Reading for July 25th

Read Jeremiah 17.19-27. In 17.19-27: Sabbath sermon. In this prose passage, 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 that the exile did not occur because God's cruelty or forgetfulness but resulted from the community's failure to be faithful. Comments or Questions.. 

Reading for July 24th

 Read Jeremiah 17.14-18. In 17.14-18: Jeremiah's third confession. Jeremiah is less accusatory of God here than in the 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 come true. He asks God to take vengeance against them. Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 23rd

 Read Jeremiah 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 fountain of living water (2.13). Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 22nd

 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 verses 19-20: A worshipping voice addresses God in the style of the children'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 July 21st

 Read Jeremiah 16.10-15: In verses 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 future addressed to the survivors of the nation's fall interrupt announcements of exile. Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 20th

 Read Jeremiah 16.1-9. In 16.1-21: Jeremiah's celibacy. Several voices debate the meaning of exile. In verses 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 a 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 July 19th

 Read Jeremiah 15.10- 21. In Jeremiah 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 people, Jeremiah's wound is incurable, for God is unreliable. In verses 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 rescue him. Comments or Questions..