2 Kings 22:1-13

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1 Corinthians 11:2 (3-16) 17-22

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Matthew 9:1-8 Matthew 9:1-8

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Jeremiah 36:27-37:2

Jeremiah Dictates Another Scroll

27 Now, after the king had burned the scroll with the words that Baruch wrote at Jeremiah's dictation, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 28 Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which King Jehoiakim of Judah has burned. 29 And concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah you shall say: Thus says the LORD, You have dared to burn this scroll, saying, Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cut off from it human beings and animals? 30 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah: He shall have no one to sit upon the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night. 31 And I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity; I will bring on them, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and on the people of Judah, all the disasters with which I have threatened them-but they would not listen.

32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the secretary Baruch son of Neriah, who wrote on it at Jeremiah's dictation all the words of the scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah had burned in the fire; and many similar words were added to them. (Jeremiah 36:27-32, NRSV)

King Jehoiakim has burned Jeremiah’s scroll in defiance (Jer. 36:23), but Jeremiah dictates another scroll. Baruch is to include “all the former words, that were in the first scroll, which King Jehoiakim of Judah has burned” (v. 28), and to add “concerning King Jehoiakim . . . Thus says the LORD, You have dared to burn this scroll, saying, Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cut off from it human beings and animals?” (v. 29). The new scroll predicts an ignominious end of Jehoiakim. “He shall have no one to sit upon the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night” (v. 30).

Zedekiah's Vain Hope (2 Kings 24.17; 2 Chr 36.10)

37:1 Zedekiah son of Josiah, whom King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, succeeded Coniah son of Jehoiakim. 2 But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the LORD that he spoke through the prophet Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 37:1-2, NRSV)

The next chapter of Jeremiah passes over the reign of Jehoiachin (Coniah), who “reigned three months in Jerusalem” (2 Kgs. 24:8). Zedekiah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, was “made king” (Jer. 37:1) after the attack of 597 B.C., left to preside over Judah’s final years, until he himself rebelled against the Babylonians (2 Kgs. 24:20b), as had Jehoiakim before him (2 Kgs. 24:1).

NOTE: The chronology of Jeremiah’s sermons and the events reported in Jeremiah is complicated. It is clear that passages move back and forth between the times of one king and another, based on some other organizing principle than mere chronological sequence. We have reference to “the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah” (Jer. 28:1), “the tenth year of King Zedekiah” (32:1), “the days of Jehoiakim” (35:1), “the fourth year of King Jehoiakim” (36:1), and the fact that :Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made [Zedekiah] king in the land of Judah (37:1). (There’s more of that, but you get the idea.)

The focus of today’s reading is on God’s response, through Jeremiah and Baruch, to Jehoiakim’s defiance and the continued defiance of his successor (except for Jehoiachin). “But neither he [Zedekiah] nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the LORD that he spoke through the prophet Jeremiah” (Jer. 37:2). Jehoiachin is given a negative evaluation in 2 Kings. “He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his father had done” (2 Kgs. 24:9), but one wonders how much evil in a mere three months. The later hope for a continuation of the Davidic dynasty was centered in Jehoiachin, who was released from prison after the death of Nebuchadnezzar by his successor Evil-merodach (2 Kgs. 25:27). Jehoiachin was treated kindly and had “a seat above the other seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon” (v. 28). Zerubbabel was his grandson (1 Chron. 3:19; cf. Hag. 1:1, 12; 2:2, 4, 21; Zech. 4:6, 7, 9, 10; [and 6:9-15? Cf. commentaries]; Mt. 1:12-13).

1 Corinthians 14:1-12

Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues

14:1 Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy. 2 For those who speak in a tongue do not speak to other people but to God; for nobody understands them, since they are speaking mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, those who prophesy speak to other people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4 Those who speak in a tongue build up themselves, but those who prophesy build up the church. 5 Now I would like all of you to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. One who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

6 Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you in some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? 7 It is the same way with lifeless instruments that produce sound, such as the flute or the harp. If they do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is being played? 8 And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? 9 So with yourselves; if in a tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is being said? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are doubtless many different kinds of sounds in the world, and nothing is without sound. 11 If then I do not know the meaning of a sound, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. 12 So with yourselves; since you are eager for spiritual gifts, strive to excel in them for building up the church. (1 Corinthians 14:1-12, NRSV)

While recognizing that Paul seems to value prophecy more than speaking in tongues in 1 Corinthians 14, it is also true that he credits speaking in tongues with some value (and admits to speaking in tongues himself, v. 18). “Those who speak in a tongue build up themselves,” he says (1 Cor 14:4a). I have suggested that the lists of gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12 and elsewhere are neither comprehensive nor definitive, but rather suggestive and use as examples. The value placed on speaking in tongues here suggests to me the value of various forms of private and personal religious experience, including meditation and the like. The special emphasis on prophecy, “those who prophesy build up the church” (1 Cor. 14:4, cf. vv. 5, 12 and 19), relates to sound preaching of the gospel, which builds up the church in our time.

Matthew 10:16-23

Coming Persecutions (Mk 13.9-13; Lk 21.12-17)

16 "See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. 19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; 22 and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. (Matthew 10:16-23, NRSV)

After reporting that Jesus commissioned the Twelve for ministry (Mt. 10:5-15; cf. Mk 6.7-13; Lk 9.1-6), Matthew continues (in the speech described in yesterday’s comments) with material from different contexts in other Gospels. The relationship of Jesus’ speech according to Matthew 10 to these other sayings is illustrated in a separate table of Predictions of Persecutions for the Disciples. The parallels in Mark 13 and Luke 21 suggest that these predictions of persecutions have an eschatological perspective and, in any event, some reference to the future ministries of the disciples, after Easter, in the period of the early church. By assembling this material in the context of the disciples’ mission during Jesus ministry, Matthew connects their ministry under Jesus direct supervision with their future ministry as leaders of the Christian church. They are to be wise, but innocent (Mt. 10:16), and to speak as guided by the Holy Spirit (Mt. 10:19-29; Mk. 13:11; Lk. 12:11-12; cf. Jn. 14:26). (Note that this applies to the circumstances of persecution, not week-to-week sermon preparation!) They are warned of the treachery and betrayal of family members (Mt. 10:21; Mk. 13:12), and admonished to “endure to the end” (Mt. 10:22). It is interesting to note the focus on Israel in Matthew’s account. “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt. 10:5b, 6). “. . . truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes” (v. 23b). The book of Matthew as a whole, of course, concludes with the Great Commission to “make disciples of all nations,” where “nations” translates ethnē, which is often translated “Gentiles.” So the warning about persecutions anticipates more than just the inhospitable reception that the disciples may receive on their mission to Israel; it looks forward to the persecutions faced by the early church. “But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Mt. 10:22b).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

rworden@houston.rr.com