Jeremiah 10 (Revised Standard Version)
[1]
Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel.
[2] Thus says the LORD: "Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them,
[3] for the customs of the peoples are false. A tree from the forest is cut down,and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.
[4] Men deck it with silver and gold;they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move.[5] Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,and they cannot speak; they have to be carried,for they cannot walk. Be not afraid of them, for they cannot do evil,neither is it in them to do good."
[6] There is none like thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.
[7] Who would not fear thee, O King of the nations?For this is thy due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like thee.
[8] They are both stupid and foolish;the instruction of idols is but wood!
[9] Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,and gold from Uphaz. They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith; their clothing is violet and purple; they are all the work of skilled men.[10] But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King.At his wrath the earth quakes,and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
[11]
Thus shall you say to them: "The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens."
[12] It is he who made the earth by his power,who established the world by his wisdom,and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
[13] When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightnings for the rain,and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
[14] Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols; for his images are false,and there is no breath in them.
[15] They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish.[16] Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,for he is the one who formed all things,and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the LORD of hosts is his name.
[17] Gather up your bundle from the ground,O you who dwell under siege!
[18] For thus says the LORD:"Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land at this time,and I will bring distress on them,that they may feel it."
[19] Woe is me because of my hurt! My wound is grievous. But I said, "Truly this is an affliction,and I must bear it."
[20] My tent is destroyed, and all my cords are broken; my children have gone from me,and they are not; there is no one to spread my tent again, and to set up my curtains.
[21] For the shepherds are stupid, and do not inquire of the LORD; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.
[22] Hark, a rumor! Behold, it comes! --a great commotion out of the north country to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a lair of jackals.
[23] I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.
[24] Correct me, O LORD, but in just measure; not in thy anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.[25] Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that know thee not, and upon the peoples that call not on thy name;for they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him and consumed him,and have laid waste his habitation.
~nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens
because the nations are dismayed at them
The Teton Mountain photo indicates a storm is coming, not the apocalypse many newspapers shout about. When is it time for the Father to end this world, it will be time.
My husband was reading to me what the normal times & expectations were in 1908 in the United States: average life expectancy – 47 years. The typical wage was $0.22, the total amount of paved roads in the U.S -144 miles, average house cost $1,800. After the First World War, people began to buy clothes already made for the first time. Major fortunes changed & education increased overall. A major flu epidemic. Then a major Depression. Something pondered in great detail today.
When the details of last century’s Great Depression are poured over and examined, don’t we all have grandparents and parents who not only survived the depression, but ‘lived’ through it? I’ve heard history, not only of Survival, but of Compassion. Gratitude. Change. Prosperity.
One thing is certain in life: God loves you.
Psalm 90
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.
17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.
Psalm 138:
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes,
with your right hand you save me.
8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your love, O LORD, endures forever—
do not abandon the works of your hands.
<><
Posts
