A Tale of Two Sisters

Rev. Sean Daenzer, director of worship for the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod and chaplain for the International Center, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 3:1-18.

The LORD seals His case against His people Judah. Their chasing after other gods is adultery of the highest degree. They have become completely calloused to the LORD’s repeated calls to repentance, choosing unfaithfulness over and over again. They had seen their big sister to the north, unfaithful Israel, destroyed by Assyria, yet Judah did not learn her lesson. Instead, she showed herself to be treacherous, as the return of many people during Josiah’s reforms proved only to be for show. Still, the LORD calls His people to return. He calls to Israel in order to shame Judah, in order that both might return. They must admit their idolatry and sin, something they have refused to do so far. Yet if they do, the LORD will prove Himself faithful, giving leaders after His own heart and bringing the nations together in Jerusalem, promises that are ultimately fulfilled in Christ.

“A Time to Destroy and a Time to Build” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Jeremiah. The prophet calls the people of Judah and Jerusalem to repent of their faithless idolatry and warns them of the destruction that is coming in the Babylonian exile. Yet Jeremiah does not leave us without hope in the midst of such dark days. Jeremiah and all who believe the Word of God he preached survive because of hope that is found in the righteous Branch from the line of David, Jesus Christ.