Israel’s Future Blessing

1Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,

For you have stumbled because of your iniquity.

2Take words with you and return to the Lord.

Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity

And receive us graciously,

That we may present the fruit of our lips.

3Assyria will not save us,

We will not ride on horses;

Nor will we say again, ‘Our god,’

To the work of our hands;

For in You the orphan finds mercy.”

4I will heal their apostasy,

I will love them freely,

For My anger has turned away from them.

5I will be like the dew to Israel;

He will blossom like the lily,

And he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon.

6His shoots will sprout,

And his beauty will be like the olive tree

And his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.

7Those who live in his shadow

Will again raise grain,

And they will blossom like the vine.

His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.

8O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols?

It is I who answer and look after you.

I am like a luxuriant cypress;

From Me comes your fruit.

9Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;

Whoever is discerning, let him know them.

For the ways of the Lord are right,

And the righteous will walk in them,

But transgressors will stumble in them.

9But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

1) How does Hosea describe repentance and restoration?

2) How does Peter apply covenant promises to Messiah’s people?

3) How do these passages invite you to live as יהוה’s set-apart people?

Job’s Life Seems Futile

1“Is not man forced to labor on earth,

And are not his days like the days of a hired man?

2As a slave who pants for the shade,

And as a hired man who eagerly waits for his wages,

3So am I allotted months of vanity,

And nights of trouble are appointed me.

4When I lie down I say,

‘When shall I arise?’

But the night continues,

And I am continually tossing until dawn.

5My flesh is clothed with worms and a crust of dirt,

My skin hardens and runs.

6My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,

And come to an end without hope.

7“Remember that my life is but breath;

My eye will not again see good.

8The eye of him who sees me will behold me no longer;

Your eyes will be on me, but I will not be.

9When a cloud vanishes, it is gone,

So he who goes down to Sheol does not come up.

10He will not return again to his house,

Nor will his place know him anymore.

11“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit,

I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

12Am I the sea, or the sea monster,

That You set a guard over me?

13If I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,

My couch will ease my complaint,’

14Then You frighten me with dreams

And terrify me by visions;

15So that my soul would choose suffocation,

Death rather than my pains.

16I waste away; I will not live forever.

Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

17What is man that You magnify him,

And that You are concerned about him,

18That You examine him every morning

And try him every moment?

19Will You never turn Your gaze away from me,

Nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle?

20Have I sinned? What have I done to You,

O watcher of men?

Why have You set me as Your target,

So that I am a burden to myself?

21Why then do You not pardon my transgression

And take away my iniquity?

For now I will lie down in the dust;

And You will seek me, but I will not be.”

Jeremiah Warns against Trust in Pharaoh

1Now Zedekiah the son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had made king in the land of Judah, reigned as king in place of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. 2But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

3Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Please pray to the Lord our God on our behalf.” 4Now Jeremiah was still coming in and going out among the people, for they had not yet put him in the prison. 5Meanwhile, Pharaoh’s army had set out from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who had been besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they lifted the siege from Jerusalem.

6Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 7“Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Thus you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army which has come out for your assistance is going to return to its own land of Egypt. 8The Chaldeans will also return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire.” ’ 9Thus says the Lord, ‘Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go. 10For even if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.’ ”

Jeremiah Imprisoned

11Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had lifted the siege from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, 12that Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to take possession of some property there among the people. 13While he was at the Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are going over to the Chaldeans!” 14But Jeremiah said, “A lie! I am not going over to the Chaldeans”; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15Then the officials were angry at Jeremiah and beat him, and they put him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, which they had made into the prison. 16For Jeremiah had come into the dungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.

17Now King Zedekiah sent and took him out; and in his palace the king secretly asked him and said, “Is there a word from the Lord?” And Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon!” 18Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “In what way have I sinned against you, or against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison? 19Where then are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’? 20But now, please listen, O my lord the king; please let my petition come before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, that I may not die there.” 21Then King Zedekiah gave commandment, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guardhouse and gave him a loaf of bread daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guardhouse.

12Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I regard him), I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it! 13She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark. 14Greet one another with a kiss of love.

Peace be to you all who are in Christ.