Calvary
Chapel Bible College
September
30, 2020
Homework Review
I hope you took the “quiz” about your reading as well as those for your
memory verse and prayer requests.
Would anyone like to try reciting our memory verse for the week?
(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?
Note: After today’s class, if
you’ve been keeping track of the pericopes, we will cross chapter 25, and you
can go ahead and submit one of the bigger homework assignments, the pericopes
of chs. 1-25. (it’s due on 10/14)
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 24
24:1-3 Basket of Figs
We’ve talked about Jeremiah’s “visual” teaching style. Here’s more…
:1 The Lord showed me, and there were two
baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord,
after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son
of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with the craftsmen and
smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
(see chart) This vision takes place somewhere after 597 BC, the year that
King Jeconiah was taken captive to Babylon and King Zedekiah started reigning.
In Jeremiah’s vision, he sees two baskets of figs set before the Temple in
Jerusalem.
:2 One basket had
very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had
very bad figs which could not be eaten, they were so bad.
first ripe – figs that ripen early. They are yummy. These would be
considered “first fruits”.
bad figs – ra‘– bad, evil; disagreeable, malignant; unpleasant
:3 Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see,
Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad,
which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.”
24:4-7 The Good Figs
:4 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
:5 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these
good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah,
whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of
the Chaldeans.
:6 For I will set My eyes
on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them
and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them
up.
:7 Then I will give them
a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord;
and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to
Me with their whole heart.
The good figs were a picture of the people that had already been taken
captive to Babylon. This would include people like the prophets Daniel and
Ezekiel, as well as all the rest that were currently in Babylon.
They were the “first fruits”.
The “good guys” have all left.
Ultimately, this is a prophecy that even looks forward to the blessings
that will come at the Second Coming of Christ.
24:8-10 The Bad Figs
:8 ‘And as the bad figs
which cannot be eaten, they are so bad’—surely thus says the Lord—‘so will
I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem who
remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt.
:9 I will deliver them to
trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, to be
a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive
them.
:10 And I will send the
sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they are consumed from
the land that I gave to them and their fathers.’ ”
Note: Another picture of God’s
patience – this won’t happen for fourteen more years.
:8 as the bad figs which cannot be eaten
The people remaining in Judah were the rotten
figs. Or the “bad eggs”…
Lesson
Healthy Offerings
(Quiz Key Word)
This vision seems to be a picture of things that have been offered to the
Lord, sitting before the Temple.
There are good offerings and bad offerings.
The good figs are like the “first fruits” offered to God. The “bad” figs
were just simply too disgusting to give to anybody.
The laws of sacrifice required that you don’t give to God things anything
but the best.
(Leviticus
22:20 NKJV) Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for
it shall not be acceptable on your behalf.
You don’t give God leftovers or throw-aways.
You don’t give God your second best.
Illustration
There’s a story about a farmer whose cow had twin calves.
He was so excited that he ran to the church and decided to
give one of the calves to God in thanks. But he hadn’t decided which calf to
give to the Lord.
But after a week, one of the calves got sick, and
eventually died.
The man came to the pastor and said sadly, “I’m sorry, but
God’s calf died”.
We too often want to give God things that don’t cost us very much.
Paul talks about one of the kinds of things we give to God as a sacrifice:
(Romans
12:1–2 NKJV) —1 I beseech you therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not
be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of
God.
When we come to God for help, we come “as we are”. He
accepts us just as we are. But He doesn’t want to leave us the way He found us.
He wants us to change.
When we offer ourselves to God for service, as a “living
sacrifice”, I think it’s arrogant to think that God is “just going to have to
take me the way I am and settle for it”.
We should want to give God our very best. We should want
to be the very best we can for God.
In Jeremiah’s day, the “bad figs” were the people who were too stubborn to
change. They didn’t want to hear God’s call to repent.
What are we offering to God? Good figs or bad figs?
25:1-7 Unheeded warnings
:1 The word that came to
Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim
the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon),
:2 which Jeremiah the
prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, saying:
:1 in the fourth year of Jehoiakim
This is the year 605 BC.
Time is recorded many ways in the Scriptures.
Regular calendars with a standardized way of reckoning years weren’t
established until long after the Scriptures were written.
In the land of Judah where Jeremiah was writing, the year that a person
became king was called their “first” year.
In Babylon, a king’s “first year” wouldn’t be counted until the following,
first full year.
What Jeremiah calls the “fourth year” is what Daniel (writing in Babylon)
would call the “third year” (Dan. 1:1-2).
(Daniel 1:1–2 NKJV)
—1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah,
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some
of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar
to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of
his god.
The year 605 BC was the year that Nebuchadnezzar made his first attack on
the city of Jerusalem. His attack was followed by the taking of captives back
to Babylon with him.
The captives taken in this first of three captivities included Daniel and
his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.
The second captivity would take place in 597 BC, and would include King
Jeconiah, the prophet Ezekiel, and 10,000 other people were taken to Babylon.
The third captivity took place in 586 BC, would be
the time when the city of Jerusalem was destroyed. Most of the remaining people
were taken to Babylon.
:3 “From the thirteenth
year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is
the twenty-third year in which the word of the Lord has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early
and speaking, but you have not listened.
Jeremiah has been in ministry for 23 years. He is thought to be about 40
years old.
:4 And the Lord has sent
to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but
you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear.
:4 rising early and sending them
God has been faithful to send prophets to the people and warn them of what
was coming. But they wouldn’t listen.
Lesson
Mornings with Jesus
When did God “send” the prophets?
rising early – shakam – to rise
or start early.
A lot of the newer translations translate this as diligence or
faithfulness, but I like the original idea.
I think there is something to the idea of God speaking early in the
morning, first thing in the morning.
When did the people collect the “manna” in the wilderness? In the morning.
But the manna didn’t appear in their kitchens. They had to go outside the
camp to collect it. They had to look for the manna.
If they got up too late in the day, the manna had melted.
Jesus had a regular habit.
(Mark 1:35 NKJV) Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He
went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
I don’t think it’s a matter of being a “morning” person or
not. It’s a matter of priorities. It’s a matter of
giving the first part of your day to Jesus, allowing Him to teach you, guide
you, and set your agenda.
It’s not a matter of doing a deep Biblical study with
Greek words and commentaries. It’s a matter of letting Him speak to your heart.
It’s a matter of hearing that “one thing” the Lord would
want you to think about during the day.
:5 They said, ‘Repent now
everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and
dwell in the land that the Lord
has given to you and your fathers forever and ever.
:6 Do not go after other
gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the
works of your hands; and I will not harm you.’
:7 Yet you have not
listened to Me,” says the Lord,
“that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own
hurt.
The people would not pay attention to the warnings given to them.
25:8-14 The Seventy years
:8 “Therefore thus says
the Lord of hosts: ‘Because you
have not heard My words,
:9 behold, I will send
and take all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant,
and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against
these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an
astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations.
:9 will bring them against this land
Lesson
Chastisement
There are going to be several reasons for the Babylonian captivity, but the
main overarching reason was the continued disobedience of the people.
Chastisement isn’t aimed at punishment for punishment’s sake, but at
correction.
God warned the people over and over
again that they needed to change their ways. But they wouldn’t do it.
:10 Moreover I will take
from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the
bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the
light of the lamp.
:10 the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride
These are sounds of joy.
God is speaking about the destruction of Jerusalem, but it’s interesting to
see the parallel in the book of Revelation when we see the destruction of this
latter-day Babylon:
(Revelation 18:23
NKJV) The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the
voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore…
:11 And this whole land
shall be a desolation and an
astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy
years.
:11 serve the king of Babylon seventy years
This is the first time that Jeremiah has received the message that the
captivity will last for seventy years. The captivity would last from 605-536
BC.
When the final straw came and Jerusalem was wiped out …
(2 Chronicles
36:20–21 NKJV) —20 And those who escaped from the sword
he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons
until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill
the word of the Lord by the mouth
of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long
as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to
fulfill seventy years.
The reason the captivity would last for seventy years was
because the people had ignored the Sabbath laws concerning the land.
(Leviticus
25:4 NKJV) but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath
of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord.
You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard.
The people were to rotate their crops and let the fields lie fallow every
seventh year. Yet they had ignored this law for 490 years, and as a result God
gave the land a rest.
Lesson
Don’t neglect the Sabbath
There are some folks who simply never work at all, but for some of us the
issue is that we need to learn the value of rest.
God was concerned even for the land – that it get
a chance to rest.
God is even more concerned for you that you learn to take your Sabbath.
Which do you think could be more productive for God: Dying at age 40 from
stress, poor health, and overwork – or living to age 90 and living a productive
life serving God?
When God fed Israel manna in the wilderness, He gave it every day except on
the Sabbath. He provided for them on the Sabbath in a different way. By letting
them rest.
Lesson
Pay attention to the times
The prophet Daniel knew of Jeremiah’s prophecies.
(Daniel 9:1–2 NKJV)
—1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of
the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books
the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that
He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
This was the year 538 BC, 67 years after Daniel had been
taken captive to Babylon.
Daniel gets out his calendars and calculators and begins
to realize that they are getting close to when they will be going home.
And so Daniel prays and begins to confess the sins
of the nation, asking for God’s forgiveness. He is acting on another promise
from God’s Word:
(2
Chronicles 7:14 NKJV) if My people who are called by My
name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their
wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal
their land.
We too need to be aware of where we are in the prophetic timetable of
things.
Do you think it’s possible that Daniel had an effect on
things with his prayer for his nation? I do.
We have a responsibility for the times we live in as well:
(2 Peter 3:9–12
NLT) —9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people
think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then
the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements
themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be
found to deserve judgment. 11 Since everything around us is going
to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, 12 looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that
day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the
flames.
What kinds of things could we be doing to “hurry” things
along?
We could live godly lives.
We could be praying like Daniel.
We could be sharing our faith with those who don’t know
Jesus yet.
:12 ‘Then it will come to
pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of
Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says
the Lord; ‘and
I will make it a perpetual desolation.
The Medes and the Persians captured Babylon on October 12, 539 BC. The
armies, led by Cyrus, had diverted the waters of the Euphrates River and came
into the city through gates in the river bed. On that
night, Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson, Belshazzar, was killed.
:13 So I will bring on
that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written
in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all
the nations.
:14 (For many nations and
great kings shall be served by them also; and I will repay them according to
their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.)’ ”
25:15-29 Many nations will be judged
The next passage is all about the nations that will also be judged by the
coming Babylonian invasion.
See map.
Jeremiah is told to take a cup of wine, the “cup of God’s fury”, and make
the nations drink it.
Whether this was done in a vision or literally, the point was that all
these nations were going to be judged through the coming Babylonian invasion.
:15 For thus says the Lord God of Israel to me: “Take this
wine cup of fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you,
to drink it.
:16 And they will drink
and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”
:17 Then I took the cup
from the Lord’s hand, and made
all the nations drink, to whom the Lord
had sent me:
:18 Jerusalem and the
cities of Judah, its kings and its princes, to make them a
desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a
curse, as it is this day;
:19 Pharaoh king of
Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people;
This begins a list of all the other nations that were also judged by the
Babylonian army.
:20 all the mixed
multitude, all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the
Philistines (namely, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod);
:21 Edom, Moab, and the
people of Ammon;
:22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the
coastlands which are across the sea;
:23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and
all who are in the farthest corners;
:24 all the kings of
Arabia and all the kings of the mixed multitude who dwell in the desert;
:25 all the kings of
Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes;
:26 all the kings of the
north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world which are
on the face of the earth. Also the king of Sheshach
shall drink after them.
Sheshach – Sheshak – “thy fine linen”
Scholars think this word is a “code” word for Babylon. There is a kind of
code called an “atbash”. The way the
code works is that you count the position of the letter from the beginning of
the alphabet and substitute it for the letter that is the same distance from
the end of the alphabet. In English, the word “abby”
would be changed to “zyyb”.
The “atbash” of Sheshak
is the letters “bbl”, which is the Hebrew for
Babylon. This same word is also found in Jer. 51:41.
Even Babylon after Babylon would be used as God’s tool of judgment, Babylon
itself would one day drink the cup of God’s wrath. Babylon would be conquered.
:27 “Therefore you shall
say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord
of hosts, the God of Israel: “Drink, be drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise no
more, because of the sword which I will send among you.” ’
:28 And it shall be, if
they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to
them, ‘Thus says the Lord of
hosts: “You shall certainly drink!
None of these nations will be exempt from drinking the cup.
:29 For behold, I begin
to bring calamity on the city which is called by My
name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for I
will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,” says the Lord of hosts.’
25:30-33 Great judgment from God
:30 “Therefore prophesy
against them all these words, and say to them: ‘The Lord will roar from on high, And utter His voice from His holy habitation; He will roar
mightily against His fold. He will give a shout, as
those who tread the grapes, Against all the inhabitants of the earth.
:31 A noise will come to
the ends of the earth— For the Lord
has a controversy with the nations; He will plead His case with all flesh. He
will give those who are wicked to the sword,’ says the Lord.”
:32 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, disaster shall
go forth From nation to nation, And
a great whirlwind shall be raised up From the farthest
parts of the earth.
:33 “And at that day the
slain of the Lord shall be from one
end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be
lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground.
:30 Against all the inhabitants of the earth
The judgment has switched from some nations to “ALL the inhabitants of the
earth”
Interpreting Prophecy
There are a couple of principles that are important when it comes to
interpreting prophecy.
Prophetic Telescoping is where a prophecy will take a hyper
jump into the future in the middle of a sentence.
When Jesus began His ministry in the synagogue at Nazareth, He read from a
passage in Isaiah that speaks of the ministry of the Messiah:
(Isaiah
61:1–3 NKJV) —1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach
good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim
liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim
the acceptable year of the Lord …
This was a far as Jesus read. Then He stopped, closed up the scroll, sat down, and said that these things
had now been fulfilled.
But He didn’t read the entire passage. He stopped in the
middle of a sentence. The rest of the passage goes on to say:
And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console
those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they
may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord,
that He may be glorified.”
The “day of vengeance” is still future. It will come
during the Tribulation period. It will be followed by Jesus ruling and reigning
on the earth, a time of great joy and restoration.
The point? The prophecy can skip through time without
missing a beat.
Double Fulfillment can occur in prophecy when a prophecy is
fulfilled in two different time periods.
The Bible speaks about the prophet Elijah coming to prepare the hearts of
the people for the coming of the Messiah (Mal. 4:5).
Did Elijah come before Jesus’ first coming? Yes. John the
Baptist came in the “spirit” of Elijah (Luke 1:17).
Is this prophecy completed? No. Elijah will come before
Jesus’ second coming as well (Rev. 11).
The point? Some prophecies may have more than one
fulfillment.
Our passage in Jeremiah has both principles.
We are reading about the time of the Babylonian invasion. But there is some
language that seems to skip forward to the Great Tribulation that is yet to
come.
(Revelation 14:9–10
NLT) —9 Then a third angel followed them, shouting, “Anyone who worships
the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or on the hand
10 must drink the wine of God’s anger. It has been poured full
strength into God’s cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and
burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb.
We see the picture of drinking a cup of the wine of God’s
wrath, just like 25:15.
Revelation 14:19-25 also repeats the treading of grapes as
a picture of God’s wrath (like 25:30)
(Revelation
14:19–20 NLT) —19 So the angel swung his sickle over
the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and
blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as
a horse’s bridle.
We see the treading of grapes as a picture of God’s wrath
(like 25:30).
25:34-38 Wailing shepherds
:34 “Wail, shepherds, and
cry! Roll about in the ashes, You leaders of the flock! For the days of
your slaughter and your dispersions are fulfilled; You shall fall like a
precious vessel.
:35 And the shepherds
will have no way to flee, Nor the leaders of the flock to escape.
:36 A voice of the cry of
the shepherds, And a wailing of the leaders to the
flock will be heard. For the Lord
has plundered their pasture,
:37 And the peaceful
dwellings are cut down Because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
:38 He has left His lair
like the lion; For their land is desolate Because of the fierceness of the
Oppressor, And because of His fierce anger.”
:34 Wail, shepherds, and cry!
The rulers of these nations will weep to see what is happening.
In contrast, there’s reason we won’t be weeping as we see the Tribulation approaching.
Lesson
Blessed Hope
Even as the world will be going through the horrible wrath of God, I do not
believe that the church will be around.
Peter talks about how God spared Noah and his family through the Great
Flood.
Peter talks about how God rescued Lot before the
destruction of Sodom.
I think this hints that we won’t go through the
Tribulation.
(2 Peter 2:9 NLT) So you see, the Lord knows how to
rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under
punishment until the day of final judgment.
God knows how to rescue the godly while punishing the
wicked.
The Bible talks about the Great Tribulation being a time of “God’s wrath”,
when He will punish the world for it’s
wickedness. Yet the Bible says about us:
(1
Thessalonians 5:9 NASB95) For God has not destined us for
wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
When this destruction would come on all these nations, brought about by the
Babylonians, where were the “good figs”? They weren’t there. They were in
Babylon.
I believe that before the Tribulation period starts on the earth, the Lord
will take His church out of the earth:
(1 Thessalonians
4:16–17 NKJV) —16 For the Lord Himself will descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet
of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who
are alive and remain shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus
we shall always be with the Lord.
Illustration
It's The Same In
My Business
A pastor waited in line to have his car filled with gas just before a long
holiday weekend. The attendant worked quickly, but there were many cars ahead
of him in front of the service station. Finally, the attendant motioned him
toward a vacant pump. “Preacher,” said the young man, “I’m sorry about the
delay. It seems as if everyone waits until the last minute to get ready for a
long trip.” The minister chuckled, “I know what you mean. It’s the same in my
business.”
Do you recognize the times we’re in? Are you ready for the
trip ahead?
Break
Jeremiah 26
26:1-7 Jerusalem will fall
:1 In the beginning of
the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from
the Lord, saying,
We are back at the year 609 BC.
Josiah has just died. Josiah had brought a measure of revival to the land,
yet either the revival was only external, or it was short lived.
:2 “Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the
cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’s house, all the words that I command you to speak to
them. Do not diminish a word.
:2 Stand in the court
of the Lord’s house
This is parallel to Jeremiah 7-10,
the “Temple Messages”, given at the same time as those messages.
:2 Do not diminish a word
diminish – gara‘– to diminish, restrain, withdraw, abate, keep back, do
away, take from, clip
Don’t diminish God’s Word.
Jeremiah is to give the people all of it.
I think it’s important that we learn to read ALL of God’s Word. Don’t just read your favorite chapters. Read the whole book.
:3 Perhaps everyone will
listen and turn from his evil way, that I may relent concerning the calamity
which I purpose to bring on them because of the evil of their doings.’
:3 Perhaps everyone will listen and turn
If the people will turn around, God promised He would not bring the
judgment that Jeremiah was warning the people about.
God doesn’t enjoy destroying people. (When did Ezekiel live??)
(Ezekiel
33:11 NKJV) Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death
of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from
your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of
Israel?’
God just wants people to turn from their sin.
God doesn’t want people to perish. He just wants them to turn from their
sin.
(2 Peter 3:9 NKJV) The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count
slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing
that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
:4 And you shall say to
them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “If
you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law which I have set before you,
:5 to heed the words of
My servants the prophets whom I sent to you, both rising up
early and sending them (but you have not heeded),
:6 then I will make this
house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to
all the nations of the earth.” ’ ”
:7 So the priests and the
prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of
the Lord.
:6 I will make this house like Shiloh
We mentioned this back in Jeremiah 7 in the “Temple Messages”
Shiloh was the place where the Ark of the Covenant had been kept during the
times of the Judges. Yet because of the rebelliousness of Israel, God allowed
Israel to lose in battle to the Philistines, for Shiloh to be wiped out, and
the Ark to be captured by the Philistines (1Sam. 4).
26:8-11 Jeremiah seized
:8 Now it happened, when
Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people,
that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You
will surely die!
:9 Why have you
prophesied in the name of the Lord,
saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate,
without an inhabitant’?” And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in
the house of the Lord.
:10 When the princes of
Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of
the Lord and sat down in the
entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s
house.
:11 And the priests and
the prophets spoke to the princes and all the people, saying, “This man
deserves to die! For he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard
with your ears.”
:11 This man deserves to die!
Lesson
Offended or repentant?
(Stop around 1:50)
Now the engineers at NASA might not have been thrilled to hear there was a
problem, but they all pitched in to figure out the problem and get those
astronauts back home.
Sometimes we don’t like what we’re told.
We are offended or convicted by something that someone says.
But if the thing is actually true, we face a
choice: Will we simply be offended, or will we change?
Illustration
More than a few times I’ve had a doctor tell me some very difficult things
to hear about my weight.
My “feelings” get hurt.
Yet the reality is, if I want to take care of my physical body, not for
looks, but for health, then I need to get serious about my weight.
Over the years I’ve learned how my weight affects my heart
health (as someone who has had a heart attack), my sleep apnea, asthma, and
that’s just the beginning.
I can wrestle with how “hurtful” the doctor’s words were,
or I can respond and lose weight.
26:12-15 Jeremiah’s response
Jeremiah responds by telling the people that he’s simply telling them what
God has sent him to say, and to encourage them to turn from their sins.
He warns them that if they harm him, that God will be paying attention.
:12 Then Jeremiah spoke
to all the princes and all the people, saying: “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this
city with all the words that you have heard.
:13 Now
therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent concerning the doom
that He has pronounced against you.
:14 As for me, here I am,
in your hand; do with me as seems good and proper to you.
:15 But know for certain
that if you put me to death, you will surely bring innocent blood on
yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all
these words in your hearing.”
26:16-19 Jeremiah defended
:16 So the princes and
all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve
to die. For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”
:17 Then certain of the
elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying:
:18 “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah,
and spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Zion shall be plowed like
a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, And the mountain of the temple
Like the bare hills of the forest.” ’
:18 Micah of Moresheth prophesied
This is the “minor prophet” in
our Bibles. He lived about 100 years
before Jeremiah. Micah wrote,
(Micah 3:12 NKJV) Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem
shall become heaps of ruins, And the mountain of the temple Like the bare hills of the forest.
:19 Did Hezekiah king of
Judah and all Judah ever put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and seek
the Lord’s favor? And the Lord relented concerning the doom which
He had pronounced against them. But we are doing great evil against ourselves.”
Hezekiah didn’t persecute Micah. Instead he encouraged the people to repent.
26:20-24 Urijah killed
:20 Now there was also a
man who prophesied in the name of the Lord,
Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath Jearim, who prophesied against this city
and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah.
:20 Urijah the son of
Shemaiah
Jeremiah is now going to give an
example that’s a little more current, something everyone remembers.
Urijah was a man who prophesied things along the same lines as Jeremiah.
:21 And when Jehoiakim
the king, with all his mighty men and all the princes, heard his words, the
king sought to put him to death; but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid
and fled, and went to Egypt.
:21 when Jehoiakim the king …
Remember this chapter started with telling us that this is all taking place
at the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim.
:22 Then Jehoiakim the
king sent men to Egypt: Elnathan the son of Achbor, and other men who
went with him to Egypt.
:22 Elnathan … - this fellow was a part of king’s court:
(Jeremiah 36:11–12
NKJV) —11 When Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all
the words of the Lord from the
book, 12 he then went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber;
and there all the princes were sitting—Elishama the scribe, Delaiah the son of
Shemaiah, Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan,
Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes.
:23 And they brought
Urijah from Egypt and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who killed him with
the sword and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.
Though Jeremiah will survive this threat by the king, but
Urijah did not survive.
:24 Nevertheless the hand
of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that they should not give
him into the hand of the people to put him to death.
:24 Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah
Lesson
A godly family
Ahikam became Jeremiah’s protector. He came from a great, godly family.
We often overlook the names of people we deem “unimportant” to the
story. Yet the Bible records their names and we can learn a few things if we pay attention.
Ahikam’s father, Shaphan, was a scribe in the court of King Josiah. When
Hilkiah the high priest discovered the book of the Law in the Temple, Shaphan
was the one that reported it to King Josiah (2Ki. 22).
After the book of the Law was read to Josiah, Ahikam was one of the leaders
sent by Josiah to the prophetess Huldah to find out if they were going to be
facing God’s wrath for the nation’s great disobedience (2Ki. 22:12-13)
(2
Kings 22:12–13 NKJV) —12 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the
priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Michaiah, Shaphan the
scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 13 “Go, inquire
of the Lord for me, for the
people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been
found; for great is the wrath of the Lord
that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of
this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
Ahikam had a couple of brothers. Gemariah urged king
Jehoiakim not to destroy Jeremiah’s scroll (Jer. 36). Elasah was the one who
took Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles in Babylon (Jer. 29). Jaazaniah was the
black sheep of the family and worshipped idols (Eze. 8:11-12).
Even the best of families have
their “black sheep”. Even the best dads can have rebellious children. Adam and
Eve were God’s children and they rebelled against God.
Illustration
THE FIRST PARENT
Whenever your kids are out of control, you can take
comfort from the thought that even God’s omnipotence did not extend to his
kids. After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve. And the first
thing he said to them was: “Don’t.” “Don’t what?” Adam replied. “Don’t eat the
forbidden fruit.” “Forbidden fruit? Really? Where is it?” “It’s over there,”
said God, wondering why he hadn’t stopped after making the elephants. A few
minutes later God saw the kids having an apple break and he was angry. “Didn’t
I tell you not to eat that fruit?” the first parent asked. “Uh huh,” Adam
replied. “Then why did you?” “I don’t know,” Adam answered. God’s punishment
was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus
the pattern was set and it has never changed. But there is a reassurance in
this story. If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give them wisdom and
they haven’t taken it don’t be hard on yourself. If God had trouble handling
children, what makes you think it would be a piece of cake for you?
Ahikam’s son, Gedaliah, would be appointed governor of the land by
Nebuchadnezzar after the final fall of Jerusalem.
(2 Kings 25:22 NKJV) Then he made Gedaliah the son of
Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor over the people who remained in the land
of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left.
Hang in there parents. Keep setting the godly example. The kids may
not always do the right things, but you will still have an
effect on them.
Jeremiah 27
27:1-11 Yokes and ambassadors
:1 In the beginning of
the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to
Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,
:1 the reign of Jehoiakim
Some manuscripts have “Zedekiah” here.
As you read through the passage (esp. vs. 3,12), you’ll see “Zedekiah” is
the correct reading.
:2 “Thus says the Lord to me: ‘Make for yourselves bonds
and yokes, and put them on your neck,
:3 and send them to the
king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers
who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah.
:2 Make for yourselves bonds and yokes
These were symbols of slavery.
Jeremiah was supposed to wear these bonds and yokes and when he did, people
would ask him questions and he would get a chance to
talk about God’s message.
Apparently these messengers would be coming from
these various kings for some sort of a meeting with
Zedekiah. It is possible that they were
holding some sort of a summit to discuss uniting
together to fight the Babylonians.
This is taking place somewhere between May and
August of 593 BC. Just a year earlier,
the “Babylonian Chronicle” recorded that Nebuchadnezzar had to fight off an
attempted coup in Babylon. Perhaps word
about this had gotten out and
these kings are looking at the possibility of breaking free from Babylon.
When the ambassadors would go home, they’d be going home with a present from Jeremiah, yokes.
They would come with a message attached …
:4 And command them to
say to their masters, “Thus says the Lord
of hosts, the God of Israel—thus you shall say to your masters:
:5 ‘I have made the
earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power
and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me.
:6 And now I have given
all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given
him to serve him.
:6 Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant
God can use a pagan king
Could you imagine God calling your pagan boss His “servant”?
:7 So all nations shall
serve him and his son and his son’s son, until the time of his land comes; and
then many nations and great kings shall make him serve them.
The reign of the Babylonian empire would start with Nebuchadnezzar,
continue with his son Evil-Merodach, and end with the reign of the grandson
Belshazzar.
:8 And it shall be, that
the nation and kingdom which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon,
and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that
nation I will punish,’ says the Lord,
‘with the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until I have consumed them by
his hand.
:9 Therefore do not
listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or
your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, “You shall not serve the king of
Babylon.”
Jeremiah is speaking to these ambassadors from these pagan nations. They would have their own sets of prophets
from their own gods giving them advice.
:10 For they prophesy a
lie to you, to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out, and you
will perish.
:11 But the nations that
bring their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will
let them remain in their own land,’ says the Lord,
‘and they shall till it and dwell in it.’ ” ’ ”
Jeremiah is telling all these kings to surrender to the Babylonians.
27:12-18 Jeremiah pleads with Zedekiah to surrender
:12 I also spoke to
Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, “Bring your necks
under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live!
:13 Why will you die, you
and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord has spoken against the nation that
will not serve the king of Babylon?
:14 Therefore do not
listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall not
serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy a lie to you;
:15 for I have not sent
them,” says the Lord, “yet they
prophesy a lie in My name, that I may drive you out, and that you may perish,
you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”
Jeremiah will now turn to his own King, Zedekiah, and give the same message
to surrender to Babylon.
In vs. 12-15 he warns Zedekiah not to listen to those who are telling him
to fight Babylon.
:15 for I have not sent them
Lesson
Which is true?
There were all kinds of people giving advice in
that day. The foreign nations had their
own prophets. Judah had true prophets
and false prophets.
Who are you going to listen to?
Which voice is telling you the truth?
Last week we looked at:
(Jeremiah
23:28 NKJV) “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.
We need to be sure we are grounded in God’s Word. Don’t choke on the “chaff”.
Does God speak through prophets today? I believe He does.
How can I know what to believe? Believe God’s Word. Keep your nose in the book.
:16 Also I spoke to the
priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not listen to the words of your prophets who
prophesy to you, saying, “Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon”;
for they prophesy a lie to you.
:17 Do not listen to
them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city be laid waste?
In 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar had come to Jerusalem
the second time and taken Jeconiah captive back to Babylon along with 10,000
other captives and vessels from the Temple.
It was common for a conquering king to take the idols from the conquered
temples, but since there were no idols in the Temple in Jerusalem,
Nebuchadnezzar took some of the Temple worship items (2Chr. 36:9-10)
The false prophets were saying those things would soon be returned. Not so.
:18 But if they are
prophets, and if the word of the Lord
is with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house
of the Lord, in the house
of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, do not go to Babylon.’
Jeremiah warns those prophets that they ought to be praying that
Nebuchadnezzar doesn’t return and take more things from the Temple.
Ultimately, he will take everything.
27:19-22 The rest of the vessels are going to Babylon
:19 “For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars,
concerning the Sea, concerning the carts, and concerning the remainder of the
vessels that remain in this city,
(explain pillars and sea…)
:20 which Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon did not take, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of
Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of
Judah and Jerusalem—
:21 yes, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,
concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem:
:22 ‘They shall be
carried to Babylon, and there they shall be until the day that I visit them,’
says the Lord. ‘Then I will bring
them up and restore them to this place.’ ”
Nebuchadnezzar is going to eventually take everything in the Temple.
Jeremiah 28
28:1-4 Hananiah: Babylon is broken
:1 And it happened in the
same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the
fourth year and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azur
the prophet, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and
of all the people, saying,
This event takes place in August and September of the year 593 BC. This is the same year of
the last chapter.
It’s possible that Hananiah may have been a fellow priest (being from
Gibeon)
Twelve years earlier, in 605 BC, Jeremiah had predicted that the captivity
would last for seventy years (Jer. 25:11).
Gibeon – a city given to the priests by Joshua (Josh. 21:17-18). It’s possible that Hananiah might have been a
priest.
:2 “Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,
saying: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.
:2 I have broken the
yoke of the king of Babylon
This is in response to the message the Jeremiah gave earlier in the year in
saying that Nebuchadnezzar was going to conquer the world and everyone was
going to wear a “yoke”.
:3 Within two full years
I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away
from this place and carried to Babylon.
:4 And I will bring back
to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with all the
captives of Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’ ”
:4 I
will bring back to this place
Does this sound familiar?
Hananiah is giving a message that’s the opposite of Jeremiah’s.
Jeremiah warned Zedekiah about believing people who said these things.
28:5-9 Jeremiah – hopeful caution
I really like how Jeremiah responds…
:5 Then the prophet
Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in
the presence of all the people who stood in the house of the Lord,
:6 and the prophet
Jeremiah said, “Amen! The Lord do so; the Lord
perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring
back the vessels of the Lord’s
house and all who were carried away captive, from Babylon to this place.
I find it interesting to study Jeremiah’s response.
He doesn’t rebuke Hananiah for being a false prophet, not yet. I wonder if Hananiah might not even have some sort of a reputation so that Jeremiah doesn’t just
dismiss him out right.
Jeremiah isn’t opposed to God doing good things for His people. He says “Amen” to it.
:7 Nevertheless hear now
this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people:
:8 The prophets who have
been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms—of war
and disaster and pestilence.
:9 As for the prophet who
prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet
will be known as one whom the Lord
has truly sent.”
:9 when the word of the prophet comes to pass
Jeremiah gives some good instruction.
The proof of the prophet is in the fulfillment of the prediction.
(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.
But note that for now, though Jeremiah instructs, he still sits back to see
what happens.
28:10-11 Hananiah breaks Jeremiah’s yoke
:10 Then Hananiah the
prophet took the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and broke it.
Jeremiah is still wearing the wooden yoke that he started wearing earlier
in the year (27:2).
Hananiah breaking this wooden yoke symbolized the breaking of Babylon’s
power.
Illustration
As I was studying about “yokes”, I came across this interesting definition
of an English word:
Exposition: egs-po-zish'-in: the location of yolks on your plate
:11 And Hananiah spoke in
the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Even so I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king
of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years.’ ” And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.
Jeremiah could have been offended by Hananiah getting in his face, opposing
his prophecies, and breaking the yoke.
But instead Jeremiah just walks away.
28:12-17 God speaks – yokes of iron
:12 Now the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after Hananiah
the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
:13 “Go and tell
Hananiah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord:
“You have broken the yokes of wood, but you have made in their place yokes of
iron.”
:13 yokes of iron
Lesson
From Bad to Worse
(Quiz Key Word)
I don’t know if you are a fan of the old Pink Panther movies, but Inspector
Clouseau used to get himself into trouble, and things would go from bad to
worse…
The wooden yoke would be replaced by an iron yoke.
When you resist God, things only get tougher
There are many things that we are not to be in bondage to.
Things like sin, addictions, etc.
Those are “yokes” that need breaking.
There are some things that we are supposed to be “in bondage” to.
Marriage
Employer
Don’t resist the things you are supposed to be bound to.
:14 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “I
have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him. I have given him the
beasts of the field also.” ’ ”
All the nations that had gathered for the conference in Jerusalem (27:3)
would be under this iron yoke.
:15 Then the prophet
Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Hear now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, but you make
this people trust in a lie.
:16 Therefore thus says
the Lord: ‘Behold, I will cast
you from the face of the earth. This year you shall
die, because you have taught rebellion against the Lord.’ ”
Within this same year, he would die.
It was already the fifth month (28:1), and that mean
that within seven months, Hananiah would die.
:17 So Hananiah the
prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
:17 died the same year
It was only two months later that Hananiah dies.
This certainly says something about Jeremiah as a prophet, doesn’t it? (not
just that you don’t mess with him, but that his “word” came to pass)
Homework
Read Jer. 14-25 in NIV (each week a different version).
Memorize
(Jeremiah
15:16 NKJV) Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your
word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.
Today’s ending quiz
What were the two key words from our lesson? (…)
Healthy Offerings
From Bad to Worse
What could you apply to your life from today’s lesson?