Tag: Exile

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, God is good, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Living Faithful in a Faithless Land, Quiet Time

A God-Given Desire

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Scripture: Our Roadmap for the Journey: Jeremiah 24:1-8 / SOAP: verse 7 / w1d2

I will give them hearts that recognize me as the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.

Jeremiah 24:7. NLT
Observation and Application from today’s journey

The Heart of God for His People is seen in the “I will” statements God gave through Jeremiah. They must have been great words of encouragement to Jeremiah, words of hope for a heartwrenching and seemingly hopeless situation. God had sent His people into exile because of their rebellion, but here, God tells Jeremiah, “I consider them to be good.” He then proclaims that He will look after their “welfare.” He will also restore them to their land, build them up, and not uproot them. He will give them the desire to acknowledge Him as Lord; He will be their God, and they will be His people. Why? Because God loves them with an everlasting love and, from the beginning of time, was working all things out – not to harm them but to give them hope and a future. The LGG journal for today’s portion of our journey explains this so well that I am sharing it with you here. May it help us as we move forward through the lessons of living faithfully in the land of the faithless.

Today’s devotion is borrowed and shared from the pages of the LGG Journal, Living Faithful in the Land of the Faithless, p 45.

Love God Greatly is More Than a Bible Study

The More We Know

For further reading: Daniel 1:1-2 and 1 Corinthians 1:4-9

What is the significance of the baskets of figs in Jeremiah 24?

Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, Quiet Time

Waiting is Difficult

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Based on the Love God Greatly Study, From Broken to Restored

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 36:15-21; Ezra 1:1-4, 7:1-10; 2 Peter 3:8-13 / SOAP: 2 Peter 3:9-10

 The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; when it comes, the heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze, and the earth and every deed done on it will be laid bare.

2 Peter 3:9-10

Part of the back story of our study is that God allowed Jerusalem to be taken captive by Babylon because of their idolatry and disobedience. During this time many people were killed, the temple was destroyed, and Jerusalem was laid to waist. It’s easy to consider this ancient history of God’s people not relevant to us today but it is – not just concerning the history of God’s people but concerning the promises and faithfulness of our God. Commentators for gotquestions.org describe it as something that Christians should be familiar with, saying:

The seventy-year period of the Babylonian captivity is an important part of Israel’s history, and Christians should be familiar with it. Like many other Old Testament events, this historical account demonstrates God’s faithfulness to His people, His judgment of sin, and the surety of His promises.

gotquestions.org

In their devotional on today’s passages the LGG team wrote the following:

The Babylonians captured Jerusalem and took the people into exile by transporting them to Babylon, where they remained for seventy years. -Nehemiah was living in Persia, not having returned to Jerusalem like many others. However, God used Nehemiah and his connections to the king of Persia to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and to turn the hearts of the people of Judah back to Him.

From Broken to Restored / week1day1

Are you waiting on something? Whether it is God’s promised return or a job, marriage, a house, a child or perhaps God’s healing hand on you or someone you know – waiting is difficult. Seventy years must have seemed like forever for the Israelites, and whatever your wait is may seem like forever – but we must remember, God is working all things together for the good of those who love Him, those who have been called according to His purpose Whether it is the redemption of His people or the strengthening of their faith – God is not waisting the time.

Father God, thank You that You do not waste time – instead You use it for good … Your good, Your glory, the good of Your people, and to accomplish Your good and holy purpose. Thank You for the hope that is ours while we wait on You God, for we see and know the truth of Your promises and the depth of Your faithfulness! In Him we pray

Going Further

What was the Babylonian captivity/exile?