful kingdom will rise, the Roman Empire. Upon hearing the interpretation, Nebuchadnezzar praises God saying, “God is the God of gods.” He also promotes Daniel and his buddies to be rulers in Babylon.

Over time Nebuchadnezzar must have forgotten about the time he said, “Truly your God is the God of all gods,” bc he ends up building a large golden image and demands everyone to worship it when music is played or they will be thrown into a blazing furnace.

Well Daniel’s buddies refuse to worship anything or anyone but the Lord. So Nebuchadnezzar has the furnace heated 7 times more than usual and has Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego cast into it.

When Nebuchadnezzar looks inside he sees a fourth person in there. So he brings out Daniel’s friends, who are completely unharmed, and praises the Lord for sending His Angel to save His servants who trusted Him. Then he makes a decree that anyone who speaks against the Lord will be destroyed. 🤷‍♀️ Nebuchadnezzar is one violent, fickle dude.

Back in Jerusalem before the Babylon invasion in 597 BC, Jeremiah is still warning the people not to believe that they are secure just bc the temple is located in Jerusalem. He keeps urging them to stop their evil, repent, and turn to the Lord or the temple and everything else will be destroyed. But the people are still not listening.

More from Jeremiah tomorrow so keep reading.

(Daniel 2:1-3:30, Jeremiah 7:1-8:3)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

From today’s reading in the One Year Chronological Bible dated 8/6:

Today Jeremiah tells the people, who would never heed God’s words, the horrors that will occur when Jerusalem is besieged. There will be a great famine and the people will resort to cannibalism. 😳 Then Jeremiah smashes a potter’s flask symbolizing their inevitable calamities.

Pashhur the priest hears these words and is furious. So he beats Jeremiah and throws him in the stocks until the next morning. When Pashhur releases him, Jeremiah tells Pashhur that he and all his family will be taken as captives to Babylon where they will die with his friends, “To whom you have prophesied lies.”

Jeremiah’s calling upon his life creates quite the personal struggle for him. If he shares God’s words he is mocked and beaten. But Jeremiah can’t stay silent bc, “His word was in my heart like a burning fire.” Jeremiah’s calling causes him so much angst that he even curses being born but Jeremiah will stay faithful to the Lord no matter the cost.

God never promises it will be easy but He does promise to be with us through it. We will soon see more examples of God remaining with His people through the difficult with Daniel and his friends.

This concludes the Divided Kingdom Era! 🎉

We kick off the Captivity Era ⛓ which occurs in 3 waves: 1) 605 BC when Daniel and his friends are taken to Babylon, 2) 597 BC when Ezekiel and King Jehoiachin are taken to Babylon, and 3) 587/586 BC when most of Jerusalem is destroyed by Babylon.

Today we begin with the Book of Daniel. In 605 BC Babylon besieges Jerusalem and Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, tells the master of his eunuchs (a eunuch is a man who has been castrated to serve in the court), “To bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans.”

This is when we meet Daniel and his buddies. Nebuchadnezzar changes their names: “He gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.”

Daniel and his friends are determined to serve and honor the Lord in this foreign land. “As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.” “And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm.”

Tomorrow Nebuchadnezzar has a dream and things get hot for Daniel’s friends. Keep reading.

(Jeremiah 19:1-20:18, Daniel 1:1-21)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

14 Eras:

Creation Era (Gen 1:1-11:26)✅

Patriarch Era (Gen 11:27-50:26 and Job)✅

Exodus Era (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) ✅

Conquest Era (Joshua) ✅

Judges Era (Judges, Ruth) ✅

Kingdom Era (1,2 Samuel, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles 1-9, 1 Kings 1-11, various Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon) ✅

Divided Kingdom Era (2 Chronicles 10-36, 1 Kings 11-22, 2 Kings, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, and some of Jeremiah) ✅

Captivity Era (the rest of Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel) up now!

Eras to follow:

Return, Silent, Gospel, Church, Missions, and End Times/New Beginnings

An excerpt from “The 14 Eras” Booklet by Iva May:

The Captivity Era

Lamentations; Ezekiel; Daniel (70 years)

In 586 BC, the king of Babylon invaded Jerusalem, the capital of the kingdom of Judah for the third and final time, and took many of the Jews captive to his capitol city of Babylon. In the midst of this turmoil, God raised up and spoke by prophets to lead His people. Among the captives of Babylon, Ezekiel prophesied about God’s

return to His people. In the royal courts of Babylon, Daniel prophesied about the Son of Man who would rule in Heaven. In Judah, Jeremiah prophesied about God’s promise to return his people to their land after 70 years. He called the people to trust God and not to run away back to Egypt. Jeremiah told the people that God had plans of peace for them rather than calamity, to give them a future and a hope (Jer. 29:11).

What does the Captivity Era reveal about God?

God Speaks

• God promises to bless those who surrender to the Babylonians and to bring them back to Judah after seventy years.

God Acts

• God raises up prophets who faithfully warn Israel of imminent judgment.

• God raises up a fierce nation to besiege and destroy Jerusalem and to take her people into captivity.

God Reveals

• God keeps His promises of judgment.

• God shows mercy to His people even in the midst of judgment.

• God does not forget His people; rather, He sends prophets to speak to them and give them comfort.

• Out of the darkest days of Israel’s history come some of the brightest promises of redemption.