Reading for September 24th

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

Reading for September 23rd

 Read Jeremiah 51.15-23. In verses 15-19: A hymn, perhaps representing the voice of the exiles, praises the Creator, wise and understanding, who made the earth and maintains it natural processes. Compare to the Creator, the idols are worthless. They are lifeless gods of the gold-smith. In verses 20-23: Eight times the Creator says to his weapons or his armies, I smash with you, creating a rhythmic beat of destruction. Smashed will be the nations, peoples, animals, and rulers. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 22nd

 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 that 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 winnowers. God is bringing about cosmic upheaval that  will destroy Babylon's 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 vengeance 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, bit its too late. In verse 9: The exiles tried to heal Babylon but they could not, so flee to Zion to declare God's word. In verses 11-14: War preparations continue. God orders armies to make their weapons ready and to prepare ambushes. the Medes, an empire of the time, will destroy Babylon. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 21st

 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 element of Babylonian society. The last verse shifts to drought. The reason 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 September 20th

 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 of 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 berserk in it violence. Interpretations 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 excess. In verse 34: Their Redeemer will buy back the captives and give rest to the whole earth. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 19th

 Against Babylon 

In 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 earlier parts of the book interpreted Babylon 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 set right the world's injustices and restores the victim's well-being. The exiles receive a vision of a future in which they will be released from the their captivity, but there 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 express deep feeling in a few words. Babylon is taken and her gods are shamed. The agent of destruction is the mythic foe from the 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 September 18th

 Read Jeremiah 48.34-39. Elam will be destroyed in a cosmic upheaval, but God will restore their fortune. Comments or Questions..