Good morning! Nearly all of today’s passage (Jeremiah 25-27) was written after the return from exile, as the prose writing and references to historical events can attest. Keeping this in mind, we can see how the words put in Jeremiah’s mouth give a theological explanation for suffering, and work through the delicate task of determining true versus false prophets.
Author: Oby Ballinger
Jeremiah 20-24
Good morning! By this time we’ve read enough of Jeremiah to understand his main arguments against idolatry and self-righteousness in Judah. Today in Jeremiah 20-24 we see how those prophetic challenges lead to pushback against Jeremiah from other leaders, and then evoke his own denunciations of authority figures, specifically kings and other (self-proclaimed) prophets.
Jeremiah 16-19
Good morning! Today in Jeremiah 16-19 we continue to see the cost of prophecy on Jeremiah and his family. Nevertheless, he recalls the people of Jerusalem to their religious roots, while also giving his certainty that reformation of their wickedness is impossible. We see this manifest most directly in the back-to-back metaphors of clay reshaped and clay broken forever.
Jeremiah 13-15
Good morning! Today in Jeremiah 13-15 we see further developments of the prophetic tradition. We encounter the first sign-acts that will be so visible throughout other prophets, and we also see the squeeze that the prophet’s vocation puts on Jeremiah’s mental health.
Jeremiah 10-12
Good morning! In what might now seem to be a familiar pattern, today’s passage (Jeremiah 10-12) expresses disgust at idolatry, promises the vengeful wrath of God through military defeat, and then permits a periodic prose reminder that not all will be destroyed. Along the way, we get more of a sense that this calling costs Jeremiah dearly, alienating him from both people and God in the peculiar pinch that comes with prophecy.
Jeremiah 7-9
Good morning! Today’s passage (Jeremiah 7-9) declares the injustice of God’s people and the insufficiency of temple worship alone to please God. The prophet (speaking with God’s voice) counters hypocritical religious practices of the day with fierce denunciation and warning of impending calamity. Biblical scholars believe that Jeremiah’s original verses (in poetic form) were later supplemented by the prose sections during exile and post-exile times. These paragraphs try to explain why the exile happened and how to avoid further bad news from God.
Jeremiah 5-6
Good morning! Today in Jeremiah 5-6 the prophet Jeremiah continues his denunciation of the people of God for their unfaithful ways. He also shares more details about the terror that is about to visit Judah. We read references to a people from the lands of the north throughout this section, and Assyria’s invasion is almost certainly what the prophet has in mind.
Jeremiah 3-4
Good morning! Today’s gloomy reading in Jeremiah 3-4 foreshadows the total eclipse of Judah before much longer. The prophet contends that the people have been unfaithful, and calls them to repentance. If Judah does not repent, God will let them be overrun as a sovereign nation. Jeremiah is so sure that Jerusalem will fail to repent that he announces their impending doom, even while calling for them to change their ways.
Jeremiah 1-2
Good morning! Today we start the book of Jeremiah, in my judgment second only to Isaiah for its scope and significance in the prophetic canon. Jeremiah lived in Jerusalem near the end of Judah’s independence, while it was fighting Assyrian forces and eventually losing to the overrunning armies of Babylon. The main arc of Jeremiah’s message (and of the verses which scholars think were added to it later) is that temple worship and adherence to Jerusalem will not save Judah. Only adherence to the earlier Mosaic customs and the law as set forth in Deuteronomy will help Jerusalem resist its enemies. This message comes through with chapters of poetic judgment at the beginning of the book, followed by narratives in later chapters about the events of Jeremiah’s life. In today’s passage (Jeremiah 1-2) we read of Jeremiah’s call as a young boy, and then his first utterances critiquing the leaders of Jerusalem for idolatry.
Isaiah 61-66
Good morning! We have an embarrassment of riches today in these last six chapters of Isaiah (61-66)! There’s much that we could dwell on, and indeed preachers have, since several sections of these chapters come up in the calendar of readings (lectionary) that many churches use. But so that you can go ahead and focus on the texts themselves, let me just mention one overarching theme I see: human hunger for the newness that God will provide.
Pastor Oby Ballinger 