DAY 222    Read Jeremiah 46; 47; Obadiah.

Today's reading:  Many of the Lord's warning messages were directed to Judah's neighboring nations.  Here Jeremiah speaks against Egypt, the Philistines, and Moab; Obadiah, against Edom.  But in these solemn judgments we find words of hope for God's people.  The little book Obadiah is undated, but it seems to belong to the period of Zedekiah's reign.

Memory gem:  "Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the Lord: for I am with thee"  (Jeremiah 46:28).

Thought for today:
On August 6, 1916, a tugboat belonging to the Niagara Falls Power Company was working in the Niagara River.  A scow attached to the tug broke loose and started a wild race for the falls a little way down the river.  There were two men aboard, apparently doomed.  It was impossible to land on either shore, and they rushed along at frightful speed, at the mercy of the racing current, while those on shore were powerless to help--when suddenly, with a mighty lunge, the scow leaped up on a great rock hidden just beneath the surface.  There it stopped, in the midst of the raging waters, just a few hundred feet above the roaring Niagara Falls.

The people on the Canadian shore (which was the nearer) began making frantic efforts to save the men before the dashing waters should dislodge the scow and force them to the terrible plunge.  Finally, a group of lifesavers arrived from Fort Niagara, thirteen miles away.  And they threw a rope to the scow, which enabled the men to make a safe landing.

Those who are in the great river of time today know the danger.  Like these two men, they feel the pull of the current of sin, but imagine that the place where the plunge to eternal destruction takes place is far, far down the stream.  Yet, the rapids of life are short, and the thunder of the mighty falls of eternity can be heard--if we listen.

But God has set a Rock in this river, as He set it in the Niagara.  This Rock is the Rock of Ages, and it is the only hope of men and women drifting to eternal ruin.  Lifesavers--men and women who have themselves been saved and who are equipped for saving--are ready to help those who cling to the Rock of Ages.  Will you lay hold on this mighty Rock today?

DAY 221    Read Jeremiah 31; 27; 28.

Today's reading:  These chapters reveal a striking contrast--God's forgiving love to those who repent, and the helpless fate of those who persist in wickedness.

Memory gem:  "They shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more"  (Jeremiah 31:34).

Thought for today:
There was a little boy at our house who slipped out one day to watch a heavy scraper at work cutting out a roadway on the side of the mountain.  This was contrary to his mother's instructions; but, as she was away for a few hours, the temptation was great.  It was so nice to play behind the chugging tractor!  But things went wrong, and he got into trouble.  While by God's blessing he was not killed, in a moment he was all scratched up and covered with dirt and had lost a shoe.  He began to cry and call for his daddy; then he came hobbling into the study where Daddy was at work on a sermon for The Voice of Prophecy broadcast.

Did that father forgive him?  Ah, yes.  And as he stood there in his penitent tears and fright and dirt, with one shoe off and one shoe on, I think his father only loved him more.  Would he turn him away?  Never in this world.

It's when we come to our heavenly Father for help--when we run to Him in our danger and loss and need and disobedience--that we find help.  It is only when we want to be forgiven that we are forgiven.

Someone reading this story may look into his own heart, and it will look so dark that he will say, "I'm afraid I'm beyond forgiveness."  If you are looking at yourself and are utterly discouraged, look in another direction.  Friend, you have looked at yourself and you are discouraged.  Of course you are when you do that.  Look now at Christ, and you will have hope.

NOTE:  Chapter 31 continues the message of chapter 30, which Jeremiah wrote after the interchange of letters with the false prophets.

Jeremiah 27:1 says, "In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim."  Verse 12 says, "I spake also to Zedekiah."  Several Hebrew manuscripts have "Zedekiah" in verse 1, and the whole chapter, with chapter 28, obviously belongs to Zedekiah's time.

DAY 220    Read Jeremiah 24; 29; 30.

Today's reading:  The prophecy of the seventy years of captivity is repeated.  But in the midst of doom and gloom, a beautiful promise shines out.

Memory gem:  "Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart"  (Jeremiah 29:13).

Thought for today:
In many ways we see that Isaiah 45:15 is true--God is a God that hides Himself.  But, notwithstanding all obscurity, it is important for us to remember that God has amply revealed Himself.  Though God hides Himself, there comes a voice from heaven, saying, "I have not spoken in secret"  (Isaiah 45:19).  All that we need to know, we can know if we believe His word.  No obscurity hides His divine invitation for us to seek Him, and His revelation in the Bible is plainly His gracious seeking after us.  He is no hidden God to those who sincerely desire to know His will.

We must be wholehearted if we expect to find God.  It is the great purpose of divine revelation to make us know that God loves us and has given us His Son that in Him we may know God and possess His righteousness.  What do we need more than that knowledge and that possession?  "And this is life eternal," said our Saviour, "that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent  (John 17:3).  Whatever may be dark in the ways of God to men, this is clear: He has come to us in His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, for "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself"  (2 Corinthians 5:19).

Many things which we should like to know are not written in the book of divine revelation, whether in the volume of nature, of human history, of our own hearts, or even the Bible.  But those things that are for our salvation are written that we may believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and may have life in His name  (see John 20:31).

When God seems hidden, we must have faith to remember that what we need to know, we can know; that many things which are dark now will be clear later; that our partial knowledge will be enlightened when we shall know even as we are known  (see 1 Corinthians 13:12).

NOTE:  As verse 1 of chapter 24 indicates, we have now come in our reading to the reign of Zedekiah, last king of Judah.

DAY 219    Read Jeremiah 22:20-30; chapters 13 and 23; 2 Kings 24:17-20; 2 Chronicles 36:11-16.

Today's reading:  In the heart of warnings and reproofs to apostate Judah, we find a question that points to the root of much apostasy--conditions in the home.

Memory gem:  "Where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?"  (Jeremiah 13:20).

Thought for today:
Oh father, you are the best man that a boy knows--do not blast his faith in you.  You owe it to him, to God, to your family, and to your country to keep faith with your boy.  When the father leads the way to heaven it means everything in the world.  We, as fathers, can never pass the responsibility off on mother, the school, or the church.  We must sometimes hear the question we will have to answer: "Where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?"  (Jeremiah 13:20).

This is an hour of decision for us all.  Let us make the right decision, with the blessing of Christ, and say, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord"  (Joshua 24:15).  Your family needs Christ.

Mother, are you doing all you can to fight back the waves of paganism and sin that threaten our homes today?  The big question of the hour is, What's the matter with our families?  If the cynical spirit of some circles goes much further, it will be a sad day for our country.  Hundreds of thousands of families broken by divorce each year are but only a symptom of shifting foundations.  Of the thousands of babies born each day in our land, how many will be welcomed into a real home?

There are millions of mothers who gladly sacrifice everything for their children; but, mothers, are you neglecting the supreme thing?  You go without new clothes so that Mary may have the very latest and keep up with her set in school.  You skimp and save so that John may have the chance to go on with his education.  And millions of dollars are expended on the very latest ideas in teaching those children of ours the "three R's of education.  But there is one "R" very few have at home, or anywhere now--religion.

And if the foundations of religion are not laid in the home, it is doubtful that they will ever be laid at all.

DAY 218    Read Jeremiah 36:1-4; 45; 36:5-32; 12; 2 Kings 24:1-16; 2 Chronicles 36:5:-10.

Today's reading:  How stubborn Jehoiakim was in rejecting the Lord's messages!  One certainly stands out: God's Word survives all efforts to destroy it.

Memory gem:  "Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah...saying, Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll"  (Jeremiah 36:27, 28).

Thought for today:
There are far too many penknife Christians today!  Did you ever hear of a penknife Christian?  Well, we have the record of God's warning sent through the prophet Jeremiah.  The words of Jeremiah were written in a book or scroll and were read to the king as he sat in his winter palace.  The message condemned many of the deeds of both the king and the people and called for personal and national repentance.  It was, in fact, an unpopular message.

You see, the book began to condemn the king, so he took his spite out on the book itself by cutting out the pages he did not like and throwing them into the fire, until the whole book was gone.  When he started using his penknife of God's Word, he didn't stop until it was all gone.  Some of the princes appealed to him to save it--at least, not to burn it--but he wouldn't listen.  It was contrary to his wicked life--it condemned his exaction on the poor, his luxury in the time of trouble, his oath-breaking in public office, his disobedience to God--and he didn't like it.  So he used the knife on it.

Now you see what we mean by "penknife Christians"--people who have the name of Christians, who believe in God and the Holy Scriptures, but who at the same time reject any part of the Bible that does not suit them.  They simply cut it out--do away with it, as far as they are concerned.

Friends, we need the Bible--God's Book--God's Word--the Holy Scriptures.  We need this mighty Book in our homes, in our offices, in our pockets, and, above all, in our minds and hearts.  And may God help us to believe it all.

NOTE:  Nebuchadnezzar's second group of exiles (including Ezekiel) was taken from Jerusalem with captive King Jehoiachin in 597 B.C.

DAY 217    Read Jeremiah 22:1-19 and chapters 18 through 20.

Today's reading:  God uses all sorts of devices to make His messages to Jehoiakim effective.  The acted parable of the potter is one of the most touching.

Memory gem:  "Cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord.  Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand"  (Jeremiah 18:6).

Thought for today:
The story in Jeremiah 18:1-6 is God's picture of His dealings with nations and with men.  God is the potter, we are the clay--just clay, the dust of the earth.  But out of it, under the hand of God, comes the new life of usefulness and beauty.  I like that old song:

      Have thine own way, Lord!  Have Thine own way!
      Thou are the Potter; I am the clay.
      Mold me and make me after Thy will,
      While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Some months ago, a group of us saw a well-known potter at work.  We watched as, under his skillful fingers, a ball of clay became a tall and beautiful vase.  A little boy in the crowd asked the potter where he got his design.  The artist seemed unconcerned, oblivious to everything around him, and went right on working.  Then, in answer to the question, he simply paused long enough to touch his head.  Yes, he carried his design there.  In the mind of the skilled potter there was a design for the vessel, an image of just what it would be when finished.  And sure enough, many strange shapes at last evolve into a classic vase, a work of art.

In the mind of God there is a design for each human life.  If we yield our lives to Him, He can mold us into the very image of Christ.

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Difficult or obscure words:
Jeremiah 20:3.  "Magor-missabib"--literally, "fear on every side" (see verse 10; Psalm 31:13).

DAY 216    Read Jeremiah 26; 35; 25.

Today's reading:  Several of Jeremiah's prophecies made use of object lessons.  In chapter 35 the Lord used the faithfulness of the Rechabites (a nomad clan) to rebuke Judah's unfaithfulness.

Memory gem:  "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me forever"  (Jeremiah 35:19).

Thought for today:
"God sought...to bring into sharp contrast the obedience of the Rechabites with the disobedience and rebellion of His people.  The Rechabites had obeyed the command of their father, and now refused to be enticed into transgression.  But the men of Judah had hearkened not to the words of the Lord, and were in consequence about to suffer His severest judgments....

"When men's hearts are softened and subdued by the constraining influence of the Holy Spirit, they will give heed to counsel; but when they turn from admonition until their hearts become hardened the Lord permits them to be led by other influences.  Refusing the truth, they accept falsehood, which becomes a snare to their own destruction....

"The lesson is for us.  If the requirements of a good and wise father, who took the best and most effectual means to secure his posterity against the evils of intemperance, were worthy of strict obedience, surely God's authority should be held in as much greater reverence as He is holier than man."--Prophets and Kings, pp. 424-426.

NOTE:  Jeremiah 26:2-6 gives a summary of chapter 7:1-15.  Then verses 7 and onward tell the reactions of princes and people to Jeremiah's "temple discourse" of chapters 7 through 10.
"Nebuchadrezzar" (Jeremiah 21:2; 25:9; 35:11) is a variant spelling for Nebuchadnezzar, actually closer to the Babylonian.
The "seventy years" of captivity (see Jeremiah 25:11,12; Daniel 9:2) begin with the first taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 606/605 B.C.
Some of the place names in Jeremiah 25:20-26 cannot be positively identified.  Some may be cryptic designations of places known by other names.

DAY 215    Read Daniel 1 through 3.

Today's reading:  After an introduction to Daniel's remarkable experience, we launch into the first of his prophetic revelations--interpreting the king's dream.

Memory gem:  "In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed"  (Daniel 2:44).

Thought for today:
There it stands in all its terrible beauty--the fifth world kingdom, the kingdom without frontiers, the world kingdom of Christ; and it "shall not be left to other people."  Why?  Because its citizens are immortal.  It will not come by the slow absorption of the modern world, but by the sudden interposition of Heaven.  And it will be endless, eternal.  Those who are its citizens live forever.  Their lives measure with the life of God, whom to know is life eternal!  (See John 17:3.)

Is it certain?  Is it true?  If some weary heart, someone who is filled with doubts and wonderings, asks that question, you can be certain, friend--it is sure!  For "the great God," says the prophet, "hath made known...what shall come to pass hereafter: and the prophecy is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure"  (Daniel 2:45, emphasis supplied).

Friend, are you already a citizen of that coming kingdom?  If not, will you not give your allegiance to the coming King?

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Difficult or obscure words:
Daniel 1:4.  "Children"--a Hebrew word meaning "youth" or young men"  (see 1 Kings 12:8, where the word is translated "young men)"
Daniel 1:8.  "Meat"--an old English word meaning food.
Daniel 1:12.  "Pulse"--an old English word used to translate a Hebrew word meaning "food derived from plants," such as cereals, vegetables, and such fruits as berries and dates.

DAY 214    Read Jeremiah 8 through 11.

Today's reading:  We continue to read the persistent appeals through Jeremiah for a return to true heart religion.  Outward forms alone are not enough.

Memory gem:  "They have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace"  (Jeremiah 8:11).

Thought for today:
In 1823 Victor Hugo wrote in The Future of Man: "In the twentieth century war will be dead, the scaffold will be dead, hatred will be dead, frontier boundaries will be dead, dogmas will be dead.  Man will live; he will possess something higher than all these--a great country, the whole earth, a great hope, the whole heaven."

Well, the years rolled on, and it was not long before other prophet were predicting still greater and more glorious victories for mankind--world peace, world prosperity, everything but eternal life.  They depicted the next stage of history as a paradise where, as one writer put it, "rivers of milk will flow between banks of ice cream, through plains of unlimited abundance."

But what a change has come now--two world wars and all the rest that has followed!  The song is different.  Yes, we looked for peace, but behold trouble

What does all this mean to you and to me?  Friends, it means that we are seeing the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Holy Bible.  We are seeing the words of Christ and the prophets coming true in our day.  We are living at five minutes to twelve, four minutes to twelve, three minutes to twelve!  The clock is about to strike.  We are about to see the most tremendous events in all the history of time.  We are about to see the curtain rung down on time and rung up on eternity.  Surely we can say, "Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed."  Yes, much nearer.  "The night is far spent, the day is at hand"  (Romans 13:11, 12).  Shall we not, therefore, do as the apostle urges?  "Let us...cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light"  (verse 12).

Let us turn our face toward heaven and be of good courage, for our redemption--yes, our Redeemer--draweth nigh.

DAY 213    Read 2 Kings 23:26-37; 2 Chronicles 35:20 through 36:4; Jeremiah 17 and 7.

Today's reading:  Good King Josiah, after a valiant attempt to turn his people back to God, dies in disgrace.  His sons quickly undo all the results of Josiah's reforms.

Memory gem:  "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is"  (Jeremiah 17:7).

Thought for today:
"By the great mass of the people the call to repentance and reformation was unheeded.  Since the death of good King Josiah, those who ruled the nation had been proving untrue to their trust, and had been leading many astray.  Jehoahaz, deposed by the interference of the king of Egypt, had been followed by Jehoiakim, an older son of Josiah.  From the beginning of Jehoiakim's reign, Jermiah had little hope of saving his beloved land from destruction and the people from captivity.  Yet he was not permitted to remain silent while utter ruin threatened the kingdom.  Those who had remained loyal to God must be encouraged to persevere in right doing, and sinners must, if possible, be induced to turn from iniquity.

"The crisis demanded a public and far-reaching effort.  Jeremiah was commanded by the Lord to stand in the court of the temple, and speak to all the people of Judah who might pass in and out.  From the messages given him, he must diminish not a word, that sinners in Zion might have the fullest possible opportunity to hearken, and to turn from their evil ways."--Prophets and Kings, pp. 412, 413.

NOTE:  Jehoahaz (Shallum), not Josiah's oldest son, was made king at his father's death; he reigned three months.
Eliakim, renamed Jehoikim by Necho, replaced his younger brother; he reigned eleven years.
Nebuchadnezzar's first capture of Jerusalem and taking of captives (including Daniel) occurred in 606/605 B.C.
"Shiloh," mentioned in Jeremiah 7:12,14, is a reference to the taking of the ark and the destruction of the town by the Philistines in the days of Eli (see Samuel 4:10, 11; 5:1).

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Difficult or obscure words:
Jeremiah 7:33.  "Fray"--an old English word meaning "frighten."