Day 299 One-Year Daily Bible Reading – Jeremiah 49:23–50:46; Titus 1:1-16; Psalm 97:1–98:9; Proverbs 26:13-16
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He Preserveth the Souls of His Saints
Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: He preserveth the souls of his saints; He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; And give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
Psalm 97:10-12
For He Cometh to Judge the Earth
Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein. Let the floods clap their hands: Let the hills be joyful together Before the LORD; For he cometh to judge the earth: With righteousness shall he judge the world, And the people with equity.
Psalm 98:7-9
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Jeremiah 49:23-39 prophesies against Damascus, Kedar, and Hazor and Elam. The passage predicts destruction and judgment upon these nations for their violence and arrogance. The Lord promises to bring terror upon them from all sides, scattering them and causing their downfall, but then also promises restoration for the people of Elam in the latter days.
Damascus
Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail. How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy! Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
Jeremiah 49:24-26
Kedar and Hazor
Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the LORD, which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone. And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter into all winds them that are in the utmost corners; and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith the LORD. And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and a desolation for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it.
Jeremiah 49:31-33
Elam
And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come. For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them: and I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 49:36-38
Restoration
But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 49:39
Jeremiah 50 describes the judgment of Babylon for their violence against God’s people, how God will destroy the Babylonians, and how He will bring Israel back to their land. It discusses how the Israelites should not fear their oppressors because God will bring justice and restoration.
Come, and Let Us Join Ourselves to the LORD
In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.
Jeremiah 50:4-5
Their Redeemer is Strong
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go. Their Redeemer is strong; The LORD of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
Jeremiah 50:33-34
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The Slothful
The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; A lion is in the streets. As the door turneth upon his hinges, So doth the slothful upon his bed. The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; It grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth. The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit Than seven men that can render a reason.
Proverbs 26:13-16
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The book of Titus is a short letter written by Paul to Titus, a fellow Christian leader in Crete. The central theme of the letter is the importance of sound doctrine and good works in the Christian life. Paul instructs Titus to appoint qualified leaders in each church and teach all believers sound doctrine. He also emphasizes the need for Christians to live a godly life, showing kindness and respect to others, and avoiding foolish arguments and divisive behavior.
In Hope of Eternal Life
Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; but hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour; to Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Titus 1:1-4
Holding Fast the Faithful Word
For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: if any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. – Titus 1:5-9
There are Many Unruly and Vain Talkers and Deceivers
For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake. One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.- Titus 1:10-16
