Bible Readings for October 8, 2017

Today our passages are Jeremiah 10:1–11:23; Colossians 3:18–4:18; Psalm 78:56-72; and Proverbs 24:28-29. The readings are from the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Steet, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

---

Jeremiah 10-11:23 (Contemporary English Version)

Jeremiah 10

The LORD Talks about Idols

 ¹The LORD said:    Listen to me,
   you people of Israel.
    ²Don't follow the customs
   of those nations
   who become frightened
   when they see
   something strange
   happen in the sky.
    ³Their religion is worthless!
   They chop down a tree,
   carve the wood into an idol,
    ⁴cover it with silver and gold,
   and then nail it down
   so it won't fall over.
    ⁵An idol is no better
   than a scarecrow.
   It can't speak,
   and it has to be carried,
   because it can't walk.
   Why worship an idol
   that can't help or harm you?
   

Jeremiah Praises the LORD

 ⁶Our LORD, great and powerful,    you alone are God.
    ⁷You are King of the nations.
   Everyone should worship you.
   No human anywhere on earth
   is wiser than you.
    ⁸Idols are worthless,
   and anyone who worships them
   is a fool!
    ⁹Idols are made by humans.
   A carver shapes the wood.
   A metalworker hammers out
   a covering
   of gold from Uphaz
   or of silver from Tarshish.
   Then the idol is dressed
   in blue and purple clothes.
    ¹⁰You, LORD, are the only true
   and living God.
   You will rule for all time.
   When you are angry
   the earth shakes,
   and nations are destroyed.
    ¹¹You told me to say
   that idols did not create
   the heavens and the earth,
   and that you, the LORD,
   will destroy every idol.
    ¹²With your wisdom and power
   you created the earth
   and spread out the heavens.
    ¹³The waters in the heavens roar
   at your command.
   You make clouds appear--
   you send the winds
   from your storehouse
   and make lightning flash
   in the rain.
    ¹⁴People who make idols
   are so stupid!
   They will be disappointed,
   because their false gods
   are not alive.
    ¹⁵Idols are merely a joke,
   and when the time is right,
   they will be destroyed.
    ¹⁶But you, Israel's God,
   created all things,
   and you chose Israel
   to be your very own.
   Your name is the LORD
   All-Powerful.
   

Judah Will Be Thrown from Its Land

 ¹⁷I said to the people of Judah,    "Gather your things;
   you are surrounded.
    ¹⁸The LORD said these troubles
   will lead to your capture,
   and he will throw you
   from this land
   like a rock from a sling." ^[a] ¹⁹The people answered,
   "We are wounded
   and doomed to die.
   Why did we say
   we could stand the pain?
    ²⁰Our homes are destroyed;
   our children are dead.
   No one is left
   to help us find shelter."
    ²¹But I told them,
   "Our leaders were stupid failures,
   because they refused
   to listen to the LORD.
   And so we've been scattered
   like sheep.
    ²²"Sounds of destruction
   rumble from the north
   like distant thunder.
   Soon our towns will be ruins
   where jackals ^[b] live."

Jeremiah Prays

 ²³I know, LORD, that we humans    are not in control
   of our own lives.
    ²⁴Correct me, as I deserve,
   but not in your anger,
   or I will be dead.
    ²⁵Our enemies refuse
   to admit that you are God
   or to worship you.
   They have wiped out our people
   and left our nation
   lying in ruins.
   So get angry
   and sweep them away!
   

Jeremiah 11

Judah Has Broken the LORD's Agreement

 ^1-3The LORD God told me to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:    I, the LORD, am warning you that I will put a curse on anyone who doesn't keep the agreement I made with Israel. So pay attention to what it says. ⁴My commands haven't changed since I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, a nation that seemed like a blazing furnace where iron ore is melted. I told your ancestors that if they obeyed my commands, I would be their God, and they would be my people. ⁵Then I did what I had promised and gave them this wonderful land, where you now live.
   "Yes, LORD," I replied, "that's true."
    ⁶Then the LORD told me to say to everyone on the streets of Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah:
   Pay attention to the commands in my agreement with you. ⁷Ever since I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, I have been telling your people to obey me. But you and your ancestors ⁸have always been stubborn. You have refused to listen, and instead you have done whatever your sinful hearts have desired.
   You have not kept the agreement we made, so I will make you suffer every curse that goes with it.
    ⁹The LORD said to me:
   Jeremiah, the people of Judah and Jerusalem are plotting against me. ¹⁰They have sinned in the same way their ancestors did, by turning from me and worshiping other gods. The northern kingdom of Israel broke the agreement I made with your ancestors, and now the southern kingdom of Judah ^[c] has done the same. ¹¹Here is what I've decided to do. I will bring suffering on the people of Judah and Jerusalem, and no one will escape. They will beg me to help, but I won't listen to their prayers. ^12-13Then they will offer sacrifices to their other gods and ask them for help. After all, the people of Judah have more gods than towns, and more altars for Baal than there are streets in Jerusalem. But those gods won't be able to rescue the people of Judah from disaster.
    ¹⁴Jeremiah, don't pray for these people or beg me to rescue them. If you do, I won't listen, and I certainly won't listen if they pray!
    ¹⁵Then the LORD told me to say to the people of Judah:
   You are my chosen people,
   but you have no right
   to be here in my temple,
   doing such terrible things.
   The sacrifices you offer me
   won't protect you from disaster,
   so stop celebrating. ^[d] ¹⁶Once you were like an olive tree
   covered with fruit.
   But soon I will send a noisy mob
   to break off your branches
   and set you on fire.
    ¹⁷I am the LORD All-Powerful. You people of Judah were like a tree that I had planted, but you have made me angry by offering sacrifices to Baal, just as the northern kingdom did. And now I'm going to pull you up by the roots.
   

The Plot To Kill Jeremiah

 ¹⁸Some people plotted to kill me.    And like a lamb
   being led to the butcher,
   I knew nothing
   about their plans.
    ¹⁹But then the LORD told me
   that they had planned
   to chop me down like a tree--
   fruit and all--
   so that no one would ever
   remember me again.
    ²⁰I prayed, "LORD All-Powerful,
   you always do what is right,
   and you know every thought.
   So I trust you to help me
   and to take revenge."
    ²¹Then the LORD said:
   Jeremiah, some men from Anathoth ^[e] say they will kill you, if you keep on speaking for me. ²²But I will punish them. Their young men will die in battle, and their children will starve to death. ²³And when I am finished, no one from their families will be left alive.

Footnotes:

1. Jeremiah 10:18 like a rock from a sling: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
2. Jeremiah 10:22 jackals: See the note at 9.11.
3. Jeremiah 11:10 Israel. . . Judah: See the note at 2.4.
4. Jeremiah 11:15 celebrating: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 15.
5. Jeremiah 11:21 Anathoth: Jeremiah's hometown (see 1.1).

---

Colossians 3:18-4:18 (Contemporary English Version)

Some Rules for Christian Living

 ¹⁸A wife must put her husband first. This is her duty as a follower of the Lord.    ¹⁹A husband must love his wife and not abuse her.
   ²⁰Children must always obey their parents. This pleases the Lord.
   ²¹Parents, don't be hard on your children. If you are, they might give up.
   ²²Slaves, you must always obey your earthly masters. Try to please them at all times, and not just when you think they are watching. Honor the Lord and serve your masters with your whole heart.
   ²³Do your work willingly, as though you were serving the Lord himself, and not just your earthly master.
   ²⁴In fact, the Lord Christ is the one you are really serving, and you know that he will reward you.
   ²⁵But Christ has no favorites! He will punish evil people, just as they deserve.
   

Colossians 4

 ¹Slave owners, be fair and honest with your slaves. Don't forget that you have a Master in heaven.    ²Never give up praying. And when you pray, keep alert and be thankful.
   ³Be sure to pray that God will make a way for us to spread his message and explain the mystery about Christ, even though I am in jail for doing this.
   ⁴Please pray that I will make the message as clear as possible.
   ⁵When you are with unbelievers, always make good use of the time.
   ⁶Be pleasant and hold their interest when you speak the message. Choose your words carefully and be ready to give answers to anyone who asks questions.
   

Final Greetings

 ⁷Tychicus is the dear friend, who faithfully works and serves the Lord with us, and he will give you the news about me.    ⁸I am sending him to cheer you up by telling you how we are getting along.
   ⁹Onesimus, that dear and faithful follower from your own group, is coming with him. The two of them will tell you everything that has happened here.
   ¹⁰Aristarchus is in jail with me. He sends greetings to you, and so does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. You have already been told to welcome Mark, if he visits you.
   ¹¹Jesus, who is known as Justus, sends his greetings. These three men are the only Jewish followers who have worked with me for the kingdom of God. They have given me much comfort.
   ¹²Your own Epaphras, who serves Christ Jesus, sends his greetings. He always prays hard that you may fully know what the Lord wants you to do and that you may do it completely.
   ¹³I have seen how much trouble he has gone through for you and for the followers in Laodicea and Hierapolis.
   ¹⁴Our dear doctor Luke sends you his greetings, and so does Demas.
   ¹⁵Give my greetings to the followers at Laodicea, especially to Nympha and the church that meets in her home.
   ¹⁶After this letter has been read to your people, be sure to have it read in the church at Laodicea. And you should read the letter that I have sent to them. ^[a]
   ¹⁷Remind Archippus to do the work that the Lord has given him to do.
   ¹⁸I am signing this letter myself: PAUL.
   Don't forget that I am in jail.
   I pray that God will be kind to you.
   

Footnotes:

1. Colossians 4:16 the letter that I have sent to them: This is the only mention of the letter to the church at Laodicea.

---

Psalm 78:56-72 (Contemporary English Version)

⁵⁶But the people tested
   God Most High,
   and they refused
   to obey his laws.
    ⁵⁷They were as unfaithful
   as their ancestors,
   and they were as crooked
   as a twisted arrow.
    ⁵⁸God demanded all their love,
   but they made him angry
   by worshiping idols.
    ⁵⁹So God became furious
   and completely rejected
   the people of Israel.
    ⁶⁰Then he deserted his home
   at Shiloh,
   where he lived
   here on earth.
    ⁶¹He let enemies capture
   the sacred chest ^[a] and let them dishonor him.
    ⁶²God took out his anger
   on his chosen ones
   and let them be killed
   by enemy swords.
    ⁶³Fire destroyed the young men,
   and the young women were left
   with no one to marry.
    ⁶⁴Priests died violent deaths,
   but their widows
   were not allowed to mourn.
    ⁶⁵Finally the Lord woke up,
   and he shouted
   like a drunken soldier.
    ⁶⁶God scattered his enemies
   and made them ashamed
   forever.
    ⁶⁷Then the Lord decided
   not to make his home
   with Joseph's descendants
   in Ephraim. ^[b] ⁶⁸Instead he chose the tribe
   of Judah,
   and he chose Mount Zion,
   the place he loves.
    ⁶⁹There he built his temple
   as lofty as the mountains
   and as solid as the earth
   that he had made
   to last forever.
    ⁷⁰The Lord God chose David
   to be his servant
   and took him
   from tending sheep
    ⁷¹and from caring for lambs.
   Then God made him the leader
   of Israel, his own nation.
    ⁷²David treated the people fairly
   and guided them with wisdom.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 78:61 sacred chest: The Hebrew text has " his power," which refers to the sacred chest. In Psalm 132.8 it is called " powerful."
2. Psalm 78:67 with. . . Ephraim: Ephraim was Joseph's youngest son. One of the twelve tribes was named after him, and sometimes the northern kingdom of Israel was also known as Ephraim. The town of Shiloh was in the territory of Ephraim, but the place where God was worshiped was moved from there to Zion (Jerusalem) in the territory of Judah.

---

Proverbs 24:28-29 (Contemporary English Version)

²⁸Don't accuse anyone
   who isn't guilty.
   Don't ever tell a lie
    ²⁹or say to someone,
   "I'll get even with you!"

---

Verse of the Day

“I alone am the LORD; only I can rescue you. I promised to save you, and I kept my promise. You are my witnesses that no other god did this. I, the LORD, have spoken.” - Isaiah 43:11-12

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

---

Thought for the Day

Novelist from Brisbane, Australia, who writes humorous popular fiction about everyday life, Nick Earls wrote, “You can have your own language. You can have your own dialect; you can have your own way of saying things, but if you don't actually understand the way the language fits together, it's chaos.”

---

A Joke for Today

A man was driving to work when a truck ran a stop sign, hit his car broadside, and knocked him out cold. A Passersby pulled him from the wreckage and revived him.

He began a terrific struggle and had to be tranquilized by the medics. Later, when he had calmed down, they asked him why he had struggled so.

He said, a bit sheepishly, "I remember the impact, then nothing. I woke up on a concrete slab in front of this huge, flashing sign. Turns out somebody was standing in front of the 'S' on the 'Shell' sign."