Calvary
Chapel Bible College
October
14, 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
17:9 NKJV) “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately
wicked; Who can know
it?
Note: The fairly
large “Pericope Project” (ch.1-25) assignment is due today.
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.
Jeremiah 30-33 are called Jeremiah’s “Book of
Consolation”. Just before the nation of Judah goes into its final moments, God
sends this word of future hope and restoration.
You’ll see on the chart that most of today (32-34) are later, while ch. 35 is early.
Jeremiah 32
32:1-5 Jeremiah imprisoned
:1 The word that came to
Jeremiah from the Lord—in the
tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of
Nebuchadnezzar.
Zedekiah was the last king of Judah. He only reigned for eleven years.
That puts the events in this chapter at the very end of the nation.
:2 For then the king of
Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the
court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house.
The Babylonian army had surrounded Jerusalem.
:3 For Zedekiah king of
Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will give this city
into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;
:4 and Zedekiah king of
Judah shall not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be
delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face
to face, and see him eye to eye;
:5 then he shall lead
Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall be until I visit him,” says the Lord; “though you fight with the
Chaldeans, you shall not succeed” ’?”
This is Jeremiah’s second trip to prison.
Zedekiah had Jeremiah put in prison because of the things Jeremiah was
saying. Jeremiah was acting like a traitor. But the things that Jeremiah had
said were absolutely true.
People like to hear “positive”, feel good messages. But what if that “positive” message isn’t
true?
32:6-15 Jeremiah buys a field
:6 And Jeremiah said,
“The word of the Lord came to me,
saying,
:7 ‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you,
saying, “Buy my field which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is
yours to buy it.” ’
Anathoth was Jeremiah’s hometown.
It was a town where many of the priests lived. It was close to work for the
priests, only about 2 miles northeast of Jerusalem.
:7 the right of redemption
God’s original intent was for property to stay with a particular family.
If your family got into financial trouble, you could sell the property, but
a relative could always come along and “redeem” the property or buy it back for
the sake of the family. (Lev. 25:25)
(Leviticus
25:25 NKJV) ‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and has
sold some of his possession, and if his redeeming relative comes to
redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold.
:8 Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the
prison according to the word of the Lord,
and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is
in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and
the redemption yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was
the word of the Lord.
:8 Please buy my field that is in
Anathoth
So Hanamel comes to Jeremiah, just like God told
him he would.
Jeremiah’s cousin wants Jeremiah to buy the family farm. While Jeremiah is in prison.
I wonder what was going on in Hanamel’s mind? Why
is he trying to sell this worthless piece of property to his cousin?
By this time Anathoth is in the hands of the Babylonians. It’s losing value quick
Was he “led” by the Lord? Did he just think that Jeremiah was an easy
“mark”?
Jeremiah had already been prepped by God about this.
I wonder if there isn’t a sense that Jeremiah felt like he needed
confirmation.
What God had asked him to do just didn’t make sense.
:9 So I bought the field
from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in
Anathoth, and weighed out to him the money—seventeen shekels of silver.
seventeen shekels of silver – 6.8 ounces of silver (today only worth
about $120)
:10 And I signed the deed
and sealed it, took witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales.
:11 So I took the
purchase deed, both that which was sealed according to the law
and custom, and that which was open;
There were two copies of the “deed”. One copy was sealed and the other was
unsealed.
:12 and I gave the
purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and in the presence of the
witnesses who signed the purchase deed, before all the Jews who sat in the
court of the prison.
Baruch was Jeremiah’s companion and secretary. (Jer. 36:4)
:13 “Then I charged
Baruch before them, saying,
:14 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Take
these deeds, both this purchase deed which is sealed and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that
they may last many days.”
Seal them up in a clay pot so they will last for a long time.
:15 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
“Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.” ’
This was all an act of faith to demonstrate that God wasn’t finished with
the land. There would one day be Jews living in the land of Israel.
One day Jeremiah’s family could once again claim rights to this property.
It’s a statement to the people that Jeremiah believed they would one day
come back.
He’s putting his money where his mouth is.
32:16-25 Jeremiah’s prayer: God is good
:16 “Now when I had
delivered the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying:
:17 ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You
have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm.
There is nothing too hard for You.
:17 There is nothing too hard for You
Lesson
Impossible
(keyword)
We’ve already talked about God doing impossible things.
Judah had an “incurable wound” (sin), yet God promised to heal their wound.
Nothing is too hard for God
When Mary wondered how she would get pregnant, the angel said to Mary:
(Luke 1:37 NKJV) For with God nothing will be impossible.”
Jesus said,
(Mark 10:27 NKJV) But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is
impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”
(Matthew
17:20 NKJV) So Jesus said to them, “Because of your
unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you
will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and
nothing will be impossible for you.
Do you have things that seem impossible?
Video: Star Wars – Dagobah – that is
why you fail
Play to the end
The issue isn’t whether or not this thing is
possible to you, but whether or not it is possible to
God (not the “Force”).
For Abraham, it seemed impossible to have any kids:
(Romans
4:20–21 NKJV) —20 He did not waver at the promise of
God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also
able to perform.
This is what faith is all about, trusting an all powerful God and standing back
to let Him work.
Keep in mind that Jeremiah gets this message while he’s in prison.
:18 You show
lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of
the fathers into the bosom of their children after them—the Great, the Mighty
God, whose name is the Lord
of hosts.
:19 You are great in
counsel and mighty in work, for your eyes are open to all the ways of
the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the
fruit of his doings.
Great in counsel
He has answers to your questions.
Mighty in work
He can do great things.
:20 You have set signs
and wonders in the land of Egypt, to this day, and in Israel and among other
men; and You have made Yourself a name, as it is this day.
:21 You have brought Your
people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong
hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror;
:22 You have given them
this land, of which You swore to their fathers to give them—“a
land flowing with milk and honey.”
:23 And they came in and
took possession of it, but they have not obeyed Your voice or walked in Your
law. They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have caused all this calamity to come upon
them.
:24 ‘Look, the siege
mounds! They have come to the city to take it; and the city has been given into
the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it,
because of the sword and famine and pestilence. What You have spoken has
happened; there You see it!
:25 And You have said to
me, O Lord God, “Buy the field
for money, and take witnesses”!—yet the city has been
given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ ”
Jeremiah is kind of blown away with this whole land purchase.
Jeremiah’s ministry began in 627 BC, 41 years ago. During that entire time,
his main message has been that judgment is going to
come, that the Babylonians were going to conquer Jerusalem. The Babylonians are
finally here and the judgment is about complete.
And now God has this land deal to give Jeremiah hope.
It’s as if Jeremiah’s ministry isn’t limited to talking about
destruction. He also has hope in a future restoration.
32:26-35 God’s reply: Judgment is still coming
:26 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,
:27 “Behold, I am
the Lord, the God of all flesh.
Is there anything too hard for Me?
This question seems to come in answer to Jeremiah’s statement back in verse
17:
(Jeremiah
32:17 NKJV) ‘Ah, Lord God!
Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by
Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.
:28 Therefore thus says
the Lord: ‘Behold, I will give
this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king
of Babylon, and he shall take it.
God goes on to remind Jeremiah that even though there will one day be a
restoration, they nation will indeed face a judgment that will indeed happen.
vs.29-35 are just a reiteration of the promised destruction of Jerusalem.
:29 And the Chaldeans who
fight against this city shall come and set fire to this city and burn it, with
the houses on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal and poured out
drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger;
:30 because the children
of Israel and the children of Judah have done only evil before Me from their
youth. For the children of Israel have provoked Me only to anger with the work
of their hands,’ says the Lord.
:31 ‘For this city has
been to Me a provocation of My anger and My fury from the day that they
built it, even to this day; so I will remove it from
before My face
:32 because of all the
evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah, which they have done
to provoke Me to anger—they, their kings, their princes, their priests, their
prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
:33 And they have turned
to Me the back, and not the face; though I taught them, rising
up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive
instruction.
:34 But they set their
abominations in the house which is called by My name,
to defile it.
:35 And they built the
high places of Baal which are in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to
cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech,
which I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind that they should do
this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.’
32:36-44 Restoration is coming
:36 “Now therefore, thus
says the Lord, the God of Israel,
concerning this city of which you say, ‘It shall be delivered into the hand of
the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence:
:37 Behold, I will gather
them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and
in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to
dwell safely.
:38 They shall be My
people, and I will be their God;
:39 then I will give them
one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and
their children after them.
:40 And I will make an
everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good;
but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.
Everlasting covenant – the new covenant
:41 Yes, I will rejoice
over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with
all My heart and with all My soul.’
:42 “For thus says the Lord: ‘Just as I have brought all this
great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have
promised them.
:43 And fields will be
bought in this land of which you say, “It is desolate, without man or
beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.”
:44 Men will buy fields
for money, sign deeds and seal them, and take witnesses, in the land of
Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities
of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South;
for I will cause their captives to return,’ says the Lord.”
:44 Men will buy fields for money
Just as Jeremiah’s act of faith, the buying of his cousin’s property.
Lesson
God is not finished with you
(Philippians
1:6 NKJV) being confident of this very thing, that He who
has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
Illustration
At one time Andrew Carnegie was the wealthiest man in America. He came to
America from his native Scotland when he was a small boy, did a variety of odd
jobs, and eventually ended up as the largest steel manufacturer in the United
States. At one time he had forty-three millionaires working for him. In those
days a millionaire was a rare person; conservatively speaking, a million
dollars in his day would be equivalent to at least twenty million dollars
today.
A reporter asked Carnegie how he had hired forty-three millionaires.
Carnegie responded that those men had not been millionaires when they started
working for him but had become millionaires as a result.
The reporter’s next question was, “How did you develop these men to become
so valuable to you that you have paid them this much money?” Carnegie replied
that men are developed the same way gold is mined. When gold is mined, several
tons of dirt must be moved to get an ounce of gold; but one doesn’t go into the
mine looking for dirt—one goes in looking for the gold.
God sees the gold in our lives. He knows what He’s trying
to in our lives. Sometimes it seems that He must have a lot of dirt to remove.
Illustration
Once someone came on Michelangelo chipping away with his chisel at a huge
shapeless piece of rock. He asked the sculptor what he
was doing. “I am releasing the angel imprisoned in this marble,” he answered.
God may allow hardships into our lives, but it’s because He sees what the
finished product is going to be like.
For Judah, they went into the Babylonian captivity as a
people who worshipped idols, who strayed from God.
When they came out of the Babylonian captivity, they would
be a people who had learned to walk with their God.
(1 Thessalonians 5:24 NKJV) He who calls you is faithful,
who also will do it.
Jeremiah 33
33:1-9 God will restore Jerusalem
:1 Moreover the word of
the Lord came to Jeremiah a
second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
:1 while he was still shut up in the court of the prison
You might ask yourself, where does God speak to a prophet? Up on a mountain top? At a retreat?
At the beach?
God spoke to Jeremiah while he was in prison.
:2 “Thus says the Lord who made it, the Lord who formed it to establish it (the
Lord is His name):
:2 the LORD who made it
made – ‘asah
– to do, fashion, accomplish, make
What is the “it” that the Lord has made?
Even though some of the translations say that the Lord has made the
“heavens” or the “heavens and the earth”, the Hebrew text doesn’t say what God
has made.
The ancient Syriac version has “thee”, as in the Lord has made “thee”.
Others think it refers to Jerusalem, and the context of what follows would
seem that this is what God is talking about.
Perhaps God left it vague so we could put ourselves into the passage.
:3 ‘Call to Me, and I
will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’
:3 Call to Me, and I will answer you
Mighty – batsar – to gather, restrain, fence, fortify,
make inaccessible, enclose; secrets, mysteries, inaccessible things (subst)
This word is often translated “fenced” referring to the great
“inaccessible” cities in Canaan that Israel would conquer (Deut. 28:52; Josh 14:12)
God has things to show us that only He has access to.
Lesson
Ask God to speak
God wants to speak to us. We need to
ask.
(James 1:5–8 NKJV)
—5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all
liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is
like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not
that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Illustration
Does God Still Speak To Men?
A young man had been to Wednesday night Bible Study. The Pastor had shared
about listening to God and obeying the Lord’s voice. The young man couldn’t
help but wonder, “Does God still speak to people?”
After service he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they
discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how God had led them
in different ways. It was about ten
o’clock when the young man started driving home. Sitting in his
car, he just began to pray, “God.. If you still speak
to people speak to me. I will listen. I will do my
best to obey.” As he drove done the main street of his town, he had the
strangest thought, stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook his head and said
out loud, “God is that you?” He didn’t get a reply and started on toward home.
But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk. The young man thought about
Samuel and how he didn’t recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran
to Eli. “Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk.”
It didn’t seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk. He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and
started off toward home. As he passed Seventh Street, he again felt the urge,
“Turn down that street.” This is crazy he thought and drove on pass the
intersection. Again, he felt that he should turn down seventh street.
At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh. Half jokingly, he said out loud, “Okay, God, I will.” He
drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled
over to the curb and looked around. He was in a semicommercial
area of town. It wasn’t the best but it wasn’t the
worst of neighborhoods either. The businesses were closed and most of the
houses looked dark like the people were already in bed. Again, he sensed
something, “Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street.”
The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the
people were either gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the
door and then sat back in the car seat. “Lord, this is insane. Those people are
asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid.”
Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk. Finally, he opened the
door, “Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the
milk. If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient.
I guess that will count for something but if they don’t answer right away, I am
out of here.”
He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise
inside. A man’s voice yelled out, “Who is it? What do you want?” Then the door
opened before the young man could get away. The man was standing there in his
jeans and T-shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed. He had a strange look
on his face and he didn’t seem too
happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. “What is it?”
The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, “Here, I brought this to you.”
The man took the milk and rushed down a hallway speaking loudly in Spanish.
Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The
man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying.
The man had tears streaming down his face. The man began speaking and half
crying, “We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out
of money. We didn’t have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking
God to show me how to get some milk.” His wife in the kitchen yelled out, “I
ask him to send an Angel with some. Are you an Angel?” The young man reached
into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put in the man’s
hand. He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears
were streaming down his face. He knew that God still answers prayers and that
God still speaks to His people.
- Author Unknown
So how will God respond to Jeremiah?
:4 “For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the
houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah, which have been
pulled down to fortify against the siege mounds and the sword:
At this point in the siege, houses have been torn down for their building materials and the materials have been used to fortify the
wall around Jerusalem.
:5 ‘They come to fight
with the Chaldeans, but only to fill their places with the dead bodies
of men whom I will slay in My anger and My fury, all for whose wickedness I
have hidden My face from this city.
:6 Behold,
I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the
abundance of peace and truth.
:7 And I will cause the
captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and
will rebuild those places as at the first.
:8 I will cleanse them
from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon
all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have
transgressed against Me.
:9 Then it shall be to Me
a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who
shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all
the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.’
God promises that one day Jerusalem will be restored.
33:10-16 Worship, righteousness
:10 “Thus says the Lord: ‘Again there shall be heard in
this place—of which you say, “It is desolate, without man and without
beast”—in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate,
without man and without inhabitant and without beast,
:11 the voice of joy and
the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride,
the voice of those who will say: “Praise the Lord
of hosts, For the Lord is
good, For His mercy endures forever”— and of those who will
bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as
at the first,’ says the Lord.
:11 His mercy endures forever
This is Israel’s worship chorus
The first time we have recorded that this song was
sung was when David brought the Ark of the Covenant into the city of Jerusalem:
(1
Chronicles 16:34 NKJV) Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His
mercy endures forever.
You can track this phrase through the Old Testament and you will see that it is one of those “greatest
hits” of the nation. It’s used 41 times
in the Old Testament.
The next time the song was sung was at the dedication of Solomon’s temple:
(2
Chronicles 5:13–14 NKJV) indeed it came to pass, when the
trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in
praising and thanking the Lord,
and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and
instruments of music, and praised the Lord,
saying: “For He
is good, For His
mercy endures forever,” that the house, the house of the Lord,
was filled with a cloud, (2 Chronicles 5:13–14 NKJV) so that the priests could not
continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.
:12 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In this place which is desolate, without man and without beast, and
in all its cities, there shall again be a dwelling place of shepherds causing their
flocks to lie down.
Flocks lying down give a picture of peace and safety.
(Psalm 23:1–2 NKJV)
—1 The Lord is my
shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie
down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
:13 In the cities of the
mountains, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the
land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah,
the flocks shall again pass under the hands of him who counts them,’
says the Lord.
:14 ‘Behold, the days are
coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I
will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and
to the house of Judah:
:15 ‘In those days and at
that time I will cause to grow up to David A Branch of righteousness; He shall
execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
:15 A Branch of righteousness
We’ve already seen this title before (Jer. 23:5)
Branch – another title reserved for the Messiah, who would be a “branch” in
David’s family tree (Isa. 11:1-5)
(Isaiah 11:1–5
NKJV) —1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch
shall grow out of his roots. 2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit
of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the
fear of the Lord. 3 His delight is
in the fear of the Lord, And He shall
not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; 4 But with
righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall
strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He
shall slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of
His loins, And
faithfulness the belt of His waist.
:16 In those days Judah
will be saved, And Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by
which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS’
:16 THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS
We’ve also seen this as well (Jer. 23:6)
This new “name” for Jerusalem will remind the people that God is the one
who has made them “righteous”.
We know this is what God does for us when we trust Jesus.
(2
Corinthians 5:21 NKJV) For He made Him who knew no sin to
be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
A new name for Jerusalem – “Yahweh
Tzidqenu”
She will be given a name based on what God had done for her.
It was on Mount Moriah, that Abraham took his son
Isaac. God told Abraham to sacrifice his only son. When Isaac asked where the lamb was for the sacrifice, Abraham replied:
(Genesis
22:8 NKJV) And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for
Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of
them went together.
You could take this to mean that God Himself was going to
take care of providing a lamb, and God did indeed provide a ram that was caught
in a bush.
You could also take this verse to mean that God would
provide a lamb for a sacrifice, that He was the lamb.
Abraham wasn’t allowed to actually
perform the sacrifice. Instead,
God gave him a ram to sacrifice.
But God was very
pleased with what Abraham had done.
Abraham had
painted for us a picture:
God the Father
would sacrifice His only Son on that same mountain. Right outside of Jerusalem.
And it would be
there on the cross that our sins would be paid for and we would be given the
righteousness of Christ.
33:17-26 Forever kings and priests
:17 “For thus says the Lord: ‘David shall never lack a man to
sit on the throne of the house of Israel;
:18 nor shall the
priests, the Levites, lack a man to offer burnt offerings before Me, to kindle
grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.’ ”
:17 David shall never lack a man
The line of King David would never be extinguished.
Does this mean that for Jeremiah there would always be a sitting king? No,
it just means that there will always be a descendant of David.
And then there’s Jesus. His reign is
forever.
:18 nor shall the priests
The Levitical priests would also continue.
Though there’s no longer any need for a sin offering (Heb. 7:26-27), after
Jesus comes back and sets up His kingdom there will priests who make offerings
of thanksgiving, consecration, and fellowship (Eze. 44).
(Hebrews 7:26–27
NKJV) —26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy,
harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the
heavens; 27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up
sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did
once for all when He offered up Himself.
At Baalpeor, the people had started to commit
idolatry and adultery with the young Moabite women. Phinehas took a spear and
killed an Israelite man who was committing adultery with a Moabite woman.
Because of this, a promise was made to Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron.
(Numbers
25:13 NKJV) and it shall be to him and his descendants after
him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his
God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.’ ”
God then goes on (vs.19-26) to once again remind the people that He has no
intention of breaking His relationship with Israel.
As long as there is day and night, there will be a
special relationship between God and Israel.
:19 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,
:20 “Thus says the Lord: ‘If you can break My covenant
with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and
night in their season,
:21 then My covenant may
also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign
on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers.
:22 As the host of heaven
cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the
descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.’ ”
:23 Moreover the word of
the Lord came to Jeremiah,
saying,
:24 “Have you not
considered what these people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the Lord has chosen, He has also cast them
off’? Thus they have despised My people, as if they
should no more be a nation before them.
:25 “Thus says the Lord: ‘If My covenant is not
with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven
and earth,
:26 then I will cast away
the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any
of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. For I will cause their captives to return, and
will have mercy on them.’ ”
Break
Jeremiah 34
The next two chapters talk about things
like the promises we make, alcohol, and how serious we are about handling sin.
34:1-7 Zedekiah will die peacefully
:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army,
all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion, and all the people, fought
against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying,
Nebuchadnezzar’s final siege of Jerusalem
started in 589 BC after King Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar and tried
to go out on his own away from the Babylonians.
:2 “Thus says the Lord,
the God of Israel: ‘Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, “Thus
says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will
give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with
fire.
:3 And you shall not escape from his hand, but
shall surely be taken and delivered into his hand; your eyes shall see the eyes
of the king of Babylon, he shall speak with you face to face, and you shall go
to Babylon.’ ” ’
:4 Yet hear the word of the Lord,
O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the Lord
concerning you: ‘You shall not die by the sword.
:5 You shall die in peace; as in the ceremonies of your fathers, the
former kings who were before you, so they shall burn incense for you and lament
for you, saying, “Alas, lord!” For I have pronounced the word, says the Lord.’ ”
:5 You shall die in peace
Zedekiah wouldn’t be killed when Jerusalem
was leveled. He would die in peace. But this doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t have
any trouble.
At the end of the siege of Jerusalem,
Zedekiah tried to sneak out of the city with some of his soldiers. He was
captured and taken to Nebuchadnezzar’s headquarters. Then his sons would be
slain in front of him, his eyes were put out, and the last thing he would
remember seeing was his boys being killed. Then he was taken captive to Babylon
where he would live out the rest of his life.
:6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem,
:7 when the king of Babylon’s army fought against Jerusalem and all
the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and Azekah; for only
these fortified cities remained of the cities of Judah.
The Babylonian army is getting closer.
Lachish – 30 miles southwest of Jerusalem.
Azekah – 15 miles southwest of Jerusalem.
34:8-22 Broken promises
:8 This is the word that
came to Jeremiah from the Lord,
after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at
Jerusalem to proclaim liberty to them:
:9 that every man should
set free his male and female slave—a Hebrew man or woman—that no one should
keep a Jewish brother in bondage.
:10 Now when all the
princes and all the people, who had entered into the
covenant, heard that everyone should set free his male and female slaves, that
no one should keep them in bondage anymore, they obeyed and let them go.
Slavery was a part of the ancient economy.
A Hebrew could sell themselves into slavery as a way to
pay off debts.
The Law of Moses had commanded the people to release their Hebrew slaves
after six years (Ex. 21:2)
Zedekiah hoped that if he could convince the people to release their slaves
like they were supposed to, that God would have mercy on them and stop the
Babylonian siege.
:11 But afterward they
changed their minds and made the male and female slaves return, whom they had
set free, and brought them into subjection as male and female slaves.
The Egyptian army made an advance against the Babylonians and for a brief period of time the Babylonian army backed off
of Jerusalem (Jer. 37:5)
When the people saw that the Babylonians had backed off, they went and
forced their slaves back into slavery.
I remember when the planes hit the Twin Towers on 9/11, many people started
going to church.
But after the initial fear wore off, so did many of the people.
:12 Therefore the word of
the Lord came to Jeremiah from
the Lord, saying,
:13 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I made a
covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of
Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying,
At one point the entire nation had been slaves in Egypt. They should have
known better.
:14 “At the end of seven
years let every man set free his Hebrew brother, who has been sold to him; and
when he has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you.” But your
fathers did not obey Me nor incline their ear.
:15 Then you recently
turned and did what was right in My sight—every man proclaiming liberty to his
neighbor; and you made a covenant before Me in the house which is called by My
name.
:16 Then you turned
around and profaned My name, and every one of you brought back his male and
female slaves, whom he had set at liberty, at their pleasure, and brought them
back into subjection, to be your male and female slaves.’
:17 “Therefore thus says
the Lord: ‘You have not obeyed Me
in proclaiming liberty, every one
to his brother and every one to his neighbor. Behold,
I proclaim liberty to you,’ says the Lord
‘to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine! And I will deliver you to trouble
among all the kingdoms of the earth.
:17 I proclaim liberty to you
God will let the people experience a new kind of freedom themselves. He
will give them freedom to experience war and death.
Lesson
Freedom
In the movie “Braveheart”, William Wallace is trying to rally the troops,
but he’s challenged by his fellow Scotsmen who don’t really want to die
fighting the superior English army.
He tells them they have the “freedom” to leave the battlefield and live
“safe” lives, but lives that are still in bondage to the English.
https://youtu.be/h2vW-rr9ibE?t=203
Play to the end
We do have quite a bit of freedom as individuals. Paul wrote,
(1
Corinthians 6:12 NKJV) All things are lawful for me, but
all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be
brought under the power of any.
So yes, you do have a freedom to
do lots of things, but some of those things will bring you under their power.
What some people call “freedom” is really bondage. It’s bondage to sin.
(Romans 6:16 NKJV) Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey,
you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to
death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
Be careful with what kind of things you want to be “free” from. We don’t
want to become “free” from obeying God or else we will become “free” to be
enslaved to sin.
:18 And I will give the
men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the
covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed
between the parts of it—
:19 the princes of Judah,
the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the
land who passed between the parts of the calf—
This was one of the ways in which a “covenant” or contract was inaugurated,
a type of sacrifice.
You see a picture of it in Genesis 15 between God and Abraham.
One of the ancient ways of ratifying a contract or a “covenant” was to
sacrifice an animal by splitting it down the middle, and then the two people
involved in the contract would walk between the two halves of the animal.
This is what God did with Abraham when God made a contract with Abraham,
promising to give him the land of Canaan. God had Abraham prepare a sacrifice,
split the animal, and then God walked between the parts. The covenant didn’t
even depend on Abraham, but solely on God (Gen. 15:7-18) since God was the only
one to walk between the two rows of animal parts.
The point is that Zedekiah had apparently made one of these serious types
of “covenants” with the people, making them promise to set their slaves free
(vs. 8)
It was a serious agreement.
:20 I will give them into
the hand of their enemies and into
the hand of those who seek their life. Their dead bodies shall be for meat for
the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth.
:21 And I will give
Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes
into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their life, and
into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army which has
gone back from you.
:22 Behold, I will
command,’ says the Lord,
‘and cause them to return to this city. They will fight against it and
take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation
without inhabitant.’ ”
:22 I will make the cities of Judah a desolation
The Babylonians would be back …
Why? Because the people had broken
their promises
Lesson
Keep your promises
God was tired of these people continually breaking their promises.
Jesus said,
(Matthew
5:37 NKJV) But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil
one.
Jesus wants you to keep your word. Why?
Because God keeps His Word.
(Deuteronomy 31:6 NKJV) Be strong and of good courage, do
not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord
your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor
forsake you.”
Illustration
A Father's Promise
In 1989 an 8.2 earthquake almost flattened
Armenia, killing over 30,000 people in less than four minutes. In the midst of utter devastation and chaos, a father left
his wife securely at home and rushed to the school where his son was supposed
to be, only to discover that the building was as flat as a pancake. After the
traumatic initial shock, he remembered the promise he had made to his son: “No
matter what, I’ll always be there for you!” And tears began to fill his eyes.
As he looked at the pile of debris that once was the school, it looked
hopeless, but he kept remembering his commitment to his son. He began to
concentrate on where he walked his son to class at school each morning.
Remembering his son’s classroom would be in the back right corner of the
building, he rushed there and started digging through the rubble. As he was
digging, other forlorn parents arrived, clutching their hearts, saying: “My
son!” “My daughter!” Other well meaning
parents tried to pull him off of what was left of the
school saying: “It’s too late!” “They’re dead!” “You can’t help!” “Go home!”
“Come on, face reality, there’s nothing you can do!” “You’re just going to make
things worse!” To each parent he responded with one line: “Are you going to
help me now?” And then he proceeded to dig for his son, stone by stone. The
fire chief showed up and tried to pull him off of the
school’s debris saying, “Fires are breaking out, explosions are happening
everywhere. You’re in danger. We’ll take care of it.
Go home.” To which this loving, caring Armenian father asked, “Are you going to
help me now?” The police came and said, “You’re angry, distraught and it’s
over. You’re endangering others. Go home. We’ll handle it!” To which he
replied, “Are you going to help me now?” No one helped. Courageously he
proceeded alone because he needed to know for himself: “Is my boy alive or is
he dead?” He dug for eight hours . . . 12 hours . . . 24 hours
.. . . 36 hours . . . then, in the 38th hour, he pulled back
a boulder and heard his son’s voice. He screamed his son’s name, “ARMAND!” He
heard back, “Dad!?! It’s me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry. I told ‘em that if you were alive, you’d save me and when you saved
me, they’d be saved. You promised, ‘No matter what, I’ll always be there for
you!’ You did it, Dad! . . . “ “What’s going on in
there? How is it?” the father asked. There are 14 of us left out of 33, Dad.
We’re scared, hungry, thirsty and thankful you’re here. When the building
collapsed, it made a wedge, like a triangle, and it saved us.” “Come on out,
boy!” “No, Dad! Let the other kids out first, ‘cause I know you’ll get me! No matter what, I know
you’ll be there for me!”
Jeremiah 35
35:1-11 Rechabites obey their father
:1 The word which came to
Jeremiah from the Lord in the
days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,
:2 “Go to the house of
the Rechabites, speak to them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers, and
give them wine to drink.”
:1 in the days of Jehoiakim
This next prophecy is an older one. We now skip backwards in time.
Jehoiakim was the third of four sons of Josiah to rule (609-598 BC). He was
a bad king. He ruled for eleven years.
:2 the house of the Rechabites
The Rechabites were a group of nomads (like Bedouins) who were related to
the Kenites, descendants of Moses’ father-in-law Jethro. They considered a
fellow named Jonadab to be their founder, dating back to 842 BC (250 years
prior to Jeremiah). One of their unique characteristics was that they did not
drink wine or alcohol.
Jeremiah is asked to take them into the Temple and try giving them a drink.
:3 Then I took Jaazaniah
the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, his brothers and all his sons, and
the whole house of the Rechabites,
:4 and I brought them
into the house of the Lord, into
the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was
by the chamber of the princes, above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of
Shallum, the keeper of the door.
:5 Then I set before the
sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to
them, “Drink wine.”
:6 But they said, “We
will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us,
saying, ‘You shall drink no wine, you nor your sons, forever.
:6 Jonadab the son of Rechab
Who was Jonadab? His name was also pronounced “Jehonadab”
Jonadab lived back in the days of Jehu. The northern kingdom had been ruled
by a wicked dynasty led by King Ahab and his wife Queen Jezebel. Together they
led the nation of Israel into horrible idolatry, leading the people into
worshipping Baal and Ashtoreth.
God raised up a man named Jehu to bring the dynasty of Ahab to an end.
Rechab would be a close friend of Jehu who would help him destroy the
descendants of Ahab, and wipe out the idolatry they
had promoted in the north.
(2
Kings 10:15–17 NKJV) —15 Now when he departed from there, he
met Jehonadab the son of Rechab, coming to meet him; and he greeted him
and said to him, “Is your heart right, as my heart is toward your
heart?” And
Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, give me your hand.” So he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him
into the chariot. 16 Then he said, “Come with me, and see
my zeal for the Lord.” So they had him ride in his chariot. 17 And when he
came to Samaria, he killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had
destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord
which He spoke to Elijah.
Jehonadab – Y@hownadab – “Jehovah is willing”
Rechab – Rekab – “rider”.
Jehonadab was a loyal friend
(NLT) "Are you as loyal
to me as I am to you?" "Yes, I am,"
Lesson
Good friends
Throughout Scripture we see the tremendous value
of having good friends. As we look at this, ask yourself, “Who are my friends
and how do I treat them?”
Good friends support each other. Even if it’s a little risky.
Good friends encourage each other
Good friends serve God together.
Though you may struggle a bit with this, what Jehonadab and Jehu did in
killing all the offspring of King Ahab was also serving God. Sometimes serving
God isn’t so neat and tidy.
Two are better than one.
(Eccl 4:9-12 KJV) Two
are better than one; because they have a good reward
for their labour. {10} For if they fall, the one will
lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when
he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
We need friends who will help us when we fall. We need
friends who will pick us up when we stumble.
{11} Again, if two lie
together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? {12} And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a
threefold cord is not quickly broken.
I like to think of Jesus being that “third cord”. The best
friend is the one that makes sure that Jesus is in the middle of your
relationship.
:6 You shall drink no wine
So this was a family “rule” that Rechab had set up
for his family.
Lesson
Alcohol
Though Rechab told his family not to drink alcohol…
1.
The Bible does not prohibit
drinking.
At a wedding feast in Cana, Jesus turned water into wine (not grape juice,
John 2) as His first public miracle.
Paul encouraged Timothy to drink some wine as a form of medicine:
(1 Timothy 5:23 NKJV) No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and
your frequent infirmities.
In Proverbs, King Lemuel talks about how wine can help those who are
suffering:
(Proverbs 31:6 NKJV) Give strong drink to him who is
perishing, And wine to those who are bitter of heart.
I think this says something about helping people in pain –
it’s okay to take pain medication.
2. The Bible does prohibit
drunkenness
(Ephesians
5:18 NKJV) And do not be drunk with wine, in which is
dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
It is not okay for you to drink to excess. God wants you filled with His Spirit instead.
3. Don’t
cause others to stumble
If you have a friend who is an alcoholic, should you drink alcohol in front
of them just because you can?
(Romans
14:21 NKJV) It is good neither to
eat meat nor drink wine nor do
anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.
If I love that other person, I will not do something that
would cause them to stumble.
(Romans 14:15 NKJV) Yet if your brother is grieved
because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy
with your food the one for whom Christ died.
Personally, I made a choice a long time ago not to drink any alcohol.
4. The Bible also recommends or requires that certain types of people not
drink wine:
a. Priests were not to drink before coming into the Tabernacle.
(Leviticus
10:8–11 NKJV) —8 Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying: 9 “Do not
drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into
the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever
throughout your generations, 10 that you may distinguish between
holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, 11 and that you
may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of
Moses.”
The command came after two or Aaron’s sons had rushed into
the Tabernacle with “strange fire” and were incinerated by the fire of God. It
has been suggested that Nadab and Abihu may have been drinking a little too
much when they did this.
God wanted His priests to have a clear head so they could
distinguish what was right from what was wrong. He wanted them to have a clear
mind when they were teaching God’s ways to the people.
b. Kings were not to drink strong drink.
(Proverbs
31:4–5 NKJV) —4 It is not for
kings, O Lemuel,
It is not for kings to drink wine, Nor for princes
intoxicating drink; 5 Lest they drink and forget the law, And pervert
the justice of all the afflicted.
Again, the idea is that alcohol impairs your judgment. God
wants kings to have a clear mind.
The idea is that if you are serving the Lord or are in a leadership
position, alcohol probably isn’t a great idea for you.
:7 You shall not build a
house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, nor have any of these; but all your
days you shall dwell in tents, that you may live many days in the land where
you are sojourners.’
:7 You shall not build a house
Again, the Rechabites were nomads.
Until the Babylonians had come along, they had lived in tents.
Lesson
Strangers
The Rechabites were nomads. They were like the old
hippies, avoiding materialism.
There is nothing wrong with having possessions. There is nothing wrong with
owning your own home.
But there is a sense in which we too ought to be like those nomads.
Abraham lived like a nomad:
(Heb 11:8-10 NLT) It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God
called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his
inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. {9} And even when he
reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith--for he was like a
foreigner, living in a tent. And so did Isaac and Jacob, to whom God gave the
same promise. {10} Abraham did this because he was confidently looking forward
to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
This world is not our home. We shouldn’t be too comfortable in this world.
We ought to always be a little homesick for heaven.
(1 Pet 2:11-12 ICB) Dear friends, you are like visitors and
strangers in this world. So I beg you to stay away
from the evil things your bodies want to do. These things fight against your
soul. {12} People who do not believe are living all around you. They might say
that you are doing wrong. So live good lives. Then they will see the good things
you do, and they will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again.
When we live as strangers in this world, we give people a glimpse of what
heaven it really like.
It’s like living with people who have just immigrated from some foreign
country – their food, their clothes, their house all smell and remind you of
the land they came from.
Illustration
Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse writes,
Some years ago, a friend of mine moved into a new home. The house had been unoccupied for a long time; the garden
was untended and high with weeds. The first morning my friend looked from an
upstairs window into the garden, and among the weeds he saw a beautiful red
rose. He went to pick it, but the weeds were so high
he could not find it. Returning to his upstairs window he located the rose,
noted landmarks near it, and on his second trip to the garden, succeeded in
finding it. As he pulled it from the weeds, he discovered that the stem ran
nine feet to its root in his neighbor’s well-cultivated garden! That is the
Christian life. Rooted in Heaven, it blooms among the weeds of earth.
Illustration
Spurgeon writes about an incident
between a pagan, godless man and a Christian. Lord Peterborough spoke of the
celebrated Fenelon in this way: "He is a delicious creature. I was forced
to get away from him as fast as I possibly could, else he would have made me
pious."
I wish that all of us had such an influence over godless
men!
:8 Thus we have obeyed
the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he charged us,
to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters,
:9 nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; nor do we have vineyard, field, or seed.
:10 But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and done
according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
:11 But it came to pass,
when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, ‘Come,
let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and for fear of
the army of the Syrians.’ So we dwell at Jerusalem.”
This is why they are not living out in the fields in their tents. They’ve
had to temporarily settle down in Jerusalem because of the Babylonians.
35:12-19 Judah should obey its Father
:12 Then came the word of
the Lord to Jeremiah, saying,
:13 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Go
and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not
receive instruction to obey My words?” says the Lord.
:14 “The words of Jonadab
the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are
performed; for to this day they drink none, and obey their father’s commandment. But although I
have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, you did not obey Me.
:15 I have also sent to
you all My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them,
saying, ‘Turn now everyone from his evil way, amend your doings, and do not go
after other gods to serve them; then you will dwell in the land which I have
given you and your fathers.’ But you have not inclined your ear, nor obeyed Me.
:16 Surely the sons of
Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which
he commanded them, but this people has not obeyed Me.” ’
God was amazed at how honorable these Rechabites were towards their
father’s commandments, yet the nation of Judah has not honored God in obeying
His commandments.
:17 “Therefore thus says
the Lord God of hosts, the God of
Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem
all the doom that I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken to them
but they have not heard, and I have called to them but they have not answered.’ ”
:18 And Jeremiah said to
the house of the Rechabites, “Thus says the Lord
of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Because you have obeyed the commandment of
Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts and done according to all that
he commanded you,
:19 therefore thus says
the Lord of hosts, the God of
Israel: “Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before Me
forever.” ’ ”
:19 shall not lack a man to stand before Me
Lesson
Set the standard for your family
(Ephesians
6:4 NKJV) And you, fathers, do not provoke your children
to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
Jehonadab was a man who set an example that his family followed for
generations to come. He taught them what to do, and
then lived it.
Sometimes we don’t set the right example.
Video: Children
See, Children Do
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOrGsB4qG_w
Setting an example is supposed to be a daily thing, a way of life thing:
(Deuteronomy 6:4–9
NKJV) —4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord
our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 “And these
words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall
teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk
of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way,
when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as
frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the
doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Parents – give your kids an example that they can follow.
Illustration
In His Mother's Steps
One gal (Davida Dalton) writes: It was a
busy day in our Costa Mesa, California home. But then, with 10 children and one
on the way, every day was a bit hectic. On this particular
day, however, I was having trouble doing even routine chores-all because
of one little boy. Len, who was three at the time, was on my heels no matter
where I went. Whenever I stopped to do something and
turned back around, I would trip over him. Several times, I patiently suggested
fun activities to keep him occupied. “Wouldn’t you like to play on the swing
set?” I asked again. But he simply smiled an innocent smile and said, “Oh,
that’s all right, Mommy. I’d rather be in here with you.” Then he continued to
bounce happily along behind me. After stepping on his
toes for the fifth time, I began to lose my patience and insisted that he go
outside and play with the other children. When I asked him why he was acting
this way, he looked up at me with sweet green eyes and said, “Well, Mommy, in
preschool my teacher told me to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. But I can’t see him,
so I’m walking in yours.”
Lesson
God keeps His promises
God promised that because of their obedience to their father, there would
always be Rechabites before God.
When the people would come back from Babylon and rebuild Jerusalem, the
Rechabites were there. Nehemiah records who helped in the rebuilding of the
wall:
(Nehemiah
3:14 NKJV) Malchijah the son of Rechab, leader of the
district of Beth Haccerem, repaired the Refuse Gate; he built it and hung its
doors with its bolts and bars.
They built the place where you took out the trash.
Kind of ironic considering how their father Jonadab was
known in Scripture as the guy who helped Jehu take out the trash (Ahab’s
offspring) from the northern kingdom of Israel.
Homework
Read Jer. 26-38 in NKJV (each week a different version).
Memorize 20:9
(Jeremiah
20:9 NKJV) Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak
anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in
my bones; I was weary
of holding it back, And I could not.
Today’s ending quiz
What were the two key words from our lesson? (…)
Impossible
Freedom
What could you apply to your life from today’s lesson?