lectio divina:: jeremiah

I’m just finishing up the book of jeremiah this week. its sort of depressing- but also fascinating.
God tells jeremiah that he would speak on His behalf- even from his childhood. God basically told jeremiah that he would prophesy to the people, but the people would never listen. jeremiah didn’t want the job, he wanted out, but was compelled to preach. there is a famous line that says, “but if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”


jeremiah was to tell the people that they would be defeated by Babylon. they refused to listen, and eventually imprisoned him. along the way, God used jeremiah’s actions, not just his words to make His point. jeremiah walked into royal settings with an ox’s yoke strapped to his shoulders. he went to a potter’s house, and bought a pot, and then smashed it to prove another point. eventually, the government tossed him into an empty cistern and he sank down into the mud and nearly died.


jeremiah has an interesting message to the jewish people- he tells them that Babylon will take them, and he tells them not to fight it. he tells them: “This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." for those that are left, he tells them to remain where they are too. many considered leaving to Egypt. what this communicates to me is that change comes- and it comes from God. so often we work, and scheme, and stress, all to keep things from changing. jeremiah says: don’t fight it. instead, plant a garden, raise your family and live with the change that He brings. God is bringing change because He wants to do something in you. He brought the Babylonians to bring humility and repentance to His people. who knows? He may bring you back to the place where you were- He may not.
don’t fight change, plant a garden instead.


God is love.
-rev-rob