October

Most of our reading in the Old Testament this month will be in the second of the "Major Prophets," Jeremiah. The reason that these books are called "major" is simple: they are much longer than the twelve books called the "Minor Prophets."

Jeremiah was from a priestly family. We read at the beginning of the book that he felt called to his prophetic ministry at a young age. Like Moses years before him (Ex. 3-4), Jeremiah was hesitant and attempted to excuse himself from the call (1:6). Unknowingly, he had good reason to. You could consider his later life as a prophet pleasant only if you enjoy being beaten and placed in stocks (20:2), being thrown into a dungeon (37:16), being dropped into a muddy cistern (38:6), and being threatened with death (26:11). Even the people of Jeremiah's own hometown wanted to kill him (11:21). Fortunately, Jeremiah had a trusted secretary, Baruch, who put his prophecies into writing and seems to have been a friend to him(ch. 36).

when you read Jeremiah, it will be obvious why the leaders in Judah disliked this man and his message. Jeremiah preached doom. He announced that Jerusalem, including the Temple itself, would be destroyed. The reason he offered for this prophecy was the faithlessness of the people. Jeremiah proclaimed that their injustice, unrighteousness, and disbelief had reached such a point that God's only recourse was to execute judgment.

As with most of the prophetic books, you will want to read fairly quickly, looking for the main theme rather than puzzling over the details of each verse or paragraph. The book of Jeremiah is not written in a strictly chronological order, and that can make the details seem all the more confusing. Try to gain an appreciation for Jeremiah's personality and to observe his anguish at the self-destructive behavior of his people. He truly grieves as he watches his people deny the God they profess to worship by the way they live their lives.

Still, Jeremiah offers more than relentless doom and gloom. The core of his message includes a deeply cherished hope. You will find this hope in chapters 31-32, where Jeremiah foresees a new covenant. This may remind you of the book of Hebrews, which we read last month. Hebrews points out that the forgiveness and inward renewal of the heart prophesied by Jeremiah are offered to us through the great high priest, Jesus Christ (Heb. 8-9).

This month most of the readings from the New Testament will come from John. It is a favorite book for many people, even though it can seem a bit wordy and repetitious at times. That is because the book looks at Christ now from one angle, now from another. John is written in a very simple style with an easy vocabulary. (For that reason, it is often chosen as the book to begin with in teaching Greek to seminary students.) However, the external simplicity is deceiving. John's descriptions of the Christ are exceptionally profound, and you can read them over and over again without ever uncovering all the depths and riches they contain.

The contrast between John and the other three Gospels is startling. The Synoptic Gospels, as they are called, provide us with an overview of the life of Jesus, and they give us some detail about a host of incidents in his life. John, by comparison, is not very concerned about extensive descriptions of the events in Jesus' life. Rather, he wants us to focus on the meaning, or inner side, of the events. He wants us to get below the surface of the things to see their significance.

A sign of this is John's tendency to hint at two levels of meaning in what he says. For example, notice the comment that Nicodemus comes to Jesus "by night" (3:2). On one level, this indicates Nicodemus' concern to avoid being seen with Jesus. However, when you recall John's contrast of light with darkness (1:4), it is obvious there is another level here. Nicodemus does not know the light; he is still "in the dark" regarding the One who is the true "light of the world" (8:12).

This is the meaning of the "signs" in John. Beginning with the transformation of water to wine at Cana in chapter 2, and concluding with the raising of Lazarus in chapter 11, there are seven marvelous actions performed by Jesus. On one level, each of these is a miraculous physical event accomplished by Jesus, but John uses each of them to delineate something deeper and much more profound about the identity of Jesus and the meaning of salvation and eternal life. Can you find all seven signs? What do you think is the deeper significance of each?

There is no doubt about John's ultimate goal in all of this. At the beginning of the book, he tells us that Jesus Christ is the Word, or Son, of God. Jesus is true God come in the flesh. Near the end of the book, even the doubting disciple himself, Thomas, affirms this same conclusion: "My Lord and my God!" (20:28). Then John tells us explicitly that he has written all of this "that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name" (v. 31).

From The Year of the Bible by James E. Davison