Grace to You :: esp Unleashing God's Truth, One Verse at a Time

MacArthur Daily Bible

Reading for Today:

-Jeremiah 17:1–18:23
-Psalm 118:25-29
-Proverbs 27:11-12
-1 Thessalonians 3:1-13

Notes:

Jeremiah 17:1 The sin of Judah. Reasons for the judgment continue here: 1) idolatry (vv. 1–4), 2)
relying on the flesh (v. 5), and 3) dishonesty in amassing wealth (v. 11). pen of iron. The names of
idols were engraved on the horns of their altars with such a tool. The idea is that Judah’s sin was
permanent, etched in them as if into stone. How much different to have God’s word written on the
heart.

Jeremiah 18:2–6 potter’s house. God sent Jeremiah to a potter, who gave him an illustration by
shaping a vessel. The prophet secured a vessel and used it for his own illustration (19:1ff.). Jeremiah
watched the potter at his wheel. The soft clay became misshapen, but the potter shaped it back into
a good vessel. God will so do with Judah if she repents.

Jeremiah 18:12 That is hopeless! Jeremiah brought the inhabitants of Jerusalem to the point where
they actually stated their condition honestly. The prophet’s threats were useless because they were
so far gone—abandoned to their sins and the penalty. All hypocrisy was abandoned in favor of
honesty, without repentance. Repentance was not in Israel (v. 18; 19:15). This explains a seeming
paradox, that Israel can repent and avert judgment, yet Jeremiah is not to pray for Israel (7:16;
11:14). It would do no good to pray for their change since they steeled themselves against any
change.

1 Thessalonians 3:2 establish…encourage…your faith. This was a common ministry concern and
practice of Paul (Acts 14:22; 15:32; 18:23). Paul’s concern did not focus on health, wealth, self-
esteem, or ease of life, but rather the spiritual quality of life. Their faith was of supreme importance in
Paul’s mind as evidenced by 5 mentions in vv. 1–10. Faith includes the foundation of the body of
doctrine (Jude 3) and their believing response to God in living out that truth (Heb. 11:6).

1 Thessalonians 3:5 the tempter. Satan had already been characterized as a hinderer (2:18) and
now as a tempter in the sense of trying/testing for the purpose of causing failure (Matt. 4:3; 1 Cor.
7:5; James 1:12–18). Paul was not ignorant of Satan’s schemes (2 Cor. 2:11; 11:23) nor vulnerable
to his methods (Eph. 6:11), so Paul took action to counterattack Satan’s expected maneuver and to
assure that all his efforts were not useless.
DAY 16: What was Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians?

“Now may our God…direct our way to you” (1 Thess. 3:11). Paul knew that Satan had hindered his
return (2:18).Even though Timothy had visited and returned with a good report, Paul still felt the
urgency to see his spiritual children again. Paul followed the biblical admonition of the Psalms (Ps.
37:1–5) and Proverbs (Prov. 3:5, 6) to entrust difficult situations to God.

“May the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another” (v. 12). With over 30 positive
and negative “one anothers” in the New Testament, love appears by far most frequently (4:9; Rom.
12:10; 13:8; 2 Thess. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:22; 1 John 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11; 2 John 5). It is the overarching term
that includes all of the other “one anothers.” Its focus is on believers in the church. “And to all.” In
light of the fact that God loved the world and sent His Son to die for human sin, believers who were
loved when they were unlovely (Rom. 5:8) are to love unbelievers (Matt. 5:43,44). Other New
Testament commands concerning all men include pursuing peace (Rom. 12:18), doing good (Gal.
6:10), being patient (Phil. 4:5), praying (1 Tim. 2:1), showing consideration (Titus 3:2), and honoring
(1 Pet. 2:17).

“So that He may establish your hears blameless in holiness before our God.” Paul prayed that there
would be no grounds of accusation because of unholiness. “At the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
with all His saints.” Since this exact term is not used elsewhere in the New Testament of angels but
is commonly used for believers, it is best to understand the coming of the Lord to rapture all His
church and take them to heaven to enjoy His presence.

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