Jeremiah 40:1 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had released him at Ramah. He had found Jeremiah bound in chains among all the captives from Jerusalem and Judah who were being carried into exile to Babylon.
When I did today’s reading, I had just finished reading scripture that included Isaiah 43:19–“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness….” So as I read today’s chapter, the verse from Isaiah was heavy on my mind.
Jeremiah 40:2 When the commander of the guard found Jeremiah, he said to him, “The Lord your God decreed this disaster for this place.”
This part of chapter 40 seems the epitome of Isaiah 43:19. Jerusalem and Judah have fallen to the Babylonians. Jeremiah has been captured (even after receiving clemency in the last chapter), and yet…. The commander of the guard frees him, reflects on God’s actions (“The Lord your God decreed this disaster….”), and gives Jeremiah choices. God is making a way in his wilderness.
Jeremiah 40:3 “And now the Lord has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the Lord and did not obey him.”
Lord, Forgive me when I look at situations from my purely human perspective. Help me never to forget, never to doubt, that You can and will and do make a way where there is no way. You have already begun. Help me to trust even when I cannot yet perceive it. Amen.
Jeremiah 40:4 “But today I am freeing you from the chains on your wrists. Come with me to Babylon, if you like, and I will look after you; but if you do not want to, then don’t come. Look, the whole country lies before you; go wherever you please.”
Have a blessed day.