Category: 843 Acres

Scripture Focus: Jeremiah 25:10-12
 10 I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
12 “But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate forever.

Reflection: A Lifetime of Waiting
By Erin Newton

We are all affected by time, sometimes wishing the sun would stop still in the sky or that it would rush ahead to better times. Worrisome events can be tolerated if we know our endurance must only last a prescribed amount of time.

As we read the words in Jeremiah, we often do not realize that God promises both judgment and restoration, but they are generations apart. What would it be like to hear that you must suffer the pain of losing your home? Will you have time to rebuild or start over? No. You’ll be there seventy years. Unless you are a small child, you will likely not live to see the end of it. Those born in exile would have no memories of their ancestral home in Israel.

Yet it is spoken to the people as a word of hope and encouragement.

There is no escape for Jeremiah and his peers. They are going into a period of judgment. The only consolation is that God has promised to make things right in the future. They know they will die in a foreign land trying to convince their children to hold onto hope for a little while longer.

On the eve of suffering, the word of hope is that God will overturn all evil. Eventually. The people settle down in Babylon and Jeremiah sends word encouraging them to be good citizens and live in a way that benefits the entire community.

We need this same encouragement today. We long for God to correct all evils. Heal the sick. Judge the wicked. Raise the lowly and humble the proud. He has promised he will do so! But at a time that we still don’t know.

Waiting is miserable. Contentment is the ability to find joy in spite of circumstances. Patience is the ability to tolerate delay without getting upset. As we struggle against the natural forces of our world, bound up in time, we must settle down in our neighborhoods. We must seek the prosperity of our towns. We must pray for our cities.

As we learn to wait on God, the ultimate aim should be to be peacemakers here. God does not call his people to erect walls to keep their neighbors out.

We must now ask ourselves, “Do I add to the benefit and blessing of my town or am I sowing seeds of discord and misery?”

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading
Jesus taught us, saying: “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a tub or under the bed? Surely to be put on the lamp-stand? For there is nothing hidden, but it must be disclosed, nothing kept secret except to be brought to light. Anyone who has ears for listening should listen.” — Mark 4.21-23


– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Jeremiah 25(Listen -5:07)
1 Corinthians 2(Listen – 2:32)

Read more about Come Out of Captivity
Even the weepiest of weeping prophets knew and proclaimed that light was coming and hope was warranted.

Readers’ Choice is Here!
There’s still room for your favorite post from the last 12 months. Tell us about it and we will repost it in September.

Scripture Focus: Jeremiah 24:1-3
1 After Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the skilled workers and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the Lord. 2 One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very bad figs, so bad they could not be eaten.
3 Then the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
“Figs,” I answered. “The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.”

Reflection: Be Good Figs
By Jon Polk

Figs could certainly use a brand image makeover. I doubt that any other fruit’s favorability polls are as low as the fig’s.

The familiar Fig Newton cookie was invented in 1891 by a Philadelphia baker. Fig Newtons were one of the first mass-produced baked goods by the newly formed Nabisco cookie company.

The cookies were exclusively filled with fig filling until the 1980s when Nabisco started replacing the fig jam with raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, and apple flavors. In 2012, after over a century known as Fig Newtons, “Fig” was dropped, and the cookies became known simply as Newtons.

According to the company, “It was going to be hard for us to advance the Newtons brand with the baggage of the fig.” Ouch.

Figs are, however, a superfood with incredible nutritional value and the highest fiber and mineral content of the most common fruits and vegetables.

Figs are mentioned throughout the Bible in mostly positive contexts. Figs were one of the fruits mentioned when describing the fertility of the Promised Land. Fig trees symbolize the prosperity of the Jewish nation. Fig cakes were presented as gifts to King David. Hezekiah’s illness was cured by a poultice of figs. A superfood, indeed.

Occasionally in scripture, figs have a negative connotation. Adam and Eve sewed together fig leaves when they realized their nakedness. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, and Joel used the image of ruined figs as a representation of God’s judgment. And of course, Jesus himself notably cursed a fig tree at Passover.

In Jeremiah 24, we find both good and bad figs. God shows Jeremiah a vision of two baskets of figs at the temple; one basket had good, ripe figs and the other basket had figs that had turned so bad they couldn’t even be consumed.

The good figs are the Jewish exiles in Babylon. As noted in the previous chapter, God had a plan to protect them, rescue them, and restore God’s relationship with them. God says the good figs will return to God with all their heart.

The bad figs are King Zedekiah and his officials. Also noted in the previous chapter, God had a plan to bring them to ruin for their selfishness and poor shepherding of God’s people.

“Two ways” metaphors are common in scripture: wisdom vs. folly, light vs. darkness, narrow vs. wide gate, etc.

How to interpret Jeremiah’s vision? Simple. Be good figs.


Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Purge me from my sin, and I shall b pure; wash me, and I shall be clean indeed. — Psalm 51.8

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Jeremiah 24(Listen -1:54)
1 Corinthians 1 (Listen – 4:03)

Read more about Unexpected Contents of God’s Cup of Wrath
May we soften our hearts…so that we, like the “good figs”…will be carried through the judgment rather than destroyed in it.

Readers’ Choice is Coming!
Tell us about meaningful posts from the past 12 months. Let us know about them and we will share them with others.