Through the ESV Bible in a Year with Jackie Hill Perry

Episode: November 4 (Jeremiah 33–34; Psalm 115; 1 Corinthians 8–9)
Date: November 4, 2025
Host: Crossway

Episode Overview

This episode continues the daily journey through the Bible with selected readings from the Old Testament (Jeremiah 33–34), Psalms (Psalm 115), and the New Testament (1 Corinthians 8–9). Today’s theme centers on God’s restoration and faithfulness in Jeremiah, a call to exclusive worship in Psalms, and Paul’s teachings about freedom, conscience, and sacrifice in Corinthians. The passages are presented with reverence and designed to help listeners meditate on the larger narrative of God’s promises, human responsibility, and Christian liberty.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Jeremiah 33–34: Promises of Restoration, Righteousness, and Warnings

(00:01–07:32)

• God’s Promise of Restoration

  • God speaks to Jeremiah promising a future of "health and healing" for Judah and Israel, after a period of judgment (00:01).
    • “Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security.” (00:25)
  • Assurance that the city, once desolate, will once again be full of joy and prosperity.
    • “There shall be heard again the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride...” (01:25)

• Messianic Hope

  • God promises a "righteous branch to spring up for David," emphasizing God’s unbreakable covenant and foreshadowing the Messiah.
    • “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah... he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” (02:21)
  • The permanence of God’s covenants with David and the priesthood is likened to the fixed order of creation—day and night.
    • “If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night... then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken...” (03:05)

• Warning to Judah and King Zedekiah

  • God prophesies that Jerusalem will fall to the Babylonians due to breaking the law of setting slaves free and reverting to oppression after a false repentance (05:18).
    • “You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes... But then you turned around and profaned my name, when each of you took back his... slaves...” (06:03)
  • The judgment will be severe: the city will be destroyed and its people punished.

2. Psalm 115: God’s Glory, Idols, and Trust

(07:32–08:52)

• Soli Deo Gloria—For God’s Glory Alone

  • The Psalm begins with reminding the people that glory belongs exclusively to God and not to them.
    • “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.” (07:32)

• Contrast Between the Living God and Idols

  • Idols are described as powerless and lifeless, highlighting the folly of trusting in anything but the one true God.
    • “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands... Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them.” (07:48)

• A Call to Trust and Blessing

  • Multiple exhortations to trust in the Lord (Israel, house of Aaron, all who fear the Lord).
    • “He is their help and their shield.” (08:03)
  • God’s faithfulness is assured, with blessings extending to the small and the great alike.

3. 1 Corinthians 8–9: Knowledge, Freedom, and Sacrifice

(08:56–End)

• On Food Offered to Idols and Christian Knowledge

  • Paul addresses the controversies about eating food sacrificed to idols.
    • “We know that all of us possess knowledge. This knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” (08:56)
  • While idols have “no real existence,” not all Christians have the same understanding—conscience matters.
    • “Food will not commend us to God... But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.” (09:38)

• Love Over Liberty

  • Paul asserts that it's better to refrain from eating meat than to cause a weaker brother to fall into sin.
    • “Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.” (10:21)

• Paul’s Apostolic Rights and Sacrificial Ministry

  • Paul makes the case that apostles have the right to be supported materially, yet he refuses these rights for the sake of the gospel.
    • “If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? ... We endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.” (11:00)
  • Paul models a self-sacrificing ministry by presenting the gospel “free of charge.”
    • “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.” (12:04)

• Contextualization and Evangelistic Flexibility

  • “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel...” (12:44)
  • The metaphor of the race: discipline and self-control are necessary for Christian life and ministry.
    • “So run that you may obtain it... I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air, but I discipline my body and keep it under control...” (13:09)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• God’s Promises Surpass Human Failure:
  “I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me...”
  — Jeremiah 33:8 [00:55]
• Exclusive Worship:
  “Not to us, O Lord, not to us. But to your name give glory for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.”
  — Psalm 115:1 [07:32]
• Love Above Knowledge:
  “This knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”
  — 1 Corinthians 8:1 [08:56]
• Gospel Ministry and Self-Sacrifice:
  “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them... I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.”
  — 1 Corinthians 9:19, 22 [12:04, 12:44]

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• God’s Restoration & Covenant with David – 00:01–03:25
• Warning to Judah on Breaking the Covenant – 05:18–07:32
• Psalm 115 Reading – 07:32–08:52
• Food Offered to Idols and Christian Liberty – 08:56–10:21
• Paul on Ministerial Rights & Sacrifice – 10:53–12:04
• “All Things to All People”/Race Metaphor – 12:44–end

Summary

Today’s episode explores the depth of God’s unyielding faithfulness, even when His people fail. Jeremiah foreshadows restoration despite Israel’s repeated rebellion. Psalm 115 reminds listeners that true worship and trust belong to God alone, exposing the futility of idols. In 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses delicate issues of knowledge versus love, Christian rights versus the good of others, and the call to deny oneself for the sake of the gospel. With each passage, the overall tone is one of hope, reverence, and a call to selfless, worshipful living.

This reading-driven format helps listeners meditate on Scripture’s broad narrative and sharpens insights into Christian doctrine and practical faith.