Thurs 100107 pm Jer 33-37 & Matt 3

Jeremiah 33
33.7   I will restore...
33.8  I will cleanse them from all their guilt against Me...  Guilt is not just an emotion, but also a standing before God.  God can cleanse of both.  And is was against Him not just a general sense of angst.

Jeremiah 34
34.13  I myself made a covenant...  Don't mess with Texas and don't trifle with God.
34.14  you must set free...  Giving freedom is a greater show of wealth and power that keeping one captive.  Being  a protector and provider takes more strength and honor than being a preditor, a taker.

Jeremiah 35
35.6  Jonadab, the son of Rechab, out father, commanded us...  This is always an inspiration and challenge for me.  First, to have counsel worth keeping for generations--to have that kind of insight.  Second, having children who think enough of me to follow it.  Jonadab was a rich man in the ways that really matter.
35.15  incline your ear...  The idea of having, developing a disposition or inclination to listen to and obey God is a key strategy.
35.19  shall never lack a man to stand before Me...  
Someone from their family would "stand before" Yahweh forever because they had obeyed their father, Jonadab. "Stand before" usually describes someone who served Yahweh in some special way (cf. 7:10; 15:19; Deut. 4:10; 10:8; 1 Kings 10:8; 17:1; 18:15; 2 Kings 3:14; 2 Chron. 29:11).
However it also describes simple worshippers of Yahweh (7:10; Lev. 9:5; Deut. 4:10). The promise probably pointed to a continuing line rather than to a specific ministry. --Dyer, Charles H. "Jeremiah." In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, p. 1180.
"According to the Mishnah 'the children of Jonadab son of Rechab' had a fixed day in the year for bringing wood for the altar of the temple. Other traditions refer to 'waterdrinking' sacrificers whose descent is traced to Jonadab."--Thompson, John Arthur. The Book of Jeremiah. International Commentary on the Old Testament series. , p. 619. The references in the Mishnah and Talmud are in his footnotes.
"Even today, in Syria and Arabia, there are groups that claim to be Rechabites and that follow the Rechabite rule."  --Graybill, John F. "Jeremiah." In The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 681.
2009 Edition Dr. Constable's Notes on Jeremiah
  
Jeremiah 36
36.7  it may be that ... everyone will turn from their evil way...  the focus and objective of God's dealings with His people.

Jeremiah 37
37.17  King Zedekiah sent for him... "Is there any Word from the Lord?"  Even though he was in a dungeon because of what God had told him to say,  he was still the "go to guy" when they wanted to know what God said.

Matthew 3
3.6  confessing their sins...  It is interesting to see sins and not "sin" in a general sense.
3.8  bear fruit...  Repentance and faith are not abstract invisible concepts unrelated to "shoe leather".

Mon 100104 am Matt 1

Matthew 1
1.5 by Rahab...
1.5 by Ruth...
1.6 by the wife of Uriah...
1.6  David the king...  Since most of the men in this genealogy were kings, this is an interesting note.
1.11  Jechaniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon...
1.16  the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
I consider these brief mentions during a genealogy to be significant.  
1.18-24  I like the descriptions of Joseph in this passage.

Sun 100103 pm Jer 31-32

Jeremiah 31
31.3  everlasting love ... faithfulness  These two terms placed comparison provide good material for meditation.
31.15  Prophecy about Herod killing babies in Bethlehem.  It would be interesting to study up how that fits into the context of this passage.
31.19  struck my thigh...  Slapping one's thigh, an onomatopoeic expression in Hebrew, was a common expression of remorse, horror, and terror in ancient Near Eastern culture (cf. Ezek. 21:12). (See Pritchard, ed., p. 108; Keil, 2:26.)  --Dr. Thomas L. Constable's Expository Notes on Ezra
31.31-34  This section is on the New Covenant.  Also see Hebrews viii.8-12.
Jeremiah 32
32.9  so I bought the field...  Concrete demonstration of faith that God would do what he said.
32.17-25  This is a great prayer.  A review of God's attributes and actions followed by a question.  I suspect we would often be better off asking a question rather than making a request.
32.26  Is anything too hard for Me?  This is often the question of the day that we wrestle with and need the faith to answer correctly.
32.39  fear Me forever for their own good...