I’ve been working feverishly on my Graduate’s Chapel sermon that I will be delivering on May 12th. Here’s an excerpt from what I worked on today.
Jeremiah 1:3 The word of the Lord…”came also in the days of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of King Zedekiah son of Josiah of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.”
“This listing of Kings is not merely for chronological value. It’s not trying to merely tell us something about Jeremiah’s historical setting for the sake of our historical knowledge. Here, the kings are listed to demonstrate that Jeremiah’s prophecies were not abstracted, disconnected spiritual truths. No, they were specific – they spoke to kings and rulers who thought they ruled by their own might, by their own brilliance, by their own power, indeed, by God’s very blessing.
Jeremiah speaks to them and against them, telling them that history will not fully nor finally be defined by the ploys of the powerful over the weak, in the end history will not be told by the powerful while ignoring the voice of the marginal, and history will not be defined by the chronology of kings and their wars, but by martyrs, saints, and prophets who dare to speak the word of the One, true King of history – a crucified and risen Jesus!”
What a contrast to our history books! We study history from one war to the next. From one ruler to the next. From one economic turn to the next. History barely includes the marginalized much less is it defined by them.
A good word.
so if this is the chips and salsa– i’m ready for the full burrito. really nice writing and insight tom. keep blogging.
alright then.
Not quite what you expected, Ryan?