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Tuesday 23 August 2011

Day 237: Unexpected kindness


More weeping from Jeremiah, and mercy at last for the poor man.
Jeremiah’s plea
Lamentations 3:37-66
Jerusalem after the fall
Lamentations 4:1-22
A prayer for mercy
Lamentations 5:1-22
Gedaliah becomes governor
2 Kings 25:22-24
Kindness shown to Jeremiah
Jeremiah 39:11-13
Jeremiah stays with Gedaliah
Jeremiah 39:14, 40:1-5
The captivity 586-516BC
Gedaliah’s care for the poor
Jeremiah 40:6-12

Jeremiah’s lament continues. Then we turn back to what happened in the days after the fall of Jerusalem and read some extraordinary words from Nebuzaradan, the Babylonian commander: “The LORD your God decreed this disaster for this place. And now the LORD has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the LORD and did not obey him.” How come this heathen understands God’s will better than the inhabitants of Jerusalem?? Has he been listening to Jeremiah?
Jeremiah chooses to live with Gedaliah, the appointed governor of Jerusalem, and a fair minded individual, judging by his actions and his words to the Israelites. Under his leadership, Jews who had fled to other countries during the siege of Jerusalem are bold enough to come back and help with the harvest. Plenty is gathered in, and the poor left in Jerusalem feed well for the first time in years.

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