LEANING FORWARD - God’s intention to provide righteous leadership for the future-both royal and priestly leadership-forms the focus of this lesson. Earlier we have heard of the breakdown of earlier sons of David, but now the oracle that Jeremiah speaks calls for the restoration of fortunes, a reversal from unrighteous to righteous governance.

JEHOVAH TSKIDKENU - Earlier, Jeremiah has referred to God as "The Lord [who] is our righteousness" (23:6); now that title is once again spoken but this time referring to a ruler whom God will send to rule righteously and the title will become synonymous with Jerusalem-the place of God’s rule.

PARADIGM SHIFT - What a great vision chapters 32 and 33 hold before the reader. "Forgiveness of iniquity is clearly a dimension of God’s future for the people (33:8), but both chapters set forth a detailed picture of renewal that takes place in economic and social ways. Business transactions will resume. Real estate deals will be possible. People will engage in the most human, intimate, and celebratory rituals of life-both personal (weddings) and cultic (thanksgiving offerings) . . . The holistic vision of the future put forth in chapter 33 addresses itself also to questions of l3eadership, indicating that politics and religion, the governance of the city and the service of God in worship, are part of the restoration that God effects. [1]

Describe some advertisements that show "before" and "after" results simply by using a company’s products. Describe the "before" of Jerusalem at the time of Jeremiah’s writing and the then begin to envision the "after" of the same place according to Jeremiah’s hopeful oracle.

What promise have you made, but took a very long time to get around to fulfilling your promise? What potential problems does that kind of gap create to one we’ve promised to?

What movies have you recently watched that express this them. (Tears of the Sun, The Body Guard, for instance, revolve around the idea of carrying out the orders or promise to bring a person from danger to safety.

Please refer to the DPS homily for this week for ideas on this passage.

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[1] The New Interpreter’s Bible VI (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2001), page 827-8.