Be patient, and don't take me away.

You should know that I've been insulted because of you.

16 Your words were found, and I devoured them.

Your words are my joy and my heart's delight, because I am called by your name, O Yahweh Elohim Tsebaoth .

17 I didn't keep company with those who laugh and have fun.

I sat alone because your hand was on me.

You filled me with outrage.

18 Why is my pain unending and my wound incurable, refusing to heal?

Will you disappoint me like a stream that dries up in summertime?

19 This is what Yahweh says: If you will return, I will take you back.

If you will speak what is worthwhile and not what is worthless, you will stand in my presence.

The people will return to you, but you will not return to them.

20 I will make you like a solid bronze wall in front of these people.

They will fight you, but they will not defeat you.

I am with you, and I will save you and rescue you, declares Yahweh .

21 I will rescue you from the power of wicked people and free you from the power of tyrants.

The LORD Tells Jeremiah Not to Marry 16 1 Yahweh spoke his word to me. He said, 2 "Don't marry! Don't have any sons or daughters in this place! 3 This is what Yahweh says about the sons and daughters born in this place and about the mothers and fathers who have children in this land: 4 They will die horrible deaths. No one will mourn for them or bury them. They will be like manure on the ground. Wars and famines will bring them to an end. Their bodies will be food for birds and animals.

5 "This is what Yahweh says: Don't go into a house where people are grieving. Don't go to mourn or to grieve for them. I'm taking my peace, love, and compassion away from these people," declares Yahweh. 6 "Old and young alike will die in this land. No one will mourn for them or bury them. No one will cut his own body or shave his own head for them. 7 No one will offer food to comfort those who mourn the dead. No one will give a consoling drink to those who have lost their fathers or mothers.

8 "Don't even go into a home where there is a banquet. Don't sit with them to eat and drink. 9 This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth , the Elohim of Israel, says: I'm going to put a stop to the sounds of joy and happiness and the sounds of brides and grooms in this place. This will happen in your lifetime, while you watch.

10 "When you tell the people all these things, they will ask you, 'Why does Yahweh threaten us with all these disasters? What have we done wrong? How have we sinned against Yahweh our Elohim ?' 11 Then say to them, 'It's because your ancestors abandoned me, declares Yahweh. They followed other gods, served them, worshiped them, and abandoned me. They didn't obey my teachings. 12 You have done worse than your ancestors. All of you are following your own stubborn, evil ways that keep you from obeying me. 13 So I will throw you out of this land into a land that you and your ancestors haven't heard of. There you will serve other gods day and night because I will no longer have pity on you.'

14 "That is why the days are coming," declares Yahweh, "when people will no longer begin an oath with, 'Yahweh brought the people of Israel out of Egypt. As Yahweh lives. . .' 15 But they will say, 'Yahweh brought the people of Israel out of the land of the north and all the lands where he had scattered them. As Yahweh lives. . .' They will say this because I will bring them back to the land that I gave their ancestors.

16 "I'm going to send for many fishermen," declares Yahweh, "and they will catch the people of Israel. After that, I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt for them on every mountain and hill and even in the cracks in the rocks. 17 I see everything that they do. They can't hide anything from me. Their wickedness can't be hidden; I can see it. 18 First, I will have them pay twice as much for their wickedness and their sin, because they have polluted my land. They have filled my property with the lifeless statues of their detestable and disgusting idols."

19 Yahweh is my strength and my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.

Nations come to you from the most distant parts of the world and say, "Our ancestors have inherited lies, worthless and unprofitable gods."

20 "People can't make gods for themselves.

They aren't really gods.

21 That is what I will teach them.

This time I will make my power and my strength known to them.

Then they will know that my name is Yahweh ."

17 1 The LORD says, "Judah's sin is written with an iron pen.

It is engraved with a diamond point on the tablet of their hearts and on the horns of their altars.

2 Even their children remember their altars and their poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah beside large trees on high hills 3 and on mountains in the open country.a I will turn your wealth and all your treasures into loot.

I will do this because of your worship sites and your sin throughout all your territory.

4 You will lose the inheritance that I gave you.

I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you haven't heard of.

I will do this because you have stirred up the fire of my anger.

It will burn forever.

5 "This is what Yahweh says: Cursed is the person who trusts humans, who makes flesh and blood his strength and whose heart turns away from Yahweh.

6 He will be like a bush in the wilderness.

He will not see when something good comes.

He will live in the dry places in the desert, in a salty land where no one can live.

7 Blessed is the person who trusts Yahweh.

Yahweh will be his confidence.

8 He will be like a tree that is planted by water.

It will send its roots down to a stream.

It will not be afraid in the heat of summer.

Its leaves will turn green.

It will not be anxious during droughts.

It will not stop producing fruit.

9 "The human mind is the most deceitful of all things. It is incurable.

No one can understand how deceitful it is.

10 I, Yahweh, search minds and test hearts.

I will reward each person for what he has done.

I will reward him for the results of his actions.

11 A person who gets rich dishonestly is like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay.

During his lifetime, he will lose his wealth.

In the end, he will be a godless fool."

12 Our holy place is a glorious throne, highly honored from the beginning.

13 O Yahweh, the Miqweh Yisrael, all who abandon you will be put to shame.

Those who turn away from you will be written in dust, because they abandon Yahweh, the fountain of lifegiving water.

14 Heal me, O Yahweh, and I will be healed.

Rescue me, and I will be rescued.

You are the one I praise.

15 People keep asking me, "Where is the word of Yahweh?

Let it come."

16 I have not run away from being your shepherd, and I have not longed for the day of destruction.

You know what came out of my mouth.

17 Do not terrorize me.

You are my refuge on the day of disaster.

18 Put my persecutors to shame, but do not let me be put to shame.

Terrify them, but do not let me be terrified.

Bring the day of disaster on them, and destroy them completely.

The Blessing That Comes from Observing the Day of Worship as a Holy Day 19 This is what Yahweh said to me: Stand at People's Gate, where the kings of Judah go in and out. Then stand at every gate in Jerusalem. 20 Tell everyone: "Listen to the word of Yahweh, you kings of Judah, all the people of Judah, and all those who live in Jerusalem, and go through these gates. 21 This is what Yahweh says: Watch out! If you value your lives, do not carry anything on the day of worship or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Do not bring anything out of your homes on the day of worship. Do not do any work, but observe the day of worship as a holy day, as I told your ancestors. 23 Your ancestors did not obey me or pay attention to me. They were impossible to deal with and would not listen or accept discipline.

24 "Now," declares Yahweh, "you must listen to me and not bring anything through the gates of this city on the day of worship. You must observe the day of worship as a holy day by not doing any work on it. 25 If you do this, then the kings and princes who sit on David's throne will come through the gates of this city. They and their princes will ride in chariots and on horses along with the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. This city will always have people living in it.

26 "People will come from the cities of Judah, from all around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin, from the foothills, from the mountains, and from the Negev. They will bring burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and incense. They will also bring thank offerings to Yahweh's temple. 27 But you must listen to me and observe the day of worship as a holy day by not carrying anything through the gates of Jerusalem on the day of worship. If you don't do this, I will set its gates on fire. The fire will burn down the palaces in Jerusalem, and you won't be able to put it out."

MIQWEH YISRAEL.

HOPE OF ISRAEL.

Hope is the great stabilizer. It steadies us in times of fear and difficulty, not because we know that everything will turn out as we want, but because we know that God is trustworthy. Hope is what helps us stay on course regardless of circumstances. Biblical hope finds its roots in God and in his goodness, mercy, and power. We exercise our hope when we endure patiently. We nurture our hope when we read God's Word. We strengthen our hope when we follow God faithfully. Though we hope for earthly blessings, our greatest hope is aimed at the life to come, when God will not only wipe away our tears but invite us to share his joy forever.

In the New Testament, hope is rooted firmly in Jesus-in his life, death, and resurrection as well as in his promise to come again in glory. We can have hope for this life because the Holy Spirit indwells us, re-creating the life of Christ within us. Biblical hope offers us a new kind of strength, enabling us to be patient and enduring regardless of what we face. Miqweh Yisrael (MIK-weh yis-ra-AIL), the Hope of Israel, is the God who saves his people.

Praying to Miqweh Yisrael Struck by a car while riding his motorcycle, Andy DeVries landed in the hospital, where physicians told him he had broken his leg. The news was grim, because Andy's leg was not merely broken but shattered. It might have to be amputated.

One day, prior to surgery, a physician's assistant by the name of Sarah Scholl asked Andy a surprising question. "Andy, what kind of golf ball do you play?"

To a man lying in bed contemplating the loss of a leg, her question seemed insensitive, but Andy managed a reply. "I like Titleist's Pro V1 ball," he told her.

The next day, flowers appeared in Andy's room, and in the middle of the flowers sat a pack of Titleist Pro V1 balls. Andy was astonished.

Sarah's gesture took him by surprise and helped him to stop thinking about how sorry he should feel for himself. Instead, as he said, it brought a glimmer of hope. For the first time, he began to believe that life could be good even with only one leg.

Then came the surgery. Remarkably, instead of taking the leg midthigh as he thought he might have to, the surgeon noted a little bit of blood flow and left the leg intact. But Andy wasn't out of the woods yet. He knew he might never get out of a wheelchair.

When Sarah Scholl wheeled him out to the ambulance for his ride home, she told him she had a favor to ask. By then the two had developed a close doctor-patient relationship. Sarah told him she had lost her father some time ago. Would Andy, she wondered, consider walking her down the aisle?

"Sarah, you don't even have a boyfriend," came his surprised reply.

"Someday I will," she told him.

Andy kept in touch with Sarah after that. One day, seven years after his accident, sixty-two-yearold Andy checked his email to find a note from Sarah. Here's what it said: "I have a boyfriend-will you come?"

Until the day Sarah picked him up at the airport prior to her wedding in Oregon, Sarah had never seen Andy standing upright. Now he was going to walk her down the aisle.

This is how Sarah characterizes her interaction with Andy in the hospital: "Can you imagine what it would feel like to wonder if you'd come out of the OR with or without a limb? . . .The human condition is delicate. . .I made Andy a promise a long time ago, a promise I had every intention of keeping."

Sarah is right. Our human condition is delicate. God knows just how delicate, and so he, too, has made promises designed to help us through our worst difficulties. Hope is simply the eager anticipation that those promises will one day come true. As Christians we believe in these promises because we believe in the one who made them. Because of Miqweh Yisrael, our promise-keeping God, we have been given a future full of hope.

Miqweh Yisrael, Hope of Israel, you are my hope too. Please help me to get through the hard times by leaning into the promises you have made. Lord, you alone are my unsinkable hope, my faithful God.

Promises Associated with the Name MIQWEH YISRAEL.

Yahweh's eyes are on those who fear him on those who wait with hope for his mercy. (Psalm 33:18) Yet, the strength of those who wait with hope in Yahweh will be renewed. (Isaiah 40:31)