(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see how)
Focus Question:
What was Jeremiah's contribution to the OT?
Intro:
Hey you, I’m sneaking in today’s reading betwixt a couple really long days in the home office, so I’m diving right in.
New Testament segment:
Passage: 2 Corinthians 5
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 13
Words: ~276
As you just heard, 2 Corinthians 5 is really short. I hope you caught that stuff that Paul was stalking about, It’s kinda hard to reconcile how Paul’s so clear that we have this ministry of reconciliation, this charge to be ambassadors, and people who somehow think it’s wrong to share Jesus with people.
Today we kick off Jeremiah, the second longest book of the Bible next to…wait for it…Psalms. The over-arching theme is that of God’s relationship with His rebellious people. And you’ll hear him get right into the accusation of Israel as a faithless spouse.
That said, her’s a brief intro and the answer to today’s focus question, “What was Jeremiah’s unique contribution to the Old Testament?”
Jeremiah was a biblical theologian. He embraced and used truths found in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Hosea, the Psalms, and other scriptural passages. Thus, he stressed many of the great themes about God and his people found elsewhere in the Bible. At the same time, he was a creative theologian whom the Holy Spirit inspired to write fresh treatments of old themes and some ideas that were new when Jeremiah penned them. The older ideas he employed include the nature of God, Messiah, God’s covenant with Israel, human sinfulness and need of repentance, threat of judgment, and restoration. His chief unique contribution was his articulation of the new covenant between God and his people.(1)
Old Testament segment:
Passage: Jeremiah 1-3:5
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 61
Words: ~1808
Wisdom segment:
Passage: Proverbs 15:8-9
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 2
Words: ~32
The bottom line:
31 “Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—my covenant that they broke even though I am their master”,x—the Lord’s declaration. 33 “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.(2)
Love you!
Roger
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1366.
(2) Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Je 31:31–34.