All Oppression Shall Cease
Read: Jeremiah 50:1-10 . . . let us join ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant. (v. 5) God spent much of Jeremiah pronouncing judgment. He announced the instrument of his judgment: Babylon. Babylon was, for a time, serving God’s purposes. But at the end of Jeremiah, his instrument of judgment became the target […]
Surrender
Read: Jeremiah 38:14-18 If you will surrender . . . then your life shall be spared. (v. 17) Although I’ve never needed this advice, I read recently that one of the best ways to avoid a kidnapping is to fight back and make a lot of noise, in order to make it as difficult as […]
Prosperity and Peace
Read: Jeremiah 33:1-9 I will heal my people and let them enjoy abundant peace and security. (v. 6 NIV) Throughout the Old Testament, God promised one thing above all others: peace. The Hebrew word for “peace” is shalom, a term with sweeping, almost cosmic implications. Shalom, best understood, means “all things as they were meant […]
Nothing Is Too Difficult
Read: Jeremiah 32:17-23 Ah, Lord God . . . Nothing is too hard for you. (v. 17) Periodically I counsel couples in crisis. When there is conflict or neglect between partners, it can be encouraging to recall times of mutual fulfillment and happiness. It helps to remember when life together was good. In Jeremiah, God […]
A New Covenant
Read: Jeremiah 31:27-34 I will make a new covenant with . . . Israel . . . (v. 31) At Mount Sinai, God established a covenant with his people. He offered the law as a means of making life right and making Israel right with him. They accepted the terms: “It will be righteousness for […]
I Will Be Your God
Read: Jeremiah 30:18-24 I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob. (v. 18) In the first half of Jeremiah, God threatened judgment; in the second half, he promised restoration. The judgment was concrete: in 587 BC, God sent his rebellious people into exile. The restoration was abstract, and consisted of three future actions: […]
Hope and a Future
Read: Jeremiah 29:10-14 I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD. (v. 11) Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most-quoted verses of the Hebrew Bible. There is something universally comforting about God’s promise of “hope and a future” (NIV). But the verses surrounding it are no less powerful. God opened with a […]
Rooted in Love
Read: Jeremiah 29:1-9 Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. (v. 7 NIV) When my family and I first moved into our church’s parsonage, we had to get over the sense that this house wasn’t our house. A church member urged us to hang pictures. A […]
A God Nearby
Read: Jeremiah 23:23-24 Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? (v. 23) The first Toy Story movie begins with a crisis. Woody, a toy cowboy, experiences a fate worse than death: separation from his beloved owner, Andy. When he realizes his predicament, Woody cries in despair, “I’m […]