BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

At this point in the book of Jeremiah, you may have felt as if the story skipped ahead or backwards or … where are we, exactly? Don’t worry. The book is not arranged with a linear, chronological design.

Today’s reading cuts away from the siege of Jerusalem to give us two flashbacks from Jeremiah’s previous ministry, well before any siege began.

The first story features a clan called the Rechabites. Their ancestor Jonadab required his descendants to be nomads and Nazirites: no houses, no farms, no wine, no haircuts. When Jeremiah invites the Rechabites to dinner at the temple and offers them a glass of wine with their meal, the Rechabites politely but firmly refuse. All these generations later, they remain faithful to their father.

The Rechabites’ integrity stands in stark contrast to the Israelites’ disobedience in the following story. Yahweh has Jeremiah write down a long list of warnings about the disasters Judah will experience if they don’t repent of their idolatry and injustice. Jeremiah sends his scribe Baruch to the temple to proclaim this colorful collection of curses to the crowds. The prophet’s scathing scroll causes such a stir that it ends up in the hands of Judah’s king, Jehoiakim—who shreds Jeremiah’s scroll and flicks the pieces into his fireplace.

He can destroy the paper, but not the prophecy. Yahweh tells Jeremiah that the people’s flagrant disregard for God’s word will bring about the very judgment they’ve done their best to ignore. Deny it, defy it, silence it, or even burn it: The word of Yahweh stands firm.

Reflection Questions

• How does Yahweh promise to reward the Rechabites for their faithfulness in today’s reading? How does this compare to the consequences of Jehoiakim’s rejection of Yahweh? What other contrasts do you notice between the two stories?
• Meditate on the story of Jehoiakim’s father, Josiah, in 2 Kings 22:8-23:25. How does Josiah respond when he receives a scroll with Yahweh’s words and a message of disaster from Yahweh’s prophet? What other contrasts between father and son do you notice?