Calvary
Chapel Bible College
October
7, 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
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.
Note: The fairly
large “Pericope Project” assignment is due next week. I’m looking for you
to upload a document that basically outlines Jeremiah 1-25, using
pericopes. You are free to use the ones
I’ve been using, or your own. (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.
Look at today’s passage (Jer. 29-31), all given at same point.
The order seems to be more topical than chronological.
Jeremiah 29
29:1-3 First Letter to Babylon
This is his 1st letter to the exiles.
:1 Now these are
the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the
remainder of the elders who were carried away captive—to the priests, the
prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from
Jerusalem to Babylon.
:2 (This happened after
Jeconiah the king, the queen mother, the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and
Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.)
:3 The letter was sent by
the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom
Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,
saying,
:1 Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem
In 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar took about 10,000 people captive off to Babylon
(Jeremiah recorded over 3,000 males taken captive, Jer. 52:28).
This is a letter that was written to those people.
We know that Daniel knew of this letter – he uses this letter as part of
his prayers (Dan. 9).
29:4-9 Settle down in Babylon
:4 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to
all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from
Jerusalem to Babylon:
:5 Build houses and dwell
in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit.
:6 Take wives and beget
sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to
husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished.
:7 And seek the peace of
the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace.
:7 pray to the Lord for it
Lesson
Bloom where you’re planted
The people in Babylon wondered
how long they were going to be there.
They even had prophets telling
them not to get too comfortable in Babylon because soon they would all go home.
Sometimes we too get to thinking
that we are not going to be happy where we are, and we need to move on to
“greener pastures”.
Some folks are convinced their life won’t improve until they change jobs,
change spouse, or move to another state.
I think there’s a time to learn to bloom where you
are planted.
Jeremiah tells the people to seek the prosperity of the place you’re in.
Paul told Timothy:
(1 Timothy 2:1–2
NKJV) —1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and
giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings
and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in
all godliness and reverence.
You may not be able to completely change the place you’re
at, but you can affect the “atmosphere”.
Even if you do change jobs, did you leave your job better
than when you left it?
:8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do
not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor
listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed.
:9 For they prophesy
falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the Lord.
These false prophets were causing the people to keep their bags packed when
God wanted them to settle down.
They were going to be in Babylon a long time.
It kind of reminds me of the Palestinians living in Israel (I’m not trying
to get political here).
They have purposely continue to live in “camps”
instead of settling down.
Entire generations have grown up in the poverty of these “camps” instead of
trying to better themselves.
29:10-14 Seventy years then restoration
:10 For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed
at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you,
and cause you to return to this place.
:11 For I know the
thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord,
thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a
hope.
:11 to give you a
future and a hope
Lesson
God’s plans
Keep in mind, this is being written to people who have lost everything,
people who have been taken off to Babylon as slaves.
If anything, they must think that God’s plans are to destroy them.
But that is not God’s heart towards His children.
(Romans 8:28 NKJV) And we know that all things work together for good to those who
love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
If we love God, then we can have confidence that a promise
like Rom. 8:28 or Jer.
29:11 applies to us.
Paul gives us a key to understanding what God’s will is
all about.
(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 give ourselves completely to God, we will “prove” to
ourselves that God’s will for us is “good”, “acceptable”, and “perfect”.
You may be going through difficult times, but if you are God’s child, then
you don’t need to be afraid. You don’t need to be afraid of what God is
thinking. He’s thinking thoughts of peace. He’s got a future and a hope for you.
Illustration
Have you ever heard of the unusual account of how the news of the battle of
Waterloo (England vs. France) reached England? The word was carried first by
sailing ship to the southern coast. From there it was relayed by signal flags
to London. When the report was received at Winchester, the flags on the
cathedral began to spell it out: “Wellington (the British general) defeated...”
Before the message could be completed, however, a heavy fog moved in. Gloom
filled the hearts of the people as the fragmentary news spread throughout the
surrounding countryside. But when the mists began to lift, it became evident
that the signals of Winchester Cathedral had really spelled out this triumphant
message: “Wellington defeated the enemy!”
Too often we allow the future to be colored by what we understand at the moment. We have a tendency to
become so absorbed with our current difficulties that we forget God’s
faithfulness in the past.
:12 Then you will call
upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
This is just what Daniel did (Dan. 9:1-3). When he read and pondered on
Jeremiah’s prophecy, he responded by praying for his people.
:13 And you will seek Me
and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
:14 I will be found by
you, says the Lord, and I will
bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and
from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause
you to be carried away captive.
God promises that one day there will be restoration
29:15-20 Jerusalem rotten, will be destroyed
:15 Because you have
said, “The Lord has raised up
prophets for us in Babylon”—
The captives in Babylon had prophets in Babylon who were telling people
that Jerusalem was going to be fine and that they’d soon all be going home.
:16 therefore
thus says the Lord concerning the
king who sits on the throne of David, concerning all the people who dwell in
this city, and concerning your brethren who have not gone out with you into
captivity—
:17 thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will send on
them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like rotten
figs that cannot be eaten, they are so bad.
:17 will make them like rotten figs
Remember the rotten figs from last week (Jer. 24)?
Jeremiah had had a vision about two baskets of figs – one basket of good
figs, the other of rotten figs.
The good figs were a picture of those who had been taken into exile.
The rotten figs were the folks still left in Jerusalem.
The folks left in Jerusalem are going to face a tough
time.
:18 And I will pursue
them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence; and I will deliver them
to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth—to be a curse, an astonishment, a hissing, and a reproach among all the
nations where I have driven them,
:19 because they have not
heeded My words, says the Lord,
which I sent to them by My servants the prophets, rising up
early and sending them; neither would you heed, says the Lord.
:20 Therefore hear the
word of the Lord, all you of the
captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon.
Things weren’t going to get better in Jerusalem.
29:21-23 Warning for false prophets
:21 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,
concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who
prophesy a lie to you in My name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall slay them before your eyes.
:21 concerning Ahab …
Zedekiah …
Jeremiah names the false
prophets
:22 And because of them a
curse shall be taken up by all the captivity of Judah who are in
Babylon, saying, “The Lord make
you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire”;
:22 whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire
Does this sound familiar?
Nebuchadnezzar was a cruel, pagan despot.
In Daniel 3, when Daniel’s three friends refused to bow down to
Nebuchadnezzar’s image, they too were thrown into the fire, but something
miraculous happened with them.
Daniel’s friends were not false prophets.
They had another promise from Isaiah to lean on:
(Isaiah 43:2 NKJV) When you pass through the waters, I will
be with you;
And
through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you
shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.
:23 because they have
done disgraceful things in Israel, have committed adultery with their
neighbors’ wives, and have spoken lying words in My name, which I have not
commanded them. Indeed I know, and
am a witness, says the Lord.
:23 they have done disgraceful things in Israel
Lesson
Walk and Talk
(keywords)
They not only spoke false prophecies, but they lived immoral lives as well.
There’s a connection between the truth of what a person says and the
lifestyle they live.
(1 Timothy 3:1–5
NKJV) —1 This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of
a bishop, he desires a good work. 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the
husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable,
able to teach; 3 not given to wine, not violent, not
greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; 4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in
submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to
rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?);
Your home life, what you’re like
away from church, is a picture of what you’re really
like.
If you are ever leading a ministry, and you are
considering someone for a position in your ministry, think about asking to meet
with the person’s spouse to ask what they are really like.
29:24-32 Second Letter to Babylon
After his first letter, a fellow named Shemaiah wrote back to Jerusalem
telling the people to make Jeremiah shut up. This is a response to Shemaiah’s
letter.
Shemaiah is trying to get the priest Zephaniah to put pressure on Jeremiah
to stop his prophecies.
:24 You shall also speak
to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying,
:25 Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,
saying: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are at
Jerusalem, to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests,
saying,
:26 “The Lord has made you priest instead of
Jehoiada the priest, so that there should be officers in the house of
the Lord over every man who
is demented and considers himself a prophet, that you should put him in prison
and in the stocks.
:26 over every man who is demented
This is how he characterizes Jeremiah.
demented – shaga–
to be mad
:27 Now therefore, why
have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who makes himself a prophet to you?
:28 For he has sent to us
in Babylon, saying, ‘This captivity is long; build houses and
dwell in them, and plant gardens and eat their fruit.’ ”
:29 Now Zephaniah the
priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet.
:29 Zephaniah the priest read this letter
Instead of putting Jeremiah into prison, Zephaniah reads Jeremiah the
letter from Shemaiah.
Apparently Zephaniah wasn’t going to let Shemaiah
push him around. He apparently accepted Jeremiah as a prophet.
Later (Jer. 52:24-27), Jeremiah will call Zephaniah the “second priest”
alongside the high priest named Seraiah. Zephaniah would eventually be killed
at the overthrow of Jerusalem.
:30 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying:
:31 Send to all those in
captivity, saying, Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah the
Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you,
and I have not sent him, and he has caused you to trust in a lie—
:32 therefore thus says
the Lord: Behold, I will punish
Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his family: he shall not have anyone to dwell among
this people, nor shall he see the good that I will do
for My people, says the Lord,
because he has taught rebellion against the Lord.
:32 I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite
Harsh words for this fellow who wanted to control things. Neither he nor
his family would see the time when the people would be restored back to the
land.
Note: This wasn’t Jeremiah’s
angry response, it was God’s response.
Jeremiah 30
Jeremiah 30-33 are
called Jeremiah’s “Book of Consolation”. Just before the nation of Judah goes
into it’s final moments, God
sends this word of future hope and restoration.
30:1-3 Keep a record
:1 The word that came to
Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,
:2 “Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a
book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you.
:3 For behold, the days
are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that
I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will cause them to return
to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’ ”
:2 Write in a book
Jeremiah was to make a record of all his prophecies. The record was for the
future.
Some of his prophecies will be for the near future, some would be for the
far future.
If Jeremiah’s near term prophecies concerning the
Babylonian captivity came true, what about his prophecies that are still yet
future?
You can count on God’s Word.
The reliability of the prophecies in the past point to the reliability of
God’s Word now.
30:4-11 God will restore Israel
:4 Now these are
the words that the Lord spoke
concerning Israel and Judah.
Though some of the content of these prophecies apply to Jeremiah’s day, and
the return of the people from Babylon, some of it will go far to the future,
when Jesus returns the second time to set up His kingdom on earth.
The fact that this is speaking of both the northern (Israel) and the
southern (Judah) kingdoms speaks of the future. The northern kingdom is not
around in Jeremiah’s day.
:5 “For thus says the Lord: ‘We have heard a voice of
trembling, Of fear, and not of peace.
:6 Ask now, and see, Whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see
every man with his hands on his loins Like a woman in labor, And all faces turned pale?
:7 Alas! For that day is great, So that none is
like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, But
he shall be saved out of it.
:7 the time of Jacob’s trouble
This is a phrase that refers to the coming Tribulation on the earth
described in the book of Revelation.
The coming Tribulation will have a major purpose that involves the nation
of Israel.
Daniel would have a vision known as the “Seventy Weeks”.
It’s about a time span of seventy weeks of seven years and includes an
amazing prophesy about the first coming of Jesus the Messiah.
The final “week” or span of seven years is what we call the Tribulation
period.
Daniel was told what this entire seventy weeks was for:
(Daniel 9:24 NKJV) “Seventy weeks are determined For your
people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end
of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in
everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint
the Most Holy.
It was all about the Jews.
:8 ‘For it shall come to
pass in that day,’ Says the Lord
of hosts, ‘That I will break his yoke from your neck, And
will burst your bonds; Foreigners shall no more
enslave them.
:8 in that day
We call that “day” the “Day of the LORD”.
It’s a specific phrase used in the Old Testament that encompasses in its
most specific way the time period of the Tribulation
and the Return of Jesus Christ to judge and rule the earth.
:8 I will break his yoke
Earlier Jeremiah had been wearing a wooden yoke to symbolize Judah’s
enslavement to Babylon.
But this speaks of a greater yoke, the enslavement the Jews have
experienced throughout time, culminating in the yoke the antichrist will put on
them (remember – “day of the LORD”).
There will be a day when the yoke will be broken.
It was partially broken when the Jews returned from Babylon, but not
completely and eternally.
True freedom for the Jews won’t come until Jesus returns.
The freedom then will be from the yoke of the antichrist.
Lesson
Suffering to freedom
Though this is talking about an event coming where the Jews will endure the
suffering of the Tribulation period and in the end be freed from slavery to
antichrist, it’s also a principle in Scripture.
(1 Peter 4:1–2
NKJV) —1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm
yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has
ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the
rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of
God.
It’s not that we have to “beat the sin out” of our
bodies.
We need to have the “same mind” as Jesus, willing to do what is necessary
to conquer sin.
God will use our suffering to draw us closer to Him.
Jesus broke the bondage of sin for us on the cross, and somehow this
becomes a practical example for us to follow.
Don’t run from suffering. We learn
from suffering.
:9 But they shall serve
the Lord their God, And David
their king, Whom I will raise up for them.
:9 they shall serve …David their king
This is in the future. There has not been a king sitting on a throne over
Israel since the time of Zedekiah (586BC).
Who is this referring to?
It could be referring to Jesus, a descendant of David.
Some take this literally, to David himself, raised from the dead in his
glorified body.
(Ezekiel 34:23–24
NKJV) —23 I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My
servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant
David a prince among them; I, the Lord,
have spoken.
:10 ‘Therefore do not
fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the Lord,
‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel; For behold, I will save you from afar, And your
seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, have rest and be
quiet, And no one shall make him afraid.
:10 I will save you from afar
They will be rescued from distant lands.
(Matthew
24:31 NKJV) And He will send His angels with a great sound
of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect
from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
We see a sense of this fulfillment starting today as Jews continue to
migrate back to Israel, making Aliya.
:11 For I am with
you,’ says the Lord,
‘to save you; Though I make a full end of all
nations where I have scattered you, Yet I will not make a complete end of you.
But I will correct you in justice, And will not let
you go altogether unpunished.’
Though God would wipe out these other nations, God would not wipe out
Israel.
This is a promise for the Jews now just as it will be when Jesus comes
back.
30:12-17 Incurable wounds
:12 “For thus says the Lord: ‘Your affliction is
incurable, Your wound is severe.
:13 There is no
one to plead your cause, That you may be bound up; You
have no healing medicines.
:14 All your lovers have
forgotten you; They do not seek you; For I have wounded you with the wound of
an enemy, With the chastisement of a cruel one, For the multitude of your
iniquities, Because your sins have increased.
:15 Why do you cry about
your affliction? Your sorrow is incurable. Because of the multitude of
your iniquities, Because your sins have
increased, I have done these things to you.
:15 Because of the multitude of your iniquities
Israel’s afflictions and sorrow had come because of their sins.
Sin causes “incurable” wounds.
There is no human remedy for sin. You can’t wash it away with soap. You
can’t bleach it with chlorine bleach.
(Romans 6:23 NKJV) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
:16 ‘Therefore all those
who devour you shall be devoured; And all your adversaries, every one of them,
shall go into captivity; Those who plunder you shall become plunder, And all who prey upon you I will make a prey.
:17 For I will restore
health to you And heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord, ‘Because they called you an
outcast saying: “This is Zion; No one seeks her.” ’
:17 I will restore health to you
Lesson
Healed at the cross
Though God had allowed Judah to be wounded, He would be the one that brings
healing.
He would heal the incurable.
How would God bring healing? Isaiah
saw it 100 years before Jeremiah:
(Isaiah 53:5 NKJV) But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for
our iniquities; The
chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
Illustration
A man dies and goes to heaven. Of course, St. Peter meets him at the Pearly
Gates. St. Peter says, “Here’s how it works. You need 100 points to make it
into heaven. You tell me all the good things you’ve done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending
on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in. “Okay,” the man
says, “I was married to the same woman for 50 years and never cheated on her,
even in my heart.” “That’s wonderful,” says St. Peter, “that’s worth three
points!” “Three points?” he says. “Well, I attended church all my life and
supported its ministry with my tithe and service.” “Terrific!” says St. Peter.
“That’s certainly worth a point.” “One point!?!!” “I started a soup kitchen in
my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans.” “Fantastic, that’s good
for two more points,” he says. “Two points!?!!” Exasperated, the man cries. “At
this rate the only way I’ll get into heaven is by the grace of God.” “Bingo,
100 points! Come on in!”
We only get into heaven because of what God did for us, not because of what
we do for God.
What did God do for us?
Jesus died for our sins.
He paid a debt He didn’t owe because we owed a debt we
couldn’t pay.
Break??
30:18-22 Jerusalem will be restored
:18 “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will bring back the
captivity of Jacob’s tents, And have mercy on his
dwelling places; The city shall be built upon its own mound, And the palace
shall remain according to its own plan.
:18 The city shall be built upon its own mound
mound – tel – mound, heap, heap of ruins
Though there was a partial fulfillment of this after the Babylonian
captivity, another fulfillment has happened as Jerusalem today has been rebuilt
upon ruins, upon 25 layers of different civilizations.
:19 Then out of them
shall proceed thanksgiving And the voice of those who
make merry; I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish; I will also
glorify them, and they shall not be small.
:20 Their children also
shall be as before, And their congregation shall be
established before Me; And I will punish all who oppress them.
I sure hope America continues to be “pro-Israel”.
:21 Their nobles shall be
from among them, And their governor shall come from
their midst; Then I will cause him to draw near, And
he shall approach Me; For who is this who pledged his heart to approach
Me?’ says the Lord.
:22 ‘You shall be My
people, And I will be your God.’ ”
This is restoration.
30:23-24 God’s whirlwind
:23 Behold, the whirlwind
of the Lord— Goes forth with
fury, A continuing whirlwind; It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.
:24 The fierce anger of
the Lord will not return until He
has done it, And until He has performed the intents of
His heart. In the latter days you will consider it.
:23 the whirlwind of the Lord
The Tribulation is compared to a storm, a tempest, a whirlwind.
:24 The fierce anger of the Lord
The Tribulation is called a time of “wrath”.
(Revelation
6:17 NKJV) For the great day of His wrath has come, and who
is able to stand?”
Yet we as the church will not be in the Tribulation because …
(1
Thessalonians 5:9 NKJV) For God did not appoint us to wrath,
but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Jeremiah 31
31:1-6 God’s love, joy restored
:1 “At the same time,”
says the Lord, “I will be the God
of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”
Note this is not just the tribe of Judah, but all the tribes (Israel) will
be called God’s people.
There would be a uniting of the nation once again.
:2 Thus says the Lord: “The people who survived the
sword Found grace in the wilderness— Israel, when I went to give him rest.”
:2 survived the sword found grace
This is talking about Israel escaping the bondage (sword) of Egypt.
They escaped Egypt and found grace in the wilderness.
They weren’t perfect, yet God cared for them and guided them to the
Promised Land.
This leads Jeremiah to proclaim something wonderful…
:3 The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore
with lovingkindness I have drawn you.
:3 I have loved you with an everlasting love … lovingkindness
God loving His people is nothing new.
everlasting – ‘owlam – long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever,
ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world
It speaks of being beyond the “vanishing point”.
God has loved us for a very long time.
lovingkindness –hesed –It
means loyal, steadfast, or faithful love and stresses the idea of a belonging
together of those involved in the love relationship.
It is used about 250 times in the OT.
Here it connotes God’s faithful love for His unfaithful people. In the OT,
communion, deliverance, enabling, enlightenment, guidance, forgiveness, hope,
praise, preservation are all based on God’s hesed.
Lesson
Everlasting Love
We need to be loved.
Illustration
From 1986 to 1990, Frank Reed was held hostage in a
Lebanon cell. For months at a time Reed was blindfolded, living in complete
darkness, or chained to a wall and kept in absolute silence. On one occasion, he was moved to another
room, and, although blindfolded, he could sense others in the room. Yet it was three weeks before he dared peek
out to discover he was chained next to Terry Anderson and Tom Sutherland.
Although he was beaten, made ill, and tormented, Reed felt
most the lack of anyone caring. He said in an interview with Time, “Nothing I did mattered to
anyone. I began to realize how withering
it is to exist with not a single expression of caring around [me]. ... I
learned one overriding fact: caring is a powerful force. If no one cares, you are truly alone.”
God has let us know He loves us.
He’s written love letters to us.
Illustration
When Elizabeth Barrett became the wife of Robert Browning,
her parents disowned her because they disapproved of the marriage. The
daughter, however, wrote almost every week, telling them that she loved them
and longed for a reconciliation. After 10 years she received a huge box in the
mail that contained all the notes she had sent.
Not one had been opened! Although these “love letters” have now become
an invaluable part of classical English literature, it’s pathetic to think that
they were never read by Elizabeth Barrett’s parents. Had they looked at just one, the broken
relationship with their daughter might have been healed.
His love letters can penetrate our heart.
Illustration
Richard Armstrong, Make
Your Life Worthwhile
There’s a story about a man in Wales who sought to win the
affection of a certain lady for 42 years before she finally said, “Yes.” The couple, both 74, recently became “Mr. and
Mrs.”
For more than 40 years, the persistent, but rather shy man
slipped a weekly love letter under his neighbor’s door. But she continually refused to speak and mend the spat that had parted them many years before.
After writing 2,184 love letters without ever getting a
spoken or written answer, the single-hearted old man eventually summoned up
enough courage to present himself in person.
He knocked on the door of the reluctant lady and asked for her
hand. To his delight and surprise, she
accepted.
Unlike Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s parents, she had read
the letters.
God has loved us more than just with words, but in action as well.
(John 3:16 NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
(Romans 5:8 NKJV) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us.
And this love that comes through Jesus was something that
was set up a long time ago. It is
from everlasting.
(Micah 5:2 NKJV) “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are
little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you
shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings
forth are from of old, From everlasting.”
(1 Peter
1:20 NKJV) He indeed was foreordained before the foundation
of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you
(Revelation
13:8 NKJV) All who dwell on the earth will worship him,
whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world.
Illustration
In the French revolution, a young man was condemned to the guillotine and
shut up in one of the prisons. He was greatly loved by many, but there was
someone who loved him more than all the others put together. That one was his
own father, and the love he bore his son was proved in this way: when the lists
were called, the father—whose name was exactly the same as the son’s—answered
to the name, and the father rode in the gloomy cart out to the place of
execution, and his head rolled beneath the blade instead of his son’s, a victim
to mighty love. (Spurgeon)
:4 Again I will build
you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! You shall again be adorned
with your tambourines, And shall go forth in the
dances of those who rejoice.
:5 You shall yet plant
vines on the mountains of Samaria; The planters shall plant and eat them
as ordinary food.
The mountains of Samaria are the “West Bank” today. This hasn’t quite been fulfilled yet.
:6 For there shall be a
day When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim, ‘Arise, and let us go
up to Zion, To the Lord
our God.’ ”
:6 the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim
Ephraim is one of the northern tribes, but being the largest, the name was
also used to represent the entire northern kingdom.
The northern kingdom did NOT ever go to Jerusalem to worship, but after
Jesus returns, there will be no split between the north and sound and they will
all come to Jerusalem to worship (currently there is no Temple, so this hasn’t
happened yet).
31:7-9 They will return
:7 For thus says the Lord: “Sing with gladness for Jacob, And shout among the chief of the nations; Proclaim, give
praise, and say, ‘O Lord, save
Your people, The remnant of Israel!’
:8 Behold, I will bring
them from the north country, And gather them from the
ends of the earth, Among them the blind and the
lame, The woman with child And the one who labors with
child, together; A great throng shall return there.
:9 They shall come with
weeping, And with supplications I will lead them. I
will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, In a
straight way in which they shall not stumble; For I am a Father
to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.
Even though much of Jeremiah’s ministry has been a warning of the judgment
that’s coming, he also lets the people that they have
a future. God will one day restore the
nation.
31:10-14 Prosperity
:10 “Hear the word of the
Lord, O nations, And declare it in the isles afar off, and say, ‘He
who scattered Israel will gather him, And keep him as
a shepherd does his flock.’
:11 For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he.
:11 ransomed him from the hand of one stronger
The near fulfillment, they will come from Babylon.
The double fulfillment with be from the antichrist
He has ransomed us from sin.
:12 Therefore they shall
come and sing in the height of Zion, Streaming to the
goodness of the Lord For wheat
and new wine and oil, For the young of the flock and the herd; Their souls
shall be like a well-watered garden, And they shall
sorrow no more at all.
There was a song we used to sing a long time ago from the Old King James…
(Jeremiah
31:12 AV) Therefore they shall come and sing in the height
of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and
for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and
their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at
all.
:13 “Then shall the
virgin rejoice in the dance, And the young men and the old, together; For I
will turn their mourning to joy, Will comfort them, And
make them rejoice rather than sorrow.
:14 I will satiate the
soul of the priests with abundance, And My people shall be satisfied with My
goodness, says the Lord.”
The priests being “satiated” speaks of prosperity. The people are not only doing well, but they
are bringing their offerings to God, and the priests get their paychecks.
There are several fulfillments of these verses:
The return from Babylon.
The rebirth of Israel in 1948.
The final prosperity when Jesus returns.
31:15 Rachel weeping
:15 Thus says the Lord: “A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more.”
:15 in Ramah … Rachel weeping for her children
Ramah – a city 5 miles north of Jerusalem. It was a gathering point
where captives were taken before beginning the journey to Babylon (Jer. 40:1).
Rachel – one of Jacob’s wives, one of the mothers of Israel.
The immediate fulfillment is a picture of Rachel weeping for her children
being taken off to Babylon.
There is also a second fulfillment of this verse (slaughter of the
innocents):
When Herod realized he had been tricked by the wise men, he had all the
children two years and under in the area of Bethlehem
put to death. Matthew quoted this verse (Mat. 2:18), saying that the sorrow that came in Jesus’ day was
a fulfillment of this verse.
(Matthew
2:18 NKJV) “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation,
weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be
comforted, Because they are no more.”
31:16-20 Repentance and mercy
:16 Thus says the Lord: “Refrain your voice from weeping,
And your eyes from tears; For your work shall be
rewarded, says the Lord, And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
(back from captivity in Babylon)
:17 There is hope in your
future, says the Lord, That your children shall come back to their own
border.
:18 “I have surely heard
Ephraim bemoaning himself: ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, Like an untrained bull; Restore me, and I will return, For
You are the Lord my God.
:19 Surely, after my
turning, I repented; And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh;
I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated, Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
:20 Is Ephraim My
dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For though I
spoke against him, I earnestly remember him still; Therefore
My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord.
:20 Therefore My heart yearns for him
Lesson
The Father’s heart
One of my favorite titles for God is our “Father”.
I think this tugs at our heartstrings because of our relationship with the Father.
A Father responds to his children because of love.
While Jeremiah has been telling the people that they need to listen to God
and turn from their sins, there typical response was to ignore Jeremiah.
You might get the idea that God is so angry that He’s given up on His
people.
But there will be a day when they people will come to their senses.
And God will forgive them because He is their Father.
Jesus talked about this heart of God in one of His parables:
(Luke 15:11–24 NLT)
—11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man
had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I
want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So
his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. 13 “A few days
later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land,
and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the
time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to
starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into
his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that
even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him
anything. 17 “When he finally came to his senses,
he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare,
and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say,
“Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no
longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.” ’ 20 “So he returned home to his father.
And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with
love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and
you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’ 22 “But his
father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest
robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for
his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been
fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son
of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is
found.’ So the party began.
The Father has a heart for His children. He longs for the
day that they will come to their senses and come home.
He cares for you just the same.
31:21-22 Remember the way home
:21 “Set up signposts, Make landmarks; Set your heart toward the highway, The way
in which you went. Turn back, O virgin of Israel, Turn back to these
your cities.
:21 Set up signposts
Hansel and Gretel left breadcrumbs to find their way back home.
The church in Ephesus (“remember, repent, re-do”). The way back to our first love.
The Jews were to be a little smarter and they were to set up large
landmarks to help them find their way back from Babylon.
:22 How long will you gad about, O you backsliding daughter?
(Jeremiah 31:22
NLT) How long will you wander, my wayward daughter?
:22 For the Lord has created
a new thing in the earth— A woman shall encompass a man.”
The meaning is uncertain.
Some say it refers to the safety in the millennium when a woman is all the
protection a man would need.
Others say it refers to Israel (as the woman) returning to God (as the man)
Others say it refers to the incarnation, when God became a man inside the
womb of a woman.
31:23-26 God gives rest
:23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “They
shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I
bring back their captivity: ‘The Lord
bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness!’
:24 And there shall dwell
in Judah itself, and in all its cities together, farmers and those going out
with flocks.
:25 For I have satiated
the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”
Not only is there a restoration of the entire nation of Israel, but Judah in particular will be restored.
satiated – ravah – to be satiated or saturated, have or
drink one’s fill; (Hiphil) to saturate, water, cause to drink
replenished – male’ – to
fill, be full; (Piel) to fill; to satisfy; to fulfil, accomplish, complete; to
confirm
The restoration would involve each individual finding deep fulfillment.
:26 After this I awoke
and looked around, and my sleep was sweet to me.
It seems that some of this chapter may have been
given to Jeremiah in a dream. And now he
wakes up to think about what he has dreamed.
Sometimes the things we dream about cause us to worry even more.
These things have brought Jeremiah peace.
31:27-30 Sour grapes
:27 “Behold, the days are
coming, says the Lord, that I
will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and
the seed of beast.
The picture is of a farmer
sowing his field with seed, but here God will plant with lives.
:28 And it shall come to
pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to
throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and
to plant, says the Lord.
This is just like Jeremiah’s original call:
(Jeremiah
1:10 NKJV) See, I have this day set you over the nations
and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and
to throw down, To build and to plant.”
:29 In those days they
shall say no more: ‘The fathers have eaten sour
grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
:30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats
the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.
:29 the children’s teeth are set on edge
This is one of the common sayings in those days, a sort of “proverb”.
Ezekiel said much the same in Babylon:
(Ezekiel 18:1–4
NKJV) —1 The word of the Lord
came to me again, saying, 2 “What do you mean when you use this
proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the
children’s teeth are set on edge’? 3 “As I live,” says the Lord God, “you shall no longer use this
proverb in Israel. 4 “Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of
the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die.
I wonder if the people had developed this saying because of the Babylonian
captivity.
Their nation was being punished partly because of the sins
of their fathers.
Yet there would be a day when each person would be punished for their own
sins.
That’s the way it is now.
31:31-34 New Covenant
:31 “Behold, the days are
coming, says the Lord, when I
will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—
:31 I will make a new
covenant
A “covenant” is a contract, an agreement between two parties.
It’s a legal term.
Another name is “testament” (i.e. “last will and testament”)
The older “covenant” was the one made during the days of Moses (Mosaic
Covenant).
God promises a “new covenant” (new testament)
Some people like to think that Christianity was either made up by Jesus or
the apostles, but the concept of the “New Testament” is rooted in the “Old
Testament” (here in Jeremiah).
On the night before His crucifixion, at the celebration of the Passover
(the Old Covenant), Jesus took a cup of wine and said,
(Matthew
26:28 NKJV) For this is My blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Remember this…
:32 not according to the
covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by
the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My
covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord.
The Old Covenant, the Mosaic
Covenant, started when Israel was brought out of Egypt by Moses.
:33 But this is
the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says
the Lord: I will put My law in
their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they
shall be My people.
:34 No more shall every
man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from
the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will
remember no more.”
:33 this is the covenant that I will make
Elements of the New Covenant:
A change of heart, the God’s ways written on our hearts
Knowing God
Forgiveness
The way it happens in our lives, the order is reversed: First comes forgiveness, then we can know
God, and God writes His ways on our hearts.
Lesson
Forgiveness
(keyword)
Video starts at 1:09, end it around 3:20
People need to know there is forgiveness for our sin.
The Bible says that if we confess our sins (1John 1:9), God will forgive.
(1 John 1:9 NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
God’s forgiveness is complete. He wipes the slate clean.
He tells us what He does with our sins.
(Micah
7:18–19 NKJV) —18 Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing
over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not
retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy. 19 He will
again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will
cast all our sins
Into the depths of the sea.
God buries our sins in the deepest sea.
Corrie Ten Boom used to say that He also posts a sign
which reads: No Fishing!
David wrote,
(Psalm 103:12 NKJV) As far as the east is from the west, So far has He
removed our transgressions from us.
If David said He removes our sins as far as the north is
from the south, we could measure that between the poles. But try to measure the distance between east
and west? It’s infinite.
Illustration
“The Blood of Christ”
One night in a church service a young woman felt the tug
of the Holy Spirit in her heart. She responded to God’s call and accepted Jesus
as her Lord and Savior. The young woman had a very rough past, involving
alcohol, drugs and prostitution. But, the change in
her was evident. As time went on she became a faithful
member of the church. She eventually became involved in the ministry teaching
young children. It not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the
eye and the heart of the pastor’s son. The relationship grew and they began to
make wedding plans. This is when the problems began.
You see, about one half of the church did not think that a
woman with a past such as hers was suitable for a pastor’s son. The church
began to argue and fight about the matter. So they
decided to have a meeting. As the people made their arguments and tensions
increased, the meeting got completely out of hand. The young woman became very
upset about all the things being brought up about her past. As she began to
cry, the pastor’s son stood to speak. He could not bear the pain it was causing
his wife to be. He began to speak and his statement was this: “My fiance’s past is not what is on trial here. What you are
questioning is the ability of the blood of Jesus to wash away sin. Today you
have put the blood of Jesus on trial. So, does it wash away sin or not?”
Too often, even as Christians, we bring up the past and use it as a weapon
against our brothers and sisters. Forgiveness is a very foundational part of
the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. If the blood of Jesus does not cleanse the
other person completely, then it cannot cleanse us completely. If that is the
case, then we are all in a lot of trouble. What can wash away my sins? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus.
(Ephesians
4:32 NKJV) And be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Remember the Last Supper?
Jesus was linking this passage in Jeremiah with what He was about to do.
The change of heart, knowing God, and forgiveness would
come at the cross. It would come as
Jesus shed His blood for us.
31:35-37 God’s unbreakable bond with Israel
:35 Thus says the Lord, Who
gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for
a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The Lord
of hosts is His name):
:36 “If those ordinances
depart From before Me, says the Lord, Then the seed of Israel
shall also cease From being a nation before Me
forever.”
:37 Thus says the Lord: “If heaven above can be measured,
And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all
the seed of Israel For all that they have done, says
the Lord.
There are some Christians who say that God is finished with the nation of
Israel.
They will then substitute the church for Israel in the promises of God.
Is God finished with Israel?
Does the sun still rise?
31:38-40 Jerusalem to be rebuilt
:38 “Behold, the days are
coming, says the Lord, that the
city shall be built for the Lord—from
the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.
:39 The surveyor’s line
shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn
toward Goath.
:40 And the whole valley
of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Brook
Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy
to the Lord. It shall not be
plucked up or thrown down anymore forever.”
This restoration that Jeremiah has been talking about will include a
rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem.
If I have my chronology correct, Jeremiah is
writing this BEFORE Jerusalem is destroyed.
At this restoration, the whole city will be “holy to the LORD”.
That’s not true today.
At that restoration, it will never be destroyed again.
That didn’t happen after the Babylonian captivity. It WILL happen when Jesus returns.
Homework
Read Jer. 14-25 in NLT (each week a different version).
Memorize 17.9
(Jeremiah
17:9 NKJV) “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately
wicked; Who can know
it?
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?