Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 45-48.

One of the things which one needs to remember about the Book of Jeremiah is that the prophecies in it were primarily recorded long after the fact and are not in chronological order.  For example, the message to Baruch was given before the fall of Jerusalem when Jeremiah was dictating his prophecies for Baruch to write them down, and the prophecy concerning Egypt occurred years earlier. I think the prophecy against the Philistines was given before the prophecy against Egypt, even though it follows it here.  As for the prophecy against Moab, we are given no clues as to when Jeremiah made that prophecy.  I like to note that this passage makes it clear that Jeremiah did not prophecy just against the Kingdom of Judah.  Additionally, we learn here that when God brought judgement against Judah, the destruction spread to the wicked nations around her as well.  We should remember that when God’s judgement comes, it comes to all who embrace wickedness.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 42-44.

After the assassination of the governor appointed by the Babylonians the people remaining in the land came to Jeremiah  requesting him to ask God what they should do.  Then when Jeremiah gave them God’s answer some of them accused him of lying.  Note that they did not say he had heard God’s answer incorrectly, they said he was lying.  So, they had gone to Jeremiah seeking God’s guidance, but when they did not like the answer he gave them they did not argue that he misunderstood God.  Rather than make a case that Jeremiah’s understanding of God’s will was wrong, they accused him of acting in bad faith.  Further, the same leaders who had approached Jeremiah in the first place were the ones who did so.  As best I can understand, they were hoping that Jeremiah would agree with their plan to take the remaining Israelites to Egypt and when he did not attacked him.  If they had argued that he said what he did because he was in the service of Babylon it would have at least had the virtue of being one interpretation of events.  Of course, that would have called into question why they went to him in the first place.  The leaders who led the people to Egypt did not make a case for it to be God’s desire that they go to Egypt.  Instead, they attacked the motivations of those who argued for them to stay in the land.  In the same way today, we should be cautious of those who make the case for their preferred actions by attacking the integrity of those who disagree with them rather than by arguing the merits of their course of actions and the liabilities of the opposing course of action.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 39-41.

In today’s passage Jerusalem fell, just as Jeremiah had predicted.  The Babylonians either killed or took into captivity everybody from among the elites.  The only people who were left to go about their lives were those who were “nobodies”.  Those were given vineyards and fields which had previously belonged to those who wielded power in Jerusalem.  I also find it noteworthy that Nebuchadnezzar ordered that Jeremiah be looked after by his commander and allowed to do what he chose.  Jeremiah had been imprisoned shortly before the fall of Jerusalem (and was still imprisoned when Jerusalem fell) because some of the leaders of Jerusalem thought he was a traitor in service to the Babylonians.  Those who imprisoned Jeremiah alleged that he was giving aid and comfort to the enemies of his nation.  They would have considered these actions by the Babylonians as confirmation of their suspicions.  We should bear this situation in mind when evaluating similar accusations against people today.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 36-38.

So, God instructed Jeremiah to record all of the prophecies He had given to Jeremiah on a scroll.  Jeremiah’s scribe, Baruch, wrote down what Jeremiah dictated, then went and read it to the people at the temple.  One of the temple officials (or, perhaps a government official) heard what Baruch read and had him read it to a collection of other officials.  When the officials heard the words which God had spoken to Jeremiah they were frightened.  The officials then read the words for the king and his attendants.  The king reacted to hearing Jeremiah’s words with contempt and neither he, nor any of his close associates, were concerned in the least by Jeremiah’s predictions.   Initially I was not sure what frightened the officials: the word Jeremiah had spoken, or the reaction of the king when he heard them.  However, today when I read the king’s reaction I realized that the writer was contrasting the fear which the officials felt to the indifference of the king and his attendants.  We need to ask ourselves which group we fall into: those who were frightened when they heard God’s words condemning evil? Or those who were completely unconcerned and sought to silence those speaking it?  Those who respect and fear God will listen to His words and change.  Those who hold those words in contempt will continue in their wickedness and suffer the consequences.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 33-35.

At the beginning of today’s passage Jeremiah speaks of God’s promise to restore Israel after its destruction because of the sins of the Israelites.  The thing I took note of today is that at the end of that portion of today’s passage, Jeremiah refers to people who despise the Israelites because God had brought about the destruction of the Northern Kingdom and was now destroying the Southern one.  I am unclear from the context who Jeremiah refers o when he talks about people who despise God’s people.  Whoever it was, Jeremiah was warning them that the descendants of Jacob were still His Chosen people.  There are people today who despise Jews, God was speaking to them through Jeremiah.  As Paul wrote, God has grafted those who accept salvation through Jesus Christ into His family, He has made them descendants of Jacob, but that does not mean that He will not keep His promises to those who are genetically descended from Jacob.  God still has plans for the good of the people of Israel.

Jeremiah’s interaction with the Rekabites provides a counter to the previous.  The Rekabites were not descendants of Jacob.  Yet God made a promise to them as well.  Through Jeremiah, God praised the Rekabites for remaining faithful to the instructions their ancestor had given them, instructions which went beyond anything God has laid down in the law He gave Moses.  The Rekabites worshiped God along with the Israelites, and had done so as part of the Kenites since before the Israelites settled in the Land of Canaan.  Jehonadab, who gave the Rekabites the commands they followed, had assisted Jehu in wiping out the House of Ahab and destroying Baal worship in Israel, the Northern Kingdom.  So, while the Israelites were God’s Chosen people, the Rekabites were used by God as well.  Here, they are held up as an example of those who were more faithful than the Israelites.  The Israelites were proud because they were God’s Chosen People, but Jeremiah holds the Rekabites up as a model whom the Israelites would do well to imitate.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 28-30 .

Every year when I read this passage I find myself focusing on Jeremiah’s letter to those who were already in exile in Babylon.  This year will be no different.  Today, I think of the message in the context of the fuss over the use of the term “Christian nationalism”.   Jeremiah tells those already exiled to pray for the peace and prosperity of the land in which they find themselves, because the prosperity of that land will be their prosperity.  But Jeremiah also tells them that the land is not their home, their first loyalty lies elsewhere.  In His time, God will bring them to His land and His Kingdom.  So, we should seek peace and prosperity for the land in which God has placed us, but that land is not God’s country.

In that same letter to those in exile, Jeremiah speaks about those still living in Jerusalem.  Jeremiah tells them that God has sent prophets to the King and the rest of those living in Jerusalem, but that they have refused to listen to them.  Further, those in exile are also refusing to listen to the prophets whom God is sending, instead choosing to listen to those who tell them what they want to hear.  I conclude from this that while some of those who use the term “Christian Nationalism” may use it in ways that are consistent with God’s will for His people, we should not use that term because too many will interpret it to mean that our nation is God’s nation and that serving its interests is the same as serving God’s interest.  No earthly nation is God’s nation and we cannot determine what God’s interests are by looking at the interests of any specific nation.  So, seek peace and prosperity for the land and people among whom you reside, but never forget that it is not your home.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 26-27.

I am not sure how I am going to write today’s blog because there are two different, but related, things going on in today’s passage.  While King Jehoiakim was reigning, Jeremiah went to the temple and prophesied that the people must turn from their sins, or Jerusalem would be completely destroyed.  The religious establishment, and the people who regularly worshiped in the temple, wanted to lynch him for this prophecy, claiming that Jeremiah was committing treason, but the political establishment (or, at least a faction of the political establishment) intervened.  However, the passage also tells us that another prophet, named Uriah, had prophesied similarly to Jeremiah and King Jehoiakim had sent agents after him to Egypt to bring him back and execute him.  I have long wondered what point the passage was trying to make by bringing up Uriah.  Why did Jeremiah survive, while Uriah was put to death?  So, when Uriah heard that the king wanted to kill him, he fled to another country.  When Jeremiah was threatened, he stood up, repeated his prophecy, and told the people he was innocent of treason.  I do not know the Uriah would not have been killed if he had not fled, but fleeing did not save him.  Jeremiah stayed and continued to speak the words God gave him, despite repeated threats on his life.  We learn here that we must never shrink, or run, from opposition which arises from speaking God’s word.  We may suffer and die, but running will not save us from that.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 23-25.

In today’s passage Jeremiah prophesied against leadership which divided the people rather than uniting them.  Through Jeremiah, God promises that He will gather them back together and give them new, faithful leadership.  Because Jeremiah speaks primarily about priests and prophets in the rest of that prophecy, one might think that he was referring to only religious leaders.  But, because he mentions that God will appoint a King who will rule wisely in place of these divisive leaders, we know that political leaders were included in Jeremiah’s condemnation.  Now, I want to look closer at those religious leaders.  The prophets used their powers for unjust gain.  Both the priests and the prophets were godless.  Let’s look at that a little closer: they proclaimed themselves fonts of spiritual wisdom, but they did not guide people towards God.  In fact, some of them even prophesied on behalf of gods other than God.  They committed adultery and lived a lie.  Instead of calling out evildoers, they enabled them, so that none of them turned from their sin.  Is this starting to sound familiar?  Jeremiah goes on to say that these prophets and priests told those who despised God that they were in no danger, that there was no reason to change their behavior.

Which brings us to how we can recognize the prophets, and other religious leaders, whom God has sent, and those whom He has not sent.   Those whom God has sent tell us things we do not want to hear, they tell us to change our ways and turn away from evil deeds.  They need to call out all sins and evil practices.  If they call out sexual immorality, but give other forms of self-indulgence a pass, or vice versa, they are not passing on God’s words.  If they call out greed, but give violence a pass, they are not passing on God’s words.  If they are speaking to you, but calling out somebody else’s sins, they are not passing on God’s words.  When God sends a prophet to speak to you, that prophet will not be speaking about what someone else is doing wrong.  Of course, if that prophet has been sent by God, he will not be telling other people what you are doing wrong either.  When he speaks to them, he will tell them God’s words for them.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 19-22.

As I read today’s passage it seems to me that Jeremiah began his career as a prophet believing that the people would listen to the prophecies which God gave him and turn from their sins.  Perhaps he even began to prophesy as part of King Josiah’s reforms, or perhaps he inspired those reforms.  I think he saw what was going on under King Josiah and hoped that the people would follow through and put aside all of their idol worship and truly turn to God.  When he saw that this was not going to be the case, he tried to keep silent but found that he could not.  I understand that.  I also from time to time vow to let things go and find that I cannot.  Of course, I don’t have the excuse that the Holy Spirit is working through me. I’m just opinionated and stubborn. By the way, that is not me being self-deprecating.  I have never had any reason to believe that I am a prophet, and many of the things I cannot keep my mouth shut about are things which have no bearing on serving God (and some of the things I say I know are things which God would not want me to say).

When reading the Book of Jeremiah, it is important to realize that the Book was not written down as Jeremiah made these prophecies.  Most of it was written down shortly before the fall of Jerusalem (or possibly written down about then after the original copy was destroyed).  As a result, not all of the prophecies are recorded in the chronological order they were given.  In any case, Jeremiah prophesied to King Zedekiah, the last king before the fall of Jerusalem, that the fall and destruction of Jerusalem was no longer avoidable.  Yet, just a few sentences later, he prophesies that if the rulers of Jerusalem begin administering justice every morning and rescue people from the hand of the oppressor God will not follow through.  All of this is consistent with what Jeremiah prophesied a few chapters back when God told him that if a nation He had decided to destroy turned away from their sin to Him, He would relent.  So, while I look at our society and think that perhaps we have gone too far and it is too late to avoid the coming disaster and suffering, this passage suggests that there is always time to benefit from doing God’s will and, if people turn to Him, they always have an opportunity to avoid the worst of the suffering.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.