reading jeremiah

"I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul." (Jeremiah 32:39-41 ESV)

Throughout his ministry Jeremiah reveals how people tend to "heal wounds lightly" (See chapters 6--8). To say that "mistakes were made" is a useless band-aid. Idolatry, for example, is a serious breach of a covenant relationship with the Lord. It's like adultery to marriage.

To confess sins superficially in order to feel better is not the same thing as true repentance, which is forsaking sins -- often painful -- in order to actually live better. The Lord, through Jeremiah, often uses the word "return" to summon his people back, which highlights the deeply personal dimension of repentance toward God.

Jeremiah preached to the people of Jerusalem, announcing the bad news of impending destruction of the city. The book of Jeremiah is like a spiritual MRI revealing their (and our) idolatry and failure to hear the Lord's warnings and to fear (truly revere) him as God alone.

But he also delivered very good news from the Lord: "I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me." (Jer. 32:40 ESV) What they could not do -- and we cannot do -- that is, change the human heart to revere the Lord, the Lord himself accomplishes: "I will put the fear of me in their hearts..."

The news of a new and everlasting covenant is indeed stunning, given the dark background of the people's unfaithfulness!

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Howard Hendricks on OT books chronology

When I was in seminary, Howard Hendricks (aka "Prof") gave us a little card with the books of the OT chronologically arranged. The scanned copy I have was a bit blurry and I wanted to make something like this available for our church class in OT theology ("Story of Redemption"). A few minor edits and here it is...

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