Day 225: Our Will vs. God's Will

Jeremiah 2:1-37 In the first chapter, the prophet raised a grievance against the people’s habitual violations of the covenant and urged them to repentance and conversion; otherwise, severe punishment would ensue. Through his prophecies and exhortations, Jeremiah acted as a mediator between God and Judah. The prophet’s specific objective was to persuade the Jewish people to reform their lives. This first prophecy focuses on their worship of idols, which was a flagrant affront to the most basic principles of their covenant with the one true God.


Ch 2:1-2 Scripture compares God’s relationship with his people often to the spousal relationship of a husband and wife since that union requires mutual self-sacrificial love, exclusivity, fidelity, and permanence. In the Book of Hosea, God asked the prophet to marry an unfaithful woman, Gomer, and used her infidelity to their marriage covenant as an analogy of Israel’s unfaithfulness to the Mosaic Covenant (cf. Hos 1-3). God had remained faithful always to his end of the covenant and had always been ready to forgive Israel for its infidelities. God’s lavish liberality in forgiving the people of Israel set the stage for the coming of the Messiah, the Redeemer of the world. (CCC 762, 1161)


Ch 2:4 All families of the house of Israel: Families in ancient Israel were united by tribal affiliation. It is ordinarily within the family that children are educated and nurtured in preparation for adulthood; indeed, within the family virtues are cultivated and moral values are taught. The proper education and formation of children redound on the common good. Given the vital role of the family in society, governments must do all they can to support the family. On a local level, individuals should work together to promote a family life that reflects both moral law and the teachings of the Gospel. (CCC 1882, 2201-2213)


Ch 2:13 Water is an image of cleansing, purity, and new life. The Lord’s words here indicate that the people had turned away from him, the true and only source of living water, and had sought other ends-polluted water-that caused harm. In the Gospels Christ spoke of the living water that he would give, which would thoroughly refresh and relieve all thirst (cf. Jn 4:1-42). (CCC 2561)


Ch 2:14 All of Jeremiah’s questions, although couched in rhetoric, are a means of accusing the people of their sins in a striking manner.


Ezekiel 28:1-13 The king of Tyre was singled out as representative of the excessive pride of its citizens.


As wise as a god: This parallels the temptation of Adam and Eve by the serpent, who told Eve they would become “like God” if they were to eat of the forbidden fruit (cf. Gn 3:5). The disposition or pride is the root of all evil since a person’s subjective desires trump God’s will as expressed in his Laws. (CCC 1850)


Ch 28:20-26 The vague condemnation of Sidon appears to leave the door open for repentance rather than complete destruction. 

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)



Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we give you praise and we thank you so much. We thank you, as every day that we pray, we thank you for your Word. We thank you for revealing to us your call to repent, your call to come back to you. We thank you for revealing to us the fact that you have a plan for our lives and that you actually want us to be blessed by you. You want us to be close to you. You want us to be as faithful to you as you are to us. And even when we are not faithful, even when we fail, you have not abandoned us. Because you are a good Dad. And so, Father today, Dad today, we thank you. We thank you for your gift. Thank you for your wisdom. And thank you for never abandoning us and continuing to call us back to your heart. Help us to say yes to your heart. Help us to say yes to your will. And help us to turn away from what we have turned to in place of you. What we have placed our trust in, in place of you. What we have given our heart to instead of you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”