Scripture Reading : Jeremiah 40
Theme : Jeremiah Remains in Judah
Jeremiah Stays in Judah (1-8)
Somehow during the confusion of processing the exiles, Jeremiah was brought to Ramah with the rest of the captives to be processed before being exiled to Babylon. He was freed after he was recognized by Nebuzaradan. Because of Jeremiah’s love for his people he decided to stay in Judah and to wait for God’s blessings on Judah.
Gedeliah Reigns in Judah (9-16).
Gedeliah was appointed to be the governor over those who remained in Judah. He is the son of Ahikam, who protected Jeremiah (26:24). He was a trustworthy man and capable but did not understand the depth of man’s depravity. His naivety caused him his life in the end because he did not believe that Ishmael, who is from the line of David through Elishama (41:1; 2 Sam 5:16), would kill him. He was right not to listen to Johanan’s plot to kill Ishmael, but he should have taken precautious measures to protect himself from Ishmael.
Praying the Scripture
- This chapter proves Jeremiah’s love for his people. All the accusations about Jeremiah’s hatred toward his people were wrong. Jeremiah is a true prophet and servant of God who loves his people to the end. Pray that you will have a heart like Jeremiah, a true servant of God, who does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked (Eze. 18:23), yet at the same time agrees with God’s righteous judgment. Pray that you will love others like Jeremiah, with righteousness (1 Cor. 13:6). The Christian life is about love and righteousness.
- It is in horrific times that one can see the extremity of evil and the extremity of faith. Jeremiah’s incredible, divine-inspired, selfless love caused him to stay in Judah for the benefit of his people, while Ishmael’s lust caused him to kill his own people for his own selfish ambitions. Ishmael is of the devil, while Jeremiah is of God. There is no middle ground. Evil will go from bad to worse (2 Tim 3:13), while righteousness goes from good to great (Prov 4:18). Pray that you will choose God every single day and seek glory and honor.
经文：耶利米书40
主题：耶利米留在犹大
耶利米呆在犹大（1-8）。
不知何故，在甄別將被放逐之人的过程中，耶利米又被混与其余的百姓中，一同被带到拉玛，预备被解去巴比倫。然而，在被尼布撒拉旦认出以后，耶利米立即被释放。耶利米因出于对同胞的爱决定留在犹大，等候神施恩。
基大利统治犹大（9-16）。基大利被立作留在犹大之人的省长。他是曾保护耶利米的亚希甘之子（26:24）。基大利是一位可靠又有能力之人，却不明白人性败坏之深。由于他无知，不相信属大卫王的宗室以利沙玛家族的以实玛利竟然会杀他，因此丧失了自己的性命（41:1；撒下5:16）。基大利拒绝听从约哈难的建议杀害以实玛利是正确的，但他应该提防以实玛利，保存自己的安危。
用经文祷告
- 这一章显明了耶利米对其百姓的爱；所有关于耶利米对百姓的憎恨之指控尽是错误的。耶利米是一位真先知，是关爱百姓、对神忠贞不渝的仆人。祷告你会拥有一颗像耶利米一样的心，是神真正的仆人，并不为恶人之死而喜悦（结18:23），但同时顺服神公义的审判。祷告你会像耶利米一样以公义（林前13:6）关爱他人。基督徒的生命是应当充满爱与公义的。
- 在一个混乱的世代里，人能目睹极其邪恶与坚贞信神的鲜明对比。耶利米无与伦比，由神而来的无私大爱驱使他为了其百姓的好处留在犹大，而以实玛利却因自己的私欲杀害同胞。以实玛利是属魔鬼的，而耶利米是属神的——两者之间没有灰色地带。恶人“必越久越恶”（提后3:13），而义人的路“好像黎明的光，越照约明”（箴言4:18）。祷告你立志每一天都寻求荣耀神，给予祂尊荣。
