Creative Space for Wanderers
Read: Flashback a few years and a dozen chapters. We find this short chapter, just five verses, is intended to give Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe, some peace about his role in the drama of Israel’s history. It’s really hard to know if we’re doing the right thing as life unfolds. Should we lead a protest or …
Read: This is an interesting narrative that follows the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem, the ups and downs of those left behind and the consistent word from Jeremiah. In a day that is marked by leaders ignoring the Word through Jeremiah, Gedaliah appears. He is relatively unknown, well, at least by yours truly, but appears here and …
Continue reading “Gedaliah and the Aftermath Beyond the Fall of Jerusalem”
Read Voices. Which voices do you listen to? I remember the series we did at Shoreline Community Church in Monterey, CA, some years ago where we asked this question. Today we read about the consistent voice of the Lord through Jeremiah that spoke words the leaders of Judah did not want to hear. I hope …
Continue reading “Dungeon, Cistern, Courtyard; Babylonians Invade”
Two separate stories provide a distinct contrast of those whom Jeremiah is called to minister. One if faithful and one is lost in their own world. The Rekabites The Lord sends Jeremiah to the Rekabites and tells him to give them wine to drink. Jeremiah sets out bowls and cups, but the Rekabites refuse to …
Read: I probably should have stopped to review Zedekiah’s history a few days ago to give us some perspective, but here we are today in the 10th year as king, near the end of his of his reign as king of Judah. At this point, he’s heard enough of Jeremiah, so he has him confined to …
Read: Jeremiah’s words are not all gloom and doom. For those who listen to the whole message, there is great hope in the words we read today. I can’t wait for this moment, to see this glorious day! “‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will break the yoke off their necks and will …
Read: God used Nebuchadnezzar as an instrument of discipline against the nations. His actions are difficult to understand by most and we see prophets arise to say things the people wanted to hear, yet they were words not from the Lord. Jeremiah calls them out, not a pleasant exchange, but what else can he do? …
Continue reading “Nebuchadnezzar Rules; False Prophets; Letter to the Exiles”
Read: We begin today with a parable of the figs: some good and some so bad that there is nothing that can be done about them…not even good enough to turn into Fig Newtons. Jeremiah continues to preach exile and wrath for the nations and is once again threatened, this time with death, until some …
Continue reading “Figs, Seventy Years of Exile, Jeremiah Threatened and Defended”
Read: Jeremiah can’t help but preach what God has put in his heart and as a result he bears physical pain at the hands of those who don’t want to hear his message. In the midst of the reading today, we see a ray of hope, the coming Righteous Savior, a sermon that must have been …
Continue reading “Jeremiah Beaten; Prophesy of Exile; Promise of a King”
Read: The imagery created by this parable touches many of the senses: sight, sound, touch, smell and even taste if you’ve spent time in an artists workshop. As the Lord moves Jeremiah to visit the local potter’s house to teach this lesson, it’s easy for me to put on those shoes, to be transported back …