Daily Bible Reading: Jeremiah 25 and 2 Corinthians 8

Jeremiah 25 - The year is about 605 BC, the year of Nebuchadnezzar’s victory over Egypt at Carchemish.  Babylon became the dominant power in the region, and Jeremiah saw them as the “enemy to come out of the North” that his prophecies had foretold.  It is 23 years since Jeremiah was called to preach his message. Jeremiah’s message has been, “Turn back. . .from your evil behavior and your evil actions and you will stay on the soil Yahweh long ago gave to you. . .” (JB 25:5-6), but you didn’t listen – now Yahweh will use the clans of the north to punish them.  He will reduce the land to a desert and exile the people for 70 years.  This 70 years is a number that simply indicates that the present generation will die out before they are restored—the exact number of years turned out to be closer to 40 I think.  At the end of this time, Babylon too will be punished for their guilt: “They also shall be enslaved to great nations and mighty kings, and thus I will repay them according to their own deeds and according to their own handiwork” (NAB 25:14).

Jeremiah is not just a prophet to Israel but to all the nations.  They who live by the sword of conquest will all “be convulsed” (25:16): Jerusalem, the towns of Judah, Pharaoh, the kings of Uz, Philistia, Edom, Moab, Tyre, Sidon – among others.  All the kingdoms will “[d]rink, get drunk, vomit. . .Yahweh roars from on high, he makes his voice heard from his holy dwelling place, he roars loud against his sheepfold. . .the sound reaches all the inhabitants of the earth. . .For Yahweh is indicting the nations, arraigning all flesh for judgment;. . .No refuge. . .for the shepherds, no escape for the lords of the flock!” (JB  25: 36).

2 Corinthians 8 - Paul talks of the generosity of the Macedonians to encourage a like-offering by the Corinthians. He links his concept of giving in the church to Jesus’ giving of himself to make us rich in grace. “Remember how generous the Lord Jesus was: he was rich, but he became poor for your sake, to make you rich out of this poverty” (8:9).  Also interesting here is a concept of “equality”, which Paul develops—that when some in the church have a surplus, that surplus should be used to bring a degree of equality to those who have less—and that it would work the other way too had others a surplus and the people of Corinth had need of other’s help.  There should be “equality” of status in the church (8:13-14).