May 27th, 2011
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Choice or Inedible

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Opening Prayer

Gracious God, Your Word is a lamp to my feet and the glue that holds the universe in place.

Read JEREMIAH 24:1-10

[1] After Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the craftsmen and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD. [2] One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very poor figs, so bad they could not be eaten. [3] Then the LORD asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “Figs,” I answered. “The good ones are very good, but the poor ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.” [4] Then the word of the LORD came to me: [5] “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. [6] My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. [7] I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart. [8] “‘But like the poor figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the LORD, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt. [9] I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, an object of ridicule and cursing, wherever I banish them. [10] I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their fathers.'”

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

“Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:13).

Think Further

The opening verse of Isaiah promises a “vision.” The opening to Jeremiah promises “the word of the Lord.” The opening to Amos speaks of “the words” of Amos which “he saw.” Between them these ascriptions convey that a prophet is fundamentally a visionary whose task is to convey in words what they see. Today’s passage typifies that process; it also emphasizes the incisive impact of the prophetic message, as Jeremiah draws a sharp contrast between the choice figs of the early harvest and inedible fruit. God likens this effect of his word to “fire” or “a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces” (Jer. 23:29). Prophets tend to see things in stark terms. They can make us uncomfortable, but we need such voices still.

Jeremiah notes a division between those who are taken off to exile in Babylon and those who remain in the land or relocate to Egypt. The former are faithful and the latter are not. It is not that Jeremiah is pro-Babylon; he is pro-faithfulness. Those who go to Babylon are God’s people, not because of their politics but because they have turned “with all their heart” (7). Their wills are engaged with God’s will. That is the ground of their identity (7). There is no middle way on the question of our will and God’s will.

This passage can seem discomfiting. Many who are left on the land are left not as a result of disobedience but simply because they did not get rounded up by Nebuchadnezzar (1). At the same time, those who go to Babylon are faithful because God gave “them a heart to know” him (7). The prophets never back away from the sovereignty of God over all human affairs, even when it seems unfair. The words of God sometimes puzzle rather than clarify.

Apply

Set before God in prayer a situation known to you that seems puzzling or unfair. Tell God you trust him in spite of that.

Closing prayer

Father, I rest in Your lordship over all things. Sometimes life seems baffling and confusing, but I rest assured nothing will separate me from Your love.

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