The Prophet Jeremiah
Monday, June 3 Jeremiah 5:1-17
“Lord, you aresearching for honesty”
Inan interchange between God and the audience in Jerusalem, mediated by theprophet, who offers commentary in verses 3-6, God challenges the people tosearch Jerusalem for anyone who deals honestly and seeks the truth. One can also translate “deals honestly” as“does justice.” Apparently no one fitsthese requirements. Jeremiah himselfattempts a search of people, both the poor and great, but their sins are many.
Beginning in verse 10, Jerusalem is personified as the possessor ofvines and branches, which symbolize people. Not only have both Israel and Judah refused to accept that their currentmisfortune is the Lord’s judgment on them; there is even a sense among somethat the Lord is not active and will not judge in the future either. Apparently these sentiments are provoked byso-called prophets who are nothing but windbags, telling the people what theywant to hear rather than the true word of God. But, God will judge, declaringthat a foreign nation is coming to devastate Judah, resulting in the carryingaway of the people into exile.
We will heed your word, Lord, for you dealhonestly with us. Amen.
Tuesday, June 4 Jeremiah 5:18-31
“Eyes that do notsee and ears that do not hear”
Althoughthe people of Judah will be exiled from the Promised Land, it will not bring anend to their existence. In context, thatis good news. Further, the Exile inBabylon is reinforced as a just reward for forsaking the God of their ancestorsin order to serve foreign gods while in their own land. Now they will serve foreigners in a foreignland.
Jeremiah portrays the people as sense-less, describing them aspossessing eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear the judgment of God. Jeremiah continues by noting that they refuseto fear the Lord; that is, they do not hold the Lord in awe and serve him withreverence, as is befitting a holy and righteous God, who has always blessedthem with regular crops and rain. Hethen underscores the correspondence between act and consequence: their sinshave deprived them of good; they are experiencing a general breakdown of commondecency as they neglect their responsibility to be obedient to God’scommandments; greed and violence are rampant; justice and righteousnesspractically non-existent.
My eyes and ears are open to you, Lord,that I may not be deprived of good. Amen.
Wednesday, June 5 Jeremiah 6:1-30
“Listen to thiswarning”
Disasteris imminent for Judah and Jerusalem. Thecity is “the Daughter of Zion,” so beautiful and yet so tragic. A siege of the city is depicted along with asuccinct statement of the reason: “This city must be punished, for it is filledwith oppression.” But, Jeremiah’sannouncements about the coming judgment have fallen on deaf ears. Speaking for himself and God, he wonders towhom else can he speak? He confessesthat he is wearied at holding in God’s wrath, and he hears the command to pourit out on the city that has known no shame.
Through his prophet, the Lord asks the people to consider the “goodway,” that “ancient path,” that leads to security. The prophet represents God in the conversation,but the people rudely reject divine guidance. The fate to befall them is actually the fruit of their own schemes. Correspondingly, God rejects the sacrificesof the people as inadequate in light of their moral and spiritualdisobedience. Through his prophet, hedeclares that the people as a whole are corrupt.
I have heard yourwarning, Lord, and I confess my sin. Amen.
Thursday, June 6 Jeremiah 7:1-29
“The temple of the Lord!”
Jeremiah warnsworshippers not to trust in deceptive words that given them false hopesconcerning the security of the temple or the efficacy of their religiousactivities. Three times the phrase “thetemple of the Lord” is repeated in verse 4. It seems to function like a mantra, as if simply repeating it or evenasserting it makes it true. Just becausethe temple sits in Jerusalem, worshippers should not assume that they can failin their responsibilities to God and neighbor and then come to the temple andcry, “We are safe!”
Jeremiah doesnot deny that the majestic temple on Mount Zion belongs to the Lord. Speaking for God, however, he asserts thatthe Lord is not bound to preserve the temple at all costs in the face of thepeople’s flagrant disobedience. Therewas nothing magical about the temple with respect to divine presence. The claim that God’s Name dwelt there was ametaphorical way of saying that God could be personally encountered at thatsite. At the same time, God has not tiedhimself to the structure or somehow bound himself irrevocably to its fate.
I will not hopein any religious institution, Lord, but only in you. Amen.
Friday, June 7 Jeremiah 7:30 – 8:3
“I have nevercommanded such a horrible deed”
In the nearbyvalley of Topheth, the Judeans participated in the horrifying rites of childsacrifice. The ancient world consideredthe offering of a child to a deity as a supremely religious act, since it gaveto the deity what was most precious to the worshiper. Some Judeans must have believed that they wereappeasing the Lord by partaking in these rituals, since God protests throughthe prophet that he has not commanded such activities. Elsewhere these activities are associatedwith the worship of the gods Baal and Molech.
As we considerthe ministry of Christ, the Topheth sacrifices remind us that what God did notrequire of his people he provided in the death of his own Son. If the Topheth sacrifices gave occasion forGod’s insistence that he does not require the sacrifice of children either toplease or appease him, then the death of Jesus Christ is the occasion where Godreveals the supremely sacrificial act of a self-offering for sin. In the death of Jesus, Christians meet God’sown zeal to judge sin and his ardent desire to provide life for sinners.
In Christ I am forgiven, Lord, without theneed for any other sacrifice. Amen.
Saturday, June 8 Jeremiah 8:4-22
“Is anyone sorryfor doing wrong?”
Theprophet engages his hearers with rhetorical questions and accuses them of moralstupidity and spiritual dullness. Hestates that God has listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. Neither do they do what is right. They are woefully and willfully ignorant ofGod’s requirements of behavior, which are designed to regulate life. Even a stork knows that there are appointedseasons, yet God’s own people seem clueless. To the reply from the people that they are indeed wise and have the lawof the Lord, Jeremiah charges that their interpretation of God’s law is falseas it blunts the law’s judgmental force against sin.
Thepeople belatedly realize that God’s judgment is upon them. Jeremiah depicts them as coming to the suddenand terrifying realization that the enemy is approaching and that God is in theprocess of judging them for their transgressions. The reference to poisoned water likely refersto the problems with water stored in cisterns rather than to some form ofdivine action in actually poisoning wells. Sieges typically resulted in heavy reliance on poor resources stored incisterns.
Iam sorry for doing wrong, Lord, and I confess my sin before you. Amen.