May 4th, 2011
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Within A Yard of Hell

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

You are the end of my beginnings, the Lord of time. Thank You for the gift of time You have given me.

Read JEREMIAH 7:30-8:22

[30] “‘The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the LORD. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it. [31] They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire-something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind. [32] So beware, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. [33] Then the carcasses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away. [34] I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, for the land will become desolate. [1] “‘At that time, declares the LORD, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the bones of the priests and prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be removed from their graves. [2] They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and served and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped. They will not be gathered up or buried, but will be like refuse lying on the ground. [3] Wherever I banish them, all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life, declares the LORD Almighty.’ [4] “Say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: “‘When men fall down, do they not get up? When a man turns away, does he not return? [5] Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return. [6] I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Each pursues his own course like a horse charging into battle. [7] Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the LORD. [8] “‘How can you say, “We are wise, for we have the law of the LORD,” when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? [9] The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what kind of wisdom do they have? [10] Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. [11] They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. “Peace, peace,” they say, when there is no peace. [12] Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when they are punished, says the LORD. [13] “‘I will take away their harvest, declares the LORD. There will be no grapes on the vine. There will be no figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither. What I have given them will be taken from them.'” [14] “Why are we sitting here? Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there! For the LORD our God has doomed us to perish and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against him. [15] We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there was only terror. [16] The snorting of the enemy’s horses is heard from Dan; at the neighing of their stallions the whole land trembles. They have come to devour the land and everything in it, the city and all who live there.” [17] “See, I will send venomous snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” declares the LORD. [18] O my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me. [19] Listen to the cry of my people from a land far away: “Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King no longer there?” “Why have they provoked me to anger with their images, with their worthless foreign idols?” [20] “The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.” [21] Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me. [22] Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?

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

The Holy Spirit comes alongside us as helper, comforter, counselor, advocate and guide (John 14:16). With his presence, we are never alone.

Think Further

Respectful treatment of human remains has a very high value in most societies. Jeremiah envisages bones piling up below Jerusalem and in a fury of desecration (and maybe grave robbery), older bones from Israel’s past leaders are scattered there, too. With heavy irony he describes the devotion of those leaders to the gods that astrology links to the planets and stars (8:2). No help will come from that quarter now.

All this is in the valley where Israel’s most shameful worship took place. John Mackay quotes a rabbi’s description of the hollow statue of Molech heated with flames as a child is placed in its outstretched hands and the drums of priests drown out its screams. There is a demonic longing in human hearts to be able to manipulate divine forces to serve our will. This mindset can lead to the distorted belief that the one who offers the ultimate sacrifice deserves the greatest favor. The examples of Abraham and Jephthah might even be spun by a clever scribe to justify the practice (8:8). But Deuteronomy 18:10 clearly condemned it, and the solemn curses for disobedience include bones picked by birds and wives ravished by other men (8:10). Eventually Hinnom’s valley became the symbol for Gehenna (hell)!

As this passionate prose turns once more into poetry, anger gradually gives way to sadness. Jeremiah is entering into the grieving heart of God. Israel’s harvests are spread out from April to October with barley, then figs and grapes, followed by olives (13). Moments of opportunity have come and gone, but the people have not repented (8:20). There is always balm available from Gilead, but the nation has not been healed (8:22)—pathos we may well identify with.

Apply

Pray today for people who have seen horrors like those on Jeremiah’s heart and have to live with their memories.

Closing prayer

You are the end of my beginnings, the Lord of time. Thank You for the gift of time You have given me.

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