Satan, through our culture and his domain on earth, will offer us his world. Money, power and control are tools he uses to distract us from the real issues of life…love for God above all and loving and caring for our neighbors as we do those in our own family. Only Jesus willingly gave up His life for ours!

We need to stay firm in a world filled with hate and share the love of Christ  with everyone we come into contact with!

The Greek word {worship me} used here, proskyneō, does not necessarily refer to religious worship. It also can be used to describe the act of honoring an earthly king. Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:13, where the entire passage speaks against doubting Yahweh. Deuteronomy describes how Yahweh would lead the Israelites into the promised land and provide them with an abundance of good things; and warns against forgetting Yahweh. God led His people into the promised land despite the strength of its inhabitants. He also brought about the kingdom of His Messiah despite opposition. At Jesus’ arrest, He tells Peter that He could have angels sent to defend Him. Faithlife Bible.

Deuteronomy 6:13 (NKJV)

¹³ You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.

Christ rebuked the devil for asking for worship, a temptation to do exactly the opposite of what every Israelite was called upon to do. Specifically in reference to Jesus, Satan was offering a crown without the cross. Jesus’ experience serves as a pattern in spiritual warfare today: Jesus resisted Satan, then He defeated Satan with consistent, meaningful use of the Scriptures. Having rejected Satan’s offer of bread, assistance from angels, and earthly kingdoms, Jesus was immediately visited by angels who helped Him. NKJ Bible.

Matthew 4:8–11 (NKJV)

⁸ Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

¹¹ Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Deuteronomy 10:20 (NKJV)

²⁰ You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name.

Joshua 24:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord!

Matthew 16:26 (NKJV)

²⁶ For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Matthew 26:53 (NKJV)

⁵³ Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?

Ephesians 4:1-6

Everything in Gods’ plan for the  Body of Christ is accomplished through the unity and love of the Holy Spirit.

Satan seeks to destroy it through division. He was a liar from the beginning.

Paul affirms that Gentiles (non-Jews) have been reconciled to God and brought into His people. That discussion provides the starting point for where Paul explains how believers should live in the unity and peace accomplished through Christ. Paul begins by emphasizing the oneness of God’s people. Faith-life Bible.

These are the attitudes that Jesus demonstrated when He was on earth. These attitudes do not come naturally, but must be cultivated by the determination to place others above ourselves. Only the Spirit can empower us to treat people this way consistently. Bearing is close to our expression “putting up with”; however, Paul’s use of the term has positive connotations. It describes being patient with the shortcomings of others. Often we ask God to be patient with our own failings, and yet do not exercise the same type of patience ourselves. Endeavoring means to make every effort, to work hard at maintaining the unity of the Spirit. NKJ Bible.

Ephesians 4:1–6 (NKJV): I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

1 Corinthians 8:6

yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Colossians 3:12

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;

Colossians 3:14

But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

Hosea 2:19-20

We belong to God…

Through the righteousness of Jesus

Who satisfied the law and justice by his death.

In the mercy of the Father who knows we are mere men.

In Gods’ loving kindness He showed His creation favor.

And through the power of the Holy Spirit we can know

The depth of love shown to us.

All honor and praise belong to our triune God!

The four virtues listed in this verse, combined with the faithfulness form the essence of Yahweh’s character. Biblical writers frequently mention these virtues together. Faithlife Bible.

Betrothal was a binding commitment, the last step before the wedding and consummation. The Lord emphasized that the new marriage between Himself and Israel would be permanent. Israel would respond positively to the Lord’s love and acknowledge that He is her husband and benefactor. NKJ Bible.

Hosea 2:19–20 (NKJV)

¹⁹ “I will betroth you to Me forever;

Yes, I will betroth you to Me

In righteousness and justice,

In lovingkindness and mercy;

²⁰ I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,

And you shall know the Lord.

Jeremiah 31:34 (NKJV)

³⁴ No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Hosea 6:6 (NKJV)

⁶ For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,

And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

John 17:3 (NKJV)

³ And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

2 Corinthians

There will always be those in the Church who question our motives. Even so Paul cared about other believers opinion of him and his ministry. eager to set things right and to promote unity in the Body of Christ he defended himself by writing this letter to the Church he founded in Corinth. In his defense Paul reaffirms the essential doctrines of the faith. He warns that Satan will use any means to divide believers and use that to discredit them to unbelievers. Through it all we, like Paul, can find direction and comfort through Christ.

Letter from Paul, Apostle of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians is the pieced together history behind the 2nd letter of Paul to the Corinthians.

Paul founded the Corinthian church. After 18 months he departed from Corinth and wrote a letter which is now lost. Paul then talked to some members of Chloe’s household about quarrels in the Corinthian church. Perhaps at this point, Paul sent Timothy on a trip that included Corinth. Then a committee arrived from Corinth with questions for Paul. Then Paul wrote the book now called 1 Corinthians to correct disorders and answer questions from the Corinthian church. Paul probably sent Titus to Corinth with 1 Corinthians. After sending him, Paul became deeply concerned about how the Corinthians would respond to what he had written. He had called them carnal and proud. In the meantime, serious difficulties arose at Ephesus, so he left ahead of schedule. He stopped at Troas to preach the gospel. But because he did not find Titus there and was still eager to hear about the Corinthians, he hastened to Macedonia. There Paul found Titus. According to an early tradition, Paul wrote 2 Corinthians from Philippi.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul had instructed the believers in Corinth to discipline an incestuous member, and to take a collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem. Titus gave Paul a report that was on the whole encouraging. The Corinthians had responded properly to 1 Corinthians. They had faithfully carried out the discipline necessary. But Titus also informed Paul about the presence of “false apostles” who accused Paul of walking according to the flesh, being deceitful, intimidating the church with his letters, unjustly mistreating someone to the point of ruining that person, and defrauding people. These false teachers probably pointed out that Paul had not returned as he promised, and used this as evidence for his duplicity. They even attempted to discredit Paul by charging that he was raising money to enrich himself. Inevitably these accusations raised doubts in the minds of the Corinthians about the integrity of the apostle Paul.

Paul wrote 2 Corinthians out of his concern for the Corinthian church. He wanted to offer the church some further instructions concerning the repentant offender as well as about the collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem. However, Paul’s main purpose for writing 2 Corinthians was to defend his ministry. Paul’s opponents in Corinth had severely attacked him. He wrote this letter to prove that his ministry was sincere and genuine, and to reassert his authority as an apostle of Christ.

Second Corinthians is primarily a personal letter, defending Paul’s ministry among the Corinthians and appealing to the factions in the church to reconcile themselves to each other. Yet Paul still uses doctrine to address this church’s problems. He speaks of the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith: the Trinity, as well as the deity, humanity, death and resurrection of Christ. Paul reaffirms that all believers have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and have been given the Spirit as a deposit. The believing Corinthians are in Christ and Christ is in them. They will be resurrected and evaluated at the judgment seat of Christ, where they will either be ashamed or rewarded. Paul points out that part of the reason for the Corinthians’ difficulties and divisions was Satan’s opposition to the church. He blinds unbelievers to truth and uses every opportunity to divide the believers. That is why Paul exhorts the Corinthians to lead holy lives, to repent of the sins of the past, and to be reconciled to each other. Thus in this personal letter defending his ministry and authority, Paul still weaves doctrine into the fabric of his discussion. For Paul, the essence of Christian faith touched on every facet of life, not only divisions and controversies like those that disturbed the Corinthian church.

Because Paul indicates that he experienced the comfort of the risen Christ in the midst of his hardships, he reveals Jesus as the source of the believer’s comfort: “For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ”. Given Paul’s personal tragedies, Jesus the Comforter is a major emphasis in this letter. But, look further and you will find much more. Jesus is celebrated as our triumph, our light, our reconciliation, our substitute, our gift, and our strength. NKJ Bible.

The Gospel of Luke

The Bible is the story of real people who did their very best, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to live lives that recorded and honored our Lord and Savior,     Jesus. 

The Gospel of Luke is unique in several ways. It is the only Gospel that has a sequel, Acts. Both Luke and Acts include an account of the Ascension, an event that only Luke describes in detail. Second, Luke is the longest of the four Gospels. Third, Luke records a wide variety of miracles, teaching, and parables, making it the fullest portrait of Jesus’ ministry. Much of the material in chapters 9–19 appears only in Luke; in all, about one-third of the Gospel of Luke is unique. Fourth, Luke is the only Gospel addressed to an individual. Luke writes for Theophilus, who was probably a Gentile believer.

For Luke, Jesus is the promised Messiah (1:31–35), the Son of God (9:35), the Servant through whom God works (4:16–18), and the Lord who is called to sit at God’s right hand exerting His authority and giving the Spirit to those who believe (compare 22:69 with Acts 2:30–36). Though aspects of God’s plan are fulfilled in Jesus’ First Coming, other parts of the plan remain to be fulfilled when Jesus returns (21:5–36; Acts 3:14–26).

Luke wrote his Gospel to reassure Theophilus, a Gentile and a new believer, that God was still at work in the Christian community founded by Jesus. Luke presents God’s grace as revealed in Jesus’ ministry on earth. He emphasizes that this grace is available to Gentiles, even though the promises relating to Jesus’ ministry stretch back into Israel’s history (1:1–4). For this reason Luke also concentrates on Jesus’ relationship to the nation and leaders of Israel. The rejection of Israel does not mean the failure of God’s plan. On the contrary, although they did not know it, their rejection was part of God’s plan from the beginning (Acts 2:22–39). In fact, persecution of the Christian community would be the means by which the church would spread the Good News throughout the world. Jesus Himself had predicted that this would happen (24:45–48).

John 12:44-50

There is no one but JESUS CHRIST who willingly offers His life in place of yours. He died so that you could live with our TRIUNE GOD, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, forever.

J.U.S.T. Believe.

Belief in Jesus is belief in God the Father. Jesus equates Himself with God the Father; they are one. Jesus desires to save. Receiving that salvation involves believing in Him. God the Father is already the judge; Jesus does not need to be. Faithlife Bible.

Jesus insisted that anyone who believed in Him was at the same time exercising belief in God the Father. Jesus explained that He was the personal manifestation of God. Christ will judge, but at His first coming He did not come to judge but to save. NKJ Bible.

John 12:44–50 (NKJV)

⁴⁴ Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. ⁴⁵ And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. ⁴⁶ I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. ⁴⁷ And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. ⁴⁸ He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. ⁴⁹ For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”

Deuteronomy 18:18 (NKJV)

¹⁸ I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.

Mark 9:37 (NKJV)

³⁷ “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”

Luke 10:16 (NKJV)

¹⁶ He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”

Luke 8:49-56

Nothing is impossible with my God…nothing! 

Our faith in the things that cannot be seen by our physical eyes but are discerned spiritually pleases God. Pray without ceasing. In the measure that you believe HIM you can receive from the very hand of your Father.

Your faith has saved you. The reason behind this instruction is not clear. Earlier in the chapter, after Jesus drove out the legion of demons, He gave the opposite advice, encouraging the man to tell everyone what God had done. The different approaches might be due to the nature of the miracle (casting out demons as opposed to raising the dead), or it might be due to the location and audience (a non-Jewish region east of the Sea of Galilee versus the mostly Jewish area around Capernaum). Faithlife Bible.

This miracle highlights not only the authority of Jesus, but also the response of faith that God honors.  Sleeping, a common metaphor for death, indicates in this passage that the girl’s death was not permanent. NKJ Bible.

Luke 8:49–56 (NKJV)

⁴⁹ While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.”

⁵⁰ But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.” ⁵¹ When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl. ⁵² Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, “Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.” ⁵³ And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.

⁵⁴ But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Little girl, arise.” ⁵⁵ Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. ⁵⁶ And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

Mark 11:22 (NKJV)

²² So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.

Acts 8:26-37

If we closely listen to the small voice of the Holy Spirit within believers He will guide us in the way to Christ. God wants that all of creation recognize Him as their Father and to accept the sacrifice that He provides in the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus.

All glory and honor to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This desert road was a major trade highway connecting Israel and the key Mediterranean ports of the area (including Caesarea, Joppa, and Gaza). Travel without protection was risky in first-century Palestine, even on major trade highways. The Ethiopian Eunch was an official employed by the queen of a kingdom in Africa south of Egypt. It suggests that the eunuch is a convert to Judaism. His humbleness and willingness to seek answers creates an opportunity for Philip to guide him into the knowledge of Jesus’ identity as the promised Messiah.   

Philip used the fourth Suffering Servant song to explain the gospel of Jesus’ sacrificial death, victorious resurrection, and the significance of Jesus’ actions for all people. In answer to the eunuch’s question, Philip would have explained that the prophet is speaking about an individual suffering servant, who takes on the sin of all of humanity. He would have then connected the suffering servant prophecy (Isaiah 52:13–53:12) to Jesus. After Philip’s message, the necessary element (water) is presented for the eunuch to demonstrate his allegiance to Christ. Faithlife Bible.

Technically a eunuch is a man who has been emasculated. However, by the first century the term had become a government title used for important military or political officials. The ancient kingdom of Ethiopia was ruled by a queen mother or Candace, who ruled on behalf of her son the king. Because the king was considered the child of the sun, he was too holy to become involved in secular affairs. Therefore, his mother took over the responsibility. The eunuch in this passage was the minister of finance, a prominent position in the Ethiopian regime. He was responsible for distributing the funds of the treasury based on the desires of the queen mother.  

Many Gentiles in the first century had grown weary of the multiple gods and loose morals of their nations. They were searching in Judaism for the truth. If they accepted Judaism as their faith, they would obey all the rules and regulations of the Law of Moses. This would include being circumcised and baptized. This type of convert was called a proselyte. Gentiles who did not become proselytes but did attend the Jewish synagogues to listen to the Scriptures were called God-fearers. We cannot be sure which the Ethiopian eunuch was.

Most likely the eunuch was part of a caravan journeying in the same direction, moving slowly down the road. As was the practice of the day, the man was reading aloud. Philip, prompted by the Spirit, spoke to the man about the prophecy of Isaiah, explaining the prophetic words about Christ. NKJ Bible.

Acts 8:26–37 (NKJV)

²⁶ Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. ²⁷ So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸ was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. ²⁹ Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”

³⁰ So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

³¹ And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. ³² The place in the Scripture which he read was this:

“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;

And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,

So He opened not His mouth.

³³ In His humiliation His justice was taken away,

And who will declare His generation?

For His life is taken from the earth.”

³⁴ So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” ³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. ³⁶ Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”

³⁷ Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”

And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

Mark 16:16 (NKJV)

¹⁶ He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

Matthew 24:29-31

The last three months the Holy Spirit has led me back to these passages. This generation will by no means pass away until He reigns!

Although no one knows the exact day we must always be prepared to meet our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jesus draws on various old testament traditions surrounding the Son of Man and the Day of the Lord to describe what it will be like at His Parousia. Faithlife Bible.

The Greek word parousia (παρουσία, parousia) means “presence” or “arrival.” It is used as a technical term to refer to the return of Christ in glory at the end of this world. 

In the earliest Christian literature, Christian expectation of the parousia of Jesus is explicitly portrayed as deriving from the teachings of Jesus Himself. While Jesus certainly understood His ministry as inaugurating the coming of the kingdom of God, He is also portrayed as having believed that the kingdom would not be brought to complete fulfillment until sometime in the future. This understanding of the kingdom of God as having been begun, but not yet fully established, is a well-known feature of New Testament eschatological teaching.

The New Testament writers consistently maintain the certainty of Christ’s return and that it might occur at any moment, but also that it is not given to humanity to know the exact time or circumstances of this event. As a result, the expectation of a future return of Christ retained a central conceptual role throughout the development of early Christian Christology, and so remained available to Christian teachers as an incentive to right behavior during the entire New Testament period and beyond.

These verse move chronologically to the close of the tribulation, a period that will be marked by monumental cosmic disturbances. The context here is the national repentance of Israel predicted in Zechariah 12:10. The gathering of the elect (God’s people, both Jews and Gentiles) will gloriously begin Christ’s reign. NKJ Bible.

Matthew 24:29–31 (NKJV)

²⁹ “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹ And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Isaiah 13:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰ For the stars of heaven and their constellations

Will not give their light;

The sun will be darkened in its going forth,

And the moon will not cause its light to shine.

Ezekiel 32:7 (NKJV)

⁷ When I put out your light,

I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark;

I will cover the sun with a cloud,

And the moon shall not give her light.

Daniel 7:13 (NKJV)

¹³ “I was watching in the night visions,

And behold, One like the Son of Man,

Coming with the clouds of heaven!

He came to the Ancient of Days,

And they brought Him near before Him.

2 Kings 11:11-14

The will of God, rest assured will be carried out, with or without human intervention.

To God be all glory!

Athaliah, the daughter of King Ahab of Israel, married Jehoram, king of Judah (who reigned ca. 848–41). She bore Ahaziah (king of Judah, who reigned ca. 841–40 bc). After Jehu kills King Ahaziah, Athaliah takes his place and becomes queen of Judah. Faithlife Bible.

Athaliah’s destruction of all of the royal heirs must have concentrated on her own grandchildren.

Josephus says that Jehosheba was Ahaziah’s half sister (Antiquities 9.7.1). As the wife of the high priest Jehoiada, her marriage and her relation to the royal house made it possible for her to rescue and hide the young Joash. Joash was the son of Ahaziah. He apparently was an infant at this time. Athaliah might not have known of his existence and for this reason failed to kill him in her purges. Yet Joash was to inherit the promises of the Davidic covenant. His righteous reign may be attributed in part to his early years spent in the house of the Lord and to the godly instruction and protection of his aunt Jehosheba and his uncle, the high priest Jehoiada. 

Meanwhile, the unthinkable was happening: The daughter of Jezebel was now the queen of Judah. A worshiper of Baal was in power in the nation of God’s promise. She built in Jerusalem a temple to Baal.

The temple was the appropriate place to crown the king of God’s appointment. It was also probably a good place to hide from a queen whose god was Baal. What a shock this must have been to Athaliah. There stood a little boy that guaranteed the end of her reign. Her words Treason! Treason! were technically correct. But it was she who had committed treason by murdering all the survivors of the Davidic house—except for the one who was now king. NKJ Bible.

2 Kings 11:11–14 (NKJV)

¹¹ Then the escorts stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, all around the king, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, by the altar and the house. ¹² And he brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, and gave him the Testimony; they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!”

¹³ Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the escorts and the people, she came to the people in the temple of the Lord. ¹⁴ When she looked, there was the king standing by a pillar according to custom; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. So Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, “Treason! Treason!”

2 Kings 8:26 (NKJV)

²⁶ Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri, king of Israel.

Jeremiah 4:1-4

If we turn from evil, ask for forgiveness and seek God we will be healed!

What does God require of us?

To be fair.

To forgive easily.

And to be humble. Micah 6:8

What does God hate?

Pride and arrogance.

Circumcision was the sign of Israel’s covenant devotion to Yahweh, the outward symbol that identified them as a people set apart. Physical circumcision was intended to be an external sign of a changed heart. The concept of circumcision of the heart highlights both the intent of the external circumcision and Israel’s failure to actually give Yahweh the devotion represented by the act. Repentance involves a clean break with idolatry. Faithlife Bible.

The results of Israel’s justice and righteousness would have international consequences. Other nations would be blessed through his descendants. Israel needed a new field in which to sow its seed of faithfulness, a radical departure from its ways of sin and idolatry. Jeremiah’s stern warning of judgment is given with the picture of an unquenchable fire. If the people did not repent of evil, destruction would come. NKJ Bible.

Jeremiah 4:1–4 (NKJV)

4 “If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord,

“Return to Me;

And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight,

Then you shall not be moved.

² And you shall swear, ‘The Lord lives,’

In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness;

The nations shall bless themselves in Him,

And in Him they shall glory.”

³ For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

“Break up your fallow ground,

And do not sow among thorns.

⁴ Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,

And take away the foreskins of your hearts,

You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

Lest My fury come forth like fire,

And burn so that no one can quench it,

Because of the evil of your doings.”

Hosea 10:12 (NKJV)

¹² Sow for yourselves righteousness;

Reap in mercy;

Break up your fallow ground,

For it is time to seek the Lord,

Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.

Zechariah 8:8 (NKJV)

⁸I will bring them back,

And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.

They shall be My people

And I will be their God,

In truth and righteousness.’