Calvary
Chapel Bible College
September
23, 2020
Homework Review
I hope you took the “quiz” about your reading as well as those for your
memory verse and prayer requests.
Note: PLEASE
leave me a prayer request. It doesn’t
have to be deep or revealing, just give me an idea of how to pray. AND it’s worth a point toward your “class
participation” section.
Would anyone like to try reciting our memory verse for the week?
(Jeremiah
9:24 NKJV) But let him who glories glory in this, That he
understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord,
exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these
I delight,” says the Lord.
Introduction
His name means “Yahweh appoints”
Jeremiah was the chief prophet during the days of the destruction of the
nation of Judah. There were other
prophets around at the time as well:
Daniel, Ezekiel, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah, but Jeremiah was the main
prophet. His ministry began about 60 years after the death of the prophet
Isaiah.
Jeremiah was born into a family of priests, but he would function more as a
prophet.
His ministry was destined from the beginning to be a ministry of
“failure”. The people were not going to
pay attention to him. The people were on
the way downhill and destined for judgment.
One of Jeremiah’s nicknames is the “weeping prophet”.
It’s possible this nickname comes from the book of Lamentations,
also written by Jeremiah.
Lamentations is Jeremiah’s weeping over the destruction of
Jerusalem.
It’s not a bad thing to keep in mind though as you read this book. We don’t often hear the “emotion” of the
writer as we read.
The prophecies are not in chronological order.
We know this because he dates many of his prophecies.
The order seems to be more topical than chronological.
Jeremiah 19
19:1-9 Prophecy against the valley of Tophet
Jeremiah is asked to gather some
leaders, and them to the valley of Tophet, along with
a pottery jar.
Tophet was the “trash dump” (we
talked about this in chapter 7)
Jeremiah tells these leaders
that God will make this valley a place where people are slaughtered during the
Babylonian invasion.
:1 Thus says the Lord: “Go and get a potter’s earthen flask, and take some of the elders of the people and
some of the elders of the priests.
bottle – baqbuk – flask, bottle; the word probably
comes from the sound of water being poured out, chugging. It’s a narrow necked pottery flask.
:2 And go out to the
Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the Potsherd Gate;
and proclaim there the words that I will tell you,
Potsherd – charcuwth – this gate was called the “potsherd”
gate because when people had trash like broken pieces of pottery, they would go
out this gate on the way to the trash dump located in the valley of Hinnom. The
gate was also called the “dung” gate.
:2 valley of the son of Hinnom
The Hebrew is “geh ben hinnom”,
sometimes shortened to “the valley of Hinnom” or, “ge-hinnom”
This valley was located south of Jerusalem.
We talked about this valley back in Jeremiah 7 – that it was not only a
place where Molech was worshipped, but it would one day become a picture of
“hell”, though this fact doesn’t have anything to do with Jeremiah’s message.
This was the city trash dump, where people threw stuff away.
It becomes the backdrop for Jeremiah’s message to these leaders.
A place in the southeast end of the valley was called “Tophet” or “place of
fire”. It was in Tophet that some of the Jews worshipped Molech.
Molech was formed as a bronze statue with his arms outstretched. He was
heated in the fire until he became red hot, and then the little children would
be placed in his arms as a sacrifice as the priests beat their drums and yelled
their chants to drown out the baby's screams as it died in the arms of Molech.
It was in this valley that even King Manasseh sacrifice
his son to Molech (2Ki. 21:6).
Later, King Josiah would tear down the pagan altars there and defile them.
(2 Kings
23:10 NKJV) And he defiled Topheth, which is in the
Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter
pass through the fire to Molech.
Eventually it was turned into a garbage dump where the fires were kept
burning to consume worm infested garbage, animal carcases,
and dead bodies like the abandoned dead bodies of criminals. It became a vivid
picture of hell. The name “Gehenna”
became the Hebrew term for “hell”.
:3 and say, ‘Hear the
word of the Lord, O kings of
Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
“Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of
it, his ears will tingle.
:4 “Because they have
forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in
it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have
known, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents
:5 (they have also built
the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt
offerings to Baal, which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My
mind),
:6 therefore behold, the
days are coming,” says the Lord,
“that this place shall no more be called Tophet or the Valley of the Son of
Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.
slaughter – haregah – a killing, slaughter
The valley would be known as “ge-haregah”
This is not talking about how the valley would be a picture of hell.
Here the idea is that the valley would be the place of the slaughter of the
people killed by the Babylonians in the coming judgment.
:7 And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this
place, and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by
the hands of those who seek their lives; their corpses I will give as meat for
the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the
earth.
:8 I will make this city
desolate and a hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss
because of all its plagues.
Not only would the valley be a place of slaughter, but Jerusalem would also
be wiped out.
:9 And I will cause them
to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and everyone
shall eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and in the desperation with
which their enemies and those who seek their lives shall drive them to despair.” ’
Cannibalism during the siege of the Babylonians against Jerusalem.
19:10-15 More against Tophet
Then Jeremiah is told to break
the pottery jar, and tell the leaders that the city
will be broken.
All this takes place at the
“potsherd gate”, where broken pottery was thrown in the trash dump.
Then Jeremiah goes to the Temple
and repeats the message in front of all the people.
:10 “Then you shall break
the flask in the sight of the men who go with you,
Remember, Jeremiah took a clay bottle with him.
:11 and say to them,
‘Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot be made whole again;
and they shall bury them in Tophet till there is no place to
bury.
In the last chapter (Jer. 18), the idea of the potter’s vessel was one
where the potter could mold and shape the clay.
Here the clay has been fired and hardened. Instead of being “repaired”, it
is being destroyed.
:12 Thus I will do to
this place,” says the Lord, “and
to its inhabitants, and make this city like Tophet.
:13 And the houses of
Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled like the place
of Tophet, because of all the houses on whose roofs they have burned incense to
all the host of heaven, and poured out drink offerings to other gods.” ’ ”
:14 Then Jeremiah came
from Tophet, where the Lord had
sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the Lord’s house and said to
all the people,
Note: NKJV seems to have made an error. “Lord’s house” should be “Lord’s house”. It is “Yahweh” in the
Hebrew
:15 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
‘Behold, I will bring on this city and on all her towns all the doom that I
have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their necks that they
might not hear My words.’ ”
So Jeremiah has taken the
message he gave at the Potsherd gate, and now repeated
it in the large Temple courtyard.
Jeremiah 20
When the people had earlier devised a plot against Jeremiah, they said,
(Jeremiah
18:18 NLT) Then the people said, “Come on, let’s plot a way
to stop Jeremiah. We have plenty of priests and wise men and prophets. We don’t
need him to teach the word and give us advice and prophecies. Let’s spread
rumors about him and ignore what he says.”
They had their own prophets and priests to tell them what they thought God
was saying.
The Bible talks about in the last days that people will accumulate teachers
who will “tickle their ears” (2Ti 4:3)
(2 Timothy 4:3–4
NKJV) —3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine,
but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they
will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
Jeremiah has also talked about the prophets who misled the people by
telling them that everything was going to be all right.
(Jeremiah
8:11 NKJV) For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of
My people slightly, Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace.
Now we’re going to meet one of these fellows …
20:1-6 Pashur’s persecution
:1 Now Pashhur the son of Immer, the priest who was also
chief governor in the house of the Lord,
heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things.
Pashur is the “chief governor”, probably in charge of maintaining order in
the Temple.
:2 Then Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet, and
put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was
by the house of the Lord.
struck – Jeremiah very likely received 40 lashes.
stocks – so Jeremiah would face public ridicule.
:3 And it happened on the
next day that Pashhur brought Jeremiah out of the
stocks. Then Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord
has not called your name Pashhur, but Magor-Missabib.
Pashhur – Pashchuwr – “freedom”
Magor-missabib – Magowr mic-Cabiyb – “terror on every side”
:4 For thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will make you a terror
to yourself and to all your friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their
enemies, and your eyes shall see it. I will give all Judah into the hand
of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive to Babylon and slay
them with the sword.
:5 Moreover I will
deliver all the wealth of this city, all its produce, and all its precious
things; all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will give into the hand of
their enemies, who will plunder them, seize them, and carry them to Babylon.
:6 And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into
captivity. You shall go to Babylon, and there you shall die, and be buried
there, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied lies.’ ”
:6 you … shall go into captivity
It has been suggested that Pashhur was taken in
the second Babylonian captivity in 597 BC, the same deportation that took the
prophet Ezekiel to Babylon.
One of the tests of a prophet is whether or not
their doctrine about God is correct (Deut. 13).
(Deuteronomy 13:1–3
NKJV) —1 “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he
gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes to
pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you
have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall
not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know
whether you love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Another of the tests of a prophet is whether or not
their words come to pass.
(Deuteronomy
18:21–22 NKJV) —21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How
shall we know the word which the Lord
has not spoken?’—22 when a prophet speaks in the name of
the Lord, if the thing does not
happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has
spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
Pashhur was prophesying peace,
but would be a casualty of war.
Pashhur would be shown to be a
false prophet.
20:7-13 The burning heart
:7 O Lord, You
induced me, and I was persuaded; You are stronger than I, and
have prevailed. I am in derision daily; Everyone mocks me.
:7 O Lord, You
induced me, and I was persuaded
Lesson
Misunderstanding Trouble
Jeremiah feels like God has made a fool out of him.
Maybe he wonders why God hasn’t wiped Jerusalem out yet and the people are
teasing him about it.
Illustration
Live and Learn
Fred and Ethel Mertz and Ricky and Lucy Ricardo are traveling by train to the Florida. At the station Fred and Ethel
each buy a ticket and watch as Ricky and Lucy buy just one ticket. “How
are the two of you going to travel on only one ticket?” asks Fred, astonished
at what he is seeing.
“Watch and learn,” answers Lucy. They all board the train. Fred and Ethel
take their respective seats but Ricky and Lucy cram into a toilet together and
close the door. Shortly after the train has departed, the conductor comes
around collecting tickets. He knocks on the toilet door and says, “Ticket,
please.” The door opens just a crack and a single arm
emerges with a ticket in hand. The conductor takes it and moves on.
The Mertzes see this happen and agree it was
quite a clever idea, so on the way home they decide to try a similar plan. When
they get to the station they see the Ricardo’s at the
window buying a single ticket for the return trip. To their astonishment, the
Ricardo’s see that the Mertzes don’t buy any tickets
at all. “Aren’t you taking a terrible chance by traveling without a ticket?”
says Lucy. “Live and learn,” answers Ethel.
When they board the train the Mertzes cram
themselves into a toilet and the Ricardo’s cram into another toilet just down
the way. Shortly after the train leaves the station, Fred leaves their toilet
and walks over to the Ricardo’s toilet, knocks on their door and says, “Ticket,
please.”
Jeremiah feels tricked by God.
God had promised Jeremiah at the beginning of his ministry that it would be
tough, but God also said:
(Jeremiah 1:18–19
NLT) —18 For see, today I have made you strong like a fortified city that
cannot be captured, like an iron pillar or a bronze wall. You will stand
against the whole land— the kings, officials, priests, and people of Judah. 19 They will fight you, but they will fail. For I am with you, and I
will take care of you. I, the Lord,
have spoken!”
Now Jeremiah is feeling like God has not kept His part of
the bargain.
He thinks he shouldn’t have had to been beaten and put
into stocks.
The problem isn’t with God’s promise; the problem is our
idea of what the promise means.
:8 For when I spoke, I
cried out; I shouted, “Violence and plunder!” Because the word of the Lord was made to me A reproach and a
derision daily.
Everything that God has Jeremiah say is about doom and gloom. His negative
messages haven’t made him any friends.
:9 Then I said, “I will
not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His
name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my
bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not.
:9 His word was in my
heart like a burning fire
Jeremiah decides he’s going to stop speaking for the Lord. But when he’s
silent, his heart burns.
Lesson
The Heartburn test
(Keyword)
Don’t confuse this with the Mormon’s “burning bosom”. That’s for another day…
I think this is one of those tests to see if something is really a work of
God or not.
If you try and stop what you feel God has called you to do, but are more
miserable than ever, then perhaps it is a “God thing”.
It’s not an infallible test because it’s very difficult to know just what’s
really going on in your heart. But here are a couple of times where I’ve seen
it at work in my life:
Many years ago I was a youth pastor at the Baptist
church. As a youth pastor, I taught two to three times each week. When we left
our ministry with youth at the Baptist church to pursue ministry at Calvary
Chapel, I went for a period of six months where I didn’t do any teaching. And I
was horribly miserable. I finally started teaching a very small home study with
just Deb, myself, and two other people.
The point was that I’ve been called to teach. It’s hard for me when I don’t teach.
Sometimes I use this “burning heart” test when we as a church are taking
time to wait on the Lord. I may get a scripture, a thought, or a phrase that
comes into my mind and I wonder if I should share
it. Is it something I just made up or might it be something that God is speaking to me. Sometimes
as believers we just want to be in the spotlight (that’s not a good
thing). If I’m not sure, I’ll try
keeping it to myself. If it keeps burning in my heart, then I begin to wonder
if it isn’t God trying to say something.
:10 For I heard many
mocking: “Fear on every side!” “Report,” they say, “and we will report
it!” All my acquaintances watched for my stumbling, saying, “Perhaps he
can be induced; Then we will prevail against him, And
we will take our revenge on him.”
:10 Fear on every
side!
Does this ring a bell? This is the translation of the name that
Jeremiah gave to the priest Pashhur (v.3)
So now the people are taking
this “name” and using it to mock Jeremiah, saying that he’s the one who should
be afraid.
(Jeremiah
20:10 NLT) I have heard the many
rumors about me. They call me “The Man Who Lives in Terror.” They threaten, “If
you say anything, we will report it.” Even my old friends are watching me,
waiting for a fatal slip. “He will trap himself,” they say, “and then we will
get our revenge on him.”
:11 But the Lord is with me as a mighty,
awesome One. Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and will not prevail. They will be greatly ashamed,
for they will not prosper. Their everlasting confusion will never be
forgotten.
:12 But, O Lord of hosts, You
who test the righteous, And see the mind and
heart, Let me see Your vengeance on them; For I have
pleaded my cause before You.
:13 Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For He has delivered the life of
the poor From the hand of evildoers.
:11 the Lord is
with me as a mighty, awesome One
mighty – gibbowr – strong man, brave man, mighty man
This is the word used to describe David’s “mighty men”.
awesome One – ‘ariyts – awe-inspiring, terror-striking, awesome,
terrifying, ruthless, mighty; from ‘arats – to tremble, dread, fear; to inspire with awe,
terrify
This word seems to usually be used to describe bad people, bullies, people
who “terrify” you.
Other translations…
(Jer 20:11 NLT) But the LORD stands beside me like a great warrior.
(Jer 20:11 NASB) But the LORD is with me like a dread champion;
Lesson
God’s help
Jeremiah would struggle with discouragement, but he also tasted victory.
His moments of victory came when He remembered who was on his side. God was
on his side.
And God is far bigger than any of his problems.
(Psalm 124:1–3 NLT)
—1 What if the Lord had
not been on our side? Let all Israel repeat: 2 What if the Lord had not been on our side when
people attacked us? 3 They would have swallowed us alive
in their burning anger.
(Psalm 40:1–4 NLT)
—1 I waited patiently for the Lord
to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me
out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid
ground and steadied me as I walked along. 3 He has given
me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has
done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord. 4 Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord, who have no confidence in the proud or in those who worship idols.
Perhaps now Jeremiah is beginning to sense what God meant when He said,
(Jeremiah
1:19 NLT) They will fight you, but they will fail. For I
am with you, and I will take care of you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Despite the mocking, Jeremiah is sensing God’s power behind him.
But wait …
20:14-18 Cursing the day of his birth
:14 Cursed be the
day in which I was born! Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me!
:15 Let the man be
cursed Who brought news to my father, saying, “A male child has been born to
you!” Making him very glad.
:16 And let that man be
like the cities Which the Lord—overthrew,
and did not relent; Let him hear the cry in the morning And
the shouting at noon,
:17 Because he did not
kill me from the womb, That my mother might have been
my grave, And her womb always enlarged with me.
:18 Why did I come forth
from the womb to see labor and sorrow, That my days
should be consumed with shame?
:14 Cursed be the day in which I was born!
Lesson
Victory and depression
In one breath Jeremiah is praising God for helping him (vs. 13) and in the
next breath he wished he had never been born.
I’m not sure it’s realistic to think that we’re always going to be “up”,
nor is it correct to think that spiritually mature people will not experience
times of darkness.
Depression seems to be something pretty common to
mankind, and it seems to hit those who take a stand to serve the Lord.
Some of our favorite people in the Bible went through some pretty low
times.
Moses went through some times of despair, feeling like he
couldn’t handle the weight of responsibility in leading the nation. He wanted
to die (Num. 11:15).
(Numbers 11:15 NKJV) If You treat me like this, please
kill me here and now—if I have found favor in Your sight—and do not let me see
my wretchedness!”
Elijah experienced a time of great darkness, even after
having had the most incredible high anyone could
imagine, having called down fire from heaven, yet when Jezebel threatened his
life, he too wanted to quit and die (1Ki. 19:4).
(1 Kings 19:4 NKJV) But he himself went a day’s journey
into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a
broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no
better than my fathers!”
Charles Spurgeon, becoming a pastor at age 16, addressing
crowds of 5000 by the age of 20, was known to have gone through extreme times
of depression. In the “Minister’s
Fainting Fits”, Spurgeon wrote,
“Knowing by most painful experience what deep depression
of spirit means, being visited therewith at seasons by no means few or far
between, I thought it might be consolatory to some of my brethren if I gave my
thoughts thereon, that younger men might not fancy that some strange thing had
happened to them when they became for a season possessed by melancholy …”
Spurgeon goes on to talk about the kinds of times we can
get depressed. Sadness can hit before a great achievement. It can hit during a
time of great success. We can become depressed when after a time of hard work we are simply physically exhausted. Sometimes it comes
after some crushing blow.
Don’t think you’re unspiritual if you get depressed.
Sometimes it means you’re just following the “man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief”.
He describes a time in his own life, after there was a
tragic fire at one of his special meetings and for weeks Spurgeon was so
depressed he thought about quitting the ministry:
“To the lot of few does it fall to pass through such a
horror of great darkness as that which fell upon me after the deplorable
accident at the Surrey Music Hall. I was pressed beyond measure and out of
bounds with an enormous weight of misery. The tumult, the panic, the deaths,
were day and night before me, and made life a burden… From that dream of horror I was awakened in a moment by the gracious
application to my soul of the text, “Him hath God the Father exalted.” The fact
that Jesus is still great, let his servants suffer as they may, piloted me back
to calm season and peace. Should so terrible a calamity overtake
any of my brethren, let them both patiently hope and quietly wait for the
salvation of God.
Jeremiah 21
Jeremiah’s messages will now change.
Instead of being general messages, he is given specific messages for
various kings, for the people, and for the prophets.
Again, these messages are NOT in chronological order.
This next chapter zooms forward to just a few years before Judah is wiped
out. It’s about 15 years after the last
chapter.
21:1-7 For Zedekiah:
You’ll lose to Babylon
:1 The word which came to
Jeremiah from the Lord when King
Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Melchiah, and
Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying,
Pashur the son of Melchiah – this is a different Pashur than the one
mentioned in 20:1. He
was the son of Immer.
Zephaniah – he was the second in rank to the High Priest Seraiah
(Jer. 52:24)
So, King Zedekiah sends two men to Jeremiah to ask a question.
:2 “Please inquire of the
Lord for us, for Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon makes war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all His wonderful works,
that the king may go away from us.”
:3 Then Jeremiah said to
them, “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah,
It is thought that this message came in the ninth year of Zedekiah (589 BC)
which was the year Nebuchadnezzar began his two year
siege of Jerusalem (2Ki. 25:1).
:4 ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Behold, I will
turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you
fight against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who besiege you outside the
walls; and I will assemble them in the midst of this
city.
:5 I Myself will fight
against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger and
fury and great wrath.
:6 I will strike the
inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they shall die of a great
pestilence.
:7 And afterward,” says
the Lord, “I will deliver
Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants and the people, and such as are left in
this city from the pestilence and the sword and the famine, into the hand of
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, into the hand of their enemies, and into the
hand of those who seek their life; and he shall strike them with the edge of
the sword. He shall not spare them, or have pity or
mercy.” ’
:7 He shall not spare them
This is probably not the answer that Zedekiah was looking for.
This prediction was fulfilled in 586 B.C. when Zedekiah was blinded and
taken to Babylon and the other leaders were executed (Jer. 39:5-7; 52:24-27).
21:8-10 Time to leave
:8 “Now you shall say to
this people, ‘Thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.
The focus now shifts from the king to the people.
:9 He who remains in this
city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes out
and defects to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall
be as a prize to him.
:10 For I have set My
face against this city for adversity and not for good,” says the Lord. “It shall be given into the hand
of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.” ’
Jeremiah is telling the people that the only way to survive is to surrender
to the king of Babylon.
For most people, how would that come across? It would seem like Jeremiah was a traitor.
21:11-14 Be just
:11 “And concerning the
house of the king of Judah, say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord,
:12 O house of David!
Thus says the Lord: “Execute
judgment in the morning; And deliver him who is plundered Out of the
hand of the oppressor, Lest My fury go forth like fire And
burn so that no one can quench it, Because of the evil of your doings.
:12 Execute judgment in the morning
The word is for the king to straighten up his act. The judgment could go easier if he changed
his ways.
:13 “Behold, I am
against you, O inhabitant of the valley, And
rock of the plain,” says the Lord,
“Who say, ‘Who shall come down against us? Or who shall enter our dwellings?’
:14 But I will punish you
according to the fruit of your doings,” says the Lord; “I will kindle a fire in its forest, And
it shall devour all things around it.” ’ ”
:13 Who shall come down against us?
The people of Judah felt they were invincible.
:14 I will kindle a fire in its forest
Those words sure strike a chord to us in California.
Break?
Jeremiah 22
Look at the chart: “Last Five Kings of Judah”.
Some of this chapter isn’t going to make sense
unless you have the history of the last five kings in mind.
To make things worse, some of the kings have more than one name.
The little country of Judah was caught in a tug-of-war between Babylon and
Egypt. After the death of Josiah, each
of these super powers would jump in and put their man
on the throne.
And when they put their man on the throne, they usually changed his name as
well.
This next prophecy flips back fifteen years to another king, Jehoahaz, who
followed his dad Josiah.
22:1-9 Jehoahaz:
Do justice and continue
:1 Thus says the Lord: “Go down to the house of the king
of Judah, and there speak this word,
:2 and say, ‘Hear the
word of the Lord, O king of
Judah, you who sit on the throne of David, you and your servants and your
people who enter these gates!
:3 Thus says the Lord: “Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of
the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless,
or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.
:4 For if you indeed do
this thing, then shall enter the gates of this house, riding on horses and in
chariots, accompanied by servants and people, kings who sit on the throne of
David.
:4 if you indeed do this thing
If this is aimed at Jehoahaz, then the message predates the message to
Zedekiah saying it’s hopeless (21:1-7)
At this point, there is still a chance to avert judgment if the king will
turn around and follow God’s ways.
Some people think that God is like an impatient old man just waiting for us
to mess up and then WHAM! He brings down the hammer of judgment.
In reality He warns us over and
over and over and over long before judgment comes.
:5 But if you will not
hear these words, I swear by Myself,” says the Lord, “that this house shall become a desolation.” ’ ”
:6 For thus says the Lord to the house of the king of Judah:
“You are Gilead to Me, The head of Lebanon; Yet
I surely will make you a wilderness, Cities which are not inhabited.
:6 Gilead … wilderness
Gilead is the land in the north east corner of Israel, on the east of the Jordan
River. It is well watered.
Yet God promises it will become
like a desert.
:7 I will prepare
destroyers against you, Everyone with his weapons;
They shall cut down your choice cedars And cast them
into the fire.
:8 And many nations will
pass by this city; and everyone will say to his neighbor, ‘Why has the Lord done so to this great city?’
:9 Then they will answer,
‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.’ ”
:8 Why has the Lord done
so
People will wonder what happened to the land of Israel.
They turned their back on God.
22:10-12 Jehoahaz:
You’ll die
:10 Weep not for the
dead, nor bemoan him; Weep bitterly for him who goes away, For
he shall return no more, Nor see his native country.
:10 Weep not for the
dead
If we are correct about the
dating of this prophecy, King Josiah has just been killed on the battlefield,
fighting against Pharaoh Neco (2Kings 23:29-33)
The message: Don’t weep for Josiah.
:10 Weep bitterly for
him who goes away
After Josiah died, Josiah’s son
Jehoahaz briefly ruled (see chart) until Pharaoh Neco replaced him with his
brother Eliakim/Jehoiakim.
:11 For thus says the Lord concerning Shallum the son of
Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, who went from
this place: “He shall not return here anymore,
:12 but he shall die in
the place where they have led him captive, and shall
see this land no more.
:11 concerning Shallum the son of Josiah
(see chart) Shallum was also known as “Jehoahaz”. He followed his father Josiah,
but was soon taken to Egypt as a prisoner and replaced by his brother
Jehoiakim. (2Ki. 23:34)
Shallum (Jehoahaz) would die in Egypt.
(2 Kings
23:34 NKJV) Then Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim the son of
Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and changed
his name to Jehoiakim. And Pharaoh took Jehoahaz and went to Egypt, and
he died there.
22:13-23 Jehoiakim: Lack of justice; poor burial
:13 “Woe to him who
builds his house by unrighteousness And his chambers
by injustice, Who uses his neighbor’s service
without wages And gives him nothing for his work,
:13 uses his
neighbor’s service without wages
This is a message for Jehoiakim. He
ruled Judah for eleven years.
The writer of 2Kings tells us one thing of note about Jehoiakim. When Pharaoh Neco conquered Josiah, one of
the things he did was demand that the nation of Judah pay him tribute money –
100 talents of silver and one talent of gold.
We’re told how the money was collected.
Instead of taking money from the treasury, Jehoiakim raised taxes.
(2 Kings 23:34–35
NKJV) —34 Then Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in place of
his father Josiah, and changed his name to Jehoiakim.
And Pharaoh took Jehoahaz and went to Egypt, and he died there. 35 So Jehoiakim
gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the
land to give money according to the command of Pharaoh; he exacted the silver
and gold from the people of the land, from every one
according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Necho.
He kept his kingdom going by increasing the taxes and giving the money to
Pharoah.
:14 Who says, ‘I will
build myself a wide house with spacious chambers, And
cut out windows for it, Paneling it with cedar And painting it with vermilion.’
(Jeremiah
22:14 NLT) He says, ‘I will build
a magnificent palace with huge rooms and many windows. I will panel it
throughout with fragrant cedar and paint it a lovely red.’
Jehoiakim was all about living
in luxury, having his house paneled with cedar and painting it red (vermilion).
:15 “Shall you reign
because you enclose yourself in cedar? Did not your
father eat and drink, And do justice and
righteousness? Then it was well with him.
:16 He judged the cause
of the poor and needy; Then it was well. Was not this knowing
Me?” says the Lord.
:16 Was not this knowing Me?
Lesson
Walk matches talk
Josiah was Jehoiakim’s dad, and he knew the Lord.
You could tell from the way he lived his life, caring for the poor and
needy.
He cared for others.
Illustration
Jackie Robinson was the man from the Negro leagues chosen to break the color
barrier in baseball.
Before he played his first game in the major leagues, he met with Branch Rickie, who told him what he faced and what
would be required of him.
Video: 42: A Fine Gentleman and a Great Baseball
Player
For us, we have a world that we need to reach with the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
There are some things that should show people that we truly believers in
Jesus. These are things that give
validation to the words we share with them.
(Matthew 5:16 NKJV) Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
(John
13:34–35 NKJV) —34 A new commandment I give to you,
that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one
another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love
for one another.”
:17 “Yet your eyes and
your heart are for nothing but your covetousness, For
shedding innocent blood, And practicing oppression and
violence.”
:18 Therefore thus says
the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the
son of Josiah, king of Judah: “They shall not lament for him, Saying,
‘Alas, my brother!’ or ‘Alas, my sister!’ They shall not lament for him, Saying, ‘Alas, master!’ or ‘Alas, his glory!’
:19 He shall be buried
with the burial of a donkey, Dragged and cast out beyond the gates of
Jerusalem.
:19 the burial of a donkey
The idea is that when Jehoiakim died, he wouldn’t be buried,
but would be thrown out on the garbage heap. The writer of 2Kings records his death:
(2 Kings
24:6 NKJV) So Jehoiakim rested with his fathers. Then
Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.
Usually a mention is made of a king’s burial. No mention for Jehoiakim.
:20 “Go up to Lebanon,
and cry out, And lift up your
voice in Bashan; Cry from Abarim, For all your lovers
are destroyed.
Lebanon and Bashan were just
north of Israel. They would be no help
for Jehoiakim.
:21 I spoke to you in
your prosperity, But you said, ‘I will not
hear.’ This has been your manner from your youth, That
you did not obey My voice.
:21 I spoke to you in
your prosperity
We often think, “If I just had a little more …”.
Sometimes having a little more just plugs up our ears and makes it harder
to hear God speak.
:22 The wind shall eat up
all your rulers, And your lovers shall go into
captivity; Surely then you will be ashamed and humiliated For
all your wickedness.
:23 O inhabitant of
Lebanon, Making your nest in the cedars, How gracious will you be when pangs come upon you, Like the
pain of a woman in labor?
The suggestion has been made that Jeremiah is really talking about the
inhabitants of Jerusalem because they lived in luxurious houses paneled with
cedar from Lebanon.
22:24-30 Jehoiachin: You’ll be childless
:24 “As I live,”
says the Lord, “though Coniah the
son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet on My right hand, yet I would
pluck you off;
Coniah – (see chart) also known as Jehoiachin or Jeconiah.
(Jeremiah
22:24 NLT) “As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “I will abandon you, Jehoiachin
son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. Even if you were the signet ring on my right
hand, I would pull you off.
The signet ring is what stamps the seals in wax proving the king’s
signature.
:25 and I will give you
into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of those
whose face you fear—the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of
the Chaldeans.
Jehoiachin would only reign for three months, then be taken captive to
Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. He would live
in prison for thirty years before Nebuchadnezzar’s son Evil-Merodach released
him and allowed him to live in the palace of Babylon (Jer. 51:31-34).
:26 So I will cast you
out, and your mother who bore you, into another country where you were not
born; and there you shall die.
This is just what happened:
(2 Kings
24:15 NKJV) And he carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon.
The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land
he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
This was the second invasion and second captivity, taking place in 597 BC. Ezekiel is in this group.
:27 But to the land to
which they desire to return, there they shall not return.
:28 “Is this man Coniah a
despised, broken idol— A vessel in which is no pleasure? Why are they
cast out, he and his descendants, And cast into a land
which they do not know?
:29 O earth, earth,
earth, Hear the word of the Lord!
:30 Thus says the Lord: ‘Write this man down as
childless, A man who shall not prosper in his days; For none of his
descendants shall prosper, Sitting on the throne of
David, And ruling anymore in Judah.’ ”
:30 childless … sitting on the throne of David
The genealogies of 2Chronicles record Jeconiah having seven sons (1Chr.
3:17-18)
(1 Chronicles
3:17–18 NKJV) —17 And the sons of Jeconiah were
Assir, Shealtiel his son, 18 and Malchiram,
Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jecamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah.
Yet because none of them became the king of Judah, he was considered
“childless”.
Jeconiah’s descendants would retain legal rights to the throne, yet no
biological descendant of Jeconiah would rule.
The genealogy of Matthew traces the line of Jesus through Jeconiah, (Mat.
1:12), but this was to show the legal right to the throne from Jesus’ father
Joseph.
And as you know, Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus. God was.
Luke’s genealogy (Luke 3) traces Jesus’ lineage through his mother Mary,
which follows another route from King David, but not through Jeconiah.
Jeremiah 23
23:1-8 Good Shepherd coming
:1 “Woe to the shepherds
who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the Lord.
shepherds – the rulers over the people.
This would include kings, city officials, priests, and prophets.
:2 Therefore thus says
the Lord God of Israel against
the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock, driven them
away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of
your doings,” says the Lord.
The leaders “fed” their flock, but didn’t care for
them. It was the rulers who were to
blame for the people being scattered in the various captivities.
:3 “But I will gather the
remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them,
and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and
increase.
The people would be brought back to the land after the Babylonian
captivity.
:4 I will set up
shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be
dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the Lord.
:5 “Behold, the
days are coming,” says the Lord,
“That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and
prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the
earth.
:5 a Branch of righteousness
This is a prophecy concerning the coming Messiah. He would be a “branch” coming from
David. Isaiah wrote,
(Isaiah 11:1 NKJV) There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch
shall grow out of his roots.
:6 In His days Judah will
be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He
will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS
:6 THE LORD OUR
RIGHTEOUSNESS
Salvation came in the days of Jesus.
He saved us by dying for their sins.
On the cross God did a magnificent exchange:
(2
Corinthians 5:21 NKJV) For He made Him who knew no sin to
be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
When we open up our heart to Jesus, God takes our
sins, puts them on Jesus, and gives us the righteousness of Jesus in exchange.
We are saved because we now have God’s righteousness.
:7 “Therefore, behold, the
days are coming,” says the Lord,
“that they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord
lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’
:8 but, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the
descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the
countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own land.”
:8 from the north country
We’ve seen this before (Jer. 16:5).
The deliverance of the nation of Israel out of Egypt was such an incredible
thing that it was the thing the people remembered when they wanted to think of
God’s great power and love for His people.
Yet the return of Israel from the Babylonian captivity would be the new
thing people would look to.
Even though there were terrible days up ahead, there would be a wonderful
time coming.
Could the “good old days” still be ahead of us?
23:9-32 False prophets
:9 My heart within me is
broken Because of the prophets; All my bones shake. I am like a drunken man, And like a man whom wine has overcome, Because of the Lord, And because of His holy words.
Jeremiah is weeping because of these false prophets.
:10 For the land is full
of adulterers; For because of a curse the land mourns. The pleasant places of
the wilderness are dried up. Their course of life is evil, And
their might is not right.
It could be that Jeremiah is talking about spiritual adultery, the idea of
leading people away from God.
It is more likely that he’s talking about actual, real adultery. The false prophets lived immoral lives.
:11 “For both prophet and
priest are profane; Yes, in My house I have found their wickedness,” says the Lord.
profane – chaneph – be defiled, be polluted, be corrupt
God had even found them committing sin in the Temple.
:12 “Therefore their way
shall be to them Like slippery ways; In the darkness they shall be
driven on And fall in them; For I will bring disaster
on them, The year of their punishment,” says the Lord.
:13 “And I have seen
folly in the prophets of Samaria: They prophesied by Baal And caused My people
Israel to err.
Samaria is the northern kingdom.
Probably speaking of the days of Ahab and Jezebel – they had prophets of
Baal.
:14 Also I have seen a
horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: They commit adultery and walk in
lies; They also strengthen the hands of evildoers, So
that no one turns back from his wickedness. All of them are like Sodom to Me,
And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.
:15 “Therefore thus says
the Lord of hosts concerning the
prophets: ‘Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, And
make them drink the water of gall; For from the prophets of Jerusalem
Profaneness has gone out into all the land.’ ”
Wormwood & gall are bitter things.
:16 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the
words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; They speak
a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the
Lord.
make you worthless – they were giving the people false hope.
:17 They continually say
to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord
has said, “You shall have peace” ’; And to
everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, ‘No
evil shall come upon you.’ ”
:17 No evil shall come
upon you
Lesson
Real messages can be hard
The false prophets were telling the people that God didn’t mind their sin,
and that everything was going to be okay.
We all love to hear a great, uplifting, positive message.
But sometimes the things that God needs to say to us are difficult.
When a person is caught in sin, God wants them to turn around.
Don’t misunderstand me – God loves sinners.
Jesus hung out with sinners.
But God loves sinners too much to leave them in their sin.
Sin is a very real problem.
Our sin cuts us off from God. It
destroys our lives.
Sin is the reason God sent us a Savior.
Sometimes Christians can be too harsh on sin – like the person who yells at
people to repent.
We need to be around and love sinners like Jesus did.
We need to love them enough to say to them as Jesus told
the woman caught in adultery,
(John 8:11 NKJV) …Jesus said to her, “Neither do I
condemn you; go and sin no more.”
(Time?) Look at how blunt Paul
is when it comes to sin:
(1 Corinthians
6:9–11 NLT) —9 Don’t you realize that those who do
wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who
indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male
prostitutes, or practice homosexuality,
There are some who stop here, making sure they are
pointing their fingers at the homosexual.
But keep reading…
10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or
cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.
The folks who want to make homosexuality the worst sin of
all neglect all the other sins in the list.
All sin is destructive. All sin is unhealthy.
11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were
made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Here’s the
grace of God. He cleanses
sinners. He makes us right with
God. Amen?
:18 For who has stood in
the counsel of the Lord, And has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His
word and heard it?
This is what a prophet does – “stand in the counsel of the LORD”.
:19 Behold,
a whirlwind of the Lord has gone
forth in fury— A violent whirlwind! It will fall violently on the head of the
wicked.
:20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back Until He has
executed and performed the thoughts of His heart. In the latter days you will
understand it perfectly.
Judgment may not come instantly, but it will come.
:21 “I have not sent
these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
:22 But if they had stood
in My counsel, And had caused My people to hear My
words, Then they would have turned them from their
evil way And from the evil of their doings.
:23 “Am I a God
near at hand,” says the Lord,
“And not a God afar off?
(Jeremiah
23:23 NLT) Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the Lord. “No, I am far away at the same
time.
:24 Can anyone hide
himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the Lord; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?”
says the Lord.
:24 hide himself …So I shall not see him?
Lesson
No secrets from God
(keyword!)
God is everywhere – we call this the omnipresence of God.
David wrote,
(Psalm 139:7–10
NLT) —7 I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your
presence! 8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there. 9 If I ride
the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, 10 even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support
me.
God knows everything. He sees
everything.
That can be disturbing when you are doing things that displease God.
Illustration
The Druggist
A young man went into the drug store and told the druggist
he wanted to buy 3 boxes of candy; a one pound box, a 3 pound box, and a
5 pound box. The druggist brought the candy then
asked, “I’m curious why you’re getting 3 different boxes.” The young man
replied, “I have a date tonight with a girl I’ve been wanting to date for
months. I’m going to her house for dinner and, afterwards, if she goes out to
sit with me on the swing, I’ll give her the 1 pound box; if she lets me put my
are around her, I’ll give her the 3 pound box, and if she lets me kiss her,
I’ll give her the 5 pound box.” The druggist agreed that the plan was
ingenious. That night the boy arrived for dinner and when they sat down to eat,
the father asked the boy to say the blessing. Well, the boy prayed and prayed
and prayed until the girl had to elbow him to stop. Afterwards as they sat on
the porch swing, the girl said, “I didn’t know you were so religious.” To which
the young man replied, “And I didn’t know your Daddy was the druggist.”
We can get uncomfortable when we realize that God knows all of our tricky, sneaky plans.
It can be comforting when you are going through difficulty and feel all
alone.
:25 “I have heard what
the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I
have dreamed!’
:26 How long will this
be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own
heart,
:27 who try to make My
people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as
their fathers forgot My name for Baal.
The dreams of the false prophets were leading people away from God.
:28 “The prophet who has
a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has My word, let him speak My word
faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the Lord.
The dream of a false prophet is as nourishing as the chaff while God’s Word
is like the kernel of wheat.
God’s Word feeds us like the best wheat.
It’s like the manna in the wilderness.
(Exodus 16:1–31
NKJV) —1 And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the
children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and
Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the
land of Egypt. 2 Then the whole congregation of the
children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by
the hand of the Lord in the land
of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the
full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole
assembly with hunger.” 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven
for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or
not.
Part of the lesson of manna was to see if the people would
learn to do what God asked them to do.
Would they learn to be fed the way that God wants to feed them?
The same thing happens with God’s Word. Will you do what He says? Will you let Him feed you with His Word? Over time the people would complain about the
manna – that it was getting too boring.
Yet it was the way that God chose to feed the people. He provided for them through the manna. God will provide for us through His Word.
5 And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they
bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6 Then Moses
and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening you shall know that
the Lord has brought you out of
the land of Egypt. 7 And in the morning
you shall see the glory of the Lord;
for He hears your complaints against the Lord.
But what are we, that you complain against us?” 8 Also Moses
said, “This shall be seen when the Lord
gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for
the Lord hears your complaints
which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are
not against us but against the Lord.” 9 Then Moses
spoke to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come
near before the Lord, for He has
heard your complaints.’ ” 10 Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke
to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward
the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord
appeared in the cloud. 11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “I have
heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At
twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you
shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ” 13 So it was
that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew
lay all around the camp. 14 And when the layer of dew lifted,
there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as
fine as frost on the ground.
The manna came in the morning.
15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one
another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.
The word “manna” means “what is it?” They were to eat the “what is it?”
I wonder if we shouldn’t approach God’s Word each day with
that questions, “what is it?” “What do you want for me today
Lord?”
And
Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is the
thing which the Lord has
commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, one omer for each person, according to the number of
persons; let every man take for those who are in his
tent.’ ” 17 Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some
less. 18 So when they measured it by omers,
he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no
lack. Every man had gathered according to each one’s need. 19 And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.” 20 Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part
of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with
them.
Already God was testing them to see if they would do the
simple things He asked them to do.
It’s important that we not just be “hearers” of God’s
Word, but “doers”.
21 So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need.
And when the sun became hot, it melted. 22 And so it was, on the sixth day, that
they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each
one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23 Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a
Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord.
Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up
for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’ ”
24 So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not
stink, nor were there any worms in it.
This was truly a “God” phenomena. There was no other explanation other than
that God was providing for the people.
25 Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to
the Lord; today you will not find
it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on
the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.” 27 Now it
happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather,
but they found none. 28 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My
commandments and My laws? 29 See! For the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore
He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his
place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day. 31 And the
house of Israel called its name Manna. And it was like white coriander
seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
God wants to feed His people. He feeds us in the Word.
:29 “Is not My
word like a fire?” says the Lord,
“And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
:29 Is not My word like a fire?
Lesson
The powerful Word
Fire – burns, purifies
Fire burns up the chaff (the worthless stuff).
Fire purifies metal.
Hammer – pounds, shatters
Shatters the hard things, the stony heart.
Pounds pliable metal into useful shapes
Another person has described God’s Word as an anvil:
Illustration
H.L. Hastings wrote, “Infidels for eighteen hundred years have been
refuting and overthrowing this book, and yet it stands today as solid as a
rock. Its circulation increases, and it
is more loved and cherished and read today than ever before. Infidels, with all their assaults, make about
as much impression on this book as a man with a tack hammer would on the
Pyramids of Egypt. When the French
monarch proposed the persecution of the Christians in his dominion, an old
statesman and warrior said to him, “Sire, the Church of God is an anvil that
has worn out many hammers.” So the hammers of the infidels have been pecking away at
this book for ages, but the hammers are worn out, and the anvil still
endures. If this book had not been the
book of God, men would have destroyed it long ago. Emperors and popes, kings and priests,
princes and rulers have all tried their hand at it; they die and the book still
lives.”
Lesson
Experience versus the Word
Sometimes our experience is telling us the wrong thing, like that cat who
thinks there really is another cat in the mirror.
Dreams, impressions, prophetic thoughts, are all important. God can speak through these kinds of things. But they are very experiential, and open to
misuse.
The thing that we can be sure of is His Word.
When we are grounded in the Word, we will be better equipped to tell what is chaff and what is wheat.
(2 Timothy 3:16–17
NKJV) —16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete,
thoroughly equipped for every good work.
:30 “Therefore behold, I am
against the prophets,” says the Lord,
“who steal My words every one
from his neighbor.
I think the idea is that the false prophets keep people from listening to
what God is really saying.
steal –
(Jeremiah
23:30 NLT) “Therefore,” says the Lord, “I am against these prophets who steal messages from
each other and claim they are from me.
:31 Behold, I am
against the prophets,” says the Lord,
“who use their tongues and say, ‘He says.’
:32 Behold, I am
against those who prophesy false dreams,” says the Lord, “and tell them, and cause My people to err by their
lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all,” says
the Lord.
Does God like the false prophets?
No.
23:33-40 False “Oracles”
:33 “So when these people
or the prophet or the priest ask you, saying, ‘What is the oracle of the Lord?’ you shall then say to them,
‘What oracle?’ I will even forsake you,” says the Lord.
:33 What is the oracle
of the Lord?
Or, “burden”.
A prophetic message was often called a “burden”. It was a message that was considered
“weighty”, “heavy”.
It was a word used by legitimate prophets:
(Nahum 1:1 NKJV) The burden against Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum
the Elkoshite.
(Habakkuk
1:1 NKJV) The burden which the prophet Habakkuk
saw.
Yet this term was now being overused by the false prophets.
They all claimed to have a “burden” from the Lord, as if this word “burden”
made it correct.
The people would come to Jeremiah and ask him mockingly what the “burden”
of the Lord was. God’s response was that
they were the real burden.
:34 “And as for
the prophet and the priest and the people who say, ‘The oracle of the Lord!’ I will even punish that man and
his house.
God was tired of hearing this phrase, “the oracle of the Lord”.
:35 Thus every one of you
shall say to his neighbor, and every one to his
brother, ‘What has the Lord
answered?’ and, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’
God wanted them to change the way they said things.
:36 And the oracle of the
Lord you shall mention no more.
For every man’s word will be his oracle, for you have perverted the words of
the living God, the Lord of
hosts, our God.
:37 Thus you shall say to
the prophet, ‘What has the Lord
answered you?’ and, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’
:38 But since you say,
‘The oracle of the Lord!’
therefore thus says the Lord:
‘Because you say this word, “The oracle of the Lord!” and I have sent to you, saying, “Do not say, ‘The
oracle of the Lord!’ ”
:39 therefore behold, I,
even I, will utterly forget you and forsake you, and the city that I gave you
and your fathers, and will cast you out of My presence.
:40 And I will bring an
everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be
forgotten.’ ”
God is sick and tired of people abusing His Word or claiming to speak for
Him when He hasn’t spoken.
For us, the important thing is to stay close to what we KNOW is His Word –
the Scriptures.
Homework
Read Jer. 14-25 in ESV (each week a different version).
Memorize
(Jeremiah
12:5 NKJV) “If you have run with the footmen, and they have
wearied you, Then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, In which you
trusted, they wearied you, Then how will you do in the floodplain
of the Jordan?
Today’s ending quiz
What were the two key words from our lesson? (…)
What could you apply to your life from today’s lesson?