Month: <span>April 2016</span>

These chapters record Jeremiah’s experiences following the fall of Jerusalem. The sympathetic reader hopes for the prophet’s final days to be brighter than the former, but the rebellion of the remnant in Judah was so dark that Jeremiah’s ministry only became more difficult with time. The irony of the matter is that Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar treated Jeremiah with more reverence than the people of Judah had given their prophet.

The flow of Jeremiah 40-45 can be understood according to Jeremiah’s geographical location. In Judah, Jeremiah prophesied that the people should stay in the land despite the Ammonite and Babylonian threats (Jer 40:1-43:7). Jeremiah’s favored status with the Babylonians allowed him to stay in the land of Judah and support Gedaliah, the governor Nebuchadnezzar had appointed to watch over the ruined and poverty-stricken folk who remained (Jer 40:1-6). The appointment of Gedaliah prompted many of Judah’s military commanders—and others who had scattered when Nebuchadnezzar came against Jerusalem—to return and live in subjection to Babylon under Gedaliah’s rule (Jer 40:7-12). Thinking their future in the land of Judah all but lost due to the potential Babylonian and Ammonite reactions to Ishmael’s assassination of Gedaliah, the group decided to head for refuge in Egypt (Jer 41:18). Jeremiah warned them, “If you are firmly resolved to go to Egypt and live there for a while, then the sword you fear will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine you are worried about will follow on your heels there to Egypt, and you will die there” (42:15b-16). The people rejected Jeremiah’s word and headed south (Jer 43:1-7).

In Egypt, Jeremiah prophesied the destruction of the remnant because of their idolatry (Jer 43:8-45:5). Tahpanhes was a settlement on the Egyptian frontier; when Jeremiah and the remnant arrived there, the Lord told his prophet to set up some stones in Pharaoh’s local palace as a marker for the throne of Nebuchadnezzar—who would soon arrive to conquer Egypt (Jer 43:8-13)! Just as the Lord had disciplined the rebellion of His people in the Promised Land, so He would discipline His people who rebelled by fleeing for refuge in Egypt. Jeremiah spoke the word of the Lord to the people, “Why are you doing such great harm to yourselves?…You are provoking Me to anger by the work of your hands. You are burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have to live for a while” (Jer 44:7a, 8a). The rebellious character of the remnant had not changed; just as they committed themselves to idolatry in Judah—and “had enough food and good things and saw no disaster” (Jer 44:17)—they thought idolatry in Egypt would provide them the greatest pleasures of the land. Jeremiah saw things differently. He prophesied, “Because you burned incense and sinned against the LORD and didn’t obey the LORD’s voice and didn’t walk in His law, His statutes, and His testimonies, this disaster has come to you” (Jer 44:23).

Jeremiah chastised those that had fled to Egypt because they were committing idolatry there just as they had in Judah. If they continued to conform to the idols of the nations, Jeremiah warned his readers, the remnant of Abraham’s would cease to exist. Since the time when Israel entered the land and built the temple, the Lord had sent prophets like Jeremiah to remind the people of Israel that they enjoyed a special place in His plan and needed to reflect their relationship with Him in every aspect of life. But the people refused to listen to the prophets—despite the disasters the Lord sent upon His people just as those prophets had predicted (Jer 44:1-6). Jeremiah’s sermon to those in Egypt (ch. 44) contributes to the storyline of Scripture by providing a framework for understanding Jesus’ teaching as He drew near to Jerusalem and the cross. Just days before He was crucified, Jesus told the Parable of the Vineyard Owner (Matt 21:33-43//Mark 12:1-12//Luke 20:9-19) to make His point. The Lord had sent prophets like Jeremiah time and again, intending to reap a harvest of righteousness from His people. But Israel rejected the prophets and killed the son of the vineyard owner. Just as the kings of Jeremiah’s day seized the nation only to have the Lord take it from them, so too the Jewish leadership of Jesus’ day saw the Romans come and take away their place and their nation (John 11:45-54).

These chapters portray a change of tone for the prophet. When Jeremiah was called to the ministry, the Lord said to him, “Look, I have filled your mouth with My words. See, today I have set you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and demolish, to build and plant” (Jer 1:9-10). Throughout chs. 1-29, Jeremiah prophesied much that would fall under the headings of “to uproot and tear down…destroy and demolish,” but little of “to build and plant.” Chapters 30-33 set forth a new theme. Here the prophet enjoyed a privileged view of the sovereignty of God—the One who sent His people into exile and promised to return them to the Promised Land.

Jeremiah’s messages in chs. 30-33 provided great encouragement for the exiles. Jeremiah proposed that the new covenant would be characterized by two realities: eternal forgiveness and heart-knowledge of the law of God. Jeremiah’s prophecies in chs. 30-33 contributed to the unfolding storyline of Scripture.

(1) Through the shedding of His blood, Jesus inaugurated the new covenant and eternal forgiveness of sins that Jeremiah had predicted in Jer 31:31-34. At the Passover Meal, Jesus took the cup and told His disciples that it represented not the Passover of Exodus 12-15 but something new. Jesus redefined the meaning of the cup. It now looked forward to the cross and eternal forgiveness that would be granted to those participating in the new covenant (Matt 26:26-29//Mark 14:22-25//Luke 22:15-20).

(2) Paul wrote that the new covenant celebration of the Lord’s Supper has horizontal implications. In 1 Cor 11:17-33, Paul chastised the Corinthians when the church gathered for their weekly fellowship, some arrived early and shared a privileged meal apart from the impoverished members among them. Then, when the full church assembled, they would partake of the Lord’s Supper. A socioeconomic division thus existed in the church with the result that some were drunk, and others were hungry. This division contradicted the message of love and self-sacrifice the Lord’s Supper proclaims. Those not partaking with a view to loving other members and sharing resources with those in need among them were eating and drinking judgement upon themselves, Paul said (1 Cor 11:27-29). The judgement was real. Some died for their insensitivity to their brothers and sisters.

(3) According to the author of Hebrews, the inauguration of the new covenant renders the old covenant obsolete. After quoting Jer 31:31-34 in Heb 8:8-12, the author stated, “By saying, a new covenant, He has declared that the first is old. And what is old and aging is about to disappear” (Heb 8:13). In Hebrews, the old covenant represents distance from God and the new represents access to God—through the blood of Jesus. Imagery of new covenant forgiveness in Jesus occurs repeatedly through the remaining chapters of Hebrews. Because Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant, the author argued, those called by God can be confident that they will receive an eternal inheritance, “because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions committed under the first covenant” (Heb 9:15b). The superior status of Jesus’ self-offering in the new covenant is seen in that after Jesus laid down His life, no other sacrifices ever need to be offered (Heb 10:11-18). The author contrasted the old covenant given at Mount Sinai, where the people were warned to stay back lest they die, and the celebratory new covenant inaugurated by Jesus’ sprinkled blood (Heb 12:22-24). In his benediction, the author of Hebrews wrote, “Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—with the blood of the everlasting covenant, equip you with all that is good to do His will” (Heb 13:20-21a).

Jeremiah prophesied during the last days of Judah. After the great king Josiah (2 Kgs 21:26-23:30), wicked leaders, like Jehoahaz (2 Kgs 23:30-33), Jehoiakim (2 Kgs 23:34-24:5), Jehoiachin (2 Kgs 24:6-16; 25:27-30), and Zedekiah (2 Kgs 24:17-25:7), reigned in Jerusalem. The book of Jeremiah records several of the prophet’s interactions with Zedekiah (Jeremiah 21, 32), whose rebellion earned him an awful fate. Despite persecution from Judah’s kings and the final siege on the city of Jerusalem, Jeremiah was preserved from destruction, even by the Babylonian king.

Jeremiah 34-36 records the prophet’s indictments of Judah’s leaders for their sinful lifestyles. Zedekiah failed to lead according to the word of the Lord (ch. 34). After Zedekiah lead the people in a jubilee covenant—which pleased the Lord —he allowed the slave owners to take back their property, fellow descendants of Abraham (Jer 34:8-16; Deut 15:12-17). Zedekiah’s rebellion was not a new pattern of behavior for Judah’s kings (chs. 35-36). During the days of Jehoiakim, whose reign preceded the inauguration of Zedekiah by only a few months (2 Kgs 23:34-24:20), the Lord urged Jeremiah to set forth the Rechabites as an example of obedience for Judah and her leaders. The Lord’s case against Judah was based upon the fact that the sons of Jonadab, son of Rechab, carried out their ancestor’s command, while Judah had ignored the word of the Lord. “I have spoken to them, but they have not obeyed, and I have called to them, but they would not answer,” the Lord said (Jer 35:17b).

Further, Jehoiakim was culpable for destroying Jeremiah’s scroll—a precious document that contained all the words God had revealed to him (ch. 36). Since Jeremiah had been banned from the temple, his scribe Baruch read the scroll to the people there in hopes that the reading of this scroll would cause the people to turn each one from their evil ways. Judah’s king would have none of it. Intermittently after hearing a few columns, King Jehoiakim would cut the scroll and throw pieces into the fire (Jer 36:23-24).

Jeremiah’s bold speech toward Judah’s kings was not always appreciated (chs. 37-38). Since Jeremiah continued to urge the people to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar, the military officials of Judah were concerned for the morale of their troops. King Zedekiah was worried, too. He allowed a cohort to lower Jeremiah into a muddy cistern in the guard’s courtyard—a place where his preaching would have less persuasive power (Jer 38:1-6). Ebed-melech, a court official, interceded for Jeremiah and he was rescued from the cistern—only to be brought before King Zedekiah once again (Jer 38:7-13). There Jeremiah restated the Lord’s sovereign plan: the city would be destroyed, and the only way of survival was to submit to the yoke of the Chaldeans (Jer 38:14-28).

During this period of Zedekiah’s reign, the Lord demonstrated the truthfulness of His word through Jeremiah despite the forces that opposed the Lord’s prophet (ch. 39). While Jeremiah was yet in Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar and his army broke into the city (2 Kings 25). When Zedekiah and his officials saw the Chaldean army advancing through the gates of the city of David, they fled by night (Jer 39:1-4). Zedekiah’s rebellion against the word of the Lord cost him dearly: his own sons were slaughtered before his eyes, and then his eyes were gouged out. One can hardly imagine a more horrifying last sight (Jer 39:5-8). Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city and left only the poorest there, those who had to fend for themselves in a ruined homeland (Jer 39:9-10). Despite the destruction, Jeremiah was spared, and he settled among his own people (Jer 39:14).

Jeremiah’s situation in chs. 34-39 provides insight into the storyline of Scripture. Judah had rejected the Lord and would suffer the consequences of her choice. John wrote concerning Jesus’ mission, “He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him” (John 1:11). John went on to note, “But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God” (John 1:12), a matter Paul explained in Romans 9-11. Paul’s thesis was that only a remnant of Jacob’s descendants would be saved, only those who relinquished all self-sufficiency and relied wholly on God’s word of grace in Christ. Paul explained the hard-heartedness of his countrymen in light of their forefathers. Just as “all did not obey the gospel” (Rom 10:16) in Jeremiah’s day—even though the word of grace through the prophets shone like the sun (Rom 10:18)—so the Jews of his day did not obey the gospel either. Nonetheless, in the history of redemption, the hard-heartedness of the Jews has worked out for the advantage of the Gentiles. Paul wrote that the in-gathering of the Gentiles will eventually stimulate jealousy (and repentance) among a remnant of Israel—with the result that all Israel will be saved (Rom 11:26).

Jeremiah’s sermons were not popular with the other prophets and spiritual leaders of his day. The messages recorded in chs. 26-29 were preached during the days of Jehoiakim (2 Kgs 23:34-24:5) and Zedekiah (2 Kgs 24:17-25:7), when Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon encroached upon Jerusalem. Despite the threat Nebuchadnezzar posed, and the truthful prophecies of Jeremiah, many prophets claimed that the Lord was yet with Judah and that the people need not fear the Babylonians. Despite receiving death threats, Jeremiah continued to preach the word of the Lord, even writing to those whom Nebuchadnezzar captured in his first approach (2 Kgs 24:10-14).

When the Lord commanded Jeremiah to prophesy the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, the prophet did so faithfully (Jeremiah 26). Once Jeremiah had finished his address, the priests, prophets and all the people who heard him exclaimed, “You must surely die! How dare you prophesy in the name of the LORD, ‘This temple will become like Shiloh and this city will become an uninhabited ruin!’” (Jer 26:8-9). Although King Jehoiakim killed the prophet Uriah for prophecies that mirrored those of Jeremiah, the latter was spared (Jer 26:16-24).

Jeremiah urged the leaders of Judah and the surrounding nations to submit to the Babylonian threat (chs. 27-28). According to Jeremiah, the LORD had elevated Nebuchadnezzar and given him authority to display His anger against Judah and the nations that surrounded her. Jeremiah thus prophesied that the only way to survive was to submit to the Babylonian king, since he was under the Lord’s dominion and would only reign supreme until the Lord arranged for other nations to enslave him (Jer 27:1-7). The Lord had placed Judah, indeed all nations, in an iron yoke under the king of Babylon. Jeremiah proclaimed that only by submitting to the Babylonian leader would any nation endure. Jeremiah’s status as a prophet of truth was confirmed when Hananiah died that very year. Hananiah’s death fulfilled a prophecy Jeremiah had made according to the word of the Lord (Jer 28:12-17).

While Jeremiah confronted the spiritual leadership that remained in Judah, he sent a letter to encourage the exiles that had been deported to Babylon (ch. 29). Jeremiah encouraged the exiles to populate the land and not decrease in stature. The prophet argued that God had plans to prosper them and restore them to the Promised Land (Jer 29:10-15). Jeremiah wrote that at the conclusion of seventy years in exile, the people would seek the Lord with all their heart and receive the future God had promised them.

Jeremiah gave his famous temple speech at the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the king who had been placed on the throne of Judah by Pharaoh Neco of Egypt (2 Kgs 23:34). Jeremiah proposed that if the people did not repent and obey the law, they would be doomed; the Lord would raze the city just as He did Shiloh in the north (Jer 26:1-6). The people of Judah ignored the prophetic warning and the city was eventually destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25). While Jeremiah’s prophecy was thus fulfilled in his own day, Jesus’ use of the prophet’s theme advances the storyline of Scripture. Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and warned His disciples that God’s vengeance would come upon the city. Those in the city would need to get out and those in Judea would need to find refuge in the mountains and desolate regions (Matt 24:15-22//Mark 13:14-20//Luke 21:20-24). In Jesus’ thinking, the destruction Nebuchadnezzar brought upon Jerusalem was a foreshadowing of the annihilation that would come upon the city within a generation of the time He was crucified.

God called prophets to proclaim His Word, often reflecting the law of Moses line by line. Many times, the prophets addressed the leadership of God’s people, as is the case in chs. 21-25. Jeremiah denounced both Judah’s kings and the false prophets who spoke to them. King Zedekiah represented the beginning of the end for Judah (ch. 21). Zedekiah was a man who “did what was evil in the LORD’s sight” (2 Kgs 24:19). Jeremiah proclaimed that the only way of survival was to surrender to the Babylonian king as he advanced against the land. Whoever remained in Jerusalem—perhaps regarding themselves as faithful to the Lord—would actually be destroyed by Him (Jer 21:8-10). Perhaps Zedekiah’s request prompted Jeremiah in ch. 22 to look back and survey the landscape of cowardly leadership that had ruled in Judah after the death of the great King Josiah. The kings Jehoahaz (2 Kgs 23:30-33), Jehoiakim (2 Kgs 23:34-24:5), and Jehoiachin (2 Kgs 24:6-16; 25:27-30) had failed to carry out the law (Deut 17:18-20). Because those who had been appointed as shepherds had so miserably failed to attend to God’s flock, the Lord threatened to attend to them (ch. 23). Once the Lord had removed the selfish shepherds from their positions of leadership—and refined His people in the exile—He promised to gather His people as a remnant and set good shepherds over them, even ones like David (Jer 23:5-8).

When Jeremiah was commissioned as a prophet, the Lord told him, “Look, I have filled your mouth with My words. See, today I have set you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and demolish, to build and plant” (Jer 1:10). The prophet was thus placed in a position to confront the rulers of Judah concerning their sin. In the midst of prophesying against the leaders of his day, Jeremiah announced that a just and righteous ruler would one day sit on the throne of David, the One whose coming and salvation form the matter of the storyline of Scripture. The Lord announced to Jeremiah, “The days are coming…when I will raise up a righteous Branch of David. He will reign wisely as king and administer justice and righteousness in the land” (Jer 23:5). During His time, the remnant would leave the lands where the Lord had banished them and return to the land of promise (Jer 23:8). Jeremiah’s promise of a future Davidic king ruling God’s people mirrors the promise in 2 Sam 7:13-14 and 2 Chron 17:12-13. These references, together with themes in Psalms 2 and 110 form expectations of the coming Messiah.

(1) The Messiah would sit on David’s throne. Luke records that the angel Gabriel said to Mary concerning the child in her womb, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David” (Luke 1:31-32). In John’s vision of the throne room in heaven, he saw a scroll in the hand of the One seated on the throne. When John saw that no one could open it, he wept. Then John heard one of the elders around the throne say, “Stop crying. Look! The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has been victorious so that He may open the scroll and its seven seals” (Rev 5:5). This description reflects Jer 23:5.

(2) The Messiah would provide security for His people. In Jer 23:6, the prophet said that in the day when the Branch of David arrived, “Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely.” The author of Hebrews presented Jesus as God’s anointed warrior king who took on human flesh to defeat the Devil. In the thought world of the author of Hebrews, the Devil and his weapon of death were the greatest threat to humanity. Through his death, Jesus defeated the Devil and freed those held captive by fear of death (Heb 2:14-15). John’s vision of the Rider on a white horse in Rev 19:11-16 includes imagery of a David warrior used in Jer 23:5-6 as well. The Rider leads the armies of heaven to battle, with an iron scepter ruling the nations that oppose God’s people.

Jeremiah endured one of the most difficult lives assigned to any Old Testament leader. Judah was stubborn hearted, and happy about it. How could one, year after year, call them to repentance? Jeremiah 14-20 is a combination of sermons, symbolic acts/observations, and autobiographical laments and prayers that underscored Jeremiah’s difficult circumstances and portray the Lord’s righteous judgment upon His people.

When Jesus and the apostles announced God’s judgement, they cited themes from Jeremiah 14-20. How these New Testament figures employed Jeremiah’s phrases demonstrates continuity and discontinuity between the Old and New Testaments in the storyline of Scripture.

(1) Jeremiah and John proclaimed God’s sovereignty over human suffering and death. In Jer 15:2, the prophet announced the Lord’s response to his plea for relief from the famine; even if Moses and Samuel interceded for the people it would be futile. If the people asked Jeremiah where they should go, the Lord announced that the prophet should say, “Those destined for death, to death; those destined for the sword, to the sword. Those destined for famine, to famine; those destined for captivity, to captivity.” All in Judah, even the faithful remnant who would remain/return (Jeremiah 25, 29) would suffer the Lord’s wrath. These words may have resonated in John’s mind concerning the faithful ones in the day of tribulation. Those whose names were written in the Lamb’s book of life would not worship the beast, John wrote in Rev 13:10, and as a result they would suffer the same difficulties that came upon even the faithful in Jeremiah’s day. Those destined for captivity, to captivity they would go; the sword would find all who were to be executed by it. “Here is the endurance and the faith of the saints” (Rev 13:10), John wrote. While there are contextual and thematic parallels between Jeremiah’s audience and John’s, the latter suffered because of their commitment to Christ, not, like Jeremiah’s audience, because of their sin. John’s use of Jeremiah here culminates the new covenant theme of suffering for righteousness (Phil 1:29; 1 Pet 2:21-25, 3:13-17; Heb 12:3-12).

(2) Jeremiah and Peter proclaimed that though the Lord is patient, He will exact judgement. In Jer 17:15, the prophet lamented his situation and asked the Lord for deliverance. Jeremiah was sent to announce the impending judgment upon Judah but in the meantime, he had to endure the taunts of the scoffers who said, “Where is the word of the LORD? Let it come!” Peter understood that this attitude would persist in the last days. At that time, Peter said, those who opposed the godly would mock the Lord’s patience, saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they have been since the beginning of creation” (2 Pet 3:4). Peter exhorted the faithful that they should not grow discouraged at the jabs of their opponents, “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 3:18).

(3) Jeremiah and Jesus prophesied that the sword would come upon the guilty for their sin. After being beaten by Pashhur the priest, Jeremiah proclaimed concerning the priest’s loved ones, “They will fall by the sword of their enemies before your very eyes. I will hand Judah over to the king of Babylon, and he will deport them to Babylon and put them to the sword” (Jer 20:4). When Jesus entered Jerusalem, He lamented that the city would not heed the day of His visitation (Luke 19:41-44). While Jesus taught in the temple in Jerusalem during the last week of His life, His disciples asked about the end of the age. Jesus employed Jeremiah’s language saying that despite the beauty and fortification of the temple it would be destroyed. The inhabitants of Jerusalem, Jesus said, would be killed by the edge of the sword and be taken captive by the nations (Luke 21:23-24a).

Jesus and the apostles thus resonated with themes in Jeremiah 14-20. But one point of discontinuity should not be overlooked. In Jer 17:21-22, the prophet proclaimed the word of the Lord concerning the Sabbath, “Watch yourselves; do not pick up a load and bring it in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. You must not carry a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day or do any work, but you must consecrate the Sabbath day, just as I commanded your ancestors.” So significant was the Sabbath, Jeremiah proposed, that if the people of Judah honored the seventh day, they would not only maintain their place in the land but prosper in it (Jer 17:24-27). Jesus, however, proclaimed His supremacy over the Sabbath. Jesus allowed His disciples to pluck grain and eat on the Sabbath (Matt 12:1-8//Mark 2:23-28//Luke 6:1-5) and on several occasions, Jesus healed on the Sabbath (Matt 12:9-14//Mark 3:1-6//Luke 6:6-11; Luke 13:10-17; John 5:1-15; 9:1-12). From the point of Jesus’ entrance into the world onward, deliverance from God’s wrath rested entirely upon allegiance to Him and not observance of the Sabbath.

Jeremiah confronted his audience that despite their religious vocabulary, they had yet to know God. Judah said they believed—and even went through the motions of Israelite religion in the temple—but their lives reflected little of the mercy God had bestowed upon them. The Lord rejected Judah because the nation was rampant with idolatry and ignorant of their covenant obligations. Though the people thought themselves faithful, Jeremiah announced that the Lord rejected their religious observances (Jer 7:29) because they did not obey the Lord’s instructions (Jer 9:13).

Jesus and Paul employed the prophet’s messages found in Jeremiah 7-13 as they confronted the same arrogant attitudes in their day. Jeremiah’s references to the temple and human boasting become threads cohering the storyline of Scripture.

(1) Jeremiah and Jesus confronted their audiences for trusting in the temple but ignoring God’s purposes in it. In Jer 7:11 the prophet announced the Lord’s declaration, “Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your view? Yes, I too have seen it.” Jesus expressed the same perspective as Jeremiah. As Jesus entered Jerusalem just days before He was crucified, He went into the temple complex and saw that the spiritual condition of the occupants differed little from the days of the prophet. The throng of worshippers gathered for the Passover festival had taken over the court of the Gentiles and made it into a marketplace. Instead of worship there was distraction. After overturning the moneychangers’ tables, Jesus confronted the throngs in the temple by linking Isa 56:7 and Jer 7:11. Isaiah prophesied what the temple was supposed to be (a house of prayer for all nations) and Jeremiah prophesied what it had become (a den of robbers) (Matt 21:10-17//Mark 11:15-17//Luke 19:45-46). The religious leaders of Jesus’ day not only rejected Jesus and God’s purposes in Him, they set up structures that prevented the Gentiles from seeking God.

(2) Jeremiah and Paul confronted their audiences for superficial religious practices. Jeremiah asserted that though the people of Judah boasted in their spirituality, they did not know the Lord. Jeremiah declared to them the word of the Lord: the wise person should avoid boasting in their wisdom, the strong person should not boast in their might, and the rich should not look to riches for security. Rather, “the one who boasts should boast in this, that he understands and knows Me—that I am the LORD, showing faithful love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things” (Jer 9:23-24). Paul framed his correspondence with the Corinthians in light of Jeremiah’s ministry in Judah. Like Judah in Jeremiah’s day, the Corinthians had some of the externals of spirituality—which were causing divisions in the church as believers lined up behind various lofty spiritual leaders among them—but lacked a deep understanding of the cross and discipleship. Paul reminded them that God did not choose the spiritually elite, but the weak, insignificant, and despised, transforming them into vessels that bear the likeness of Christ. The Corinthians’ worldliness had no part in church ministry. Paul’s point was that any spiritual success among the Corinthians must be credited to God’s work in Christ, “in order that, as it is written: ‘The one who boasts must boast in the Lord’” (1 Cor 1:31, citing Jer 9:23–24). The sin of the Corinthians went beyond that of Judah in that the Corinthians had been made aware of God’s humility in Christ’s crucifixion; in the apostle’s mind, any Christian boasting must therefore be “in the Lord.” So significant was Jeremiah’s ministry that later, when Paul was defending his apostolic ministry to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 10, Paul again quoted Jer 9:24. Paul did not want to boast in another’s ministry but hoped that as the Corinthians grew in Christ, he could have further influence beyond them and in reference to them. Paul described his boasting in the Lord as just this: a spiritually mature Corinthian congregation that would support him in further evangelistic efforts that would in turn be commended by the Lord Himself (2 Cor 10:17).

Jeremiah was appointed to investigate the characteristics and makeup of a substance so as to determine its current condition against an objective standard. What did the prophet discover concerning spirituality in Judah? He discovered that “all are stubborn rebels spreading slander. They are bronze and iron; all of them are corrupt” (Jer 6:28). There was no true spirituality among the people.

Jeremiah proclaimed that Judah had chosen wood and stone over the One who had delivered them from Egypt and given them an inheritance in Canaan (Jer 2:4-13; Deut 4:1-8; Isa 5:1-7). If God did not react in wrath, He would forsake the glory of His goodness—which Judah could have enjoyed if they had turned from their evil ways. The prophet thus announced, “‘If you return Israel,’ this is the LORD’s declaration, ‘if you return to Me, if you remove your detestable idols from My presence and do not waver, if you swear, as the LORD lives, in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then the nations will be blessed by Him and will pride themselves in Him’” (Jer 4:1-2). Instead of turning and repenting, Judah chose the path of Israel (Jer 3:6-11) and was promised that she would receive the same reward. In Jeremiah 4, the prophet warned the people of Judah that they would be invaded from the north. The Lord promised to take revenge against Judah because of her idolatry (Jeremiah 5-6).

The people of Judah thought themselves spiritual. After all, they had the covenant and the law and lived in the Promised Land. The superficial security Judah enjoyed made Jeremiah’s task all the more difficult. He was commissioned to confront Judah’s hard heartedness, “to uproot and tear down, to destroy and demolish, to build and to plant” (Jer 1:10). Jeremiah’s messages regarding spiritual sensitivity are informative for the storyline of Scripture.

(1) True spirituality begins in the heart and is wrought by the Holy Spirit. In Jer 4:4, Jeremiah preached, “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD; remove the foreskin of your hearts, men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem. Otherwise, My wrath will break out like a fire and burn with no one to extinguish it because of your evil deeds.” Since the days of Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 17), circumcision of the male foreskin had been a marker of those who wished to live by faith in the Lord. But generations later Israel was yet uncircumcised of heart, as Moses had said (Deut 10:16; 30:6). God sent His Spirit to effect an inner change in Jews and Gentiles alike. When Peter returned to Jerusalem following his time in Joppa and at the home of Cornelius, he reported that the Holy Spirit had come upon Gentiles just as Jews (Acts 11:17). Paul argued that the people of God are not marked by circumcision but by the presence of the Spirit (Rom 2:28-29; Gal 3:1-5; 5:1-12; Col 2:11). According to Paul, since circumcision of the flesh was to mark descendants of Abraham but not followers of Christ, it was no longer required for the people of God. “For we are the circumcision,” Paul wrote to the Philippians, “the ones who serve by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh” (Phil 3:3).

(2) True spirituality is evidenced by understanding spiritual truth. In Jer 5:21, the prophet condemned Judah as a foolish and senseless people: “They have eyes, but they don’t see. They have ears, but they don’t hear,” he said. Jesus denounced the same spiritual dullness of the crowds that followed Him. When Jesus’ disciples asked the Lord why He so often spoke in parables, He replied that figurative teaching ensured success. The precious kingdom truths He was scattering would be received only by those fit to understand the scope of what was taking place in His entrance into the world (Matt 13:10-17//Mark 4:10-12//Luke 8:9-10). The disciples at times lacked understanding and Jesus confronted them as well. After Jesus fed the 4,000 (Matt 15:32-39//Mark 8:1-10), the Pharisees asked Jesus to show them a sign from heaven (Matt 16:1-4//Mark 8:11-13). Departing, Jesus instructed His disciples to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod (Matt 16:5-12//Mark 8:14-21). Jesus figuratively compared the here-and-now paradigm of the Pharisees and Herod with leaven that can pervade and affect a whole lump of dough. The disciples, dull to Jesus’ point, began to be concerned that they had forgotten to bring bread with them on the journey. Jesus had just fed more than 4,000 people; He wanted His followers to be more concerned about ideas than food.

Jeremiah was assigned the difficult task of prophesying to God’s people during the dark days following the Assyrian captivity of Israel. As a prophet, Jeremiah opposed his contemporaries. They continuously heralded messages of peace and the Lord’s favor when the Lord had clearly said that He was going to discipline His people for their idolatry. Since Judah was headed in the same direction as Israel—who had already been carried into captivity—why did Judah’s prophets lie, Jeremiah asked (Jer 8:8-11; 14:13-16; 23:9-40). What was the result? These false prophets (Jer 26:7-19) and those of Jeremiah’s own city attempted to kill him (Jer 11:18-23). Every assassination scheme was thwarted but Jeremiah had to endure both physical persecution at the hands of Pashhur the priest (Jer 20:1-6) and social ostracism mandated by King Jehoiakim (Jer 36:1-5, 20-26).

The Lord’s call on Jeremiah is recorded in Jeremiah 1. Though Jeremiah was young and perhaps given to timidity, God commanded him, “Do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to deliver you…Look, I have filled your mouth with My words. See, today I have set you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and demolish, to build and plant” (Jer 1:8-10; Jer 18:7-9; 24:6; 31:28). Unlike his colleagues, Jeremiah would speak the word of the Lord and none other—even if it was unpopular and fell on deaf ears. That would be the case for Jeremiah, as the Lord informed the prophet in chs. 2-3.

Jeremiah 1-3 introduces several themes that shape the storyline of Scripture:

(1) Israel as the firstfruits of the nations and Christ as the firstfruits of the resurrection. This concept of firstfruits is an agricultural metaphor identifying the first of something to be followed by more of the same kind (see Exod 23:16, 19; 34:26). The firstfruits are akin to the cream of the crop, the best in quality of what would come. In Jer 2:3, the prophet reminded his audience of their glorious heritage in the exodus, when “Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of His harvest. All who ate of it found themselves guilty; disaster came on them.” In Rom 11:16, Paul recognized Israel as the firstfruits of peoples God had chosen but went on to note that through their faith in Christ, people from all nations would share in the holy status of Israel. Paul wrote that Jesus’ resurrection was the firstfruits of the kind of resurrection that all believers will enjoy in the new creation (1 Cor 15:20).

(2) God’s grace to Judah and to outsiders. In Jer 2:13, the prophet confronted Judah for their idolatry. Judah pushed away the Lord and seized as objects of worship things that had no ability to help. Jeremiah spoke God’s word, “My people have committed a double evil: They have abandoned Me, the fountain of living water, and dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.” When Jesus interacted with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well in John 4, He asked the woman to give Him a drink. When she responded with dismay that a male Jew would have anything to do with a female Samaritan, Jesus said, “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would ask Him, and He would give you living water” (John 4:10). Jeremiah accused Judah of forsaking the gift of God’s grace and Jesus offered God’s grace to a foreign woman.

(3) The endurance of the prophets and Christians. In Jer 2:30, Jeremiah condemned Judah for killing the messengers the Lord sent to her. At the outset of His ministry, Jesus proposed that His followers should rejoice in their suffering for the kingdom at the hand of the Jews (Matt 5:10-12//Luke 6:22-23). Jeremiah said that false prophets enjoy the praise of the people (Jer 6:13-15) and Jesus said that the same was true in His day (Luke 6:26). Paul likewise recognized that those who followed Jesus would be persecuted, telling the Thessalonians, “For you brothers became imitators of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, since you have also suffered the same things from people of your own country, just as they did from the Jews. They killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and persecuted us” (1 Thess 2:14-15).

(4) The expansion of God’s dwelling place. In Jer 3:16-17, Jeremiah prophesied a future day of restoration when, following a period of discipline, the Lord would gather His people to Jerusalem. The city of their dwelling, Jeremiah said, would be called, “The LORD’s Throne” (Jer 3:17) and all nations would be gathered to it. In Revelation, John described the New Jerusalem as the place of God’s dwelling with His people from all nations (Rev 21:1-4, 22-27).