Like Jeremiah’s times, ours:

Certain stories in scripture are windows into your own time. Most of the book of Jeremiah is. Jeremiah’s time needed a clear voice of God to be heard. Empires were rising and falling, there were few good leaders, and outside of King Josiah, few great kings. Still, Jeremiah counseled on through the entire collapse of his nation, and felt it all, and prophesied hope based on vision of a future glory.

Who are the Jeremiah’s in our time? And who the Daniel’s who read the words of Jeremiah, and had hope that God was still sovereign. Who are the Ebed Molech’s who advocated for the prophetic voice? Who are the leaders of peace, who realized power and authority are temporarily given to fulfill God’s purposes?! Who are those like Daniel who are poised to give prophetic counsel to the kings of our day? Who can interpret dreams and know God in the symbolic realm, and see His Realm interfacing with ours? Who can keep themselves as pure as Daniel and rule even while in a foreign land?

 Reading Jeremiah (my favorite prophet, priest, poet) again today, as a lens on our own times. Shaking of empires, weak leadership, not listening to or being able to recognize, the voice of the Lord (The Voice which is in the tone of Love) coming through Jeremiah etc. There are many parallels to now—increasing shaking between the nations daily. Lots of false interpreters, few true ones. The media was bad in his times, didn’t think long term or contextualize properly. Conversely, Jeremiah said that,

“Israel is the Lord’s hallowed portion”-His central symbol and dwelling place, among the nations, so symbolize His heart for humanity, and the nations.

 His sacred symbolic people did two great evils in those days. They rejected the fountain of Living Waters (the Source of Life), and they built for themselves cisterns to hold the water in.

In his times, there were also the sins of rejecting the voice of God, turning to other gods, oppressing and not welcoming the foreigners or defending the orphans and poor and oppressed, or keeping the sabbath. Lots of sins, not unlike our own these days. Remember, Jeremiah was really a social justice prophet in many ways. Spoke often with the people and talked in the outer court of the temple where the conversations took place. He also stayed with the poor and others not considered worthy of taking away to Babylon. He was a man acquainted with the griefs of the regular salt of the earth people. And even decided in the end after prophesying to them against it, to go down to Egypt to be with the remnant. Powerful sign and example, his life. And apropos for our times. We certainly need some people moving in the way and spirit of Jeremiah the prophet!

 There were two types of sins the people in his days were committing most overtly, and are specific. One is rejecting God Himself, the other is forging our own containers of spirituality. The water speaks of whatever type of spirituality we fill our hearts with. And they were guilty of building their own spiritualities rather than the one provided by God. To reject God, and to build our own spiritual containers—both of these sins put them in a place about to be more severely judged. He would rather not, and offers ways out. Jeremiah said if the king surrendered the city would be spared. The prophet was thrown into the pit for that “word”.

 In their case, Jerusalem being destroyed. Jeremiah warned, interpreted and offered future hope; he also bore witness in his own poetic heart (was very human, complained lamented even quit the job once), to the suffering, and stayed in Jerusalem to see it destroyed- openly seeing and lamenting poetically God’s Heart.   Wondering where the Jeremiah’s are in our times? We need some.

Those risen up to warn beforehand, and sit with during, interpreting the news of the day (his outer court job), counsel kings both good and bad ones, and offer future vision afterwards from God’s perspective. We need those guys around these days!

We need some Jeremiah’s these days. Enjoying looking at the world through his times today. I like looking at the stories in the book as lenses to see through into and interpret our own times more accurately. Human patterns haven’t changed. Nor has God. Fun study today.

Jeremiah, a priest and son of a priest, played this tough role in history, and did so for many years, allowing himself to see feel and express…

One of my favorite Jeremiah quotes:

   One of the prophet’s famous sayings is the one in which he points out that wisdom, might, and riches, are nothing compared to the happiness (inner contentment) that man achieves through real knowledge and understanding of the ways of G‑d: “Thus saith the L-rd: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might; let not the rich man glory in his riches. But let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth and knows Me personally, that I am the L-rd Who exercises mercy, justice, and righteousness on the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the L-rd.” That guy had some things to say, and they still speak!