Today's Readings and Stuff -- Sunday, 20 October 2013

kind of a down day.  Dear Wife and I have both been "enjoying poor health" today, and have been more-or-less flat in bed most of the day, and the small amount of movement has not amounted to much.  Part of it is residual from all the stresses around our relocation, my retirement, money woes, extended family squabbles, and all the things that just go wrong.  We have three cats, they've been in hiding, literally, since we arrived.  One jumped out of Dear Wife's dresser drawer yesterday evening and has not been seen since.  Cat pan has been used -- REALLY used -- and the cat food disappears.  But the kitties, in an adjacent plane of existence one gathers.  They really really REALLY didn't like the move.  I gather that they'll relent, eventually. 

The readings for the day:

Old Testament -- chapters 3 and 4 in Jeremiah.  Not the easiest assignment was given to Jeremiah, that much is certain.  Given a message that no one wanted to hear, not fun, and provoked a storm of very determined opposition, as will be seen.  Not quite what we associate with some of the glib talkers on TV these days, to be sure.

Jeremiah 3

1	They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.
2	Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.
3	Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.
4	Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?
5	Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.
6	The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.
7	And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.
8	And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.
9	And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.
10	And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.
11	And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.
12	Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.
13	Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
14	Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
15	And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
16	And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.
17	At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
18	In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.
19	But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.
20	Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.
21	A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God.
22	Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.
23	Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.
24	For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
25	We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.

Jeremiah 4

1	If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.
2	And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
3	For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
4	Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
5	Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.
6	Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.
7	The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.
8	For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us.
9	And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.
10	Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.
11	At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,
12	Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them.
13	Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.
14	O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?
15	For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim.
16	Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.
17	As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.
18	Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.
19	My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
20	Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.
21	How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22	For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
23	I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
24	I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
25	I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
26	I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.
27	For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
28	For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.
29	The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.
30	And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.
31	For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.

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New Testament - chapter 3 in 2nd Thessalonians.  This completes the epistles to the Thessalonians.

I Thessalonians 3

1	Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:
2	And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.
3	But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.
4	And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you.
5	And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.
6	Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
7	For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you;
8	Neither did we eat any man's bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you:
9	Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.
10	For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
11	For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
12	Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.
13	But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.
14	And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
15	Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
16	Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.
17	The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write.
18	The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.