November 9: Jeremiah 45-47; Psalm 119:9-16; 1 Corinthians 14

Jeremiah 45-47

Message to Baruch

45 The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: You said, ‘Woe is me! For the LORD has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest.’ Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up—that is, the whole land. And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, I am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the LORD. But I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go.”

Judgment on Egypt

46 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.

About Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

  “Prepare buckler and shield,
    and advance for battle!
  Harness the horses;
    mount, O horsemen!
  Take your stations with your helmets,
    polish your spears,
    put on your armor!
  Why have I seen it?
  They are dismayed
    and have turned backward.
  Their warriors are beaten down
    and have fled in haste;
  they look not back—
    terror on every side!
      declares the LORD.
  “The swift cannot flee away,
    nor the warrior escape;
  in the north by the river Euphrates
    they have stumbled and fallen.
  “Who is this, rising like the Nile,
    like rivers whose waters surge?
  Egypt rises like the Nile,
    like rivers whose waters surge.
  He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,
    I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’
  Advance, O horses,
    and rage, O chariots!
  Let the warriors go out:
    men of Cush and Put who handle the shield,
    men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.
  That day is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts,
    a day of vengeance,
    to avenge himself on his foes.
  The sword shall devour and be sated
    and drink its fill of their blood.
  For the Lord GOD of hosts holds a sacrifice
    in the north country by the river Euphrates.
  Go up to Gilead, and take balm,
    O virgin daughter of Egypt!
  In vain you have used many medicines;
    there is no healing for you.
  The nations have heard of your shame,
    and the earth is full of your cry;
  for warrior has stumbled against warrior;
    they have both fallen together.”

The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:

  “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol;
    proclaim in Memphis and Tahpanhes;
  say, ‘Stand ready and be prepared,
    for the sword shall devour around you.’
  Why are your mighty ones face down?
    They do not stand¹
    because the LORD thrust them down.
  He made many stumble, and they fell,
    and they said one to another,
  ‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people
    and to the land of our birth,
    because of the sword of the oppressor.’
  Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
    ‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’
  “As I live, declares the King,
    whose name is the LORD of hosts,
  like Tabor among the mountains
    and like Carmel by the sea, shall one come.
  Prepare yourselves baggage for exile,
    O inhabitants of Egypt!
  For Memphis shall become a waste,
    a ruin, without inhabitant.
  “A beautiful heifer is Egypt,
    but a biting fly from the north has come upon her.
  Even her hired soldiers in her midst
    are like fattened calves;
  yes, they have turned and fled together;
    they did not stand,
  for the day of their calamity has come upon them,
    the time of their punishment.
  “She makes a sound like a serpent gliding away;
    for her enemies march in force
  and come against her with axes
    like those who fell trees.
  They shall cut down her forest,
      declares the LORD,
    though it is impenetrable,
  because they are more numerous than locusts;
    they are without number.
  The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;
    she shall be delivered into the hand of a people from the north.”

The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited as in the days of old, declares the LORD.

  “But fear not, O Jacob my servant,
    nor be dismayed, O Israel,
  for behold, I will save you from far away,
    and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
  Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
    and none shall make him afraid.
  Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
      declares the LORD,
    for I am with you.
  I will make a full end of all the nations
    to which I have driven you,
    but of you I will not make a full end.
  I will discipline you in just measure,
    and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”

Judgment on the Philistines

47 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck down Gaza.

  “Thus says the LORD:
  Behold, waters are rising out of the north,
    and shall become an overflowing torrent;
  they shall overflow the land and all that fills it,
    the city and those who dwell in it.
  Men shall cry out,
    and every inhabitant of the land shall wail.
  At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions,
    at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of their wheels,
  the fathers look not back to their children,
    so feeble are their hands,
  because of the day that is coming to destroy
    all the Philistines,
  to cut off from Tyre and Sidon
    every helper that remains.
  For the LORD is destroying the Philistines,
    the remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.
  Baldness has come upon Gaza;
    Ashkelon has perished.
  O remnant of their valley,
    how long will you gash yourselves?
  Ah, sword of the LORD!
    How long till you are quiet?
  Put yourself into your scabbard;
    rest and be still!
  How can it² be quiet
    when the LORD has given it a charge?
  Against Ashkelon and against the seashore
    he has appointed it.”

(ESV)

Psalm 119:9-16

Beth

  How can a young man keep his way pure?
    By guarding it according to your word.
  With my whole heart I seek you;
    let me not wander from your commandments!
  I have stored up your word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against you.
  Blessed are you, O LORD;
    teach me your statutes!
  With my lips I declare
    all the rules¹ of your mouth.
  In the way of your testimonies I delight
    as much as in all riches.
  I will meditate on your precepts
    and fix my eyes on your ways.
  I will delight in your statutes;
    I will not forget your word.

(ESV)

1 Corinthians 14

Prophecy and Tongues

14 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

Now, brothers,¹ if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider² say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign³ not for unbelievers but for believers. If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.

Orderly Worship

What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But all things should be done decently and in order.

(ESV)