August Five

~Good Morning~

I don't have any direct scripture questions but I will bullet my question anyway.

• God is in complete control. So ….I do not understand why he knows all this is going to happen and he keeps people's hearts hard so they stay evil; then why is he so angry ?
  

 

 

Today's Scripture:

Jeremiah 25:15-38 The Cup of the Lord's Anger 15 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: "Take from my hand this cup filled to the brim with my anger, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it. 16 When they drink from it, they will stagger, crazed by the warfare I will send against them." 17 So I took the cup of anger from the Lord and made all the nations drink from it—every nation to which the Lord sent me. 18 I went to Jerusalem and the other towns of Judah, and their kings and officials drank from the cup. From that day until this, they have been a desolate ruin, an object of horror, contempt, and cursing. 19 I gave the cup to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, his attendants, his officials, and all his people, 20 along with all the foreigners living in that land. I also gave it to all the kings of the land of Uz and the kings of the Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what remains of Ashdod. 21 Then I gave the cup to the nations of Edom, Moab, and Ammon, 22 and the kings of Tyre and Sidon, and the kings of the regions across the sea. 23 I gave it to Dedan, Tema, and Buz, and to the people who live in distant places. 24 I gave it to the kings of Arabia, the kings of the nomadic tribes of the desert, 25 and to the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media. 26 And I gave it to the kings of the northern countries, far and near, one after the other—all the kingdoms of the world. And finally, the king of Babylon himself drank from the cup of the Lord's anger. 27 Then the Lord said to me, "Now tell them, 'This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says: Drink from this cup of my anger. Get drunk and vomit; fall to rise no more, for I am sending terrible wars against you.' 28 And if they refuse to accept the cup, tell them, 'The Lord of Heaven's Armies says: You have no choice but to drink from it. 29 I have begun to punish Jerusalem, the city that bears my name. Now should I let you go unpunished? No, you will not escape disaster. I will call for war against all the nations of the earth. I, the Lord of Heaven's Armies, have spoken!' 30 "Now prophesy all these things, and say to them, "'The Lord will roar against his own land       from his holy dwelling in heaven.    He will shout like those who tread grapes;       he will shout against everyone on earth.  31 His cry of judgment will reach the ends of the earth,       for the Lord will bring his case against all the nations.    He will judge all the people of the earth,       slaughtering the wicked with the sword.       I, the Lord, have spoken!'" 32 This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says:       "Look! Disaster will fall upon nation after nation!    A great whirlwind of fury is rising       from the most distant corners of the earth!" 33 In that day those the Lord has slaughtered will fill the earth from one end to the other. No one will mourn for them or gather up their bodies to bury them. They will be scattered on the ground like manure. 34 Weep and moan, you evil shepherds!       Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock!    The time of your slaughter has arrived;       you will fall and shatter like a fragile vase.  35 You will find no place to hide;       there will be no way to escape.  36 Listen to the frantic cries of the shepherds.       The leaders of the flock are wailing in despair,       for the Lord is ruining their pastures.  37 Peaceful meadows will be turned into a wasteland       by the Lord's fierce anger.  38 He has left his den like a strong lion seeking its prey,       and their land will be made desolate    by the sword of the enemy       and the Lord's fierce anger.

Jeremiah 36:1-32 Jeremiah 36 Baruch Reads the Lord's Messages 1 During the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king in Judah, the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: 2 "Get a scroll, and write down all my messages against Israel, Judah, and the other nations. Begin with the first message back in the days of Josiah, and write down every message, right up to the present time. 3 Perhaps the people of Judah will repent when they hear again all the terrible things I have planned for them. Then I will be able to forgive their sins and wrongdoings." 4 So Jeremiah sent for Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated all the prophecies that the Lord had given him, Baruch wrote them on a scroll. 5 Then Jeremiah said to Baruch, "I am a prisoner here and unable to go to the Temple. 6 So you go to the Temple on the next day of fasting, and read the messages from the Lord that I have had you write on this scroll. Read them so the people who are there from all over Judah will hear them. 7 Perhaps even yet they will turn from their evil ways and ask the Lord's forgiveness before it is too late. For the Lord has threatened them with his terrible anger." 8 Baruch did as Jeremiah told him and read these messages from the Lord to the people at the Temple. 9 He did this on a day of sacred fasting held in late autumn, during the fifth year of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah. People from all over Judah had come to Jerusalem to attend the services at the Temple on that day. 10 Baruch read Jeremiah's words on the scroll to all the people. He stood in front of the Temple room of Gemariah, son of Shaphan the secretary. This room was just off the upper courtyard of the Temple, near the New Gate entrance. 11 When Micaiah son of Gemariah and grandson of Shaphan heard the messages from the Lord, 12 he went down to the secretary's room in the palace where the administrative officials were meeting. Elishama the secretary was there, along with Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Acbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13 When Micaiah told them about the messages Baruch was reading to the people, 14 the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah, grandson of Shelemiah and great-grandson of Cushi, to ask Baruch to come and read the messages to them, too. So Baruch took the scroll and went to them. 15 "Sit down and read the scroll to us," the officials said, and Baruch did as they requested. 16 When they heard all the messages, they looked at one another in alarm. "We must tell the king what we have heard," they said to Baruch. 17 "But first, tell us how you got these messages. Did they come directly from Jeremiah?" 18 So Baruch explained, "Jeremiah dictated them, and I wrote them down in ink, word for word, on this scroll." 19 "You and Jeremiah should both hide," the officials told Baruch. "Don't tell anyone where you are!" 20 Then the officials left the scroll for safekeeping in the room of Elishama the secretary and went to tell the king what had happened. King Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll 21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. Jehudi brought it from Elishama's room and read it to the king as all his officials stood by. 22 It was late autumn, and the king was in a winterized part of the palace, sitting in front of a fire to keep warm. 23 Each time Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king took a knife and cut off that section of the scroll. He then threw it into the fire, section by section, until the whole scroll was burned up. 24 Neither the king nor his attendants showed any signs of fear or repentance at what they heard. 25 Even when Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, he wouldn't listen. 26 Then the king commanded his son Jerahmeel, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch and Jeremiah. But the Lord had hidden them. Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll 27 After the king had burned the scroll on which Baruch had written Jeremiah's words, the Lord gave Jeremiah another message. He said,28 "Get another scroll, and write everything again just as you did on the scroll King Jehoiakim burned. 29 Then say to the king, 'This is what the Lord says: You burned the scroll because it said the king of Babylon would destroy this land and empty it of people and animals. 30 Now this is what the Lord says about King Jehoiakim of Judah: He will have no heirs to sit on the throne of David. His dead body will be thrown out to lie unburied—exposed to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. 31 I will punish him and his family and his attendants for their sins. I will pour out on them and on all the people of Jerusalem and Judah all the disasters I promised, for they would not listen to my warnings.'" 32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and dictated again to his secretary, Baruch. He wrote everything that had been on the scroll King Jehoiakim had burned in the fire. Only this time he added much more!

Jeremiah 45-46:28 Jeremiah 45 A Message for Baruch 1 The prophet Jeremiah gave a message to Baruch son of Neriah in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, after Baruch had written down everything Jeremiah had dictated to him. He said, 2 "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: 3You have said, 'I am overwhelmed with trouble! Haven't I had enough pain already? And now the Lord has added more! I am worn out from sighing and can find no rest.' 4 "Baruch, this is what the Lord says: 'I will destroy this nation that I built. I will uproot what I planted. 5 Are you seeking great things for yourself? Don't do it! I will bring great disaster upon all these people; but I will give you your life as a reward wherever you go. I, the Lord, have spoken!'" Jeremiah 46 Messages for the Nations 1 The following messages were given to Jeremiah the prophet from the Lord concerning foreign nations. Messages about Egypt 2 This message concerning Egypt was given in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, the king of Judah, on the occasion of the battle of Carchemish when Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, and his army were defeated beside the Euphrates River by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. 3 "Prepare your shields,       and advance into battle!  4 Harness the horses,       and mount the stallions.    Take your positions.       Put on your helmets.    Sharpen your spears,       and prepare your armor.  5 But what do I see?       The Egyptian army flees in terror.    The bravest of its fighting men run       without a backward glance.    They are terrorized at every turn,"       says the Lord.  6 "The swiftest runners cannot flee;       the mightiest warriors cannot escape.    By the Euphrates River to the north,       they stumble and fall. 7 "Who is this, rising like the Nile at floodtime,       overflowing all the land?  8 It is the Egyptian army,       overflowing all the land,    boasting that it will cover the earth like a flood,       destroying cities and their people.  9 Charge, you horses and chariots;       attack, you mighty warriors of Egypt!    Come, all you allies from Ethiopia, Libya, and Lydia       who are skilled with the shield and bow!  10 For this is the day of the Lord, the Lord of Heaven's Armies,       a day of vengeance on his enemies.    The sword will devour until it is satisfied,       yes, until it is drunk with your blood!    The Lord, the Lord of Heaven's Armies, will receive a sacrifice today       in the north country beside the Euphrates River. 11 "Go up to Gilead to get medicine,       O virgin daughter of Egypt!    But your many treatments       will bring you no healing.  12 The nations have heard of your shame.       The earth is filled with your cries of despair.    Your mightiest warriors will run into each other       and fall down together." 13 Then the Lord gave the prophet Jeremiah this message about King Nebuchadnezzar's plans to attack Egypt. 14 "Shout it out in Egypt!       Publish it in the cities of Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes!    Mobilize for battle,       for the sword will devour everyone around you.  15 Why have your warriors fallen?       They cannot stand, for the Lord has knocked them down.  16 They stumble and fall over each other       and say among themselves,    'Come, let's go back to our people,       to the land of our birth.       Let's get away from the sword of the enemy!'  17 There they will say,       'Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is a loudmouth       who missed his opportunity!' 18 "As surely as I live," says the King,       whose name is the Lord of Heaven's Armies,    "one is coming against Egypt       who is as tall as Mount Tabor,       or as Mount Carmel by the sea!  19 Pack up! Get ready to leave for exile,       you citizens of Egypt!    The city of Memphis will be destroyed,       without a single inhabitant.  20 Egypt is as sleek as a beautiful young cow,       but a horsefly from the north is on its way!  21 Egypt's mercenaries have become like fattened calves.       They, too, will turn and run,    for it is a day of great disaster for Egypt,       a time of great punishment.  22 Egypt flees, silent as a serpent gliding away.       The invading army marches in;       they come against her with axes like woodsmen.  23 They will cut down her people like trees," says the Lord,       "for they are more numerous than locusts.  24 Egypt will be humiliated;       she will be handed over to people from the north." 25 The Lord of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says: "I will punish Amon, the god of Thebes, and all the other gods of Egypt. I will punish its rulers and Pharaoh, too, and all who trust in him. 26 I will hand them over to those who want them killed—to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his army. But afterward the land will recover from the ravages of war. I, the Lord, have spoken! 27 "But do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant;       do not be dismayed, Israel.    For I will bring you home again from distant lands,       and your children will return from their exile.    Israel will return to a life of peace and quiet,       and no one will terrorize them.  28 Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant,       for I am with you," says the Lord.    "I will completely destroy the nations to which I have exiled you,       but I will not completely destroy you.    I will discipline you, but with justice;       I cannot let you go unpunished."

 

 

 

All comments welcome!! It is how I get my questions answered.