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The Babylonian Exile
We know there were three invasions of Israel over a period of two hundred years. The first was by the Assyrians who carried off the ten Northern tribes. We know very little of what happened to them. They just disappear from history. The second is Babylonia’s first invasion and defeat of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar carries off 10,000 of the upper class leadership of Jerusalem as well as the military commanders, the craftsmen, artists and educated – the best of the Jewish society. Among these are Ezekiel and Daniel. He left the poorest. It is those left behind to whom Jeremiah is speaking in Jerusalem and who eventually move to Egypt where…
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Jeremiah 42
One of the hallmarks and non-negotiables of American democracy is the orderly transition of power and when that is threatened it jeopardizes the foundations of our entire society. It is the same for any society and when a people cannot trust in their government to do that then there is chaos and violence. It is not only true now but it was true in the time of Jeremiah – even though Israel was far from a democracy. In most cases the power of the king passed from father to son until the nation was in its last days. That is where we are now. No longer is the throne passed…
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Jeremiah 36
One of the challenges in the book of Jeremiah is the way it is organized. It is not linear with one chapter beginning at a certain time and the next chapter following where that left off. It is more like snapshots of different times in your life. We could show you at ten years old and then skip to when you were married. After that we see who you were at seventeen and then jump to your 25th wedding anniversary. It would be hard to piece together your life, wouldn’t it? We are used to albums and stories that take us from start to finish in a logical way. That…
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Jeremiah 30-33
We’ve been working through the “flashback” of Jeremiah’s relationship with the Israelite kings following Josiah. This is his 40th year of ministry and he has virtually nothing to – show for it – other than faithfulness. If he were to come back to his home church to report on his results he would be a big disappointment. His message has never changed but not one king – other than Josiah – has paid any attention to him. Well, that’s not exactly true. It’s been negative attention because every one of them have wanted him to just go away. The last time he had a good relationship with a king was…
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What is Your Real Job (Even if it’s Not in Your Job Description)?
Fred was a part of the original community of grantmakers that eventually became PCP. He is also the Founder of The Gathering, which he led for three decades. He currently serves on the board of the Buford Foundation and the East Texas Medical Foundation where he continues to be active in grantmaking. Yet Fred will tell you his true vocation is that of a Sunday School teacher, and it is this role for which he would most like to be remembered. He is a Navy veteran and a graduate of Denver University and Harvard Divinity School. Fred and his wife Carol live in Tyler, TX and have two grown daughters,…
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Jeremiah 22-25
We reached a climax last week. If this were a television show it would have had “to be continued” at the bottom of the screen and we would be waiting for a new episode or new season to find out what happens. Jeremiah has finally pushed the king and the high priest to the limit. He is not just a nuisance. He is a full-fledged traitor. He has encouraged the people of Jerusalem to surrender to the enemy and save their lives instead of fighting to the death for Jerusalem. However, instead of these chapters giving us the next installment of the story, they are something of a flashback. You…
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Ship Of Fools
A single line from Wendell Berry’s “Jayber Crow” is a picture of my neighborhood where I grew up. “In Port William only strangers, preachers and traveling salesmen ever went to anybody’s front door.” For us, it was the often left open side door leading into the kitchen – the heart of the house – that was the place we went in and came out. People coming to the front door were those we did not know but people coming to the side were friends, neighbors and family. The side door was for people we trusted. I’ve been turning that over in my mind this week while studying the power of…
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follow me
Since last week, things have changed dramatically for Judah, Egypt, Babylonia and Assyria. As we know, Judah was reviving economically, politically and spiritually under Josiah. There was a renewed belief in the future of the country. Everyone – except Jeremiah and God – was optimistic. Egypt wanted to join forces with Assyria to attack Babylonia whose rise was a threat to their regional power. To do that, the Pharaoh’s army had to travel through Megiddo which is part of Judah. For some uncertain reasons, Josiah went out to challenge him and was killed by Pharaoh Neco. It could be that Josiah thought his opportunities for expansion were better with a…
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Just Jesus?
In the last few years I have been paying closer attention to shifts affecting the American church. It’s too easy for older believers to look at another generation and say, “They’ll come around when they have a few more years of life under their belt,” but the truth is while a number of these changes are welcome, there are some that are fundamental and, honestly, concerning. One is the growing attraction to selected teachings of Jesus and an increased questioning of or even discounting those of the Apostle Paul. For a number of reasons, there is a widening divide between the influence of Jesus and that of Paul among Christians…
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Jeremiah 16-18
As we said a couple of weeks ago, Jeremiah was given the burden of speaking the truth to Israel at a time they would have been surprised to hear what God had to say. From their perspective, they were in a time of renewal: economic, social, political and spiritual. They thought of themselves as experiencing good times, finally, and turning the country around. Things were looking up and prophets should have been encouraging them – not calling them to judgment. At first they were quizzical and then angry…but Jeremiah does not change in response to the pressure. Powerful and persuasive people were leaning on Jeremiah to stop because he was…
