November 5 (Jeremiah 35–36; Psalm 116; 1 Corinthians 10)

Summary

---

Through the ESV Bible in a Year with Jackie Hill Perry

Episode Date: November 5, 2025
Readings: Jeremiah 35–36; Psalm 116; 1 Corinthians 10

---

Overview

This episode of “Through the ESV Bible in a Year" features continuous Scripture readings from Jeremiah 35–36 (OT), Psalm 116, and 1 Corinthians 10 (NT). The focus is on themes of obedience, God’s faithfulness, and the dangers of idolatry—with real examples from Israel’s history, a psalm of deliverance, and Paul’s teaching to the Corinthian church.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jeremiah 35: The Obedience of the Rechabites

• Summary: The Lord instructs Jeremiah to bring the Rechabites to the temple and offer them wine, testing their faithfulness to their ancestor’s command to abstain from wine and live simply.
• Insight: The Rechabites refuse the wine (00:44), faithfully following Jonadab’s command. God uses their obedience as a contrast to Judah’s disobedience.
  • Memorable Quote:
    “We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, 'You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons, forever.'" (00:46)
• God’s Message: The Rechabites’ steadfastness serves as a rebuke to the people of Judah, who have ignored God’s persistent warnings.
  • Memorable Quote:
    "I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me." (02:01)

2. Jeremiah 36: Rejection of God’s Word

• Summary: God commands Jeremiah to record His words in hopes that Judah will repent. Jeremiah dictates to Barak, who reads the prophecy aloud in the temple. The news spreads to the officials and finally the king Jehoiakim.
• Insight: The king’s reaction is notable—he callously cuts the prophetic scroll and burns it as it is read.
  • Memorable Moment:
    “The king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire...until the entire scroll was consumed.” (06:29)
• Aftermath: Despite efforts to hide, God preserves Jeremiah and Barak (06:50). God also instructs Jeremiah to rewrite the message, adding further warnings against Jehoiakim.
  • Notable Judgment:
    "[Jehoiakim's] dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night." (07:26)

---

3. Psalm 116: Thanksgiving for God’s Deliverance

• Summary: The Psalmist gives thanks for God’s mercy after being delivered from death and distress.
• Highlights:
  • Expression of Trust:
    “I love the Lord because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.” (08:03)
  • Testimony of God’s Faithfulness:
    “The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me.” (08:28)
  • Call to Gratitude:
    “What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.” (09:03)
• Theme: Worship and gratitude; the preciousness of God’s people.
  • Memorable Quote:
    “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” (09:16)

---

4. 1 Corinthians 10: Warnings, Lessons, and Christian Liberty

• Summary: Paul warns the Corinthians by reflecting on the failures of Israel—idolatry, immorality, testing God, and grumbling. He urges the church to flee idolatry and embrace life together for God’s glory.
• Key Lessons:
  • History as Warning:
    “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.” (09:39)
  • God’s Faithfulness in Temptation:
    “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape…” (10:12)
  • Unity in Christ:
    “The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body...” (10:27)
  • Consequences of Mixed Worship:
    “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons.” (11:00)
  • Christian Liberty and Responsibility:
    “All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up.” (11:22)
• Ethics of Eating Food Offered to Idols:
  • Guidance for situations involving food previously sacrificed to idols: exercise freedom, but prioritize the conscience of others and unity in the body.
• Central Principle:
  • “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (11:54)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Obedience and Contrast:
  “The sons of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, have kept the command that their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me.” (02:20)
• Unflinching Rejection:
  “...the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire... Yet neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid.” (06:29)
• Assurance in Temptation:
  “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful…” (10:12)
• Standard for Christian Living:
  “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” (11:29)
• Aim of All Actions:
  “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (11:54)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Jeremiah 35 – The Rechabites' Obedience: 00:04–03:02
• Jeremiah 36 – The Scroll Burned by the King: 03:04–08:03
• Psalm 116 – Thanksgiving for Deliverance: 08:03–09:27
• 1 Corinthians 10 – Warnings, Temptation, and Liberty: 09:31–End

---

Summary Notes

• The readings draw attention to faithfulness in following God’s commands (the Rechabites), warning against hard-heartedness and dismissing prophetic truth (King Jehoiakim), expressing gratitude for deliverance (Psalm 116), and upholding holiness and corporate responsibility among Christians (1 Corinthians 10).
• The episode maintains a reverent, reflective tone, with frequent reminders of God’s justice, mercy, and faithfulness.

---

This episode is rich with both warning and encouragement—inviting listeners to heed God’s word, rely on His faithfulness in temptation, and orient every action toward His glory.

Transcript

[Reader]

A reading from the book of Jeremiah.

[Narrator]

The word that came to Jeremiah from.

[Reader]

The Lord in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah.

[Narrator]

Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak with them and bring them.

[Reader]

To the house of the Lord and.

[Narrator]

To one of the chambers, then offer them wine to drink.

[Reader]

So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazaniah and his brothers.

[Narrator]

And all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites.

[Reader]

And I brought them to the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the sons of.

[Narrator]

Igdaliah, the man of God, which was.

[Reader]

Near the chamber of the officials, above the chamber of Maaseiah, the son of Shallum, keeper of the threshold.

[Narrator]

Then I set before the Rechabites pitchers.

[Reader]

Full of wine and cups.

[Narrator]

And I said to them, drink wine.

[Reader]

But they answered, we will drink no.

[Narrator]

Wine for Jonadab the son of Rechab.

[Reader]

Our father, commanded us, you shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons, for ever. You shall not build a house, you shall not sow seed, you shall not.

[Narrator]

Plant or have a vineyard, but you shall live in tents all your days that you may live many days in.

[Reader]

The land where you sojourn. We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab.

[Narrator]

The son of Rechab, our father, in all that.

[Reader]

He commanded us to drink no wine.

[Narrator]

All our days, ourselves, our wives, our.

[Reader]

Sons, or our daughters, and not to.

[Narrator]

Build houses to dwell in.

[Reader]

We have no vineyard or field or seed, but we have lived in tents.

[Narrator]

And have obeyed and done all that Jonadab, our father, commanded us. But when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up against the land, we said, come and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans.

[Reader]

And the army of the Syrians.

[Narrator]

So we are living in Jerusalem.

[Reader]

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.

[Narrator]

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel.

[Reader]

Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, will.

[Narrator]

You not receive instruction and listen to my words? Then declares the Lord, the command that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons to drink. No wine has been kept, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father's command. I have spoken to you persistently, but.

[Reader]

You have not listened to me.

[Narrator]

I have sent to you all my.

[Reader]

Servants, the prophets, sending them persistently, saying.

[Narrator]

Turn now, every one of you from his evil way and amend your deeds.

[Reader]

And do not go after other gods to serve them.

[Narrator]

And then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and and your fathers. But you did not incline your ear or listen to me. The sons of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, have kept the command that their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me. Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel. Behold, I am bringing upon Judah and.

[Reader]

All the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the.

[Narrator]

Disaster that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them and.

[Reader]

They have not listened.

[Narrator]

I have called to them and they have not answered.

[Reader]

But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, thus says the Lord of.

[Narrator]

Hosts, the God of Israel, because you.

[Reader]

Have obeyed the command of Jonadab, your.

[Narrator]

Father, and kept all his precepts and.

[Reader]

Done all that he commanded you. Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts.

[Narrator]

The God of Israel, Jonadab the son.

[Reader]

Of Recab, shall never lack a man.

[Narrator]

To stand before me.

[Reader]

In the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord. Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah and all the nations from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them so that everyone may turn from his evil way and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin. Then Jeremiah called Barak the son of Neriah. And Barak wrote on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah, on the all the words of the Lord that he had spoken to him. And Jeremiah ordered Barak, saying, I am banned from going to the house of the Lord. So you are to go. And on a day of fasting and the hearing of all the people in the Lord's house, you shall read the words of the Lord from the scroll that you have written at my dictation. You shall read them also in the hearing of all the men of Judah who come out of their cities. It may be that their plea for mercy will come before the Lord and that every one will turn from his evil way. For for great is the anger and wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people. And Barak the son of Neriah did all that. Jeremiah the prophet ordered him about reading from the scroll the words of the Lord in the Lord's house. In the fifth year, Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the Lord. Then in the hearing of all the people, Barak read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper court at the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house. When Micaiah the son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, he went down to the king's house into the secretary's chamber. And all the officials were sitting there. Elishama the secretary, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, Elnathan the son of Acpor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the officials. And Micaiah told them all the words that he had heard when Barak read the scroll in the hearing of the people. Then all the officials sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushai, to say to Barak, take in your hand the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people and come. So Barak the son of Neriah, took the scroll in his hand and came to them. And they said to him, sit down and read it. So Barak read it to them. When they heard all the words, they turned one to another in fear. And they said to Barak, we must report all these words to the king. Then they asked Barak, tell us please, how did you write all these words? Was it at his dictation? Barak answered them. He dictated all these words to me while I wrote them with ink on the scroll. Then the officials said to Barak, go and hide you and Jeremiah and and let no one know where you are. So they went into the court to the king, having put the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the secretary, and they reported all the words to the king. Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. And he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary. And Jehudi read it to the king and all the officials who stood beside the king. It was the ninth month, and the king was sitting in the winter house. And there was a fire burning in the firepot before him. As Yehudah read three or four columns, the the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire pot. Yet neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid, nor did they tear their Garments. Even when Elnathan and Deliah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. And the king commanded Jerahmiel the king's son, and Seraiah the son of Azrael and Shelemiah the son of Abdiel, to seize Barak the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet.

[Narrator]

But the Lord hid them.

[Reader]

Now, after the king had burned the scroll with the words that Barak wrote at Jeremiah's dictation, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned. And concerning Jehoiakim, king of Judah, you shall say, thus says the Lord, you have burned this scroll, saying, why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and will cut off from it man and beast? Therefore, thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim, king of Judah. He shall have none to sit on the throne of David.

[Narrator]

And his dead body shall be cast.

[Reader]

Out to the heat by day and the frost by night. And I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the people of Judah all the disaster that I have pronounced against them. But they would not hear. Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Barak the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah, all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim, king of Judah, had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them. A reading from the Book of Psalms.

[Narrator]

I love the Lord because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy because he inclined his ear to me. Therefore I will call on him as long as I live. The snares of death encompassed me. The pangs of Sheol laid hold on me. I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the Lord. O Lord, I pray deliver my soul. Gracious is the Lord, and righteous our God is merciful.

[Reader]

The Lord preserves the simple.

[Narrator]

When I was brought low, he saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I believed even when I spoke. I am greatly afflicted. I said in my alarm. All mankind are liars. What shall I render to the Lord? For all his benefits to me, I will Lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. O Lord, I am your servant. I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord in your midst. O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.

[Reader]

A reading from the book of 1 Corinthians.

[Narrator]

For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. And all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. We must not indulge in sexual immorality, as some of them did and 23,000 fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. But with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people. Judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread. We who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider, the people of Israel. Are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar. What do I imply, then? That food offered to idols is anything? Or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what Pagans sacrifice. They offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good but the good of his neighbor. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, this has been offered in sacrifice, then do not eat it for the sake of the one who informed you and for the sake of conscience. I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced? Because of that for which I give thanks so much. Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the Church of God. Just as I try to please every one in everything, I do not, seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.