The Book of Jeremiah is a collection of prophetic sermons arranged by Jeremiah’s scribe, Baruch. Jeremiah began preaching in 627 BC, then disappeared as a captive in Egypt around 580 BC. So, these sermons represent over 40 years of prophecy. It looks like Baruch grouped them together chronologically into various eras of Jeremiah’s life. Thus, one should expect some repetition and overlap; cycles of God’s accusations against Judah, declarations of judgments, and offers to fore

In recent stories, the women have been in conversation with a prophet. Prophets are preachers who have been sent by God to Israel or Judah (or us) with a message and a mission. Often rejected in their own time, some become highly respected after death. Jesus noted the irony of people in First Century Galilee and Judea building tombs for prophets that their ancestors killed. The Bible includes stories and even books of a whole slew of prophets.  It is interesting that women ar

When we left the first half of Chapter 12 last week, we could see that Jeremiah was disgusted with the practices of his family, neighbors, and the people and leaders of the Kingdom of Judah. At that moment, he wondered why God had not destroyed them before now. It is not the only emotion that he has had, for we know that he also wept over the coming but deserved destruction of his nation.  God commiserated with Jeremiah, but warned him that it was going to get worse before it

We have noted that not every Biblical woman with a story to tell has a name, and not every woman gets to tell her story. A few do get to tell their own story, like Ruth and Naomi. Some are characters in a story that is told by men reporting on events in Scripture, like Jael or Jezebel. Many appear only as “a woman” or “the wife of X,” or “a widow.”   The story today is one of a widow who does get to tell her own story. She does not complain about her misfortune in losing her

Where are we in the story? Get your bearings. If you are lost at the beginning, you are not likely to discover the intended meaning of the story.    Jeremiah, a prophet from a family of priests in Anathoth, north of Jerusalem, has been called by God to preach a series of warnings to the king, priests, and people of Judah. Why? Because what they are doing does not match who they pretend to be when they go to temple worship on Sabbath. It's the equivalent of Christians not bein

Elijah was hiding from a rogue king and queen who did not like his prophecies that called for the worship of the one true God. YHWH, unlike Ba’al, was not a God of reckless war and hyper-vengeance. Here is how God described himself, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful  and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin …" (Exodus 34: 5-6).   That is w