The Righteous Branch
Read: Jeremiah 22:1-5 Behold, the days are coming . . . when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch. (v. 5) Last fall I cut down a tree that had grown up in a corner of my yard. This spring, to my surprise, I saw small green shoots growing out of what I […]
Ruin or Redemption?
Read: Jeremiah 22:1-5 Do what is just and right. (v. 3 NIV) In Jeremiah 21, God denied a king’s cry for help. God refused because his people had refused his past offers of help. They had trusted alliances with pagan neighbors instead of trusting God. God would use these very alliances to ruin Jerusalem. But […]
What Are You Asking God to Save?
Read: Jeremiah 21:1-10 Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. (v. 8) In an episode of the television show Justified, a petty criminal finds himself on the wrong side of a criminal gang that employs him. In desperation, he asks Jesus for help. The problem is that he […]
Deceived or Saved?
Read: Jeremiah 20:7-13 Praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy. (v. 13) In a 2011 stand-up routine, comedian Mike Birbiglia said, “To be a comedian you have to go on stage those first few years and bomb. If it weren’t for denial, you would just think, ‘Human beings don’t like […]
In the Potter’s Hands
Read: Jeremiah 18:1-11 Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words. (v. 2) Clay is a complex medium. One careless movement of the potter’s hand renders the vessel under formation unsightly or worthless. Clay is also very forgiving. Of course if the vessel becomes deformed, it […]
(Don’t) Follow Your Heart!
Read: Jeremiah 17:5-10 Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. (v. 9) Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. (v. 7 NIV) In 1862 in a letter to a friend, Emily Dickinson wrote, “The Heart wants what it wants.” However, […]
Lost Pride
Read: Jeremiah 13:1-11 Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. (v. 9) As a prophet, Jeremiah was called to speak prophetically. He was also called to act prophetically. God commanded Jeremiah to do things that made no sense to his audience, or even Jeremiah himself. In Jeremiah […]
Is There No Justice?
Read: Jeremiah 12:1-4, 14-17 You are always righteous, Lord . . . Yet I would speak with you about your justice. (v. 1 NIV) We live in an age of protest. When society’s mechanisms for protecting fairness and human dignity break down, the cry resounds: Is there no justice? We ask this question rhetorically. But […]
Bad News
Read: Jeremiah 10:17-22 A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes! (v. 22) “Fake news” is a new expression. But fake news itself is nothing new. It was all the rage in Jerusalem in the sixth century BC. Jeremiah faced condemnation from city leaders and competition from false prophets. These “shepherds” (v. 21) spun their own […]