WEBVTT 00:00:00.919 --> 00:00:03.700 Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're 00:00:03.700 --> 00:00:05.740 taking this journey together to read the Bible 00:00:05.740 --> 00:00:09.080 in a year. Today's reading is from the book of 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:14.519 Jeremiah, chapters 14, 16, and 17. Chapter 14. 00:00:15.060 --> 00:00:17.339 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning 00:00:17.339 --> 00:00:21.440 the droughts. Judah mourns, and her gates languish. 00:00:21.500 --> 00:00:23.920 They mourn for the land, and the cry of Jerusalem 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:27.379 has gone up. Their nobles have sent their lads 00:00:27.379 --> 00:00:30.089 for water. They went to the cisterns and found 00:00:30.089 --> 00:00:32.590 no water. They returned with their vessels empty. 00:00:32.689 --> 00:00:35.090 They were ashamed and confounded and covered 00:00:35.090 --> 00:00:37.990 their heads. Because the ground is parched, for 00:00:37.990 --> 00:00:40.390 there was no rain in the land, the plowmen were 00:00:40.390 --> 00:00:43.890 ashamed. They covered their heads. Yes, the deer 00:00:43.890 --> 00:00:46.490 also gave birth in a field, but left because 00:00:46.490 --> 00:00:49.270 there was no grass. And the wild donkeys stood 00:00:49.270 --> 00:00:51.929 in the desolate heights. They sniffed at the 00:00:51.929 --> 00:00:54.570 wind like jackals. Their eyes failed because 00:00:54.570 --> 00:00:57.509 there was no grass. O Lord, though our iniquities 00:00:57.509 --> 00:01:00.270 testify against us, do it for your name's sake, 00:01:00.429 --> 00:01:03.210 for our backslidings are many, we have sinned 00:01:03.210 --> 00:01:05.930 against you. O the hope of Israel, his savior 00:01:05.930 --> 00:01:08.469 in time of trouble, why should you be like a 00:01:08.469 --> 00:01:10.969 stranger in the land, and like a traveler who 00:01:10.969 --> 00:01:14.170 turns aside to tarry for a night? Why should 00:01:14.170 --> 00:01:17.010 you be like a man astonished, like a mighty one 00:01:17.010 --> 00:01:20.090 who cannot save? Yet you, O Lord, are in our 00:01:20.090 --> 00:01:22.609 midst, and we are called by your name, do not 00:01:22.609 --> 00:01:25.150 leave us. Thus says the Lord to this people, 00:01:25.629 --> 00:01:28.590 Thus they have loved to wander. They have not 00:01:28.590 --> 00:01:30.930 restrained their feet. Therefore the Lord does 00:01:30.930 --> 00:01:33.390 not accept them. He will remember their iniquity 00:01:33.390 --> 00:01:36.430 now and punish their sins. Then the Lord said 00:01:36.430 --> 00:01:38.909 to me, Do not pray for this people, for their 00:01:38.909 --> 00:01:41.609 good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry. 00:01:41.750 --> 00:01:43.769 And when they offer burnt offering and grain 00:01:43.769 --> 00:01:46.150 offering, I will not accept them. But I will 00:01:46.150 --> 00:01:48.510 consume them by the sword, by the famine, and 00:01:48.510 --> 00:01:51.260 by the pestilence. Then I said, Ah, Lord God, 00:01:51.540 --> 00:01:54.219 behold the prophets, say to them, You shall not 00:01:54.219 --> 00:01:56.939 see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but 00:01:56.939 --> 00:01:59.459 I will give you assured peace in this place. 00:01:59.739 --> 00:02:02.040 And the Lord said to me, The prophets prophesy 00:02:02.040 --> 00:02:05.019 lies in my name. I have not sent them, commanded 00:02:05.019 --> 00:02:07.859 them, nor spoken to them. They prophesy to you 00:02:07.859 --> 00:02:11.159 a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, 00:02:11.379 --> 00:02:14.719 and a deceit of their heart. Therefore thus says 00:02:14.719 --> 00:02:16.900 the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy 00:02:16.900 --> 00:02:20.780 in my name whom I did not send and who say sword 00:02:20.780 --> 00:02:23.680 and famine shall not be in this land. By sword 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:26.419 and famine those prophets shall be consumed. 00:02:26.780 --> 00:02:29.180 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be 00:02:29.180 --> 00:02:31.479 cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because 00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:33.919 of the famine and the sword. They will have no 00:02:33.919 --> 00:02:36.800 one to bury them, them nor their wives, their 00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:39.300 sons nor their daughters, for I will pour their 00:02:39.300 --> 00:02:42.180 wickedness on them. Therefore you shall say this 00:02:42.180 --> 00:02:45.479 word to them. Let my eyes flow with tears night 00:02:45.479 --> 00:02:48.259 and day, and let them not cease. For the virgin 00:02:48.259 --> 00:02:50.740 daughter of my people has been broken with a 00:02:50.740 --> 00:02:53.860 mighty stroke, with a very severe blow. If I 00:02:53.860 --> 00:02:56.599 go out to the field, then behold those slain 00:02:56.599 --> 00:02:59.460 with the sword. And if I enter the city, then 00:02:59.460 --> 00:03:03.199 behold those sick from famine. Yes, both prophet 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:06.080 and priest go about in a land they do not know. 00:03:06.379 --> 00:03:09.479 Have you utterly rejected Judah? Has your soul 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:12.889 loathed Zion? Why have you stricken us so that 00:03:12.889 --> 00:03:15.449 there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, 00:03:15.610 --> 00:03:18.530 but there was no good. And for the time of healing, 00:03:18.650 --> 00:03:21.189 and there was trouble. We acknowledge, O Lord, 00:03:21.310 --> 00:03:23.430 our wickedness and the iniquity of our fathers, 00:03:23.569 --> 00:03:26.090 for we have sinned against you. Do not abhor 00:03:26.090 --> 00:03:28.930 us for your name's sake. Do not disgrace the 00:03:28.930 --> 00:03:31.389 throne of your glory. Remember, do not break 00:03:31.389 --> 00:03:34.789 your covenant with us. Are there any among the 00:03:34.789 --> 00:03:37.509 idols of the nations that can cause rain? Or 00:03:37.509 --> 00:03:40.199 can the heavens give showers? are you not he 00:03:40.199 --> 00:03:43.460 o lord our god therefore we will wait for you 00:03:43.460 --> 00:03:48.120 since you have made all these chapter sixteen 00:03:48.120 --> 00:03:51.840 the word of the lord also came to me saying you 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:54.080 shall not take a wife nor shall you have sons 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:57.039 or daughters in this place for thus says the 00:03:57.039 --> 00:03:58.780 lord concerning the sons and daughters who are 00:03:58.780 --> 00:04:00.960 born in this place and concerning their mothers 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:03.560 who bore them and their fathers who begot them 00:04:03.560 --> 00:04:07.280 in this land they shall die gruesome death They 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:09.560 shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried, 00:04:09.719 --> 00:04:12.199 but they shall be like refuse on the face of 00:04:12.199 --> 00:04:14.439 the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword 00:04:14.439 --> 00:04:17.100 and by famine, and their corpses shall be made 00:04:17.100 --> 00:04:19.939 for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of 00:04:19.939 --> 00:04:22.959 the earth. For thus says the Lord, Do not enter 00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:25.860 the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan 00:04:25.860 --> 00:04:28.480 them. For I have taken away my peace from this 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:31.259 people, says the Lord, loving kindness and mercies. 00:04:31.459 --> 00:04:33.879 Both the great and the small shall die in this 00:04:33.879 --> 00:04:36.360 land. They shall not be buried, neither shall 00:04:36.360 --> 00:04:39.160 men lament for them, cut themselves, nor make 00:04:39.160 --> 00:04:42.040 themselves bald for them. Nor shall men break 00:04:42.040 --> 00:04:45.060 bread in mourning for them, to comfort them for 00:04:45.060 --> 00:04:47.800 the dead. Nor shall men give them the cup of 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:50.100 consolation to drink for their father or their 00:04:50.100 --> 00:04:52.540 mother. Also you shall not go into the house 00:04:52.540 --> 00:04:55.339 of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink. 00:04:55.620 --> 00:04:58.600 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, 00:04:58.910 --> 00:05:01.529 Behold, I will cause to cease from this place 00:05:01.529 --> 00:05:04.389 before your eyes and in your days the voice of 00:05:04.389 --> 00:05:06.790 mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of 00:05:06.790 --> 00:05:09.430 the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. And 00:05:09.430 --> 00:05:11.629 it shall be when you show this people all these 00:05:11.629 --> 00:05:14.029 words, and they say to you, Why has the Lord 00:05:14.029 --> 00:05:16.509 pronounced all this great disaster against us? 00:05:16.589 --> 00:05:19.670 Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that 00:05:19.670 --> 00:05:22.279 we have committed against the Lord our God? Then 00:05:22.279 --> 00:05:24.500 you shall say to them, Because your fathers have 00:05:24.500 --> 00:05:27.139 forsaken me, says the Lord, they have walked 00:05:27.139 --> 00:05:30.100 after other gods and have served them and worshipped 00:05:30.100 --> 00:05:32.560 them, and have forsaken me and not kept my law. 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:35.339 And you have done worse than your fathers, for 00:05:35.339 --> 00:05:37.939 behold, each one follows the dictates of his 00:05:37.939 --> 00:05:40.939 own evil heart, so that no one listens to me. 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:44.319 Therefore I will cast you out of this land into 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:47.279 a land that you do not know, neither you nor 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:49.589 your fathers. And there you shall serve other 00:05:49.589 --> 00:05:52.670 gods day and night, where I will not show you 00:05:52.670 --> 00:05:55.730 favor. Therefore, behold, the days are coming, 00:05:55.829 --> 00:05:58.389 says the Lord, that it shall no more be said, 00:05:58.509 --> 00:06:01.189 The Lord lives who brought up the children of 00:06:01.189 --> 00:06:03.970 Israel from the land of Egypt. But the Lord lives 00:06:03.970 --> 00:06:06.089 who brought up the children of Israel from the 00:06:06.089 --> 00:06:08.850 land of the north and from all the lands where 00:06:08.850 --> 00:06:11.170 he had driven them. For I will bring them back 00:06:11.170 --> 00:06:14.170 into their own land, which I gave to their fathers. 00:06:14.649 --> 00:06:17.769 behold i will send for many fishermen says the 00:06:17.769 --> 00:06:20.529 lord and they shall fish them and afterward i 00:06:20.529 --> 00:06:22.990 will send for many hunters and they shall hunt 00:06:22.990 --> 00:06:25.930 them from every mountain and every hill and out 00:06:25.930 --> 00:06:28.529 of the holes of the rocks for my eyes are on 00:06:28.529 --> 00:06:31.069 all their ways they are not hidden from my face 00:06:31.579 --> 00:06:34.060 nor is their iniquity hidden from my eyes. And 00:06:34.060 --> 00:06:36.560 first I will repay double for their iniquity 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:39.439 and their sin, because they have defiled my land. 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:42.240 They have filled my inheritance with the carcasses 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:45.899 of their detestable and abominable idols. O Lord, 00:06:45.980 --> 00:06:48.860 my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the 00:06:48.860 --> 00:06:51.560 day of affliction. The Gentiles shall come to 00:06:51.560 --> 00:06:54.019 you from the ends of the earth and say, Surely 00:06:54.019 --> 00:06:56.860 our fathers have inherited lies, worthlessness, 00:06:57.079 --> 00:06:59.899 and unprofitable things. Will a man make gods 00:06:59.899 --> 00:07:03.449 for himself? which are not gods? Therefore, behold, 00:07:03.769 --> 00:07:06.810 I will this once cause them to know. I will cause 00:07:06.810 --> 00:07:09.470 them to know my hand and my might, and they shall 00:07:09.470 --> 00:07:14.389 know that my name is the Lord. Chapter 17 The 00:07:14.389 --> 00:07:16.970 sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, with 00:07:16.970 --> 00:07:19.670 the point of a diamond it is engraved, on the 00:07:19.670 --> 00:07:21.870 tablet of their heart and on the horns of your 00:07:21.870 --> 00:07:24.829 altars, while their children remember their altars 00:07:24.829 --> 00:07:27.529 and their wooden images by the green trees on 00:07:27.529 --> 00:07:30.709 the high hills. O my mountain in the field, I 00:07:30.709 --> 00:07:33.629 will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures, 00:07:33.810 --> 00:07:36.810 and your high places of sin within all your borders. 00:07:37.009 --> 00:07:40.110 And you, even yourself, shall let go of your 00:07:40.110 --> 00:07:42.649 heritage which I gave you, and I will cause you 00:07:42.649 --> 00:07:45.089 to serve your enemies in the land which you do 00:07:45.089 --> 00:07:48.290 not know. For you have kindled a fire in my anger 00:07:48.290 --> 00:07:51.709 which shall burn forever. Thus says the Lord, 00:07:51.889 --> 00:07:54.910 Cursed is the man who trusts in man. and makes 00:07:54.910 --> 00:07:57.870 flesh his strength whose heart departs from the 00:07:57.870 --> 00:08:00.730 lord for he shall be like a shrub in the desert 00:08:00.730 --> 00:08:04.209 and shall not see when good comes but shall inhabit 00:08:04.209 --> 00:08:07.290 the parched places in the wilderness in a salt 00:08:07.290 --> 00:08:10.910 land which is not inhabited blessed is the man 00:08:10.910 --> 00:08:13.410 who trusts in the lord and whose hope is the 00:08:13.410 --> 00:08:16.230 lord for he shall be like a tree planted by the 00:08:16.230 --> 00:08:19.129 waters which spreads out its roots by the river 00:08:19.129 --> 00:08:22.750 and will not fear when heat comes but its leaf 00:08:23.209 --> 00:08:25.649 will be green and will not be anxious in the 00:08:25.649 --> 00:08:28.370 year of drought, nor will cease from yielding 00:08:28.370 --> 00:08:31.269 fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, 00:08:31.350 --> 00:08:34.789 and desperately wicked. Who can know it? I, the 00:08:34.789 --> 00:08:38.350 Lord, search the heart. I test the mind, even 00:08:38.350 --> 00:08:41.590 to give every man according to his ways, according 00:08:41.590 --> 00:08:44.570 to the fruit of his doings. As a partridge that 00:08:44.570 --> 00:08:47.470 broods but does not hatch, so is he who gets 00:08:47.470 --> 00:08:50.970 riches, but not by right. It will leave him in 00:08:50.970 --> 00:08:53.929 the midst of his days. and at his end he will 00:08:53.929 --> 00:08:57.190 be a fool. A glorious high throne from the beginning 00:08:57.190 --> 00:09:00.090 is the place of our sanctuary, O Lord, the hope 00:09:00.090 --> 00:09:03.070 of Israel. All who forsake you shall be ashamed. 00:09:03.590 --> 00:09:06.090 Those who depart from me shall be written in 00:09:06.090 --> 00:09:08.049 the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, 00:09:08.210 --> 00:09:11.629 the fountain of living waters. Heal me, O Lord, 00:09:11.750 --> 00:09:13.950 and I shall be healed. Save me, and I shall be 00:09:13.950 --> 00:09:16.970 saved. For you are my praise. Indeed, they say 00:09:16.970 --> 00:09:19.750 to me, Where is the word of the Lord? Let it 00:09:19.750 --> 00:09:22.629 come now. As for me, I have not hurried away 00:09:22.629 --> 00:09:25.210 from being a shepherd who follows you, nor have 00:09:25.210 --> 00:09:28.429 I desired the woeful day. You know what came 00:09:28.429 --> 00:09:31.090 out of my lips. It was right there before you. 00:09:31.210 --> 00:09:34.149 Do not be a terror to me. You are my hope in 00:09:34.149 --> 00:09:36.789 the day of doom. Let them be ashamed who persecute 00:09:36.789 --> 00:09:39.830 me, but do not let me be put to shame. Let them 00:09:39.830 --> 00:09:43.289 be dismayed, but do not let me be dismayed. Bring 00:09:43.289 --> 00:09:45.850 on them the day of doom, and destroy them with 00:09:45.850 --> 00:09:48.590 double destruction. Thus the Lord said to me, 00:09:48.669 --> 00:09:50.950 Go and stand in the gate of the children of the 00:09:50.950 --> 00:09:53.629 people, by which the kings of Judah come in, 00:09:53.710 --> 00:09:56.110 and by which they go out, and in all the gates 00:09:56.110 --> 00:09:58.629 of Jerusalem. And say to them, Hear the word 00:09:58.629 --> 00:10:01.250 of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all Judah, 00:10:01.389 --> 00:10:04.090 and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter 00:10:04.090 --> 00:10:07.029 by these gates. Thus says the Lord, Take heed 00:10:07.029 --> 00:10:09.870 to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath 00:10:09.870 --> 00:10:12.529 day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. 00:10:12.990 --> 00:10:15.190 nor carry a burden out of your houses on the 00:10:15.190 --> 00:10:18.429 Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the 00:10:18.429 --> 00:10:21.470 Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. But 00:10:21.470 --> 00:10:24.129 they did not obey nor incline their ear, but 00:10:24.129 --> 00:10:26.970 made their neck stiff, that they might not hear 00:10:26.970 --> 00:10:30.049 nor receive instruction. And it shall be, if 00:10:30.049 --> 00:10:32.730 you heed me carefully, says the Lord, to bring 00:10:32.730 --> 00:10:35.289 no burden through the gates of this city on the 00:10:35.289 --> 00:10:38.090 Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day to do 00:10:38.090 --> 00:10:41.230 no work in it. Then shall enter the gates of 00:10:41.230 --> 00:10:44.210 this city kings and princes, sitting on the throne 00:10:44.210 --> 00:10:47.830 of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they 00:10:47.830 --> 00:10:50.230 and their princes, accompanied by the men of 00:10:50.230 --> 00:10:52.909 Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this 00:10:52.909 --> 00:10:55.470 city shall remain forever, and they shall come. 00:10:55.850 --> 00:10:57.769 from the cities of Judah, and from the places 00:10:57.769 --> 00:11:00.049 around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, 00:11:00.250 --> 00:11:02.809 and from the low land, from the mountains, and 00:11:02.809 --> 00:11:05.070 from the south, bringing burnt offerings and 00:11:05.070 --> 00:11:08.129 sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, bringing 00:11:08.129 --> 00:11:10.629 sacrifices of praise to the house of the Lord. 00:11:10.970 --> 00:11:13.690 But if you will not heed me to hallow the Sabbath 00:11:13.690 --> 00:11:17.009 day, such as not carrying a burden when entering 00:11:17.009 --> 00:11:19.799 the gates of Jerusalem on a Sabbath day, Then 00:11:19.799 --> 00:11:22.559 I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall 00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:25.120 devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:33.480 not be quenched. I hope you enjoyed today's reading 00:11:33.480 --> 00:11:35.799 as much as I did, and I look forward to seeing 00:11:35.799 --> 00:11:37.860 you again tomorrow to continue on our journey. 00:11:37.980 --> 00:11:39.639 God bless you and have a great day.