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Bible Reading Plan
It's not too late to start our Bible Reading Plan this year! You can access it by clicking here, by picking up a hard copy in the Welcome Center, or by accessing "Bible Reading Plan" from the bottom menu of our VBC app. On the print copies, look for "YEAR 2."
I hope that you are finding the general summary of Jeremiah provided in last week's Witness to be helpful as you read. As I was listening to Jeremiah yesterday, a specific passage jumped out at me:
Thus says the LORD:
“Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
and find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
I set watchmen over you, saying,
‘Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not pay attention.’
(Jeremiah 6:16-17)
God's people were being asked to turn back to him, to listen to his voice and follow him. The ESV Global Study Bible footnote for verse 16 explains "the ancient paths" as "The way of faithfulness revealed to Moses and the earlier prophets" (https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv-study-bible/notes/jer/chapter-6?a=751016). The people whom God had called and set aside as his own simply refused to seek him out. They refused to follow him even though they were given every opportunity. The result is spelled out for them:
Therefore hear, O nations,
and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.
Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people,
the fruit of their devices,
because they have not paid attention to my words;
and as for my law, they have rejected it.
(verses 18-19)
And God is very specific about what will happen to them:
Thus says the LORD:
“Behold, a people is coming from the north country,
a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
They lay hold on bow and javelin;
they are cruel and have no mercy;
the sound of them is like the roaring sea;
they ride on horses,
set in array as a man for battle,
against you, O daughter of Zion!”
(verses 22-23)
In light of our recent emphasis on spiritual disciplines, in some ways I feel like we are in a similar position as Judah. We are people chosen by God, and he expects that we will follow him. We are learning about "the ancient paths" that Christians over the centuries have utilized to put themselves in a position to hear God's voice and follow him. What will we choose? Will we take advantage of these disciplines and "find rest for [our] souls"? Or will we choose to walk in our own way and "not pay attention"? The choice is ours to make.
God bless you as you continue in his word.
-- Kim
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