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Jeremiah 19 (ESV)
1 Thus says the Lord, “Go, buy a potter’s earthenware flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests, 2 and go out to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the entry of the Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you. 3 You shall say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. 4 Because the people have forsaken me and have profaned this place by making offerings in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known; and because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents, 5 and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind— 6 therefore, behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when this place shall no more be called Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7 And in this place I will make void the plans of Judah and Jerusalem, and will cause their people to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of those who seek their life. I will give their dead bodies for food to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the earth. 8 And I will make this city a horror, a thing to be hissed at. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its wounds. 9 And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his neighbor in the siege and in the distress, with which their enemies and those who seek their life afflict them.’
REFLECTION:
Hinnom Valley is a public garbage dump in Jerusalem, and Topheth means “land of fire”. The Judahites burned their children in Hinnom Valley and sacrificed to Molek (32:35). The massacres prophesied by Jeremiah occurred twice, once in 586 BC when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon led his troops to attack Jerusalem; the other was when Roman General Titus destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD. During Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, there was an extreme shortage of food, which caused the horror of cannibalism in the city. Some people even ate their own children, fulfilling what God said. God is loving, righteous and holy at the same time. Judah’s idolatry was corrupted to the point that they even burned their children to sacrifice to the false gods. They greatly offended God and incurred severe retribution from God. Do we often offend God today? Although we may not be as corrupt as the Judahites back then, will we ignore our family in pursuit of worldly values? If so, today is the time to confess your sins to God and repent!
PRAYER:
Come to God humbly, ask God to enlighten you, so that you understand where you have sinned against God, and confess your sins to God and repent. Ask God to give you more love and live out the love of Christ in your family. Be a good witness for the Lord among your relatives, so that they can have a closer relationship with you, and also enable you to develop a closer relationship with your family and God.
HYMN:
Jesus Draw Me Close – youtu.be/kvKQZBH5rZU
