SMBC Principal's Hour

The book of Jeremiah exposes the horror of human sin and impurity – in ancient Judah and in us. Yahweh is, therefore, justified in appointing his prophet to uproot and to tear down. Yet, God’s commitment to his people and to the world they inhabit means his purposes also include building and planting. In Jeremiah 31 those restorative themes explode to life as Yahweh declares his intention to establish a new covenant in which he will radically transform his people. By writing his torah on their hearts, God himself will bring about the obedience he has always desired.

In Jeremiah 29:11, God declares: “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you”. This is a much-loved verse. In fact, along with John 3:16, it is the most frequently googled verse in the Bible! But what does it mean? What are God’s plans for his people? When we study this verse in its context, we discover that God’s plans for us are even better than most of us have imagined, and that they are linked to a task more meaningful than we could have hoped to be given.

“Information disorder” plagues our culture, and with the rise of AI it’s only likely to become worse. We are distracted, enticed and confused by fake news and lies masquerading as truth. Sometimes preachers appear to be teaching the truth from the Bible, but are not handling it responsibly. Who should we be listening to? As two prophets collide in Jeremiah 28, the text helps us to be discerning, and to listen to the voice that speaks the truth.

Jeremiah feels the weight of tragedy when the shepherd kings of Israel promote unfaithfulness, and the prophets speak falsehood. But in his words of judgement, there are hints of how shepherds can get it right and prophets can get it right.

If God is sovereign, how should we respond? What does God’s sovereignty mean when we are caught in sin? What does it mean when we are sinned against? Jeremiah 18 articulates a principle about how God’s sovereignty and human choices interact. The text then shows us how the principle works out in real life situations. It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn how our plans interact with His, and how we can shape our life around the good plans of the sovereign God.

Jeremiah 9 drips with tears as God calls his prophet and his people to join him in weeping over sin and its destructive consequences. We are invited to cry, too. Jeremiah 9 also highlights the many ways people deceive each other and to deceive themselves, being lured into manipulative religion and relationships and confidence in intelligence, strength and wealth. Jeremiah finds a way to wipe away the tears in the ways God works in the world.

In Jeremiah 7, Jeremiah warns the Israelites that, though they think they are safe, they are actually in great spiritual danger because the religion they are practising is false religion. As Jeremiah explains what false religion is, and why it is so devastating, we have an opportunity to do our own spiritual health check, considering if there are elements of false religion in our lives, and then turning from it to something much better.

In Jeremiah 2:1-13, God begins speaking through Jeremiah regarding the reason behind Israel’s experience of God’s judgment. They have abandoned the Lord as their loving husband and deliverer in favour of worthless idols. This kind of spiritual adultery comes with incalculable consequences and is likened to being duped into giving away a great treasure. Uprooting and avoiding it continues to be an imperative for Christians. In identifying idols today, we should consider anything that steals our time, money and trust away from the Lord.

In Jeremiah chapter 1, God commissions Jeremiah to a difficult and dangerous ministry. It is so difficult and so dangerous, in fact, that it almost seems impossible. And yet God makes it possible by promising to empower Jeremiah through a series of four assurances. Like Jeremiah, we too are commissioned by God to a difficult and dangerous ministry. And, like Jeremiah, the same empowering from God is available to us. All this means that these 4 assurances are precious to us. There is so much we can learn from Jeremiah 1!

Powerful people advertise themselves by the way they arrive. But when Jesus rides into Jerusalem, he chooses a donkey. To announce a message of peace. And even in the face of Jerusalem’s rejection, Jesus cries tears at the thought of judgement. As we finally arrive at the end of our journey to Jerusalem, the merciful character of Jesus is more fully revealed.