October 27, Day 300 – Precipitated by National Failure

Psalm 119:105-112; Jeremiah 52;

Titus 1

"Hidden Pond" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Colored Pencil on Paper

Today in Psalm 119:105-112, we see the Psalmist’s literal commitment to follow the Word of God, first as a “lamp to his feet,” and second, as “a light for his path” (verse 105).  The Psalmist went so far as to “take an oath and to confirm it – that he would follow the Lord’s righteous laws” (verse 106).  He says that he has “suffered much – often taking his life in his hands – because the wicked have set a snare for him” (verses 107-110).  Even so, he “has not strayed from God’s precepts” (verse 110).  We are not told how his enemies have harmed him, but he “has vowed to the Lord to keep His decrees to the very end” (verse 112). Furthermore, the Psalmist indicates that God’s Word is the “joy of his heart” (verse 111).  I am totally convinced that the only way we can prevent making a complete mess of our lives is to trust the truth of Scripture deliberately, take it at face value, and commit ourselves to live by it moment by moment – just like the writer of this Psalm.  Truly, God’s Word is a light on our dark path, and without that light, we will always stumble and fail utterly.  We need to make His Word “the joy of our hearts” and keep pursuing it “to the very end” (verses 111-112).  Praise God that He is with us and has provided a guiding light for us along our dark path!

Today we also close out the book of Jeremiah in chapter 52 - which presents the fall of Jerusalem – one of the saddest events of the Old Testament.  After reading most of the Old Testament up to Jeremiah 52, we realize that life didn’t have to end like this for Israel and Judah.  How many times have we read about the grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness that God offered to His people – only to see them reject God’s plan for their inheritance – over and over?  Here, we note that King Zedekiah was only “twenty-one years old, and he did evil in the eyes of the LORD” (verses 1-2).  Jeremiah says that “it was because of the LORD’s anger that all this happened, and in the end, He thrust them from His presence” (verse 3).  In other words, God kicked them out.  He had enough of them.  We observe that the king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons and then put out his eyes” (verses 10-11). How awful that Zedekiah’s last visual memory was to see his sons executed.  We read, with sorrow, “So Judah went into captivity, away from her land” (verse 27). Jerusalem’s fall was precipitated by a national failure to obey God, and it emphasizes the need for us to trust God and live daily for Him.

Also today, we open the book of Titus, and in chapter 1, we see that Paul writes this letter to Titus, a young man serving the Lord on the island of Crete.  Paul encourages him “to straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town” (verse 5).  Paul entrusted to Titus the continuing work of the church there.  That ongoing work required leadership, so Paul tasks Titus with the appointment of elders, and he lays out the qualifications for that office.  Paul warns Titus that some of his church members will be “rebellious” (verse 10), and he agrees with the “Cretan prophets that many of them are liars, evil brutes, and lazy gluttons” (verses 12-13).  Thus, Titus will have his work cut out for him. Here, we learn that even the local church within the world is not entirely “pure” (verse 15). Human nature is corrupt wherever it is found, and we must reckon on this truth.