Matthew 19:1-22

Dear RTB’ers,

Welcome back to Matthew! I don’t know that Jeremiah is a good interlude, but it did afford us a two-week break from Matthew. So now we return, finishing Matthew over the next three weeks.

One of the last items that I posted on Matthew had to do with gospel “turning points”. I argued that we had a turning point in Matthew on our February 12 readings: “Finally, today’s first verse has Matthew’s turning point, very similar to Mark’s: From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. (Mt. 16:21) This is the first note that we get from Matthew of Jesus’ death and resurrection”. So our time as we finish Matthew will be Jesus’ earthly end and our beginning!

Today, Matthew’s account of the “rich young man” (ESV, also translated as the “rich young ruler” in the NASB). Mark has a similar story in Mark 10:17-30 while Luke has this incident in Luke 18:18-30, where both translations have the man as a “ruler”. And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” (v. 16) A simple question and a simple answer from Jesus: If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me. (v. 21) I’m sure that I asked the same question in my Catholic upbringing so many years ago, but it was phrased more like “What do I have to do to get to Heaven?” or “If I die today, will I get to Heaven?” It’s a question that I have not asked for many years now; Jesus’ death and resurrection and His sending of the Holy Spirit have changed the calculus for all of us. Still, I wonder, are any of you still asking that same question? If so, we need to chat.

Blessings.

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See also:

• April 19 (2021) / Matt. 19:1-15
• April 21 (2021) / Matt. 19:16-30

Jeremiah 24-25

Dear RTB’ers,

After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, together with the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the metal workers, and had brought them to Babylon… (v. 24:1a) In today’s first verse we see that many of the residents of Jerusalem have already been taken into exile to Babylon. But we still have another 28 chapters in Jeremiah! So, looking forward just a bit we see in Jeremiah 25:3 that Jeremiah has been speaking the word of the Lord for 23 years and my Study Bible notes that Jeremiah is only halfway through his ministry. Maybe Jeremiah is more chronologically correct than our Chronological Study Bible suggests?

Although Jerusalem has gone into exile, the Lord will have His way with the remnant left behind and with all of Judah’s enemies: Because you have not obeyed My words, behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the LORD, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. (vv. 25:8b-9) The mention of those enemies is long and thorough, beginning with Jerusalem, naturally, then Egypt and ending with Babylon, herself. (vv. 25:18-26) The only omission that I see is Damascus. Possibly it is subsumed with other nations, …all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. (v. 25:26a)

So now we leave Jeremiah for a time, almost three weeks, actually, and we finish what we started in Matthew. Then we’ll come back to Jeremiah and his follow-up, Lamentations. We’ve got good reading ahead, folks!  

Blessings.

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See also: July 15 / II Kings 24:5-17; Jeremiah 22:18-30; 13:15-27; II Chronicles 36:5-10; Jeremiah 24:1-10.

Jeremiah 23

Dear RTB’ers,

And we are back to Fred posting the first comments of the day. Thank you, John, for stepping in during our travels. Jeremiah is not the easiest book on which to offer comments, but you did that admirably. So we continue…

I have three items to cover:

1. Jesus the Messiah (Jer. 23:5-6)
2. False prophets – Jer. 23:9-40
3. A further reflection on false prophets (Jer. 23:36)

First, Jesus the Messiah… My Study Bible called these verses one of the most important Messianic passages in Jeremiah. I would encourage you to read them over and over, word by word, replacing “Jesus” for all the other Messianic references.

Second, false prophets… Jeremiah was surrounded by these false prophets. We learned a few days ago that they even physically abused him, beating him and putting him in stocks. Yet he continued to speak out against them. Both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in My house I have found their evil, declares the LORD. Therefore their way shall be to them like slippery paths in the darkness, into which they shall be driven and fall, for I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment, declares the LORD. (vv. 11-12) We can read about false prophets in Jeremiah’s time, but what about in our own time? I’m sure that Reformation leaders saw false prophets in the Catholic Church – that various teachings and man-made laws did not follow Scripture. Our own Anglican Church in North America was formed as a result of our leaders seeing false prophets in the Episcopal Church.

Finally, verse 36, For you will no longer remember the pronouncement of the LORD, because every person’s own word will become the pronouncement, and you have perverted the words of the living God, the LORD of armies, our God. (NASB) Essentially Jeremiah is suggesting that virtually anyone in Judah or Jerusalem could be a false prophet. They say and do what they want without regard to pronouncements (laws) from the Lord. That sounds a lot like our 21^st century USA culture!

Blessings.

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See also: July 14 (2023) / Jeremiah 23:9-40; 18:18-20:18.

Jeremiah 21-22

As Search the Scriptures notes, today’s reading mentions each of the last five Kings of Judah:

• Josiah
  • See II Kings 21:24-23:30 and II Chronicles 33:25-35:27
  • Today: Jeremiah 22:15-16
  • One of the best kings, Josiah does what is right, initiating massive reforms to purge the kingdom of all the evil ways of his predecessors, particularly his grandfather, Manasseh
• Jehoahaz/Shallum
  • See II Kings 23:30-33 and II Chronicles 36:1-4
  • Today: Jeremiah 22:10-12
  • Son of Josiah
• Jehoiakim/Eliakim
  • See II Kings 23:34-24:6 and II Chronicles 36:5-8
  • Today: Jeremiah 22:13-19
  • Son of Josiah
• Jehoiachin/Jeconiah/Coniah
  • See II Kings 24:6-17; 25:27-30 and II Chronicles 36:8-10
  • Today: Jeremiah 22:24-30
  • Son of Jehoiakim; grandson of Josiah
• Zedekiah
  • See II Kings 24:17-25:7 and II Chronicles 36:10-16
  • Today: Jeremiah 21
  • Son of Josiah

Despite Josiah’s good reign and all his reforms, his sons and grandson all revert to evil, stubbornly refusing to listen to Jeremiah and bringing the LORD’s judgment upon themselves and the Kingdom of Judah.

Just look at how the LORD contrasts Josiah with any of his sons:

Do you think you are a king
because you compete in cedar?
Did not your father [Josiah] eat and drink
and do justice and righteousness?
Then it was well with him.
He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
then it was well.
Is not this to know me?
declares the LORD.
But you have eyes and heart
only for your dishonest gain,
for shedding innocent blood,
and for practicing oppression and violence.

Jeremiah 22:15-17

So which path are you on? Are you listening to the voice of the LORD and doing what is right and just? Or are you going your own way?

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See also: July 23 (2023) / Jeremiah 10:17-25; 21:1-22:9; 34; 46:13-28.

Jeremiah 19-20

In considering Jeremiah 19, take some extra time to study the “Valley of the Son of Hinnom” and “Topheth” to understand the setting for Jeremiah’s breaking of a flask to illustrate the LORD’s judgment of Judah. Take a look at II Chronicles 28:3 (referring to evil King Ahaz), II Chronicles 33:6 (referring to evil King Manasseh), and II Kings 23:10 (referring to good King Josiah) along with the surrounding texts to get some history. King Josiah tears down this vile place of pagan child sacrifice. By New Testament times, the Valley of the Son of Hinnom becomes known as “Gehenna” and is a trash pit with fires burning continuously. Jesus uses it to represent hell, and so that is how “Gehenna” is often translated. See, for example, Matthew 23:15 or Mark 9:43.

Is there any part of your life that likewise needs to be utterly destroyed?

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O LORD, you have deceived me,
and I was deceived…

Jeremiah 20:7a

Can you relate to Jeremiah here? Have you ever thought that God has sold you a bill of goods? You may recall that the LORD repeatedly promises to deliver Jeremiah from his enemies. Yet we find Jeremiah brutally beaten and placed in stocks. (Jer. 20:2) Even his close friends denounce him. (Jer. 20:10) He is derided, humiliated, threatened. Clearly, the LORD’s definition of deliverance does not quite line up with what Jeremiah (or we) might expect, and so Jeremiah struggles to hold on. Although the middle of his prayer reflects faith in the LORD’s deliverance (Jer. 20:11-13), Jeremiah ends in near despair with words reminiscent of Job. (Jer. 20:14-18)

So I ask again: Can you relate to Jeremiah here?

I’m pretty sure Jesus can relate:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Psalm 22:1 (cf., Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34)

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See also: July 14 (2023) / Jeremiah 23:9-40; 18:18-20:18.

Jeremiah 17:19-18:23

Thus says the LORD: Take care for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers.

Jeremiah 17:21-22

Do you get the sense that maybe, just maybe, the LORD cares about the Sabbath? This is by no means the only place that the Sabbath is placed in focus. Rather, the holiness of the Sabbath is a repeated refrain. Just consider this list of references (which is not at all exhaustive):

• Exodus 20:8-11; 31:13-16; 35:2-3;
• Leviticus 19:3; 19:30; 23:3; 26:2;
• Deuteronomy 5:12-15;
• Nehemiah 9:14; 13:15-22;
• Isaiah 56:2-6; 58:13;
• Ezekiel 20:12-24; 22:8,26; 23:38; 44:24.

Do you think that maybe, just maybe, we should care about what the LORD cares about?

It should be quite clear that our so-called “Christian” nation, the good ol’ U.S.A., cares nothing about the Sabbath, but that should be expected, as our nation is now anything but “Christian.” But what about us, those who profess a true faith in Christ? Do we honor the Sabbath and keep it holy? Do we try even just a little bit to do so? Or do we actively resist the Sabbath? In our attempts to avoid the legalism of the Pharisees, do we reject the gift of rest that is the Sabbath, and in so doing do we reject the Lord of that Sabbath?

Ask the Lord to speak to you about the Sabbath. Listen to what He has to say. Look and see whether your life actually reflects what He wants for you. Search your heart and see whether you are resisting Him. Do not be like ancient Judah:

Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.

Jeremiah 17:23

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See also: July 9 (2023) / Jeremiah 47; 46:1-12; 13:1-14; 18:1-17.

Jeremiah 16:1-17:18

In case you haven’t noticed yet, things are not looking good for the people of Judah. Forget about life as usual. Forget about having kids, as it will most certainly not go well for them. (Jer. 16:1-4) It’s time for any partying to stop:

For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will silence in this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.

Jeremiah 16:9

Further, the LORD declares that He will send His people into exile:

Therefore I will hurl you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.

Jeremiah 16:13

None of that should be a surprise to anyone at this point. But look at what He says next:

Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers.

Jeremiah 16:14-15

Did you catch that? On the one hand, the LORD is confirming the judgement of exile on the faithless people of Judah, but on the other hand He is simultaneously promising restoration. In His faithfulness, the LORD will bring His people back to their land.

One can certainly argue that the LORD fulfills this promise several decades hence when He brings the exiles back from Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem and resettle the land in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. But it seems to me that Jeremiah 16:16-21 envisions much more:

O LORD, my strength and my stronghold,
my refuge in the day of trouble,
to You shall the nations come
from the ends of the earth…

Jeremiah 16:19a

What do you think? Are you part of that? Do you want to be?

Jeremiah 14-15

Though our iniquities testify against us,
act, O LORD, for your name’s sake;
for our backslidings are many;
we have sinned against you.

Jeremiah 14:7

Thus begins a seemingly good and proper prayer of confession and contrition in Jeremiah 14:7-9, looking for relief from the LORD. We see another such prayer in Jeremiah 14:19-22. Yet the LORD’s response is a firm rejection of each of these prayers in Jeremiah 14:10-11 and Jeremiah 15:1-4, respectively. My sense here is that Jeremiah is “putting words into the mouths of” the people of Judah, that he sets them an example, hoping that they would turn to the LORD this way. But even if the people were to say these words themselves, the LORD knows better, because He sees the heart. He knows that such a prayer from the people would be fake and not backed by any true repentance.

Have you ever prayed such a fake prayer? Perhaps more pointedly, is fake prayer your habit? Do you come to church and go through the liturgy mouthing the prayers while harboring sin in your heart? Have you come to confession to acknowledge your sin and look for forgiveness, but with no real intention of turning away from that same sin? It’s one thing to confess sin from which you earnestly desire to be set free; it’s quite another to confess sin with the full intention of continuing in it. The latter is a sham, and the LORD knows it full well. Deep down, so do we.

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See also: July 11 (2023) / Jeremiah 14:1-15:9; 16-17.

Jeremiah 13

Hear and give ear; be not proud,
for the LORD has spoken.

Jeremiah 13:15

Well? Are we listening? Or are we too proud to heed what the LORD says? Are we so proud that we think of ourselves as superior to ancient Israel and Judah? Are we so proud that we don’t even see our own sin? Are we too proud to confess our sin? Are we so proud that we think we can reform ourselves on our own? Are we too proud to admit that we need a Savior?

Hear and give ear; be not proud,
for the LORD has spoken.

Jeremiah 13:15

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See also: July 9 (2023) / Jeremiah 47; 46:1-12; 13:1-14; 18:1-17.