The Bible by David Alley

"I am the man who has seen affliction..." says Jeremiah in this third chapter which describes his own personal suffering and affliction. Anyone want to swap places with Jeremiah? Despite its sadness this particular chapters holds a special place of affection in my (David's) heart.

It's a good thing Jeremiah used poetic language to describe the horrors he witnessed, because children reading the Bible won't grasp the fullness of how bad it was. In this chapter, Jeremiah describes through another beautiful Hebrew acrostic poem, the worst sights he had even seen.

Jeremiah continues his lament for Jerusalem, and like chapter 1, this chapter also follows a 22 verse acrostic poem with each verse starting with a successive Hebrew letter. In this chapter he mourns that God had to get so angry, and acknowledged it was righteous and necessary, but sad because it was avoidable.

"And it happened after Israel had been led captive and Jerusalem had been destroyed that Jeremiah sat and lamented with the following lamentation and said:...” And so begins the saddest book in the Bible. Why is that? Find out here:

In the final chapter of Jeremiah, a kind of appendix or postscript written by someone later, we see that the deeds of God, though seemingly harsh are filled with kindness and grace. Judgement requires a judge and the sorting out of good and evil is necessary and done for the good of all. What happened to Jeremiah and what comes next in the Bible?

Jeremiah 51 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

Jeremiah 50 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

Jeremiah 49 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

Jeremiah 48 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. Jeremiah brings a long prophecy against Moab and their detestable god Chemosh who required child sacrifice. After great patience, the Lord determined this false religious system which was corrupting the earth was to be removed. How did this happen, when and why?

Jeremiah 47 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. The Philistines were a nation that came from over the sea (possibly Crete) and were a thorn to Israel for a long time. But in this prophecy from Jeremiah the Lord is going to make an end of this nation. What did God say, what did it mean, and what was the outcome in history?

Jeremiah 46 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. Jeremiah now begins a series of prophecies against all the nations surrounding Israel, beginning with Egypt. It is a prophecy of judgement and doom. Why does God care about these nations? Why does he judge them? Do they even know about these prophecies?

Jeremiah 44 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. Even after going to Egypt the Jews that survive still do not give up idol worship. In this chapter Jeremiah confronts them as they worship the Queen of Heaven. This video explores what Jeremiah has to say, who the Queen of Heaven is, and why they still keep on worshipping other gods.

Jeremiah 45 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. Baruch was the one faithful man that stood by Jeremiah in his difficult years, and now the Lord gives Jeremiah a personal prophecy for him. We all want to receive a personal prophecy, but would you want to receive this one?

Jeremiah 43 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. This chapter contains the prohpecy of Jeremiah, who was now in Egypt at the time. He predicted the people who had left Jerusalem to avoid trouble, would find the exact thing in Egypt. He was not popular as a result. Why was this the case? Why was God so against them going back to Egypt?

Jeremiah 42 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. After Gedaliah the governor is assassinated, Jeremiah is consulted by the remaining poor - and given his amazing track record you would think he would have been believed. But his answer isn't' what they want to hear and once again they don't listen. What does this say about sermons we don't agree with?

Jeremiah 41 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. After the seige is over and only a few are left, Gedaliah is appointed governor, but he is quickly assasinated by Ishamel of Ammon. Chaos reigns. This video explores the chaotic days before Jeremiah is dragged away out of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 40 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. The narrative around the siege of Jerusalem continues and in this video Nebuzaradan, the commander of the Babylonian army captures Jeremiah and releases him. In his mind he is fulfilling the word of the Lord in what he does. Why would this be so? This video explains.

Jeremiah 39 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. This chapter diverts from the usual prophetic/poetic style and is narrative. Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians and King Zedekiah flees the city, but is captured. At this point two prophecies, one by Jeremiah and one by Ezekiel which seem to be in opposition to each other are both fulfilled and God is proven to be double right.

Jeremiah 37 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In this chapter and video, Zedekiah secretly talks to Jeremiah to try to find out what God is saying without others knowing, but the word from the Lord is the same. Zedekiah promises Jeremiah will not tell that they had a conversation, so how do we know that they talked? Was Jeremiah unfaithful to his promise? And what is up with Zedekiah and his double minded flipping all the time?

Jeremiah 38 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. The things that Jeremiah was preaching and prophecying seem to be subversive and politically undermining the king, even though they are true, and so he has enemies. In this chapter his enemies try to kill him by throwing him in an underground cistern (which you can still visit in Jerusalem) and leave him for dead. He is rescued by Ebedmelech as this video explains.

Jeremiah 36 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. Since Jeremiah is unable to preach in public, he gets Baruch to do it for him. Baruch is apprehended in the temple reading out the scroll of Jeremiah's words. The scroll ends up in the Kings winter residence where it is burned and destroyed column by column... the first act of vandalism of God's words that we are aware of.

Jeremiah 35 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In this video we meet the Rechabites, an interesting group of nomads who live in tents, and have abstained from alcohol for hundreds of years, based on the commands of an ancestor. God makes the point through Jeremiah that this group obey the command of their tee-totalling ancestor, but God's people don't listen to him though he speaks in the present. We also discuss alcohol in the Bible in this video.

Jeremiah 34 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 34 we discuss the two prophecies given to King Zedekiah - one by Ezekiel and the other by Jeremiah which seemed to be contradictory. Certainly that is how Zedekiah interpreted them, and henceforth ignored Jeremiah. Were they really contradictory? This video explains that God sometimes gives words that don't make sense until later.

Jeremiah 32 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 32 the strangest thing happens - the Lord tells Jeremiah he is going to be offered a property for sale and he is to buy it. Sure enough this happens, but the question is, why buy a property in the middle of a war, when the security of land is not guaranteed. Watch this video and find out.

Jeremiah 33 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 33 we learn God's phone number by which you can have a direct line to God at anytime. What is his phone number? Watch the video to find out.

Jeremiah 31 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 31 we have another Messianic gospel-times prophecy from Jeremiah - along the vein of things we see in Isaiah. Taken literally it seems to be saying that the tribes of Israel will be reunited, but there are reasons for understanding it at a deeper and more true level. How should we understand this prophecy - this is a video that will help.

Jeremiah 30 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 30 the Lord tells Jeremiah to write a book - which is the scroll of Jeremiah and the then chapter then goes on to contain a messianic prophecy about gospel times. A strictly literal interpretation will not uncover what the prophecy is about - hence why it says "in the latter days you will understand." And what is the Latter days? This video explains? Its not what you think.

Jeremiah 29 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 29 we find a letter which contains prohpecy to the exiles already in Babylon - which included Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Jeremiah encourages them to settle down and make the most of life as the captivity will last a longer time than they think. He also gives the promise that God has plans for them to do them good. This promise is often taken by believers today for ourselves, but is important to understand in context.

Jeremiah 28 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 28 the false prophet Hananiah breaks the yoke that Jeremiah made in chapter 27 off his neck. This is supposed to be a sign that God is going to break the yoke of Babylon off of Judah. However God replies by declaring that the yoke of Babylon will be a yoke of iron. Additionally, Jeremiah prophecies against Hananiah who dies two months later.

Jeremiah 27 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 27 the chapter starts with a prophecy to five nations surrounding Judah, and ends with the same prophecy to Judah itself. In each of these Jeremiah makes a set of yokes to wear and sends it to the nations as a sign that they are to be enslaved by Babylon. These six nations, the five plus Judah, had a conspiracy to work together to overthrown Babylon, but Jeremiah predicts it will fail. As usual, they do not listen to him. This video also explains a scribal error in verse one which places the chapter in the reign of the wrong king, but later verses clear up the mistake. New translations of the Bible fix this automatically.

Jeremiah 26 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 26 he goes to the temple and proclaims judgement against it as happened to Shiloh. He is then accused of having a capital crime, and almost dies, but his reputation is strongly tarnished.

Jeremiah 25 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 25 the Lord is displeased with Jehoiakim and send Jeremiah with a word to outline the timetable of the punishment that is to come. It predicts 70 years of subjugation at the hand of Babylon, which is historically what happened.

Jeremiah 24 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 24 the Lord shows Jeremiah a vision of two baskets of figs. One is good and the other is so bad it cannot be eaten. He then goes on to make a distinction between two types of people in the land. The same distinction can often be made today.

Jeremiah 23 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 23 the Lord gives Jeremiah prophecies about the false shepherds (pastors) and the false prophets both of which are profane. They peddle the word of God for money, and take advantage of the people for their own benefit. God is not happy!!

Jeremiah 22 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 22 we have a collection of prophetic words from Jeremiah which cover various aspects of the last 5 kings, four of which were evil. This video goes into the remarkable things said about Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) and how Christ descends from this king.

Jeremiah 21 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 21 the King Zedekiah calls upon Jeremiah for a word regarding the approaching Babylonian army, and the word that God gives is the opposite of what he is expecting.

Jeremiah 20 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 20 immediately following the smashing of pottery incident (Jeremiah 19) Passhur - a public official puts Jeremiah in the stocks at a public location to humiliate him. Jeremiah then complains to the Lord about his treatment. He cannot speak publicly because he is persecuted, but likewise he cannot hold in the Lord's words because they are like a fire inside his bones. Jeremiah is in a catch-22 situation.

Jeremiah 19 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 19 he goes at the Lord's instruction to the Hinnom valley where he calls a gathering of people to observe him smash pottery. Judah is the pot, says the Lord, that is to be smashed. The HInnom valley was the location of where many babies were sacrificed to false gods and buried in a Topheth there. This video considers the horrific location of the Hinnom valley, and the enacted prophecy of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 18 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 18 the Lord sends Jeremiah to observe a potter in action, and he notices how during the shaping of a vessel, if it doesn't turn out properly, the potter starts again. Can I not shape you for my purposes, asks the Lord. We are the clay, and he is the potter.

Jeremiah 17 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 17 the Lord says that the sins of Judah are so permanent they are written with a pen of iron. The Lord goes on to observe how deceitful the human heart was - a thing that remains the same today. What does it mean to have a deceitful heart?

Jeremiah 16 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 16 the Lord forbids Jeremiah to get married or to have children. This seems so harsh at first hearing, but in this video we find out it was the great kindness of the Lord.

Jeremiah 15 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 15 God is so determined to judge that he declares that even if Moses or Samuel were present it would not stop Him. Both of these prophets convinced the Lord to relent at previous times in Israel's history, but nothing will stop the Lord this time. Why - what was so bad - Manasseh was a big part of why.

Jeremiah 14 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 14 there is a drought in the land of Judah, and Jeremiah (once again) is told not to pray for their relief. There is a biblical precedent for how to handle drought as this video explains. In addition, false prophets were common at the time, and this video considers the idea of false prophecy then and now.

Jeremiah 13 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 13 the Lord instructs Jeremiah to buy a belt of fabric which he must not wash - it becomes filthy. He then has to walk to the land of Babylon and bury it in a highly symbolic act of what was going to happen to Judah.

Jeremiah 12 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 12 he raises questions about the way the Lord does things because it seems unfair that the wicked get away without jugdement, while the righteoss struggle. This is an age-old question that began with the story of Job.

Jeremiah 11 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 11 God continues explaining why he is done with His people, and then instructs Jeremiah NOT to pray for them. What reasons could there be that would allow a refusal of prayer? Then the people of Jeremiah's own home town, Anathoth, turn against him.

Jeremiah 10 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 10 we have a chapter which contains instructions to the exiles who are headed for Babylon, including an entire sentence in Aramaic, the only Aramaic language in the entire book. Just because God used the Babylonians to judge His people, didn't mean the ways of the Babylonians were right, as this chapter covers.

Jeremiah 9 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 9 the weeping of Jeremiah continues in poetry over what he sees is coming for Jerusalem. In this video we consider the differences in style and content between Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel and why one is the thundering prophet, one is the weeping prophet and the other a hard prophet,

Jeremiah 8 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 8 the prophet sees what is coming and his prophecy turns into poetry as with the use of parallelism he begins to weep and mourn over what is ahead. He weeps night and day, and we see why Jeremiah has become known as the weeping prophet. I remember clearly an experience of culture shock in Sri-Lanka which I couldn’t get out of my mind for days. Jeremiah is in shock over what he has seen, but also because his listeners ignore his warnings of peril.

Jeremiah 7 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Jeremiah 7 things have become so serious that Jeremiah is now instructed to stand at the door to the temple and proclaim warnings to everyone “as they come to church.” Jeremiah calls them nasty names at it reminds us of when Jesus cleared out the temple. Both Jesus and Jeremiah’s actions were perceived as anti-establishment and earned both of them a place on the hate list.