Reading for June 19th

 Read Jeremiah 3.19-24. Though still nostalgic for his wife (2.19-20), the husband/father again invites the children to "return" and promises to heal them. In verses 22-24: The children then begin to speak, addressing the father directly and repenting of their infidelity and idolatry. The family is partially restored. the account of the broken family symbolically retells the entire course of Judah's history up to the Exile. It is likely that the children symbolize the exiles who were invited to return and promised a renewed future in allegiance to their father. The story of this broken family explains the Exile symbolically. The historical destruction of Judah and Jerusalem was not God's fault but was punishment for idolatry and betrayal. That betrayal by all the people appears the more intimate and wrong because it is like betrayal by a spouse. Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 18th

 Read Jeremiah 3.6-18. In verses 6-10: Jeremiah replaces the husband as speaker and reports that the husband had previously had another wife, Israel who also betrayed him and whom he had also divorced. In the story of the family, both the northern and southern kingdoms have betrayed God and been cast off. Since the northern kingdom of Israel fell to Assyria in 721 BCE, this story explains that historical tragedy in the symbolic terms of betrayal in marriage. In verses 11-18: The divine husband sends Jeremiah to the first wife and invite her to return. The text reports no response from her. Then the invitation to return is addressed to the children (v. 14). Their father promises them restoration and reunification of the whole people in Jerusalem (vv. 15-18). Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 17th

 Read Jeremiah 3.1-5. The relationship between God and his wife, symbolizing all the people of Israel and Judah, is over. The family is broken and there appears to be no future. Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 16th

 Read Jeremiah 2.4-37. In these poems, the divine speaker alternates in addressing male Israel (2.4-16; 2.26-32) and female Judah, portrayed as God's wife (2.17-25; 2.33-3.5). The effect of this switch from male to female is to accuse both figures of infidelity and of going after other gods or lovers. Male Israel changes its gods (2.11), forsakes God, the fountain of living water (2.13), digs its own sources of water (2.13) and worships idols (2.27-28). Wife Judah also betrays God, but in more intimate ways. Though she is God's wife, she played the whore (2.20), went after other lovers (2.23-25, 33; 3.1), and would not return to her husband (3.1). Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 15th

 The broken family

In Chs. 2-3: A story of a broken family underlies and unifies the poetry and prose of this section. The account of this family functions as a summary of the whole book in symbolic form. God appears as husband and father, betrayed, brokenhearted and in search of reconciliation with his unfaithful wife and children.

Read 2.1-2: God speaks and addresses his wife, remembering how good it was during their honeymoon. Then God addresses male Israel in similar terms. Israel was holy to the Lord. Both female and male were set apart and protected. Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 14th

 Read Jeremiah 1.11-19. Jeremiah's gains substance from two visions written in prose. In verses 11-13: Jeremiah sees a branch of an almond tree, a "shaqed" in Hebrew. In a play on words, God replies, I am watching ("shoqed") over my word to perform it. What God says through Jeremiah will happen. Next Jeremiah sees a boiling pot, tilted away from the north. The boiling pot is a symbol of destruction, overflowing and burning. The north may refer to a historic enemy, but more likely the threat from the north refers to a mythic enemy, coming like a superhuman monster. Only in 20.4 will the foe from the north be identified as Baylon. In verses 14-18: The tilting pot will spill out an army of invaders who will stream upon the land. God is calling the kingdoms of the north to invade Jerusalem. Jeremiah himself should have courage throughout the terror, for God will be with him. Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 13th

 Read Jeremiah 1.1-10. Chs. 1-10: Cosmic destruction. Ch. 1: Jeremiah's call. In verses 1-3: The introductory verse tells who Jeremiah was and when he prophesied. He was from a family of priests from the town outside Jerusalem, Anaoth. His call came during the time of King Josiah and extended until the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon in 587 BCE, a 40-year period that symbolically links him with Moses' 40 years of leadership in the wilderness. Jeremiah is presented as a prophet like Moses, as promised in Deut 18.18. In verses 4-10: In a poetic conversation between God and Jeremiah, Jeremiah receives his mission. His call before birth indicates that his prophecy was not his own invention but given to him by God. His resistance on the grounds that he is only a boy and so cannot speak properly also indicates that God has sent him; he has not chosen this task for himself. God tells him not to be afraid, promises to be with him, and touches his mouth. This gesture symbolizes the divine origin of the words Jeremiah speaks and the words recorded in this book. The book claims that Jeremiah's words are from God. In verse 10: Jeremiah is a prophet to the nations and will tear down and build up. This short poem gives Jeremiah and his book authority in the face of opposition. Comments or Questions..