The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 253: Lamentations of Jeremiah (2023)

Episode Date: September 10, 2023

As Fr. Mike begins the book of Lamentations, we read about Jeremiah’s sorrow as he witnesses the siege and suffering of Jerusalem. In the book of Jeremiah, we hear a word of comfort from the Lord to Baruch. Today’s readings are Jeremiah 45-46, Lamentations 1, and Proverbs 17:21-28. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible Timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation. Discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today, it is day 253. We're reading today from Jeremiah chapter 45 and 46. Chapter 45 is a little word of comfort to Baruch. Remember, Baruch is the scribe, the one who's

writing down the words of Jeremiah, and he's been discouraged. He is disheartened. And we also, this is a flashback in case you're wondering. Remember, the book of Jeremiah is not incredibly chronological. So this is going back to before even the complete destruction of Jerusalem and before he and Baruch and Jeremiah were carted off to Egypt. Also, chapter 46 begins this section of God's words of condemnation, God's words of judgment, essentially, on the nations surrounding Judah. So that goes from 46 to 51. So that's going to be what's happening today in the next couple of days, as well as Lamentations chapter one. So Lamentations chapter one, if you remember

the context is when the Babylonians were besieging the city of Jerusalem, it was horrible. And there was so much death and destruction and hunger. There was cannibalism. There was just horrible, horrible, horrible. So this is the look of Lamentations of Jeremiah as he walks around the city in the middle of the siege. And it's just heartbreaking for the next four days for us because it was heartbreaking, life-breaking for the Jewish people there in Jerusalem. So we're reading Jeremiah 45 and 46, Lamentations 1 in Proverbs 17, verses 21 to 28. Just some context.

As always, Bible translation that I'm using is the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year. And also, you can subscribe to this podcast to receive daily episodes and updates. And we are on day 253, reading Jeremiah chapter 45 and 46, Lamentations 1, Proverbs chapter 17, verses 21 through 28. The book of Jeremiah chapter 45, a word of comfort to Baruch.

The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch, the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah. Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch. You said, Woe is me, for the Lord has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest. Thus shall you say to him. Thus says the Lord, Behold, what I have built, I am breaking down and what I have planted, I am plucking up. That is the whole land. And do you seek great things for yourself?

Seek them not. For behold, I am bringing evil upon all flesh, says the Lord, but I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go. Chapter 46, Judgment Against Egypt. The word of the Lord, which came to Jeremiah, the prophet concerning the nations. About Egypt, concerning the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish, and which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah. Prepare buckler and shield, and advance for battle. Harness the horses, mount, O horsemen. Take your stations with your helmets, polish your spears, put on your coats of mail. Why have I seen it? They are dismayed, and have turned backward.

Their warriors are beaten down, and have fled in haste. They look not back, terror on every side, says the Lord. The swift cannot flee away, nor the warrior escape. In the north by the river Euphrates they have stumbled and fallen. Who is this, rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge? Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge. He said, I will rise. I will cover the earth. I will destroy cities and their inhabitants. Advance, O horses, and rage, O chariots. Let the warriors go forth, men of Ethiopia and put who handle the shield, men of Lod skilled in handling the bow. That day is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance to avenge himself on his foes. The sword shall devour and be sated, and drink its fill of their blood. For the Lord

God of hosts holds a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates. Go up to Gilead and take Balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt. In vain you have used many medicines, there is no healing for you. The nations have heard of your shame, and. There is no healing for you. The nations have heard of your shame, and the earth is full of your cry. For warrior has stumbled against warrior. They have both fallen together. The word which the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to strike the land of Egypt. Declare in Egypt and proclaim in Migdal. Proclaim in Memphis and Tapanes. Say,

Stand ready and be prepared, for the sword shall devour round about you. Why has Apis fled? Why did not your bull stand? Because the Lord thrust him down. Your multitude stumbled and fell, and they said to one another, Arise, and let us go back to our own people and to the land of our birth because of the sword of the oppressor. Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, noisy one, who lets the hour go by. As I live, says the king, whose name is the Lord of hosts. Like Tabor among the mountains, and like Carmel by the sea, shall one come. Prepare yourselves baggage for exile, O inhabitants of Egypt, for Memphis shall become a waste, a ruin without inhabitant. A beautiful heifer is Egypt,

but a gadfly from the north has come upon her. Even her hired soldiers in her midst are like fatted calves. Yes, they have turned and fled together. They did not stand. For the day of their calamity has come upon them, the time of their punishment. She makes a sound like a serpent gliding away, for her enemies march in force and come against her with axes like those who fell trees. They shall cut down her forest, says the Lord, though it is impenetrable because they are more numerous than locusts, they are without number. The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame. She shall be delivered into the hand of a people from the north.

The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel said, Behold, I am bringing punishment upon Ammon of Thebes and Pharaoh and Egypt and her gods and her kings upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and his officers. Afterward, Egypt shall be inhabited as in the days of old, says the Lord. But fear not, O Jacob, my servant, nor be dismayed, O Israel. For behold, I will save you from afar, and your offspring from the land of their captivity.

I will save you from afar, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid. Fear not, O Jacob, my servant, says the Lord, for I am with you. I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have driven you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will chasten you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished. The Lamentations of Jeremiah Chapter 1 The Deserted City How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she that was great among the nations.

She that was a princess among the cities has become a vassal. She weeps bitterly in the night, tears on her cheeks. Among all her lovers, she has none to comfort her. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her. They have become her enemies. Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and hard servitude. She dwells now among the nations, but finds no resting place. Her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress.

The roads to Zion mourn, for none come to the appointed feasts. All her gates are desolate, her priests groan. Her maidens have been dragged away, and she herself suffers bitterly. Her foes have become the head. Her enemies prosper because the Lord has made her suffer for the multitude of her transgressions. Her children have gone away, captives before the foe. From the daughter of Zion has departed all her majesty. Her princes have become like deer that find no pasture. They fled without strength before the pursuer. Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and bitterness all the precious things that were hers from days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the foe and there was none to help her, the foe gloated over her, mocking at her downfall. Jerusalem sinned grievously.

at her downfall. Jerusalem sinned grievously. Therefore, she became filthy. All who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness. Yes, she herself groans and turns her face away. Her uncleanness was in her skirts. She took no thought of her doom. Therefore, her fall is terrible. She has no comforter. O Lord, behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed. The enemy has stretched out his hands over all her precious things. Yes, she has seen the nations invade her sanctuary. Those whom you forbade to enter your congregation. All her people groan as they search for bread. They trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. Look, O Lord, and behold, for I am despised. Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?

Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the Lord inflicted on the day of his fierce anger. From on high he sent fire. Into my bones he made it descend. He spread a net for my feet. He turned me back. He has left me stunned, faint all the day long. My transgressions were bound into a yoke. By his hand they were fastened together. They were set upon my neck. He caused my strength to fail. The Lord gave me into the hands of those whom I cannot

withstand. The Lord flouted all my mighty men in the midst of me. He summoned an assembly against me to crush my young men. The Lord has trodden as in a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah. For these things I weep. My eyes flow with tears. For a comforter is far from me, one to revive my courage. My children are desolate for the enemy has prevailed. Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her. The Lord has commanded against Jacob that his neighbors should be his foes. Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among men. The Lord is in the right for I I have rebelled against his word. But hear, all you

peoples, and behold my suffering. My maidens and my young men have gone into captivity. I called to my lovers, but they deceived me. My priests and elders perished in the city while they sought food to revive their strength. Behold, O Lord, for I am in distress. my soul is in tumult my heart is wrung within me because i have been very rebellious in the street the sword bereaves in the house it is like death hear how i groan there is none to comfort me all my enemies have heard of my trouble. They are glad that you have done it. Bring the day you have announced and let them be as I am. Let all their evil doing come before you and deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my transgressions. For my groans are many and my heart is faint.

Proverbs 17, 21-28 A wicked man accepts a bribe from the bosom to pervert the ways of justice. A man of understanding sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him. To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good. To flog noble men is wrong. He who restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise. When he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent. Father in heaven, we give you praise. Thank you so much for your word.

Thank you for introducing us to the cries, the experience of Baruch, who was this kind of silent partner with Jeremiah, who was the scribe. Jeremiah, thank you for introducing us to his suffering. Thank you for introducing us to lamentations, this heartbreak of the people of Jerusalem, the heartbreak of Jeremiah as he walked through the streets and saw such great suffering. And thank you for the wisdom that you offer us in Proverbs. Help us to not just hear the wisdom, but to live wisdom with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. Help us to love you with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen. Continuing our theme of looking at the Proverbs, there's so many good things. Again, noting how we can honor our parents. You know, a foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him. Our father and mother are honored when we're wise and we've strived to be wise. And that's a good thing. But also this last proverb of chapter 17, even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise. When he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent. That's that kind of secular proverb, I think, that says better to stay silent and be considered

a fool than to speak and remove all doubt. And that kind of a situation is this, although we recognize that we're so tempted oftentimes to speak and say, here's my opinion on this, that, or the other thing, says the man who's giving a daily podcast and offering his opinion on this, that, or the other thing. So I recognize that it'd be a lot easier to not say anything. In fact, when we get to James chapter three, the letter of James in the New Testament, one of the things James is going to say is not many of you should aspire to be teachers because teachers will be liable to a greater judgment. Anyone who takes upon themselves that role of here I'm going to teach is putting

themselves in a dangerous spot because yeah, there's a higher standard for those who are leading, which is good because we need to take all this seriously. As we take the next step seriously, here's Baruch in chapter 45 of Jeremiah. Remember, this is after the destruction of Jerusalem. Actually, we've gone back. Remember that Jeremiah is not chronological. So in kind of our story, we have the destruction of Jerusalem, Jeremiah and Baruch are uprooted, and they're basically kidnapped and brought to Egypt. But now we have a flashback to when Jehoiakim is still the king of Judah. And in the midst of this, Baruch is really troubled. Baruch is suffering a lot. And he even says, woe is me, because we forget about this. We forget

about the fact that here's Jeremiah who gets thrown into the cistern and sinks into the mire and gets arrested and gets all this kind of, you know, this horrible, horrible treatment. And yet here's Baruch, who also is getting a lot of this horrible treatment. And we don't get as much focus on him because of the fact that he's the scribe to Jeremiah the prophet. And so this is really interesting because then the word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah and he says this, and this is so good. It says, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch. And this is so good. Why is it so good? Because Baruch has been writing down the words of the prophet Jeremiah for other people.

And here is the word of God coming through the prophet Jeremiah for him personally. And this is what a gift it is to be able to understand scripture. Yes, in context, written for people in a certain place in a certain time, but also for us. Baruch has not only heard the words of call to repentance and embrace yourself for the coming destruction, but also, yeah, Baruch, not just them, you. This isn't just for others. This is also for you. And so we need to take it personally.

But here is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah for Baruch. Behold, what I've built, I'm breaking down. What I've planted, I'm plucking up. That is the whole land. And you seek great things for yourself, seek them not. For behold, I'm bringing evil upon all flesh. This is what's coming, even more destruction. But I will give you your life as a prize of war and all the places to which you may go. Just this word of consolation. Again, it's not a word of saying, Baruch, you know, the time of suffering is over. Baruch, the time of distress and the time of trial for you, the time of pain is done. Don't worry about it. I'm on your side. He says, no, that's still coming. That judgment still has to come. This world in which we live is still fallen.

But you, Baruch, I want to let you know, I'm going to continue to bless you. And that's such a good word for us because here we are living in the middle of this broken world and recognizing that disaster will still come upon us. I mean, every one of us, not just, oh, some suffering. No, disaster will still come upon us. The people we love the most will still die. We will still die. They will get sick. We will get sick. And yet in the midst of that disaster, we have the Lord and he says, I will still bless you. I'm still in your midst.

I'm still present to you. Now, also we've heard this book of the prophet Jeremiah, where Jeremiah is speaking to the nation of Israel multiple times saying, basically, you got to repent or King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, God is going to use him to bring you to repentance. He's going to use him to bring you to your knees because you have not listened to the Lord. And that's basically all of Jeremiah, right? Now here from chapter 46 to chapter 51 is Jeremiah speaking to the nations and saying that you too, like here starts with Egypt here in chapter 46, starts with Egypt and says, okay, God is also going to use Nebuchadnezzar to bring judgment upon you, oh Egypt, because you have not given your heart to

the Lord. You have also been in rebellion against God, even if you're not in covenant, they're not a covenant people, but at the same time they've lived wickedly. And so here is God who says, I'm going to use this Nebuchadnezzar to bring judgment, my judgment upon you as well. And so we just recognize that's going to happen for the next couple of chapters. We have the Philistines tomorrow and Moab as we keep moving forward. We also have the beginning of the book of the Lamentations of Jeremiah. A couple of things to keep in mind is as Jeremiah, this is Jeremiah, as he walks through, as I mentioned this at the beginning of this particular episode, Jeremiah is walking through the streets of Jerusalem and he sees this incredible suffering. It's going to be greater and greater that he describes as he gets deeper and deeper into the book of the Lamentations.

But in this, he also has these powerful words. He says this, is it nothing to you? All who pass by, look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the Lord inflicted on the day of his fierce anger. And that's so, all of her people, this is verse 11, that was verse 12, this is verse 11. All her people groan as they search for bread. They trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. Look, O Lord, and behold, for I am despised. This is a time of great suffering. In fact, the way that Jeremiah wrote this is a very unique way. It's where basically he follows the Hebrew alphabet and every verse essentially starts with another letter of the alphabet. Sorry, in order, because of course every verse starts with a letter of the alphabet, but in order.

So, you know, Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Bet is the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Actually, that's where we get the term alphabet is from Aleph Bet, the first two letters of the Hebrew. That style of writing is called an alphabetic acrostic, or it's an acrostic, right? So why would Jeremiah confine himself to this acrostic way of writing this? Is it just for the challenge of starting every verse in order of the alphabet? I've heard someone explain it like this. They said that Jeremiah's suffering, his grief, remember Jeremiah is the weeping prophet.

Jeremiah's grief over seeing the suffering of his people is in some ways constrained by him constraining himself to this alphabetic acrostic, that if he just dumped out his emotions onto the page and that was all it was, that would be overwhelming. And it would just be this mess on the page. I mean, that's an example, right? If I were to do that, if I were to try to capture the worst moment of my life or the worst season of my life or the lives of others, it would just be this, you know, spew of words that would probably be make no sense. You know, how do you how do you capture that kind of grief and that kind of suffering? And so the theory is that maybe one of the reasons why Jeremiah chose this alphabetic acrostic is to give himself some constraints because or else he would just kind of bleed all over the page with his grief and with his agony. So what we have in this first

chapter is this picture of a weeping widow overcome with miseries. Jeremiah in the next couple of chapters is going to obviously connect to those miseries with the sins of Judah, the sins of the people of God. And as we move forward in this, we just recognize not only just like Baruch, were these words written for a certain people at a certain time, they're also written for us, especially in our grief and misery. Remember, and when we began this, the words of Job as he was crying out to the Lord

and how he could say, like, I just wish, you know, it's better if I never had been born. And here is that image of the city, you know, of Jerusalem under siege, who's saying, look upon my suffering. Is there any suffering like my suffering? Is there any grief like my grief? Is there any heartbreak like the heartbreak that I'm going through? It's going to get, the visuals are going to get very, very graphic of what the people

of Israel, people of God were living through during that siege. And so we wonder, yeah, is that possible? And we recognize, yes, it is possible. There is a grief that you know. There is suffering that you know. And so these lamentations, they don't merely express and capture and express the suffering of the people during the siege. They also are meant to

speak to your suffering. They're meant to speak to the reality that you have pain. And here is a way to speak of that pain and to make it a prayer. Too often we let, this is the last thing, too often we let our pain simply become just pain. Just let it be. But here is Jeremiah who shows us that we can allow our pain to become a prayer when we don't just experience it, but we also then relate it to the Lord. And that's so powerful for all of us because every one of us, our lives are marked with pain, but our lives aren't always marked with prayer. So the more pain we have, the more prayer we have to bring to the Lord. But that requires trust, and that's not the easiest thing in the world. So

we need each other, and each other will keep lifting each other up on these hard days, on these difficult days, and these difficult seasons. And we recognize that, okay, I'm in a difficult season, and it's going to end in destruction. Because if we realize, right, Jerusalem under siege, it's not just a difficult season that's going to end in victory. Because if we realize, right, Jerusalem under siege, it's not just a difficult season that's going to end in victory. Right now, this is a difficult season that's going to end in the destruction of the city. We know this is coming because we've read the story a couple times now. And yet, here's God who says, but that's not going to be the end. That will not be the end. And for your life as well, it will not be the end. So I am praying for you. Please

pray for me. Menace, Father Mike, I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.