Digging Deeper – Thus Saith the Lord

This week’s reading in Jeremiah 6 demonstrates a literary device that is among the most ubiquitous in the Old Testament, the phrase “thus says the Lord.” It occurs five times in this chapter alone (vv. 6, 9, 16, 21, 22), seven times if you include variations such as “declares the Lord” or “says the Lord” (omitting “thus”). In the entirety of the Old Testament, it occurs over 400 times, not including variations such as “declares the Lord,” “by the word of the Lord,” or “God said,” which would put the number somewhere in the thousands. The point being made is that the Old Testament constantly affirms the divine authority of its message, God’s direct communication to mankind.

This observation is not lost on me. A few years ago, some friends challenged me to read the Bible all the way through in 30 days. There is actually a Bible reading plan for this on the YouVersion Bible app called the 30-Day Shred Plan, if you are interested. Consuming such a concentrated amount of Scripture in such a short time helped me connect things that I had never connected when doing my normal daily devotions on a verse or chapter basis. One of the things I noticed was the abundance of the phrase “thus says the Lord” in the Old Testament and its abrupt discontinuation when you enter the New Testament. Not once does that expression appear in the New Testament, and rightfully so, for the Son of God has come and now he speaks to us directly.

This fact reminded me of Hebrews 1:1-2, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by
the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” The Scriptures abundantly evidence themselves to be the Word of God and Jesus the Word become flesh (John 1:14).

As you encounter the word of God through Jeremiah 6 this week, thank the Father that the Word “dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Amen.