2 Kings 22:14-23:3

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1 Corinthians 11:23-34

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Matthew 9:9-17

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Jeremiah 37:3-21

Unwarranted Optimism

3 King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to the prophet Jeremiah saying, "Please pray for us to the LORD our God." 4 Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison. 5 Meanwhile, the army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

6 Then the word of the LORD came to the prophet Jeremiah: 7 Thus says the LORD, God of Israel: This is what the two of you shall say to the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me; Pharaoh's army, which set out to help you, is going to return to its own land, to Egypt. 8 And the Chaldeans shall return and fight against this city; they shall take it and burn it with fire. 9 Thus says the LORD: Do not deceive yourselves, saying, "The Chaldeans will surely go away from us," for they will not go away. 10 Even if you defeated the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men in their tents, they would rise up and burn this city with fire. (Jeremiah 37:3-10, NRSV)

It appears to be a hopeful sign that “the army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they withdrew from Jerusalem” (Jer. 37:5). This was “shortly after [Zedekiah’s] accession (Spring, 587 BCE),” says Mark E. Biddle, who adds that:

an army of Pharaoh Hophra (Apries) came up from Egypt to relieve beseiged Jerusalem (34:21). The inhabitants concluded that a deliverance as in the days of Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:32-37) had occurred, but Jeremiah warned them that such optimism was wholly unwarranted. (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Jer. 37:3-10)

Jeremiah Imprisoned

11 Now when the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh's army, 12 Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his share of property among the people there. 13 When he reached the Benjamin Gate, a sentinel there named Irijah son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah arrested the prophet Jeremiah saying, "You are deserting to the Chaldeans." 14 And Jeremiah said, "That is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans." But Irijah would not listen to him, and arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 The officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of the secretary Jonathan, for it had been made a prison. 16 Thus Jeremiah was put in the cistern house, in the cells, and remained there many days. (Jeremiah 37:3-11-16, NRSV)

During this interlude, Jeremiah tries to inspect the property he has recently purchased (Jer., chap. 32). He is accused of “deserting to the Chaldeans” (Jer. 37:13), arrested (v. 14), beaten and imprisoned (vv. 15-16). Jeremiah’s purchase of a field at Anathoth, his home town (1:1), was a prophetic action, a sign that “Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land” (32:15). In other words, it was an act of faith in the long-term future of Israel, on the eve of the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon, in “the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar” (Jer. 32:1), that is, 588 B.C. But the sentinel who arrested him did not share that faith.

Zedekiah’s Secret Interview with Jeremiah

17 Then King Zedekiah sent for him, and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house, and said, "Is there any word from the LORD?" Jeremiah said, "There is!" Then he said, "You shall be handed over to the king of Babylon." 18 Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, "What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, 'The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land'? 20 Now please hear me, my lord king: be good enough to listen to my plea, and do not send me back to the house of the secretary Jonathan to die there." 21 So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guard; and a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers' street, until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. (Jeremiah 37:17-21, NRSV)

In the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, he “rebelled against the king of Babylon” (2 Kgs. 24:20b), and Nebuchadnezzar’s response was to come “with all his army against Jerusalem, and [lay] siege to it; they built siegeworks against it all around” (2 Kgs. 25:1). Biddle (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Jer. 37:16-21) notes that Zedekiah sought out Jeremiah hoping for “reassurance for his ill-advised revolt”: “Is there any word from the LORD?” (Jer. 37:17). But this is too little, too late. Jeremiah does get some improvement in his captive state. Zedekiah “modified Jeremiah’s imprisonment to house arrest, and guaranteed him a minimum food ration as long as their were supplies” (Biddle).

1 Corinthians 14:13-25

The Need for Interpretation of Tongues

13 Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unproductive. 15 What should I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing praise with the spirit, but I will sing praise with the mind also. 16 Otherwise, if you say a blessing with the spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say the "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since the outsider does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may give thanks well enough, but the other person is not built up. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you; 19 nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Although Paul admits to speaking in tongues himself (1 Cor. 14:18), he cautions the Corinthian church that it is not helpful in the worship services unless there is interpretation. “Otherwise, if you say a blessing with the spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say the "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since the outsider does not know what you are saying?” (v. 16). He advises that, “I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing praise with the spirit, but I will sing praise with the mind also” (v. 15), adding, “in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue” (v. 19).

The Effects of Prophecy versus the Effects of Tongues

20 Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking; rather, be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults. 21 In the law it is written,

"By people of strange tongues

and by the lips of foreigners

I will speak to this people;

yet even then they will not listen to me,"

says the Lord.22 Tongues, then, are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers.23 If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if all prophesy, an unbeliever or outsider who enters is reproved by all and called to account by all.25 After the secrets of the unbeliever's heart are disclosed, that person will bow down before God and worship him, declaring, "God is really among you." (1 Corinthians 14:13-25, NRSV)

Richard A. Horsley comments as follows:

Not until vv. 23-25 is [Paul’s] argument clear, that while tongues are a counterproductive sign for outsiders, prophecy, because intelligible, will be productive on outsiders, by disclosing the secrets of their hearts. (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on vv. 20-25)

Matthew 10:24-33

As the Teacher, So the Disciple

24 "A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; 25 it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household! (Matthew 10:24-25; cf. Luke 6:40; Jn. 13:16; 15:20)

As a part of Jesus’ predictions of persecution for the disciples, he reminds them that “they have called the master of the house Beelzebul” (Mt. 9:34; cf. 12:24; Mk. 3:22; Lk. 11:15; Jn. 8:48). The disciple can expect no less opposition than the master.

Whom to Fear

26 "So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. 27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:26-31, NRSV; cf. Luke 12:2-7)

Jesus reminds his disciples of the eternal perspective and its true values. “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt. 10:28). The reassurance (vv. 29-31) reminds us of the admonition not to worry about day-to-day needs, but rather to focus on “the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Mt. 6:33, cf. vv. 25-33; Lk. 12:22-31).

Acknowledge Christ before Others

32 "Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:32-33, NRSV, cf. Luke 12:8-9)

It was a part of the disciples’ mission to “acknowledge” Christ before others, but this instruction surely anticipates the witness of the church in the years following Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. The efforts of many Christians over the centuries to take this admonition seriously have led to serious, even life-threatening consequences, time and again.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

rworden@houston.rr.com