Reading for October 2nd

 Read Colossians 1.15-23. in 1.15-23: A hymn to the universal Christ and comment on his redeeming work. Christ the cosmic agent of creation, has reconciled creation's warring elements (vv. 15-20), and the reconciled must remain faithful to their early teachings to ensure maturity (vv. 21-23). In verses 15-20: The hymn's origin is unknown, but if not Christian, it may bee an adaption from a Greek mystery religion, a Jewish text about the Son of Man and the end times, or Hellenistic Jewish wisdom text like Prov 8.22-31 or Sir 24.1-22. It easily divides into two: Christ as the agent of creation (vv. 15-18a) and Christ as the agent of redemption (vv. 18b-20). In verse 16: Christ's role in creation is like the role of Wisdom (see Prov 8.22-26; Sir 24.9). In verse 18: Head of the body, see 2.19; Eph 1.22-23. In verse 20: Reconcile, restore to friendship from enmity. See 1.22; Rom 5.10; 1 Cor  7.11; 2 Cor 5.18-21; Eph 2.16. In verses 21-23: A direct exhortation to the recipients: God has reconciled them and they will be blameless before God if they are steadfast. In verse 21: Estranged, alienated or unfamiliar with something. See Eph 2.12; 4.18. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 1st

 Read Colossians 1.3-14. In 1.3-14: prayers and God's redemption. Two  prayers (vv.3-8, 9-12) reveal the basis of the community's growth in faith: God rescued the believers from the power of darkness and moved them into the kingdom of his beloved son (v. 13). In verses 3-8; Themes of growth and learning (1.28; 2.6; 3.10;4.12) emphasize the fruitfulness of the gospel (v. 5) in increasing the knowledge of God's will (vv. 9-10) and building the body of Christ (2.19). Epaphras (v. 7) taught hope linked to Christ, unlike the "heresy" which downplays Christ (see 2.18-19). In verse 5: Hope, no longer the firm expectation of God's promise but an object already available, laid up or stored up, though it awaits revelation. In verse 6: Bearing fruit and growing describes the gospel of God's grace. In verse 7: Epaphras, 4.12; Philem 23. In verses 9-12: A shift from past reception of the gospel to a fuller comprehension of God's will. In verse 9; Knowledge ... spiritual wisdom and understanding. All three have practical implications. Wisdom (a favorite term; see 2.3, 23; 4.5) and understanding or insight are linked in the Hebrew Scriptures or their Greek translation (see Deut 1.13, 15; 1 Kings 16.18; Isa 3.3) In verse 10: Lead, or conduct, see 2.6; 37-17; 4.5. In verse 12: Inheritance, share or allotment. In verses 13-14: This basic statement of belief recites what God has done. Comments or Questions.. 

Reading for September 30th

 Read Colossians 1.1-2. In 1.1-2: The epistolary opening. See 2 Cor 1.1; Gal 1.1. In verse 1: Saints, holy ones, believers (2 Cor 1.1; Rom 1.7; Phil 1.1; Eph 1.1). Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 29th

 Read Jeremiah 52.17-34. In verses 17-23: The capture of the sacred Temple vessels by the Babylonians underscores the end of worship life in the land. In verses 28-30: The numbers of exiles are provided, but their historical accuracy is in doubt. In verses 31-34: King Jehoiachin, also imprisoned in Babylon, survives and is restored to the table, though not yet released. The scene of the king's survival may offer a glimmer of hope to the exiles for whom the king's survival with dignity may show the way into the future. This book has been about the survival in the face of overwhelming catastrophe. If Jeremiah's words of judgment were fulfilled, then his words of hope will triumph as well. Comments or Questions

Reading for September 28th

THE END

Ch. 52: The prose conclusion to the book reports the end of national life in Judah, but neither God nor Jeremiah appear in it. The purpose of this bleak report may be to describe the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophetic word. The setting is the Exile, when Babylonian defeat is far from sight. The chapter is nearly identical to the account of Judah's fall that concludes the book of Kings (2 Kings 24.18-25.30). The narrative divides into six short scenes.

Read Jeremiah 51.1-16. In verses 1-3: King Jehoiakim and Zedekiah angered God, and Judah and Jerusalem were expelled from his presence. In verses 4-11: Zedekiah's failed escape and the tragedy of his capture and imprisonment and death suggest the possible fate awaiting Judah. In verses 12-16: The people are deported and divided with the poor remaining in the land. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 27th

 Read Jeremiah 51.59-64. In a symbolic act written in prose, Baruach's brother Seraiah, goes to Babylon under Jeremiah's directions.There Seraiah is to read the scroll containing prophecies against Babylon aloud, attach a stone to the scroll and sink it in the Euphrates River. Like the sinking scroll, so will Babylon sink from it high position. This symbolic act embodies the divine will. It needs only to come to fulfillment. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 26th

 Read Jeremiah 51.45-58. Again God calls the exiles to depart and save themselves. In verse 46: They must overcome their fears, which are being caused by rumors among them. In the future God will destroy Babylon. In verses 47-48: The cosmos will participate in the celebration. In verse 50: It is urgent that the exiles should not linger but remember that God is in Jerusalem. In verses 50-58: An imaginative portrayal of the attack ends the poetry of the book. There is a cry, smashing, crashing, for the destroyer has come against Babylon. Her leaders will be drunk, asleep, never to wake. Comments or Questions..