You Can Read the Bible Guided Podcast

Today’s stories follow no defined timeline, but at least they are clearly marked.  The first, in chapter 25, comes in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, about 605 B.C.  More critically, it is the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.  Jeremiah warns Jehoiakim that the LORD will bring Nebuchadnezzar – whom the LORD calls “my servant” – against this land and its inhabitants… and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.  Unfortunately, we know that Jehoiakim did not heed Jeremiah’s warning. 

At the beginning of chapter 26, Jeremiah recalls events from four years earlier, at the beginning of Jehhoiakim’s reign.  Judah was a vassal of Egypt at the time, and Jeremiah was sent to warn the king and his court that it is neither Egypt, nor Babylon, that they should fear:  “Thus says the LORD: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law… and to listen to the words of my servants the prophets… then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.” 

The final chapter moves forward a dozen years.  Judah is now subject to Babylon, and Zedekiah is enthroned as Nebuchadnezzar’s puppet.  It smells like there’s a conspiracy afoot among the rulers in the region to buck Babylon’s power.  Jeremiah warns against this.  In fact, the LORD has ordained Babylon’s position: “Now I have given these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant…”  The LORD promises to punish any nation that will not serve Babylon, and to spare the nations that do. 

Listen for common threads throughout today’s reading.  Prophets, good and bad, are a repeated subject.  So is the stubbornness of Judah’s rulers. Notice where and to whom Jeremiah makes his proclamations, and consider the trouble it gets him in.  Finally, and significantly, notice the LORD’s sovereign control over the story.  If Judah ascends, it is because of the LORD’s hand; if Babylon ascends, it is likewise because of the LORD’s hand. 

Our verse for this week is Hebrews 8:10: For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 

Jeremiah 25 through 27.  Now let’s read it!

In the middle of chapter 22, Jeremiah turns his attention to Shallum – or Jehoahaz – promising that he will not return from exile in Egypt.  He then condemns Jehoiakim, who succeeded him, and Coniah, short for Jeconiah, who also will not return from captivity in Babylon. 

To frame these oracles, it’s time for a history review.  2 Kings lets us know that King Josiah (Jehoahaz’ father) had died trying to thwart Egypt’s advance against Babylon.  Judah placed Jehoahaz on the throne in Josiah’s stead, but the Pharaoh, on his way back through Jerusalem, took Jehoahaz captive and placed Jehoiakim on the throne. 

During Jehoiakim’s reign the political winds turned and Judah came under Babylonian rule.  Jehoiakim rebelled however, and Babylon was amassing its forces against him when he died in 598 B.C.  His son Jeconiah (who’s named Jehoiachin in 2 Kings), eighteen years old and three months into his reign, gave himself up to the king of Babylon. 

To release his siege of Jerusalem, 2 Kings 24 tells us that Nebuchadnezzar carried off all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house… He also carried away all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths.  None remained, except the poorest people of the land… Further, the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle [and Josiah’s remaining son], king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

It’s unclear why the author is dropping these oracles in here – especially when some of them could be two decades old – except that it’s possible there was a Judean hope that one of these rulers will return to the throne.  Even imagining their homecoming would give a glimmer of hope that there will be a homeland for them to return to.  Jeremiah’s challenge all along has been to convince the remaining Judeans that no hope remains; perhaps he is simply checking any glimpses of optimism off the list.   

Optimism-crushing is certainly the theme in the rest of today’s reading.  In chapter 23, the LORD calls Judah a burden, and promises to cast them off.  He even declares opposition to the prophets “who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, who think to make my people forget my name…”  In chapter 24 Jeremiah recalls a vision from Nebuchadnezzar’s earlier seige, in which the LORD promises to protect the exiles and reject the remnant in Jerusalem, promising to “send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.”

Our verse for this week is Hebrews 8:10: For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 

Jeremiah 22 through 24.  Now let’s read it!

Then the LORD said [to Moses], “I have pardoned, according to your word. But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it.   Numbers 14:20-23

When the LORD promises Jeremiah today that “Behold, I am bringing such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle,” I’m reminded of the two other instances in which the LORD used these exact words.  Each time – with Samuel, Manasseh, and now with Jeremiah’s generation – it was a warning of such tremendous upheaval that no one could doubt it was divinely ordained.  It’s safe to assume that the LORD’s higher priority is the same here as it was in the days of Moses: one way or another, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.

In chapter 19 the LORD gives Jeremiah another object lesson: smash a flask before the elders of the people, for “So will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, so that it can never be mended.”  Though it was now under a puppet ruler and many of its ruling class had been exiled, Jerusalem was still intact.  The nation survived, even as a vassal of Babylon.  But it would not last. 

Resistance to this proclamation will fill the coming chapters.  When Jeremiah takes his message to the steps of the Temple, in chapter 21, Pashur the priest beats him, and puts him in stocks.  This drives Jeremiah into another lament, grieved that whenever he cries out “Violence and destruction!” he hears many whispering: “Denounce him!  Let us denounces him!” 

It’s no wonder that he sees terror on every side.  Yet listen closely, for in the midst of his grief, the prophet will sing. 

Our verse for this week is Lamentations 3:22-23: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Jeremiah 19 through 21.  Now let’s read it!

You’ve already seen how personal the book of Jeremiah is.   The LORD, and the author, provide a vivid picture of the judgment descending on Judah.  Furthermore, like Noah before, Jeremiah is instructed to act as though he’s confident that destruction is nigh.  Today’s reading opens with instructions about how Jeremiah should not waste his time: “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons and daughters in this place…” also, “Do not enter the house of mourning, or go to lament or grieve for them…”  Jeremiah’s words, actions, and inactions will convey the LORD’s intentions and perspective.

In the middle of today’s reading comes a message of hope.  “If you listen to Me…” declares the LORD, and “keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, then there shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David… And this city shall be established forever.”  This presents a tension that will go unresolved: has the LORD changed His mind about the promised destruction?  Is He making a final offer of restoration?  Or does He know His offer will go unheeded, and this only serves to confirm His judgment against them? 

In chapter 18 the LORD might be addressing these very questions. He reminds Judah that “If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation…turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it.”  However, their response so astounds Him that He challenges them to “Ask among the nations, Who has heard the likes of this?” 

Our verse for this week is Lamentations 3:22-23: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Jeremiah 16 through 18.  Now let’s read it!

A voice, a rumor!  Behold it comes! – A great commotion out of the north country to make the cities of Judah a lair of jackals.  - Jeremiah 10:22

The prophet dropped this in yesterday, almost midsentence, as though someone ran into the room and cried “We’re under attack!”  Chapter 13 finds us on the other side of this invasion, as a few clues in today’s reading reveal that the LORD’s promise to “pluck up” His “evil neighbors” has been fulfilled.   

First, in the object lesson at the beginning of chapter 13, Jeremiah is told to “Go to the Euphrates” and hide his loincloth there in a cleft of the rock.  The Euphrates does not flow through Israel.  It’s unknown whether Jeremiah was forcibly exiled, or whether he voluntarily followed his countrymen east, but we’ve gotten our first clue that the situation has changed.

A second clue is found in the LORD’s words to the king and the queen mother: ‘Take a lowly seat, for your beautiful crown has come down from your head.’  The cities of the Negeb are shut up, with none to open them; all Judah is taken into exile, wholly taken into exile.  The crown’s removal is past tense; exile is in the present.  Judah is experiencing the first taste of the LORD’s rejection.

There is so much more to observe today, but I’ll guide you to attend to two details.  In chapter 14, the author records a prayer where Judah calls on the LORD, ‘O you hope of Israel, its savior in time of trouble, why should you be like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for the night?  Why should you be like a man confused, like a mighty warrior who cannot save?”  What are they saying about the LORD here?

Later, we find Jeremiah back in Judah where he laments his treatment as “a man of strife and contention to the whole land!  I have not lent, nor have I borrowed, yet all of them curse me.”  When the LORD promises “If you return, I will restore you…” He infers that Jeremiah has even decided to hang up his mantle.  As He did yesterday, the LORD responds with gentle rebuke, and a promise that “I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they will not prevail over you.”

We’ve seen this before, haven’t we?  Just as in chapter 1, Judah, in distress, needs a savior.  And the LORD promises deliverance – not for them, but for his mouthpiece. “For I am with you,” He promises Jeremiah, “to save you and deliver you.” 

Our verse for this week is Lamentations 3:22-23: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Jeremiah 13 through 15.  Now let’s read it!

Today’s three chapters break neatly across three unique themes.  Chapter 10 focuses on the folly of idolatry compared to worshipping the God who made the earth by His power, who established the world by His wisdom… None of this is unfamiliar territory, but there is a spiral effect at work: each time idolatry, injustice, and Jeremiah’s intercession are addressed, the tone is just a bit sharper, the rebuke a little stronger. 

In chapter 11 the LORD uses a fascinating descriptor: “A conspiracy exists,” He says, “among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem… The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers.”  This reminds us that, from the LORD’s perspective, obedience to Him was not a choice; for Israel, for Judah, it was not one option among many.  Therefore, “What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds?”  In fact, he again commands Jeremiah, “Do not pray for this people… for I will not listen.”  The coming disaster that they cannot escape, is – from the LORD’s perspective – deserved. 

In chapter 12 Jeremiah again raises his voice in complaint: “Why does the way of the wicked prosper?”  Read what follows closely.  This is not an abstract complaint about the state of the world.  This is a criticism of how the LORD manages things: “…You plant them, and they take root; they grow and produce fruit…”  Listen just as intently to the LORD’s response: there is a gentle reprimand of the prophet, a greater rebuke of his nation, and finally a promise that justice will have the final say. 

As I’ve often reminded, the subject of this Bible is the LORD.  It is not Judah, or Jeremiah, or the voice out of the north country.  The primary subject is neither Judah’s failure nor Jeremiah’s despair.  This was sublimely affirmed in yesterday’s benediction: “but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”  I encourage you to listen intently to how His words reveal His character and priorities in today’s passage.    

Our verse for this week is Lamentations 3:22-23: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Jeremiah 10 through 12.  Now let’s read it!

At the beginning of chapter 7 the story has moved forward a few years, to a time when the Temple is once again functioning, and the men of Judah enter its gates to worship the LORD.  However, the LORD calls Jeremiah to “stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word… Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place…  Listen intently to the LORD’s indictment, and remember where Jeremiah is as he delivers it.  Consider also the LORD’s injunction that Jeremiah “not pray for this people…and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you.”

It’s no wonder that by the end of chapter 8 Jeremiah is driven to lament: “My joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is sick within me…”  This is the tense position of the prophet that I alluded to yesterday.  Jeremiah carries the weight of knowledge: clear vision of both his countrymen’s sin and of the LORD’s word.  Consider the LORD’s observation in chapter 9: “Let everyone beware of his neighbor, and put no trust in any brother… Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit, they refuse to know me, declares the LORD.”  Is it a relief that the LORD sees what Jeremiah sees? 

Even He grieves over Jerusalem’s destruction: “Shall I not punish them for these things? Declares the LORD… I will take up weeping and wailing for the mountains, and a lamentation for the pastures of the wilderness, because they are laid waste… I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a lair of jackals, and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.” 

At the end of chapter 9 there is a benediction of sorts, proclaiming the steadfast love, justice, and righteousness of the LORD.  This is a striking interjection and worth our attention.  Is this reminder `for the men of Judah, for Jeremiah, or for the future reader?    

Our verse for this week is Lamentations 3:22-23: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Jeremiah 7 through 9.  Now let’s read it!