Week 29, July 13–19: Jeremiah 23–41; Psalms 87–89

• Sun      Jul 13  Jer. 23–25       Ps. 87
• Mon     Jul 14  Jer. 26–28       Ps. 88
• Tue      Jul 15  Jer. 29–30       Ps. 89
• Wed     Jul 16  Jer. 31–33      
• Thu      Jul 17  Jer. 34–36      
• Fri        Jul 18  Jer. 37–39      
• Sat       Jul 19  Jer. 40–41      

We are now past the halfway point in our read thru. By now hopefully you are finding it to be a life-giving habit to be making time to be in the Bible each day, or most days at least. Be encouraged that the time you have invested in this has been time very well spent. God’s word is powerful, and it will accomplish what God intends for it to accomplish (Isa. 55:10–11). Scripture bears all kinds of good fruit in our lives, and simply reading the Bible is the first step to experiencing this fruit. So well done and keep reading!

As a reminder and encouragement for the second half of the year, here are a couple of the main purposes for doing a read through like this. First, we read the Bible to meet with God regularly and hear what he has to say. God has given us his word so that we can know him. As Jesus says in John 15, we bear the true fruit of Christ followers when we abide in him and his word abides in us. The Spirit of the living God who lives in us is the Spirit who inspired the Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21), and setting aside a few minutes each day is the way to respond to his invitation to hear his voice and be nourished by his word (Matt. 4:4; Deut. 8:3).

Maybe you have been pretty consistent over the past several months, or maybe your times of reading have been somewhat sporadic, or maybe you’re just now jumping into the reading schedule. Either way, for all of us, it can be difficult to make the time to read. It can feel like there is not enough time for it, that other matters are more urgent, or maybe that our time would be better spent on more practical things. In the midst of the busy lives we live, it can be a real challenge to slow down and read this ancient book, a book that can be difficult to understand and whose relevance is sometimes hard to see. But we can be fully confident that it is worth the effort to prioritize time in God’s word. He has been so kind to make himself known to us by giving us his word, and we do very well to receive that gift daily.

The second purpose we considered for doing a read thru is to cultivate a lifelong habit of growing in familiarity with God’s word. Not only is it the most valuable use of our time each time we listen to God through his word, but doing this also has a cumulative effect over time. The Bible is both elegantly simple in its basic message and infinitely complex in its beautiful depiction of God and of life in the world he made. The gospel can be understood the first time we hear it or read it, and we can devote our entire lives to mining its depths and still just begin to grasp all there is to the deep mysteries of God.

We are gradually building a foundation of knowing God by reading through the Bible this year, and hopefully this continues next year and beyond too. This is a patient process that takes time and may not produce obvious, concrete “results” right away. Nevertheless, over time our minds and hearts are being shaped, and our character is being formed into Christlikeness as his Spirit carries out his work in us through the regular habit of reading his word. Without a doubt, this will proved to be richly rewarding. It is also pleasing to our gracious God who has revealed himself to us.

As our reading this week moves towards the central portion of Jeremiah, in chapters 30–33, notice the repeated promises of a hopeful future. Also notice the promise of a coming son of David, a Branch from his lineage. This will be who will bring in this hopeful new future the Lord promises through the prophetic word of Jeremiah. The book has been bleak, but there is hope in the midst of judgement and despair, and that hope points ahead to Jesus.

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’” (Jer. 23:5–6)

“And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off your neck, and I will burst your bonds, and foreigners shall no more make a servant of him. But they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.” (Jer. 30:8–9)

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jer. 31:31–34)

“I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.” (Jer. 32:39–41)

“I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first. I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me… Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’… Thus says the Lord: If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed order of heaven and earth, then I will reject the offspring of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his offspring to rule over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.” (Jer. 33:7–8, 14–16, 25–26)