Have we lost the plot? Do we really know Jesus at all?
Photo by the simply incredible Matt Collamer, courtesy of Unsplash. Go check out his work, it’s amazing.
“When you come back again / Can you bring me something from the fridge / Heard a rumor that the end is near / But I just got comfortable here...”
Jeremiah 22:16-17 says two incredible things:
Taking care of those in need is key to knowing God; and
If we take care of those in need, God will take care of us.
In this passage, Jeremiah excoriates a cruel king who gloried in his palace lined with cedar and painted with vermillion while callously neglecting the poor and destitute.
“‘Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labor. He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace with spacious upper rooms.’ So he makes large windows in it, panels it with cedar and decorates it in red [vermillion]. ‘Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?’ declares the Lord. ‘But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion.’”
Let’s look at a couple of paraphrases to really dig into the meat and potatoes of this text:
“‘He gave justice and help to the poor and needy, and everything went well for him. Isn’t that what it means to know me?’ says the Lord. ‘But you! You have eyes only for greed and dishonesty! You murder the innocent, oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.’”
“‘He stuck up for the down-and-out, and things went well for Judah. Isn’t this what it means to know me?’ God’s Decree! ‘But you’re blind and brainless. All you think about is yourself, taking advantage of the weak, bulldozing your way, bullying victims.’”
WOOD and BLOOD
In the time of Jeremiah the prophet (circa 7th–6th century BCE), VERMILLION was a relatively rare and valuable pigment. The Bible mentions it in Jeremiah 22:14, where it describes houses being paneled and painted with "cedar and vermillion."
(DIVE: סָגוּן, sāḡôn in Hebrew).
While one source of vermillion is the kermes (a scale insect that feeds on the saps of oaks), vermillion in antiquity mostly came from cinnabar (mercury sulfide, HgS): a toxic, naturally occurring mineral that would have had to be imported at great expense. The best sources were in Spain (notably Almaden), but cinnabar was also known in Asia Minor and China.
Cinnabar was notoriously difficult to extract. The process of grinding it into a pigment and ensuring its stability made it even more costly; not just monetarily but in cost of human life. Mercury is a neurotoxin that can cause everything from tremors, mood swings, and headaches to systematic organ failure and a horribly painful death. To this day, mercury miners generally don’t last very long.
CEDAR, particularly from Lebanon, was one of the most prized building materials in the ancient Near East, and it required extensive trade networks and wealth to acquire. Cedar was not naturally abundant in Judah, so it had to be imported through Phoenician trade routes (likely from Tyre or Sidon).
You line your walls, might Jeremiah say, with expensive materials out of your greed and pride—then paint them with human blood.
i: the cost is always greater than you know.
Jesus still paid it.
It began with an angle of Michaelangelo’s breathtaking Pieta that utterly wrecked me. This angle. Because there is something to it that caught my eye, eighteen years ago.
It hit me like a 2x4 plank. A sharpened one. Let’s call it… the splinter.
Wow. Do we really know Jesus at all, or have we lost the plot? This is incredibly convicting for me this morning. “All you think about is yourself,” God says.
How we treat the poor and the destitute matters to Jesus, and it should matter to us. It’s not a little thing, the cruelty currently being directed at the poor in the United States. It’s a matter of life and death.
Proverbs 21:13 says that if we refuse to listen to the cry of the poor, God will not listen to our prayers.
Matthew 25:31-46 makes it a salvation issue.
That should terrify you. It terrifies me.
Think I’m being harsh? Don't take my word for it. Here's what the Word says. These are just a few of the 2000+ verses in the Bible unveiling God's heart for the poor, the sojourner, the stranger, the widow and orphan.
"They have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy." Jeremiah 5:28 [dive:?]
"Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy." Ezekiel 16:49 (ESV)
"‘Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’" Deuteronomy 27:19 (ESV)
"Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place." Jeremiah 22:3 (ESV)
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." James 1:27 (ESV)
"Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:8-9 (ESV)
"Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause." Isaiah 1:17 (ESV)
"For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall" Isaiah 25:4 (ESV)
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalms 46:1b (ESV)
"Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute." Psalm 82:3 (ESV)
"I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will execute justice for the needy." Psalm 140:12 (ESV)
"Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him." Psalms 41:1 (ESV)
“Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.” Psalms 12:5 (ESV)
"Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” Psalm 82:3-4 (ESV)
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven." Matthew 18:10 (ESV)
"He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this to know me? declares the Lord." Jeremiah 22:16 (ESV)
"Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation." Psalm 68:5 (ESV)
"He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing." Deuteronomy 10:18 (ESV)
"Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel." Proverbs 12:10 (ESV)
"To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more." Psalm 10:18 (ESV)
"Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow's cause does not come to them." Isaiah 1:23 (ESV)
"Because I delivered the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to help him." Job 29:12
"When the ear heard, it called me blessed, and when the eye saw, it approved, because I delivered the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to help him. The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy, and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know. I broke the fangs of the unrighteous and made him drop his prey from his teeth." Job 29:11-17
"Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not He who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not He who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will He not repay man according to his work?" Proverbs 24:11-12
"Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him." Proverbs 14:31
"Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor." Proverbs 14:21
"In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’" Acts 20:35
"But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless." Psalm 10:14
"Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed." Proverbs 19:17
"Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished." Proverbs 17:5
"The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin." Psalm 146:9
"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?" Isaiah 58:6-7
"Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor." Proverbs 22:9 (ESV)
"Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:9 (ESV)
"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you.'" Hebrews 13:5 (ESV)
"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8
"My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold.
[Don’t miss the implication there: the lost sheep? They’re up on the hills and mountains, while their fold is in the valley].
All who found them have devoured them, and their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the Lord, their habitation of righteousness, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’" Jeremiah 50:6-7
"If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin. You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’" Deuteronomy 15:7-11 (ESV)
…and of course:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit sthe kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25:31-46 (ESV)
Neighbors, have we forgotten our first Love by failing to love the poor and needy, sojourner and refugee, widow and orphan—not just with words but with deeds? Do we really know Him at all, or have we lost the plot?
from the river Beautiful, Chapter 2: the last dove's flight. Want to come along? Follow the River at theriverBeautiful.com
SOURCES/FURTHER READING
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (n.d.). The story of cinnabar and vermilion. The Met. Retrieved February 28, 2025, from https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/cinnabar-vermilion
Bible Hub. (n.d.). Topical Bible: Vermillion. Retrieved February 28, 2025, from https://biblehub.com/topical/v/vermillion.htm
University of Michigan. (n.d.). Ancient color—Red pigments. Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. Retrieved February 28, 2025, from https://exhibitions.kelsey.lsa.umich.edu/ancient-color/map_red.php
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (n.d.). Health Effects of Exposures to Mercury. Mercury. Retrieved March 7, 2025, from https://www.epa.gov/mercury/health-effects-exposures-mercury
Biblical Archaeology Society. (n.d.). Lebanese cedar—The prized tree of ancient woodworking. Biblical Archaeology Society. Retrieved February 28, 2025, from https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/artifacts-and-the-bible/lebanese-cedar-the-prized-tree-of-ancient-woodworking/
Jewish Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Cedar. Retrieved February 28, 2025, from https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4164-cedar
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Cedars of God. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 28, 2025, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedars_of_God
