Theme: IT SHALL BE WELL WITH THE RIGHTEOUS
Text:
“So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive. Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun..”. – Ecclesiastes 4:1-4.
Comment:
In the last days in which we are now living, “perilous times shall come” says Apostle Paul of Bible fame. The troubles that people have to deal with have multiplied in variety and scope. Some are persecuted because of their faith; some families lose loved ones every now and again; some others lose their positions and/or privileges in work places, at school, etc.
The devil creates these problems to overthrow the faith of believers by making them to feel hopeless and be impelled to seek help from the “synagogue of Satan”. The devil imposes wicked men as rulers at various levels of society who use the powers given them to act forcefully to oppress people by denying them of their rights. “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” – Proverbs 29:2.
Knowing that the Almighty Father has the power to turn things round the corner in due time we should continue in righteous deeds such that the experiences of the past become a mere story that is told. The Prophet Hosea exhorts: “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.” – Hosea 10:12.
Theme: COMMENTARY ON HEBREWS 11:32 - 40
Text:“For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.” – Jeremiah 32:3.
Comment: Because the king and people of Judah had given themselves to the worship of the devil, God Almighty used Jeremiah the prophet to warn them, telling them that if they would not repent, He would make Jerusalem and the temple they took pride in to suffer the fate of Shiloh, where the name of God was in earlier times before it was destroyed and abandoned. (Joshua 18:1; 19:51; 1Kings 14:2.) For warning the people against sin the leaders determined that Jeremiah must die. (Jeremiah 26:1-10) However, some of the elders, together with Ahikam, an officer of the king, intervened to prevent them from their wicked plot.
Again, when the Chaldeans besieged Jerusalem, Jeremiah was instructed by God to tell them to submit to their rule to avoid death and destruction. This was seen as treason for which the leaders of the people convinced King Zedekiah to cast Jeremiah into.a well. But God also delivered him. When we stand up for the truth, even in the face of danger, God will give us victory in the end. St. Paul in his writings recalled God delivered them “from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us” (2 Corinthians 1:10).. He added that God Almighty shall deliver him “from every evil work, and will preserve him unto his heavenly kingdom. – 2 Timothy 4:18