Readings:
Jeremiah 48-49
Hebrews 11

Jeremiah 48-49

God gives Jeremiah prophetic words to speak to several of the neighbors of Israel and Judah. Remember that God has consistently call Nebuchadnezzar his chosen instrument for chastising the descendants of Jacob and the nations around them. The Israelites may have violated the specific law given to them, but the surrounding nations are not innocent either. In the prophecy against Moab, they’re told that if the innocent people who lived among the sinners in Jerusalem don’t escape punishment, how much worse will it be for Moab. The Babylonians are coming to clean house, in all the lands of the levant.

Hebrews 11

Faith is something we believe and hope for, and it’s different from seeing something ourselves. We have faith in a promise because it’s a future event, but we know water is wet by experience. We haven’t yet experienced the things God has promised us, but we have faith because he is worthy of believing in his word.

The author goes through what is sometimes called the “hall of faith” for examples of this faith in God throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. These heroes of the faith show us what it truly means to believe.

A specific mention of Abraham and his sacrifice of Isaac being a foreshadowing of the resurrection of Christ is found in verse 19 of this chapter. (See https://nowthatimcatholic.com/2016/07/27/the-story-of-salvation-abraham-and-isaac/ for more on that episode)

Tomorrow’s Readings:
Jeremiah 50-52