2016, August 14 ~ Jeremiah 23:23-29 & Hebrews 11:29-12:2
Jeremiah 23:23-29
After the righteous King Josiah was killed in battle in 609 BCE, the fortunes of Judea took a sharp downward turn. Babylon threatened Judea’s existence, and Judea had a series of hapless kings from 609 until 586 BCE when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and exiled the Judean leaders to Babylon. Jeremiah’s prophesy (i.e. speaking for Yahweh) began around 609 and continued until 586 BCE when he died in Egypt.
The Book of Jeremiah underwent substantial revisions between the time of Jeremiah and the First Century. Many of the sections that are in “poetry style” are attributed to the prophet, and parts in “prose style” were added later. Indeed, parts of Jeremiah are word-for-word the same as 2 Kings, a book written by the Deuteronomists (authors of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings).
Today’s reading is in “prose style” and attacks prophets who tell lies by interpreting dreams. Although dreams are sometimes favorably regarded in the Hebrew Bible (Joseph, son of Jacob; Jacob’s ladder dream; Daniel’s interpretations), this passage echoes Deuteronomy Chapter 13 which states that those divining by dreams should be put to death for treason against YHWH.
Hebrews 11:29-12:2
The Letter to the Hebrews is an anonymous sermon addressed to both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers who were suffering persecution. It urges them to maintain their Faith and Hope in the face of hardship. Although the Letter is sometimes attributed to Paul, most scholars agree that it was written some time after Paul’s death in 62 CE. In today’s reading, the author refers to the faith of many persons in the Hebrew Bible, including the mothers of children who were brought back to life by Elijah and Elisha (v. 35). But, the author continues, even all these witnesses to faith were not “made perfect” because Jesus is the “perfecter of our faith.” (12:2)