Day 160 – March 29, 2024: Jeremiah 7-12 and Psalms 100-103

There are a actually a few places in all of these chapters that I wanted to highlight, both in Jeremiah and in the Psalms that we read. I am always amazed when I read Scriptures such as 7:6 the discussion that is present in our country around immigration. The Bible says very clearly that we are not to oppress the immigrant, it says very clearly that we are to treat the immigrant as if they were one of the people of God, and yet that does not seem to be the case. We seem to be more concerned about the impact of the immigrant on our economy or on our safety than obeying the Word of God. I hope this doesn’t sound political, it is meant to be an interpretation of Scripture that to me is pretty evident but we choose to avoid.

Chapter 9 of Jeremiah is one of the reasons why he is called the weeping prophet. He states in the very beginning of the chapter that he wishes that his eyes were fountain of tears so that he could weep for his people day and night. The weeping prophet desires to mourn for his people because his people, the people of God, have turned their back continually on God.

Psalm 100 is one that many of us know by heart. Make a joyful noise to the Lord. When my dad was a pastor he got those words mixed up one Easter morning and he said: Make a noyseful joise to the Lord. People weren’t really sure what to make of it. Psalm 103:12 is a classic assurance of pardon which reminds us of the love that God has for us and that God forgives us to infinity and beyond.