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 33-35.

Jeremiah predicted the fall of Jerusalem, but he also prophesied that God would never abandon the Jewish people.  What I find interesting is that Jeremiah’s prophecy here was in response to people saying that Israel was not worthy to be counted as a nation.  This struck me because there are many people saying the same thing today.  I thoroughly believe that those people will discover that God’s promise given through Jeremiah is every bit as true today as it was then.  The reason that people said it then was much different from the reasons people say it today.  When Jeremiah prophesied, God promised to restore the people of Israel to their land.  Today, they have been restored to that land, but some people refuse to recognize that this came about because of God’s action.  It may be that God will once again exile His people from the land He gave them because of their sin, but those who choose to be their enemies will pay a price for their hostility.  God has restored the people of Israel to their land several times throughout history, and each time, He exiled them once more when they failed to faithfully follow His commands.

After the above prophecy, Jeremiah condemns the elites of Jerusalem for their failure to stay the course when they repented and turned back to God, or, at least, claimed to do so.  They had freed their Hebrew slaves, their fellow Israelites whom they had enslaved for one reason or another.  By doing so as part of a religious revival they acknowledged that continuing to keep them as slaves was a sin.  However, they soon repented of freeing their slaves and re-enslaved them on one pretext or another.  Jeremiah unfavorably contrasts this with the Recabites, who followed the commands of their ancestor to not drink wine or live in houses.  They had followed these commands since the time of King Jehu of Israel, when their ancestor helped Jehu eliminate Baal worship in the Northern Kingdom.  The Recabites followed their ancestors commands for generations, but the elites of Jerusalem would not remain faithful to God’s commands for even a matter of months.  To which of these groups do you and I belong?  

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 31-32.

Through Jeremiah God promises to enter into a new covenant with the people of Israel (from other passages, both in Jeremiah and elsewhere, we learn that this covenant extends to all people).  This new covenant was necessary because the people of Israel were unable to keep the original one (no one would have been able to do so).  The new covenant which God made does not require teachers who have been extensively trained to understand what God commands and how those rules fit together.  God has provided simple and basic rules which anyone can understand for themselves if they so desire.  Further, He has placed His Spirit in those who wish to follow this new covenant to explain to them from within what He desires.  This does not mean that there is no place for teachers of God’s will.  It means that you can go to Scripture for yourself, and with the aid of the Holy Spirit, determine if what the teacher is teaching matches what God has said through Scripture.  

On a slightly different note, Jeremiah was accused of being a traitor to his people because he prophesied that Jerusalem would fall and that the people of Judah should submit to the Babylonians.  This accusation was wrong on several counts.  First, Jeremiah also prophesied that Babylon would be destroyed for what it did to the people of Israel (including Judah).  Second, we have today’s passage where Jeremiah demonstrated his belief that the nation of Israel would one day be restored.  Jeremiah purchased land from a relative and sealed the deed and other ownership documents in a clay jar to preserve them against the time when the Jewish people would once more be able to buy and sell land in the Land of Israel.  He had told the people of Jerusalem that they would go into exile, but he had also told them it would only be for 70 years.  In today’s passage, he put his money where his mouth was by buying land. 

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 28-30.

Before the final fall of Jerusalem many of the people of Judah had already been taken into Exile by the Babylonians.  They mourned being exiled from their homeland and wished to return.  God directed Jeremiah to write them a letter.  In that letter Jeremiah told them to accept their lives in this new location.  I want to focus on a small portion of that letter, but one which represents much of God’s message for all who love Him.

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord.

God has plans for us, and they are plans for good, not for disaster.  When we pray, God will listen.  If we look for God, we will find Him.  This is true for all people.  If you seek God with your whole heart, you will find Him. 

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 26-27.

Other parts of the Book of Jeremiah are directed at abandoned God completely to worship pagan gods.  However, in today’s passage Jeremiah directs his prophecy of doom directly to those worshiping in the Temple.  Rather than listening to his words from God and repenting, the people who claimed to be trying to follow God tried to have Jeremiah killed.  They were angry because he told them that they would not be safe just because they worshiped in the Temple.  In the same way today it is not enough to go to Church and pay lip service to obeying God.  We must show His love to those suffering in the world around us.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.  I am back from vacation, but back to doing my daily readings a few days earlier than planned.  I will continue to try to be a few days ahead so that I can publish on time if anything comes up.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 23-25.

Each year as I read through the Old Testament prophets I realize more and more how each section flows into the next.  For example, it is easy to look at today’s reading and see it as starting a new theme from Jeremiah separate from what came before.  But the fact of the matter is that Jeremiah’s condemnation of the leaders and prophets expands on his condemnation of idolatry among the people.  As part of his condemnation of leaders and prophets Jeremiah reminds us that all of the people abuse what power they have.  All too often when we condemn the abuse of power by leaders we forget that that the poor and oppressed use what power they may have over others to abuse them as well.  The leaders of society, both political and religious, have an obligation to lead with honor and righteousness.  However, the common people cannot expect their leaders to be honorable and righteous if they themselves are not.

Jeremiah condemns as false prophets those religious leaders who tell those who despise God’s word that they will have peace and those who follow their own desires that no harm will come to them.  I have heard those who say that God loves everyone, no matter what they believe or do.  They say that there are many paths to God and we should not presume that others need to follow the one which we have found.  There is truth to both of these statements, but both miss God’s message to us.  Yes, God loves everyone, no matter what they believe or do, but He wishes to bring them healing and love which will transform them.  If you believe that evil is good and good is evil you will continue to do things which harm both yourself and others.  God desires to show you His love and truth so that you will stop harming yourself through self-destructive behavior.  And yes, there are many paths to God.  If you truly seek God you will find Him, no matter what path you follow, but eventually that path will lead you to Christ and if you reject Christ when you come to Him you are rejecting God.  Those who claim to be speaking for God who claim that you need not come to Christ and need not stop self-destructive behaviors are liars

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.  I am back from vacation, but back to doing my daily readings a few days earlier than planned.  I will continue to try to be a few days ahead so that I can publish on time if anything comes up.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 19-22.

As I read the writings of Jeremiah I see him prophecy against two forms of idolatry.  He prophesied against those who worshiped the nation of Judah and the Temple, who failed to understand that just because God’s Temple was in Jerusalem did not mean that God would protect the city.  He also prophesied against those who joined in every worship fad which came along.  These were not the equivalent of having loud, electrified worship teams leading the Christian worship service, singing the latest contemporary Christian songs (although some of those fads may lead towards what Jeremiah is prophesying against, but that is a different discussion).  No, Jeremiah was prophesying against those who partook in pagan practices.  

I cannot decide if Jeremiah’s prophecies against these two forms of idolatry were directed to the same group of people, or if they were two different groups.  Based on what I see in our society today, I would guess that his prophecies were directed at multiple groups.  There were those who fully joined in his condemnation of the pagan worship practices, but thought he went too far when he said Jerusalem would fall because its people failed to deliver justice to the poor and powerless.  There were those who fully joined in his condemnation of the failure of Jerusalem’s people to deliver justice to the poor and powerless, but thought he went too far by condemning pagan practices.  And there were those who thought that by condemning pagan practices he was taking part in denying justice to the poor and powerless.  Each group failed to understand that they were no better than the others.  If you believe that the failures of others plays a more important role in the breakdown of society than your own failures, Jeremiah was talking to you.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.  I just got back from a ten day vacation and prepared this before I left.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 16-18.

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows…well, perhaps, but The Shadow was a fictional character.  God knows, and He is not fictional, no matter how much some people proclaim that He is.  We may think we know that wickedness lurks in the hearts of certain people and not in the hearts of others.  But we are generally mistaken.  We do not truly know our own wickedness, let alone that of others.  However, God knows the inmost thoughts of everyone and will give us the just reward for our thoughts and behaviors.  Which should scare each and everyone of us!  On the other hand, if we humbly throw ourselves upon His mercy, He will extend us that mercy.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.  I just got back from a ten day vacation and prepared this before I left.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 13-15.

God told Jeremiah to stop praying for the people of Judah, that they were too far gone in their sin to return to God before they suffered His judgement.  Yet, Jeremiah still cried out for them and prayed to God.  He did so because their prophets were telling them that they were doing nothing wrong, that if they continued to follow the path which they were following God would send them peace.  Today we often see the same thing, false teachers proclaiming that God will send peace and prosperity to those who are sinning.  There are two types of such prophets: those who preach “prosperity gospel” and those who preach acceptance of self-destructive behavior.  The former teach that God will grant us material wealth.  The latter teach that we can do whatever we like as long as we are “loving”.  Neither group preaches God’s actual word.  Some know they are lying and some of them failed to heed what God told Jeremiah later on in this passage.

Jeremiah complains to God about the persecution he is suffering and begs God for deliverance.  God promises Jeremiah that He will indeed keep him safe.  God told Jeremiah to speak God’s good words rather than worthless ones of those around him.  In like manner we should seek to influence those who do not worship God (yet), but not allow them to influence us.  As Paul says in Romans 12, let us not copy the behaviors of this world but let us be transformed by the Holy Spirit into the likeness of God.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.  I am on vacation from July 31 through today, but I did my Bible reading in advance so that I could continue to publish these every day.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 10-12.

Growing up, and even into my young adult years, I viewed passages like those in today’s reading where the prophets spoke against idols made by man as something to be read figuratively.  However, in recent years I have come to know more and more people who are returning to worship of gods made by human hands.  Some of them even view the gods they worship as being man-made.  We should not allow ourselves to be drawn into their practices.  None of those other gods can compare to God.  God created the universe and all that is in it.  The believers in those other gods make no such claim.

God sent Jeremiah to speak His message to people who did not want to hear it.  Some of those to whom Jeremiah preached wished to silence him by killing him.  We see the same thing today.  Perhaps not yet to the point of seeking to kill those who truly preach God’s word, but strong efforts are under way to silence such voices.  Those who sought Jeremiah’s death were from Anathoth, which was one of the Levitical Cities of Refuge and Jeremiah’s birthplace.  A little further on God tells Jeremiah that his own brothers had turned against him.  Since Jeremiah was a priest, his brothers also would have been priests.  So, some of the religious leaders of the day were taking part in the attempt to silence Jeremiah because he spoke God’s word.  Similar things happen today.