Reading for January 8th

Read Ezekiel 13.17-23: In verses 17-23: Ezekiel then condemns the women who prophesy falsely and practice divination. Miriam (Ex 15.20-21), Deborah (Judg 4-5), and Hudldah (2 kings 22) demonstrate that female prophets appeared in both Judah and Israel. He points to the divinatory side of their activities in which they employ wristbands and veiled (see Moses' veil in Ex 34.29-35), and he indicates that they are paid for their services in barley and bread. Prophecy was a profession in the ancient world (1 Sam 9.7, but contrast Am 7.10-17). The false prophetesses and diviners appart=rently play a role in deciding capital cases in which person's life is at stake. God will tear beads from their hands and let the lives of such people go free like birds. Birds were frequently employed in divination in the ancient world (see Isa 8.18). Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 7th

Read Ezekiel 13.1-16. In 13.1-23: Ezekiel must condemn prophets who announce peace (compare Jer 27-28). In verses 1-7: Ezekiel charges the prophets with false prophecy, claiming that they prophesy out of their own imagination rather than speak the word of God. He compares them to jackals who live in the ruins of others rather than do something useful. In verse 8-16: God is against those prophets who announce "Peace" when there is no peace. Much like Hanniah in Jer 27-28, prophets of peace would have relied upon the Davidic tradition of God's promise of security for the monarchy and Jerusalem. Ezekiel compares these prophecies to a wall that is whitewashed and then destroyed by rain, hail, and wind. Walls made of sun-dried brick are fequently destroyed in heavy rain and wind. Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 6th

Oracles concerning prophets and prophecy. In 12.21-14.11: Ezekiel's oracles affirm the imminent fulfillment of God's vision and challenge those phrophets and prophetesses who proclaim false messages of peace. In verses 21-25: Ezekiel responds to those who claim that his visions will not be fulfilled. Proverb here refers to both visual and auditory experience (see Isa 2.1). In verses 26-27: Ezekiel responds to the charge that his visions will be fulfilled only in the distant future by stating that they are about to be realized. Comments ot Questions..

Reading for January 5th

Read Ezekiel1-20. In 12.1-20: Symbolic actions concerning the Exile. In verses 1-7: The first represents the exile of the house of Israel. God calls Israel a rebellious house, but adds who have eyes to see, but do not see, who have ears to hear, but do not hear, apparently in reference to Isa 6.9-10. Ezekiel is to prepare his baggage, dig through the wall, and depart with his face covered so that all may see that the exile of Israel is taking place. I have made you a sign for the house of Israel (compare Isa 7.14; 8.18). In verses 8-16: Ezekiel's action provokes questions. He relates the symbolic action to the exile of the Davidic king, which strikes at the foundation of Judean identity and the promise of God's protection of Jerusalem and the house of David (2 Sam 7; Ps 89; 132). Some understand prince as a reference to Zedekiah, who served as the Babylonian-appointed regent while Jehoiachin was in exile. Ezekiel's scenario of the prince's escape and capture reflects Zedekiah's capture near Jericho and blinding at Riblah prior to imprisonment in Babylon (2 Kings 25.1-7; Jer 52.4-11). In verses 17-20: Eating meals in fear dramatizes the realities of exile. Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 4th

Read Ezekiel 11.14-25. In verses 14-21: God claims to be a sanctuary to them for a little while: God's presence in the world, rather than the Temple's presence in Jerusalem, ensures their future. God promises to gather the people from exile, to give them the land of Israel, and to purify the people from abomination in a manner characteristic of priestly purification. The promise of one heart (some manuscripts read "a newheart") and a new spirit within them takes up a theme from Jeremiah (Jer 32.39; see also Ezek 18.31; 36.26) concerning a new covenant in which God's Torah is written upon their hearts (Jer 31.33-34; see also Ezek 16.59-63). "They shallbe my people, and I will be their God" is a formulation that characterizes the covenant between God and Israel/Judah (14.11; 36.28; 37.23; Jer 7.23; 31.33; 32.38; Hos 2.23; Zech 8.8). In verses 22-24: Ezekiel is returned to Chaldea (Babylonia) to report to the exiles. Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 3rd

Read Ezekiel 11.1-13. In 11.1-25: Ezekiel prophesies both judgment and restoration for the people. In verses 1-4: The spirit or "wind" transports Ezekiel to the east gate of the Temple where he sees twenty-five officals, probably those worshipping the sun in 8.16. Their statement, "The time is not near to build houses," rejects Jeremiah's call to build and to plant (Jer 1.10; 31.28). The staement,"This city is the pot, and we are the meat," indictaes their belief that Jerusalem is to be sacrificed (24.1-14). In verses 5-13: God insructs Ezekiel to hold the twenty-five leaders responsible for the deaths of the people in Jerusalem. In stating that the dead will become the meat, and the city the pot, Ezekiel turns their statement against them, but indicates that they will be excluded because the sacriifice of the city is meant to purify Jerusalem. He alludes to their fear of foreign invaders and again turns their fears against them by stating that they will die at the borders of Israel (see 2 Kings 25.18-21; Jer 52.24-27). The immdeiate death of Pelatiah son of Benaiah confirms Ezekiel's word (Amos 7.10-17; Jer 27-28). Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 2nd

The Lord's departure from Jerusalem. In Chs. 10-11: God's throne chariot will return in 43.1-12 when the city is purified and the Temple is reestablished. Read Ezekiel 10.1-22. God commands the man clothed in linen to take burning coals from among the cerubim and scatter them over the city. Much like the sin offerings presented at the Temple (Lev 4-5), the purpose of the sacrificeis to purify Jerusalem from its iniquity and impurity so that it can be reeestablished at a later time (chs 40-48). God's presence is sigified by the cloud of the Lord as it moves about the Temple complex. Because of the sanctity of the throne chariot or ark, the man clothed in linen is unable to appraoch, and a cherub hands him the fire (2 Sam 6.6-11). Ezekiel's detailed description of the cereubim and the wheels differs from ch. 1 in that one of their four faces is a cherub rather than an ox. Many medieval commentators speculate that the face of the cherub might encompass the four individual faces. The glory of the Lord above the entrance of the east gate of the house of the Lord is the main or processional enterance to the Temple (Ps 24.7-9; 118.19-20). Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 1st

Read Ezekiel 9.1-11. In 9.1-11: The slaughter of Jerusalem. Sacrifical slaughter at the altar of the Temple portrays the killing of the people of Jerusalem. In verses 1-2: The six men come from the upper gate to the north with weapons in their hands to begin the slaughter. The Babylonian army would have entered Judah from the north (see Jer 1.13-16). The man clothed in linen wears the apparel of a priest who serves at the altar (Ex 28.39; Lev 6.10) and carries a writing case to record the sacrifices. The bronze altar had been moved to the north by Ahaz to accommodate an Assyrian altar (2 Kings 16.14). In verses 3-11: The living beings are now named cherubim. God commands that a mark (the ancient Hebrew letter "taw," translated "mark," looks like an X) be placed onthe foreheads of those who sigh and groan over all the abominations, to protect them from death. A mark on the door post protects the Israelites from God's plague against the Egyptians (Ex 12.23). All who lack the mark are to die, defilling the sanctuary. Ezekiel attempts to intercede as Moses did (Ex 32.1-14; Num 14), but God states that the people believe God lacks power. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 31st

Read Ezekiel 8.14-18. In verses 14-15: Women weep for Tammuz, the Babylonian vegetation god who dies at theonset of the dry season and must be brought back to life to inagurate the rains. In verses 16-18: Ezekiel sees twenty-five men engaged in sun worship. The sun god Shamash was the Babylonian god of law and justice. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 30th

EZEKEIL'S VISION OF JERUSALEM'S DESTRUCTION Chs. 8-11: Ezekiel portrays the destruction of Jerusalem as a priestly sacrifice that cleanses the city from impurity. Read Ezekiel 8.1-13. In 8.1-18: The impurity of the Temple. In verses 1-4: The sixth year: 592 BCE. Ezekiel returns to the imagery of his inaugural vision to describe a human-like being. The imagery if fire and brightness like gleaming amber describes a being that cannot be defined in earthly terms. The entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north places the prophet at the entry of the most sacred areas of the Temple. The glory of the God of Israel; The throne chariot of ch 1 is present. In verses 5-6: The image of jealousy: North of the altar was a pagan idol placed in the Temple precincts. In verses 7-13: Mention of the seventy elders of the house of Israel and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan indicates that the highest leadership of the nation is involved in pagan worship inside the Temple. Shapan playes a major role in Josiah's reform (2 Kings 22); his sons Ahikam, Elasah, and Gemariah, and grandson Micaiah supported Jeemiah (Jer 26; 29; 36). The claim that the Lord has forshaken the land idicates the belief that God could not protect Jerusalem from Bbabylon. Comments or Qyestions..

Reading for December 29th

Read Ezekiel 7.10-27. The third oracle elaborates the imagery of the land's destruction in the "Day of the Lord." In verses 10-11: The blossoming rod represents Aron's rod, which designates Levi as the priestly tribe (Num 17), but Jeremiah, a priest descended from Eli (1 Sam 1.11-12). The silver almond-shaped cap, recently discovered by archeologists in Jerusalem, on adorned the rod of a priest. The budding pride also translates as "insolence," indicating Ezekiel's view that the great rod is now employed for the punishment of Israel, just as Moses' rod punished Egypt (Ex 7-11). In verses 12-13: Normal life will end. In verses 14-17: Ezekiel again takes up the imagery of sword, pestilence, and famine (chs. 5-6). In verses 18-21: Compare Isa 2.6-21, which anticipates that people will throw away their silver and gold idols on the "Day of the Lord." In verse 22: God's intention to hide the divine face raise tremedous tehological problems. God's treasured place was themost holy place in the Temple. In verses 23-27: The leaders are responsible for the punishment. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 28th

Read Ezekiel 7.1-9. In 7.1-27: Ezekiel's prophecy of the end. Ezekiel's three oracles draw upon the "Day of the Lord" taditions to announce the end of Israel (Am 5.18-20; 8.1-14; Isa 2.6-22; 13). The "Day of the Lord" functioned originally as an announcement of God's defense of Israel, but various prophets reconfigured it as an announcement of God's punishment of Israel. In 7.1-4: The first oracle announces the end of Israel. End is drawn from Amos' prophecy against Bethel (Am 8.1-3), which includes the imagery of dead bodies scattered about the altar as in 6.1-7. The four corners of the land indicates the complete destruction of the land and reheares the four cardinal directions that underlie the symbolism of the four living creatures in ch. 1 (see Isa 11.12). In verses 5-9: Ezekiel again employs the statement the end has come, but he shifts his language to that of the "Day of the Lord" tradition. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 27th

Read Ezekiel 6.11-14. Ezekiel returns to the imagery of sword, pestilence, and famine (5.1) to tie his oracles against Israel to the fate of Jerusalem. Altars, on every high hill, on all the mountain tops, under every green tree, and under very leafy oak: A common formulaic description of pagan worship (Deut 12.2; 1 Kings 14.23; Jer 2.20). The wilderness designates the Negeb Desert in southern Judah, and Riblah ("Diblah" in Hebrew; the Hebrew letters "resh" and "dalet" are similar and sometimes confused) is in Syria (2 Kings 23.33). Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 26th

Ezekiel's oracles against the land of Israel. Chs. 6-7: Ezekiel does not distinguish between Israel and Judah, but addresses the entire land and people of Israel arrayed around the Temple (Num 2; Ezek 48). The most holy place serves as the sacred center of the Temple, the Jerusalem Temple as the sacred center of Israel, and Israel as sacred center of the world. Read Ezekiel 6.1-10. In 6.1-14: Oracles against the mountains of Israel. The mountains of Israel: the homeland of Israel in the hills of Samaria and Judah. In verses 1-7: Ezekiel identifies the cause of punishment in the various altars and high places where people worship which compromise the sanctity of the Land. As a Zadokie priest, Ezeliel holds that legitimate worship of God must take place only in Jerusalem Temple (Deut 12). The scattering of dead corpses around the altars renders the land impure (Num 19; see also Lev 21.10-12). The prophet employs the prophetic "proof saying," then you sahll know that I am the Lord, throughout the book to identify God as the source of the prophet's words (Ex 20.2; Lev 19.3-4; see also Ex 3.13-22; Deut 5.6). In verses 8-10: Ezekiel relies on Isaiah's concept of a remnant of Israel (Isa 4.2-6; 6.13; 10.20-23) to demonstrate God's power to destroy and punish. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 25th

Read Ezekiel 5.5-17. God sums up the theology of punishment that Ezekiel's symbolic actions illustrate. Charging that Israel acts like the nations (see 1 Sam 8.4-5) by defiling the Temple, God states that the people will suffer war and exile, and will perish by pestilence, faminie, and sword. God's threat to make Israel a desolation and an object of mocking among the nations and to unleash famine, wild animals, etc, against the people recalls threats made in Jer 24.9-10 (see also Deut 28.37; 1 Kings 9.7). Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 24th

Read Ezekiel 5.1-4. The sword of barber's razor (Isa 7.20) symbolizes the weapons of the Babylonians. One third of the hair is burned to represent those who die when the city is burned, on third is struck with the sword to symbolize those killed around the city, and one third is scattered to symbolize thoe who escape only to be pursued by the Babylonians. Some of the hair is burned once again to symbolize the suffering of the people. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 23rd

Read Ezekiel 4.9-17. Ezekiel uses a variety of grains to demonstrate that there is insuffient grain to make an entire loaf. Twenty shekels: about ten ounces. One-sixth of a hin: About two-thirds of a quart. In order to demonstrate the difficult conditions of the coming siege, God command Ezekiel to bake bread using human dung as fuel. When he protests that this is a breach of priestly purity, God allows him to use cow's dung. In verses 16-17: see Isa 3.1. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 22nd

Read Ezekiel 4.1-8. In verses 1-8: Prophets perform symbolic actions to damatize their statements and enable them to take effect (Isa 20; Jer 1; 19). Ezekiel builds a model of Jerusalem under siege. The action draws upon the imagery of Jer 1.18. The background of three hundred and ninety and forty is not entirely certain, and the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Hebew Bible) contains entirely different figures. If one counts backwards from the destruction of the Temple in 587 BCE. the total of 430 years points to the time of the establishment of the united monarchy of Israel under Saul in 1017 BCE. Counting forward 390 years from that date takes one to 627 BCE, the twelfth year of Josiah's reign, the year in which his reforms begin (2 chr 34.3; compare 2 Kings 22.3). Josiah failed in his attempt to reunite Israel and Judah. The remaining 40 years accounts for the time between the beginning of Josiah's reform and the destruction of Jerusalem. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 21st

EZEKIEL'S INITIAL ORACLES AND SYMBOLIC ACTIONS In 3.16-7.27: These oracles and symbolic actions are concerned with the destruction of Jerusalem and fall of the land of Israel. Read Ezekiel 3.16-3.27. In verses 16-21: God describes Ezekiel's role as the sentinel or "watchmen" for Israel, who is reposnsible for the lives and moral guidance of the people (Jer 16.17; Hos 9.8; compare Isa 21.6). Like sentinels posted on the city walls to watch for danger (2 Sam 18.24; 2 Kings 9.17), gatekeepers are appointed from among the priests to guard the Temple (1 Chr 26). This role, which is developed more fully in ch 33, is consistent with ch 18. The prophet's reponsibility is presented in four cases. In verses 22-27: Ezekiel's isolation resembles that of Moses, who spoke directly to God in the tent of meeting (Ex 33.7-34.35; Num 11, and the high priest, who appears alone before God and the ark at Yom Kippur or the day of Atonement (lev16). Ezekiel's dumbness derives from his priestly role. The priests perform their duties on the altar in silence (Lev 16). Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 20th

Read Ezekiel 2.8-3.15. In 2.8-3.3: Ezekiel eats the scroll to internalize the divine message. The scroll represents the Torah scroll stored in the ark of the covenant and read to the people (Deut 31.9-13, 24-27; Neh 8-10). Although the scroll is inscribed with words of lamentation and mourning and woe, Ezekiel sates that it was as sweet as honey (compare Jer 15.16). In verses 4-11: Many peoples of obscure speech and difficult language: many peoples were incorporated into the Assyrian and Babylonian empires (Isa 33.19). God stresses that the message is for Israel, not the nations. In verse 12-15: Tel-abib, "hill of barley," may derive from the Babylonian expression "til abubi," "hill of the flood"; Babylonia is prone to flooding in the spring. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 19th

Read Ezekiel 1.28b-2.7. In 1.28b-3.15: The Commisioning of Ezekiel. In 1.28b: A voice of someone speaking: Compare 1 Kings 19.12. In 2.1-2: God addresses Ezekiel as mortal, literally "son of adam," ninety-three times in the book. Adam means "human" in Hebrew, and "son of adam" conveys Ezekiel's mortal status in contrast to God. The spirit (literally, "wind") of the Lord prepares Ezekiel to serve as a prophet (see 1 Sam 10.6, 10; 1 Kings 18.12). In verses 2-3: The charge of Israel's rebellion against God is a constant theme throughout the prophets to justify Israel's suffering as an act of divine punishment. Habbakkuk and Job question this theology but ultimately defend God's righteousness. The messenger formula, Thus says the Lord God, indicates Ezekiels's role as God's representative. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 18th

Read Ezekiel 1.13-28. In verses 13-14: The burning coals of fire: The sacrificial altar of the Temple (Ex 27.1-8; 38.1-7) or the incense altars (Ex 30.1-10; 37.5-28). In verses 15-21: The wheels contribute to the imagery of divine motion in all four directions. They are based onthe image of the cart that carried the ark of the covenant from Philista to Jerusalem (1 Sam 6; 2 Sam 6) and the rings that held the poles by which the Levites carried the ark (Ex 25.12-15; 30.4-5). The wheel within a wheel: a wheel with a hub. In verses 22-25: Dome shining like crystal, see Gen 1.6-8, which uses "firmament" or "dome" to symbolize the distinction between heaven and earth. The sound of mighty waters: the vision is both auditory and visual. In verses 26-28a: compare 1 Sam 4.4; 2 sam 6.2; 1 Chr 13.6, "the ark of the covenant on the covenant of the Lord of Hosts, who is enthroned on the chereubim." Apphire: See Ex 24.10. Ezekiel attempts to describe God in human terms, but the imagery is inadequate. Gleaming amber and fire convey the power and incorporealty of the divine presence. The rainbow symbolizes God's covenant with creation (Gen 9.8-17). The glory of the Lord: God's presence (Ex 16.6-7; 40.34-38). Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 17th

Read Ezekiel 1.4-12. In 1.4-28a: The inaugural vision. The imagery of God's throne chariot (Compare 1. Chr 28.18; ps 18.10) is based on the most hholy place in the Temple where the ark of the covenant is kept under the cherubim's (1 Kings 6; see also Ex 25.10-22; 37.1-9). In verse 4: Wind, cloud, and fire appear frequently in theophanies (Ex 19; 1 Kings 19). In verses 5-12: Like: The vision is only a promiimate human attempt to describe the divine presence. The four living creatures are the cherubim that surround the ark. Exodus 25.18-22; 37.7-9; and 1 Kings 6.23; 2 Chr 3.10-14 each emntioned only two, but this passage combines the totals. Composite human/animal winged creatures are well represented throughout the ancient Near East as guardians of thrones, city gates, and temples. The number four presupposes the four horns of the Temple altar (Ex 27.2; 38.2; Zech 2.1-4; 1.18-21), which represents the four "winds" or cardinal directions, indicating God's presence in the Temple at the center of creation. The four faces represent the divine qualities of intelligence (human), royal (lion), strength (ox), and mobility (eagle). Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 16th

INTRODUCTION TO EZKIEL'S PROPHECY In 1.1-3.15: The introduction includes a superscription in 1.1-3, which identifies the prophet and his historical context, and an account of his inaugural vision in 1.4-3.15, in which God commissions him to speak. Compare the call narratives of Moses (Ex 3) or Isaiah (Isa 6). Read Ezkiel 1.1-3: In 1.1-3: Superscription. See Isa 1.1; Jer 1.3. In verse 1: Some understanding the thirtieth year as the thirtieth year after the prophet's call, the thirtieth after Josiah's reform, the year of Jehoachin's exile, or the date of the book's composition. It probably refers to Ezekiel's age at the time of his call. Ezekiel is a priest (1.3) and the age of priestly service begins at thirty (Num 4.3, compare Num 8.23-25) and concludes at fifty. Apart from the reference to the twenty-seventh year in 29.17, the dated oracles of the book extend fromthe fifth (1.20 to the twenty-fifth year of exie (40.1), so that the book correlates Ezekiel's prophetic oracles with the 20 years of active priestly service. The river Chebar: A canal by Nippur, a Babylonian city. In verse 2; The fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin: 593 BCE. In verse 3: Buzi is otherwise unknown. Had he not been exiled, Ezekiel would have served as a Zadokite priest in the Temple. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 15th

Read Jude 1.14-25. In verses 14-16: Enoch to the rescue. Jude cites as authoritative a prophecy from 1 Enoch about the coming judgement. This popular document, although used by Second Temple Judeans and later Christian writers, was never judged to be canonical. Jude uses it here because it contains a full statement of the topic of God's judgment and contains many parallels with gospel traditions such as Mt 24.29-31. In verses 17-23: Prediction of heretics too. Another prediction announces that scoffers will come, the fulfillment of which bolsters Jude's repetition of predictions of the coming judgment. As the opponents lack faith, love, and especially hope, Jude encourages the church to faithfulness, love, and hope (looking forward to the mercy of our Lord). Far from abandoning the opponents, he urges the addressees to have mercy on the wavering and to save others by snatching them from a fiery judgment. In verses 24-25: Letter closing. A doxolgy concludes the letter, beginning with acknowledgement of both God's protection of the church and purification of the members. This demonstrates that right theology (cofession of God's will and powers) leads to right morals. Supreme honor is paid to God: glory, majesty, power, and authority, similar to the hymn of praise in Rev 4.11. In contrast, the scoffers deny the powers of our Master and Lord (v. 4). Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 14th

Read Jude 1.1-13. In verse 1-2: Letter opening. Jude is a servant, not a slave but a figure of very high status such as Abraham, Moses, and David (Ex 32.13; 1 Sam 17.23). If brother of James (Acts 12.17; 15.12), then Jude would be a kin of Jesus. He addresses no geographical church, which suggests that this is a general letter that could be read in any church. In verses 3-4: Enter heretics. Jude writes because certain intrudrs are abroad whose false doctrine (deny our only Master and Lord) lead to immorality (pervert the grace of God in licentiousness). He finds it necessary to exhort the addressees to contend for the faith that had delievered to the disciples in its fullness. He appeals, then, to the antiquity of an immutable tradition. In verses 5-7: Refutation. Jude cites three examples of divine judgement: Although God saved a people, God later destroyed those who proved unfaithful. Similarly, although many angels remained faithful, God imprisoned the angels who strayed. Sodom and Gomorrah illustrate divine judgment on immorlaity. Henece, if the intruders deny the sovereignty of God to judge, these examples rebut that error and serve as proof of the coming judgment. In verses 8-9: What could be worse? Jude claims that these intruders accept no laws concerning the body (defile the flesh) and respect all authority, even that of the angels who assist God's judgement. he cites an obscure document, the "Assumption of Moses," in which Michael the archangel confiremed God's sovereignty: the Lord rebuke you. This proves useful in support of the tradition about the Day of Judgement, which the intruders deny. In verses 10-13: Precedents of punishment. Just as three biblical examples of deviants brought judgment: Cain, Balaam, and Korah. In legend Cain exempilifed godlessness and envy; Balaam was willing to lead Israel astray and curse it (Num 22); Korah typified ambition and rebellion (Num 16.1-35). Besides accusing the intruders of parasitical coruption, they are compared to fleeting, empty natural Phenomena such as waterless clouds, uprooted trees, wild waves, and wandering stars. Their instability makes them perilous guides. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 13th

Read Lamentations 5.19-22. The poem ends on a poignant note. God's power is undisputed though God's care is questioned. The community asks that its broken relationship with God be healed, but fears that God's anger may be yet too great. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 12th

Read Lamentations 1-18. In 5.1-22: A community lament. This final poem follows the syliistic features of the communal laments of the Psalms (Ps 44; 79). A long description of misery and specfic losses offers a glimpse into a conquered country. Babylonian conquerors force young and old into labor (vv. 5, 13) food and water are scarce (vv. 4, 6, 9, 10); women are raped (v. 11); and the once civilized city is now a haunt of jackals (v. 18). In verse 7: We bear the iniquities: is the community accepting the guilt of their forebears or complaining that it is punished for sins not its own? In verses 14-18: All joy (music, dancing, public gathering at the city gate) has ceased. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 11th

Read Lamentations 4.17-22. In 4.17-22: The final days of the city. The poet describes the fall of Jerusaelm (2 Kings 25), as she loses anyhope of protection. The nation that could not save is likely Egypt (Jer 44.30). Lord's anointed is the king, who is described in exalted terms. In verses 21-22: Call for punishment of Edom. Various biblical accounts complain that Edom gloated over Jerusalem's fall (Obadiah; Ps 137). The poet calls for the punishment and self-humiliation of Edom. In verse 22: Punishment ... accomplished may suggest that the book is written after the traumatic events described. Comments or Questions..

Raeding for December 10th

Read Lamentations4.11-16. In 4.11-16: God's anger has debased Zion. In verse 12: The poet assumes that other nations along with Israel (Ps 48) believed in the invincibity of Jerusalem. In verse 13; Prophets and priests, as the primary leaders of the people, are blamed for the bloodshed of war. In verses 14-15: Defiled with blood and unclean refer to the purity laws of Leviticus. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 9th

Read Lamentation 4.1-10. In 4.1-10: Jerusalem's changed fortunes. The poet portrays a world upside down, where all that is normal has vanished. In verses 2-4: Children, once treasured, are as fragile as clay pots, a nd scare food is not given to them. Ostriches have the reputation of neglecting their young (Job 39.13-18). In verses 5-8: Purple, due to the costliness of its dye, was worn by royalty. The once privilaged class now starves. In verse 6: Sodom: See Gen 19.24-25. In verse 7: Quick death will be better than the slow torture. In verse 8: Black skin is a discription of famine (5.10; Job 30.30). In verse 10: In a dramatic reversal, once compassionate mothers eat rather then feed their young. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 8th

Read Lamentations 3.52-66. In 3.52-66: A psalm of praise. As in 3.1-14, the individual cataogues his complaints generally and metaphorically: like a bird, v. 52; pit, vv. 53,55 (Ps 7.15; 9.10). As in a psalm (Ps 31), God is reported to have answered the prayer. In verse 52: Without cause: strinkingly different from the assumption of guilt (vv. 22-39). In verses 59=66: Complaint about enemies. Although the preceding verses suggest that God has already responded to the individual's plea, the speaker explicitly call for God to punish enemies (1.21-22). Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 7th

Read Lamentations 3.25-51. In 25-41: A teaching on God's goodness I an jarring shift, this section at the center of the book offers beautiful statements of God's mercy faithfulness, and compassion (vv. 22-23) and teaches silence in the face of suffering. Because some passages appear to contradict material that comes before and after ( v. 39; why should anyone complain?), these verses are often considered a later addition to the book. They function, however, to balance the community's expression of suffering with the book's insistent theme that God is justifiably punishing Judah for its sins. In verse 40-41: because God acted justly, Judah must examine its own wrongs. In verses 42-51: A communal lament. While beginning with recognition of gult, the section also complains that God has refused to forgove (vv. 42, 44). Further complaints follow. The shame of defeat and enemy taunts, mentioned earlier in the book, is repeated. In verse 48: While the speaker shifts to "I" the theme remains the fate of the city. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 6th

Read Lamentations 3.1-24. In 3.1-66: Multiple responses to suffering. Spakers and moods shift throughout this chapter, making a neat outline difficult. Has the material been adjusted to fit the acrostic pattern? Does the jarring style mimic the dissociation of trauma? In verses 1-24: An individual lament. Like other individual laments (Ps 38; 22), this section includes nonspecific complaints of suffering (vv. 1-19) and a statement of confidence in God (vv. 21-24). Identified neither with the poet who has spoken previously nor with Woman Zion, the speaker is an individual male (Heb., "geber"). He expilictly blames God for his troubles, comparing God to a wild animal (v. 10) and an enemy warrior (vv. 12-13). His troubles are not outlined but are compared to heavy chains (v. 7) and gravel to the teeth (v. 16). In verse 15: Wormwood (also v. 19) is a bitter-tasting plant (Jer 9.14). In verse 19: Gall: Bile. In verse 21-24: Statements of confidence, a feature of the individual lament. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 5th

Read Lamentations 2.20-22. In 2.20-22: Jerusalem petitions God. The stark picture of women eating their own children and the death of the young raises this question: has God punished too severly? Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 4th

Raed Lamentations 2.11-19: In 2.11-19: The poet continues his lament. In verse 11: Both the stomach (aslo 1.20) and bile refer to the seat of emotions (Jer 4.19); bile in addition means "bitterness" (from the taste of the digestive substance secreted from the gallbladder). In verse 14: Unwarrented messages of comfort (jer 14.13-16). In verses 15-16: Jerusalem suffers not only the famine of children but also the taunts of enemies (Jer 19.8). In verse 17: As He ordained long agao may refer to the teaching of the pre-exilic prophets, for whom destruction of the nation as punishment for sin was a common motif. In verse 18-19: The poet urges Jerusalem to petition God. comments or Questions..

Reading for December 3rd

Read Lamentations 2.1-10. In 2.1-10: The poet on God's great anger The poet describes the severity of God's punishment: Jerusalem is destroyed and humilated. In verse 1: Footstool: the Temple (Ps 99,5). In verse 2: Without mercy: without restraint. In a series of reversals, the great are brought down to the ground. In verses 3-5: God's right hand, his weapon hand, does not defend Israel but draws a bow against her like an enemy (Ex 15.6-12). In verses 6-7: Booth, tabernacle: The temple, which along with a festival, king, and priest embodies the religious core of the nation, centered in Jerusalem and linked with the monarchy (2 Sam 7). In verse 8-10: Stretched a line: Apparently a step in destroying a building (2 Kings 21.13). God has broken down the very fetaures intended to protect Jersualem: wall, gates, and ramparts (used for defense during military attacks). The listing of groups within the city undrescores the totally of the destruction. Dust and sackcloth (v. 10) are typical gestures of mourning. Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 2nd

Read Lamentations 1.11b-22 In 1.11b-22: Jerusalem herself speaks. The speaker changes at the end of v. 11, as the woman Jerusalem speaks in the first person. She repeats themes of the first speaker: She is shamed, and the devastation is punishment from God. In verses 13-15: Net, fire: Punishments are described generically (ps10.9;Isa 63.3). The weight of Israel's sin is compared to a yoke worn by captives of war (Isa 9.4). In verse 16: The lack of a comforter is a repeated theme of the book. In verse 17: The voice shifts back to third person briefly. Zion (the mountain on which Jerusalem is set ), Jacob the ancestor of the Israelites), and Jerusalem are used as synonyms. Fifthy things is the menstrual uncleanness of 1.9. In verse 18: The voice of Jerusalem returns, acknowledging her sin yet lamenting the pain she has experienced. In verse 20: Jerusalem's lament resembles that of Jeremiah (Jer 8.18-9.1). In verses 21-22: Again concerned with being shamed in the face of others, Jerusalem asks they they, too, be treated according to their deeds. Day you have announced refers to the day of the Lord, envisioned as a day of vindication against enemies (Isa 13.6-16). Comments or Questions..

Reading for December 1st

Read Lamentations 1.1-11a. In 1.1-11a: A poet laments Jerusalem. As in many prophetic books (Hosea, jeremiah, Ezekiel), Jerusalem is personified as a woman. In a striking series of contrasts, she who was great is now destitite like a widow; once a princess, she is now a vassal, the underling in political leadership. In verse 2: Political allies are called Jerusalem's lovers (Hos 2.7). In verse 3; Exile, the conquering strategy of the neo-Babylonian empire, involved moving large amount of groups of people out of their homelands into new locations. In verse 4: Public activities (festivals and gates, where people gather) have ceased. Priests and young girls are among the many categories of people that the book shows as suffering. In verse %; The book repeatedly claims that the Lord has made her suffer. In verses 8-10: Nakedness may have a sexual connotation (Lev 18.6). Uncleanness refers to menstratuations (Lev 15.16-24). These conditions unrensify her shame, considered by the author to be as significant as physical suffering. The immediate mention of precious things and the invasion of her sanctuary, while on the surface referring to the Temple, mayhave sexual connotations as well. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 30th

Read 3 John 1-15. In verse 1: The opening and closing mark this as a genuine letter. The elder (see 2 Jn 1) addresses the beloved (see 2, 5, 11; 1 jn 2.7; 3.2; 4.1, 7). Gaius was a common Roman name (see Acts 19.29; 20.4; Rom 16.3; 1 Cor 1.14). Just as the elder claimed to truly love the recipients of 2 John, he now affirms his genuine love for Gaius. In verse 2: Prayers for well-being of the recipients often follow the greeting. In verses 3-4: The elder notes reports of the faithfulnss of Gaius, to whom he refers as one of his children, probably a convert. Reference to walking in the truth (see 2 Jn 4) probably denotes the christological confession of faith. In verses 5-8: Supporters of the older reported the hospitality (see 2 Jn 10-11; Titus 3.13) shown by Gaius to the friends (literally brothers). Hospitality shown to the supporters of the elder is said to make those who gave it co-workers with the truth (compare 2 jn 11). In verses 9-10: The critque of Diotrephes signals a leadership struggle withthe elder. I have written something to the church is probbaly a reference to 1 John. He seems to have been a local leader with authority similar to that of the elder. Just as the elder counseled the refusal of hospitality to his opponents, so Diotrephes used his authority to enforce the refusal of hospitality to the supootrters of the elder, the firends. In verses 11-12: Whoever does good is from God (see 1 jn 2.29; 3.10; Mt 7.15-20). Demetrius seems to have been a supporter of the elder. Perhaps his credentials were challenged by Diotrephes and now the elder calls all supporters to his aid. Our testimony is true, see Jn 5.31-37; 19.15; 21.24. In verse 13-15 The closing, like that of 2 Jn 12-13 asserts the priority of a face-to-face meeting over a lengthy letter (compare 1 Cor 16.19-20). The greeting of peace, the Jewish greeting, sets 3 john apart from 1 and 2 John, as do the reciprocal greeting from friends (rather than children). Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 29th

Read 2 John 1-13. In verse 1-3: The opening greeting has a standard letter format: from A to B, greetings. The elder was an authoritative leader (see 1 Peter 5.1) addresing the elect lady and her children, a symbolic reference to a local church and its members (see v. 13). Such a greeting often mentioned virtues of the persons addressed. Here the elder affirmed that he, and all who know the truth truly love the addressees. The greeting, in the name of the Father and the Son, overlooks the Spirit (compare 1 Tim 1.2; 1 Tim 1.2) while stressing the reality of the relationship of the Father and the Son, again using the key themes of truth and love. In verses 4-6: reference to some of the children walking in the truth may indirectly reveal that the schism of 1 John 2.19 had affected this community also. The truth may be a reference to the christological confession, the command, no longer new, was foundational for the community(see 1 jn 2.7-8; 5.3; Jn 13.34). In verses 7-9: The many deceivers are like the false prophets and antichrist who deny the incarnation (see 1 Jn 2.18-23, 26; 3.7; 4.2-3, 6). The warning shows that the threat of the influence of the schismatics had not disappeared. Reference to going beyond the teaching of Christ suggests the schismatics were progressive in their teaching (see 1 Jn 1.1-4; 3.23). In verse 10-11: The warning against providing hospitality to the false teachers argues that to aid them is to assist in their mission (compare Tit 3.10). In verse 12: This conclusion is like that of 3 Jn 13-14. Stated preference for face-to-face contact is common. In verse 13: The elder greets his readers in the name of his own community. comments or Questions..

Reading for November 28th

Read Jeremiah 52:17-34. In verses 17-23: The capture of the sacred Temple vessels by the Babylonians underscores the end of worship life in the land. In verses 28-30: The numbers of exiles are provided, but their historical accuracy is in doubt. In verses 31-34: King Jehoachin, also imprisoned in Babylon, survives and is restored to the table, though not yet released. The scene of the king's survival may offer a glimmer of hope to exiles for whom the king's survival with dignity may show the way to the furure. This book has been about survial in the face of overwhelming castastrophe. If Jeremiah's words of judgment were fulfilled, then his words of hope will triumph as well. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 27th

THE END In Ch 52: The prose conclusion of the book reports the end of national life in Judah, but niether God nor Jeremiah appear in it. The purpose of this bleak report maybe to describe the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophetic word. The setting is the exile, when Babylonian defeat is far from sight. The chapter nearly identical tot he account of Judha's fall that concludes the book of Kings (2 kings 24:18-25.30). The narrative divides into six scenes. Read Jeremiah 52.1-16. In verses 1-3: Kings Jehoiakim and Zedekiah angered God and Judah and Jerusalem were expelled from the presence. In verses 4-11 Zedekiah's failed escape and the tragedy of his capture and imprisonment and death suggest the possible fate awaiting Judah. In verses 12-16: The people are deported and divided with the poor remaining in the land. Comments or questions..

Reading for November 26th

Read Jeremiah 51.54-69. In a symbolic act written in prose, Baruch's brother, Seraiah goes to Babylon under Jeremiah's directions. There Seraiah is to read the scroll containing prophecies against Babylon aloud, attach a stone to the scroll, and sink it in the Euphrates River. Like the sinking scroll, so will Babylon sink from its high position. This symbolic act embodies the divine will, it needs only to come to fulfillment. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 25th

Read Jeremiah 51.45-58. In 51.45-58: Again God's calls the exiles to depart and save themselves. In verse 46: They must overcome their fears, which are being caused by rumors among them. In the future God will destroy Babylon. In verses 47-48: The cosmos will particpate in the celebration. In verse 50: It is urgent that the exiles should not linger but remember that God is in Jerusalem. In verses 50-58: An imaginative portrayal of the attack ends the poetry of the book. There is a cry, smashing, crashing, for the destroyer has come aginst Babylon. Her leaders will be drunk, asleep, never to wake. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 24th

Read Jeremiah 51.34-44. More accusations describing Nebuchadrezzar's violence against the people of Zion accumulate. Babylon and its God, Bel, will be drunk and engorged. The super power is ugly and out of control with its destruction of others. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 23rd

Read Jeremiah 51.24-33. War preparations continue and promises Babylon, the destroying mountain, that it will be attacked. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 22nd

Read Jeremiah 51.23. In verses 15-19: A hymn, perhaps representing the voice of the exiles, praises the Creator, wise and understanding, who made the earth and mountains it natural processes. compared to the Creator, the idols are worthless. They are the lifeless gods of the goldsmith. In verses 20-23: Eight times the Creator says to his weapons or his armies, I will smash with you, creating a rhythmic beat of destruction. Smashed will be the nations, peoples, animals, and rulers. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 21st

Read Jeremiah 51.1-14. In 51.1-64: Flee. The opposing futures of Babylon and Israel continue to echo each other in this chapter. However, for the first time God orders the exiles to flee from Babylon and return to Zion. God's power dominates these passages to show that God is the sovereign of history. Out of nothing God will create a future the will overturn systems of domination. In verses 1-5: Speaking in the first person, god plans the siege of Babylon. I am going to stir up a ... wind ... i will send winower. God is bringing about cosmic upheaval that will destroy Babylonian power. In verse 5: despite their guilt, God has not abandoned Israel and Judah. In verses 6-10: The exiles must flee. Urgent appeals to them to escape from the vengence about to engulf Babylon open the poem. In verse 8: Babylon has been like a golden cup in God's hand but now has fallen. A voice calls for healing balm, but it is too late. In verse 9: The exiles tried to heal Babylon but they could not, so they flee to Zion to declare God's work. In verses 11-14: War preparations continue. God orders armies to make their wepons ready and to prepare ambushes. The Medes, an empire of the time, will destroy Babylon. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 20th

Read Jeremiah 50.35-46 A curse like poem about the sword gloats over the reversal of circumstances about to take place. It is as if chanting words about the sword would activate thrusts into the heart of Babylon. Five times the poem brings the sword against some elemnt of Babylonian society. The last verse shifts to drought. The reson for the attack is Babylon's idolatry. In verses 41-46: The people from the north approach; they are cruel, noisy, and arrayed for battle against daughter Babylon. The agent of destruction is God, coming like a lion, coming with a plan that will make the earth tremble. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 19th

Read Jeremiah 50.21-34 The battle preparations continue and become more vivid. In verses 23-24: Babylon, the hammer of the whole earth, will be cut down despite its great power, for the enemy is God. In verse 28: Fugitives escape from the city and run to Zion to announce the changed state of affairs. In verses 31-32: God accuses Babylon of exceeding its divine commission to punish Judah: Babylon has gone beserk in its violence. Interpretation of international events has turned upside down in this book. Here Israel and Judah are oppressed people, not guilty people. They have a future, and the enemy will be punished for excesses. In verse 34: Their Redeemer will buy back the captives and give rest to the whole earth. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 18th

Againist Babylon Chs. 50-51: These poems form a suitable conclusion to the book. In them the punisher is punished, the destroyer is destroyed, and the inflictor of pain receives pain. Although erlier parts of the book interpreted Bbbylon as an agent of God to punish Judah, these poems see Babylon as the aggressor who oppressed Israel. They portray God as a warrior who sets right the world's injustices and restores the victim's well-being. The exiles recieve a vision of a future in which they will be released from their captivity, but these is not yet energy for wild hope and dancing (chs. 30-33). Read Jeremiah 50.1-20 God's declaration of celebration opens the poem. The phrases expresses deep feeling in a few words. Babylon is taken and her gods are shamed. The agent of destruction is the mythic foe from north. In verses 4-10: The fate of Babylon is connected to the fate of Israel, for the coming attack on Babylon will signal the return of Israel and Judah. They will come weeping to seal the covenant with God. In verses 11-16: The plunderers will be destroyed; God commands the army to take position. According to this poetry, the victory is already won, so the celebration may begin. In verses 17-20: God reinterprets Israel's history as a series of attacks upon lost sheep. They are helpless, even if sinners, and they will be pardoned. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 17th

Read Jeremiah 49.34-39. Elam will be destroyed in a cosmic upheaval, but God will restore their fortunes. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 16th

Read Jeremiah 49.23-33. In 23-27: Damascus, the capital of Syria, will be destroyed. Again no sin is identified. In verses 28-33: Kedar and Hazor, cities in the north, will be attacked by Nebuchadrezzar and their people will be dispersed. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 15th

Read Jeremiah 49.7-22. The Edomites are Israel's nieghbors and descendants of Jacob's brother Esau (Gen 36). In verses 7-10: God will bring calamity upon them and leave only a remnant of orphans and widows with no future. Their sin is never named. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 14th

Read Jeremiah 49.1-6. In 49.1-39: Against many nations In verses 1-6: The history of relations between Israel and their neighbors, the Amomonites, was bitter (40.13-41.3). They will be punished for land-grabbing, but God will finally restore them as well. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 13th

Read Jeremiah 48.34-47. In 48.47: Even more surprising, the poem closes with a divine promise to restore Moab. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 12th

Read Jeremiah 48.28-33. In verses 28-30: God next addresses the residents of Moab, uring them to flee and accusing them of false pride. In verses 31-33: Surprsisingly, God wails for Moab. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 11th

Read Jeremiah 48.14-27. In verses 18-20: God warns the capital city, Dibon, addressed as a woman, that she too is under attack. In verses 21-27: The cities of Moab are about to be destroyed. Commments or Questions..

Reading for November 10th

Read Jeremiah 48.1-13. In 48.1-47: Against Moab. This long poem concens a traditional and bitter enemy and neighbor of Israel. In verses 1-2: God announces an invasion of Moab, whereupon a voice cries in alarm. Moab's sin is arrogance arising from its wealth and power. In verse 7: Chemosh was the chief God of Moab. In verses 11-12: Because Moab was known for its production of grapes, the poem describes Moab's complacency in terms of wine about to be poured out. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 9th

Read Jeremiah 47.1-7. In 47.1-7: Against the Philistines. These historical difficulties with this poem, since Philsta was not a major enemy of Isreal during this time. Through its city-states along the seacoast continued for a long time, they ceased to exist as a larger unity during the Babylonian period. In the poetic world of this poem, however, God is the enemy bringing an attacker In verses 6-7: The poem ends with the "song of the sword" in which the poet addresses God's weapon and begs it to be still, but the sword is unable to deny God's command. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 8th

Read Jeremiah 46.13-28. In verse 13: A prose comment identifies the human enemy as Nebuchadneezzar, king of Babylon. In verses 14-25: The battle, however, is really between Apis, the bull-god of Egypt and the God of Israel. In verse 17: Egypt's king is here called Braggart because he boasts about power he never really had. In verses 20-24: Female metaphors describe Egypt's vulnerablity and shame. Egypt's crimes are pride and false claims to power, but the poem assures the exiles that its God rules the nations. In verses 27-28: God addresses Isreal with words of comfort. Israel is to put aside fear. In their exile God will sustain them and punish their enemies. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 7th

ORACLES AGAINST THE NATIONS In Chs. 46-21: These poems, confirming the survivial of those who wait in obedient faithfulness, consist of a collection of prophetic poems in judgment against Israel's enemies. Their location at the end of the book gives meaning to Jeremiah's title "prophet to the nations" (1.5,10). God's voice in these poems announces that foreign nations had been instruments of divine punishment of Isreal and Judah, but soon tables will turn to create a new future. These oracles address Israel's neighbors first (chs. 46-49) and close with oracles against Babylon (Chs. 50-51). Read Jeremiah 46.1-12. In 461-25: Against Egypt: These poems bring to poetic fulfillment Jeremiah's prophecies to the Judeah remnant that escaped to Egypt (chs. 43-44). Babylon will destroy their safe haven. In verse 2: The date of the first poem in the fourth year of Jehoiakim sets this prophecy in the years when Babylon destroyed Egyptian power in the region. This means that jeremiah's word of the destruction of Egypt came much earlier then the events themselves. For survvors in exile, the date indicates that God's plans have long been in place and there is hope for the future. In verses 3-12: A battle scene, similar to scenes of the cosmic battle with the foe from the north in chs. 4-6 and 8-10, opens the poem, God calls troops to prepare for war. In versees 7-12: The Nile River, famous for its flooding, resembles the rise and fall of Egypt. Egypt cannot possible defend istelf since, in this poetic vision, the enemy is divine. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 6th

Read Jeremiah 45.1-5. In 45.1-5: Barauch's role. Chapter 45 brings the Barauch account to a close and also concludes Chs. 26-44. In verses 2-3: Barauch utters a lament of sorrow, pain, and weariness that foloows curses upon his own people in ch. 44. In verse 4: God replies through Jeremiah with language used frequently throughout the book, I am going to break down and pluck up the whole land. In verse 5: Suffering cannot be avoided, but Barauch will survive. He will gain his life as a prize of war. With Barauch's lament and divine response to it, the main part of the book ends on a sumber note. Barauch is a weary survivor who is promised only his life. The idealized vision of chs. 30-33 is far from sight. But according to chs. 37-45, Jeremiah, Barauch, Eded-melech, and a remnant survive. Survivors must obey Jeremiah's prophetic meassage as coveyed in this book. Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 5th

Read Jeremiah 44.15-30. Worship of the queen of heaven exemphifies the idolatry of the exiles. Jeremiah had accused the Judean families of worshipping this astral deity in the Temple sermon (7.1-8.3). Here Jeremiah accusses the women as central participants in this worship. When they stopped worshippingthe goddess, their world fell apart. In verse 26: Because of its idolatry, the believing community will disappear in Egypt. They have no future because they turned from God. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 4th

Read Jeremiah 44.11-14. No Comments

Reading for November 3rd

Read Jeremiah 44.1-10. In 44.1-30: Idolatry. Jeremiah delievers a final prophetic message to Judeans living in Egypt. In verses 1-6: The fall of Judah and Jerusalem was caused by the people's failure to listen. Those who escape to Egypt will suffer a similar fate, if they do not leave idolatry aside. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 2nd

Read Jeremiah 43.1-13. Johanan, the hero of ch 42, turns insolent and accuses Jeremiah of lying and Baruch of inciting him. Both are forced into Egyptian exile against their will. They escape none of the pain of the exiles in Babylon, for they too leave their homeland as captives. In verses 8-13: Jeremiah direct a symbolic action of burying stones. Nebuchhadnezzar will come and set up his rule there and destroy Egyptian deities. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 1st

Emigration to Egypt Chs. 42-44: Jeremiah is an ally of Babylon and an opponent of Egypt in the international power struggles that afflict Judah at this time. These chapters reflect anti-Egyptian viewpoints. They accuse survivors who go to Egypt of refusing to listen and engaging in idolatry. Paradoxically, Jeremiah and his scribe Baruch are also forced into exile. Read Jeremiah 42.1-22. Survivors of Ishmael's attack go to Jeremiah to make intercession on their behalf. Should they go to Egypt? They promise to obey his word. In verse 10: Jeremiah replies that they must remain in Judah.. The God will rebuild them after the disaster, for which God has repented. In verses 18-22: There is no escape from Babylon. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 31st

Read Jeremiah 41.1-18. During the meal, Ishmael and ten men massacre Gedaliah and everyone with him, as well as pilgrims on their way to the Temple. They desecrate their bodies by dumping them into a cistern and take the remaining survivors as hostages. Johanan, one of the Judeans, gathers forces and rescuse the hostages. The bloodbath gives the Judeans reson to fear the Chaldeans and sets off the events narrated in the next chapters. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 30th

Chaos Chs. 40-41: These chapters describe events inJudah after the invasion. Read Jeremiah 40.1-16. In verses 1-6: The Babylonian captian allows Jeremiah to remain in the land, even though Jeremiah had described those who stayed in Judah as bad figs (ch 24). In verses 7-12: Under Gedaliah's goverment there is peace in the land, and survivors are urged to submit to Babylon. In verses 13-16: A plot against Gedaliah is reported to him, but Gedaliah cannot believe that Ishmael, a member of the royal family, would be capable of such disloyalty. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 29th

Read Jeremiah 39.1-18. In straightforward prose, this chapter recounts the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem and its consequences for Zedekiah and Jeremiah. The narrative's major interest is not the siege but the king's cowardice, escape, and capture, and Jeremiah's release. In verse 3: Babylonian officals have taken possesion of the city and sit at the gate to govern. In verse 9: After Zedekiah and his family meet a horrible fate, the Babylonian captain distributes occupied land to the poor, perhaps to gain their support. In verses 11-18: Jeremiah gains Babylonian favor and is released to the protection of Gedaliah, the Judean governor appointed by the Babylonians to replace the king. Jeremiah's release has symbolic meaning. He is the model of obedience in captivity, and he returns home as exiles hope to do. In verse 18: Because he trusts, he gains his life as a prize of war. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 28th

Read Jeremiah 38.14-28. The king again consults with Jeremiah, who proclaims the king capture. In this vision, the king changes places with Jeremiah: The king is stuck in the mud. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 27th

Read Jeremiah 38.1-13. This story does not flow smoothly from the previous chapter. There Jeremiah was in prison, but here he is preaching freely to the people. In verses 1-6: He urges the people to surrender to Babylon to save their lives as the prize of war (v. 2). The king again allows Jeremiah's imprisonment because he will not offer a hopeful message. Jeremiah sinks into the mudd. In verses 7-13: An African, Ebed-melech, whose name means"servant of the king," dramatically rescues Jeremiah from death. In contrast to the king and his advisers, Ebed-melech shows true obedience. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 26th

BARUCH'S ACCOUNT Chs. 37-45: Baruch is described as the author of these stories about Jeremiah and other survivors of the Babylonian invasion (45.1). Perhaps these chapters represent the additional words of the second scroll (36.22). The chapters show the exilic audience how to survive suffering brought on by invasion and its aftermath. They describe how the prophetic word was rejected, was fulfilled, and how it created conflict among survivors. Jeremiah himself appears as an example of fidelity. He is imprisioned and rescued twice, escapes with his life, and becomes a model of faithful survival. Prision and release. Chs. 37-39: These chapters are all set during the reign of Zedekiah, who is as unaccepting of the prophetic word as his predecessor Jehoiakim. Read Jeremiah 37.1-21. In ch 37, the king consults with Jeremiah twice, at the beginning and end of the chapter. The consultations frame Jeremiah's imprisonment. This arrangement suggests that the king is attempting to squeeze a favorable word from Jeremiah. In verses 3-10: Zedekiah's hope is that the power struggles between Egypt and Pharaoh will reduce Babylonian power and avert disaster. Jeremiah says no. In verses 11-16: In a series of abusive acts toward the prophet, officals imprison him, as if they can imprision the word. In verses 17-21: Secretly, the king tries to persuade Jeremiah to give him hope but the prophet faithfully repeats his message of doom and escapes with his life. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 25th

Read Jeremiah 36.20-32. In verses 20-26: In a dramatic scene, the scroll is read to the king, who cuts it up and burns it as it being read. The king's action is a symbolic attempt to destroy the uncontrollable power of the word by making it disappear. In verses 37-32: But the prophetic word acannot be erased;Jeremiah disctates another version and adds more words to it. Jehoiakim, therefor, is responsible for the fall of the nation, for he would not listen. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 24th

Read Jeremiah 36.1-19. In verse 36.1-32.: Two scrolls. This chapter has many parallels with ch 26, including strong indictments of King Jehoiakin. Baruch, Jeremiah's scribe, continues the prophet's message by writing it and by proclaiming it. In verses 2-8: Baruch is a reliable proclaimer of Jeremiah's message of repentance, written by divine command on a scroll. In verses 9-19: Supporters of Jeremiah hear Baruch's reading of the scroll and send him and Jeremiah into hiding. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 23rd

Read Jeremiah 35.1-19. The Rechabites, by contrast, are faithful to their traditions. Little is certain about the identity of the Rechabites. In verses 8-10: They refrain from drinking wine and owning houses or land in the tradition of their ancestor, Jonadab son of Rechab. They exemplify true obedience, as shown in 2 Kings 10.15-27, where Jonadab assists King Jehu in purging Baal worship from the land. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 22nd

A good king and a bad community Chs 34-35: These two chapters contrast the failure of the king and people to obey God's word (ch 34) with exemplary fidelity of a small group of people called Rechabites (ch 35). The former group faces the dire consequences of infeidelity, and the latter group gains a future because of fidelity. Both stories are set during the Babylonian invasion, but the behavior they describe concerns consequences in the exilic present. Read Jeremiah 34.1-22. Jerusalem is under attack. In verses 6-7: Only the fortress cities of Lachish and Azekah have not fallen to the Babylonians. The times are dire. In verses 8-10: Zedekiah proclaims the freedom of Judean slaves, according to the law and God's command (Deut 15.12-14). At first all the people followed, but then they changed their minds, so they will go into slavery. In verses 18-20: They will be cut up like a sacrificial animal in a covenant offering. Comments or Quetions..

Reading for October 21st

Read Jermiah 33.1-26. In 33.1-26: Restoration. The restored relationship between God and the people is illustrated here. In verse 3: God invites Jeremiah to make requests. In verse 6: God assures the people of healing and prosperity. In verses 14-16: God promises to restore the kingship and the priesthood and to reunite the peoples of Israel and Judah. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 20th

Read Jeremiah 32.26-44. In verses 26-42: God replies to Jeremiah that there is a future. In verse 38: The covenant will be renewed. In verse 42: The one who brought the disater will bring a new future. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 19th

A Changed future. Chs.32-33: In these two narrative chapters, Jeremiah buys a field and offers prayers that signify a hopeful future for the Exiles. Jeremiah purachases a field during an imprisonmnent that occurs while Babylon is invading Jerusalem. During an invasion, land is worthless. Helped by his companion Baruch (v. 12), Jeremiah redeems the land of his cousin as expected by law, The foolishness of that purchase stands as a promise that life will resume in the land. Jeremiah, captive like the exilic audience, is a model of obedient hopefulness in the face of tragedy. Read Jeremiah 32.1-25. In verses 16-25: Jeremiah's prayer elaborates on the theme of hopefulness, asking God to see the invasion as it occurs. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 18th

Read Jeremiah 31.31-40. In 31.31-40: New Covenant. The poems about the restored family are followed by a brief but potent claim that there will be a new way of relating within the covenant family. God will make a new covenant with them. God and Israel will live in renewed fidelity. In verse 34: Everyone from the least to the greatest will know God. In verses 35-40: The cosmos itself and the fixed order of creation wll be a sign of the fidelity, and Jerusalem will be rebuilt and never overthrown. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 17th

Read Jeremiah 31.15-30. In 31.15-30: Rachel's comfort. Rachel (Gen 27-35), perhaps symbolizing God's first wife (3.7-11), weeps for her lost children and receives the breathtaking news that they will return. In verses 18-20: Her son, actually her grandson, repents like the children (3.22-25), and God receives him back. In verses 21-22: God addresses wife Israel and asks how long it will be before she repents. The poem ends with a puzzling claim that God has done anew thing: A woman encompasses a man, perhapsand image of Rachel embracing her returning child. In verses 23-26: The woman may be Jerusalem excompassing the people returning from exile. In verses 27-28: Perhaps wife Rachel encompasses a man sexually to give birth to a new generation. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 16th

Read Jeremiah 31.1-14. in 31.1-14: Return. All Isareal, both north and south, will be reunited. In verses 3-4: Survivors will return, covenant will be restored, and God will take back wife Israel, now called a virgin, no longer a harlot. She will be like Miriam. leading the dance (Ex 15.20-21). In verse 9: Echoing the children's return (3.22-25), God takes them back and promises to be a father to them. In verses 10-14: Everyone in society will participate in life that will be fertile and joyous on Zion. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 15th

Read Jeremiah 30.18-24. In verses 18-22: God speaks to Jacob and refers also to Jerusalem, the city that will be rebuilt. Both northern and southern kingdoms are reunited in a poetc ouburst concerning thanksgiving and new life. In verses 23-24: The national tragedy receives a summary interprestation. Divine wrath will one day end, and the audience will understand it in the future. Comments or Questons..

Reading for October 14th

Read Jeremiah 30.12-17. In a poetic movement similar to vv.5-11, this poem also moves unexpectedly from desperation to salvation, but the images shift from panic to woundedness and healing. The one addressed is daughter Zion, God's unafithful wife (2.1-3.25). God now pities her in her abandonment. Comments or Quuestions..

Reading for October 13th

Little book of consolation. In chs. 30-33: These chapters combine poetry (chs. 30-31) and prose (chs.32-33) to depict a harmonious idealized future for Israel and Judah. The placement of these chapters of hope and healing toward the center of the book is puzzling. Stories and poems of accusation and conflict suround them as if to temper the hope the chapters create. This structure may reflect the situation of the exilic audience, for whom escape from captivity remains a distant possibility. The chapters create a vision of what lies ahead, but they do not present a program for escape. Instead, they create unimagined possibilities that may help the community to endure for a new day. Chs. 30-31: Restoration. The poem create a vision of a future nation in which northern and southern kingdoms are restored and reunited in Jerusalem. Some of the poems collected address male Jacob/Israel. Jacob is a name used for the northern kingdom of Israel, and also the name of the ancestor of all twelve tribes (Gen 29-30). Other poems address female figuures representing Judah and Zion, or Rachel, one of Jacob's wives and mother of a northern and southern tribe. These names bring together both northern and southern kingdoms. Read Jeremiah 30.1-11. In verse 2: God's command that Jeremiah write these words in a book makes it possible for Jeremiah to communicate with the exiles even though he is not with them. In verses 5-7: Images of panic and pain describe the distress for Jacob. In verses 8-11: Without explanation, hope replaces terror. God will remove the yoke of servitude from them, restore relationship with them, and raise up a king for them. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 12th

Read Jeremiah 29.15--32. In verses 21-22: Two false prophets among the exiles, Ahab and Zedekiah, will die like Hananiah under the Deuteronomistic curse (Deut 18.20). In verses 24-32: Shemaiah, one of the exiles, writes to the high priest in Jerusalem that he should silence Jeremiah. Jeremiah curses him as a false prophet, one like Hananiah. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 11th

Read Jeremiah 29.1-14. In 29.1-32: Letters. From Jerusalem, Jeremiah writes letters to the exiles, and responds to a letter about him. The letters to the exiles presnt Jeremiah as the authority about the exiles' survival. In verse 3: Suporters of Jeremiah serve as couriers. The exiles are not to resist Babylonian rule, but to live there in normal domestic relations and to seek the welfare of the city where they are held captive. In verse 10: After 70 years, probably symbolizing a long time, their relationship with God will be restored, and they will return to their land. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 10th

Read Jeremiah 28.1-17. The conflict of prophetic messages narrows down to a conflict between two prophets of Judah, Hananiah and Jeremiah. In competing symbolic actions, the two men wear jokes to enact and make concrete the prophetic messages. Jeremiah wears a wooden yoke to signify captivity by Baylon. In verse 10: Hananiah breaks Jeremiah's yoke as an attempt to say the opposite. In verses 12-14: Jeremiah returns latter with an unbreakable iron yoke. In verse 17; Hananiah's death a year later indicates that he was a false prophet preaching his own word, not divine revelation (Deut 18.20). Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 9th

Read Jeremiah 27.12-22. The prophets of Judah also oppose the true word of God in a dispute about the Temple's vessels. These sacred items had been deported to Babylon in 597BCE, and the prophets expected them to be returned to Judah quickly, implying that Babylonian rule will not last long. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 8th

Yokes Chs. 27-28: Jeremiah's conclict with other prophetic groups is the subject of these two chapters. Three stories increasingly narrow the conflict from an international disagreement to a personal dispute between two prophets. Read Jeremiah 27.1-11 Jeremiah tells the nations that God has placed their lands under the control of Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar, my servant (v. 6). Their prophets have a contrary view. In verse 11: Those who refuse to serve Babylon will be put under the yoke. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 7th

Read Jeremiah 26.12-24. In verse 12: Jeremiah responds to charges by claiming that it was God who sent me. The trial concludes with a declaration of Jeremiah's innocence. In verses 17-23: Some elders present examples of other prophets who spoke judgments against Jerusalem. In verses 18-23: King Hezekiah received the message of the prophet Micah, whereas the current king, Jehoiakim, rejected the words of the prophet Uriah and had him killed. In verse 24: Mysteriously, Ahikam rescues Jeremiah from death. The story blames the king for rejecting the prophetic word and invites the book's readers to join Jeremiah's supporters. It presents Jeremiah as a model of fidelity who, while in the hands of captors, remains faithful and is recused from peril. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 6th

HOW THE NATION WILL SURVIVE Chs. 26-52: The first "book" (chs 1-25) accused Judah of infidelity, promised destruction and exile, and defended God from accusations of injustice. The second "book" (chs. 26-52) presents stories and poems that reveal how to survive the period after the naton's fall to Babylon. No longer is repentance to avert the disaster the primary concern. The book's audience lives with the community's failure to repent. They themselves must repent and endure. Jeremiah appears here as a model of faithful endurance. Jeremiah's companion Baruch also appears in this part of the book. Baruch has traditionally been named as the writer of the stories about Jeremiah, particularly in chs. 37-45. The exilic period was a time of great conflict about how to survive. the book insists that survival requires continued submission to Babylon, repentance, and obedience as set out in the book of Jeremiah. In Chs. 26-29: Prophetic discord. These chapters set forth disputes about which prophetic vision of the future will ensure the nation's survial. Read Jeremiah 26.1-11. In 26.1-24.: Jeremiah on trial. This chapter shows that Jeremiah faced great conflict but that he is the true prophet and, hence, is to be heeded. In verses 1-6:The chapter refers to Jeremiah's Temple sermon (7.1-8.3) and summarizes it. What is of interest here, however, is the community's reponse to the sermon. Some accept it, priest, prophets, and King Jehoiakim reject it. Some ofthe leaders put Jeremiah on trial. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 5th

Read Jeremiah 25.30-38. In25.30-38: The Lion. God is a roaring lion who will devour the nations that have destroyed Judah. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 4th

Read Jeremiah 25.15-29. In 25.15-29: Cup of wrath. A symbolic action makes the prophecy of vv. 8-14 concrete. God commands Jeremiah to act as a wine steward. But instead of serving a joyous feast, Jeremiah serves a cup of wrath to the kings of major nations and city-states around Judah. In verse 26: The final king to drink is the king of Babylon, here called Shessach. All must drink of God's punishment. In the symbolic sphere, Judah and its enemies have already exchanged places. All that remains is for historical events to unfold. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 3rd

Babylon's fall Ch. 25:This chapter closes off the first major division of the book by reaching back to ch. 1. At las, Jeremiah acts as "porphet to the nations" (1.5,10). Read Jeremiah 25.1-14. In 25.1-14: Invaders will be punished. In verse 1: A narrator dates the chapter to the ruler of the Judahite King Jehoiakim and the Babylonian king Nebuchadrezzar. That date, 606 BCE, indicates that Jeremiah has prophesied the fall of Judah to Babylon well inadvance of events. His prophecy of the fall of Babylon will, therefore, prove equally reliable. In verses 3-7: Jeremiah summarizes his career and the people's refusal to listen to his words. This refusal provoked divine anger. In verses 8-14: God presents the consequences of not listening. In verse 9: The tribes of the north, now identifiied as Babylon, will be God's agent of destruction. God calls the Bbaylonian king my servant. As divine agents, the Babylonians will destroy life on an international scale. In verse 11: Judah will serve Babylon for 70 years. The number may simply mean "a long time," for the exile lasted only 50 years. In verse 14: After that time God will punish Babylon. Comments or Question..

Reading for October 2nd

Read Jeremiah 24.1-10. In 24.1-10: Figs. Jerusalem has been invaded, King Jehoiachin is in captivity, and King Zedekiah has been appointed in his place. Jeremiah has a vision of two baskets of figs. One symbolizes survivors in Babylon, the other stands for those who have stayed in Judah or escaped to Eypt. The first basket is good; the second is rotten. The message for the survivors is that to survive they must cooperate with Babylon. Only then will they have a future. Comments or Questions..

Reading for October 1st

Read Jeremiah 23.23-40. These prose verses continue to discredit the other prophets who have led the people astray. In verses 33-40: A play on words makes the same attack on the prophets. The word translated "burden" can also mean "oracle" or "prophetic poem." The prophets who ask for an oracle or message from God learn that they are God's burden. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 30th

Read Jeremiah 23.18-22. The prophet is the one who goes before God, in the council of the Lord. These prophets God did not send, and they did not speak God's words; they are false prophets. By implication, only Jeremiah is a true prophet. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 29th

Read Jeremiah 23.9-17. In 23.9-40: Prophets As a group of leaders, the prophets failed to be true to their calling to speak the word of God. In verses 9-11: God laments over infidelity. In verses 13-14: The prophets of the northern kingsdom of Samaria were shocking in their worship of Baal, but the prophets of Judah were even worse, like the two cities destroyed for their sinfulness (Gen 19). Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 28th

Read Jeremiah 23.1-8. In 23.1-8: Restoration. In these prose verses, God promises restoration to kings, portrayed by the traditional figure of the shepherd. If the readers of the book were already in exile, these promises of future Davidic kingship would not contridict Jeremiah's prophecy of invasion. Those events would already have occurred. The audience awaits a new future promised here. The prophecies of doom explain in a variety of ways why things have come to this tragic situation. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 27th

Read Jeremiah 22.6b-30. In 22.6b-30: Fate of kings and nation. Verse 6 Connects all these poems in kings. In verses 7-9: Punishment will come upon them and the city will be destroyed. In verses 10-11: King Josiah and his sons Jehoahaz, also known as Shallum, both meet tragic fates. Josiah dies in battle (2 Kings 23.38-30), but sadder still is the fate of Jehoahaz, who is exiled from the land. In verses 13-19: This poem contrasts good king Josiah with his son, the bad king Jehoiakim. Josiah is a true king because he does justice; his son exploits people for his own benefit. In verses 20-23: These verses address an unidentified female ("you" is feminine in the Hebrew text) who is sent outside Israel to neighboring Lebanon. This location is puzzling, but the woman seems to be God's unfaithful wife, who has refused to listen. In verses 24-30: God promises to hurl into Babylonian exile King Jehoiakim's son, King Jeholachin, here caled Coniah. In verse 30: With him, kingship will end. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 26th

Read Jeremiah 21.11-22.6a In 21.11-22.6a: Justice. In verses 21.11-14: The poem addresses the kings by the title house of David, referring to all the kings who occupied the Davidic throne (1 Sam 7). The role of the king is to administer justice. If the kings fail, then the fire of divine wrath will destroy them. In 22.1-6a: A prose passage elaborates on the obligation of the kings to do justice for the afflicted. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 25th

THE INVASION'S AFTERMATH Chs. 21-25: these loosely connected chapters assume that the nation has already been invaded by Babylon. So, far the book has presented captivity only in symbolic terms, but the invasion is described more realistically in 21.1-10. These chapters focus on survival in the battle's aftermath. Prose narratives offer advice to the survivors (21.1-10; 24.1-10). Poems explain how the invasion happened by blaming kings and prophets (21.11-23.40). National survival is promised (25,1-14) and international justice foretold (25.15-38). The voice of a narrator is more prominent than in previous chapters, and these chapters refer more directly to historical dates and persons than do earlier chapters, Read Jeremiah 21.1-10. In 21.1-10: The attack. In verses 1-2: Jeremiah presents a prophecy to messengers sent to him by King Zedekiah of Judah. Zedekiah hopes that God will send Babylonians and their king Nebuchadrezzar, away as in the past (Isa 36-37). In verses 3-7: But instead of sending the Baylonians (also called Chaldeans) away, God will bring them into the city and fight against Judah. In verses 8-9: In langauge that appears also in Deut 30.11-10, the text urges them to "choose lfe." To live, they must surrender to Babylon. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 24th

Read Jeremiah 20.14-18. In 20.14-18: A curse. Jeremiah curses the day of his birth, like Job (Job 3). This curse closes the section on the covenant's destruction that was begun by the curse against the nation in ch 11. Jeremiah's curse speaks of the tragedy of his mission to announce disaster so that he wishes he had never been born. If his life represents that of the people, his captivity, the fulfillment of his word, and his curse enact and bring about their captivity. comments or Questions..

Reading for September 23rd

Read Jeremiah 20.7-13. In 20.7-13: Jeremish's fifth confession. Jeremiah blames captivity on God, who has given him words of terror to announce. In verse 9: Jeremiah tried to withhold his message of violence, but it was like fire: he could not hold it in. Jeremiah's message is not his own, but from God alone. In verses 11-13: Jeremiah remembers God is with him and that the word will be accomplished. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 22nd

Read Jeremiah 20.1-6. In 20.1-6: Jeremiah's captivity. The book does not yet report the invasion of Jerusalem but, instead, portrays the disaster symbolically. Jeremiah himself is captured in the Temple by the high priest. In verses 4-6: That event becomes the occasion for Jeremiah's announcement that Babylon, mentioned for the first time in the book, will invade and destroy Judah and that the high priest and his supporters will go into captivity. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 21st

Read Jeremiah 19.1-15. In 19.1-15: The broken pot. Jeremiah performs a symbolic action is which he breaks an earthenware jug in front of the edlers and priests to represent the nation. He summarizes their idolatries, their sins, and their refusals to listen. In verse 15: Then he announces the fulfillment of the long promised disaster. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 20th

Read Jeremiah 18.18-23. In 18.18-23: Jeremiah's fourth confession. In verse 18: Enemies of Jeremiah speak in a prose comment that illustrates the community's failure to repent. In verses 19-20: Jeremiah reminds God of how faithful Jeremiah has been to his prophetic mission. In verses 21-23: He asks God to punish the enemies who try to kill him. The prophet's enemies are the enemies of God because they refuse to hear the divine word that the prphet claims to speak. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 19th

Read Jeremiah 18.13-17. In 18.13-17: God's response. God laments their idolatry and turns from them. Comments or Questions..

Readng for September 18th

CAPTIVITY Chs. 18-20:These chapters mark the climax in the first part of the book and are more closely woven the previous sections. In them the threats of captivity and disaster come to a symbolic fulfillment. After relentess efforts by God and Jeremiah to bring the nation to repentance, punishment comes upon them. Rad Jeremiah 18.1-12 In 18.1-12: The potter. Prose narrative describes Jeremiah's visit to the potter. The potter makes a vessel that he dislikes, so he destroys it and starts again. In verse 11: This action becomes a symbol of God's plan for Israel and occasions a final invitation to repent. In verse 12: The people adamantly refuse to repent. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 17th

Read Jeremiah 17.19-27. In 17.19-27:Sabbath sermon. In this prose passge, God directs Jeremiah to announce to the leadership the absolute necessity of keeping sabbath law. They are not to carry burdens or do work, and they must heed divine commands. If they fail, then Jerusalem will be destroyed by fire. This sermon explains again thhat the exile did not occur because God's cruleity or forgetfulness but resulted from the community's failure to be faithful. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 16th

Read Jeremiah 17.14-18. In 17.14-18: Jeremiah's third confession. Jeremiah is less accusatory of God here than in previous confessions and asks for healing of his wound. In verse 15: He quotes his enemies, who doubt that he speaks the word of God because it has not yet come true. He asks God to take vengence against them comments or Questions..

Reading for September 15th

Read Jeremish 17.1-13. In 17.1-27: True worship. Many voices combine in this chapter. In verses 1-4: In prose accusation, God accuses the people of Judah of idolatry and promises that they will be exiled. In verses 5-8: In language reminiscent of Ps. 1, God announces the cursed fate of those who trust in themselves, and the blessed condition of those who trust in God. In verses 12-13: The voice of worship addressed to God reappears and speaks about the foolishness of abandoning the fountains of living water (2.13). Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 14th

Read Jeremiah 16.16-21. In verses 16-18: God's punishment here may be against the enemies who have invaded the land and polluted it with idols. In verse 19-20: A worshipping voice addresses God in the style of the chidlren's speech (3.22-25) expressing loyalty and repentance. This speech provides a model of piety for the exiles to follow. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 13th

Read Jeremiah 16.10-15. In verse 10-13: God quotes the people, who ask questions at the very heart of the book. Why has this happened? Exile has happened because of their sin and infidelity. In verses 14-15: Divine promises of a hopeful suture addressed to the survivors of the nation's fall interrupt announcements of exile. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 12th

Read Jeremiah 16.1-9. In 16.1-21: Jeremiah's celibacy. Several voices debate the meaning of exile. In verse 1-9: The first voice of God, who commands Jeremiah not to take a wife and not to beget children. Jeremiah's isolation from the community becomes even stronger. Yet his life becomes symbolic act, a sign of what will happen to the people in exile. Normal life will be over. There will be no marriages, and that means there will be no children. Domestic life is over and the people have no future. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 11th

Read Jeremiah 15.10-21. In 15.10-21: Jeremiah's second confession. In verse 10: Jeremiah laments his calling to announce the coming tragedy to the community. In verse 15: He addresses God directly to complain that he has been faithful, taking the divine words into himself like food. In verse 17: He stayed away from community life. In verse 18: Like the people, Jeremiah's wound is incurable, for God is unreliable. In verse 19-21: God replies that Jeremiah must turn to God, just as Jeremiah has asked the people to do. (4.2). Then God will be with him and rscue him. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 10th

Read Jeremiah 15.1-9. In 15.1-16.21: No future, yet a future. In verse 1: Jeremiah cannot intercede with God for this sinful people because their infidelity places them beyond hope. Even the great mediators of the past, Moses and Sanuel, could not get God to change the divine mind. These refusals byGod to hear the prophet also indicate to the exilic audience that Jeremiah did not fail to prevent the nation's fall. Rather, they had sinned and God had no choice but to puish them. In verses 2-3: Poetry moves from the mythic description of the foe of the north to a more natural invasion and destruction. The culprit in this verse is King Manasseh, (2 Kings 21.10-15), who was famous for his idolatry. In verses 5-9: God laments over female Jerusalem, describes the disasters ahead, and accpts full responsibility for bringing calamity upon her. But the poem indicates that God has punished her only after becoming weary of relenting (v. 6). The poem defends God from charnes or cruelty. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 9th

Read Jeremiah 14.17-22. In verse 17: Jeremiah weeps at the woundedness of the people, portrayed as the virgin daughter, grievously wounded by a crushing blow. In verses 19-22: The people use language of worship to protest God's neglect of them and to ask why there is no healing and no rain. The people's vice probably represents the voice of the exiles, expressing repentance and hope in the same style as the children in 3.22-25. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 8th

Read Jeremiah 14.11-16. In this prose comment we again hear God commanding Jeremiah not to intercede on behalf of the people because their case is beyond hope. Jeremiah stands in contrast to false prophets who preach lies to the people. This conflict suggests that the audience of the book is offered competing interpretations from its religious leaders. Jeremiah is the only prophet sent by God. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 7th

Read Jeremiah 14.1-10. In 14.1-27: Drought and wound. This chapter contains two poems, one concerning a drought (vv. 1-10) and one concerning the wounds of war ( vv. 17-22), with prose comment(vv. 11-16) between them. Though the actual drought may be behind the first poem, it stands here as an image of the destruction of the creation caused by the nation's sinfulness. In verse 3: The earth and the animals are affected by the people's idolatry as they return to empty cisterns, instead of the "fountain of the living water" (2.13). In verses 8-9: The peole speak in the language of worship, asking why God has forsaken them. In verse 10: God describes again the wandering, as they turn to other gods. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 6th

Read Jeremiah 13.15-27. Jeremiah warns the people against their pride and urges them to listen. In verse 17: If they do not, his response will be to weep at their captivity as God weeps (9.1). In veres 18-19: The queen mother, that is the mother of the king, will be brought low because the invasion and exile are already underway. In verse 20: The enemy fromt henceforth is coming. In verses 22-27: According to the Hebrew text, God addresses Jerusalem, personified again as female, with charges that her infidelity will result in her violation. God will be the one to lift her skirts, that is, to rape her. This shocking language uses the image of a raped woman to describe the invasion ofthe city, directed and accomplished by God. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 5th

Read Jeremiah 13.12-14. In a second symbolic event to occur in the future, God interprets actions to be performed by the people, not by Jeremiah. The filling of wine-jars signifies not feasting, as readers might expect, but drunkenness that is destructive of the people and the land. These verses seem to provide the punishment for the pride named in Jeremiah's symboloic action of hiding the loincloth. This wine-drinking episode points forward to 25.15-29, when all the nations drink from the cup of destruction. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 4th

Read Jeremiah 13.1-11. In 13.1-27: The nation's pride. In this chapter Jeremiah performs a symbolic act ( vv. 1-11), interprets a symbolic event (vv. 12-14), and in poetry again announces Exlie (15-27). The theme of the nation's false pride runs throughout the chapter. In verses 1-11: Jeremiah receives a divine command to purchase a loincloth and hide it in a cleft of the rock (v. 4). The results of his action symbolize his prophetic message. The loincloth is ruined by the exposure to the elements. In Verse 8-11: Jeremiah's words explain the action. Judah is suppose to cling to God but instead has been full of pride and has refused to listen, hence, the nation will come to ruin. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 3rd

Read Jeremiah 12.7-17. In 12.7-17: God's lament. Using the first person pronoun, I, God laments the infidelity of the beloved of my heart. Described as a wild lion, God's beloved hertiage has provoked divine hate, so punishment will follow. In verses 14-17: A prose comment reuses langauge of plucking up from Jeremiah's call (1.10). God seems to address the exiles directly by promising that those who destroy God's hertiage will be plucked from their land and God will pluck the people of Judah from where they are and return them home, if they listen. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 2nd

Read Jeremiah 11.18-12.6. In 11.18-12.6: Jeremiah's first confession. In verses 18-19: Jeremiah complains that he is under attack from unidentified enemies. He quotes their plotes to get rid of him. In verse 20: He appeals to God, the just judge, to take vengenge against them. In verses 21-23: In a prose comment, God promises to punish the enemies, who are identified as people from Jeremiah's own town of Anaoth. But Jeremiah then accuses the just judge of planting and nourishing wickedness. In 12.5-6: The judge replies that things will get worse; even Jeremiah's family will turn against him. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 1st

COVENAT DESTROYED Chs. 11-20: Like the previous chapters, this section of the book seeks to explain the tragedy that has befallen Judah and to defend God from charges of cruelty. It claims that the people brought the catastrophe upon themselves. These chapters continue the poetic accusations of ch. 2-10, but in addition, Jeremiah himself moves into the foreground as a major character in the book. Stories how Jeremiah engaged in symbolic actions (chs. 13, 18, 19, 20). Symbolic actions are prophetic activities that express the prophetic message in dramatic behavior. In addition, this section also includes poems called "confessions" or "laments" of Jeremiah. The confession portray Jeremiah's sufferings as he tries to be faithful to his prophetic mission. The covenant sermon begins the next ten chaters with a curse whose fulfillment becomes inevitable by ch. 20. No blessing which usually accompany curses, appear here. The absence suggests that the curse-defeat of Judah-has already occurred and that the audience in Exile is asking why it happened and if it is reversible. The sermon interprets their loss of land as the result of their infedility. Only obedience to God's voice through this prophetic book can set things right. Read Jeremiah 11.1-17: The covenant cures. In this prose sermon, similar in style to the Temple sermon ((7.1-8.3), Jeremiah annouces a curse upon anyone who does not heed the words of the covenant (v.3). The covenant refers to the relationship of loyalty and love that God made with them at Mount Sinai (Ex 19). This sermon has one point that is presented with great simiplicity: To posses the land, the people must obey the covenant. In verse 4: They must listen to my voice. The covenant is a two-way relationship. If they obey, thn so shall you be my people, and I will be your God. In verse 5; That obedience is the condition of living in the land flowing with milk and honey. In verses 6-13: Otherwise disaster will fall upon them. In verses 14-17: Once again God tells Jeremiah not to intercede for the people because they are so sinful. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 31st

Read Jeremiah 10.17-25. In 10.17-25: Exile. These verses shift back to the time before the Exile, and God announces that the attack, expected throughout chs. 4-10, is about to come (vv. 17-18, 22). In verses 19-20: A second voice, probably that of Jerusalem personified as daughter Zion, laments her fate. She is abandoned and her children are gone. In verse 23-25: She admits her sins and asks for divine justice in punishment of both herself and the nations who devour Jacob, another name for Israel. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 30th

Read Jeremiah 10.1-16. In 10.1-16: Hymn of praise. These verses contain a hymn that expresses loyalty to the true God and makes fun of other gods as worthless idols. The hymn, which seems to follow 9.22, serves as a model of repentance and reconciliation for the exiles surviving the nation's collapse. The poem is similar in subject and worship style to the repentance of the children from the broken family (3.22-25). In verses 2-5: The people should neither becomes like the nations around them not adopt the idolatrous customs. In verse 6: Israel's God is the true king of the nations. In verses 8-11: By contrast, the gods of the nations are stupid, human creations. In verses 12-16: Only the God of Israel is the Creator whose wisdom made the world. Israel is God's special inheritance in this hymn, creation's harmony is reestablished. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 29th

Read Jeremiah 9.17-25. In verse 17: Mourning women: In ancient Israel, offical mourning women were called to funerals to lead the community in weeping. In verse 21: Here they are summoned to weep over the destructionof the nation, for death has come up into our windows. The funeral to which the people are invited is their own. In verses 23-26: A prose comment, which seems to continue from 9.12-16 rather than from the weeping poem, announces that God acts in justice for those who know me. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 28th

Read Jeremiah 9.4-16. In verses 4-8: Accusations against the people include their unfaithfulness to each other as they lie, slander, and deceive. In punishment God will refine them like silver. In verse 9: But God expresses hestiancy with a question also asked earlier (5.9, 29): How can punishment be avoided? In verses 10-11: The command to weep indicates that the destruction of the earth and of the city of Jerusalem cannot be turned away. The poem implies the end of the world for the inhabitants of Judah. Invasion by the foe from the north will end normal life. In verses 12-16: These prose verses interpret further the tragedy about to happen, but which for the audience of the book has already ocurred. In verses 13-14; The people did not keep God's law nor listen to God's voice. Instead, they worshipped the Baals. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 27th

Read Jeremiah 8.18-9.3. *.18-9.26: Weeping. God, the earth, and offical mourning women weep to signify the certainty of the nation's destruction. The poetry of weeping also suggests that God joins with the people and the earth in expressing vulnerability, pain, and grief over the invasion that will destroy life in the land. In 8.18-9.3: There is disagreement among scholars about the identity of the principal speaker in this poem but it is probably God. In verse 21: The God who suffered in the story of the broken family (2.1-3.25) is in pain and dismay again over the hurt of my poor people. The Hebrew text reads "daughter of my people," to suggest that God is still lamenting over the broken family relationship. In 9.1: The divine speaker then expresses a wish; O that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, so that I might weep day and night for the slain of my poor people! Divine tears, unlike divine anger, create a brief solidarity and empty with the people. If the audience is Israel during Exile, divine tears suggest that God has not rejected them forever but suffers with them. In verse 2: The speaker's mood changes quickly. God desires to escape from the midst of the sinners, unfaithful people. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 26th

Weeping and lamentation In 8.4-10.25: Poetry resumes this section that continues to announce the impending cosmic battle and also ephasizes themes of weeping and lamentation. The only reponse left in the face of the community's stubborness and infidelity is to weep at the tragedy that is certain to come. The poem gathered here fall into four groupings: 8.4-7 continues to explain why the cosmic battle must come; 8.18-9.26 begins the weeping as if at a funeral for the nation; 10.1-16 contains a communal prayer of loyalty; 10.17-25 announces the exile as the enemy from the north comes closer. As in earlier chapters in the book, many voices announce, comment upon, or respond to the approaching disaster. Voices of Lamentation and weeping that appeared in 3.21; 4.19; 6.26; and 7.29 burst out here with abundant tears that flow from God, Jeremiah, and the people. Read 8.4-17. In 8.4-17: Why the attack will come. God speaks to Jeremiah in continued peplexity about the people's failure to repent. In verses 6-7: They behave like wild animals. In verses 8-9: Their punishment will be captivity. The aftermath of military attack shows wives and fields captured by others. In verses 10-12: The refrain of accusation from 6.13-15 is repeated here to explain why the invasion must occur. Everyone is deluted and everyone sins. In verses 14-15: The people speak in confusion and blame God for failing them. Their voice may reflect the feelings of the book's audience in exile, even though their speech is here set before the recounting of the tragedy. In verses 16-17: God replies by calling attention to the sound of the approaching battle. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 25th

Read Jeremiah 8.1-3. In the horrifying conclusion to the sermon, the kings, who are not only the leaders but also symbolize the nation itself, will die and their corpses will be dishonoored. The sermon seeks to bring about obedience and true worship. The people must listen to the voice of God through the prophet. If the book's audience lives in Exile, then the sermon makes cler that only true worship will bring about renewed life in the land. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 24th

Read Jeremiah 7.21-34. In verse 29: A poetic verse urges the people to lament for God has rejected their worship. In verses 30--32: People offer their children in sacrifice on Topheth in the valley of Hinnon. In veres 33-34: For these crimes the nation willbe destroyed. Their corpses will be littered about, normal life in the land will cease, and the land shall become a waste. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 23rd

Read Jeremiah 7.8-20. In 7.8-8.3: The sermon moves downward spiral of offenses. In verses 7-9: The people commit crimes and worship Baal, a storm deity, not the God of Israel. In verses 12-15: For these offenses, Jerusalem will become like Shiloh, a shrine in the northern kingdom that was destroyed by the Philistenes. The Jerusalem Tempple will meet the same fate if the people of Judah do not repent. In verses 16--17: Yet the sins of Judah are so great that God prohibits Jeremiah from interceding on behalf of the people. In verses 18-19: Entire families worship the astral deity called the queen of heaven. comments or Questions..