When I was an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Macalester College in the 1970’s I had a colleague who played banjo in a jazz band called ‘The Mouldy Figs’. The band still exists in St. Paul, Minnesota. Not sure where they got the name, but there is a visual parable here in Jeremiah about mouldy figs. God paints vivid word pictures. Jeremiah 24:1. The LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the LORD. This was after King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon

King Lemuel’s Mother has given him sound advice about addictions and lusts, that is, anything that distracts him from the main concerns of God, what we often call the laws and commandments of the Lord. I would emphasize that we have learned from Jeremiah that God gives these laws not because he is a tyrant, but because they are for our own good. Following them leads to a lasting relationship with God as well as an inclusive and supportive society. Thus, we refuse to follow Go

Jeremiah 23:33. When this people or a prophet or a priest asks you, 'What is the burden of the LORD?,' you shall say to them, 'You are the burden. I will cast you off, says the LORD'. I love it! Word play is a rhetorical device that God favors to make his points in surprising and memorable ways. Take the example of God's work with another prophet: "the LORD said to me, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A plumb line’. Then the LORD said, ‘See, I am setting a plumb line

I welcome Guest Author for today’s devotional: Samantha Owen. If you are a woman who has spent any amount of time around the church, you will have at one time or another been invited to a women’s conference or Bible study where you will have heard about the “Proverbs 31” woman. (Cue the eye rolls.) She is presented as the ultimate standard of biblical womanhood, the metric by which each woman ought to measure and judge herself– devoted, diligent, family-oriented, and busines

Jeremiah 23:23-24. “Am I a God near by, says the LORD, and not a God far off? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the LORD.” Let’s answer these questions in order, then perhaps we can see what God is talking about here. “Am I a God near by?” Yes, God is nearby. However, what do humans mean by 'near'? God is always near to us, but God is not domesticated. God is in the temple, in the synagogue, in th

Teachings that King Solomon attributed to King Lemuel’s mother began by emphasizing the dangers of living a desire-driven life. It is difficult to avoid that in today’s culture with songs, movies, and advertising all pushing the idea of constant and immediate self-satisfaction as the standard of the good life. Buy this, order that, do this, dress for success. If that is not happening, then you are not a happening person; or so they say. “For the wicked boast of the desires of