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Home , Jeremiah 36

Daily Devotions

For the week of November 23-November 28, 2020

Monday, November 23 36: 1-4 God Promises a In the fourth year of the son of , king of , this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2”Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against and Judah and all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today. 3It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, so that every one may turn from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.” 4Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord that he had spoken to him. Our patient and loving God wanted the house of Judah to listen to Him, to come to their senses and once again turn from their evil ways so that He could forgive them. To help his people, the Lord directed Jeremiah to put His messages in written form, the better to facilitate their communication, and to assist the people in studying and meditating on His words. The Lord could also foresee the disaster and destruction that would accompany a Babylonian takeover, should the king and people fail to heed His warnings. Having His messages in written form would help preserve the word He had given to Israel and Judah through Jeremiah. We are also introduced to Baruch, long-serving secretary and assistant to Jeremiah, who will serve as Jeremiah’s scribe and mouthpiece in writing and then reading the scroll to the people. With this portion of Jeremiah we have another example of the people having turned from God and stubbornly not listening to God’s warnings of the consequences. The is replete with references to Israel being “stiff-necked”. For instance, “And the Lord said to , I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.” (Exodus 32:9) Stiff-necked = stubborn, intractable, not to be led. We’ll revisit and pray on this ‘stiff-necked’ theme as we move through the week. Would you pray with me, ‘Lord, help us to relax our own stiff-neckness so that we might fully embrace the covenant you desire with us.’ Tuesday, November 24 Jeremiah 36: 5-8

5And Jeremiah ordered Baruch, saying, “I am banned from going to the house of the Lord, 6so you are to go, and on a day of fasting in the hearing of all the people in the Lord’s house you shall read the words of the Lord from the scroll that you have written at my dictation. You shall read them also in the hearing of all the men of Judah who come out of their cities. 7It may be that their plea for mercy will come before the Lord, and that every one will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people. 8And Baruch the son of Neriah did all that Jeremiah the ordered him about reading from the scroll the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house. First, Baruch writes the scroll and now Jeremiah orders him to go and read from the scroll the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house. Baruch serves as the hands and then the voice of Jeremiah. We don’t know if Baruch was adept at public speaking (like Aaron in Exodus was noted to be), but we do know God is not limited to choosing the equipped but can equip the chosen. Baruch was no doubt aware of why Jeremiah was banned from the temple, apparently because of Jeremiah’s outspoken retelling of God’s messages, warnings really. Baruch must have felt some trepidation in taking on this assignment to carry what had been a not well-received message and present it once again to the people. Yet, scripture notes that Baruch carried out his assignment. No response from the people is recorded, which may indicate the reading fell on unreceptive hearts, at the time. I wonder if we sometimes hesitate to share the word of the Lord with people, not sure how the message will be received and how we will be perceived. Hopefully, like Baruch, when presented with the opportunity, we would press forward and regardless of the immediate response, know that the purpose of the Word will ultimately be fulfilled. Deuteronomy 9:6 “Understand this, therefore: it is not because of your merits that the Lord, your God, is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-neck people.” ‘Lord, help us to relax our own stiff-neckness, so that in our chaotic, divided world where factions are yelling but seem not to be listening, we might acknowledge and demonstrate your gifts of grace, mercy and love, and in doing so, show others that there is another way, that we can have hope.’

Wednesday, November 25 Jeremiah 36: 21-23

21Then the King sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary. And Jehudi read it to the king and all the officials who stood beside the king. 22It was the ninth month, and the king was sitting in the winter house, and there was a fire burning in the fire pot before him. 23As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire pot. The image that forms in my mind’s eye is an editor reviewing a manuscript, red pencil in hand to line out sentences, thoughts and ideas that don’t ‘fit’ with a desired narrative. Maybe it is for a research paper, perhaps a submittal for a magazine or an article for a newspaper. In this case, king Jehoiakim is using a penknife, listening to the words on the scroll and ‘cutting away’ that which he doesn’t like. Unfortunately for him, there is nothing that fits his narrative and the entire scroll wings up cut away and thrown in the fire. We spoke on Tuesday that the reading of the scroll to the people apparently fell on unreceptive hearts and certainly Jehoiakim was unreceptive. Contrast this to the reaction of king Josiah who, with a receptive heart, wept and repented at the hearing of the Lord’s message on a scroll (:10-11). May we pray for receptive, inquisitive hearts, eager and searching for what God has to say to us throughout His scriptures, not only in those parts that we like and readily comprehend. The stiff-necked, godless Jehoiakim sought to destroy the word of God and certainly wanted to ignore the warnings they contained. Although the ink and the scroll could be burned, God’s word cannot be destroyed. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever (Isaiah 40:8). Deuteronomy 9:13 “I have seen now how stiff-necked this people is, the Lord said to me.” ‘Lord, help us to relax our own stiff- neckness, so that as your children we can become beacons of light in our suffering, divided world.’

Thursday, November 26 Jeremiah 36: 27-28

27Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words that Baruch wrote at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28”Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned.” I have come to know that if I want to remember something, I have to write it down. The Lord wanted his people to remember him, to hear, pray and repent. The first scroll of God’s messages to Jeremiah was burned by King Jehoiakim of Judah. Yet God’s plans will not be thwarted. God directed Jeremiah to do it again, and to include a personal message to the king, saying in essence that you had the gall to burn my scroll, so you will be conquered, your corpse will be thrown in the street and all the evils that went unheeded will come about (, 30, 31). We see again that the Lord keeps His promises and that He is a loving and patient God, for even after the scroll burning the Lord gave the people another twenty years to return to him before laid waste to the land. Isaiah 48:4 “Because I know that you are stubborn and that your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead bronze …”. ‘Lord, help us to relax the iron sinew in our neck and our forehead of bronze, so that as your children we can more readily see the people ‘on the other side’ as you see them, with no divisions and all loved by you.’ Friday, November 27 : 31-34

31”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, 32not 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 , my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33For 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. 34And 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.” We recently watched a documentary about Presidents Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt which included mention of Franklin’s “New Deal” program. Here, God remarks that he has a ‘New Deal’ coming, new and improved over his original covenant with Israel and the house of Judah. In His perfect timing, God will send his son, Jesus, as the new covenant. With Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, the relationship with God becomes an internal rather than external covenant. The Holy Spirit will “put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.” The new covenant will bring a personal rather than corporate relationship with God; “ … for they shall all know me.” Unlike the old covenant in which sin was covered up by sacrifices, the new covenant will bring a true cleansing from sin. When you examine the benefits of the new covenant that would be coming, we might imagine that the people of Jeremiah’s time would be eager and excited for ‘the days’ to arrive. Are you and I appropriately eager and excited about this covenant that God makes available to us? Let us be in Thanksgiving for this new covenant! 2 Kings 17:13-14 “And though the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and seer, ‘Give up your evil ways and keep my commandments and statues, in accordance with the entire law which I enjoined on your fathers and which I sent you by my servants and ,’ they did not listen but were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who had not believed in the Lord, their God.” ‘Lord, help us to relax any stiff-neckness we might have inherited, so that we may be more open to hearing, finding and following you.’ Saturday, November 28 Luke 22: 19-20

19And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” Well, here it is, the new covenant God spoke of through Jeremiah. Jesus is sharing with his disciples that He is God’s new covenant. “New” strikes me as a key word in this scripture. The disciples had grown up knowing of the generations-old covenant with and the Passover celebrating the exodus from Egypt. Jesus was now declaring a new covenant, Himself, and the new command of remembrance with the bread and cup of communion. Although they had been with Him and witnessing His ministry for three years, theirs’ was still a heritage of Jewish tradition. His statements at the Last Supper must have been astonishing, albeit they would take on greater clarity and meaning following His death on the cross and Easter morning. Now, centuries later, and with the benefit of volumes of theological discourse, research and commentary, His declaration still has the capacity to astound. Not only in recognition of the new covenant Jesus spoke of at the Last Supper and instituted by His atoning sacrifice at the cross, but also recognizing the depth of the love that brought about this new covenant. “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Acts 7: 51 Steven’s discourse: “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors.” ‘Lord, help us to relax any stiff-neckness we might have inherited, so that the Holy Spirit finds in us receptive and ready ears, hearts and minds.’ We’ve come to the end of the week and of our tangential look at the ‘stiff-necked’ theme. What comes through loud and clear is that the unfailing love of our God sought then and offers now, that if we will hear His word and turn from our evil ways, He will forgive our iniquity and our sins.