Reading from Thursday, October 28

What it is, ya'll?

Reading for October 28
Sweet! This reading concludes both Jeremiah and Titus.

Jeremiah 51:54-52:34
This is a rather strange conclusion to the book. The last three or four chapters were exclusively about how Babylon would be utterly destroyed by God. But Jeremiah ends with a story of Babylon taking over Jerusalem and essentially burning the entire city to the ground. So what's the takeaway? I mean historically, Babylon is eventually destroyed, but why build the anticipation of the evil empire being brought to its knees only to conclude with it being even more evil and powerful?

Maybe the original readers of this text were familiar with the fall of Babylon and saw that action as justification for its demise?

All in all, Jeremiah was sort of all over the place. One minute I'm skimming the text because I'm so bored, the next I'm jumping up and down from some beautiful insight I was privy to, the next I'm rereading huge sections because the text is so think and cumbersome. Prophecy, exposition, history - Jeremiah covers the entire spectrum of a Biblical book. In a way, it's sort of every book in the Bible. There are tough sections and beautiful sections. Chapters that are hard to read and chapters that jump off the page and slap you in the face with their beauty. Its certainly a challenge, but so is the Bible.

Jeremiah 29:11 still retains the spot as my favorite verse in the Bible, especially in the context of the surrounding chapters as I discovered in this reading. But there are also a lot of really weird things in this book. Definitely a tough one to digest and by far one of the longer books in the Old Testament. I'm happy to have it behind me.

Titus 3:1-15
This is just a solid piece of Biblical guidance. I really can't lend anything else to it. Read it and enjoy it.

 ¹ Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, ² to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.

 ³ At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. ⁸ This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

 ⁹ But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. ¹⁰ Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. ¹¹ You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.

Psalm 100:1-5
A simple piece of Christian faith

¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
 ² Worship the LORD with gladness;
   come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the LORD is God.
   It is he who made us, and we are his^[a];
   we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Proverbs 26:18-19
I never thought I would see the words "maniac shooting flaming arrows of death" in the Bible.

 ¹⁸ Like a maniac shooting
   flaming arrows of death
¹⁹ is one who deceives their neighbor
   and says, “I was only joking!”