The Prophet Jeremiah
Monday, July 1 Jeremiah 21:1-14
“Speak to the Lordfor us”
Thepassage provides us with a date in Judah’s painful history. Zedekiah is king – the first reference to thelast king of Judah since the beginning of the book (1:3) – and the date is ca.588BC. With the Babylonian armysurrounding Jerusalem, a royal official named Pashhur (not the priest of thesame name in the previous chapter) and a priest named Zephaniah are sent toJeremiah to ask him to inquire of the Lord. Perhaps God will work one of his wonders so that the Babylonians willwithdraw.
The Lord’s reply is full of the judgmental language seen in virtuallyevery previous chapter. God will not waragainst the Babylonian army but against Judah for its faithlessness andwickedness. God’s enemy at the moment isJudah, not Babylon. God is settingbefore them the way of life and death. Death is the fate of those who stay in the city; those who leave and aretaken captive by the Babylonians will escape with their lives. It is too late for repentance – God hasdecided to bring disaster.
You are not indifferent to the sins of yourpeople, Lord. Amen.
Tuesday, July 2 Jeremiah 22:1-17
“Speak directly tothe king of Judah”
Jeremiahspeaks directly to (against!) the royal family. In this critical evaluation, we encounter an emphasis on royal socialresponsibility. The king and hisadministrators should do justice and practice righteousness. Justiceis primarily associated with administration. In doing justice one works through social institutions (e.g., the courtsand state agencies). Righteousness is more of a relationalterm. One is considered righteous whenacting faithfully toward those with whom one is related in community.
Jehoahaz was the son and immediate successor to Josiah. He was placed on the throne after the deathof his father but was subsequently removed by the Egyptian pharaoh after abrief reign. Jeremiah calls for mourningon his behalf. Jeremiah then pronouncesa judgmental “woe” on Jehoiakim, the older brother of Jehoahaz, who succeededhis younger brother on the throne. Apparently the Egyptians, who placed Jehoiakim on the throne, wantedsomeone from the royal family whom they could control.
We pray that our leaders do justice, Lord,and practice righteousness. Amen.
Wednesday, July 3 Jeremiah 22:18-30
“The Lord willabandon you’”
Verses18-19 foretell the fate of arrogant and selfish king Jehoiakim who will not bemourned at his death and will not receive a proper burial. Verses 20-23 refers to Jerusalem who is toldto bewail her doom far and wide, away to the north in Lebanon, to the northeastin Bashan, and in Abarimwhich lieseast of the Dead Sea. The cause ofJerusalem’s doom lay in the refusal of her people to obey God ever since theirbeginnings (“childhood/youth”). It wasonly a matter of time before the divine judgment would fall.
Verses 24-30 address king Jehoiachin who was the son of Jehoiakim andnaturally succeeded his father. According to the historical record in 2 Kings 24:8-17, he reigned a merethree months before the 597BC deportation of certain Judean royalty and highofficials to Babylon. The youngeighteen-year old king was taken to Babylon where he eventually died. He is recorded as childless, not because hedidn’t have any children (he had seven according to 1 Chronicles 3:17-18), butbecause none of his sons would succeed him to the throne of David to rule overJudah.
Unlike these kings,Lord, may we do justice and practice righteousness. Amen.
Thursday, July 4 Jeremiah 23:1-24
“What sorrow awaits the shepherds of my sheep”
The chaptercollects a number of harsh sayings against the religious leaders who opposeJeremiah in word and deed. Includedamong the “shepherds” are almost certainly kings. Priests are also mentioned, but the brunt ofthe criticism falls on prophets who have not understood the Lord correctly andhave, therefore, misled the people. Amongthese words of judgment are also claims that God intends to redeem hisscattered people and to raise up a shepherd in whose days the “sheep” will findsecurity.
The symbolicname of the shepherd to be raised up is “The Lord is Our Righteousness.” Christians recognize the truth of thatprophecy. In Christ, God hasdemonstrated his righteousness and also accepted Christ’s righteousness onbehalf of those who trust in his saving work. Christ is the culmination of the hopes of the royal line of David, thekings of Judah. The failures of many ofthose kings/shepherds to do justice and practice righteousness makes Christ’s shepherdingof his people even more glorious.
In you, Jesus, Ihave a true shepherd. Amen.
Friday, July 5 Jeremiah 23:25-40
“I am against theseprophets”
The validity ofdreams as a means of divine revelation is questioned. In Jeremiah’s view the dream was chaff whileGod’s word delivered through his servant was wheat. He clearly regarded dreams as very subjectiveexperiences which had nothing to do with a word from God. Let the dreamer tell his dream if he wishes,but do not attribute to it the statues of the word of God. The two metaphors of “fire” and a “hammerthat shatters the rock” convey something of the powerful character of the wordof God. It is wheat. By contrast the anemic, powerless dream is chaffwhich cannot move a man deeply at the moral and religious level.
Verses 33-40form a section built around the word “burden,” where the phrase, “What is theburden of the Lord?” means “What is the word of the Lord?” In general the main thrust of the passage isthat the prophetic office is to be undertaken with great seriousness. Only those to whom God entrusts his word areentitled to proclaim it. Imposters andplagiarists will incur divine judgment.
May we only listen to those, Lord, whobring your true word. Amen.
Saturday, July 6 Jeremiah 24:1-10
“I saw two basketsof figs”
Thetiming of this vision is in Zedekiah’s reign, sometime between 597BC, whenNebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin and a number of the leading citizens of Judahinto exile in Babylon, and 587/586, when the Babylonians besieged and destroyedJerusalem. Jeremiah observes two basketsof figs left as offerings at the temple. The Lord tells the prophet that the good figs are like the Judeans takeninto exile, while the rotten figs represent Zedekiah and those who remain in Jerusalemand Judah. The Lord promises to do goodto the exilic community, to bring them back from exile, and to give them aheart to know him.
Onefinds in this prophetic report a shorthand version of what the larger book ofJeremiah intends to accomplish. Forthose on whom the judgment of the Exile has fallen, God announces that heintends to “build them up” and to “plant” them again in the Promised Land (notethe vocabulary correspondence with the call of Jeremiah in 1:10). There is also the promise of a heart preparedby God to return to him wholeheartedly.
Ipraise you for giving me a heart, Lord, to know you. Amen.