this is what delights the Lord. This is the Lifespring One Year Bible Rewind and coming to
you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. My name is Steve Webb and I'm your OG Godcaster.
This is the podcast that comes to you every day and we're reading through the entire Bible in a
year. I'm so glad you're here. Welcome. Thanks for inviting me into your day. The website is
LifespringMedia.com. You can find all kinds of stuff there. Today is National Pi Day. You know,
That's just cruel.
I'm still trying to lose the extra weight I picked up between Thanksgiving and Christmas,
and now this.
How about you?
Oy vey.
This is Prophecy Friday.
We'll read Jeremiah 7 through 11.
Then, after my comments, we'll see what happened on this date in church history.
And please remember that on Sunday, we'll have a time of praises and prayer requests.
Now is the time to let me know if you have something to share with the family.
I'll remind you how to do that later on in the show.
Let's begin.
Our Heavenly Father, how we love you, and we thank you so much for your word.
We thank you, Lord, for letting us know who you are, what you expect, and how much you love us.
That's the most important part, because without that, there would be no way for grace.
You are unbelievably good to us. Thank you, Father.
As we read today, Lord, I pray that you would help us to understand.
I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Jeremiah chapter 7
A message came to me from the Lord.
He said,
of the Lord. You must really change the way you live and act. Treat each other fairly. Do not
treat outsiders or widows badly in this place. Do not take advantage of children whose fathers have
died. Do not kill those who are not guilty of doing anything wrong. Do not worship other gods.
That will only bring harm to you. If you obey me, I will let you live in this place. It is the land
I gave your people who lived long ago. It was promised to them forever and ever. But look,
you are trusting in worthless lies. You continue to steal and commit murder. You commit adultery
and tell lies. You burn incense to Baal. You worship other gods you have not known anything
about before. Then you come and stand in front of me. You keep coming to this house where I have
put my name. You say, We are safe. You think you are safe when you do so many things I hate.
My name is in this house, but you have made it a den for robbers.
I've been watching you, announces the Lord.
Go now to the town of Shiloh.
Go to the place where I first made a home for my name.
See what I did to it because of the evil things my people Israel were doing.
I spoke to you again and again, announces the Lord.
I warned you while you were doing all of those things, but you did not listen.
I called out to you, but you did not answer.
So what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house where my name is.
It is the temple you trust in.
It is the place I gave to you and your people of long ago.
But I will throw you out of my land.
This is exactly what I did to the people of Ephraim, and they are your relatives.
Jeremiah, do not pray for those people.
Do not make any appeal or request for them.
Do not beg me.
I will not listen to you.
Don't you see what they are doing?
They are worshipping other gods in the towns of Judah.
They are offering sacrifices to them in the streets of Jerusalem.
The children go out and gather wood.
The fathers light the fire.
The women mix the dough.
They make flat cakes of bread for the goddess who is called the Queen of Heaven.
They pour out drink offerings to other gods.
That makes me very angry.
But am I the one they are hurting?
announces the Lord.
Aren't they only harming themselves?
They should be ashamed of it.
So the Lord and King says, I will pour out my burning anger on this place.
I will strike people and animals alike.
I will destroy the trees and the crops and the fields.
It will burn, and no one will be able to put it out.
The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel.
He says, Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices.
Eat the meat yourselves.
When I brought your people out of Egypt, I spoke to them.
But I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices.
I also gave them another command.
I said, Obey me, then I will be your God, and you will be my people.
Live the way I command you to live, then things will go well with you.
But they did not listen.
They refused to pay any attention to me.
Instead, they did what their stubborn and evil hearts wanted them to do.
They went backward and not forward.
Again and again I sent my servants, the prophets, to you.
They came to you day after day.
They prophesied from the time your people left Egypt until now.
But the people did not listen.
They refused to pay any attention to me.
They were stubborn.
They did more evil things than their people who lived before them.
Jeremiah, when you tell them all of that, they will not listen to you.
When you call out to them, they will not answer.
So say to them, You are a nation that has not obeyed the Lord your God.
You did not pay attention when you were corrected.
Truth has died out.
You do not tell the truth anymore.
The Lord says to the people of Jerusalem,
Cut off your hair.
Throw it away.
Sing a song of sadness on the bare hilltops.
I am very angry with you.
I have turned my back on you.
I have deserted you.
The people of Judah have done what is evil in my eyes, announces the Lord.
They have set up statues of their gods.
They have worshipped them in the house where my name is.
They have made my house unclean.
I hate those statues.
The people have built the high places of Topheth in the valley of Ben-Hinnom.
There they worship other gods, and there they sacrifice their children in the fire.
That is something I did not command.
It did not even enter my mind.
So watch out, announces the Lord.
The days are coming when people will not call it Topheth anymore,
and they will not call it the valley of Ben-Hinnom either.
Instead, they will call it the Valley of Death.
They will bury the dead bodies of some people in Topheth, but they will run out of room.
Then they will not be able to bury the bodies of other people there.
So the bodies will become food for the birds of the air and the wild animals, and no one
will scare them away.
I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness.
The voices of brides and grooms will not be heard anymore.
There will not be any sounds of joy in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem.
The land will become a desert.
Jeremiah chapter 8
At that time the tombs will be opened, announces the Lord.
The bones of the kings and officials of Judah will be brought out.
The bones of the priests and prophets will be removed.
So will the bones of the people of Jerusalem.
They will lie outside under the sun, moon, and all of the stars.
All of those people had loved and served those things.
They had followed them and worshipped them.
They had asked them for advice.
So the bones of those people will not be gathered up or buried again.
Instead, they will be like trash lying there on the ground.
Everyone who is left alive in this evil nation will want to die rather than live.
That is what they will long for in the lands where I force them to go,
announces the Lord who rules over all.
Jeremiah, tell them,
The Lord says, when people fall down, don't they get up again?
When someone turns away, doesn't he come back?
Then why have the people of Jerusalem turned away from me?
Why do they always turn away?
They keep on telling lies.
They refuse to come back to me.
I've listened carefully, but they do not say what is right.
They refuse to turn away from their sins.
No one says, what have I done?
All of them go their own way.
They are like horses charging into battle.
storks know when to fly south, so do doves, swifts, and thrushes. But my people do not know what I
require them to do. How can you people say, We're wise, we have the law of the Lord? Actually,
the teachers of the law have told lies about it. Their pens have not written what is true.
Those who think they are wise will be put to shame. They will become terrified. They will be trapped.
They have not accepted my message. So what kind of wisdom do they have? I will give their wives to
other men. I will give their fields to new owners. Everyone wants to get richer and richer, from the
least important of them to the most important. Prophets and priests alike try to fool everyone
they can. They bandage the wounds of my people as if they were not very deep. Peace, peace, they say,
but there isn't any peace. Are they ashamed of their hateful actions? No, they do not feel any
shame at all. They do not even know how to blush. So they will fall like others who have already
fallen. They will be brought down when I punish them, says the Lord. I will take away their harvest,
announces the Lord. There will not be any grapes on the vines. The trees will not bear any figs.
The leaves on the trees will dry up. What I have given them will be taken away from them.
Why are we sitting here? Let's gather together. Let's run to the cities that have high walls
around them. Let's die there. The Lord our God has sentenced us to death. He has given us poisoned
water to drink. That's because we've sinned against Him. We hoped peace would come, but nothing good
has happened to us. We hoped we would finally be healed, but all that we got was terror.
When our enemy's horses snort, the noise is heard all the way from Dan. When their stallions neigh,
the whole land trembles with fear. They have come to destroy the land and everything in it.
The city and everyone who lives there will be destroyed. People of Judah, I will send poisonous
snakes among you. No one will be able to charm them, and they will bite you, announces the Lord.
Lord, my heart is weak inside me. You comfort me when I am sad. Listen to the cries of my people
from a land far away. They cry out, Isn't the Lord in Zion? Isn't its king there anymore?
The Lord says, Why have they made me so angry by worshipping their wooden gods?
Why have they made me angry with their worthless statues of gods from other lands?
The people say, The harvest is over, the summer has ended, and we still haven't been saved.
My people are crushed, so I am crushed. I sob, and I am filled with horror.
Isn't there any healing lotion in Gilead? Isn't there a doctor there?
Then why doesn't someone heal the wounds of my people?
Jeremiah 9
I wish my head were a spring of water.
I wish my eyes were a fountain of tears.
I would sob day and night over my people who have been killed.
I wish I had somewhere to go in the desert where a traveler could stay.
Then I would leave my people.
I would get away from them.
All of them commit adultery by worshiping other gods.
They aren't faithful to the Lord.
They get ready to use their tongues like bows, announces the Lord.
Their mouths shoot out lies like arrows.
They tell lies to gain power in the land.
They go from one sin to another.
They do not pay any attention to me.
Be on guard against your friends.
Do not trust the members of your own family.
Every one of them cheats.
Every friend tells lies.
One friend cheats another.
No one tells the truth.
They have taught their tongues how to lie. They wear themselves out sinning.
Jeremiah, you live among people who tell lies. When they lie, they refuse to pay any attention
to me, announces the Lord. So the Lord who rules over all says,
I will put them through the fire to test them. What else can I do? My people are so sinful.
Their tongues are like deadly arrows. They tell lies. With their mouths, all of them speak
kindly to their neighbors, but in their hearts they set traps for them. Shouldn't I punish them
for that? announces the Lord. Shouldn't I pay back the nation that does those things?
I will cry and sob over the fields and the hills. I will sing a song of sadness about the desert
grasslands. They are dry and empty. No one travels through them. The mooing of cattle isn't heard
there. The birds of the air have flown away. All of the animals are gone. The Lord says,
I will knock all of Jerusalem's buildings down. I will make it a home for wild dogs.
The towns of Judah will be completely destroyed. No one will be able to live in them.
Who is wise enough to understand those things? Who has been taught by the Lord?
Who can explain them? Why has the land been destroyed so completely?
Why has it become like a desert that no one can go across?
The Lord answered me, Because my people have turned away from my law. I gave it to them,
but they have not kept it. They have not obeyed me. Instead, they have done what their stubborn
hearts wanted them to do. They have worshipped the gods that are named after Baal. They have
done what their people have taught them to do down through the years. So now the Lord who rules over
all speaks. He is the God of Israel. He says, I will make these people eat bitter food. I will
make them drink poisoned water. I will scatter them among the nations. They and their people
before them have not had anything to do with those nations before. I will chase these people
with swords. I will hunt them down until I have destroyed them. The Lord rules over all. He says,
Here is something I want you to think about. Send for the women who sob over the dead. Send for the
most skilled among them. Let them come quickly and sob over us. Let them cry until tears flow
from our eyes. Let them sob until water pours out of our eyes. People are heard sobbing in Zion.
They are saying, We are destroyed. We are filled with shame. We must leave our land. Our houses
have been torn down. Women, hear the Lord's message. Listen to what He is saying. Teach
your daughters how to sob over the dead. Teach one another a song of sadness. Death has climbed in
through our windows. It has entered our forts. It has removed the children from the streets.
It has taken the young people out of the marketplaces. Say, The Lord announces,
The dead bodies of men will be like trash lying in the open fields. They will lie there like grain
that is cut down at harvest time. No one will gather them up. The Lord says, Do not let a wise
man brag about how wise he is. Do not let a strong man boast about how strong he is. Do not let a
rich person brag about how rich he is. But here is what the one who brags should boast about. He
should brag that he has understanding and knows me. I want him to know that I am the Lord. No matter
what I do on earth, I am always kind, fair, and right, and I take delight in that, announces the
Lord. The days are coming when I will judge people, announces the Lord. I will punish all those who
are circumcised only in their bodies. That includes the people of Egypt, Judah, Edom,
Ammon, and Moab. It also includes all those who live in the desert in places far away.
None of the people in those nations is really circumcised, and not even the people of Israel
are circumcised in their hearts. Jeremiah chapter 10. Hear what the Lord says to you,
people of Israel. 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. For the practices of the
peoples are worthless. They cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.
They adorn it with silver and gold. They fasten it with hammer and nail so it will not totter.
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. No one is like you,
Lord. You are great, and your name is mighty in power. 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. They are all senseless and foolish. They are taught by worthless wooden idols.
Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Uthaz. What the craftsman and goldsmith have
made is then dressed in blue and purple, all made by skilled workers. 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.
Tell them this, These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from
the earth and from under the heavens.
But God made the earth by His power.
He founded the world by His wisdom, and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
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.
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. They are worthless,
the objects of mockery. When their judgment comes, they will perish.
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.
Gather up your belongings to leave the land, you who live under siege.
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.
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.
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.
The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the Lord, so they do not prosper and all their
flock is scattered. 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. Lord, I know that people's lives are
not their own. It is not for them to direct their steps. Discipline me, Lord, but only in due measure,
not in your anger, or you will reduce me to nothing. 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. Jeremiah chapter 11.
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord. Listen to the terms of this covenant,
and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. 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,
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. 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.
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 follow them.
From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today,
I warned them again and again, saying, Obey me.
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.
Then the Lord said to me,
There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem.
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.
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.
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.
You, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns, and the altars you have set up to burn incense
to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem. 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. 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. 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. 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. Because the Lord revealed their plot to
me, I knew it, for at that time He showed me what they were doing. 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 may be remembered
no more. But you, Lord Almighty, who judge righteously and test the heart and mind, let me see
vengeance on them, for to you I have committed my cause. 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 Lord, or you will die by our hands. 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.
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. Well, beloved, I've got a few words on Jeremiah chapter 9.
We read today a lot of God telling Jeremiah of the judgment he was going to bring on Israel
because of their rebellion, didn't we? God listed so many reasons he was angry with them. He said,
I told your ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt that all they needed to do was follow my commands
and I will be your God and you will live in a land flowing with milk and honey. But if you do not
follow me, I will cast you out of the land, and you will lose everything. And most of the chapters
elaborated on this basic theme, right? But did you notice what God said in the ninth chapter?
Starting at verse 23, the Lord says, Do not let wise people brag about how wise they are.
Do not let strong people boast about how strong they are. Do not let rich people brag about how
rich they are. But here is what the one who brags should boast about. They should brag that they
have the understanding to know me. I want them to know that I am the Lord. No matter what I do on
earth, I am always kind, fair, and right. And I take delight in this, announces the Lord.
So this is what delights the Lord, not judgment. He does not bring wrath and judgment because he
delights in it, He does it because He must. He is a God of righteousness and holiness.
If He let rebellion and cruelty and the rest go unpunished, He would be no better than the worst
human that ever existed. He would not be God. But our God does delight in those who seek Him,
who follow Him, who desire to know Him. I'm so glad that He's not a God who hides who He is.
He has shown through all of human history that He wants to be known, and He even sent His only
begotten Son to show us who He is and how much He wants us to spend eternity with Him.
This is a God whom I find very easy to love. How about you?
Our reading tomorrow was Mark chapters 7 and 8.
Let me know what you think. I'd love to hear your comments or questions. Go to comment.lifespringmedia.com
or email me at steve at lifespringmedia.com or call the Lifespring Family Hotline.
Here's the verse of the day.
The verse of the day is Jeremiah 8.18.
Lord, my heart is weak inside me. You comfort me when I'm sad.
Jeremiah 8.18.
On This Date in Church History is coming right up, but first, how did you find the show? Let me know. Email me at steve at lifespringmedia.com and use the subject line, Here's Where I Found You.
And speaking of how you found the show, have you told anyone about the show? Share it on your social media. Tell your mom, tell your brother, tell your boss, your butcher, your next-door neighbor. Just don't keep it for yourself. Sharing is, after all, caring.
And speaking of sharing, why would you participate in the value-for-value model I talk about on the show?
Well, if you think this podcast is worthwhile, and you must, since your time is valuable and you're spending some of it listening to the show, like right now,
your donation of time, talent, or treasure means I can keep producing this show for you.
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It means I can invest the time to produce this show for you.
investing time, talent, or treasure, is a way for you to encourage me to keep going.
It tells me that you think that what I'm doing here is worthwhile,
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In other words, your donation has a great deal of value to me.
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Lifespringmedia.com support
On this date in church history, January 23rd, first we look back to 1876 and the passing of John Backus Dykes.
An English clergyman, Dykes was one of the most prolific composers of the Victorian era, writing more than 300 hymn tunes.
His most enduring contribution is the tune Nicaea.
Now, if that name doesn't sound familiar, the song probably will.
it's the majestic melody we sing to
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty.
I love that hymn.
His work provided the musical backbone
for the Anglican hymnal
and continues to be sung
in almost every denomination worldwide.
And also on this date in 1915,
Anna Bartlett Warner passed away.
While many probably won't recognize her name,
nearly every person raised in the church
knows her words.
In 1860, she wrote a simple poem for a novel
to comfort a dying child in the story.
Those lines became the world-famous hymn,
Jesus Loves Me, This I Know.
What began as a literary device
became perhaps the most influential tool
for teaching the gospel to children across the globe.
I did two episodes of Lifespring Hymn Stories
about Jesus Loves Me.
You might want to take a listen.
You can find them at Lifespringmedia.com
and just search for Jesus Loves Me,
or I'll put the links right in the show notes
for today's show.
We'll be having a time of praises and prayer requests on Sunday,
so now's a great time to send yours in.
When you send them in, I'll pray for you in my daily prayer time,
and I'll share them on the show.
As always, if you want to remain anonymous, all you have to do is let me know.
Go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com or email me at steve at lifespringmedia.com
or send a text or leave a voice message right here.
LifeString Family Hotline 951-732-8511
LifeString Family Family Hotline 951-732-8511
Beloved, the same God who spoke through Jeremiah's warnings
is the one who sent his son to bridge the gap our rebellion created.
I hope you'll take a moment today just to rest in the love of a God
who delights in mercy and longs to be found by you.
Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly.
Thanks for being here.
I'm Steve Webb.
Bye.
All the programs in the Lifespring Media family are made possible by your value-for-value support.
Thank you.
The Lifespring One Year Bible Rewind is a Lifespring Media production hosted by Steve Webb, the OG Godcaster since 2004.