Calvary
Chapel Bible College
November
18, 2020
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 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.
Class Project – At
our last class of the semester I’m going to ask each of you to present a
5-minute Bible Study on a passage of your choice from Jeremiah. Pick a passage that has meant something to
you personally. It can be one of our
memory verses.
You have all
reserved your passages to teach from.
I love the passages you’ve picked.
I want you to teach as if you were
doing a devotional to a small home group that has not been in Jeremiah with
us.
I want you explain
your passage, give one point of application from your passage (ie how can I put this into my life?), and share an
illustration about the principle.
Explain, apply, illustrate
You can use powerpoint
(maybe), but you don’t have to.
Pericope Project Part2
Just a friendly reminder that the
last half of Jeremiah is also due on December 9.
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.
We are now in a section where
Jeremiah has been prophesying about the Gentile nations.
We are now in a series of chapters
that give the historical account of the fall of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah is now in his sixties and
has been prophesying for over 40 years.
Jeremiah 49
49:1-6 Ammon
:1 Against the Ammonites.
Thus says the Lord: “Has Israel
no sons? Has he no heir? Why then does Milcom inherit Gad, And his people dwell in its cities?
:1 Against the Ammonites
Last week we talked about the descendants of Lot. After God wiped out the
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s daughters began to panic, thinking that
along with their father, they were the last three people alive on the earth. So they got their father drunk on successive nights and took
turns sleeping with him. They each bore a son. One son was the father of the
Moabites, the other was the father of the Ammonites.
(see map)
The land of the Ammonites was east of Israel across Jordan River from the
central portion of Israel. The modern capital of Jordan, Amman, gets its name
from these people.
Just like the Moabites, the Ammonites were continual enemies to the nation
of Israel.
:1 Why then does Milcom inherit Gad
Milcom was the god of the Ammonites
Gad was the tribe that had originally been given the land that Ammon
occupied.
The Ammonites have moved into territory that used to belong to Israel.
Normally property passed from one generation of Israelite to the next. But the
Ammonites had somehow moved into and taken over land that belonged to Israel.
They were in a place where they didn’t belong, and that was apparently the
reason behind the coming judgment.
:2 Therefore behold, the
days are coming,” says the Lord,
“That I will cause to be heard an alarm of war In Rabbah of the Ammonites; It
shall be a desolate mound, And her villages shall be
burned with fire. Then Israel shall take possession of his inheritance,” says
the Lord.
Rabbah was the capital of Ammon.
Today it is known as the city of Amman, the capital of Jordan.
:3 “Wail, O Heshbon, for
Ai is plundered! Cry, you daughters of Rabbah, Gird yourselves with sackcloth!
Lament and run to and fro by the walls; For Milcom
shall go into captivity With his priests and his
princes together.
More cities in Ammon.
Heshbon – the ancient capital of the Amorites, of King Sihon.
Ai – This is not the same city that was conquered by Joshua.
:4 Why do you boast in
the valleys, Your flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? Who trusted in her
treasures, saying, ‘Who will come against me?’
:4 Who trusted in her treasures
It’s interesting that God calls Ammon a “daughter”. God must have felt He
had some sort of relationship with this nation.
Lesson
Trusting in our treasures
The Ammonites felt “safe” because they “had enough stuff”. They weren’t worried about invading armies
because they were well off.
(Luke 12:13–21
NKJV) —13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to
divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But He said to him, “Man, who made
Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 15 And He said
to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist
in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
The fellow wanted Jesus to act as a judge and tell the brother to divide
the inheritance. Jesus didn’t want any
part of it. He pointed out that the man
had his priorities wrong.
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain
rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself,
saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build
greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for
many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’
20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required
of you; then whose will those things be which you have
provided?’ 21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself,
and is not rich toward God.”
This man was only worried about the treasures he could see with his own
eyes. He was aiming his whole life
towards having treasure in this life, only to find that when he had achieved
it, it was all gone.
You can’t take it with you. When you
leave this life, it will all stay behind.
Illustration
Paul Azinger writes, “My friend Mike got on an airplane one day and saw one
of the strangest things he had ever seen in his life. The man sitting next to
him in first class was dressed in a bathrobe and slippers. The man’s seat was a
beautiful leather chair, but my friend’s was simply
made of fabric. The man said to my friend. “I see you have noticed my chair.
This chair is made of the finest leathers money can buy.” Then my friend
noticed that the man had a mahogany tray table. Again, the man said, “Ahh, you
have noticed my gorgeous tray table.” My friend looked up and saw that the guy
had a ceiling fan. The rich man was also surrounded by a VCR, a television set,
a CD player, and a computer.
”My friend was flabbergasted. He asked the rich
man, “Why would anyone go to the expense to have all these things installed in
an airplane?” The man replied bluntly, “Because this is my home.”
“My friend thought, “What a shame! A place that was
intended to be a journey, he has made his home.””
Be careful about the deceit that riches bring. Money wants you to think that if you had it,
life would be okay.
But money doesn’t know or control the future. That’s God’s job.
:5 Behold, I will bring
fear upon you,” Says the Lord God
of hosts, “From all those who are around you; You shall be driven out, everyone
headlong, And no one will gather those who wander off.
:6 But afterward I will
bring back The captives of the people of Ammon,” says
the Lord.
Ammon will have a future restoration.
49:7-22 Edom
:7 Against Edom. Thus
says the Lord of hosts: “Is
wisdom no more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their
wisdom vanished?
:7 Against Edom
Abraham had a son, Isaac.
Isaac had twin sons, Esau and Jacob.
Jacob was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel.
The Edomites were the descendants of Esau.
(see map) Their land was east and south of Israel.
The land of Edom looks like this coming up from Eilat – (five pics)
:7 Is wisdom no more in Teman?
Teman was the name of one of Esau’s grandsons (Gen. 36:11), the son of
Eliphaz, Esau’s son.
There was a chief city in Edom named after him.
(see map) We
are not sure where this city was, though some suggest it’s somewhere southeast
of Petra (Sela).
One of Job’s friends was named “Eliphaz the Temanite”
(Job 2:11).
Some have suggested that this dates the book of Job during the time of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Lesson
Losing your wisdom.
(keyword!)
Apparently the Edomites had quite a reputation for having men of “wisdom.
(Obadiah 8 NLT) At that time not a single wise person will be left in the whole
land of Edom,” says the Lord.
“For on the mountains of Edom I will destroy everyone who has understanding.
So at some point, they lost their
wisdom. They “lost their mind”.
So how do we get our “mind” back when we’ve lost it?
Illustration
Bob went to a psychiatrist. “Doc,” he said, “I’ve
got trouble. Every time I get into bed, I think there’s somebody under it. I
get under the bed; I think there’s somebody on top of it. Top, under, top,
under...you gotta help me, I’m going crazy!” “Just
put yourself in my hands for one year,” said the shrink. “Come to me three
times a week, and I’ll cure your fears.” “How much do you charge?” “A hundred
dollars per visit? I’ll sleep on it,” said Bob.
Six months later the doctor met Bob on the street. “Why didn’t you ever
come to see me again?” asked the psychiatrist. “For a hundred buck’s a visit? A friend cured me for free!” “Is that so!
How?” “He told me to cut the legs off the bed!”
Actually, getting your “mind” or
your “wisdom” back is a little more complicated than that …
Job, whom some think might have been an Edomite (Gen. 36:33), tells us
about what wisdom is:
(Job 28:28 NKJV) And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart
from evil is understanding.’ ”
Solomon, the wisest man on earth, told us where you start to learn about
wisdom:
(Proverbs
1:7 NKJV) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools
despise wisdom and instruction.
Wisdom is related to your connection to God.
Paul tells us how people can lose their “wisdom”.
(Romans 1:18–23
NKJV) —18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in
unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is
manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since
the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and
Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because,
although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were
thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were
darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became
fools, 23 and changed the glory of the
incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and
four-footed animals and creeping things.
There’s a connection between wisdom and having a relationship with God that
honors Him.
When you stop honoring God, you lose your real perspective in life.
Getting your “mind” back involves getting things right with God.
Paul talks about how things are made right with God, and again there’s a
connection with what is “wise”. He says
that there is a difference between what the world considers “wise” and what God
considers “wise”.
(1 Corinthians
1:18–29 NKJV) —18 For the message of the cross is
foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the
power of God.
To those without Jesus, they can’t see anything smart
about Jesus dying on a cross.
19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And
bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” 20 Where is
the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer
of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not
know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to
save those who believe.
You can’t come to know God simply by being smart or
“wise”. You only come to know God through something “foolish”, the cross.
22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom;
Gentiles look for what they think is “smart”.
23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and
to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both
Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness
of God is stronger than men.
The cross is the “foolishness of God”, and it is far
better for us than anything the smartest person could ever cook up. The cross
is how we come to God, it’s through the cross that
Jesus paid for our sins.
26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame
the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the
things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and
the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to
bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no
flesh should glory in His presence.
God uses foolish things – the message of the cross and
foolish people like us.
Don’t be proud when God uses you. It’s only God at work in
us.
Wisdom comes when we get things right with God. Though the world considers Christianity and
the cross “foolish”, in fact it is the very heart of the wisdom of God.
:8 Flee, turn back, dwell
in the depths, O inhabitants of Dedan! For I will bring the calamity of Esau
upon him, The time that I will punish him.
Dedan – Dedan was a city far to the south of Edom, in the northern part of
the Arabian peninsula
:9 If grape-gatherers
came to you, Would they not leave some gleaning
grapes? If thieves by night, Would they not destroy
until they have enough?
:10 But I have made Esau
bare; I have uncovered his secret places, And he shall
not be able to hide himself. His descendants are plundered, His brethren and
his neighbors, And he is no more.
Whereas grape-gathers and thieves might leave something behind, the
judgment that God was bringing would leave nothing behind.
:11 Leave your fatherless
children, I will preserve them alive; And let
your widows trust in Me.”
:12 For thus says the Lord: “Behold, those whose judgment was
not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunk. And are you the one who
will altogether go unpunished? You shall not go
unpunished, but you shall surely drink of it.
(Jeremiah
49:12 NLT) And this is what the Lord says: “If the innocent must suffer, how much more must
you! You will not go unpunished! You must drink this cup of judgment!
:13 For I have sworn by
Myself,” says the Lord, “that
Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse. And all its
cities shall be perpetual wastes.”
See map
Bozrah – one of the capital cities of the Edomites.
:14 I have heard a
message from the Lord, And an ambassador has been sent to the nations: “Gather
together, come against her, And rise
up to battle!
:15 “For indeed, I will
make you small among nations, Despised among men.
:15 I will make you small
By the time of Jesus, the Edomites were practically non-existent.
The only known Edomites we know of were the Herods,
who were called “Idumeans”.
:16 Your fierceness has
deceived you, The pride of your heart, O you who dwell
in the clefts of the rock, Who hold the height of the
hill! Though you make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down
from there,” says the Lord.
:16 pride … you who dwell in the clefts of the rock
The land of Edom is filled with mountains, cliffs, and deep valleys.
Though the city of Petra was built after the Edomites, it is an example of
what God is describing here.
Video: Petra
Treasury
The Edomites thought they were impervious to attack. They could easily defend themselves against
all attackers.
Lesson
Deceived by Pride
Pride tells me that “I’m okay”.
Pride tells me I don’t need anyone’s help.
Jesus wrote a stern warning to the church at Laodicea:
(Revelation 3:14–18
NKJV) —14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These
things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness,
the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 “I know your
works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish
you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm,
and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need
of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind,
and naked—18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold
refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be
clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and
anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
The problem is that as strong as I may be, I always need help. I need God’s help. I need others in my life as well.
(1 Corinthians
12:21–22 NLT) —21 The eye can never say to the hand,
“I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” 22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least
important are actually the most necessary.
Sometimes we can fool ourselves into thinking we’re better
off without people in our lives, but we’re wrong. God did not design us to be Lone Rangers.
Illustration
As the Lone Ranger and Tonto were riding along towards the
north, they spotted a war party of about 50 Apaches
coming at them. They turned south, but another war party appeared. They turned
east and met another party of 100 braves. They turned west as their last
remaining hope and saw a party of 500. The Lone Ranger
turned to his friend and said, “Well, faithful friend, this is the end, there’s
not much we can do.” Tonto looked back at the Lone Ranger. “What you mean WE,
white man?”
As crazy as it seems at times, we need each other.
:17 “Edom also shall be
an astonishment; Everyone who goes by it will be astonished And
will hiss at all its plagues.
:18 As in the overthrow
of Sodom and Gomorrah And their neighbors,” says the Lord, “No one shall remain there, Nor
shall a son of man dwell in it.
:19 “Behold, he shall
come up like a lion from the floodplain of the Jordan Against the dwelling
place of the strong; But I will suddenly make him run away from her. And who is
a chosen man that I may appoint over her? For who
is like Me? Who will arraign Me? And who is
that shepherd Who will withstand Me?”
No one can stand against God.
:20 Therefore hear the
counsel of the Lord that He has
taken against Edom, And His purposes that He has proposed against the
inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out; Surely He shall make their dwelling places desolate with
them.
It won’t take much to draw the people out in order to
slaughter them.
:21 The earth shakes at
the noise of their fall; At the cry its noise is heard at the Red Sea.
The Red Sea has a finger that stretches up to the southern border of Edom.
:22 Behold,
He shall come up and fly like the eagle, And spread
His wings over Bozrah; The heart of the mighty men of Edom in that day shall be
Like the heart of a woman in birth pangs.
49:23-27 Damascus
:23 Against Damascus.
“Hamath and Arpad are shamed, For they have heard bad
news. They are fainthearted; There is trouble on the sea; It cannot be
quiet.
:23 Against Damascus
Damascus is and has always been the capital of Syria.
(see map)
When the Bible calls out a “capital city”, it’s most likely referring to
the entire nation.
We sometimes call the United States “Washington”…
Damascus is one of the world’s oldest cities.
Hamath, Arpad – cities about 100 miles north of Damascus.
:24 Damascus has grown
feeble; She turns to flee, And fear has seized her.
Anguish and sorrows have taken her like a woman in labor.
The cities of Syria are in a panic because of the advance of
Nebuchadnezzar’s army.
:25 Why is the city of
praise not deserted, the city of My joy?
Interesting titles God gives to
Damascus, Syria.
:26 Therefore her young
men shall fall in her streets, And all the men of war
shall be cut off in that day,” says the Lord
of hosts.
:27 “I will kindle a fire
in the wall of Damascus, And it shall consume the
palaces of Ben-Hadad.”
Ben-hadad was the title of the king of Syria
(like Pharaoh of Egypt). His name means
“son of Hadad (a god of the Syrians)”
There would be judgment coming on the Syrians from Babylon.
49:28-33 Kedar, Hazor
:28 Against Kedar and
against the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon shall
strike. Thus says the Lord:
“Arise, go up to Kedar, And devastate the men of the
East!
There is a Hazor in the northern part of Israel, but this is not that
place.
Kedar was a nomadic tribe of Ishmaelites known for their archery (Is.
21:16-17), flocks of sheep (Is. 60:7), trade (Eze. 27:21), and warlike nature
(Ps.120:5-6).
They lived primarily on the Arabian peninsula and
had caravan routes up through the land of Edom to trade with nations like
Israel. (these are pictures from Petra and one of the spice merchants who come
up to Jordan from Saudi Arabia)
:29 Their tents and their
flocks they shall take away. They shall take for
themselves their curtains, All their vessels and their
camels; And they shall cry out to them, ‘Fear is
on every side!’
:30 “Flee, get far away!
Dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Hazor!” says the Lord. “For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel
against you, And has conceived a plan against you.
:31 “Arise, go up to the
wealthy nation that dwells securely,” says the Lord, “Which has neither gates nor bars, Dwelling alone.
:32 Their camels shall be
for booty, And the multitude of their cattle for plunder. I will scatter to all
winds those in the farthest corners, And I will bring their calamity from all
its sides,” says the Lord.
Video: Camels
at Petra
:33 “Hazor shall be a
dwelling for jackals, a desolation forever; No one shall reside there, Nor son
of man dwell in it.”
:31 go up to the wealthy nation that dwells securely
They too had been trusting in their wealth.
The people of Kedar and Hazor were nomadic people. They never settled down in towns. They didn’t even bother having walls or any
defenses because they were so sure of their abilities.
Lesson
Defenses
We have an enemy that wants to destroy us.
(1 Peter 5:8 NKJV) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about
like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
The devil has all sorts of ways to attack us:
Illustration
There’s an old fable that says the Devil once held a sale
and offered all the tools of his trade to anyone who would pay their
price. They were spread out on the table
and each one labeled. Hatred, malice, envy, despair, sickness, sensuality—all
the weapons that everyone knows so well.
But off to one side lay a harmless looking wood-shaped instrument marked
“discouragement.” It was old and worn
looking but it was priced far above all the rest. When asked the reason why, the Devil replied,
“Because I can use this one so much more easily than the others. No one knows that it belongs to me, so with
it I can open doors that are tightly bolted against the others. Once I get inside I can use any tool that suits me best.”
We don’t always see the attacks as they come.
Illustration
Doubled over and choking, they staggered to hospitals by
the thousands, crying for help and refuge from a colorless cloud of gas that
turned Bhopal, India into a tomb on a terrible December day in 1984. "We have been working nonstop to treat
the people and still they are coming," said one volunteer who tried to
help doctors and nurses cope with streams of injured at five jammed
hospitals. Several thousand died in the
accident at the Union Carbide plant, many never fully aware of what hit them.
No enemy is harder to fight than an invisible one. Believers also face an unseen adversary, who
leads the forces arrayed against us in spiritual conflict. Let us be diligent to watch and pray.
If we have no defenses, we’re helpless against an invisible enemy.
In the ancient days, a city was protected by its walls and gates. That’s what kept the enemy outside the city
and enabled the city to be defended, yet Kedar and Hazor had no defenses.
Perhaps that was because of their own pride.
(Ephesians 6:10–18
NKJV) —10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His
might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the
heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of
God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having
put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having
shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be
able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the
helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word
of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance
and supplication for all the saints—
Most of the weapons Paul mentions are defensive weapons.
Keep your defenses in place. Don’t think that the enemy doesn’t want to
destroy you or make you ineffective.
Keep “watch”.
49:34-39 Elam
:34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet
against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah
king of Judah, saying,
:34 against Elam
This prophecy was given around the year 597 BC.
Elam is an area on the western side of modern Iran, on the other side of
Babylon.
They were famous around the world for their archery skills.
:35 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Behold, I will break
the bow of Elam, The foremost of their might.
Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Elamites in 596 BC, but it doesn’t seem that
this prophecy is speaking of that event.
:36 Against Elam I will
bring the four winds From the four quarters of heaven, And scatter them toward all those winds; There shall
be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go.
This sounds like a defeat from nations around the world.
I wonder if this could be speaking of a defeat of modern Iran.
:37 For I will cause Elam
to be dismayed before their enemies And before those
who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, My
fierce anger,’ says the Lord;
‘And I will send the sword after them Until I have consumed them.
:38 I will set My throne
in Elam, And will destroy from there the king and the
princes,’ says the Lord.
Perhaps this is speaking of the Second Coming, when Jesus returns.
Perhaps He is the one who will deal with the people of Elam.
Or just that God will have His way.
:39 ‘But it shall come to
pass in the latter days: I will bring back the captives of Elam,’ says the Lord.”
Yet they will one day be restored.
Jesus is coming back.
Break
Jeremiah 50
50:1-3 Babylon taken
:1 The word that the Lord spoke against Babylon and
against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.
:1 the Lord spoke against Babylon
Some people might have thought that Jeremiah was nothing but a spy for
Babylon. His usual message to the kings
of Judah was to warn them about how they were going to be conquered by the
Babylonians.
Yet here we see that Jeremiah was an equal opportunity prophet.
Babylon would one day be destroyed.
The prophecy was given at least 65 years before Babylon would be
conquered by the Persians.
:2 “Declare among the
nations, Proclaim, and set up a standard; Proclaim—do not conceal it—
Say, ‘Babylon is taken, Bel is shamed. Merodach is broken in pieces; Her idols
are humiliated, Her images are broken in pieces.’
:2 Bel … Merodach
Bel means “Lord”, it is applied to the name “Merodach”
Merodach, also called “Marduk”, the chief god of Babylon.
According to Babylonian mythology, he was the creator of the world.
He would be broken to pieces
:3 For out of the north a
nation comes up against her, Which shall make her land
desolate, And no one shall dwell therein. They shall
move, they shall depart, Both man and beast.
:3 a nation comes up against her
The strangeness of prophecy
Babylon would be conquered by the Persians in 539 BC.
But there are going to be parts of this prophecy that don’t seem to fit.
For example, the city wasn’t wiped out in 539 BC. It was fought over many times over the
centuries, and conquered by many, including Alexander the Great. There was still a city there in Jesus’ day.
There are parts of this prophecy that have not been fulfilled.
Does that mean it’s defective?
No, it means that it hasn’t happened yet.
Revelation 17-18 speaks about another “Babylon” that will be wiped out.
It seems that some of this prophecy is yet future, referring to the time of
the Second Coming.
50:4-10 Lost Sheep
:4 “In those days and in
that time,” says the Lord, “The
children of Israel shall come, They and the children of Judah together; With
continual weeping they shall come, And seek the Lord their God.
:5 They shall ask the way
to Zion, With their faces toward it, saying,
‘Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord
In a perpetual covenant That will not be forgotten.’
:4 they shall come, and seek the LORD
The judgment of the children of Judah had come because they had forgotten
their covenant with God. They had turned
their back on God.
Yet after the Babylonian captivity, there was something different in Judah.
Idolatry among the Jews was virtually wiped out while they were in
captivity in Babylon.
They would in the future seek a “perpetual covenant” with God. They would come back.
Lesson
Chastisement
Sometimes God allows us to go through difficult times because we’ve gone
astray from Him and difficulty is the only thing left to get our attention.
You see an example of this in the parable of the Prodigal Son:
(Luke 15:11–24
NKJV) —11 Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. 12 And the
younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of
goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood.
The son was asking for his part of the inheritance before
his father even died. He was already
going astray. The father let him go.
13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together,
journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal
living. 14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that
land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields
to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have filled his
stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. 17 “But when he
came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread
enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise
and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven
and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be
called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’
What “brought him to his senses”?
It was the hunger that brought him “to himself”.
Difficulties brought him “to his senses”.
Be careful about “rescuing” people too quickly when they
encounter these kinds of consequences from their own rebellion.
20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great
way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and
ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son
said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no
longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his
servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on
his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring
the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us
eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is
alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.
The prodigal came back to where he belonged, kind of
through chastisement.
The writer of Hebrews teaches that God sometimes disciplines us like a
father disciplines his children.
(Hebrews 12:9–11
NKJV) —9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and
we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to
the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they
indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He
for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful;
nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those
who have been trained by it.
The word for “chastisement” has to do with the training or
discipline of children. We might think
of it as “spanking”.
God uses chastisement, or “spanking”, to get our
attention. If we allow ourselves to be
“trained” by this discipline, then it produces “righteousness” in us, causing
us to do the right things.
Not all difficult times are a result of being
“chastised”. We don’t always know why we
go through difficult times.
But if you’ve gone astray, and you’re in trouble now, I’ve
got a message for you. God wants you to
come home. He wants to produce good
things in your life instead of the garbage you’re used to.
:6 “My people have been
lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray; They have turned them away on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to
hill; They have forgotten their resting place.
:6 shepherds have led them astray
Lesson
Shepherds
God blames the lostness of the sheep on the shepherds.
Bad shepherds – a pastor I met (Roger Jahn) at a Pastors’ Conference was
sharing with me about his mother-in-law being caught up in a cult. A woman leads the group and demands absolute
obedience. This pastor’s father-in-law
had to divorce her because she was told to give all their money, including all
their retirement, to this gal.
Ezekiel prophesied during this time and he too
talked about the bad shephers.
(Ezekiel 34:2–4
NKJV) —2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and
say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God
to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with
the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who
were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor
sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.
Bad shepherds are focused on what they get from the flock
instead of what they give.
Are you a shepherd over a flock? Do
you have people that you care for?
Good shepherds care for the flock.
Jesus said,
(John 10:11 NKJV) “I am the good shepherd. The good
shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
Instead of caring for himself, a good shepherd puts his
flock first.
After the resurrection, when Jesus met with Peter to deal with Peter’s
denial of Jesus…
(John
21:15–17 NKJV) —15 So when they had eaten breakfast,
Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more
than these?” He said to
Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” 16 He said to
him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to
Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” 17 He said to
him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was
grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said
to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I
love You.” Jesus said
to him, “Feed My sheep.
Over and over Jesus encouraged
Peter to take care of the flock.
Peter took all this to heart, and he passed it on. When Peter writes his letters towards the end
of his life, he has a word to church leaders:
(1
Peter 5:2–4 NKJV) —2 Shepherd the flock of God which is
among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for
dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those
entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the
Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade
away.
:7 All who found them
have devoured them; And their adversaries said, ‘We have not offended, Because they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation of justice, The Lord, the hope of their fathers.’
The enemies of God’s people could say they were just helping God out by
abusing the Jews because after all, they were backsliders.
I’m not sure it’s our place to be “cruel” to backsliders.
:8 “Move from the midst
of Babylon, Go out of the land of the Chaldeans; And
be like the rams before the flocks.
:8 be like the rams
The rams (or, “he-goats”) were the first to leave the sheepfold when the
flock was taken out to pasture.
:9 For behold, I will
raise and cause to come up against Babylon An assembly
of great nations from the north country, And they
shall array themselves against her; From there she shall be captured. Their
arrows shall be like those of an expert warrior; None shall
return in vain.
:10 And Chaldea shall
become plunder; All who plunder her shall be satisfied,” says the Lord.
Babylon will fall. God doesn’t want
His people to fall with it.
50:11-13 Message to Babylon
:11 “Because you were
glad, because you rejoiced, You destroyers of My heritage, Because
you have grown fat like a heifer threshing grain, And
you bellow like bulls,
Here’s one of the reasons why God is bringing judgment to Babylon – they
were glad to have brought such pain to God’s people.
:12 Your mother shall be
deeply ashamed; She who bore you shall be ashamed. Behold, the least of the
nations shall be a wilderness, A dry land and a desert.
:13 Because of the wrath
of the Lord She shall not be
inhabited, But she shall be wholly desolate. Everyone
who goes by Babylon shall be horrified And hiss at all
her plagues.
:13 she shall be wholly desolate
Again, this didn’t happen overnight.
The Persians captured Babylon in 539 B.C. (Dan. 5:30-31).
In 514 Darius Hystaspes put down a revolt and partially destroyed the
walls.
Xerxes demolished the walls and temples of Babylon in 478.
Subsequent attempts to restore the city had been
unsuccessful.
Alexander the Great would conquer Babylon in 331 BC. It’s where he would die.
There was still a city in existence in Jesus day.
It wasn’t until the middle ages that Babylon
slowly sunk into the sands of the desert.
50:14-16 Message to invading armies
:14 “Put yourselves in
array against Babylon all around, All you who bend the
bow; Shoot at her, spare no arrows, For she has sinned
against the Lord.
:15 Shout against her all
around; She has given her hand, Her foundations have
fallen, Her walls are thrown down; For it is
the vengeance of the Lord. Take
vengeance on her. As she has done, so do to her.
:15 given her hand
This is a phrase in the Hebrew that expresses surrender or submission. The Babylonians will surrender.
:16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, And him who handles the sickle at harvest time. For fear of
the oppressing sword Everyone shall turn to his own
people, And everyone shall flee to his own land.
:15 As she has done, so do to her
Lesson
Reaping and sowing
If you plant orange seeds, you get an orange tree.
It’s a principle in life that we will reap what we sow.
(Galatians 6:7–8
NKJV) —7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows,
that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of
the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
If you plant seeds of meanness in
the world, guess what kind of crop you’re going to reap at harvest time?
Jesus said that we ought to use this principle to govern how we are going
to treat others.
(Matthew
7:12 NKJV) Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you,
do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
An example took place in the period of the Judges.
The tribe of Judah marched to capture the city of Bezek, ruled by a man
named Adoni-Bezek.
(Judges
1:6–7 NKJV) —6 Then Adoni-Bezek fled, and they
pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes. 7 And Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes
cut off used to gather scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has
repaid me.” Then they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
If you want others to treat you with mercy rather than judgment, then be
merciful.
(Matthew 5:7 NKJV) Blessed are the merciful, For they shall
obtain mercy.
Lesson
God’s vengeance
God makes us a promise concerning the topic of “getting even”
(Romans
12:19 NKJV) Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather
give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will
repay,” says the Lord.
What’s the promise? He will take
care of it.
Did the Jews have to punish Babylon for what they did?
God took care of it.
50:17-20 God speaks to the Jews
:17 “Israel is
like scattered sheep; The lions have driven him away. First the king of
Assyria devoured him; Now at last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has
broken his bones.”
:18 Therefore thus says
the Lord of hosts, the God of
Israel: “Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, As I have
punished the king of Assyria.
The northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BC
while the southern kingdom was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC.
The Assyrians were conquered by Babylon in 609 BC, and Babylon would fall
to the Persians in 539 BC.
:19 But I will bring back
Israel to his home, And he shall feed on Carmel and
Bashan; His soul shall be satisfied on Mount Ephraim and Gilead.
Israel – most likely referring to the northern kingdom.
Carmel, Bashan, Mount Ephraim, Gilead are all places in the northern
kingdom.
:20 In those days and in
that time,” says the Lord, “The
iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none; And the
sins of Judah, but they shall not be found; For I will pardon those whom I
preserve.
:20 I will pardon those whom I preserve
Lesson
Forgiveness
(keyword)
It’s a great thing to have your sins forgiven.
(Psalm 32:1–5 NKJV)
—1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is
covered. 2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit. 3 When I kept
silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. 4 For day and
night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah 5 I
acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I
will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” And You
forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
Awhile ago I was talking to another pastor and he was sharing his testimony with me – how he
came to Jesus.
He shared how he was listening to a Christian station, and the teacher on
the radio was talking about how your sins could be forgiven.
This thought never really occurred to him, that he could actually be forgiven.
He grew up in the Catholic church, and
had been made to go to “confession”, but he didn’t understand any of what he
was doing. He just hated going and
having to talk to the priest through the little screen in the confessional. He never knew what to say and would just make
up sins in order to have something to say.
In our world today we can look at court cases of famous people and think
that being declared “not guilty” is all about having the right lawyers.
But no fancy lawyers are going to get you off when it comes to guilt.
God already knows the truth about what you’ve done. You can’t talk your way out of it. There are no excuses with God. And even when you’re guilty, it’s not a
matter of paying your debt to society with a couple of years in jail. In God’s system, the consequences
of our disobedience is death.
Guilt is one of the world’s great plagues.
Some people may say that guilt is simply a left-over
of some old, antiquated, religion. They
say it’s a result of your upbringing.
But the truth is that guilt is a result of our sin. The Holy Spirit brings conviction on our lives, showing us that we are wrong, that we are
guilty.
How do I handle my guilt?
Aren’t you grateful that Jesus came to die on a cross and pay for your
sins?
The Bible says,
(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.
If you will turn from your sin and admit your guilt to
God, He will forgive you and even “cleanse” you from your sin.
Do you remember how wonderful it is to be declared
“forgiven”?
50:21-30 The attack on Babylon
:21 “Go up against the
land of Merathaim, against it, And against the
inhabitants of Pekod. Waste and utterly destroy them,”
says the Lord, “And do according
to all that I have commanded you.
:21 Merathaim … Pekod
Merathaim – meaning “double rebellion”
Pekod – meaning “visitation”
These were sarcastic wordplays to describe parts of Babylon.
The instructions are now given to the conquerors of Babylon.
:22 A sound of battle is
in the land, And of great destruction.
:23 How the hammer of the
whole earth has been cut apart and broken! How Babylon has become a desolation
among the nations! I have laid a snare for you;
:24 You have indeed been
trapped, O Babylon, And you were not aware; You have
been found and also caught, Because
you have contended against the Lord.
:25 The Lord has opened His armory,
And has brought out the weapons of His indignation; For this is
the work of the Lord God of hosts
In the land of the Chaldeans.
:26 Come against her from
the farthest border; Open her storehouses; Cast her up as heaps of ruins, And destroy her utterly; Let nothing of her be left.
:27 Slay all her bulls, Let them go down to the slaughter. Woe
to them! For their day has come, the time of their punishment.
:28 The voice of those
who flee and escape from the land of Babylon Declares in Zion the vengeance of
the Lord our God, The vengeance
of His temple.
:29 “Call together the
archers against Babylon. All you who bend the bow, encamp against it all
around; Let none of them escape. Repay her according to her work; According to
all she has done, do to her; For she has been proud against the Lord, Against the Holy One of Israel.
:30 Therefore her young
men shall fall in the streets, And all her men of war
shall be cut off in that day,” says the Lord.
:28 The vengeance of His temple
The Babylonians had committed at least two great sins against God’s Temple.
First, they had destroyed it!
Second, they later couldn’t keep from defiling
even the instruments of the holy Temple long after the Temple was destroyed.
(Daniel 5:1–4 NKJV)
—1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. 2 While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the
gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the
temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his
wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they
brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of
God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives,
and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank
wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
It was this same night that Belshazzar was having his
party using the holy vessels of the Temple, that God had Babylon overthrown by
Cyrus of Persia.
50:31-34 God speaks to Babylon
:31 “Behold, I am
against you, O most haughty one!” says the Lord God of hosts; “For your day has come, The
time that I will punish you.
:32 The most proud shall stumble and fall, And
no one will raise him up; I will kindle a fire in his cities, And it will devour all around him.”
:33 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “The children of Israel were
oppressed, Along with the children of Judah; All who
took them captive have held them fast; They have refused to let them go.
:34 Their Redeemer is
strong; The Lord of hosts is
His name. He will thoroughly plead their case, That He may give rest to the
land, And disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
:32 The most proud shall stumble and fall
Pride was also the downfall of Moab and the reason for it’s judgment:
(Jeremiah
48:29 NKJV) “We have heard the pride of Moab (He is
exceedingly proud), Of his loftiness and arrogance and pride, And of the
haughtiness of his heart.”
Pride was the downfall of an angel named Lucifer (Satan).
(Isaiah 14:12–15
NKJV) —12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut
down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! 13 For you have
said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also
sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of
the clouds, I will be
like the Most High.’ 15 Yet you shall be brought down to
Sheol, To the
lowest depths of the Pit.
This was how Satan fell, through pride.
Pride was the downfall of Babylon.
Pride will be our downfall as well if we don’t guard against it:
(1 Peter 5:5–6
NKJV) —5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your
elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed
with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives
grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under
the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
50:35-40 Desolation
:35 “A sword is
against the Chaldeans,” says the Lord,
“Against the inhabitants of Babylon, And against her princes and her wise men.
:36 A sword is
against the soothsayers, and they will be fools. A sword is against her
mighty men, and they will be dismayed.
The Babylonians were famous for their “wise men”, divining, soothsaying,
astrology, etc.
:37 A sword is
against their horses, Against their chariots, And against all the mixed peoples who are in her
midst; And they will become like women. A sword is against her
treasures, and they will be robbed.
:38 A drought is
against her waters, and they will be dried up. For it is the land of
carved images, And they are insane with their
idols.
:38 they are insane with their idols
There’s something to ponder.
Reminds me of the Romans passage,
(Romans 1:22–23
NKJV) —22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed
the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and
birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
:39 “Therefore the wild
desert beasts shall dwell there with the jackals, And the ostriches
shall dwell in it. It shall be inhabited no more forever, Nor
shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
:39 the wild desert beasts shall dwell there
Isaiah prophesied something very similar, even long before Babylon was a
major player on the world scene:
(Isaiah 13:19–22
NKJV) —19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The beauty of
the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 20 It will
never be inhabited, Nor will it be settled from generation
to generation; Nor will the
Arabian pitch tents there, Nor will the shepherds make their
sheepfolds there.
21 But wild beasts of the desert will lie there, And their
houses will be full of owls; Ostriches will dwell there, And wild goats will caper there. 22 The hyenas
will howl in their citadels, And jackals in their pleasant palaces. Her time is
near to come, And her days will not be prolonged.”
Again, the decline of Babylon occurred in stages. By 20 B.C. Strabo
described it as a "vast desolation."
There were still little communities living at Babylon in 200 A.D.
:40 As God overthrew
Sodom and Gomorrah And their neighbors,” says the Lord, “So no one shall reside
there, Nor son of man dwell in it.
:40 God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah
The question is, does this refer to the way that Babylon would be
destroyed, or does it refer to the kind of lasting uninhabitability of the
place?
Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed suddenly.
That sounds more like the events of Revelation 17-18 than what happened
with the Persians.
(Revelation
18:17 NKJV) For in one hour such great riches came to
nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as
trade on the sea, stood at a distance
50:41-46 Babylon will fall
:41 “Behold, a people
shall come from the north, And a great nation and many
kings Shall be raised up from the ends of the earth.
:42 They shall hold the
bow and the lance; They are cruel and shall not show mercy. Their voice
shall roar like the sea; They shall ride on horses, Set in array, like a man
for the battle, Against you, O daughter of Babylon.
The Babylonians showed no mercy.
They will be shown no mercy.
:43 “The king of Babylon
has heard the report about them, And his hands grow
feeble; Anguish has taken hold of him, Pangs as of a woman in childbirth.
:44 “Behold, he shall
come up like a lion from the floodplain of the Jordan Against the dwelling
place of the strong; But I will make them suddenly run away from her. And who is
a chosen man that I may appoint over her? For who
is like Me? Who will arraign Me? And who is
that shepherd Who will withstand Me?”
:44 he shall come up like a lion
This is describing Cyrus, who would conquer Babylon, as a lion coming out
of the flood plain to attack it’s
prey.
Or could it be describing someone else?
If there is a future aspect of this, could this be talking about Jesus?
:45 Therefore hear the
counsel of the Lord that He has
taken against Babylon, And His purposes that He has proposed against the land
of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out; Surely He will make their dwelling place desolate with them.
:46 At the noise of the
taking of Babylon The earth trembles, And the cry is
heard among the nations.
Read Jer. 39-52 in NIV (each week a
different version).
Memorize 33:3
(Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV) ‘Call to Me,
and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not
know.’
There is NO CLASS next week due to
Thanksgiving.
IN THREE WEEKS: Class Projects and Pericope Projects
are due.
Today’s ending quiz
What were the two key words from
our lesson? (…)
Losing your wisdom
Forgiveness
What could you apply to your life
from today’s lesson?
One teaching classes left
November 25 - Thanksgiving
December 2 – Jer. 51-52
December 9 – Class Projects,
Pericope Project due