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

After the assassination of the governor appointed over Judah by the Babylonians, the people remaining in Judah were afraid that the Babylonian army would return to punish them for it. So, they decided to flee to Egypt.  However, first they went to Jeremiah to ask him to pray to God for guidance as to what they should do.  They phrased their request to Jeremiah as if they had not already decided what to do. The passage does not make clear why they requested God’s guidance, but the response which God gave through Jeremiah makes clear that neither God nor Jeremiah expected them to follow it.  In fact, the reply Jeremiah gave them from God seems to suggest that if they had gone to Egypt without asking for God’s guidance things would have gone better for them there.  I see two lessons for us here.  The more important one being: Ask God for guidance before you decide what to do, and then wait for His answer before deciding.  The second one being: do not ask God for guidance after you have already made up your mind as to what you are going to do.

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.

First, I want to point out that in this passage we have a confirmation of what I mentioned yesterday: God sends word through Jeremiah to Ebed-Melek, the man who rescued Jeremiah from the attempt to kill him, that he (Ebed-Melek) would be saved during the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem.  Then we see that Jeremiah’s prophecy to Zedekiah was also fulfilled.  Zedekiah was afraid to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar, despite Jeremiah’s assurances that God had promised no harm would come to him if he did so.  Instead, King Zedekiah held out until the end and was captured.  The Babylonians killed his sons in front of him, then put out his eyes.  There is an important lesson in the fate of Zedekiah.  He was too afraid to do as God instructed him, and as a result suffered an outcome at least as bad as the one he feared.  Let us not make the same mistake of refusing to do God’s will out of fear.

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.

Under the threat of Babylonian conquest, King Zedekiah convinced the people of Jerusalem made a covenant with God and with each other to free all of their Hebrew slaves.  I will note that the impetus behind this command was the fact that they had not been keeping the requirement from the Law of Moses to free Hebrew slaves after seven years.  However, the elites of Jerusalem only entered into this covenant as a public relations move and as soon as they thought no one was looking they re-enslaved those they had freed.  This was the worst of the three things this covenant could have been.  The best option would have been for those who held slaves to recognize that they had done wrong and repent of their wrong doing by releasing their slaves and seeking other ways in which they could serve God.  Second best would have been for those who held slaves to recognize that freeing the slaves good press and do so, going on with their lives without those slaves.  In the first case, God would likely have forestalled the judgement He was in the process of pouring out on the people of Jerusalem.  In the second case, I think that God might have done the same.  However, the elites of Jerusalem chose a third option: release the slaves as a public relations move to appear righteous, but re-enslave them as soon as the general public was no longer paying attention.  If you watch, you see that this is often the choice made by the elites of society.  When public opinion turns against a particular practice, they make a very public show of distancing themselves from that practice.  However, as soon as the attention of the crowd moves on to some other issue they resume the practice which they had loudly condemned just a short time earlier.

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 .

I want to focus on Jeremiah’s message to the Exiles already in Babylon before the destruction of Jerusalem.  They were foreigners there, but Jeremiah tells them to settle in.  He tells them to pray for Babylon, and the Babylonians, because the prosperity of that land would be their prosperity as well.  He tells them to become a part of the land in which they live, but he does not tell them to be assimilated.  They are to remain God’s people and faithful to God. This message applies to us as well.  We should live as foreigners in the societies in which we dwell, but we should seek the best for those among whom we live.  Jeremiah goes on to tell them that God has plans for them, another message which I am convinced applies to us today.  God has plans for us to prosper, but those plans require us to call on Him and willingly serve Him.  Finally, Jeremiah gives them a message which I believe applies to everyone.  Those who seek God with all of their heart will find Him.  They will discover that He has plans for them to prosper as well.  We need to seek Him.

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.

When Jehoiakim (who was placed on the throne by the Pharoah to replace his brother 3 months after the death of his father) was King of Judah, Jeremiah prophesied that there was still time for the people to turn from their evil ways and avoid the coming disaster.  Then later, when Zedekiah was king, Jeremiah prophesied that if Zedekiah submitted to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, God would permit the people of Jerusalem and Judah to remain in the land, but if he did not, the people (including the ruling class) would suffer death or exile.  So, we see that up until the very end, if the people had turned away from their evil practices, they could have averted the worst of the disaster which God was bringing upon them.  As bad as things seem in our society today, we should follow the command which God gave Jeremiah…and take to heart the hope which God gave Jeremiah:
“Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word. ³ Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from their evil ways. Then I will relent and not inflict on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done.”                                                                                                 If we consistently speak God’s word, perhaps those around us whom we love will turn from the wicked ways of our society and follow God.  And perhaps enough of them will do so in order to transform society, but even if not, those we love who listen will be rescued by God.

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.

Jeremiah begins today’s passage by condemning the leaders of Judah for scattering the people rather than gathering them and tending them.  Jeremiah declares that God has given power to political and religious authorities in order that they might unite the people, but all too often those with authority choose to divide people in order to more easily control them.  God declares that He will punish such leaders and replace them with those who will carry out His will.  I want to note that many people follow such divisive leaders because they see doing so as a path to power for themselves.  God will punish such people along with their leaders.

While Jeremiah has strong words for the secular leaders who divide God’s people (and I believe that for the purposes of this prophecy all people are God’s people), he has even stronger condemnation for the religious leaders who fail to gather God’s people to Him.  He warns us that many of those who claim to offer us moral guidance are godless and wicked, even among those who claim to speak on behalf of God.  Rather than speak God’s word  in order to turn people from their wicked ways, they speak words from their own mind, strengthening the hands of evildoers.  They tell those who despise God that their wicked actions will have only positive consequences.  Such prophets will face God’s wrath because if they had spoken God’s words people would have turned from their evil ways and been redeemed by God.

Later in today’s passage, Jeremiah has words of warning for those who think they can gain from the destruction of society.  When God brings His destruction upon those who mock His word, it will be indiscriminate.  The only shelter from His wrath will be for those who turn to Him and faithfully serve Him.  In this passage, Jeremiah refers to the destruction which will be visited on those nations around the world who thought to profit from the fall of Jerusalem, even for Babylon which was the tool by which that fall occurred.

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.

In today’s passage, Jeremiah speaks of how he tried to avoid being persecuted for speaking God’s word.  After being persecuted for speaking God’s message to the people of Jerusalem, Jeremiah tried keeping a low profile and not speaking of the coming destruction.  However, he found that he was unable to do so, he felt compelled to speak out against the sins and injustices he saw going on around him.  He could not listen to others proclaiming that all would be well when he knew that if the people did not change their ways destruction would come upon them. Despite the fact that part of him wished he had never been born, Jeremiah praised the Lord.

Today I am again struck by the fact that despite Jeremiah repeatedly saying that the destruction of Jerusalem was inevitable, he also says that it can be avoided.  Jeremiah tells them that if they do what is just and right, kings of David’s line will continue to rule in Jerusalem.  His prophesies that death and destruction are inevitable come from his awareness that they will NOT do what is just and right.  He knew that the people of Jerusalem would not turn from their sins.  We are approaching the same place in this nation.  But even once that place is reached, there is hope for individuals.  Let us turn from our sins and seek to call others to do the same.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 16-18.

I have written how, as I read through the Book of Jeremiah I wonder if we today have gotten to the point Judah was at when Jeremiah prophesied, to the point where God’s judgement could no longer be avoided?  The beginning of today’s passage makes me think that we have not yet gotten there.  God warned Jeremiah, and instructed him to warn others, not to have children in Jerusalem.  I do not get the sense that God is sending such a message today, at least, not yet.  Further, despite the constant drumbeat that disaster could no longer be avoided which Jeremiah’s prophecies contained, God gave Jeremiah the occasional prophecy that it is never too late.

“If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed,  and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.  And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted,  and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.”

Of course, at the same time God also warns that no society is so secure that it can turn its back on Him and survive.  Many people in our society today have chosen to turn from God and reject His will.  Our society is accelerating into the abyss.  I believe it is too late to attempt to salvage society, we must seek instead to reach individuals and convince them to turn back to God (or, perhaps a better way to put it would be to say, allow the Holy Spirit to convince them through us).  However, I also believe that if enough people are touched by the Holy Spirit, our society may still be saved from disaster.

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