2 Samuel 7

WEEK  23                                              2 Samuel 7

MONDAY  Reflections

I can appreciate that David seeing he had a wonderful palace wanted to make a place greater for God. God, as he reminded David, doesn't need a house but rewards David for his thoughts by saying He would make David a house. David's son will build a house for God but not David. God promises not just a kingdom but that his kingdom would never end.

God was with the kings that followed blessing some and allowing men to chastise them when they disobeyed, but God never forsook the line of David. Jesus is the final fulfillment of this prophecy as he is from the line of David.

David is humbled that God would do this for him. As we should be too when we come to God. We don't deserve to be part of a kingdom that will never end but it is the blessing we have when we come to Christ. Let's never stop praising God for his great mercy shown to us.

2Sa 7:1-29
(1)  And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies;
(2)  That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.
(3)  And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee.
(4)  And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying,
(5)  Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?
(6)  Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.
(7)  In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar?
(8)  Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel:
(9)  And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth.
(10)  Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime,
(11)  And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee an house.
(12)  And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
(13)  He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
(14)  I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:
(15)  But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.
(16)  And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
(17)  According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.
(18)  Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?
(19)  And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord GOD; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD?
(20)  And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord GOD, knowest thy servant.
(21)  For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.
(22)  Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
(23)  And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?
(24)  For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and thou, LORD, art become their God.
(25)  And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said.
(26)  And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.
(27)  For thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.
(28)  And now, O Lord GOD, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:
(29)  Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.

Photo by Cindy Chen on Unsplash

Jeremiah 34

WEEK  22                                           Jeremiah 34

SATURDAY  Reflections

God promised Zedekiah though Jerusalem would be conquered, he would not die by the sword but of old age. He would even be given honor as previous kings. 

Zedekiah after this told the people of Judah to release their fellow Israelites who they had made slaves. At first, they did this but then went back on their word. God, it seems to me, is more upset that they started to do good and then returned to doing what they did before than if they hadn't changed in the first place. They did well and then took it back. Let's never be like this to God.

Jer 34:1-22
(1)  The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying,
(2)  Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:
(3)  And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.
(4)  Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword:
(5)  But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD.
(6)  Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem,
(7)  When the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah: for these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah.
(8)  This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them;
(9)  That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother.
(10)  Now when all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let them go.
(11)  But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.
(12)  Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
(13)  Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying,
(14)  At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.
(15)  And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name:
(16)  But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.
(17)  Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.
(18)  And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof,
(19)  The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf;
(20)  I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth.
(21)  And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which are gone up from you.
(22)  Behold, I will command, saith the LORD, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.

Photo by Erica Nilsson on Unsplash

2 Samuel 6

WEEK  22                                        2 Samuel 6

FRIDAY  Reflections

The biggest complaint I hear from people about 2 Samuel 6 is the death of Uzzah. He was, after all, trying to help. It might have just been a natural instinct not a conscious act of disrespect. Why would God be so unfair? But is that the whole story? 

NO!

To explain I often start with the proposition that good intentions action don’t prevent injury. If you try to move a live high-voltage electrical wire away from a child, you may mean well, but those intentions don’t save you from the current in the wire. However, this being the case, that isn’t what is happening here. What is happening is the ark is being moved by the same method the Philistines used and not the way God commanded the Israelites to move it. If the priest would have been carrying it the way God intended, then this would never have taken place. What we see is not the illustration I used above. A better picture would be someone wiring a house wrong. While trying to plug something into the outlet. A person dies. Who is responsible in this later illustration? The person doing the wiring, not the person plugging in.

 

What we do not know is if Uzzah was both the person who should have known better than to put the ark on a cart or just the person trying to do right. The truth is in this world actions have consequences even if the person has the right motive and the actions of others can affect you. They can even kill you.  God wasn’t being mean he was following the rules he set in place. God’s rules like electricity don’t change because people have a good motive.

 

Good motives can’t undo wrong behavior. Perhaps that is a lesson we can learn here. Motives and attitudes can influence our actions and behavior. We might wish that our motives can undo bad behaviors, but they never do. Certain behaviors result in certain outcomes no matter our motives. It is a truth we need to remember.  

2Sa 6:1-23
(1)  Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.
(2)  And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.
(3)  And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart.
(4)  And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark.
(5)  And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.
(6)  And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it.
(7)  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.
(8)  And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perezuzzah to this day.
(9)  And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and said, How shall the ark of the LORD come to me?
(10)  So David would not remove the ark of the LORD unto him into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite.
(11)  And the ark of the LORD continued in the house of Obededom the Gittite three months: and the LORD blessed Obededom, and all his household.
(12)  And it was told king David, saying, The LORD hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness.
(13)  And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.
(14)  And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.
(15)  So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
(16)  And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.
(17)  And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
(18)  And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.
(19)  And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house.
(20)  Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!
(21)  And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD.
(22)  And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.
(23)  Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.

Romans 12

WEEK   22                                           Romans 12

THURSDAY  Reflections

What I want to point out in Romans 12 is Paul calls us to think of ourselves sober-minded or in a right mind. Though there is the obvious warning about not being high-minded or proud, there is also a sense that we shouldn't think too lowly of ourselves.

 

This is borne out when Paul goes on to talk about the body and each person doing what they are called to do with the grace God has given them. There is no idea that some people doing their best are just not going to hit the mark or somehow fall short. The idea is we should think of ourselves as God thinks of us.

 

We need to remember, we are all one body and we need each other. We each have different gifting and different abilities but no one is more important than the other. 

 

On another point, look and consider verse 15: “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” Can you rejoice with someone? Can you weep? And can you not fall into the trap of talking when you should be silent and just be rejoicing or weeping?

Rom 12:1-21
(1)  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
(2)  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
(3)  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
(4)  For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
(5)  So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
(6)  Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
(7)  Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
(8)  Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
(9)  Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
(10)  Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
(11)  Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
(12)  Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
(13)  Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
(14)  Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
(15)  Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
(16)  Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
(17)  Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
(18)  If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
(19)  Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
(20)  Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
(21)  Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Psalm 84

WEEK   22                                        Psalm 84

WEDNESDAY  Reflections

The tabernacle, and later the temple, was the place to meet God. It was the place one came to sacrifice, to get in right relationship with God, and to be in His presence. For Israel, temple courts were the place only priests could stay and be near God.

If you really love someone you want to be with them. This psalm carries the love of God from a Jewish perspective who only knew God as the one who dwelt in the temple. We don't have the temple today and though God's Spirit dwells inside the Christian, a Christian can ignore God's presence. This is like a person who ignores their spouse even if they are with them. This isn't what God wants but it does happen. What God wants is for us to love him fully and this should be easier because he is in us. 

Psa 84:1-12
(1)  To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
(2)  My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
(3)  Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
(4)  Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.
(5)  Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
(6)  Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
(7)  They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
(8)  O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.
(9)  Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
(10)  For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
(11)  For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
(12)  O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

2 Samuel 5

WEEK  22                                            2 Samuel 5

TUESDAY  Reflections

After 7 1/2 years, David is finally king over all of Israel. What I had never noticed before was verse 12: "And David perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake" (KJV). David understood this wasn't about him. God had raised up David not because David was so great but for the people of Israel.

For me this is a reminder, I am a pastor not because God thinks I'm such a great guy and deserve this role, but for the sake of the church. It isn't about me, it's about God's people. Whenever someone thinks their ministry is about them, they are in dangerous territory. Leadership in the church isn't about the leader it's about the church.

2Sa 5:1-25
(1)  Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.
(2)  Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.
(3)  So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the LORD: and they anointed David king over Israel.
(4)  David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.
(5)  In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.
(6)  And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither.
(7)  Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.
(8)  And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David's soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.
(9)  So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward.
(10)  And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him.
(11)  And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David an house.
(12)  And David perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake.
(13)  And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David.
(14)  And these be the names of those that were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shammua, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon,
(15)  Ibhar also, and Elishua, and Nepheg, and Japhia,
(16)  And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphalet.
(17)  But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the hold.
(18)  The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.
(19)  And David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand.
(20)  And David came to Baalperazim, and David smote them there, and said, The LORD hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baalperazim.
(21)  And there they left their images, and David and his men burned them.
(22)  And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.
(23)  And when David enquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.
(24)  And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.
(25)  And David did so, as the LORD had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.

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2 Samuel 4

 

WEEK  22                                                                                 2 Samuel 4

 

MONDAY  Reflections

 

Here in this chapter, there again is someone, actually two brothers, who think they can get a reward by murder. Though Ishbosheth was a rival king, David didn't think of him as an enemy. David remembered his vow to Saul and rewarded the murderers as they deserved. Here, David once again is ruling as God would have him. David was trusting God to deal with his rival for the king of Israel. These men offered David a shortcut, which he again refused to take.  

Photo by Drew Beamer on Unsplash

Jeremiah 33

WEEK   21                                            Jeremiah 33

SATURDAY  Reflections

God has brought and is bringing destruction on Judah, yet here we find a great promise (Jeremiah 33). God is again promising to bring them back and raise up the Messianic Kingdom. Part of this has been fulfilled in Jesus and part is yet to come but there is hope. Jeremiah knew he would never see it but as many a parent has had there is hope for those who come later. It is this kind of hope, which inspires people to sacrifice and even lay down their lives. It is this kind of hope which gives people the courage to face pain, not run, or surrender.

Since the promise has been partly fulfilled in Jesus doing what was just and right, we can know that one day He will do the rest and make all things right. We too have hope.

Jer 33:1-26
(1)  Moreover the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
(2)  Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name;
(3)  Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
(4)  For thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by the mounts, and by the sword;
(5)  They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but it is to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have slain in mine anger and in my fury, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city.
(6)  Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.
(7)  And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first.
(8)  And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.
(9)  And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.
(10)  Thus saith the LORD; Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say shall be desolate without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast,
(11)  The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.
(12)  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Again in this place, which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, shall be an habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.
(13)  In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the vale, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that telleth them, saith the LORD.
(14)  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.
(15)  In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.
(16)  In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.
(17)  For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;
(18)  Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually.
(19)  And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying,
(20)  Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season;
(21)  Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers.
(22)  As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.
(23)  Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,
(24)  Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.
(25)  Thus saith the LORD; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;
(26)  Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.

Photo by Ron Smith on Unsplash