Key events in today’s reading:

• Promise of Restoration (33)
• Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll (36)
• Jeremiah Thrown in Cistern (38:1-13)
• The Fall of Jerusalem (39)

Verse that stood out: “We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD! – Jeremiah 44:16

To be honest, today’s reading was a little tough. Mostly bad news for the people of Judah. Either surrender to Babylon or be killed. Not the best options. No wonder the people were tempted to just put their fingers in their ears and ignore the bad news or throw Jeremiah in a pit. You know, whatever worked at the time!

Ignoring bad news is a fairly common human response. Most of the time, we’d rather just be ignorant. Engine light comes on? Ignore it – it’s probably just the light that’s malfunctioned anyway. Go to the doctor? No way, he might find something that’s wrong. Pray? And be convicted of my sins? No, thank you.

Jeremiah is full of bad news. Which has me wondering, how are we any different than the people of Jeremiah’s day. Most believers, people who say they believe the Bible, couldn’t quote anything from the book of Jeremiah with perhaps the exception being the ever popular 29:11. Why do they know that verse? Because it’s upbeat. Because it’s encouraging. But why just apply that verse to our lives today? Why not the other 1366 verses in this ancient book? Are we saying those have no application to our lives simply because they might contain bad news?

Which leads to perhaps a better question. How do we decide what verses are important for us today and which are not? How do we decide which ones speak to us anew and which ones don’t? Which ones are worth memorizing and which are not? I want to know, how do you decide?

For tomorrow:

• Cover to Cover: Jeremiah 48:1-Lamentations 1:15
• Key Passage: Jeremiah 50:29-34
• Verse of the Day: Jeremiah 50:33-34