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.