Reading through Jeremiah 50 and 51, the unexamined hermeneutic classified passages not specific to pre-exilic and exilic times to our times. Explicit mention of "Babylon" or "Medes" cemented the verse in the historical past, leaving all other verses for us to puzzle out.

It was mechanical and not perceptively prayerful. We were reminded that biblical prophecy simply "works this way." And I wondered, "Is God a God of confusion?!"

But then, I do something similar, to a lesser degree. In the first instance, of course, all of Jeremiah's words apply to his immediate situation one way or another. I may not know precisely how but I trust that they do.

Then, in the second instance, I recognize passages that speak to me, Jeremiah 50:20, for example:

'In those days and at that time,' declares the LORD, 'search will be made for the iniquity of Israel, but there will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.'

I look forward to that time because I put myself among God's people, among those to whom God's words are addressed. And, taken literally, I confess that I trust that the prophecy will be fulfilled, 'though I don't see it taking place in a discernible way just yet.