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781. Bible Study: Jeremiah 21 and 22 (What happens when God's messengers are ignored) · Faith by annm2705

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This is a Bible study for chapter 21 and 22 from the book
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of Jeremiah. And as a reminder, according to
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Second Timothy chapter 3 verse 16 and 17, all Scripture is God
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breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting
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and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be
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thoroughly equipped for every good work.
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We ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes and ears and inspire us
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as we read through this in Jesus name.
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Chapter 21. The word came to Jeremiah from
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the Lord when King Zedekiah sent him to Passher son of
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Melchizedei and the priest Zephaniah son of Messiah.
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They said inquire now of the Lord for us because
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Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us.
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Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders for us as in times of
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past, so that he will withdraw from us.
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So at this point, it's interesting because Jeremiah has
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been warning Judah over and over and over again and to the point
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where Jeremiah doesn't, he just doesn't even want to do what
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he's feeling from God and the message that he's getting from
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God. And now Zedekiah, who's the
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king? He was the Last King before
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Judah fell. So he's he's at the last minute
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now he's going to Jeremiah and asking Jeremiah inquire of the
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Lord because maybe God will deliver us from this.
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Like they've completely ignored all the warnings that Jeremiah
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gave them and they're wanting good news is what they want and
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and they're not listening to anything that God said.
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So Can you imagine this like just God's reaction, what that
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might be like to have been speaking to these people through
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Jeremiah over and over and over again.
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And they ignore him. And then all of a sudden, when
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it's actually the things that Jeremiah was warning them about
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start happening, then they start going to him saying, you know,
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like, maybe maybe God will take care of this like he always has,
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like people. And that's we have to look at
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this the way it is actually today too, because today we can
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be like that. We can ignore God, what God says
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in the Bible, ignore what he says the way we should live, and
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we just keep on living the way we want to live.
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We just ignore God and say, yeah, you know, God loves us,
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you know, and just not do anything, don't live like what's
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in the Bible. So we can do that, and then we
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just go about our life and we're like, oh, it's all good.
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It's all good until something bad happens.
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And then we're like, oh God, please help me.
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Please help me because I have this bad stuff coming into my
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life. But prior to that, we were just
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ignoring everything that's written in God's Word about how
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we should be living, and then all of a sudden we expect God to
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rescue us. Well, that's the same thing that
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was happening here. So what I find interesting in
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Scripture is that when we read things of the past, even though
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they are applicable to the people from the past, we can
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learn what God's reaction to that is.
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So how does God respond to the King that goes to Jeremiah and
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says, inquire of the Lord, you know, maybe he will stop like
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he's done in the past, like they're remembering the goodness
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of God. So here's what happens.
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But Jeremiah answered them. Tell Zedekiah this is what the
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Lord the God of Israel says. I am about to turn against you
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the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using
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to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are outside
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the wall besieging you, and I will gather them inside the
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city. I myself will fight against you
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with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm, in furious anger and
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in great wrath I will strike down those who live in this
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city, both man and beast, and they will die of a terrible
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plague. After that, declares the Lord, I
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will give Zedekiah, King of Judah, his officials and the
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people in the city who survive the plague, sword and famine,
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into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
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And to their enemies who want to kill them, he will put them to
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sword. He will show them no mercy or
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pity or compassion. Furthermore, tell the people
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this is what the Lord says. See, I am setting before you the
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way of life and the way of death.
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Whoever stays in the city will die by sword, famine, or plague,
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but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians
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who are besieging you will live. They will escape with their
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lives. I have determined to do this
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city harm and not good, declares the Lord.
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It will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he
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will restore. Destroy it with fire so we can
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see like somebody might say, well, gosh, that's really harsh
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of God. Why is he doing it to those his
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people? Because he had been through a
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series of kings. He had been warning them through
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Jeremiah. He kept saying repent, repent.
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Turn back to me. Stop doing this idolatry.
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Start Stop worshipping these other gods and adopting these
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Pagan rituals and, and treat other people, you know, rule
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with righteousness and fairness and, and don't be greedy and all
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these things. He was warning them to stop
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doing those things, but they weren't, they didn't want any of
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that. They just want protection.
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They want to live life the way they want to live life, but then
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they want God's protection. Well, God will sometimes respond
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in this manner. We can see right here because he
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gave warnings and they didn't listen.
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And so he said and and any time he does this, this is it.
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It's partial judgement. I mean, it is judgement, but
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it's also with the intent of them repenting still.
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Like you're not going to listen to God when he's nice about it,
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when he's giving you warnings and nothing is happening and
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your life is still going along good.
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Just ignore him and then all of a sudden you know things start
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going bad. So then you want God to help
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out. But you know what if If God's
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been talking all this time and giving, sending messengers and
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telling people repent, change your ways.
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Live according to what you know the Word says or what His word
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has said. The commands he gave and people
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are refusing it. You have to remember back at
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this time they had all of these commands were written down and
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it wasn't until Josiah found some scrolls in a temple that
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had been ignored for many years. And then Josiah made some
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reforms in this the over the people in Judah and they started
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they promised God again they would follow and obey his
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commands. But it didn't take long.
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All of a sudden Josiah's king, our Josiah's son when he became
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king, he completely did the opposite of what Josiah did and
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was involved in idolatry, child sacrifice and all these things.
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So even though he had a good father, he produced an offspring
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that was rebellious to God. So again, God also says many
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times that you know, each person is going to be judged by their
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own actions. So good people can come from bad
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families and bad people can come from good families.
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So it's, it's an individual's choice and it's an individual's
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relationship with God, whether they are obedient or they ignore
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God. And I think we can look at this
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as a warning to us that we, we need to repent as a nation.
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I'm, I'm Speaking of the United States and I don't, I don't know
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about other nations, but I know the United States, there is a,
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a, a turning towards God by some people.
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And that's just like what history shows us in the Bible is
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that some people do turn, but others don't.
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And, and when the majority doesn't, then that brings about
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judgement. And a lot of times God will use
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enemies to bring about judgement and to bring about people so
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they finally repent because God ultimately wants people to turn
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to him. He wants people to be in his
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Kingdom. But some people are really hard
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headed. They call it stiff necked in the
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Bible. And they don't turn away from
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their sin. They keep staying in their sin.
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And that's what the whole Bible talks about, is the sin
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separates us from God. And when we finally realized
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that, like, do we want to be separated from God?
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And do we want the repercussions of being separated from God?
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Because all it is is negative. All it is is destruction and
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eternal darkness and eternal torment.
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That's what is promised to people who reject God.
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So do we really want that? And it's not easy to make that
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decision to follow God, to ultimately become a Christian,
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to follow Christ because it sometimes comes with
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persecution. And we're seeing that in our
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world today where Christians are being persecuted, they're being
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executed in some countries because of their faith.
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And, and this is what, as the times continue, what Bible
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prophecy tells us is that this is going to get worse and worse.
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And so it's so important for us to establish a relationship with
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God and have a strong relationship with God because
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how are we going to withstand persecution when it comes to
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that level? And it is worth it to be an
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eternity, but that's something that people need to to ask
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themselves. And it says that faith comes
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from hearing the word of God and hearing the, the gospel message.
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So when we the gospel message is about eternity, it's about what
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God has planned for us. It's about what God's, the
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inheritance that God has planned.
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It was originally promised to Israel.
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And then because of Israel's rejection of God, it was opened
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up to all nations like God. And it says that God will, will
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use Israel to bless others. And I recently had a in a Bible
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study where the subject of slavery came up.
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And I'm not going to address it because that could be a really
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long topic. But I found something really
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interesting in Scripture where it made me question of whether
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in the very, very end of times, in the very last days, will it
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be that Israel helps redeem other nations out of slavery?
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Because when we look at what the Bible says about slavery, it's
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not the same as what the Americans or the USA thinks
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about slavery. These are different.
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This is a different type of slavery.
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It was, it was different, a different way of doing this, but
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basically the Israelites took somebody in like as a member of
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their family and they participated like if they, they
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were required to have them circumcised so they could
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participate in the Passover and they became part of the family,
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like part of the inheritance. And so when scripture tells us
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that all will be blessed through Israel, I just wonder if that
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really means that in the very end of times that there will be
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survivors of Israel that will basically redeem other people
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and nations, those who repent and and turn to God.
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If if that is, if that is something that Israel will be a
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part of, like adopting them, of course that is through Jesus
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ultimately that that happens. So in a sense that is what's
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planned. When you think about it in that
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sense, it is, you know, Jesus is from the tribe of Judah.
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He is the way, the truth and the life.
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No one comes to the Father except through him and he is the
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Messiah. He is what makes us be able to
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get into the Kingdom of God. And so we are blessed through
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Israel, through Jesus, who opens up the door to eternity for us.
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So it's it's really interesting that how how much of this all
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points to Jesus when we really understand what's in Scripture.
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OK, let's continue in verse 11. Moreover, say to the royal House
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of Judah, hear the word of the Lord.
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This is what the Lord says to you.
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House of David, administer justice every morning.
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Rescue from the hand of the oppressor, the one who has been
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robbed or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because
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of the evil you have done. So God is very clear about why
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he's angry, why this wrath is coming on people because of the
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evil they've done. They're not administering
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justice. They are not working with the
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oppressors. They're not the one who has been
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robbed. They're not doing the right
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thing. And he says because of the evil
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you have done, burn with no one to quench it.
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I am against you, Jerusalem, you who live above this valley on
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the rocky plateau, declares the Lord.
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You who say, who can come against us, Who can enter our
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refuge? I will punish you as your deeds
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deserve. We always have to keep in mind
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and remember that God is righteous and he is just.
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So if he brings about wrath, it's just.
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It is, it is just and it's the right thing, like God is doing
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the right thing. I will punish you as your deeds
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deserve, declares the Lord. I will kinder a fire in your
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forest that will consume everything around you.
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And that's the end of chapter 21.
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I'll read the questions and answers for this chapter.
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Why did Zedekiah seek advice from a despised prophet?
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Perhaps the proverb Any port in a storm best describes King
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Zedekiah motives in sending an official delegation to Jeremiah.
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With Nebuchadnezzar approaching the city gates, the panicky king
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sent emissaries to Jeremiah, hoping for an 11th hour
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reprieve. With his back to the wall,
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Zedekiah was forced to admit what he had tried to deny.
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If he wanted to hear from God, he knew Jeremiah was the one to
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turn to. Who was Nebuchadnezzar?
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He was a king of the Babylonian Empire from six O 5 to 562 BC.
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His name was literally a prayer to a Babylonian God.
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It meant Nabu protect the crown. The story of Nebuchadnezzar's
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two sieges of Jerusalem and his deportations of the Jews is
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found in Second Kings chapter 24.
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Why would God fight against his own people?
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There are several reasons. Number one, his people had
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repeatedly sinned, breaking the covenant promise, promises they
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had made. Number 2.
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They had continually rejected God's call through the prophets
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to repent #3 they now faced certain judgment.
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God sometimes uses sinful people or nations as His instruments of
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judgment. Why would God kill the animals
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when a city was under siege and goods became scarce, epidemics
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were common and affected both people and animals.
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In addition, animals suffered along with their owners because
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of the consequences of rebelling against God.
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Because the people had refused God's appeals, He brought
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Nebuchadnezzar to carry out their punishment, and their
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livestock were caught in the middle.
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And that's the end of the questions and answers for
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chapter 21. So we'll go into 22.
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This is what the Lord says. Go down to the palace of the
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king of Judah and proclaim this message there.
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Hear the word of the Lord to you, king of Judah, you who sit
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on David's throne, you, your officials and your people who
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come through these gates. This is what the Lord says.
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Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the
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oppressor, the one who has been robbed.
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Do not do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the
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fatherless, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this
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place. For if you are careful to carry
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out these commands, then kings who sit on David's throne will
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come through the gates of this palace, riding in Chariots and
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on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people.
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But if you do not obey these commands, declares the Lord, I
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swear by myself that this place will become a rune.
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For this is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of
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Judah. Though you are like Gilead to
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me, like the summit of Lebanon, I will surely make you a
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wasteland, like towns not inhabited.
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I will send destroyers against you, each man with his weapons,
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and they will cut up your fine cedar beams and throw them into
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the fire. People from many nations will
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pass by the city and will ask one another why has the Lord
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done such a thing to this great city?
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And the answer will be because they have forsaken the covenant
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of the Lord their God and have worshipped and served other
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gods. Again, God does not mess around
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with idolatry. Any false gods he will punish
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for that. Do not weep for the dead king or
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mourn his loss. Rather weep bitterly for him who
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is exiled because he will never return nor see his native land
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again. For this is what the Lord says
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about Shalom, son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of
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Judah, but has gone from this place.
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He will never return. He will die in the place where
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they have led him captive. He will not see this land again.
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Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper
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rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not
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paying them for their labor. He says I will build myself a
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great palace with spacious upper rooms.
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So he makes large windows in it, panels it with cedar, and
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decorates it in red. Does it make you, does it make
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you a king to have more and more cedar?
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Did not your father have food and drink?
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He did what was just was right and just, so all went well with
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him. He defended the cause of the
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poor and needy and so all went well.
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Is that not what it means to know me?
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Declares the Lord. But your eyes and your heart are
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set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, and on
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oppression and extortion. Therefore, this is what the Lord
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says about Jehoiah. Jehoiah, king, kin, son of
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Josiah, king of Judah. They will not mourn for him.
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Alas, my brother, alas, my sister, they will not mourn for
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him. Alas, my master, alas his
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splendor. He will have the burial of a
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donkey dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.
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Go up to Lemidan and cry out. Let your voice be heard in
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Bashun. Cry out from AB Arim, for all
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your allies are crushed. I warned you when you felt
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secure, but you said I will not listen.
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This has been your way from your youth.
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You have not obeyed me. The wind will drive all your
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shepherds away, and your allies will go into exile.
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Then you will be ashamed and disgraced because of all your
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wickedness. You who live in Lebanon, who are
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nestled in cedar buildings, how you will groan when pangs come
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upon you, Pain like that of a woman in labor.
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As surely as I live, declares the Lord.
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Even if you, Jeho Chen, son of Jeho A Kim, King of Judah, were
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a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off.
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I will deliver you into the hands of those who want to kill
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you, those you fear. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon
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and the Babylonians. I will hurl you and the mother
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who gave you birth into another country where neither of you was
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born, and there you will both die.
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You will never come back to the land you long to return to.
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Is this man, Jehoiachin, A despised broken pot, an object
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no one wants? Why will he and his children be
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hurled out, cast into a land they did not know?
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Oh, land, land, land. Hear the word of the Lord.
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This is what the Lord says. Record this man as if childless,
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a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his
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offspring will prosper. None will sit on the throne of
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David, or rule in Judah, or rule any more in Judah.
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And that's the end of chapter 22.
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O I'll read the questions and answers and then we'll wrap this
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U Could Jerusalem have been saved?
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It would appear so from these verses.
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Why then, Why then do earlier verses say Jerusalem was beyond
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hope? Perhaps those verses actually
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came later in time went than this passage.
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At times the stories in Jeremiah appear to be strung together in
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random order. Some think a later editor
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possibly rearranged the chapters for various reasons.
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Others think the book was arranged thematically, not
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chronologically, so that some sections that appear to be out
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of place are there intentionally to support a a certain theme.
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Or it may be that the earlier verses show that God knew even
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before the people rebelled, that he would do just that.
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Why did God swear by himself? Because everything God says is
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utterly and completely true. He doesn't need oaths to
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buttress the reliability of his pronouncements.
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Yet for greater impact and to under score the seriousness of
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God's message, it is not uncommon to see this rather
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human expression used to describe God's words.
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It reminds us again that God's words, word, cannot be broken.
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Whom did they weep for? The dead king was Josiah, who
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died in battle during an I'll fated encounter with Pharaoh
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Nicho of Egypt. Josiah had been a good king and
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the loss was keenly felt by the people of Judah.
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However, his death was not so tragic when compared to the fate
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awaiting his son. Jeremiah recommended that they
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save their tears for Josiah's son Jehoah has who would die in
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exile. Sad as it was to die in office,
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it was worse to be banished to a foreign land and never see Judah
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again. What does it mean to know the
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Lord is simply helping the poor and needy enough to know God?
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We must not confuse the evidence of a relationship with God with
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the means to having that relationship.
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Throughout Scripture we are told that it is by faith alone that
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we receive forgiveness, salvation, and a personal
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relationship with God. One sign that a person knows God
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intimately is the person's desire to follow God's will.
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King Josiah's compassion and justice for the poor
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demonstrated his love for the Lord.
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What did it mean to have the burial of a donkey?
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Then, as now, heads of state were typically given great
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ceremonial funerals. Even incompetent and unpopular
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rulers received some burial courtesies.
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Jehoiakim's depraved and wicked reign, however, ended with the
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greatest indignity of all, no burial at all.
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Like a donkey thrown into the field as carrion for the
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vultures, his body lay exposed and humiliated.
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The wicked king who brought Jerusalem to its lowest level
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had no one to mourn his death. Where were these places?
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Lebanon, Bashan, and Abraham, also known as Pisgah, represent
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the land of Judah in its entirety, from north to
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northeast to South SE. The totality of the destruction
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coming on Judah was the point of Jeremiah's statement.
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The term allies probably refers to Egypt and others on whom
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kings of Judah had relied for protection from the Babylonians.
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What was a signet ring? A signet ring bore a seal that
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represented a King's authority. Its imprint validated government
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documents such as laws, treaties, decrees, and
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correspondence in the name of the king.
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Since it represented his authority, the king would remove
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it only if he authorized another person to act on his behalf.
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King Jehovah Chin was called to validate the Lord's decrees and
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lead the people into obeying them as though he were God's
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signet ring. But since he had failed to
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represent God, Jehovah Chin was a defective ring.
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He would be judged and removed from his position.
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And that wraps up chapters 21 and 22.
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So chapter 23 is going to be a good one because this is where
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it starts to talk about Jesus. So come back for that one.