Week 28, July 6–12: Jeremiah 3–22; Psalms 84–86

• Sun      Jul 6    Jer. 3–5          
• Mon     Jul 7    Jer. 6–8          
• Tue      Jul 8    Jer. 9–11        
• Wed     Jul 9    Jer. 12–14      
• Thu      Jul 10  Jer. 15–17       Ps. 84
• Fri        Jul 11  Jer. 18–19       Ps. 85
• Sat       Jul 12  Jer. 20–22       Ps. 86

Jeremiah is the longest book of the Bible. It does not have the most chapters, but by word count it surpasses Psalms, Isaiah, and every other book of the Bible. Like Isaiah, Jeremiah can be difficult to read. In fact, it has an even darker, more foreboding tone than Isaiah. In Jeremiah we read of Israel and Judah’s sinful rebellion against God and the judgement that Jeremiah warns is coming. However, understanding the depth of sin and the righteousness of the Lord’s judgement helps us grasp the beauty of God’s grace in the gospel.

As you persevere through Jeremiah, lament with him over the sin in the world, even among his own people. It is right for us to grieve like Jeremiah, and reading these parts of the OT prophets can and should sharpen our distaste for sin, our reverence and fear for the God against whom all sin is a great offense, and our desperation for his grace to destroy sin and overcome its consequences in our lives and in our world. And remember, Jeremiah is the book in the OT that most clearly anticipates the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31–34). Even in the midst of the darkness of Jeremiah’s message, there is the light of the gospel shining through—the good news that the Lord promises: “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (31:34)

Jeremiah was a priest (Jer. 1:1) who was called by God to oppose the corrupt priesthood in Jerusalem (1:18; 2:26; 5:31). He was a prophet who opposed the false prophets of Israel (5:31; 6:13; 27:16). He was called by the Lord to speak out against the people of Judah and Israel, who had gone astray from following the ways of God and keeping his covenant. In the personal moments throughout Jeremiah, we see that the prophet’s message was not always comfortable, and his methods were sometimes far from conventional (see 13:11). It is for good reason Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet. He suffered and grieved greatly despite being faithful to God’s call (really, because he was faithful to God’s call).

Jeremiah has many connections to other places in the Bible. Scholars have noticed that much of the language and themes of Jeremiah are rooted in the theology of the Pentateuch, especially Deuteronomy. As you read along for the next couple weeks, notice the way passages in Deuteronomy like Deut. 29:10–28 and 30:1–10 are reflected in Jeremiah, especially in the New Covenant language of Jeremiah 31.

Another example of connections between Jeremiah and other books of the OT can be seen in chapter 17. There it speaks of the one who trusts in the Lord and is like a tree planted by water that “does not cease to bear fruit” (17:8) This sounds very similar to Psalm 1, which says the person who meditates on the Torah of the Lord is “like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season” (Ps. 1:2–3). The implication is that there is some meaningful correlation between trusting the Lord and reading and meditating on his word. Many other such connections occur throughout Jeremiah.

Jeremiah’s message, like the prophetic literature more generally, has a logical development to it, and it appears quite pessimistic at first. Generally speaking, the logic can be expressed like this.

• Jeremiah rebukes God’s people for their sin. They have rejected him and broken covenant with him.
• Their sin and rejection of God was inevitable. They have always rebelled, and rebellion is embedded in their hearts. They cannot change.
• Jeremiah reminds them that God is just and has promised his righteous punishment if his people sin against him.
• The people’s sin results in judgment. They have experienced God’s punishment or will soon, just as God said they would. Exile is the climactic punishment that was promised and eventually comes about.
• Jeremiah pleads for the people’s fortunes to be restored and their enemies defeated.
• But this will not and cannot happen without a change in the circumstances that caused the punishment, the sin of God’s people.
• So there must be some other solution, something God does that his people could not do.

This sequence does not develop sequentially in a nice, neat way throughout Jeremiah, but the different parts of Jeremiah’s message build on each other with a logical coherence that moves the hearers, and the readers, to a place of desperate longing for God’s gracious work. There is no hope for the people of God, or for humanity, outside of God’s own mighty acts of compassion to bring about a new reality in their hearts and in the world he created.

Early on in the year I suggested starting your time each day with God in his word with a brief prayer, asking him to open your eyes to see what he has said in the words you’re about to read. This week we read David’s wonderful prayer in Psalm 86, where he praises God for who he is and asks the Lord to instruct him in his ways. May this be our prayer too.

There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,

       nor are there any works like yours.

All the nations you have made shall come

       and worship before you, O Lord,

       and shall glorify your name.

For you are great and do wondrous things;

       you alone are God.

Teach me your way, O LORD,

       that I may walk in your truth;

       unite my heart to fear your name.

I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,

       and I will glorify your name forever.

For great is your steadfast love toward me;

       you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. (Ps. 86:8–13)