Daily Bible Reading: Jeremiah 29 and 2 Corinthians 11:1-15

Jeremiah 29  - Jeremiah writes a letter to the exiles in Babylon and tells them to settle there, take wives, have families; it will be a long time (70 years), but he encourages them: “I know the plans I have in mind for you, . . . plans for peace, not disaster, reserving a future full of hope for you”  (29:11). I will let you find me.  Do not be deceived by false prophets there, in Babylon, or people who interpret dreams.  The King who remained and those with him will be destroyed. 

He also addresses a letter to Shemaiah, a false prophet who had encouraged leaders to punish Jeremiah for communicating such thoughts to the exiled community. In response, Jeremiah sends a message to the exiles, telling them that Shemaiah is a false prophet and should not be listened to.

2 Corinthians 11:1-15 – Paul tells the Corinthians that his “jealousy” for them is from God. It was he who brought about their marriage to Christ, and he had prayed they would go before Him as “virgins” – pure in their faith.  But, as in the Genesis story, things didn’t work out as planned; the serpent turned them [Christ’s Eve], away from simple faithfulness to a fallen condition and fallen relationship with God. They seem to listen to whoever comes to them and do not properly discern when these visitors paint a completely different picture of what the faith should be. It would be very interesting to know who these traveling ministers were, who claim to be “super-apostles” with greater authority than Paul. Some interpret Paul’s words as possibly referring to one or more of the original apostles of Christ; others think they might have been early leaders of high status in the church at Corinth. I think the “former” more likely. We know Paul had conflicts with some of these early "apostles", and his claim to equality of apostleship with them as the “last” apostle called by Christ (1 Corinthians 1) MUST have been somewhat controversial in the early days. Nevertheless, Paul calls these “super-apostles,” “false apostles, who lie about their work and disguise themselves to look like real apostles of Christ” (11:13).