Today's first reading is, by far, the most optimistic and happiest of the prophecies Jeremiah was given by God. It promises that the Jews who are in exile in Babylon will one day be allowed to return to the holy land. The holy city of Jerusalem will be rebuilt and an independent kingdom will be restored. Indeed, the pains and griefs of exile will eventually be healed and forgotten.
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The second reading shares the way that Jeremiah suffered at the hands of those who hated his prophecies. More than once, people banded against Jeremiah, who frequently offered a word of judgment from God in the days surrounding the defeat of the Jews by the Babylonian armies. Here, the prophet is tossed into an empty cistern and left to die. Jeremiah is saved after one of the king's servants hears of his fate and asks the king for permission to act to save Jeremiah's life. After being lifted from the cistern, Jeremiah again is asked by the king for a prophecy. The prophet refused to temper his warning, despite his near death experience, and instead promises the king that if he refuses to surrender to the Babylonians the Jerusalem would be destroyed and the king would be carried away captive.
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Reading the Bible in Its Entirety
If you are planning to read the Bible in its entirety, you should read Jeremiah 36-47 today.
If you are planning to read the Bible in its entirety, you should read Jeremiah 36-47 today.
