I have found the conversation between the Lord and Jeremiah interesting this year! In yesterday’s reading, Jeremiah complained to the Lord,
LORD, you always give me justice
when I bring a case before you.
So let me bring you this complaint:
Why are the wicked so prosperous?
And the Lord replied,
“If racing against mere men makes you tired,
how will you race against horses?
If you stumble and fall on open ground,
what will you do in the thickets near the Jordan?
Today the Lord forbids Jeremiah to pray for the people of Judah.
Today we have a joyful psalm of King David, joyfully giving thanks and praying for his people. Note the huge contrast with Jeremiah.
Corinth was a metropolis on the Mediterranean Sea with a population of between 150,000 and 300,000 Roman citizens and about 460,000 slaves. There was evidently a healthy criminal population, and the city was a center of banking, so there were incredibly wealthy people there also. The city was full of idol shrines of deities from Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and there was cult prostitution.
Some commentators claim that 1 Corinthians contains parts of two letters from Paul, so that 2nd Corinthians might actually be a third or fourth letter. I don’t buy that, by the way.
Key topics of the letter include the divisions in the church, the obstacles to sharing the Gospel— God’s wisdom, to Greeks and Jews, vice in the church, partnership among apostles of Christ, vice in the church, various instructions about marriage, the Lord’s supper, food sacrificed to idols, Paul not caching in on his rights as an apostle, spiritual gifts and the spiritual fruit of love, and the resurrection of Christ.
Today's chapter includes that verse from Jeremiah that I highlighted recently.
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