I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 42-44.

    After they had chased down and killed the man who had killed the man who Nebuchadnezzar had appointed governor over Judah, the leaders of the various bands of guerilla fighters came to Jeremiah for advice on what to do next. The interesting thing about their request is that they asked Jeremiah to pray that the “Lord your God” would show them what to do. They did not ask Jeremiah to pray to the “Lord our God” or even the “Lord God.” No, they asked him to pray to the “Lord your God.” Jeremiah uses the same language in responding to them, telling them that he will ask the “Lord your God” what they should do. I think there are two elements to their word choice. First, they knew they did not deserve to have a claim on God because of their idolatry and sin, but they nevertheless felt abandoned by Him. They knew that Jeremiah had been faithful to God in the face of opposition and persecution. More importantly, the things Jeremiah had said would happen happened.

    However, I think the second element is the bigger one. They were pushing responsibility off on Jeremiah. The message would come from Jeremiah’s God, not their God. In choosing to ask Jeremiah to request an answer from “his” God rather than from “their” God, they were signaling that they were seeking confirmation for what they had already decided rather than true guidance. We discover later in the passage that the people who had come to Jeremiah for guidance from the Lord were practicing idolatry. They thought that they could worship God alongside of other gods and gain God’s favor by doing so. If we are going to worship God, and wish to rely on Him for protection and guidance, we need to seek and worship Him as “the Lord Our God,” not as someone else’s god whom we worship alongside of other gods.