Hello, friends. We continue reading in Jeremiah 5-10. 

These chapters are sobering. I found myself feeling sad reading much of this (Jeremiah is called The Weeping Prophet, which makes sense!). Jeremiah continues to warn the people, at God’s direction, predicting the coming judgment. I sense an urgency in his words. Why, I wonder, does God warn Israel HE is bringing a nation against them? This can’t be good. They are given graphic details of the disaster to come: income taken away, families broken up, people scattered about, even death (Why is he warning the nation of Israel? Why aren’t the godless nations getting the same warnings?).

Our reading continues in James.  Chapter 4 and 5 really speak to my heart, my inner thoughts and motives. Chapter 4:4 says, “Don’t you know friendship with the world means being an enemy of God?”  Very sobering. I am reminded of John 18:36 when Jesus says his kingdom is not of this world. We are in the world, not of the world. We live here, but don’t belong here if we belong to Jesus Christ.

When we left off at the end of last week’s passage, King Amon died, never repenting.  Chapter 34 opens with his son Josiah becoming king at the age of 8.  Yes, 8!  His reign can be summed up reading Ch. 34, vs 2: “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed the ways of His father, David (his ancestor), not turning to the right or to the left.”