Posts by Josh Moody
Lamentations 2: The Wrath of God
Lamentations 2, Song of Solomon 7, John 7:1-13, 1 Peter 4:12-19 Lamentations 2: The anger of God is not a common subject these days. In fact, so rare is it that when we talk of God’s “wrath” it becomes almost embarrassing. It is like mentioning a subject that is impolite, indelicate, or inappropriate—certainly not politically correct. The result…
Read MoreLamentations 1: Gently Weeps
Lamentations 1, Song of Solomon 6, John 6:60-71, 1 Peter 4:1-11 Lamentations 1: This Book of Lamentations appears initially to be little more than a rather lengthy “downer,” but once we start to understand its purpose and point, it becomes uniquely edifying. Probably written by Jeremiah (2 Chronicles 35:25), probably after the fall of Jerusalem, it…
Read MoreJeremiah 52: Longing and Praise
Jeremiah 52, Song of Solomon 5, John 6:41-59, 1 Peter 3:13-22 Jeremiah 52: And so we come to the end—or so it must have seemed to many at the time. What could be worse than the litany of destruction and defeat that we read about in this chapter? The horrors visited on Zedekiah and his family, the…
Read MoreJeremiah 51: Judgment and Salvation
Jeremiah 51, Song of Solomon 4:8-16, John 6:25-40, 1 Peter 3:8-12 Jeremiah 51: The judgment from God against Babylon is recorded in greater length and at greater extremity in this chapter. Once again, we need to remind ourselves of the yet broader context, not just of God’s judgment against all sinners who have not put…
Read MoreJeremiah 50: Flee and Trust
Jeremiah 50, Song of Solomon 4:1-7, John 6:16-24, 1 Peter 3:1-7 Jeremiah 50: Babylon is famous throughout the Bible, in particular the New Testament, especially because of Revelation and its depiction of Babylon, and the use of Babylon in 1 Peter 5:13, for example. Here the reference is to the historic empire—and it is noteworthy…
Read MoreJeremiah 49: What Will Last Forever
Jeremiah 49, Song of Solomon 3, John 6:1-15, 1 Peter 2:18-25 Jeremiah 49: If this were all the Bible you ever read, you would leave with a very skewed picture of God. Here we read God, through his prophet Jeremiah, pronouncing judgment on all peoples, without favor or fear, and the litany of judgment on these nations is…
Read MoreJeremiah 47-48: Justice and Righteousness
Jeremiah 47-48, Song of Solomon 2, John 5:31-47, 1 Peter 2:9-17 Jeremiah 47-48: More judgment on the nations. First on Philistia (chapter 47), and then on Moab (chapter 48). For Moab, there is a final respite: “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the latter days” (48:47). But still, this whole section is a litany of…
Read MoreJeremiah 44-46: Seek Not Greatness
Jeremiah 44-46, Song of Solomon 1, John 5:16-30, 1 Peter 2:1-8 Jeremiah 44-46: Our section today has three “words” from God given to Jeremiah. The first, in chapter 44, is regarding the Judeans who had gone to live in Egypt. You will remember that Jeremiah had already warned them not to rely on Egypt, but instead to rely…
Read MoreJeremiah 39-43: Heed the Word of God
Jeremiah 39-43, Ecclesiastes 12, John 5:1-15, 1 Peter 1:17-25 Jeremiah 39-43: How difficult it must have been to see all your prophecies come true and in such a sad way. Because Zedekiah did not listen to Jeremiah, but attempted to hold out in a siege against Babylon, Jerusalem was taken, his children were killed, he was blinded (39:1-10).…
Read MoreJeremiah 35-38: Evil Times
Jeremiah 35-38, Ecclesiastes 11, John 4:43-54, 1 Peter 1:10-16 Jeremiah 35-38: Jeremiah receives word from God to ask the Rechabites to come to God’s house and there offer them wine to drink (35:2). They refuse to drink wine because their forefather had commanded them not to do so and given them other rules by which…
Read More