Jeremiah 39-40

I am stuck on these two truths:

The Lord punishes the wicked and upholds the righteous.

The Lord does whatever He pleases.

King Zedekiah watches the Chaldeans murder all of his sons. Then his eyes are poked out. The very last thing the man sees is his sons being murdered.

Jeremiah, on the other hand, is treated well and given freedom to live among the people.

Jeremiah 38

And Jeremiah sank in the mud.

…

…

Just let that ring in your ears and heart for a minute.

This man, this prophet, this man of God, is being obedient, proclaiming the words the Lord tells him, living uprightly–and for all of this, he is thrown in a cistern. Thrown in a deep, dark, sloshy pit.

Eventually, he is rescued, brought before the king, and the king gives him pardon and his backing–but just imagine spending days, maybe even weeks in a pit like that.

It messes with me. Does it mess with you?

Jeremiah 37

Can you imagine being put in prison? In a dungeon? In solitary confinement? For speaking truth.

Obviously Jeremiah comes out a little bit upset–at least that’s the way I read his tone when he asks questions of King Zedekiah. I don’t know what the court of the guard was that Jeremiah was placed in, but surely it was better than solitary confinement.

Anything would be better than being stuck with yourself.

Jeremiah 36

God tells Jeremiah to write all these prophecies on a scroll.

Jeremiah hires Baruch to scribe it all on the scroll.

The scroll is read at the temple, read to the king’s officials, confiscated, read to the king, and burnt.

God tells Jeremiah to write it all again.

Baruch scribes it all again.

Today, we are reading a translation of that copy.

LESSON: When God speaks, listen.

Sometimes your best work ends up going to the fire. Sometimes even better work comes out at the end.

Also remember, God’s work will never be thwarted, halted, or annihilated. It will always survive.

Jeremiah 35

The Rechabites.

First, there is an interesting summary statement about all the prophets in verse 15 of the chapter. There have been a few other times we have seen this statement in Jeremiah. It is a great way to remember the overall message of the book. Sometimes we get bogged down in details and wondering what certain verses mean and what prophecies have or haven’t happened and all the rest of it. This reminds us of the simple message of Jeremiah, and all of the other prophetic books of the Old Testament.

Now, as for the Rechabites, they become a wonderful example to the people of Israel. They will listen to their earthly father, just like the people of Jerusalem need to listen to their Heavenly Father. And for the Rechabites obedience to their earthly father, God makes a tremendous promise to them.

It’s something worth thinking about.

Jeremiah 30-32

“This is what the Lord says…”

“…declares the Lord.”

Over and again, we see this refrain, which is an attention grabber. Listen up!

“Who is he who will devote himself to be close to Me?” declares the Lord.

“May it be me,” I say.

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Next chapter: you read this prophecy that goes on for quite a long time, then all the sudden verse 26 jumps out and bites you. What?! Jeremiah was asleep when he received this? How much of it has he been asleep for? A couple verses? The whole chapter? Since the narrative ended?

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Next chapter: the story switches from 1st person to 3rd person. Then, in verse 8, it switches back. These are little things worth noting because it likely means somebody other than Jeremiah added a minute section to the book here.

Overall, these chapters ring of sovereignty. God will do as He pleases. He will orchestrate the events. He will change hearts. He will make sure certain things come to pass in just the right time. This is His universe.