Thinking about Judgment

Jeremiah 44-45

            I was thinking this morning about how all of these oracles of judgment apply to us today. The first way they apply is to understand Jesus. Jesus placed Himself under God’s ultimate wrath. Final judgment fell on Him; all of the Father’s wrath for human sin fell on Him. The destruction of Jerusalem was but a harbinger of that final judgment; the destruction of the world by water in Noah’s day was but a harbinger of that final judgment. So, strangely, there is a Gospel aspect to all of this: the substitutionary atonement of Jesus took all judgment into His death and paid for it there.

            Still, Israel faced all sorts of condemnation for her idolatry and rebellion, and this morning, I couldn’t help but think that, were Jeremiah walking around churches today, he might condemn us for our idolatry. We have some of the same hang-ups about our buildings and property that ancient Israel had about their Temple. Yes, it was the place the Lord promised to meet them, but it became a sort of talisman for them, a good luck charm, a distraction from the faith the place was supposed to call forth. And we have some of the same hang-ups about political power as ancient Israel did. And at least they had the excuse that Israel was at the same time God’s holy people (the Old Testament church, so to speak) and an actual nation among the other nations. The New Testament church is not a nation at all, but we often act like we’d rather rule by coercion on earth than offer grace and compassion to all sorts of people now so that we can all together enjoy the new creation then.

            I think the thing that got me thinking about this was Jeremiah 44:22, “When the Lord could no longer endure your wicked actions and the detestable things you did, your land became a curse and a desolate waste without inhabitants, as it is today.” Many, many churches today are only a shadow of their former selves. The Missouri Synod has churches with enormous buildings in Milwaukee, in Chicago, in St. Louis that are either closed or mostly empty on a Sunday today. And it will only get worse. The millennial generation and Gen Z are the most unchurched generations in U.S. history. A smaller percentage of people attend church in a weekend than ever before in the U.S. And this morning, I wondered, “Is this the punishment for the church’s idolatry?”

            Maybe. It bears thinking about. And it also bears thinking about the remnant that the Lord left Israel so that He could fulfill His promises, and it bears thinking about Jesus, whose atoning death is the key to the church’s mission. It bears thinking about what the church is really for, namely, the bringing of many into a right relationship with God.

Historical Events

Jeremiah 36-43

            These chapters are all over the place chronologically. It might be helpful to have a little chart of Judah’s final kings.

Josiah (640-609 BC)

Jeremiah’s Ministry (626-586 BC)

Jehoahaz (609 BC, son of Josiah, reigned 3 months)

Jehoiakim (609-598 BC, also Josiah’s son)

Jehoiachin (598-597 BC, Jehoiakim’s son)

Zedekiah (597-586 BC, Josiah’s son)

So, Jeremiah was preaching the destruction of Jerusalem at least some 20 years before it happened, and for all of those years none of the kings wanted to hear it. Jeremiah himself was under some sort of arrest a number of times in these years. In 36:5, Jeremiah is under some kind of restriction. In chapter 37, he is imprisoned. In chapter 38, he is thrown into a cistern during the siege off Jerusalem. “Neither Jehoiachin nor his attendants nor the people of the land paid any attention to the words the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet” (37:2). There’s something important there about hearing and taking seriously the Lord’s words!

            Chapter 39 records the fall of Jerusalem (repeated later this week in chapter 52). The Babylonians set up a puppet, Gedaliah, as a proxy for them. Unfortunately, in a story worthy of the north kingdom, he is assassinated, and then the assassins are executed, too. Amid such uncertainty, the leaders worry that the Babylonians will blame them for revolting and ask Jeremiah what to do. He tells them that the Lord wants them to stay in the land. But, typically, they take their own counsel and leave.

            The latter incident stands out because of the Lord’s concern for a remnant in the land. He has every intention of keeping His promises to bless the peoples of the earth through the family of Abraham. Leaving the land is tantamount to stymying the Lord’s plans.

A Study in Contrasts

Jeremiah 34-35

            The siege of Jerusalem was intense, and Judah was wildly outnumbered: “the king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms and peoples in the empire he ruled.” In this case, the emphasis is how helpless Judah is against this threat. Other places in the Scriptures when Israel is woefully surrounded the Lord promises to deliver them against superior enemies. (See the incident at the Red Sea in Exodus 14 or the story of Gideon in Judges 7.) The Lord is capable of delivering His people miraculously, but this siege was the Lord’s righteous judgment against a disobedient people. There would be no deliverance.

            Judah’s disobedience is highlighted in the second half chapter 34. The king orders a sabbatical year, specifically freeing all the slaves (Leviticus 25). The people comply but change their minds and re-enslave their fellows. It’s a rare case where the king is trying to be obedient but the people are the ones resisting. It’s more common for the blame to fall on faithless kings. Here we are reminded that the whole nation is corrupt.

            Chapter 35 offers a counter-example. A family had followed their forefather’s admonition not to drink wine for some 250 years. And they were still at it. Consider the contrast: this family obeyed a random injunction from a human ancestor for two and half centuries and wore it as a badge of honor. Israel as a whole refused to keep the holy commands of their creator and redeemer, the LORD, for even a short time. You would think that people would take the Lord’s words more seriously than human words, but that wasn’t the case.

            Same thing happened in Jesus’ day. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for loving their traditions more than the laws of God (Mark 7:9-13). Not incidentally, it happens today, too. How often people—even those who name themselves Christians—follow the ways of the world rather than the ways of the Lord! We are quick to dismiss the Scripture as if we know better now. Just consider the way we justify all sorts of ungodly sexual ethics… It’s important to recognize that we can’t just condemn Israel’s condition, because Israel’s condition is the human condition.

A Promise of Restoration

Jeremiah 33

            With the end of Jerusalem near and Jeremiah in a personally tight spot, the Lord offers a promise of restoration, a promise that His anger will not burn forever, that He will not forget the plans and purposes He has in store for Israel. The Lord promises health and healing, cleansing, and prosperity for Jerusalem. He promises the restoration of both the north kingdom and Judah.

            The people of Israel looked forward to that in the normal way. They expected a return from exile and the establishment of Israel as the foremost of the nations. And there was a return. But as we saw in Ezra, when the old-timers who had seen Solomon’s temple wept over the poverty of the temple they had just rebuilt, things weren’t what they expected. When they returned, their city was a shambles; they didn’t even have a wall for almost a hundred years. The Persians were enlightened masters, but they were still the political masters—until they were replaced by the Greeks, who were in turn replaced by the Romans. No wonder that by Jesus’ day, the people of Israel were thinking the Lord had not yet kept all of His promises!

            In truth, this must be understood as a messianic promise. The one who would reign on David’s throne was the one who first reigned from a cross and who now reigns from heaven. Right now, there’s no earthly kingdom, even though the entire earth is His to rule. So, there is a spiritualizing of these promises, fulfilled in the church, living in joy and peace despite the raging of the world around them. And the final fulfillment waits for the last day, when all of God’s enemies will be set under His feet and He will make all things new. That’s what Israel should have been looking for; that’s what we look for.

I Know the Plans

Jeremiah 29

            Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most popular verses in the Bible: “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” A lot of people love that verse, and it is beautiful. But a lot of people grow to hate it, often because they do not see the future it promises coming.

            A couple of things: first, the context is important. The verse is part of a letter that Jeremiah sends to the first round of exiles in Babylon, and it can be summarized: “Get comfortable; you’re going to be there a while.” The Lord tells them to build houses, plant gardens, and raise children: they’re going to be there a while—70 years to be exact—a lifetime. He tells them to work for the good of Babylon. It’s going to be home for a long time. This verse is not offering a light or easy way.

            Second, we should understand it as a plural, that is, addressed to the whole community of exiles. The promise is that the Lord has plans and purposes for Israel, not necessarily just any individual Israelite.

            We often say things like, “Everything happens for a reason,” or “God has a plan.” And in one sense, he does. But if the Scriptures teach us anything, they teach us that God’s plans and purposes encompass years, decades, centuries. We might not know what part our troubled part of the story plays in God’s plans until we see Him face to face.

            So, we can certainly take comfort in a God who sees much farther than we can see, who is out ahead of us by years, decades, centuries. We can take comfort in knowing that somehow all things work out of the good of those who love Him (Rom. 8). But don’t fall into the trap of thinking that all of troubles will fall away in this present age of the world.

            I always liked Marcedes Lewis, a tight end for the Green Bay Packers. He was a great blocker, but he hardly ever caught a pass. His job was to seal an edge, to spring a running back or a receiver. There’s no glory in blocking. At the end of the day, there’s a trip to the training room and not a single highlight on SportsCenter. Within the plan of the whole game, the blocker plays a part, but he’s rarely praised for it. I think that’s a fitting analogy for God’s plans and purposes. I might just be a blocker: I might just ride the bench. That’s ok. It’s a team sport and the one stat that matters is team wins and losses. My role might be modest, unseen, painful, but within the much fuller purpose of what God is up to, He knows the plans He has for me. 

A Promise and More Opposition

Jeremiah 23-28

            I need to apologize for how sporadic I’ve been with this blog this week. No, not apologize—I need to explain. When I began writing this blog, I put it in the time slot that I ordinarily use for my personal devotions. With Today’s Light, after all, I was still reading the Bible. Why not just write about it? Because that makes my Bible reading professional; that is to say, I was always reading and thinking, “What can I write about?” instead of reading and thinking, “What does this do for me, personally, today?” Two very different questions. So, this week, I reclaimed my devotional time for myself. Unfortunately, I’m still looking for a home for blog writing somewhere else in my daily schedule.

            Anyway, here’s a few thoughts going into the weekend.

            Chapter 23—at last a promise! A promise for a wise king and a promise for dedicated shepherds. I think Jesus embraces this chapter deeply, if not obviously. A lot of His controversies in the Gospels are not with rank and file Israelites but with those who are and who claim to be religious leaders in Israel. And He is none to gentle with those shepherds who “destroy and scatter the sheep” of the Lord! Further, He identifies Himself as the Good Shepherd (John 10), and He trains the apostles as new shepherds for tend the flock (John 21). Much of the rest of chapter 23 demonstrates that a good shepherd (pastor) preaches the whole counsel of God, good and bad, Law and Gospel.

            Historically, chapter 24 takes place between exiles. The Babylonians invaded and carried off portions of the people of Judah three times. First, about 596 BC, the rich and the powerful were deported. Then, the majority of the remaining people were deported and the city destroyed in 586. There was one smaller deportation following yet another rebellion about 5 years later. Chapter 24 takes place between the first two. Interestingly 2 Kings 25 ends with King Jehoiachin receiving favor at the Babylonian king’s table. Zedekiah, who was actually Jehoiachin’s uncle and who was made regent by the Babylonians, had his eyes gouged out and taken into captivity, never to be heard from again.

            Chapter 25 presents a question. “How do we count the 70 years of the exile?” We could look at figuratively, that 70 is 7 (God’s number) times 10 (the number of human strength) so it’s not really a specific number at all but a way of saying that the exile will last as long as the Lord enforces it through human powers. The first exiles returned in 538, when the Persians took over Babylon; the Babylonians had first invaded Judah around 605, so we could say close enough. I think the best solution is from the destruction of the temple in 586 until its rededication in 516.

            Chapter 26, an incident early in Jeremiah’s ministry, has a sort of Good Friday vibe to me. Notice the powerful rising up in opposition to Jeremiah, demanding his death for prophesying the destruction of the temple and compare that to the accounts of Jesus’ arrest.

Back at It

Jeremiah 15-22

            It was a nice break for me, but you have been slogging through Jeremiah! He’s a tough read, isn’t he? I’m going to try to catch up several days today, so no unifying thread, just some observations.

            1) Jeremiah hates his ministry. 15:10, “Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth!” Anyone who tells you ministry is easy hasn’t been in ministry very long! Joyous? Yes, when you preach the Gospel. Easy? No way…

            2) Relatedly, Jeremiah took delight in God’s words, describing it in words we used to use in one of our collects, “inwardly digested” (15:16). The prophet/preacher delights in the words of the Lord. Ezekiel says the words were initially sweet (Ezekiel 3:3), but Revelation 10:10 says that they turned bitter. Paul speaks of being compelled to preach (2 Corinthians 5:14); so is Jeremiah (20:9). The Gospel is sweet; the Law is bitter; and the preacher is compelled to preach both as the whole counsel of God.

            3) Jeremiah often has to enact his message. No marriage or children for him! His life is a prophecy about coming judgment. No mourning, either. This people is under God’s curse. And no rejoicing: there’s nothing to rejoice about! Jeremiah’s message is unrelenting.

            4) The end of chapter 17 is a good example of what I call the Deuteronomistic character of Jeremiah. If you keep the Sabbath, all these blessings will flow to you; if you don’t, here are the curses that will fall on you. Why is it important to see that this is related to Deuteronomy? Because these covenantal curses fall on Israel under Moses’ covenant. When Christ comes that covenant is fulfilled. Things are not nearly so tit-for-tat with us. That would take a long time to work through fully, so ask in Bible class for a deeper examination.

            5) Preachers in the modern US shouldn’t complain, even if ministry is hard. Precious few of us have been beaten and put in the stocks! It certainly happens in many places around the world, where persecution is much more common that here.

Introducing Jeremiah

Jeremiah 1-2

            Jeremiah is a whole other kind of prophet from Isaiah. For one thing, Jeremiah ministered about a century later than Isaiah (626 BC to 586 BC), and the crisis was at hand. Babylon was ascendant on the world stage, and they were, if anything, more powerful than the Assyrians had been. Jeremiah saw the kings of Judah trying to protect their little country by forging alliances here and there and he saw the disaster that that political dabbling was going to cause for Judah. While from one point of view it looked like a wise way to insulate a weak nation, Jeremiah saw it as just one more example of refusing to trust the Lord for their deliverance.

            Jeremiah himself was from a priestly family. Although the temple doesn’t figure overly much in Jeremiah’s prophecy, it is certainly a present concern. More than that, Jeremiah had access to the royal palace, and we will read about him in controversy with kings and royal advisers.

            Jeremiah has sometimes been called the weeping prophet. He had a hard road. His message—largely a message of doom—stirred up powerful opposition, and he was often persecuted because of it. Jeremiah has in common with Moses a raw honesty with the Lord: he doesn’t always love his work and he blames the Lord for saddling him with it.

            Next, a word of preparation. On the basis of number of words, Jeremiah is the longest book in the Old Testament (well, in the whole Bible, really), nudging Genesis by about a thousand words and the book of Psalms by some 3,000. Not only is Jeremiah long, it is also gloomy. Isaiah had his soaring promises of restoration; Jeremiah noticeably less.

            As you read, listen for resonances and echoes from the book of Deuteronomy. Scholars use a word, Deuteronomistic, to describe parts of the Bible that focus on covenant faithfulness and covenant unfaithfulness. I myself find Jeremiah very much in this train. Maybe at some point down the road, I’ll have a chance to talk about how Jeremiah turns up in Jesus’ ministry, too. While the influence of Isaiah and Daniel is obvious in Jesus’ ministry, Jeremiah’s is more subtle, assumed, especially when Jesus is criticizing Israel.

 

            I will be away the next week, so no new posts until February 13.

The Conclusion of Isaiah

Isaiah 63-66

            Isaiah 64 longs for an appearance from the Lord similar to the theophany on Sinai: thunder, lightning, billowing smoke, you know, the rending of the heavens. I’ve addressed this in sermons over the years, but that’s not really the Lord’s style. He does it on occasion, but He usually intervenes more quietly than that. This chapter is read in the Advent season, and it makes the point beautifully: when the Messiah appears, it looks quite ordinary, just another baby boy born to poor parents—and with the smell of scandal and illegitimacy about it. In some ways, Christmas is the most ordinary story you ever heard. Of course, the Lord is doing something extraordinary in that ordinary story. After all, this baby is hailed in terms usually reserved for Caesar: bringer of peace, savior, even lord are all titles Caesar appropriated for himself. So, God does come down from the heavens, but not in a Sinai kind of way.

            Isaiah is reminded that at Sinai, Israel fell into terrible sin, namely, the incident with the golden calf. So, he turns immediately to repentance, that Israel’s finest acts are so many dirty rags (the phrase literally refers to a use menstrual clothes). His prayer is marked by humility, that the Lord is the potter and that Israel is the clay. They are nothing before Him, but Isaiah prays that He would look on them with favor.

            In chapter 65, the Lord responds in terms of law and gospel. He will punish Israel for her covenant unfaithfulness, but He will remember His mercy and bring them back. The vision of restoration expands to a vision of the final restoration, the creation of a new heavens and a new earth. There is the promise of very long life (in the New Testament expanded to everlasting life), and there is the return of the wolf and the lamb lying down together, indicating that natural enemies will set aside their animosity and become companions, even friends.

Restoration

Isaiah 60-62

            Restoration seems to be the theme through these chapters. Chapter 61 is associated with Epiphany and the coming of the Magi to the Christ child, at least in later Christian traditions. I don’t think that Isaiah 60 is ever directly quoted in the New Testament; the association is with the gifts of the Magi and the reference in Isaiah to gold and incense (v. 6). If we strip the chapter of its associations with Pentecost, it along with chapter 61 mention the nations rebuilding Jerusalem, as if in the day of restoration the nations will serve Israel. By the era around Jesus, Israel’s dream had been exactly that: that Israel would be the chief of the nations and that those nations would serve her.

            Jesus turns that expectation on its head and portrays the Gentiles not as servants ruled by Israel but as partners, participants in the Lord’s salvation, with Israel. Consider Matthew 8, when Jesus heals a Roman centurion’s servant and exclaims that He hasn’t found such faith in Israel. He makes a similar comment about a Syro-Phoenician woman and many others who would have been considered “outside.”

            Two other elements of this vision of restoration include reference to the Jubilee year and to marriage and childbearing. First, in chapter 61, we have the image of the year of the Lord’s favor. Remember the Jubilee was every 50^th year; slaves were released from service; the land reverted to those to whom it had originally been apportioned in Joshua. It’s an image Jesus applies to Himself in His sermon in Nazareth (Luke 4), in which He declares the prophecy fulfilled in Himself. Release from the bondage of sin and the setting right of the world are part of Jesus’ work. The second, marriage and childbearing, I mentioned a few days ago in connection with chapter 54. If you’re reading in the NIV, the Lord renames Israel Hephzibah and Beulah. There’s a footnote there that tells you Hephzibah means “my delight is in her” and Beulah means “married.” This pairs with earlier in verse 4 when they will no longer be called deserted or desolate. (Desolate is used here in the sense of barren, as in without children.) Later, in verse 12, the promise repeated: they will be called Sought After, as in courted for marriage, and No Longer Desolate.