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One of the practices to begin with in good Bible study is to see what words, concepts, or themes are repeated. In this chapter, the word for ‘heart’ and ‘hearts’ is repeated. In fact, it appears 40 times in the book of Jeremiah, more than any other book of the Bible, except Psalms and Proverbs. In Jeremiah, God says that Judah is close to his heart; but Judah has not kept God in their heart. God says that Judah’s hearts need to be circumcised. This metaphor was stated earli

We learned last week that Jeremiah not only prophesied (preached) but he also performed the word of God. That is, he conformed his behavior to demonstrate the word of God; perhaps for those who were hard of hearing. That’s a joke, but too true as a metaphor. Maybe the people who refused to hear the word of God would believe it if they saw it. Here are some additional instructions for Jeremiah about how to perform as a prophet. 16: 5-9. For thus says the LORD: Do not enter th

Would you like to be a prophet? You’d better think again. There is pain there that eats up your life. Perhaps that is why the prophet Amos loudly proclaimed: “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ Now then, hear the word of the LORD” (Amos 7: 14-15). We know, because he told us, that Jeremiah was from a

God has had enough of Judah’s disobedience, disrespect, and bad behavior. Through Jeremiah, God has revealed a future that few will survive. Here is how events will play out for the people and their families. 15: 8-9. I will make their widows more numerous than the sand of the sea. At midday I will bring a destroyer against the mothers of their young men; suddenly I will bring down on them anguish and terror. The mother of seven will grow faint

15: 1-2. Then the LORD said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people. Send them away from my presence! Let them go! And if they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the LORD says: Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity’. Jeremiah’s sermons and the prophecies given to him directly from t

The English term ‘disinformation’ came into everyday use in the 1980s (though it has a longer history). Its origin seems to be with the KGB who used it to describe government-driven campaigns to spread false reports in order to mislead or confuse the people. The Germans under Hitler tended to use a similar term, ‘propaganda’, which has a more neutral understanding in the long history of the Catholic Church where it means to ‘spread’ or ‘propagate’ the Gospel. Disinformation

We have established that this book preserves Jeremiah’s sermons preached over 40 years (627-586 BC). [Remember that BC means Before Christ, so the years go down instead of up.] Jeremiah’s scribe Baruch recorded these sermons and arranged them in this order. We should not expect, however, that the order is strictly chronological, although most of us would use this method. Still, think of novels or even non-fiction books that begin in the middle of a story and then use flashbac

13:20-22. Lift up your eyes and see those who come from the north. Where is the flock that was given you, your beautiful flock? What will you say when they set as head over you those whom you have groomed to be your allies? Will not pangs seize you like those of a woman in labor? And if you say in your heart, “Why have these things come upon me?” it is for the greatness of your iniquity that your skirts are lifted up

You can speak, you can give your witness about what God has done for you, you might even preach…but the issue is not only the bold proclamation that you may make but whether or not the people listening can understand what you are saying. I can sincerely say, “Bwe kin an Anij yokwe lol, E ar letok juon wot Nejin.“ However, if I am visiting Dismal Springs United Methodist Church in the midwest where people are not likely to understand a Pacific Islands language, then what good

The Book of Jeremiah is a collection of prophetic sermons arranged by Jeremiah’s scribe, Baruch. Jeremiah began preaching in 627 BC, then disappeared as a captive in Egypt around 580 BC. So, these sermons represent over 40 years of prophecy. It looks like Baruch grouped them together chronologically into various eras of Jeremiah’s life. Thus, one should expect some repetition and overlap; cycles of God’s accusations against Judah, declarations of judgments, and offers to fore

When we left the first half of Chapter 12 last week, we could see that Jeremiah was disgusted with the practices of his family, neighbors, and the people and leaders of the Kingdom of Judah. At that moment, he wondered why God had not destroyed them before now. It is not the only emotion that he has had, for we know that he also wept over the coming but deserved destruction of his nation. God commiserated with Jeremiah, but warned him that it was going to get worse before it

Where are we in the story? Get your bearings. If you are lost at the beginning, you are not likely to discover the intended meaning of the story. Jeremiah, a prophet from a family of priests in Anathoth, north of Jerusalem, has been called by God to preach a series of warnings to the king, priests, and people of Judah. Why? Because what they are doing does not match who they pretend to be when they go to temple worship on Sabbath. It's the equivalent of Christians not bein

Where are we? We are studying the Book of Jeremiah who is often called “The Weeping Prophet.” There are several good reasons for that. Jeremiah preached to the government, to the religious leaders, and to the people of Judah, which was the remaining southern kingdom of the people of Israel. Such a task was no fun, and it was dangerous. The people were following the same broad path as the northern Kingdom of Israel, the path that ended in suffering, death, and defeat. The wh

Since this book of the prophet Jeremiah is a collection of his sermons over a period of more than 40 years, we can expect some abrupt starts and stops. Did Baruch the scribe arrange the sermons chronologically? Probably, though it is not out of the question that he might pair up some sermons with similar themes even if one is early and another one later. Also, certain themes might shift in meaning over time. For example, in the early sermons when Jeremiah said, as God told

Denial. Some people live in that excuse as long as they can. One says: ‘Our nation is at risk’. Another answers: ‘Oh, really; we’re not as bad as other nations’. ‘We are headed for a recession’. ‘Eggs are cheaper; the economy is doing fine’. ‘OK, this conversation is going nowhere’. The passage of Scripture before today’s study was a hymn of praise for the wonderful God that we adore: “ It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and b

We left the party last week in the middle of a performance by the prophet Jeremiah. To remind us; Jeremiah warns the people about being overly-impressed by the idols of the Babylonians who have defeated them. The temptation is to think that the idols are real and powerful. The results of warfare in those days was thought to be a statement about whose god was stronger. So the temptation would be for the Israelites to think that they need a new god. In fact, Judah’s defeat was

10: 1-2. Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the LORD: Do not learn the way of the nations or be dismayed at the signs of the heavens, for the nations are dismayed at them. Here is a thought that needs some careful discernment as, in fact, they all do. If we let the phrase, “ Do not learn the way of the nations,” stand as a general command, then we undermine other thoughts in the Bible. The miracle of tongues at

God has instructed Jeremiah to tell the people that they might as well go ahead and call professional mourners so they can practice their dirges and be ready to sing. The previous section began with one word: “ Consider.” Derivatives of the root of this word occur nearly 200 times, often used by God through the prophets, including Job. God told Jeremiah to be wise and skillful with God’s word; to discern what God is saying and attend to its meaning. Now, God gives the nex

God, through his prophet Jeremiah, continues to make his accusations against Judah. As I said last week, sometimes it is difficult to separate God’s direct voice from Jeremiah’s lament. However, could that be a false distinction? Think about it. Jeremiah is not just an inert megaphone through which God speaks to the people. Jeremiah is human, a preacher who must convey the perspective, concerns, and commands of the Lord God to people who do not want to hear the bad news. The

God has excoriated the wise, the rich, and the powerful in Judean society with the words of the prophet that we read last week. What remains is God’s prediction/prophecy of what is going to happen. I said last week, “They will pay the price for ignorance and disobedience.” Along the way in this text there are many voices with claims, objections, and questions, including the voices of Yahweh and Jeremiah. It is more difficult to read without attributions for the quotes, rath