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The GOOD NEWS is that we are going to study one of
the neglected books of the Bible … the BAD NEWS is that it has 52 chapters (57
by the time we include Lamentations!!), and it is not always easy going!
If you attended Sunday-School you may have heard
that Jeremiah was called “the weeping prophet’ … that he visited a potter’s
house on one occasion … and that he was cast into a pit full of miry clay.
Apart from that most of us are hazy as to the life
and message of this prophet of God.
Shame!!
* * * * * * * * * *
(a) THE
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND … 1:1-3
Jeremiah’s ministry covers at least 40 years. The 13th year of good King Josiah
of Judah can be dated at 626 BC. And
the 11th year of bad King Zedekiah is 586 BC.
Our prophet was probably a teenager when his
ministry commenced, and he went on to minister even after the days of Zedekiah,
as we shall see.
These are the closing years of the nation of Judah
before the Babylonians attack and take them into exile. Jeremiah lives to see Solomon’s Temple
destroyed. He sees the fall of mighty
Egypt at the Battle of Carchemish. He
sees his people … God’s people … indulging in idolatry and its attendant
vices. And his continual plea for
repentance is largely unheeded. Worse
than that, he is regarded as a traitor to the Jewish nation and is
persecuted. It is not what one would
describe as a successful ministry! You would not ask Jeremiah to speak at the Church Growth
seminar!!
But it was a faithful
ministry!!! (1 Corinthians 4:2).
(b) THE
CHRONOLOGICAL SEQUENCE …
… there isn’t one!!
Strange to say … and for reasons that still escape
me … the book of Jeremiah is NOT in chronological order. Some parts are dated, e.g. chapter 21 has us
in the days of King Zedekiah (v. 1), but chapter 26:1 has us in the days of
King Jehoiakim … over 20 years previous!
And that’s just ONE instance!
We will seek to follow the chronological order of
events in our study rather than follow the sequence of the chapters!
(c) THE
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL EMPHASIS
The book of Jeremiah will give us a glimpse of the
prophet himself: not just his sermons
(as most other prophetical books contain), but we will follow his life story
with all its joys (?) and sorrows (!!) … his faithfulness in the face of
violent opposition. We will see him in
the home and the palace and the prison.
We will see Jeremiah as “a lamb led to the slaughter” (11:9); a reminder that here we have an illustration
of the coming Messiah!!
* * * * * * * * * *
1. THE
SELECTION OF JEREMIAH … 1:4-10
Here we have the story of our prophet’s call to the
ministry.
Learn:
(a) God
has a Plan for Your Life
Not all are called to be preachers or
missionaries. Some are. And following God’s Will for one’s life is
the only place of joy and blessing.
(b) God
reveals that Plan in Different Ways
No burning bush for Jeremiah (Exodus 2:2); nor voice from Heaven (Acts 9:3); nor dazzling vision (Isaiah 6:1-4) … maybe
just a quiet inner conviction as he mused over
the Scriptures … or sat meditating on a Judean
hillside…?
Most of us don’t have extraordinary guidance,
either. But God still speaks … through
the Scriptures; through the Spirit’s
witness to our heart and mind; He
speaks through older, wiser, godly fellow-believers … and He sometimes speaks
through circumstances.
(c) God
will Enable Us to Carry Out His Plan
Jeremiah’s first reaction was, “I can’t!” (v.
6). But the Lord promised to watch over
His servant and bless his word. Sorry…
His Word! (v. 12.)
To grasp the significance of this vision one needs
to read it in the original Hebrew language!
For the word for ‘almond’ (saqued) and the word for ‘watching’ (soqued)
sound the same. It is a pun, a play on
words, that means God will look after His servant and the message he proclaims
(v. 12). Sorry, Jeremiah … objection
over-ruled! (v. 6.)
“I will MAKE thee a minister…” was the Lord’s word to Paul
(Acts 26:16).
When He calls … He enables!
(d) God’s
Plan for a Person’s Life may be Evaded … or Deferred!
The choice to obey was up to Jeremiah.
And that is true, not only in the matter of service
for Him – whatever and wherever that may be – but in the preliminary issue of
salvation. His will is for ALL to
be saved (2 Peter 3:8).
But the choice is up to each individual.
Mmmmm?
……………………………..
2. THE
SIN OF JUDAH
Good King Josiah has led a mighty reform movement …
2 Chronicles 34:3-5.
But the hearts of the people were largely
untouched. You cannot legislate holy
living.
“Righteousness exalteth a nation” penned Solomon (Proverbs
14:34), but that righteousness must stem from a converted heart rather than
outward legislation.
Jeremiah condemns the sins of Judah…
(a) The
Folly of Judah … 2:11-13
Fancy drinking from a man-made, polluted, putrid,
broken well … instead of from a clear, refreshing, life-giving spring!
Yet that is what Judah has done in going after the
idols of the heathen! (v. 13).
(b) The
Degeneracy of Judah … 2:20-22
(c) The
Idolatry of Judah … 2:27-28
(d) The
Doom of Judah … 1:13-16
From out of the north the Babylonians will come and
destroy Judah. The Vision of the
Boiling Pot, tipped over, is an illustration of this coming day (v. 13).
And in 40 years’ time Jeremiah will see the
fulfilment. Repentance could have
averted the judgement, but the Jews turn a deaf ear to this man of God.
Learn this lesson … sin brings the judgement of a
Holy God.
…………………………..
3. THE
SUSTAINING POWER OF JEHOVAH!
There are tough times ahead for our prophet. And maybe he would have given up (he nearly
does in chapter 20), except for this promise (1:17-19).
(a) It
is a Promise for Jeremiah … and it is the one thing he clings to throughout his
ministry!
(b) It
was a Promise for other Bible Characters … Moses (Exodus
3:11-12); Gideon (Judges 6:15-16); and Paul proved it true in 2 Timothy
4:16-17.
(c) And
it is a Promise for Every Believer … “Lo! I am
with you!” (Matthew 28:19-20) is our Saviour’s promise.
Promise??
No! It’s a FACT !!
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These five chapters contain three of Jeremiah’s sermons. They date during the reign of King
Josiah. And they cover much the same
ground … probably being given at different times … and possibly to different
audiences.
Sermon One is found in 2:1
to 3:5
Sermon Two is from 3:6 to
4:2 700-600
BC
Sermon Three is from 4:3 to
6:30
Bear in mind that this is a young man, thrust into
the ministry against his wishes (1:6-7).
Nor is he a ‘fire and brimstone’ preacher … notice how he breaks into
the Lord’s message and expresses his own anguish … See chapter 4 …
Verses 16-18 … The Lord speaks of the coming
judgement He will inflict upon His rebellious people.
Verses 19-21 … Jeremiah breaks in upon the message
the Lord has given him to deliver.
Verse 22 … The Lord speaks once more.
Certain themes run through these three sermons,
common to each…
……………………………
1. In each
sermon the Jews are accused of Spiritual Adultery!
The House of Israel was like a beautiful pure woman
… once wedded to the Lord … but having forsaken Him for other lovers (gods)
(2:1-3, 23-25).
And again in the second sermon (3:20).
James, in the New Testament, uses the same analogy
for those who flirt with the evil pleasures of the world and turn away from God
(James 4:4-5).
………………………….
2. All three
sermons remind us afresh that SIN brings Judgement
First, there is only chastisement designed to
restore us to Himself (3:2-3).
Nor did the captivity of the House of Israel teach
the House of Judah a lesson (3:6-8).
A century previous Israel had been conquered by
Assyria … but now Judah is committing the same evil.
Therefore the chastisement will give way to
Judgement!! In a few years the
Babylonians will launch their first (of three) attacks on Judah. They will come “from the north…” (1:14)
(6:1-2, 18).
……………………………..
3. The
Folly of seeking another Refuge is also common to each sermon
Judah sought an alliance with Assyria, and then
Egypt, to save them from the Babylonian attack. Jeremiah tells how futile such alliances are (2:17-19, 36).
There is only One who can save them … if they will
but turn back to Him!
…………………………….
4. Repentance
… a true and sincere turning from sin … will save them from the Coming
Judgement … see John 1:17
Jeremiah 3:1 …
“The Lord says, ‘If a man divorces his wife, and she
leaves him and becomes another man’s wife, he cannot take her back again. This would completely defile the land…”
The law says this in Deuteronomy 24:4.
But now God says, “I WILL take you back!”
Jeremiah even suggests the words they might say…
3:23-25. The invitation to ‘Return’
goes forth (3:22).
- or thou shalt die!
Grace says DONE
And bids me fly!
Even though the Law would have excluded such a
return by an unfaithful wife (3:1), yet the Grace of God is wider, vaster,
greater than man’s sin. “Where sin
abounded … grace did much more abound!” (Romans 5:20).
But they have to be willing to come to Him.
And that is just as true for men and women today as
it was for the Jews of Jeremiah’s day.
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R.K. Harrison, in his commentary on Jeremiah
(Tyndale series), tells that these chapters belong to the days of King Josiah
(page 94), despite the fact that on page 33 he suggested they date from the
reign of Jehoiakim some years later!!
Notice five things…
1. THE
UNEQUIVOCAL COVENANT
When Israel came out of Egypt God entered into a
covenant, an agreement, with His people.
He gave them His law and made it emphatically clear: “Keep it and be blessed! Break it and be punished!” It was ‘black and white’. Unequivocal. (Exodus 19:3-8.)
And now, in the 18th year of King Josiah,
the Book of the Law has been re-discovered.
For half a century it has lain unread in the temple debris (2 Kings 22:3-8).
And Jeremiah reinforces its message … 11:1-5.
But what was the reaction of His people? 11:7-8.
……………………..
2. THE
UNGODLY CONSPIRACY
Jeremiah is told by the Lord that there are those in
Judah who plan to kill him! (11:18, 21;
12:4)!
Nor does the New Testament promise that following
the Lord will always be a smooth pathway.
“They will hate you … and kill you…” (Luke 21:12-18).
And in many places, even today, disciples of the
Lord Jesus face persecution and death.
……………………………
3. THE
UNEXPECTED COMMAND
… Jeremiah 11:13-14.
“Do not pray for them!” Why??
Because there comes a time when the Spirit of God
ceases to plead with the sinner (Genesis 6:3).
There comes a time when a person may reject the
Spirit’s pleading once too often and pass ‘beyond redemption point’. Pharaoh did (Exodus 9:12); Ephraim did (Hosea 4:17); the heathen of Romans 1 did (1:21-24).
The Pharisees were in danger of doing so (Matthew
12:32).
If God has withdrawn His Spirit from a person He
will not prompt you to pray for that one…
There’s a line that is drawn
by rejecting the Lord,
As you hurry along with the
pleasure-mad throng…
Have you counted, have you
counted the cost?
……………………………
4. THE
UNDERSTANDABLE COMPLAINT
Jeremiah comes up with the age-old cry … why do the
wicked prosper whilst God’s people suffer?
(12:1-3.)
Jeremiah does not know the answer, and sometimes we
may be prone to doubt the fairness of it all.
But God knows. And ULTIMATELY the righteous will be rewarded and the ungodly
punished.
The Day of Judgement has not yet come.
From an earthly viewpoint the prosperity of the
wicked seems unjust … but one needs to consider “their latter end” (Psalm
73:3-6, 17-18).
…………………………………
5. THE
UNMISTAKABLE COMPARISON
Jeremiah describes himself (11:19) … “a lamb led to
the slaughter…” (K.J.V.).
(a) He
is rejected by his own family (12:6) and village
(11:21; 1:1) and nation (11:18). They seek to kill him. He weeps over Jerusalem as he warns of its
coming destruction. He clashes with the
religious authorities … warning them that they have sinned away their day of
grace.
Remind you of Someone else?
(b) For
our Lord Jesus was also led “as a lamb to the slaughter” (Acts 8:32). He was rejected by family (John 1:11); He wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41), and
announced its coming doom (Luke 19:43).
And He came into head-on collision with the religious leaders and warned
of the danger of committing the sin that would silence the voice of the Spirit
of God (Matthew 12:24, 32).
(c) And,
like Jeremiah … we, too, are called to follow in His steps (1 Peter 2:21). It may not be an easy road. He did not promise ‘skies always blue,
flower-strewn pathways always for you’.
But He does promise His presence (Jeremiah 1:8; Matthew 28:20).
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Let’s meet Magor-Missabib !!
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INTRODUCTION ….
“Jeremiah saith unto him, The LORD hath
not called thy name Pashhur, but Magor-Missabib !” ( Jer. 20:3)
It
is about 600B.C. and nations are in upheaval. Nineveh , capital of the cruel
Assyrian empire, has fallen to the Babylonians. Then the Egyptians are
conquered ( 605 B.c.) at the Battle of Carchemish. Nebuchednezzar , King of Babylon, imposes tribute on the tiny
House of Judah. Their ungodly
king, Jehoiakim, pays taxes to Babylon for three years … and then rebels ! ( 2
Kings 24:1) War clouds hover on the
horizon ….
Such
is the setting for the story of Jeremiah … and Magor-Missabib !
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( 1) THE OBSTINACY OF JUDAH .
In
spite of the word of God being proclaimed to them , the nation persists on a
tobbogan ride into apostacy.
…Jer.19:2 There
proclaim the words I tell you, 3 and say, 'Hear the word of the LORD
, O kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the LORD Almighty, the
God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place that
will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. 4 For they
have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned
sacrifices in it to gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of
Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the
innocent. 5 They have built the high places of Baal to burn their
sons in the fire as offerings to Baal-something I did not command or mention,
nor did it enter my mind.
Jer. 16:.. 9 For this is what the
LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Before your eyes and in your days I
will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride
and bridegroom in this place.
10 "When you tell these people all this and they ask you, 'Why
has the LORD decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done?
What sin have we committed against the LORD our God?' 11 then say to
them, 'It is because your fathers forsook me,' declares the LORD , 'and
followed other gods and served and worshiped them. They forsook me and did not
keep my law. 12 But you have behaved more wickedly than your fathers.
See how each of you is following the stubbornness of his evil heart instead of
obeying me. 13 So I will throw you out of this land into a land
neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will serve other gods
day and night, for I will show you no favor.'
…………………………..
(a) The Perseverance of
Jeremiah. For 23 years he preaches to them ( Jer 25:3) … to little or no effect
! But God calls us to faithfulness, not necessarily success! Even
the Lord Jesus saw no results at Nazareth , but it was not the fault of His
ministry. ( Mark 6:5)
…………………………………..
(b) The Preaching of Jeremiah . Earlier
he had called the Jews to repentance.
Jeremiah 7 4 Do not trust in
deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD , the temple of
the LORD , the temple of the LORD !" 5 If you really change
your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you
do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent
blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7
then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for
ever and ever.
But
now his sermons tell of the need to surrender ! Nebuchadnezzar , he
says, is the Lord’s ”servant” ( Jer. 25:9) raised up to punish them. If they surrender, the city of Jerusalem will be spared
destruction … and the inhabitants avoid being massacred and deported into
Babylon. But the idea of ‘surrender’ sounds like treason to the King, princes
and priests. And false prophets are quick to brand Jeremiah as a liar.
………………
(c ) The Praying of Jeremiah. Because God has decreed that judgement upon Judah is now
inevitable, for they have hardened their heart once too often , Jeremiah is
actually told to stop praying for them !!
7:16
"So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them;
do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you. … 11: 14 "Do not pray for
this people nor offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen
when they call to me in the time of their distress.
There
is no use praying for a person if the Holy Spirit has ceased to convict and
plead with that one . ( Genesis 6:3)
……………………………………………………………………………………………
(2) THE OBJECT LESSONS OF JEREMIAH
A
picture is worth 1000 words. And the Old Testament prophets oft-times used such
visual aids in their preaching. Jeremiah certainly did.
(a) The Linen Sash. ( Jer. 13:1-8)
Jeremiah 13
1 This is what the LORD said to me: "Go and buy a linen belt
and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water." 2
So I bought a belt, as the LORD directed, and put it around my waist.
3 Then the word of the LORD came to me a second time: 4
"Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to
Perath [1]
and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks." 5 So I went and
hid it at Perath, as the LORD told me. 6 Many days later the LORD
said to me, "Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide
there." 7 So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it
from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely
useless.
8 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 9 "This is
what the LORD says: 'In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the
great pride of Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people, who refuse to
listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go
after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt-completely
useless! .
Judah will go
into captivity … and it’s pride in its own strength and own gods will be
brought to ruin. They will come to
realise they have not listened to the one true God.
……………………………
(b) The Clay Jar. (Jer. 19:1-13)
The
clay was no longer malleable. It was had been baked hard. It could not be re-used. Once the jar was smashed the clay was good
for nothing. God was about to smash Judah!
Jeremiah 19:1 This is what the
LORD says: "Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the
elders of the people and of the priests 2 and go out to the Valley
of Ben Hinnom …….7 " 'In this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will
make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hands of those who
seek their lives, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds of the
air and the beasts of the earth. 8 I will devastate this city and
make it an object of scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff
because of all its wounds. 9 I will make them eat the flesh of their
sons and daughters, and they will eat one another's flesh during the stress of
the siege imposed on them by the enemies who seek their lives.'
10 "Then break the jar while those who go with you are
watching, 11 and say to them, 'This is what the LORD Almighty says:
I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter's jar is smashed and
cannot be repaired.
…………………………………..
(c ) The Celibate Life. ( Jeremiah 16:1-4) He is not to marry. And all who see him will
realise that it a dangerous time to be bringing a family into that particular
world situation. Judgement is imminent !
Jeremiah 16: 1 Then the word
of the LORD came to me: 2 "You must not marry and have sons or
daughters in this place." 3 For this is what the LORD says
about the sons and daughters born in this land and about the women who are
their mothers and the men who are their fathers: 4 "They will
die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like
refuse lying on the ground. They will perish by sword and famine, and their
dead bodies will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the
earth." ……………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
(3) THE OPPOSITION OF MAGOR-MISSABIB
( a ) Jeremiah’s physical strife.
Jeremiah 20 1 When the priest Pashhur son of
Immer, the chief officer in the temple of the LORD , heard Jeremiah prophesying
these things, 2 he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the
stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the LORD's temple. 3 The
next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him,
"The LORD's name for you is not Pashhur, but Magor-Missabib.
Whereas
Pashhur means ‘ Security on every side’ , Magor-Missabib means ‘Terror on every
side !’ Jeremiah now fortells the
terror his captor will see and endure.
4 For this is
what the LORD says: 'I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your
friends; with your own eyes you will see them fall by the sword of their
enemies. I will hand all Judah over to the king of Babylon, who will carry them
away to Babylon or put them to the sword. 5 I will hand over to
their enemies all the wealth of this city-all its products, all its valuables
and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away as plunder
and carry it off to Babylon. 6 And you, Pashhur, and all who live in
your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your
friends to whom you have prophesied lies.' "
…………………………………….
(b) Jeremiah’s mental suffering.
He prays … in despair. After
23 years … no results … and now in the stocks
!
7 O LORD , you deceived] me, and I was
deceived ; you overpowered me and
prevailed.
I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me.
8 Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction.
So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long.
He
wants to quit … but there is an inner
conviction that the Lord has called him
!!
9 But if I say, "I will not mention him
or speak any more in his name,"
his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of
holding it in; indeed, I cannot.
…………………………………………….
(3) Jeremiah’s Spiritual
Solution
In
spite of his many enemies, the prophet
encourages himself in the Lord!
One day he will be vindicated , his message will be seen to be
God-given and his persecutors will be
punished.
10 I hear many whispering, "Terror on
every side! Report him! Let's report him!"
All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, "Perhaps he will be
deceived;
then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him."
11 But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my
persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be
forgotten.
12 O LORD Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the
heart and mind,
let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.
13 Sing to the LORD ! Give praise to the LORD ! He rescues the life
of the needy from the hands of the wicked.
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Studies in Jeremiah 4
We move into the reign of evil King Jehoiakim…
For 23 years Jeremiah has been pleading with Judah,
only to receive persecution and ridicule.
Twenty-three years of fruitless … but obedient … ministry (25:1-3).
Babylonia is the new world power … having defeated
Egypt a year or two previous.
Already Judah has suffered one attack by
Nebuchadnezzar’s armies and 10,000 Jews
the Babylonians is still about 20 years future. But, says Jeremiah, it is inevitable.
……………………………….
1. THE
OBJECT LESSONS OF JEREMIAH
Many times the Old Testament prophets acted out
their sermons. Ezekiel plays ‘toy
soldiers’ (Ezekiel 4:1-3) or cuts his hair and tosses it to the winds (Ezekiel
5:1-4); Isaiah walks the streets of
Jerusalem … in his underwear! (Isaiah 20).
People will remember what they SEE more than what
they HEAR!
So Jeremiah uses ‘visual aids’ too…
(a) The
Linen Sash (or Shorts!) … 13:1-11
First the new sash is buried … then dug up (v. 7), but now it is mildewed and rotten! So it is, says the Lord, I will ‘bury’ Judah in Babylon and destroy their pride … that pride that makes them think they can get along without Me (vv 8-11).
(b) The
Broken Jar … 19:1-15
Whilst the clay is malleable it can be re-made into
something beautiful. Such was the
message of chapter 18.
But once the clay is hardened … and marred …
it is good for nothing. And once the
heart of man is hardened … destruction is that one’s destiny. The smashing of a marred clay pot was a
symbol of what lay ahead for Judah.
(c) The
Celibate Life … 16:1-4
In the light of the coming distress, and Exile,
Jeremiah is told not to marry. Thus
he becomes a ‘living epistle’ … he,
himself, is an object lesson to the wicked (2 Corinthians 3:2).
And so is every child of God!
………………………………..
2. THE
OBDURATION OF JUDAH (i.e. Stubbornness)
… Jeremiah 6:26-27; Jeremiah 13:8-10; Jeremiah 16:10-12.
Despite the pleas of the prophets, the withholding
of rain (14:3) and the previous attack of the enemy … still Judah turns her
back on the only One who can save them.
Her sin is indelibly etched!
(Jeremiah 17:1).
Now is the Day of Salvation … Now is the accepted time! 2 Corinthians 6:2.
But the opportunity to repent may never come … the
heart (clay) becomes hardened. And it
seems that Judah has come to that place.
Jeremiah is even told NOT to pray for them (7:16; 11:14).
………………………………..
3. THE
OPPOSITION OF PASHUR … 20:1-6
Pashur, Captain of the Temple Guard, has the prophet arrested, flogged and placed in the stocks. Jeremiah tells him that his name, Pashur, (which means “Peace on every side”?) will be Magor-Missabib, which means “Peril on every side”.
But this opposition also affects our prophet. In the stocks, reviled and beaten, his faith temporarily sags.
He complains to the Lord (20:7-10), a reminder that
he is Oh! So very human…
Before you criticize him too harshly, remember that
he did not want to be a prophet in the first place (1:6). And the last 23 years have brought nothing
but the ostracism of the people.
And God promised to ‘deliver’ him from them! (1:8.)
Now here he is sore and sorry for himself … and in
the dungeon of despair.
He wants to quit the ministry! (v. 9).
But ‘the fire is in his bones’ and speak for the
Lord he must. He cannot keep silent …
even if it results in more persecution (v. 9b).
So his prayer continues (vv 11-12) …
He realises that he is ‘safe in the arms of Jesus’,
to put it in New Testament words.
And his prayer turns to praise! v. 13…
“Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! He rescues the oppressed from the power of evil men.”
Thank you, Jeremiah, for teaching us a much-needed
lesson!
=============================================================
A Sermon from Jeremiah ….
HEART PROBLEMS
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
INTRODUCTION…
“We are fearfully and wonderfully made,” wrote the psalmist (Psalm
139:14).
And there is not much that is more wonderful than our heart … a strawberry-shaped organ about the size of a fist … that will beat (or has beaten) 1,839,600,000 times (give or take half-a-dozen!) by the time a person reaches the age of 50.
“There is no man-made machine, or engine, or force
pump, in the world to compare with it!” (N. Beattie, Fellow of the Royal
College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, The Heart of Things, pp 26-27).
But it is not the LITERAL heart that we are thinking
about so much as that which the word ‘heart’ means when it is used in
Scripture.
For example, it speaks of “a merry heart”, referring
to one’s cheerful disposition (Proverbs 17:22); of “fearful hearts” (Luke 21:26); of “burning hearts” (Luke 24:32); of wise hearted and willing hearted Israelites (Exodus
35:29; 36:2); and let’s not forget the “hard hearted” who refuse to obey the
Word of the Lord (Exodus 8:15).
None of these references is speaking of a literal
heart … but of a person’s attitude.
We use the same language today … speaking of the
person whose ‘heart is broken’ when the lover leaves … and one is reminded of
the young Bible College student’s prayer… “Dear God, give us clean hearts,
give us pure hearts, give us sweet hearts…”
* * * * * * * * * *
So let us look at man’s ‘spiritual’ heart under
three headings…
……………………………….
1. THE
DIAGNOSIS
We call Dr Jeremiah to tell us the condition of
men’s hearts … Jeremiah 17:9-10.
Wow! That’s
serious! Let’s have a second opinion …
Matthew 15:16-20.
And that’s what Jesus said!!
“Not what goes into a man’s mouth defiles him … but
what comes out of his heart!”
What He is saying is that man is a sinner … and that
causes him to commit sinful acts.
And if you don’t think man commits sinful acts, just
read tomorrow’s newspaper!
Crime, vandalism, corruption, lying, immorality,
dishonesty, drug abuse … the list goes on and on. “There is not a man upon the earth who sinneth not!” That’s what the Good Book says! (Ecclesiastes 7:20).
And “the wages of sin is death!” (Romans
6:23).
There are two ways one may find himself with literal
heart problems, Congenital or Acquired. And so it is with ‘spiritual’ heart disease.
(a) Congenital means that it is inherited
from one’s parents. And in a very real
sense Adam introduced spiritual heart problems into the human race (Romans
5:12).
(b) On the other hand, heart
problems may be Acquired … brought about by one’s own folly: Poor eating habits … lack of exercise …
stress … all these things will contribute to a heart attack. Ask your doctor if you don’t believe
me. And it is true in the spiritual
realm that we are NOT only sinners because of Adam, our
“father’s” sin, but because of our own choice.
The diagnosis is serious …
…………………………………
2. THE
PRESCRIPTION
Hey! Dr
Ezekiel … you’re an expert on these matters.
Tell us what the remedy is for our life-threatening heart problem.
Ezekiel 11:17-19 … A new heart is needed!
Not just treat the old sinful one with spiritual
pain killers … nor even spiritual by-pass surgery (which still leaves the old
heart untouched) … but a new heart!
And there is only One who can do that miraculous
operation…
……………………………………..
3. THE
OPERATION
(a) The
Divine Surgeon … Jesus, the Great Physician!
He has never lost a ‘patient’ yet!
(b) The
Divine Scalpel … The Word of God “is sharper than any two-edged sword!” (Hebrews
4:12.) And as the Holy Spirit applies
it to one’s heart, it convicts of the need of healing and reveals how that ‘new
heart’ may be implanted (John 16:8).
Writing to those who have placed their faith in
Christ, the apostle Peter is able to say …
………………………………………………
4. THE
RESULT
“Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven…” as the hymn-writer
expressed it!
And if a surgeon gave you a literal operation that
saved your life, wouldn’t you want to tell others about it? And speak with thankfulness of the one who
saved your life?
And if the Lord Jesus has given you a ‘new heart’,
thus saving you from something far worse than mere physical death … surely you
will want to tell others about Him, too??
Mmmm?
============================================================
Yet another dramatic incident in the life of
Jeremiah is unveiled before us.
Unable to attend the temple, his life is in danger …
the prophet sends his scribe, Baruch, to read before the people the latest
revelation God has given him.
And good old Baruch does so! The officials decide that King Jehoiakim
should hear it also…
But Jehoiakim flies into a rage as he hears the Word
of the Lord. He slashes the scroll with
his knife … and casts it into the fire (vv
22-24).
Devoid of repentance, the king orders that Jeremiah
be arrested, “but the Lord hid him… and Baruch”! (v. 26.)
The scroll is re-written with some added material
concerning the fate of King Jehoiakim (v. 32).
…………………………….
1. GOD’S WORD WAS SUPERNATURALLY REVEALED TO HIS SERVANTS
It was not their own ideas, but God’s
Word (2 Peter 1:21).
……………………………………………..
2. GOD’S
WORD IS ABLE TO GO WHERE HIS PREACHERS MAY NOT
Jeremiah could not go to the temple (v. 5) but Baruch could. Paul was chained in a Roman dungeon … but added, “the word of God is not chained!” (2 Timothy 2:9). The printed (and broadcast) word is able to reach into the most difficult and unlikely places.
…………………………………….
3. GOD’S
WORD AFFECTS PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT WAYS
Some rejoice when they hear it … and want others to
know about it (vv 14, 20). Some hate
it! (v. 23).
…………………………
4. GOD’S
WORD IS STILL UNDER ATTACK … TODAY
Jehoiakim has plenty of descendants. Down through history the Word of God has
been burned and ridiculed and attacked by the enemies of the gospel. And, strange to relate, not only by those
outside the church … like the Emperor Diocletian … but Popes and Bishops and
so-called Higher Critics within the church, who tell us we cannot trust the Old
Book! Arrrr!
…………………………………….
5. GOD’S
WORD STILL COMES TO PASS REGARDLESS OF MAN’S ATTACKS
Jehoiakim’s burning of the scroll did not alter the
judgements decreed upon him and his kingdom.
………………………….
6. GOD’S
WORD IS PRESERVED
… for the Lord reveals it to His prophet again … and
it is not lost to posterity (v. 32).
* * * * * * * * * *
God’s prophets may be slain … the Scriptures may be
burned … but their truth goes marchin’ on!!
=============================================================
………………………………………………………………………..
Our study seems to commence during the reign of
Zedekiah – that’s what the previous chapter had us in (21:1) … but, then again,
our Book of Jeremiah is not in chronological order. But most commentators agree we are in Zedekiah’s day.
1. A
SERMON FOR THE PRESENT KING : Zedekiah … 22:1-9
There is a call to repentance … to be evidenced by a
just and compassionate rule (v. 3) … followed by the consequences that will
ensue if Zedekiah persists in his evil ways (v. 6).
The interesting reference is verse 4, where the
continuation of the Davidic throne is promised if the present king mended his
ways.
The promise to David (2 Samuel 7:12-13) was that his
throne would be established forever (vv 12-14).
It is true that there was a partial fulfilment (and
a conditional one, at that!) (2 Samuel 7:14-16), but there is a vaster, wider
fulfilment we shall notice later in our study.
2. A
LESSON FROM THE PREVIOUS KINGS
(a) JEHOAHAZ … 22:10-12 (also called Shallum).
“Stop weeping for good King Josiah” (which they were
still doing, and continued to do (2 Chronicles 35:25), and “start weeping for
his son”, wicked King Jehoahaz! Because
he is going to be led into Egypt as a captive.
And he was! His 3-month reign
came to an untimely end (2 Kings 23:31-33).
(b) JEHOIAKIM is placed on the Throne of
Judah by the Pharaoh (2 Kings 23:34, 37).
During his wicked reign the Egyptians were overthrown by the Babylonians
and King Jehoiakim found himself paying tribute to them! (2 Kings 24:1).
It was this Jehoiakim who slashed and burned the Word of God, and who sought the life of Jeremiah (chapter 36).
He “died like a donkey”, as the prophet foretold! (Jeremiah 22:19.)
(c) CONIAH
… or Jeconiah … or Jehoiachin … 22:18-30
After three months on the throne Jehoiachin is led
away into exile.
But notice … no descendant of his will ever sit on
the Throne of David! (v. 30.)
3. A
PROPHECY OF THE FUTURE KING … 23:1-8
(a) The
Partial Return … a ‘remnant’ of Jews returned from the Babylonian exile … about 50,000
out of 2 million. But that was enough …
the Davidic line continued even though they had no king (v. 8).
(b) The
Promised Ruler … Messiah! … 23:8
From out of that returned remnant the Messiah would
one day come … a descendant of David … and He would “sit on his Throne!”
For the fulfilment see Luke 1:30-33!
Here was a Son of David who could be trusted to
reign righteously!!
(c) The
Problem Resolved
But wasn’t the Lord Jesus descended from Jeconiah
(Coniah)? And no son of his would EVER
sit on David’s throne! (22:30!!)
Coniah DOES appear in the genealogy of Joseph
(Matthew 1:11-12) … but Joseph was NOT the father of the Lord Jesus. The Virgin Birth of the Lord Jesus escapes
the problem of 22:30!
But the Lord Jesus WAS descended from David
“according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3), but from a different son of David,
Nathan (Luke 3:31), rather than Solomon (Matthew 1:6). Coniah is in Joseph’s family tree but not
in Mary’s. Had Joseph been the
actual father of the Lord Jesus then He could not have ‘sat’ on David’s Throne.
When did this enthronement occur? Peter tells us in Acts 2:29-32.
=============================================================
……………………………………………………………….
It is 597 BC.
Zedekiah is on the Throne of Judah … paying tribute to Babylonia. At a meeting in his royal palace the clash
of prophets takes place. Hananiah, a
false prophet, speaks first …
“Within two years” so he says, “the power of Babylon
will be broken” (28:2-4).
But Jeremiah has been proclaiming a very different
message … “Surrender to Babylonia” he says, “for God has raised them up to
punish us!” It sounded like treason
(25:8-11).
And now he appears in the presence of the king and
prophets and the people wearing an ox-yoke around his neck, saying we should
allow Babylonia to put us under its yoke!
It was another of his illustrated sermons.
Hananiah pulls the yoke roughly from Jeremiah’s neck
… and smashes it … the yoke, that is, not the neck! (28:10-11.)
Jeremiah leaves the palace … has ‘a little talk with
Jesus’ … and gets a further message to deliver. So back he goes to confront the assembly.
Nebuchadnezzar and his armies will NOT
be broken in two years’ time… On the
contrary… he will put a yoke of iron on Judah and other nations (vv 12-14).
And then there is a personal prophecy just for
Hananiah (vv 15-17).
* * * * * * * * * *
LEARN:
1. BEWARE
OF THE DECEPTIVE PREACHING OF FALSE PROPHETS
They are still with us as the Scriptures
foretold. Matthew 24:11; 2 Peter 2:1-2; 1 John 4:1; 1 Timothy
4:1-2; etc., etc.
Unless we are grounded in the Word of God we will be
“blown around by every wind of false doctrine…” (Ephesians 4:14).
2. BE
AWARE OF THE CERTAINTY … AND UNCERTAINTY … OF DEATH
“This year thou shalt die!” (28:16).
Of this we can be sure, if the Lord tarries, “It
is appointed unto men once to die and after that the Judgement!” (Hebrews
9:27). As one preacher said, “I’ll make
a bargain with you. You stop folk dying
and I’ll stop trying to prepare them for it!”
But when will that day come? “Boast not thyself of tomorrow for thou
knowest not what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1).
Today is mine, tomorrow may not come:
I may not see the
rising of the sun;
Today is mine,
tomorrow may not come!!
Are you ready to meet your Maker … with sins
forgiven … or not?
=============================================================
A Sermon from
Jeremiah
A GRIM PREDICTION
……………………………………………………………………………..
The story of Jeremiah’s grim prediction is found in
chapters 27 and 28 of the book that bears his name.
It is 593 BC. The mighty Babylonian empire, under Nebuchadnezzar is on the ascendancy. Already he has attacked Judah four years previous, carried away King Jehoiachin and about 10,000 Jews into captivity, and plundered Solomon’s temple. King Zedekiah now sits upon the throne in Judah … and summons ambassadors from surrounding nations to a conference. How to save themselves if the armies of Nebuchadnezzar attack again?
Jeremiah advises that they surrender, as the LORD
has raised by the Babylonians to punish them for their sins, and he wears an
ox-yoke around his neck to illustrate the need for such submission.
Such counsel sounds treasonous, especially as there
are other so-called prophets proclaiming peace. All of which leads to a confrontation between Jeremiah and a
false prophet named Hananiah … and Jeremiah’s grim prediction!
* * * * * * * * * *
LEARN two lessons … although there are many more
in this incident you have (I hope) just read… chapters 27 and 28 of Jeremiah.
1. BEWARE
OF FALSE PROPHETS
Still it is today many a voice says, “Thus saith
the Lord…” as Hananiah did, yet their message is a lie. Thousands, even millions, follow false
teachers today. Even Christians who are
not grounded in the truths of Scripture can be deceived and “blown around by
every (new) wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14).
……………………….
2. BE
AWARE OF THE BREVITY OF LIFE
“This year thou shalt die!” (28:16). And this word that came to Hananiah may well
come to any of us. It is said that Rev.
Richard Baxter preached “as a dying man to dying men.” It may be this is the last message I will
ever give … it may be the last you will ever read. The Lord Jesus told the parable of the Rich Fool who planned to
build bigger and bigger barns but failed to prepare for Eternity (Luke
12:16-21).
Wise old Solomon reminds us that “we know not
what a day will bring forth.”
(Proverbs 27:1).
* * * * * * *
For the Christian, Death is a gateway to glories
untold (1 Corinthians 2:9).
But for the unsaved person, the one who has never
committed their life to the Lord Jesus, death leads to “weeping and wailing and
gnashing of teeth.”
That’s what the Lord Jesus said, and
emphasized! (Matthew 8:12; 22:13;
24:51; 25:30).
Such is the lesson of Jeremiah’s grim prediction.
=============================================================
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
A ‘White Elephant’ is the phrase used to describe a
‘useless, burdensome possession’. And
people scoffed at Jeremiah saying that is what he got when he purchased land in
the village of Anathoth.
Let’s review the chapter that details this
interesting story.
1. THE
PROPHECY OF JEREMIAH … vv 1-5
It is a year before the Babylonians make a breach in
the walls of Jerusalem and take the Jews captive to their country. Solomon’s Temple will be a smoking ruin.
Zedekiah, with second thoughts about the messages of
peace delivered by the false prophets, now turns to the prisoner in the
court-yard, Jeremiah.
This servant of the Lord calls for surrender to
Nebuchadnezzar whom God has raised up to chastise His people for their sins (vv
26-35).
And there is a personal prophecy concerning King
Zedekiah (v. 4). Which seems to
contradict what Ezekiel says (Ezekiel 12:10-13).
Jeremiah says Zedekiah will ‘see Nebuchadnezzar face
to face’ whereas Ezekiel tells us that Zedekiah, though taken to Babylon, will
not see it! The passage that reconciles
the two is 2 Kings 25:4-7.
Zedekiah would see Nebuchadnezzar … at Riblah (v. 6)
… but then be blinded and taken to Babylon.
Likewise Peter tells of those who scoff at God’s
servants as they proclaim the promise of the Lord’s Return.
But this, too, is assured of fulfilment for “God is
not slack concerning His promises” (2 Peter 3:9).
What He says will surely come to pass…
2. THE
PROPERTY OF JEREMIAH … vv 6-15
Jeremiah’s cousin, Hanamel, arrives to sell the
prophet “a bargain’!! Some land in
Anathoth … the prophet’s home town (1:1).
And Jeremiah buys it … despite the fact it is
over-run by Babylonian troops, and death and deportation are staring Judah in
the face.
A white elephant?
No!!
For Jeremiah knew that one day the exiles would
return … and Anathoth would be rebuilt and his descendants would find a home
there.
Peter, too, looked beyond the coming judgement and
saw New Heavens and a New Earth (2 Peter 3:13), purchased for us by our
Heavenly Kinsman…
There’s a Land
that is fairer than day,
And by faith
we can see it afar;
Where the
Father waits over the way
To prepare us
a dwelling place there.
In the sweet
bye and bye,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore…
Beyond the Judgement!!
=============================================================
A Sermon from Jeremiah
THE CURIOUS
CASE of the
WHITE ELEPHANT!
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
INTRODUCTION …
Jeremiah introduces us to two remarkable passages of
Scripture … the prophecy Jeremiah uttered (which seems to contradict Ezekiel’s
prediction of the same event) and the property Jeremiah purchased (which seemed
to contradict common sense! Buying this
plot of land at Anathoth was surely a ‘white elephant’ … or was it?)
It is 587 BC … one year prior to the Babylonian
destruction of Jerusalem, the razing of Solomon’s Temple and the captivity of
the nation. Because of his preaching
that this was God’s judgement upon them because of their sin and that they
should surrender to the Babylonians, Jeremiah had been imprisoned by ‘King’
Zedekiah. After all, there were other
‘prophets’ who prophesied peace!
* * * * * * * * * *
1. THE
PROPHECY OF JEREMIAH … 32:1-5
There is a seeming contradiction here.
Ezekiel predicts that Zedekiah will NOT see Babylon
despite having been captured and taken there! (Ezekiel 12:13.) But Jeremiah specifically said that
Zedekiah’s “eyes shall behold” the eyes of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king
(Jeremiah 32:4).
The two passages are explained by looking at 2 Kings
25:4-7. Here we read that Zedekiah fled
Jerusalem when the Babylonians attacked, was captured at a place called Riblah
where he saw Nebuchadnezzar ‘eye to eye’ … but was then blinded and taken to
Babylon. Jeremiah’s prophecy came to
pass as did Ezekiel’s.
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promises…” (1 Peter 3:9). What He says will come to pass … will
come to pass!
2. THE
PROPERTY OF JEREMIAH … 32:6-10
Jeremiah is told by the Lord that his cousin,
Hanameel, is coming to sell him some real estate … and he is to buy it!!
Folk thought Jeremiah was crazy to waste money on
such a purchase. Didn’t he know that
Anathoth was over-run by the Babylonian army?
The village was destroyed, the crops were decimated … surely it was a
‘white elephant’ to invest in this land!!
But Jeremiah knew the captivity would only be
temporary. And one day the Jews (or a
faithful remnant of them) would return to their land and Anathoth would be
rebuilt and inhabited by his descendants.
Sure enough, fifty years later the Babylonians were
defeated by the Medes and Persians, and 50,000 Jews returned to rebuild their
temple and nation. Ezra 2 gives us a
list of the various family groups … including those who returned to Anathoth!
(Ezra 2:23.)
It had been no ‘white elephant’!
To use another colloquialism, the prophet had “put
his money where his mouth was!” He had
said the captivity was only temporary (Jeremiah 29:10), and by purchasing land
at Anathoth he re-affirmed it! He saw
beyond the coming Babylonian judgement to the restoration of God’s people.
The apostle Peter, likewise, reminds us that beyond
the coming Judgement Day at the end of this age a New Heaven and a New Earth
awaits those who belong to Christ! (2 Peter 3:9-14.)
There’s a Land that is
fairer than day,
And by faith we can see it
afar;
Where the Father waits over
the way
To prepare us a dwelling
place there.
In the sweet bye and bye,
We shall meet on that
beautiful shore…
* * * * * * * * * *
Like the prophet of old we can rely on the Word of
God to be fulfilled … and we can look beyond the coming Day of Judgement to
Immanuel’s Land … a land that awaits those who know the Saviour as their own.
=============================================================
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Our prophet is still in trouble. Now we find him cast in a ‘miry pit’ … a
dried up cistern … doomed to death.
The final destruction of Jerusalem is now
imminent. There has been a brief
respite when the Egyptian armies appeared from the south, but the army of
Nebuchadnezzar soon put them to flight (36:11).
Zedekiah, king of Judah, plays the same role as
Pontius Pilate about 600 years later.
He knows Jeremiah is a prophet of God, but wants to keep on the right
side of the people. “For fear of the
Jews” might be written of Zedekiah as well as Pilate (v. 21).
But Zedekiah’s ‘leniency’ (?) is not acceptable to
some of his courtiers. And they take
the helpless prophet and cast him into the pit.
1. THE
TRIBULATION OF JEREMIAH
Some commentators consider Psalm 69 to be the work
of Jeremiah (see Blaiklock, Scroggie, etc.)
Oft-times the road we travel is beset by thorns.
Hebrews 11:33-38 tells us that sometimes God
delivered His Old Testament saints and sometimes He didn’t!!
It is good to know that we are in His keeping … come
what may.
Jeremiah at least knew where to turn in this awful
moment.
2. THE
DEMONSTRATION OF FAITH
Ebed-Melech to the rescue! An Ethiopian, a despised slave, intercedes for the prophet.
Zedekiah is ignorant of what his officials have done
and gives Ebed-Melech permission to rescue Jeremiah.
This black-skinned man takes three others (v. 10 …
some readings have 30), and let down ropes to draw the prisoner out of his
desperate plight.
<Notice>
Ebed-Melech
even got some old rages to stop the chaffing of the ropes on the prophet’s skin
(vv 11-12). This was “mercy, with
cheerfulness” (Romans 12:8).
This is a reminder that the Lord notices the
smallest act we do “in His Name” … not just WHAT we do, but HOW we do it! He even sees a cup of ‘cold water’ given to
one in need (Matthew 10:42).
3. THE
CONFIRMATION OF ARCHAEOLOGY
The Lachish Letters, discovered in the 1930’s, some 30 miles south-west of Jerusalem, tell
of these closing days of Judah.
One letter even uses the same words as Jeremiah 38:4
… that the ‘hands are being weakened’ (i.e. morale is being undermined) by
those who advocate surrender … as Jeremiah does.
And a number of pear-shaped cisterns have been excavated
… the one at Gezer having more than a dozen skeletons therein!
4. THE ILLUSTRATION OF THE GOSPEL
Like Jeremiah in the mire, so the sinner is helpless
“without strength” (Romans 5:6).
He needs help from above!
In loving kindness Jesus came, From
sinking sand He lifted me;
My soul in mercy to reclaim. With tender hand He lifted me;
And from the depths of sin and shame From
shades of night to plains of light,
Through grace He lifted me. Oh, praise His name, He lifted me.
Our Heavenly Ebed-Melech came to the rescue… “lifted
us out of the miry clay and set our feet upon a Rock!” (Psalm 40:1-3).
’Tis true, as Jeremiah had said, “a leopard cannot
change his spots … nor an Ethiopian the colour of his skin…” (Jeremiah 13:17) …
but the One who made them in the first place could do it! Ebed-Melech realised that it was not a white
skin that he needed, but a clean heart.
He committed himself to the Lord (39:15-18).
We cannot wash our black hearts white!
Nor can we escape the miry pit of sin by our own
efforts.
But ‘the great Creator became our Saviour’, and He
waits to hear the cry for deliverance from those who will trust and follow Him.
=============================================================
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
We come to our final study in this fascinating book
of Jeremiah.
Three things occupy our attention…
1. THE
REMARKABLE COINCIDENCE CONCERNING THE DESOLATION OF JERUSALEM
(a) The
First Temple … was destroyed by the Babylonian soldiers on the 10th day of
Av (mid-August; Jeremiah 52:12).
(b) The
Second Temple … built by the returned exiles and re-beautified by Herod the Great
(from 20 BC – AD 64), was destroyed on exactly the same day, the
10th day of Av (AD 70). By
the Romans.
(See Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book 6,
chapter 4).
2. THE
LITTLE-KNOWN FACTS CONCERNING THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH
(a) The
Pattern,
i.e. the Book of Lamentations is written in acrostic form.
Chapter 1:1 begins with the first letter of the
Hebrew alphabet, verse 2 with the second, etc.
The same pattern continues in chapters 2, 4 and 5. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet.
In chapter 3 (66 verses) the first 3 verses begin
with the first letter, verses 4-6 with the second, and so on.
This would be an aid to memorization.
(b) The
Pathos. In this brief book of dirge-songs, composed at the time of
Jerusalem’s fall … we catch a glimpse of the New Testament Man of Sorrows, who
also wept over the coming doom of that same city (Matthew 23… verses 37-39).
(i) Jeremiah’s
Grief … Lamentations 2:11-12
(ii) Jerusalem’s
Doom … Lamentations 1:5-8
(iii) Jehovah’s
Role … Lamentations 2:1-3
… and it is a sad refrain that runs throughout these
five chapters.
City and Temple lie in ruins … and most of the
inhabitants are being led away into exile…
The Lord Himself was responsible for this
desolation. It was because of their sin
He had raised up the Babylonians to be His instrument of punishment (v. 7).
(iv) Jeremiah’s
Hope … Lamentations 3:49-58
The Lord who came to Jeremiah’s rescue, and
whispered “Fear not!” (v. 57), may yet hear the cry of the Exiles.
The prophet recalls his experience in the pit
(chapter 38) and the fact that God hears the plea of the one who sincerely
calls out to Him (3:58).
Even if they are in far-off Babylon.
3. THE
RECURRING PROBLEM OF THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL
Jeremiah 31 is typical of the many chapters that
speak of the return of the Jews to their own land.
(a) The
Literal Return … WHEN?
The question hardly seems worth asking. The prophet looked beyond the exile to the
day when Persia would conquer Babylon and Zerubbabel, a descendant of King
David, would lead a remnant of Jews home to rebuild their city and their
temple. And in 536 BC these prophecies
were fulfilled.
But a host of modern-day Bible teachers apply these
verses to the return of the Jew in our day! And most of them (if not all!) do not even mention the Babylonian
exile in their books. Texts are
wrenched from their context and applied to today’s events in Israel.
(b) The
Spiritual Return … Jeremiah 31:10-17
As God’s Old Testament people were released from
literal bondage, so God’s New Testament people have been released from
spiritual bondage. And we are on our
way to the Heavenly Zion! (v. 12).
It is a time of … JOY
(vv 11-13)
and PROVISION (v. 12)
and COMFORT (v. 13)
and BLESSINGS GALORE!! (Ephesians 1:3)
Our Shepherd (v. 10) leads and guards us through the
wilderness of this world.
Hallelujah!!
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