READING FOR NEXT WEEK
Ezekiel 1-3; 33-34; 36-37; 47
JEREMIAH
“We see a man haunted by his calling, wrestling with feelings of being battled by ridicule and shame and concerned that God might fail him. There’s a double edge to the lament, one that fears being let down while also expressing confidence and desire that God would not let him down.”
Kristian Heal, Abide, Maxwell Institute Podcast
Canon Cook says of Jeremiah, “His character is most interesting. We find him sensitive to a most painful degree, timid, shy, hopeless, desponding, constantly complaining and dissatisfied with the course of events, but never flinching from duty. ... Timid in resolve, he was unflinching in execution: as fearless when he had to face the whole world as he was dispirited and prone to murmuring when alone with God. Judged by his own estimate of himself, he was feeble, and his mission a failure; really, in the hour of action and when duty called him, he was in very truth “a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land” (Jeremiah 1:18). He was a noble example of the triumph of the moral over the physical nature. It is not strange that he was desponding when we consider his circumstances. He saw the nation going straight to irremediable ruin, and turning a deaf ear to all warnings. A reign of terror had commenced (in the preceding reign), during which not only the prophets, but all who were distinguished for religion and virtue were cruelly murdered. How could one who saw the nation about to reap the awful harvest they had been sowing, and yet had a vision of what they might have been and might yet be, help indulging in ‘Lamentations’?”
https://biblecentral.info/people/jeremiah/
“Born of a priestly family in Anathoth, and prophesied from the 13th year of Josiah till after the downfall of Jerusalem, a period of over 40 years, 626–586 B.C. After Josiah’s death he tried to stem, almost alone, the tide of idolatry and immorality, of self-deception founded on superficial reforms (Jer. 3:4–5; 7:8–10), and of fanatical confidence in the Lord’s protection, in which all classes were carried away. He had to face continuous opposition and insult from the priests (20:2), the mob (26:8–9), his townsmen at Anathoth (11:19), the frivolous and cruel (22:13; 36:23; 26:20), the king (36:19), and the army (38:4). After the fall
of Jerusalem the Jews who escaped into Egypt took Jeremiah with them as a kind of fetish (43:6), and at last, according to tradition, stoned him to death. The prophet dwells much on the inwardness of the Lord’s relation to the mind of His servants. External service is useless where there is no devotion of heart and life; superficial reforms were of no avail—a complete regeneration in the national life was required. He develops the idea of individual fellowship with the Lord (5:1, 7, 26–28; 9:1–6; 18); though the Jewish state falls, the Lord remains, and religion remains in the life of the individual.”
Bible Dictionary, Jeremiah
FALSE PROPHETS
Read Jeremiah 28 and think about the following questions:
1. What did Hannaniah tell the people?
2. What was Jeremiah’s response?
3. What happened to Hanniniah?
4. What kind of prophet will the people believe?
“What turns the gifted person into a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal? Some of the factors are the same in essence as they were in Old Testament times. This act came home to me as I read a book about false prophecy in the Old Testament – or rather about conflict among the prophets, because the line between true and false is usually difficult to draw when you are in the situation, and a true prophet may become a false one, while a false prophet may speak an authentic word. Perhaps we all have the capacity for either. So what factors influence a prophet to speak false rather than true?”
John Goldingay, https://www.theologyethics.com/2016/05/29/jeremiah-what-makes-a-false-prophet-goldingay/
“False prophets—broaden the idea of that. You will find them today in the media, in politics, activists, conspiracy theorists, celebrities, experts. We just have to watch that the Hananiahs aren't coming and those phrases in Jeremiah 23 are not happening to us. There are good political leaders and activists, and there can be positive things, but we have to be careful.”
Michael Wilcox, Follow Him Podcast #43, Part II
LAMENTATIONS
“There’s also brilliant use of personification. Jerusalem is depicted as ‘Lady Zion,’ a widowed, childless, vulnerable woman who endured rape, exploitation, affliction, and starvation during the siege and
capture of the city. The narrator and Lady Zion begin to ‘dialogue' in chapter one, allowing us to hear her express her pain. She cries to all who pass by her, looking for comfort amidst her affliction, though none is found. She weeps with sorrow, her strength fails, she’s in distress, she groans continually, she cries to God, all to no avail. You can’t help but be moved by her pain and shame, even if it was the result of her sin.”
“Although we can’t draw a one-to-one application from Israel’s circumstances to ours, Lamentations can teach us to hear and speak the biblical language of lament, which is crucial to dealing with grief. Lament allows us to fully face and name our pain, and it creates space for future resolution and hope without glossing over our trauma. It gives us permission to protest life’s difficulties, to scream, cry, vent, plead, and complain in he presence of God and others. It lets us ask the hard questions without
condemnation: Why did this have to happen? How could you allow it? Where are you in the midst of it? It allows weeping without explanation. It might be messy and uncomfortable, but it’s the first step towards healing.”
Whitney Woollard,
https://bibleproject.com/blog/lamentations-voice-of-grief/“We could benefit from incorporating both the individual and corporate elements of lament into our lives. For example, if you feel alone, forsaken, or abandoned by God, give honest expression to those feelings. If you’re exhausted by life’s blows, having lost all endurance or the will to go on, tell it to God. Really. The Bible wants you to do this. Cry out with the author, ‘My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD.’
If you’re not used to this kind of raw honesty in God’s presence, it might seem scary at first. That’s okay. Just know that lament isn’t irreverent; it’s biblical. Going to God in your grief is an act of faith all on its own.”
CONSEQUENCES AND COVENANTS
“The reward for keeping covenants with God is heavenly power—power that strengthens us to withstand our trials, temptations, and heartaches better. This power eases our way. Those who live the higher laws of Jesus Christ have access to His higher power. Thus, covenant keepers are entitled to a special kind of rest that comes to them through their covenantal relationship with God.”
Russell M. Nelson, Overcome the World and Find Rest, General Conference, October 2022
