The word of the LORD came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah. – Jeremiah 1:2

Today's Scripture Reading (May 7, 2023): Jeremiah 1

I have always believed that my paternal grandfather was a man born at the wrong time. But in recent years, I have begun to re-evaluate that position. I have felt he was "born out of time" because he seemed to have such an easy relationship with technology. I would call my grandfather an "early adopter" of technology. He seemed to understand almost innately how new technology could transform his life. Because of this trait, I have always believed if he had been born just a little later, he would have made the most of the emerging technology that we take for granted and sometimes underutilize.

However, he was also perfect for his time. My grandfather was part of the gospel music industry, heavily involved in concerts and releasing recordings of his work for most of his life. It is a job that was undergoing significant change at the time that he retired, and it is a job that might not even exist now, except maybe for the privileged and lucky few. As a result of this development, I am reassessing my position on whether or not my grandfather was a man out of time.

Jeremiah seems to be a person ideally suited for his time. The weeping prophet was born around 650 B.C.E. We are told that he received his call into ministry in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah. That places Jeremiah on the prophetic edge of his nation in 626 B.C.E at about the age of twenty-four. As a result, Jeremiah had a front-row seat for the closing years of the good reign of Josiah, who reigned from 640 – 609 B.C.E. He was also in a position to experience the evil and short reign of Shallum, who reigned for three months in 609 B.C.E. under the regnal name of Jehoahaz. He lived through the evil reign of Eliakim, who reigned under the regnal name of Jehoiakim from 609 – 598 B.C.E., the short three-month reign of Jeconiah, who Jeremiah calls Coniah, at the end of 598 B.C.E., and the reign of the final King of Judah, Zedekiah, from 597 – 586 B.C.E.

Jeremiah watched as the Assyrian Empire fell in 612 B.C.E., he was present for the rise of the Babylonian Empire, and he watched from inside the city as Jerusalem fell in 586 B.C.E. At the time of Jerusalem's demise, Jeremiah would have been about sixty-four years old.

And all through this time, Jeremiah spoke, and Baruch wrote down the prophecies he heard. Jeremiah was never taken to Babylon in the exile of many of Jerusalem's population. Still, his own people would eventually force the prophet away from his beloved Jerusalem and into their self-imposed exile in Egypt, where he would die sometime later. But it is hard to imagine this time in history without Jeremiah recording what was happening and encouraging Judah to repent and return to God.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 2

Personal Note: Happy Birthday to my Son, Craig. I hope you have a great day.