WEBVTT 00:00:00.919 --> 00:00:03.740 Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're 00:00:03.740 --> 00:00:05.740 taking this journey together to read the Bible 00:00:05.740 --> 00:00:09.439 in a year. Today's reading is from Jeremiah chapters 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:13.939 5 and 6. Chapter 5. Run to and fro through the 00:00:13.939 --> 00:00:17.039 streets of Jerusalem, see now and know, and seek 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:20.160 in her open places if you can find a man, if 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:23.039 there is anyone who executes judgment, who seeks 00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:25.699 the truth, and I will pardon her. Though they 00:00:25.699 --> 00:00:28.699 say, as the Lord lives, surely they swear falsely. 00:00:29.070 --> 00:00:31.910 O Lord, are not your eyes on the truth? You have 00:00:31.910 --> 00:00:34.590 stricken them, but they have not grieved. You 00:00:34.590 --> 00:00:36.750 have consumed them, but they have refused to 00:00:36.750 --> 00:00:39.009 receive correction. They have made their faces 00:00:39.009 --> 00:00:41.789 harder than rock. They have refused to return. 00:00:42.270 --> 00:00:45.810 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor. They 00:00:45.810 --> 00:00:48.149 are foolish, for they do not know the way of 00:00:48.149 --> 00:00:50.969 the Lord, the judgment of their God. I will go 00:00:50.969 --> 00:00:53.509 to the great men and speak to them, for they 00:00:53.509 --> 00:00:55.609 have known the way of the Lord, the judgment 00:00:55.609 --> 00:00:58.280 of their God. but these have altogether broken 00:00:58.280 --> 00:01:01.280 the yoke and burst the bonds therefore a lion 00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:03.820 from the forest shall slay them a wolf of the 00:01:03.820 --> 00:01:06.599 deserts shall destroy them a leopard will watch 00:01:06.599 --> 00:01:09.180 over their cities everyone who goes out from 00:01:09.180 --> 00:01:12.420 there shall be torn in pieces because their transgressions 00:01:12.420 --> 00:01:15.780 are many their backslidings have increased how 00:01:15.780 --> 00:01:18.180 shall i pardon you for this your children have 00:01:18.180 --> 00:01:21.180 forsaken me and sworn by those that are not gods 00:01:21.180 --> 00:01:24.209 when i had fed them to the full Then they committed 00:01:24.209 --> 00:01:26.730 adultery and assembled themselves by troops in 00:01:26.730 --> 00:01:29.489 the harlots' houses. They were like well -fed, 00:01:29.650 --> 00:01:33.170 lusty stallions. Everyone kneed after his neighbor's 00:01:33.170 --> 00:01:35.430 wife. Shall I not punish them for these things, 00:01:35.549 --> 00:01:38.049 says the Lord? And shall I not avenge myself 00:01:38.049 --> 00:01:41.489 on such a nation as this? Go up on her walls 00:01:41.489 --> 00:01:43.909 and destroy, but do not make a complete end. 00:01:44.129 --> 00:01:46.609 Take away her branches, for they are not the 00:01:46.609 --> 00:01:48.870 Lord's. For the house of Israel and the house 00:01:48.870 --> 00:01:51.689 of Judah have dealt very treacherously with me, 00:01:51.790 --> 00:01:54.219 says the Lord. They have lied about the Lord 00:01:54.219 --> 00:01:57.500 and said, It is not he, neither will evil come 00:01:57.500 --> 00:02:00.620 upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine. And 00:02:00.620 --> 00:02:03.159 the prophets become wind, for the word is not 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:06.239 in them. Thus shall it be done to them. Therefore 00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:09.240 thus says the Lord, God of hosts, Because you 00:02:09.240 --> 00:02:12.120 speak this word, behold, I will make my words 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:15.599 in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:17.879 it shall devour them. Behold, I will bring a 00:02:17.879 --> 00:02:20.520 nation against you from afar. O house of Israel, 00:02:20.620 --> 00:02:23.340 says the Lord, it is a mighty nation. It is an 00:02:23.340 --> 00:02:25.979 ancient nation, a nation whose language you do 00:02:25.979 --> 00:02:28.520 not know, nor can you understand what they say. 00:02:28.780 --> 00:02:31.780 Their quiver is like an open tomb. They are all 00:02:31.780 --> 00:02:34.419 mighty men, and they shall eat up your harvest 00:02:34.419 --> 00:02:36.560 and your bread, which your sons and daughters 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:39.180 should eat. They shall eat up your flocks and 00:02:39.180 --> 00:02:41.460 your herds. They shall eat up your vines and 00:02:41.460 --> 00:02:44.080 your fig trees. They shall destroy your fortified 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:47.349 cities in which you trust with the sword. Nevertheless, 00:02:47.389 --> 00:02:50.009 in those days, says the Lord, I will not make 00:02:50.009 --> 00:02:53.030 a complete end of you. And it will be when you 00:02:53.030 --> 00:02:55.750 say, Why does the Lord our God do all these things 00:02:55.750 --> 00:02:58.849 to us? Then you shall answer them, Just as you 00:02:58.849 --> 00:03:01.669 have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your 00:03:01.669 --> 00:03:04.689 land, so you shall serve aliens in a land that 00:03:04.689 --> 00:03:07.310 is not yours. Declare this in the house of Jacob 00:03:07.310 --> 00:03:10.530 and proclaim it in Judah, saying, Hear this now, 00:03:10.650 --> 00:03:13.430 O foolish people. without understanding who have 00:03:13.430 --> 00:03:16.409 eyes and see not and who have ears and hear not 00:03:16.409 --> 00:03:19.610 do you not fear me says the lord will you not 00:03:19.610 --> 00:03:22.490 tremble at my presence who have placed the sand 00:03:22.490 --> 00:03:25.210 as the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree 00:03:25.210 --> 00:03:28.370 that it cannot pass beyond it and though its 00:03:28.370 --> 00:03:31.430 waves toss to and fro yet they cannot prevail 00:03:31.430 --> 00:03:34.530 though they roar yet they cannot pass over it 00:03:34.530 --> 00:03:37.490 but this people has a defiant and rebellious 00:03:37.490 --> 00:03:40.460 heart they have revolted and departed they do 00:03:40.460 --> 00:03:43.180 not say in their heart let us now fear the lord 00:03:43.180 --> 00:03:46.340 our god who gives rain both the former and the 00:03:46.340 --> 00:03:49.599 latter in its season he reserves for us the appointed 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:52.520 weeks of the harvest your iniquities have turned 00:03:52.520 --> 00:03:55.159 these things away and your sins have withheld 00:03:55.159 --> 00:03:58.280 good from you for among my people are found wicked 00:03:58.280 --> 00:04:01.840 men they lie in wait as one who sets snares they 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:05.449 set a trap they catch men as a cage is full of 00:04:05.449 --> 00:04:08.689 birds so their houses are full of deceit therefore 00:04:08.689 --> 00:04:11.449 they have become great and grown rich they have 00:04:11.449 --> 00:04:14.770 grown fat they are sleek yes they surpass the 00:04:14.770 --> 00:04:17.329 deeds of the wicked they do not plead the cause 00:04:17.329 --> 00:04:20.129 the cause of the fatherless yet they prosper 00:04:20.129 --> 00:04:22.610 and the right of the needy they do not defend 00:04:22.610 --> 00:04:25.269 shall i not punish them for these things says 00:04:25.269 --> 00:04:28.170 the lord shall i not avenge myself on such a 00:04:28.170 --> 00:04:31.009 nation as this an astonishing and horrible thing 00:04:31.009 --> 00:04:34.209 has been committed in the land The prophets prophesy 00:04:34.209 --> 00:04:37.209 falsely, and the priests rule by their own power, 00:04:37.350 --> 00:04:40.209 and my people love to have it so. But what will 00:04:40.209 --> 00:04:45.410 you do in the end? Chapter 6 O you children of 00:04:45.410 --> 00:04:47.790 Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee from the 00:04:47.790 --> 00:04:50.490 midst of Jerusalem. Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, 00:04:50.629 --> 00:04:53.990 and set up a signal fire in Beit Hakiram. For 00:04:53.990 --> 00:04:56.269 disaster appears out of the north, and great 00:04:56.269 --> 00:04:58.870 destruction. I have likened the daughter of Zion 00:04:58.870 --> 00:05:01.529 to a lovely and delicate woman. The shepherds 00:05:01.529 --> 00:05:03.769 with their flocks shall come to her. They shall 00:05:03.769 --> 00:05:06.610 pitch their tents against her all around. Each 00:05:06.610 --> 00:05:09.670 one shall pasture in his own place. Prepare war 00:05:09.670 --> 00:05:12.509 against her. Arise and let us go up at noon. 00:05:12.949 --> 00:05:16.310 Woe to us, for the day goes away, for the shadows 00:05:16.310 --> 00:05:19.129 of the evening are lengthening. Arise and let 00:05:19.129 --> 00:05:21.730 us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces. 00:05:22.029 --> 00:05:25.310 For thus has the Lord of hosts said, Cut down 00:05:25.310 --> 00:05:28.470 trees and build a mound against Jerusalem. This 00:05:28.470 --> 00:05:31.029 is the city to be punished. She is full of oppression 00:05:31.029 --> 00:05:34.009 in her midst. As a fountain wells up with water, 00:05:34.149 --> 00:05:37.149 so she wells up with her wickedness. Violence 00:05:37.149 --> 00:05:40.430 and plundering are heard in her. Before me continually 00:05:40.430 --> 00:05:43.649 are grief and wounds. Be instructed, O Jerusalem, 00:05:43.829 --> 00:05:46.629 lest my soul depart from you, lest I make you 00:05:46.629 --> 00:05:50.129 desolate, a land not inhabited. Thus says the 00:05:50.129 --> 00:05:52.810 Lord of hosts, they shall thoroughly glean as 00:05:52.810 --> 00:05:56.029 a vine the remnant of Israel. As a grape gatherer, 00:05:56.029 --> 00:05:59.480 put your hand back into the branches. To whom 00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:01.879 shall I speak and give warning, that they may 00:06:01.879 --> 00:06:05.060 hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, and 00:06:05.060 --> 00:06:07.399 they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the 00:06:07.399 --> 00:06:10.100 Lord is a reproach to them. They have no delight 00:06:10.100 --> 00:06:12.800 in it. Therefore I am full of the fury of the 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:16.199 Lord. I am weary of holding it in. I will pour 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:19.060 it out on the children outside, an unassembly 00:06:19.060 --> 00:06:21.899 of young men together. For even the husband shall 00:06:21.899 --> 00:06:24.819 be taken with the wife, the aged with him who 00:06:24.819 --> 00:06:27.620 is full of days, and their houses shall be turned 00:06:27.620 --> 00:06:31.550 over to others. fields and wives together. For 00:06:31.550 --> 00:06:34.069 I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants 00:06:34.069 --> 00:06:36.730 of the land, says the Lord. Because from the 00:06:36.730 --> 00:06:38.949 least of them, even to the greatest of them, 00:06:39.129 --> 00:06:42.170 everyone is given to covetousness. And from the 00:06:42.170 --> 00:06:45.329 prophet, even to the priest, everyone deals falsely. 00:06:45.410 --> 00:06:48.189 They have also healed the hurt of my people slightly, 00:06:48.430 --> 00:06:51.430 saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace. 00:06:51.790 --> 00:06:54.629 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? 00:06:54.970 --> 00:06:58.459 No, they were not at all ashamed. nor did they 00:06:58.459 --> 00:07:01.319 know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall 00:07:01.319 --> 00:07:04.240 among those who fall. At the time I punish them, 00:07:04.360 --> 00:07:07.620 they shall be cast down, says the Lord. Thus 00:07:07.620 --> 00:07:10.560 says the Lord, Stand in the ways and see, and 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:13.259 ask for the old path, where the good way is, 00:07:13.379 --> 00:07:16.319 and walk in it. Then you will find rest for your 00:07:16.319 --> 00:07:19.180 souls. But they said, We will not walk in it. 00:07:19.459 --> 00:07:22.639 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Listen 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:25.000 to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:27.449 will not listen. Therefore hear, you nations, 00:07:27.649 --> 00:07:30.769 and know, O congregation, what is among them. 00:07:30.910 --> 00:07:33.790 Hear, O earth, behold, I will certainly bring 00:07:33.790 --> 00:07:36.569 calamity on this people, the fruit of their thoughts, 00:07:36.709 --> 00:07:39.509 because they have not heeded my words, nor my 00:07:39.509 --> 00:07:42.610 law, but rejected it. For what purpose to me 00:07:42.610 --> 00:07:45.790 comes frankincense from Sheba, and sweet cane 00:07:45.790 --> 00:07:48.649 from a far country? Your burnt offerings are 00:07:48.649 --> 00:07:51.829 not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet to 00:07:51.829 --> 00:07:55.339 me. Therefore thus says the Lord. Behold, I will 00:07:55.339 --> 00:07:57.920 lay stumbling blocks before this people, and 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:00.439 the fathers and the sons together shall fall 00:08:00.439 --> 00:08:03.240 on them. The neighbor and his friend shall perish. 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:06.560 Thus says the Lord, Behold, the people comes 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:09.060 from the north country, and a great nation will 00:08:09.060 --> 00:08:11.199 be raised from the farthest parts of the earth. 00:08:11.459 --> 00:08:14.600 They will lay hold on bow and spear. They are 00:08:14.600 --> 00:08:17.420 cruel and have no mercy. Their voice roars like 00:08:17.420 --> 00:08:20.699 the sea, and they ride on horses. As men of war 00:08:20.699 --> 00:08:23.639 set in array against you, O daughter of Zion. 00:08:24.139 --> 00:08:26.680 We have heard the report of it. Our hands grow 00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:29.860 feeble. Anguish has taken hold of us, pain as 00:08:29.860 --> 00:08:33.019 of a woman in labor. Do not go out into the field, 00:08:33.100 --> 00:08:35.899 nor walk by the way. Because of the sword of 00:08:35.899 --> 00:08:38.960 the enemy, fear is on every side. O daughter 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:41.919 of my people, dress in sackcloth, and roll about 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:45.940 in ashes. Make mourning as for an only son, most 00:08:45.940 --> 00:08:49.320 bitter lamentation. For the plunderer will suddenly 00:08:49.320 --> 00:08:52.700 come upon us. I have set you as an assayer and 00:08:52.700 --> 00:08:55.539 a fortress among my people, that you may know 00:08:55.539 --> 00:08:58.419 and test their way. They are all stubborn rebels, 00:08:58.700 --> 00:09:01.779 walking as slanderers. They are bronze and iron. 00:09:01.960 --> 00:09:05.679 They are all corruptors. The bellows blow fiercely. 00:09:05.879 --> 00:09:08.840 The lead is consumed by the fire. The smelter 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:11.759 refines in vain. For the wicked are not drawn 00:09:11.759 --> 00:09:15.379 off. People will call them rejected silver, because 00:09:15.379 --> 00:09:23.299 the Lord has rejected them. I hope you enjoyed 00:09:23.299 --> 00:09:25.860 today's reading as much as I did and I look forward 00:09:25.860 --> 00:09:27.919 to seeing you again tomorrow to continue on our 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:30.019 journey. God bless you and have a great day.