Through the ESV Bible in a Year with Jackie Hill Perry

Episode: October 23 (Jeremiah 6–7; Psalm 105:26–45; Romans 3–4)
Date: October 23, 2025

Overview

This episode continues the journey through the ESV Bible, featuring readings from Jeremiah 6–7, Psalm 105:26–45, and Romans 3–4. The selected passages highlight themes of judgment and call to repentance in Jeremiah, a poetic recounting of God’s deliverance in the Psalms, and the doctrine of justification by faith in Romans.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Jeremiah 6–7: Warning, Judgment, and the Call to Genuine Repentance

• Impending Disaster and Unrepentance
  • The Lord, through Jeremiah, warns Judah about looming destruction due to unrelenting sin.
  • Corruption is widespread: leaders, prophets, and priests are called out for greed and false assurances of peace.
  • Memorable imagery underscores the depth of rebellion: “They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, peace, peace when there is no peace.” (08:12)
  • God laments the hardness of the people’s hearts: “To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised. They cannot listen.” (04:45)
• The Futility of Empty Worship
  • God rejects hollow religious rituals when hearts are far from Him:
    “Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.” (13:40)
  • He calls for genuine covenant faithfulness, justice, and mercy rather than trust in the presence of the temple or sacrificial system.
• Social Justice and Covenant Obedience
  • A stirring exhortation highlights God’s desires:
    “If you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless or the widow... then I will let you dwell in this place.” (16:02)
  • The people are accused of hypocrisy—committing injustices and idolatry while claiming security in God’s house.
• The Consequences of Persistent Idolatry
  • God details the coming judgment: destruction of Jerusalem, the silencing of joy, and the land becoming waste.
  • The Lord’s heartbreak is evident: “Is it I whom they provoke? Is it not themselves to their own shame?” (27:25)
  • Prophetic reminders of past judgment at Shiloh reinforce the certainty of God’s discipline.

2. Psalm 105:26–45: Recounting God’s Mighty Acts and Faithfulness

• Remembering the Exodus
  • Recounts God’s wonders in Egypt: the plagues, deliverance, and provision for His people.
  • The Psalmist emphasizes God’s faithfulness to His promise to Abraham:
    “He remembered his holy promise and Abraham his servant. So he brought his people out with joy, his chosen ones with singing.” (37:48)
• Provision and Protection in the Wilderness
  • Details how God provided quail, manna (“bread from heaven”), and water from the rock.
  • Concludes with a call to obedience:
    “That they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Praise the Lord.” (40:10)

3. Romans 3–4: Universal Sinfulness and the Gift of Justification by Faith

• All Under Sin—No One Righteous
  • Paul declares both Jews and Gentiles are under the power of sin:
    “None is righteous, no, not one. No one understands, no one seeks for God.” (44:24)
• Law’s Purpose and Limitations
  • The law reveals sin but cannot justify; justification is apart from law, through faith in Christ.
  • “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” (49:30)
• Faith and the Righteousness of God
  • Justification comes as a gift through Jesus:
    “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (50:17)
• Abraham as the Model of Faith
  • Abraham’s faith—before circumcision—credited as righteousness illustrates the inclusivity of God’s promise.
  • Key insight: “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” (56:15)
• Faith for All—Jews and Gentiles
  • The promise depends on faith so that it may rest on grace and extend to all Abraham’s offspring:
    “He is the father of us all... in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.” (59:50)
• Assurance in Christ’s Resurrection
  • Paul closes with the hope of justification:
    “It will be counted to us who believe in him, who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” (1:03:20)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On False Peace:
  “They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, peace, peace when there is no peace.” — Jeremiah (08:12)
• On Hearing God:
  “To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised. They cannot listen.” — Jeremiah (04:45)
• On God’s Requirements:
  “If you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another... then I will let you dwell in this place.” — Jeremiah (16:02)
• On Universal Sinfulness:
  “None is righteous, no, not one. No one understands, no one seeks for God.” — Paul, Romans 3 (44:24)
• On Justification:
  “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” — Paul (49:30)
• On the Gift of Righteousness:
  “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” — Paul, quoting Genesis (56:15)
• On Resurrection and Justification:
  “Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” — Paul (1:03:20)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:01] — Jeremiah 6–7: Warnings, hypocrisy, call to repentance
• [37:35] — Psalm 105:26–45: Recounting the Exodus and God’s provision
• [44:10] — Romans 3–4: Universal sin, justification by faith, Abraham’s example
• [56:10] — Abraham’s faith as a model for all believers
• [1:03:20] — Final assurance in Christ’s resurrection and justification

Tone and Style

The readings maintain a reverent and solemn tone—direct, urgent, and poetic in the prophetic passages, celebratory and reflective in the Psalm, and logically compelling with passionate conviction in Romans. The language is faithful to the ESV translation, with clear expressions of God’s justice, mercy, and faithfulness.

Summary

Today’s episode weaves together God’s call to repentance (Jeremiah), His faithfulness in history (Psalm), and the good news of justification by faith (Romans). It invites listeners to soberly reflect on the dangers of empty religion and to embrace the gift of righteousness through faith in Christ—a faith illustrated in Abraham and available to all, Jew and Gentile alike.