Lamentations 1 Dear RTB’ers, I could sense a collective sigh of relief as we left Jeremiah yesterday. But today we dive right back in, to his reflections on the fall of Jerusalem. Our STS book provides some insight into Lamentations. My Study Bible added more, especially its label for each of the five chapters of …
Category Archives: RTB 2026 – Search the Scriptures, Part 3
April 10 / Jeremiah 51:59-52:34
Jeremiah 51:59-52:34 Dear RTB’ers, Today we finish Jeremiah. We’ll have a lot to talk about at our RTB gathering on Sunday after coffee hour in Nathan Hall. (Recall that April’s first Sunday of the month was Easter Sunday, so we rescheduled.) Today’s six verses in chapter 51 are a bit confusing. Jeremiah sends a message …
April 9 / Jeremiah 51:1-58
Jeremiah 51:1-58 Dear RTB’ers, The destruction of Babylon. As with yesterday’s post, today we have a number of references to Israel and Judah, even more than yesterday. See Jeremiah 51:5-6, 10, 11b, 19, 34-36a, 45, 49, 50-51. God makes it clear that Babylon is being judged for what they did to Israel: The LORD has …
April 8 / Jeremiah 49:34-50:46
Jeremiah 49:34-50:46 Dear RTB’ers, Today, a brief prophecy against Elam, then a long oracle against Babylon, to be continued tomorrow. Mixed in the oracle against Babylon we see a number of references to Israel and Judah, mostly concerning their return from exile in Babylon. (Jer. 50:4-8, 17, 19-20, 28, 33-34) One of those early verses …
April 7 / Jeremiah 49:1-33
Jeremiah 49:1-33 Dear RTB’ers, Weeks ago, when we started reading Jeremiah I had suggested that many scholars argue that the chapters and verses in Jeremiah were not to be read chronologically. These prophecies to the nations in chapters 46 to 49 certainly fall into that category. I went back to the Chronological Study Bible (CSB) …
April 6 / Jeremiah 48
Jeremiah 48 Dear RTB’ers, Chapters 46 to 49 are the Lord’s prophecies against Israel’s neighbors, then in chapters 50 and 51, against Babylon. I don’t have a lot to say about these prophecies; a lot of cities and gods are mentioned – good fodder for Old Testament scholars, but not so much for us. I …
April 5 / Jeremiah 46-47
Jeremiah 46-47 Dear RTB’ers, Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise. (Luke …
April 4 / Jeremiah 44-45
Jeremiah 44-45 Dear RTB’ers, Holy Saturday. Jesus in the tomb. Or not…??!! Ponder and pray. Jeremiah in Egypt, having been taken there against his will. Someone (any of us?) reading this book for the first time has to wonder what will become of him. The Lord has promised destruction (the sword, famine, and pestilence) to …
April 3 / Jeremiah 42-43
Jeremiah 42-43 Dear RTB’ers, Good Friday. Think on that a bit. Ponder and pray. To quote John, “I’ll wait…” So yesterday we left Jeremiah in Mizpah. The Babylonians had left some people behind: Nebuzaradan …left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at …
April 2 / Jeremiah 39-41
Jeremiah 39-41 Dear RTB’ers, A long narrative today. Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians; Zedekiah meets a horrible end; Jeremiah is spared; and chaos follows in neighboring cities. Yes, Jeremiah is spared. The Babylonian leaders knew of Jeremiah’s prophecies against Jerusalem and his encouragement to the people to surrender to Babylon, so he was brought out …