Year 2, Week 10, Day 5 Bible Reading Observations

Year 2, Week 10, Day 5

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of Zephaniah 3; Jeremiah 1.

Today’s reading brings to conclusion the Book of Zephaniah and introduces us to the Book of Jeremiah. In Zephaniah 3, the prophet offers a word of hope to Jerusalem: “Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies” (Zephaniah 3:!4-15). But Zephaniah also has a word of hope for the nations: “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord. From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering” (Zephaniah 3:9-10). Any and all who humbly repent will find salvation: “But I will leave in your midst a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the LORD” (Zephaniah 3:12). Jeremiah 1 orients us to the prophet: “The words of Jeremiah…to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month” (Jeremiah 1:1-3). By word count, the Book of Jeremiah is the longest Book of the Bible. The Book unfolds the ministry of Jeremiah, which spans forty years, from the reign of Josiah through the fall of Jerusalem.

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading was how the Book of Jeremiah is arranged. The structure of the Book of Jeremiah feels complicated because it does not follow a chronological arrangement, but also because it has dark and ominous themes that strongly run through the Book. But what the Book of Jeremiah says as well as how it goes about saying it, is exactly how the LORD wanted it: “Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant” (Jeremiah 1:9-10). Some of the earliest messages from Jeremiah occur at the end of the Book, while some of the later messages from Jeremiah are placed toward the start of the Book, Therefore, as we read through the Book of Jeremiah, it may be helpful to make better sense of the context by grasping how the Book is structured. 

Although it follows no chronological order, the Book of Jeremiah is not a mumble jumble, but it is a Book that is carefully arranged. The Book of Jeremiah has what we might label a parallel structure. The first segment of the Book of Jeremiah parallels the last segment. So, the prologue (Jeremiah 1:1-19) describes what preceded Jeremiah’s active ministry: God’s call to him to become a prophet during the reign of Josiah. The epilogue (Jeremiah 52:1-34) describes the aftermath of his ministry: the fall of Jerusalem and the last years of the last living Davidic king, Jehoiachin. 

The second section and the next-to- last section also parallel each other (Jeremiah 2:1-20:18 and Jeremiah 46:1-51:64). In Jeremiah 2:1-20:18 there are two collections of declarations against Judah, and in Jeremiah 46:1-51:64 there are two collections of declarations against the nations. In both sections the messages are undated, which is unlike the exact dating that is found in the next segments. The third major section of the book and its corresponding part (Jeremiah 21:1-29:32 and Jeremiah 34:1-45:5) are two sets of messages and incidents that are historically contextualized, meaning that the passages give us the dates and often the locations in which the events of the passages took place. For example, Jeremiah 25:1–38 gives a message that Jeremiah preached in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, and Jeremiah 35:1–19 tells of an event that took place at the temple, also in the reign of Jehoiakim.

That leaves us with the center section of the Book of Jeremiah, which highlights the ultimate focus of the prophet Jeremiah’s words. At the center of Jeremiah are four chapters that speak of Israel’s coming salvation (Jeremiah 30:1-33:26). These passages speak of the new covenant, the Davidic Messiah, the regathering of Israel, and the eternal glory of Zion. The passages that speak of Judah’s sins and coming destruction far outnumber those that proclaim redemption and hope, yet Christian interpreters naturally focus on these four chapters. This is not a biased or skewed reading of Jeremiah. Certainly, we should not neglect those texts that speak of judgment, but Jeremiah himself made the four salvation chapters prominent by setting them at the structural center of the book. Jeremiah 32 centers us on what the LORD would do: “Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul” (Jeremiah 32:37-41).

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe