Context and Jeremiah 29

I have a fire in me, said Jeremiah. And that fire is that I have to say things I do not want to say because it is my job to do so.

Here is a much-loved section of the writings of the prophet Jeremiah, much quoted at weddings and such, and almost always out of context. You will see why in a while. But for now, read Jeremiah 29:11-13.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

Jeremiah's letter to his people actually begins like this, in Jeremiah 29:4-10.

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord. This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place."

In other words, you should be exiled for 70 years first, and accept your exile. Bring up two whole generations in an alien land, and treat that land as your own. Then only will you be able to receive the blessings. And if you don't accept your exile... well, here's the part after the first quote; in Jeremiah 29:15-19.

You may say, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,” but this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your countrymen who did not go with you into exile— yes, this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will send the sword, famine and plague against them and I will make them like poor figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth and an object of cursing and horror, of scorn and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them. For they have not listened to my words,” declares the Lord, “words that I sent to them again and again by my servants the prophets. And you exiles have not listened either,” declares the Lord.

In other words, if you are not an exile, then you're in serious trouble if you're hoping for the blessing.

And here ends the lesson about not taking nice quotes out of context and indiscriminately telling people they will be blessed without telling them the conditions of the specific blessing.

Starbuck

A starbuck is a male deer with a white mark between or just above its eyes. They're generally supposed to be frisky. Me, I have something of the starbuck's with me. Little sachets, which the purist might scoff at, but which are the offspring of the bean anyway.

For we all serve 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine, whether we prefer mermaids or not. And the Columbian Roast, and the Italian Roast, and whatever blends and names describe the bean — these also serve the Atrament, the liquid faith, the alternate benediction. Although some are theobromic, and some are theophyllic, all acknowledge the gift of the Highest.

And I, I have a pot before me. It is full of the atramental essence of the bean. And I, I am happy; I, I am blessed. Makarios. It is my father's birthday today. Happy birthday, Dad!

Precipitation

It falls, and that is all it does. Anything that falls out of nowhere, as if off a cliff, out of a window, down from the sky — this is precipitation. And today, coming after the parching waves of sulfur dioxide and ash, the rain is a very welcome guest. This, this, it whispers, is the promise of love.

Do you remember what it was like to sit, not in a fine and private place, but in the open — on the bleachers, in the canteen, at the ceremonial staircase — and do nothing but talk to someone who was great company? I've had a few moments like that, spots of calm precipitation in the midst of a wearying drought.

If I had to think of geographical metaphors for the company I keep, I would stick with Isaiah: Each man shall be a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, a stream of water in the desert and the shadow of a mighty rock within a thirsty land. My friends have been in every case at least one of these things, if not all — they have been protectors of my back and flanks, shields against adversity and suppliers of good things; they have been rallying points and sources of revival to me.

The one blessing I see that is yet to come, and will yet be given to me, is the blessing of arrows in a warrior's hand. I woke up a few days ago with that vision. A voice tells me that the young people I have helped along the way might be thus, a strong and unexpected resource in a time of strife.

But for now, the rain, the rain is falling.

Psalm 134: In Darkest Night

There's always something about men in dark times that makes them think of the darkest night, with no sign of dawn, no surcease from pain, no hope for redemption. But the 134th Psalm, the last of the Songs of Ascents, has a subtly different take on this theme:

Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD.
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.
The LORD that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.

In the night, we stand firm, and we are blessed. Sometimes, I trawl through the oceanic depths of the Old Testament, and I find gems and nuggets of mysterious metal. One of the chapters that seems to tell me what to look for in the midst of chaos casts me as a watchman, and is breathtaking in its oracular scope. In darkest night, the visions are most colourful.

Psalm 128: Establishing The Dream

Today's reading is the 128th Psalm. Building on the previous psalms, it reassures us that the future we built will yet come to pass: that we will indeed receive the fruits of our labour and see the establishment of the holy city, in whatever form we hoped for.

Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.
For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.
The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel.

It is reassurance based on one thing though: that these blessings accrue to those who have an abiding respect and fear of the Lord of Hosts. What form does this fear take? Why do we fear? Is it an unreasoning terror or the sinister horror of the dark? The answers to these questions about fear come in the next few psalms.