thinking bible.

You asked

how does jeremiah, a contemporary of the early exile, portray god's presence differently?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Jeremiah 23:23-24

“Am I a God at hand,” says Yahweh, “and not a God far away? Can any hide himself in secret places so that I shall not see him?” says Yahweh. “Don’t I fill heaven and earth?” says Yahweh.

Jeremiah, a prophet active during the tumultuous final decades before Jerusalem's destruction and the initial stages of exile (late 7th to early 6th century BCE), delivered God's messages to a people facing judgment and displacement. In this passage, Jeremiah challenges the false prophets who offered comforting but misleading messages, reminding the people that God's presence is inescapable and all-encompassing, even in their distress.

When faced with uncertainty or hidden struggles, how might understanding God's pervasive presence change one's perspective?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

  • Psalm 139:7-12

    This psalm offers a poetic reflection on the inescapability of God's presence, echoing Jeremiah's theme.

  • Acts 17:27-28

    Paul, addressing philosophers, speaks of God's pervasive presence, in whom 'we live, and move, and have our being'.

  • Isaiah 66:1

    This verse describes God's throne as heaven and earth as his footstool, emphasizing his transcendence and immense presence.

Ask your own follow-up