Jeremiah 46
LORD has a message to the Gentiles verse 1
The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet
against the Gentiles
LORD gives a message in fourth year of Jehoiakim verse 2
Against Egypt – against the army of Pharaoh-necho king of Egypt
which was by the river Euphrates in Carchmish
which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote
in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah
king of Judah
LORD sees soldiers running away verse 3- 6
Order you the buckler and shield – and draw near to battle
harness the horses – and get up – ye horsemen
and stand forth with your helmets
furbish the spears – put on the brigandines
WHEREFORE have I seen them dismayed and turned away back?
and their mighty ones are beaten down – and are fled apace
and look not back – for fear was round about
says the LORD
Let not the swift flee away – nor the might man escape
they shall stumble – and fall toward the north
by the river Euphrates
Day of the LORD verse 7- 10
Who is this that comes up as a flood
whose waters are moved as the rivers?
Egypt rises up like a flood – and his waters are moved like the rivers
and he says – I will go up – and will cover the earth
I will destroy the city and the inhabitant thereof
Come up – you horses – and rage – you chariots
and let the mighty men come forth
the Ethiopians and the Libyans – that handle the shield
and the Lydians – that handle and bend the bow
For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts – a day of vengeance
that HE may avenge HIM of HIS adversaries
and the sword shall devour
and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood
for the Lord GOD of hosts has a sacrifice
in the north country by the river Euphrates
LORD states there is no cure verse 11- 12
Go up into Gilead – and take balm – O virgin – the daughter of Egypt
in vain shall you use many medicines
for you shall not be cured
The nations have heard of your shame
and your cry has filled the land
for the might man has stumbled against the mighty
and they are fallen both together
LORD delivers a message regarding Nebuchadnezzar verse 13
The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet
how Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon
should come and smite the land of Egypt
Pharaoh missed his appointed time verse 14- 17
Declare you in Egypt
and publish in Migdol – Noph and in Tahpanhes
say you – Stand fast – and prepare you
for the sword shall devour round about you
Why are your valiant men swept away?
they stood not – BECAUSE the LORD did drive them
HE made many to fall – yea – one fell upon another
and they said
Arise – and let us go again to our own people
and to the land of our nativity
from the oppressing sword
They did cry there – Pharaoh king of Egypt
is but a noise he has passed the time appointed
Egyptians pack your bags for captivity verse 18- 20
As I live – says the KING
WHOSE name is the LORD of hosts
Surely as Tabor is among the mountains
and as Carmel by the sea
so shall he come
O you daughter dwelling in Egypt
furnish yourself to go into captivity
for Noph shall be waste and desolate
without an inhabitant
Egypt is like a very fair heifer
BUT destruction comes
it comes out of the north
Merchants pack your bags verse 21- 24
Also her hired men are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks
for they also are turned back – and are fled away together
they did not stand
BECAUSE the day of their calamity was come upon them
and the time of their visitation
The voice thereof shall go like a serpent
for they shall march with an army
and come against her with axes
as hewers of wood
They shall cut down her forest – says the LORD
though it cannot be searched
BECAUSE they are more than the grasshoppers
and are innumerable
The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded
she shall be delivered into
the hand of the people of the north
LORD punishing because of false gods verse 25- 26
The LORD of hosts – the God of Israel says
BEHOLD – I will punish the multitude of No – and Pharaoh
and Egypt with their gods – and their kings
even Pharaoh and all them that trust in him
And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives
into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon
into the hand of his servants
and afterward it shall be inhabited
as in the days of old – says the LORD
Promise given to Jacob by the LORD verse 27- 28
BUT fear not you – O MY servant Jacob
and be not dismayed – O Israel
for – BEHOLD
I will save you from afar off
and your seed from the land of their captivity
and Jacob shall return – and be in rest and ease
none shall make him afraid
Fear you not – O Jacob MY servant – says the LORD
for I am with you
for I will make a full end of all the nations
whither I have driven you
BUT I will correct you in measure
YET will I not leave you wholly unpunished
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 10 For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that HE may avenge HIM of HIS adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates. (5358 “avenge” [naqam] means to take revenge for a perceived wrong, take vengeance, to suffer vengeance, or the desire of vengeance)
DEVOTION: As believers we have the responsibility to allow the LORD to deal with those who mistreat us or in this case mistreat the children of Israel. Jeremiah is telling the people of Judah that the LORD is going to deal with Egypt. HE is going to handle the situation and they should trust HIM.
Too often we think that once someone has hurt us for not apparent reason that we have to do something about it. That is not the case in Israel and it is not the case for us today. We have to depend on the LORD to deal with those who mistreat us or falsely accuse us.
The people of Judah were trying to run away from those who were trying to take them into captivity. However, here we find that the LORD of hosts has a day of vengeance coming here in the Old Testament and HE has one coming at the end of our age.
Our responsibility is to trust the LORD to deal with those who mistreat us now. It is not to be out goal to get even with those who mistreat us. We are to leave it to the LORD and HIS timing to deal with those who are giving us a hard time.
The problem is that sometimes we, like the children of Israel, need chastening and the LORD sometimes uses those who are not saved to deal with us. However, HE is doing it for our good and growth. Even here HE is doing it to help Judah to understand that HE loves them and wants them to live lives that are pleasing to HIM.
CHALLENGE: We need to leave vengeance in the hands of the LORD and watch HIM take care of us. HE is the one who needs to be in control of what happens to those who mistreat us.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 11 Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, daughter of Egypt: in vain shall you use many medicines; for you shall not be cured. (7499 “medicines” [raphu’ah] means remedies or healing.)
DEVOTION: When we are sick we like healing from our sickness. No one likes to suffer for long periods of time without an end in sight. I visited someone in the hospital because of food poisoning. He had been there for four days already and they were starting him on solid food for a change. He thought it would never end. He thought that it was worse than any cramps a woman could have. He wanted relief.
The people of Judah wanted to have relief from their suffering. They had run to Egypt to find relief from the armies of Babylon. The LORD had instructed them to remain in Judah but they refused to listen to HIM.
HE stated that there would be no cure for their present condition. They had disobeyed HIS direct commands given by Jeremiah to them. They just told Jeremiah they were going to do as they pleased and didn’t care what he had to say about it.
There our Christians who develop this same attitude today. They are told that what they are doing or not doing is wrong but they repeat the same sin that the children of Judah did to Jeremiah. It is sad but true.
We don’t seem to learn from the sins of the Israelite. The LORD informs us that we are to learn from the example of the Old Testament saints and sinners. We can learn what God expects of HIS people from their lives. It would be good if we learned.
We have the same problem as those of Judah. We are hardhearted at times. We continually revert back to our old nature of being selfish and lazy. We don’t want to work at our relationship with the LORD. We sort of figure that HE can take us as we are and not want us to change. This is a wrong attitude and chastening is on the way to our house because of it.
CHALLENGE: Watch that you don’t develop an incurable disease. The LORD doesn’t change between Testaments.
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: 18 As I live, says the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come. (2516 “live” [chay] means alive, living one, absolute being, Yahweh is living, or exist.)
DEVOTION: Some people don’t believe that there is a true God. Some think that we are independent of any external deity. Some believe we just came into existence through evolution. We started from a single cell and then matured into what we are today.
The problem is that we don’t continue to mature. We seem to regress from in the eyes of most people in our society. If asked if the human race is getting better and better most will say that our knowledge has increased but our relationship with others has regressed to a point of not communicating with others very well.
We see more people looking at their phones more than communicating with those around them. People are independent of any external source except their phone. Facebook is alive with people who are not really talking with each other but using this source to do all their talking.
God wants to communicate with us through HIS Word the Bible. HE wants us to listen to HIM just like HE wanted the children of Israel to listen to HIM. HE sent HIS prophets, so that, the children of Israel could see someone human to tell them what was going to happen in the future. They didn’t want to listen to the prophets.
So the LORD communicated with the fact that HE is alive. HE does exist. HE gave them warning that they didn’t listen to but it still happened just like HE said it would. We are still not listening to HIS Word. We are not listening to Biblically accurate pastors and teachers but to many false teachers like the children of Israel.
CHALLENGE: Are we aware that we have a communication from an absolute being that exists and has communicated with us through the Bible? Are we listening to the living God of the Bible?
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 28 Fear you not, O Jacob my servant, says the LORD: for I am with you; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven you: but I will not make a full end of you, but correct you in measure; yet will I not leave you wholly unpunished. (3256 “correct” [yacar] means to chasten, discipline, instruct, admonish, or reformed.)
DEVOTION: This chapter deals with those nations that are affecting the children of Israel. The LORD predicts how HE is going to deal with those nations that HE used to chasten Israel.
The first nation HE deals with is Egypt. HE states that they are going to be defeated by the Babylonians. HE is going to war against their gods to show that they are powerless in front of the TRUE God of the universe. HE is the ONLY TRUE GOD.
Some of the people from Judah were trying to escape the Babylonians by going to Egypt. They thought they were safe. The LORD gave this message to them that they were not safe. Most of those who said they were going to obey the LORD didn’t. They ran instead of staying in Jerusalem. They were going to be judged. Jeremiah and Baruch and some others were going to be spared.
They were going to have their day of affliction. However, the LORD promised that HE would never leave HIS people. HE promised that they would return to the land of Israel in the future. HE promised them rest.
HE wanted them to not be afraid or dismayed. HE uses the words “Fear not” many times to HIS people throughout the Old Testament. Believers are always told to not fear others. HE also used the word “chasten” many times in the Old Testament as HE dealt with HIS people regarding their sin.
These same promises are repeated in the New Testament for those who are members of HIS church. All those who become followers of Christ have nothing to fear because the LORD is with us. Praise HIS name.
A warning is given at the end of this verse. HE will discipline HIS people so they will return to HIM. HE does the same to us. We need to listen to HIM daily!!!
Learn that the chastening of the LORD is good for us. It causes us to return to HIM. It would be better for us to examine ourselves so that HE doesn’t have to chasten us. The problem is that like the Israelites we are slow learners.
CHALLENGE: Realize that the LORD always gives us a measured chastening. There is always just enough chastening to move us to the right path again.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Word of the LORD verse 1
Word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah verse 13
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 5, 13, 15, 18, 23, 25- 28
GOD – Jehovah verse 10
Lord – Adonai (Master, Owner) verse 10
Lord GOD of hosts verse 10
Day of the LORD verse 10
Day of vengeance verse 10
HE may avenge HIM of HIS adversaries
the sword shall devour – it shall
satiate and make drunk with
their blood – by the river
Euphrates
LORD did drive the valiant men verse 15
HE made many fall
Living God verse 18
King – whose name is the LORD of Hosts verse 18
LORD of hosts verse 18, 25
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign, Plural name) verse 25
God of Israel verse 25
I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharoah
and Egypt with their gods and their kings
even Pharoah, and all them that trust
in him verse 25
I will deliver them into the hand of those that
seek their lives, and into the hand of
his servants: abd afterward it shall be
inhabited, as in the days of old verse 26
But fear not you, O my servant Jacob, and be
Not dismayed, O Israel, for, behold I
will save you from afar off, and your
seed from the land of their captivity
and Jacob shall return, and be in
rest and at ease, and none shall
make him afraid verse 27
I will make a full end of all nations whither I
have driven you but I will not make a full
end of you but correct you in measure
yet will I not leave you wholly unpuished verse 28
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Gentiles verse 1
Egypt verse 2, 8, 11- 14, 17, 19, 20, 24, 25
I will go up and will cover the earth
I will destroy the city and the inhabitants
Virgin daughters of Egypt – in vain shall
you use many medicines for you
shall not be cured
Mighty men have stumbled and fallen
Daughter dwelling in Egypt
furnish yourself to go into captivity
Destruction comes out of the north
Shall be confounded
She shall be delivered into the hand of the
people of the north
Pharaoh- necho verse 2, 17, 25
is but a noise – he has passed the time
appointed
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon verse 2, 13, 26
should come and smite
the land of Egypt
more in number than the grasshoppers
and are innumerable
Battle near river Euphrates verse 6
Ethiopians verse 9
Libyans – handle the shield verse 9
Lydians – handle and bend the bow verse 9
Nations verse 12, 28
Migdol verse 14
Noph verse 14, 19
shall be waste and desolate without
an inhabitant
Tahpanhes verse 14
Valiant men verse 15
Tabor is among the mountains verse 18
Carmel by the sea verse 18
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Fear verse 5
Trust in medicines verse 11
Confounded verse 24
False gods verse 25
False trust verse 25
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Prophet verse 1
No fear verse 27, 28
Not dismayed verse 27
Deliverance verse 27
Rest verse 27
Ease verse 27
Servant verse 28
Presence of the LORD verse 28
Correction verse 28
Not leave wholly unpunished verse 28
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Jeremiah the prophet verse 1, 13
River Euphrates verse 2
Jehoiakim son of Josiah verse 2
Josiah king of Judah verse 2
Gilead verse 11
Promise to Israel verse 25- 27
Israel verse 25, 27
God’s servant – Jacob verse 27, 28
Jacob – MY servant verse 28
Not leave htem wholly unpunished verse 28
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Day of Egypt’s calamity verse 21
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QUOTES regarding passage
46:18–19 With a solemn oath, “As surely as I live” (see note on 4:2 for significance of this oath), the true king spoke, not the “loud noise” Hophra. He announced that one would come (i.e., Nebuchadnezzar) who would tower over Egypt, even as Mount Tabor and Mount Carmel tower over the landscape.
Mount Tabor, modern Jebel et-Tôr, is an isolated limestone mountain that rises 1,843 feet above sea level six miles east of Nazareth at the east end of the Valley of Jezreel. Mount Carmel is a prominent limestone mountain range on the Mediterranean coast about thirty miles in length that reaches a height of 470 feet on the promontory with a maximum elevation of 1,742 feet near Esfia. Neither mountain is unusually tall but appears to be because of its distance from other mountains and its sharp rise from the surrounding plain. The Lord warned “you who live in Egypt” (lit. “inhabitants of the daughter of Egypt”; cf. 4:11; 8:11; 14:17) to pack for exile. Memphis would be laid waste and would “lie in ruins” (lit. “be burned”). (Huey, F. B. (1993). Jeremiah, Lamentations (Vol. 16, p. 382). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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Jeremiah answered his own question. The warriors could not stand because God had pushed them down. As the mercenary army stumbled over one another in their effort to flee from Egypt they decided to return home to their own people and their native lands. Only by leaving Egypt could they escape the sword of the oppressor. Pharaoh Hophra had made bold claims about his ability to defeat the Babylonians, but these defeated soldiers realized now that his mighty words were only a loud noise. He could not deliver on his promises. He had already missed his opportunity to defeat Babylon. (Dyer, C. H. (1985). Jeremiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1193). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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The Babylonian soldiers called Pharaoh Necho “a big noise.” We today would probably call him a “loudmouth” or “big mouth,” because he was nothing but talk and hot air. While Necho may have been only hot air, Nebuchadnezzar filled the horizon like a huge mountain when he appeared on the scene (v. 18). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Decisive (p. 166). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books)
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The setting is the Babylonian attack on the Egyptian home front (46:13–26). One such attack occurred in 601; another in 568–567. Mercenary soldiers when overpowered would consider escape to their home country. Pharaoh’s “lost opportunity” could be the chance to take advantage militarily of Nebuchadnezzar’s return to Babylon after Carchemish.
The “one who will come,” the destroyer, is an oblique reference to Nebuchadnezzar, who is a towering figure. Mount Tabor in north-central Palestine rises two thousand feet above the plain. The gadfly (v. 20) is Babylon. The mercenaries, who are her hope, will buckle under pressure. Those more numerous than the locusts (v. 23) are the Babylonians. (Martens, E. A. (1995). Jeremiah. In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3, p. 547). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.)
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18. as Tabor is] Omit is. He shall come like a Tabor among the mountains, and like a Carmel by the sea. Tabor rises in the form of a truncated cone to the height of about 1,350 feet above the plain of Esdraelon, its total height above the sea-level being 1,805 feet. Its shape and the wide extent of the plain around it make it a far more conspicuous object than other mountains in sight of equal elevation. Similarly Carmel is a most commanding mountain, because it rises from the edge of the wide expanse of the Mediterranean. (Barnes, A. (1879). Notes on the Old Testament: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Jeremiah, Lamentations & Ezekiel. (F. C. Cook & J. M. Fuller, Eds.) (p. 256). London: John Murray.)
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Ver. 18. As I live, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts, &c.] A greater King than either Nebuchadnezzar or Pharaoh; the Lord of the armies of heaven and earth; and who has them all at his command and service; swears by his life, by himself, because he can swear by no greater, to the truth of what follows; for this is the form of an oath: surely, as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come. Tabor is commonly said to be the mountain on which our Lord was transfigured; but that there is any just foundation for it is not certain. It was a mountain in Galilee, situated on the borders of the tribes of Issachar and Zebulun, Josh. 19:12, 22 it was two leagues from Nazareth eastward; three miles from the lake of Genezareth; ten miles from Diocæsarea to the east; and two days’ journey from Jerusalemo. Adrichomius says it was a most beautiful mountain, situated in the midst of the plain of Galilee, remarkable for its roundness, and was thirty furlongs high, abounding with vines, olives, and fruit-trees, with which it was set all over; and gave to those at sea a most delightful sight at a considerable distance. Our countryman, Mr. Maundrellq, who travelled up it, gives this account of it; that it “stands by itself in the plain of Esdraelon (the same the Scripture calls the valley of Jezreel); after a very laborious ascent (says he), which took up near an hour, we reached the highest part of the mountain: it has a plain area at top, most fertile and delicious; of an oval figure, extended about one furlong in breadth, and two in length: this area is enclosed with trees on all parts, except towards the south.” It is called by the Septuagint, Josephus, and other writers, Itabyrium. Carmel is with great propriety called Carmel by the sea; it was situated on the border of the tribe of Asber; and near to it was the river Kishon, Josh. 19:26; 1 Kings 18:40, 43. So Mr. Maundrell says, “we arrived in two hours at that ancient river, the river Kishon, which cuts his way down the middle of the plain of Esdraelon; and then, continuing his course close by the side of Mount Carmel, falls into the sea at a place called Caypha;” by which it appears that the mount was near the sea; and Plinys calls it a promontory, and places it on the Phœnician shore; on which he says were the promontory Carmel, and a town upon the mountain of the same name, formerly called Ecbatana. Adrichomius gives it the name of Carmel of the sea; and says it was a very high mountain, and woody, abounding with most noble vines, olives, fruit-trees, and odoriferous herbs. So Josephus makes mention of Carmel and the sea together; he says, the Zebulonites obtained land as far as the lake of Genezareth, contiguous to Carmel and the sea; and their being near to each other appears from a passage in the Jerusalem Talmudw; says “R. Samuel Bar Chaja Bar Judah, in the name of R. Chanina, when the orb of the sun begins to set, a man standing on Mount Carmel, and goes down and dips in the great sea (the Mediterranean sea), and goes up again, and eats his teruma (or offering), it is a presumption that he dipped in the day-time;” and which is also evident from the passage in 1 Kings 18:42, 43 where Elijah and his servant are said to be on the top of Mount Carmel, and from thence he bid his servant look towards the sea: now these mountains so situated are taken notice of, either to shew the manner of the king of Babylon’s coming against Egypt; that as Tabor and Carmel were high mountains in the land of Israel, so should Nebuchadnezzar lift up his head on high, and come with great pride and haughtiness of spirit against the Egyptians; or rather the certainty of his coming, that he should come as sure as those mountains were in the places they were; or, best of all, the certainty of the destruction of the Egyptians, and the truth of this prophecy concerning it; though the Egyptians were as firm, and might think themselves as secure and as immovable, as the above mountains, yet should certainly come to ruin, and the word of God concerning it should stand as firm as they. To this sense agrees the Targum, “as this word stands firm, that Tabor is among the mountains, and Carmel in the sea, so shall his destruction come.” The words, according to the accents, may be better rendered, as Tabor among the mountains, and Carmel also, he shall come into the sea; that is, Pharaoh, though he lift up his head as high as Tabor and Carmel, he shall be brought low into the depths of the sea; into a most forlorn and deplorable condition, into a very low estate; and perhaps there may be an allusion to the ancient Pharaoh being drowned in the sea; and with this agrees the Syriac version, Pharaoh shall fall as the fragment of a mountain, and as Carmel, into the midst of the sea; compare with this Matt. 11:23. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 5, pp. 650–651). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Ninety-four clinic workers have sought help leaving the abortion industry after seeing the movie Unplanned, according to CBN News.
“One percent of the abortion workers in the United States, after getting one look at them being portrayed on film,” Director Chuck Konzelman said during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, “have decided to change their lives…and what they do for a living.”
These clinic workers approached former Planned Parenthood executive Abby Johnson’s nonprofit, And Then There Were None, which helps workers exit the industry safely. The nonprofit employs former clinic workers to “end abortion from the inside out.” So far, ATTWN has helped almost 500 workers exit the industry and seek healing.
Konzelman visited Capitol Hill over Twitter’s alleged censorship of Unplanned’s account. It was temporarily suspended on the movie’s opening weekend in late March. Twitter claims it was an accident.
The Pure Flix movie, Unplanned, shares Abby Johnson’s radical transformation, from rising in the ranks of Planned Parenthood to joining the pro-life movement after watching a doctor perform an abortion via ultrasound.
Ashley Bratcher, the lead actress who portrays Abby Johnson, had a personal connection to the film. Shortly after accepting the role, her mother admitted that she had considered an abortion, but changed her mind at the last minute. After fellow actress Alyssa Milano used her platform to strongly oppose Georgia’s fetal heart bill, Bratcher, a Georgia native, responded with her own story. “Having just learned months ago that my life was spared on an abortion table, it definitely put a few things in perspective for me,” she said in an open letter printed by Deadline.
The movie hit theaters at a unique time in America’s legislative history with several states passing anti-abortion laws in the hope of turning Roe v. Wade.
Despite several TV outlets refusing to run the movie’s ads because of it’s sensitive nature and subsequent controversy in the media, Unplannedgarnered $12.5 million and ranked number eight in the Top Ten after its second week in theaters, according to The New American. (Christian Headlines)
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THE CROSS SPEAKS TO US
…the blood of sprinkling, that speaks better things than that of Abel.
Hebrews 12:24
Has the cross of Christ ever spoken to you? Have you heard its message? The cross of Christ preaches. The cross of Christ speaks. The blood of the cross speaks. It has something to say. Have you heard it? The writer to the Hebrews thanks God that this blood speaks something better than the blood of Abel spoke. You remember the story of Cain and Abel, the first two sons of Adam and Eve, and the story of how Cain slew his brother Abel and shed his blood. He murdered him. And the blood of Abel, spilled there upon the ground, spoke as it cried out for vengeance, punishment, and retribution. The blood of Abel spoke.
And God tells us through the writer to the Hebrews that is not the blood that you and I have come to. We have come to a blood of sprinkling that “speaks better things than that of Abel.” This is why all these men in the New Testament rejoice in it. This is why the saints of the ages rejoiced in it. The blood speaks, and it speaks the best things that the world has ever heard.
Let me call your attention to some of the things that the cross of Christ, the blood of the cross, speaks and says to men and women today. In other words, let us listen to the cross speaking in the form of exposition. There is nothing that so expounds the truth of God to us as the cross of Christ. The Bible expounds the same truth. The cross of Christ lays it open before us and makes it speak to us. Have you ever regarded it as a sermon and sat and listened to it, and have you heard what it has to say to you? What an exposition of truth there is in that cross on Calvary’s hill!
A Thought to Ponder: There is nothing that so expounds the truth of God to us as the cross of Christ. (From The Cross, pp. 154-155, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Jesus becomes involved in controversy with religious leaders over His true identity.
INSIGHT
When iron and aluminum shavings are mixed together, they are indistinguishable. You cannot identify them by sight; you must sweep a magnet through them. The magnet will attract all of the iron filings, but the aluminum filings will remain undisturbed.
The Lord Jesus Christ has exactly the same effect on those to whom He ministers. Those whose understanding is anchored in faith are drawn to Him like iron to a magnet. Those who choose not to believe remain undisturbed, as though nothing special has happened.
Some of the multitude were saying, “This is the Christ” while others were saying, “Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He?” Understanding, combined with faith, understands even more. Unbelief blinds people. (Quiet Walk)
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Christ Our Passover
“And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:13)
The Jews of the world have been keeping their annual Feast of the Passover for almost 3,500 years, fulfilling the ancient prophecy: “And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever” (Exodus 12:24). This was the beginning of the nation of Israel, when they left Egyptian slavery behind and started their trek to the Promised Land. The lamb had been slain and eaten, its blood placed on the door posts, and the Lord had spared all their firstborn sons when the Destroyer passed through the land of Egypt.
The feast was intended not only to memorialize the ancient deliverance, but also to anticipate the coming day when the “Lamb of God” would take “away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The night before Christ was crucified, He told His disciples, “With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (Luke 22:15-16).
Thereupon, the Lord established His Supper, which Christians will continue to observe to “shew the Lord’s death till he come” (1 Corinthians 11:26). He fulfilled all that the Passover prophesied when He shed His blood on the cross, “for even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, . . . with . . . sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).
Now we look forward to an even greater supper when Christ returns, for the promise is this to all who believe: “Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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