How can words spoken in the 6th century B.C. possibly speak into the lives of 21st century followers of Jesus?
The book of Jeremiah is filled with prophesies, history, and promises of destruction. It’s not the type of Bible book we usually choose for our devotional times. We want to identify with the heroes—the people who had no choice but to fight and of course, with help from God, succeed.
This book puts us in a different place. This book asks us to see ourselves as villains. Jeremiah gives us little choice but to take an honest look at where we are in our life and in our walk with Jesus toward holiness. The book asks us to consider the sins we try so desperately to downplay or forget.
As we walk through 40 years of Jeremiah’s service to God we see Judah’s desire to avoid repentance at all costs. Through Judah we can see our desire to live the life to which we’ve become accustomed. But we also see God’s patience. His desire to see His children return to Him. We get a glimpse into God’s heart for us.
Through the book of Jeremiah we get a chance to see where we are falling short or flat-out disobeying—and we get a chance to respond; to respond with repentance to the God who offers us infinitely more patience than any of us deserve.
Jeremiah: Responding to God is a chapter-by-chapter study through the Bible book of Jeremiah, providing context, commentary, and application points to help the reader understand and apply the lessons God is teaching us through the nation of Judah.