Stroll through Scripture for Sunday December 3, 2023

Based on the reading from Jeremiah 33:10–11, 14–18

The prophet Jeremiah, like Isaiah, is one of the major prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures. Jeremiah overlaps Josiah’s time as king but extends beyond him to the end of the kingdom of Judah and the Davidic line of kings, the destruction of the temple, and the defeat of Jerusalem which the people thought was invincible.

Jeremiah’s life spans a time that is filled with political upheavals, uncertainty, and change, wars that consume nations and regions, and when leaders used religion for their own purposes. Being a prophet of God, speaking God’s word to the people, did not make Jeremiah popular. Rather, as the Lutheran Study Bible states, “His prophecies explain that this chaos was God’s divine judgement on the people of Judah because they were unfaithful to God. Most of Jeremiah’s listeners thought he was a heretic who opposed the popular religious understandings and practices of the day. Some people though he was insane. His friends and family stayed away. Religious leaders called for his death. Jeremiah was depressed, angry, and insecure. But he endured all of the persecution and rejection.” (Pg. 1212)

When we get to chapter 33, the situation looks grim for the people of Jerusalem. As we have heard time and time again, death and destruction are not the end of the story. While Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, brings destruction and the end of the Davidic line, the destruction of the temple, and the defeat of seemingly…