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The Weeping Prophet: Faithful When No One Listens | The Life of Jeremiah · Wetumpka Church of Christ Online

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It's good to see everyone here this morning.
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We're grateful for your presence.
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I always hate interrupting all of the fellowship that's going
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on, but they gave us a task to do, so we're going to do it.
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This is my last Sunday filling in for Dwayne.
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He will be back, I believe next Sunday and so you get the
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professional teacher back next week.
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And, but I appreciate him giving me the opportunity and asking me
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to fill in for him last week and this week while he's out of town
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doing some traveling. Of course, his theme or his
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topic for the quarter has been dealing with studies through the
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various kings of Israel and Judah and some some lessons that
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we can learn from them and some things that we learn about God's
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relationship with mankind through the things that he does
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with the kings. And you know, one of the hardest
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things for the substitute teacher to do is to go through
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and cover things that are going to be pertinent to the
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discussions that are being had in class without walking all
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over the teachers material who's teaching the class.
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So last week we went through First Samuel chapter 8 and
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talked about the situation with Samuel that leads into the
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request or the the the pleading by the people for a king and how
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God is going to answer that request.
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And he says, you're not really going to like it.
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You're not going to like what the impact of it is going to be
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on your lives, on your wealth, on the various other things that
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are a part of your life. But I will give it to you and
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you will see. And then you're going to come to
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me and you're going to say, look at what's happened.
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And I'm going to say, well, you asked for it.
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And that's exactly what is going to happen.
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But this morning what I want us to do is I want to move to the
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opposite end of the time period of the kings of Israel and
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Judah, and specifically of Judah.
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And I want us to talk about a a particular man this morning that
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I think far too often gets overlooked in our studies of the
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Old Testament. And it's a shame on many
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different levels because he is one of the prophets that we
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actually read a great deal about through his letter.
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And yet he's not one of the prophets that often comes to the
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forefront of our mind unless we're quoting the books of the
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Old Testament. His letter is the third longest
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book of the Old Testament, surpassed only by the books of
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Isaiah and Psalms. He is going to be known as the
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weeping prophet. And yet we spend very little
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time studying the book of Jeremiah, in part because
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Jeremiah doesn't have a lot to say.
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He does have some things to say, but he doesn't have a lot to say
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about the coming Messiah. That's not Jeremiah's focus in
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his time. There are going to be statements
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that Jeremiah is going to make. There's going to be prophecies
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that Jeremiah made that look forward to the coming of Christ
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and and to the things that are going to be happening at the
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time that Jesus comes and things of that nature.
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But Jeremiah is a a pivotal figure in his interaction with
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the kings of Judah at the end of the kingdom's time, at the time
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when the Babylonians are starting to rise and they're
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starting to overtake Judah. And So what I would like us to
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do this morning for the next few minutes is I want us to build a
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bit of a character profile of Jeremiah.
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Who was he? What, what did he go through?
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Because one of the interesting things about Jeremiah's book, or
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at least it's always been fascinating to me, is the fact
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that Jeremiah is far more than just a book of prophecies that
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that he made or of speeches that he gave or of letters that he
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wrote. Jeremiah is a a very strong
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historical record of what was going on in God's interaction
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with the kings of Judah at the end of their days as a Kingdom.
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And so I want us to take some time today to look at Jeremiah
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and to get a little familiar with who he is and the time in
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which he lives and the struggles that he goes through in seeking
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to be the spokesman for God. Because when I think, I think
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when we do that, number one, we will have a very strong
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appreciation for Jeremiah's devotion to God and Jeremiah's
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fulfillment of, of what God had as his purpose for him.
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But if you're anything like me, you'll get through the study
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today and you'll be like, you know, I, I really need to spend
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some time rereading the book of Jeremiah and spending some time
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remembering and, and looking at the things that Jeremiah did in
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the service of God. So we're going to begin in
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Jeremiah chapter 1 this morning. And what I want to do is we're
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going to spend some time here in chapter 1 to start with to to
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set the scene, so to speak, as Jeremiah is going to tell us a
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little bit about himself. And then I want us to see some
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of the events that are going on in the life of Jeremiah.
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Jeremiah is going to prophecy for over 40 years in the Kingdom
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of Judah. The his book is going to span
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the better part of 40 years in the events that are going to be
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discussed in it. And he is going to see and
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experience things from a first person perspective that very few
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are going to be able to say that they were present for at the end
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of the days of Judah. So as you get into the start of
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the book of Jeremiah, in Jeremiah chapter one, verse one,
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Jeremiah begins his letter this way.
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He says the words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah of the
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priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom
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the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Ammon
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king of Judah in the 13th year of his reign.
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It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king
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of Judah, until the end of the 11th year of Zedekiah the son of
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Josiah king of Judah, until the carrying away of Jerusalem
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captive in the 5th month. Jeremiah's introduction of his
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book follows this premise. Jeremiah is the son of a priest,
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so that means he is of what tribe?
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He is of the tribe of Levi. He is raised in the territory of
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Benjamin, and he is going to be called by God as one of his
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prophets in the days of King Josiah.
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Now, what do we know about King Josiah?
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All right, He's one of the good kings of Judah.
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What else do we know? What's he?
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Well, what's he most famous for? Unfortunately.
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Was that what? All right, he keeps the
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Passover. What else?
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It's going to be during his time that the book of the Law is
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going to be found when they're doing renovations of the temple
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and nobody's ever seen it before.
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Nobody's read it in his day. It has been, it has been tucked
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away and lost for generations now as far as that goes.
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And it's going to be that that's going to be the impetus for
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Josiah doing some of the the greatest reform work that's done
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in Judah in the history of the Kingdom.
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Josiah is also going to take the throne at the ripe old age of
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eight years old. He is the epitome of the boy
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king. He's going to reign for 31 years
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and he is going to be one of the few kings of Judah of which
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there really isn't anything negative that God has to say
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about him. He is a good king and he and he
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is a good king both from the sense of his relationship with
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God and in the sense of his leadership skills among the
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people. He is good in every respect.
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And yet Jeremiah is going to be called in the middle of Josiah's
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reign, the 13th year of Josiah's reign.
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Josiah is still going to be on the throne for another 18 years.
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At the time that Jeremiah is called by God to begin to
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prophecy to the people of Judah, they have a good king on the
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throne. They are turning in the right
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direction from the standpoint of the leadership of Judah.
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And if you were to look at the Kingdom from the lens of
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Scripture, just knowing about who Josiah is, everything looks
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great. Everything should be positive
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and upbeat and happy and looking forward in a positive direction
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that this is a, a, a new push forward for the people of Judah.
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And then Jeremiah shows up on the scene.
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Now Jeremiah is going to tell us a little bit more about himself
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here in chapter 1 and where he is when things get started.
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In verse four he says, then the word of the Lord came to me,
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saying before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.
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Before you were born, I sanctified you.
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I ordained you a prophet to the nations, God tells Jeremiah in
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his opening statement to him. Jeremiah, I picked you before
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you were ever born. Now for some people that would
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be the well, you've made a good choice.
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You know, the pride and the arrogance and everything else
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would just come wafting out. Not Jeremiah.
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As a matter of fact, Jeremiah responds in verse 6 and he says,
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ah, Lord God, behold, I cannot speak for I am a youth.
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The word there that is translated youth comes from the
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Hebrew word which means boy. He's still, he's not yet
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considered a man in Judah, which by all rights means he's under
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the age of 20 at this particular time.
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It is surmised by some that he is likely around the age of 16
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to 18 years old at this particular time.
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So so he is old enough to to know and to to understand and
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and to be able to function and speak like an adult, but he's
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still a youth. You think about him as being
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similar in age to likely the age David is going to be when David
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takes on Goliath, he is not going to be looked up to as a
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man of God. He says, I'm not even allowed to
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speak. I'm just a boy.
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But the Lord said to me, Do not say I am a youth, for you shall
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go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you
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shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces,
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for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.
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Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth.
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And the Lord said to me, Behold, I have put my words in your
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mouth. See, I have this day set you
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over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to
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pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to
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plant. Moreover, the word of the Lord
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came to me saying, Jeremiah, what do you see?
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And I said, I see a branch of an almond tree.
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The Lord said to me, you have seen well, for I am ready to
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perform my word. And the word of the Lord came to
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me the second time saying, what do you see?
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And I said, I see a boiling pot, and it is facing away from the
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north. Then the Lord said to me, Out of
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the north calamity shall break forth, and on all the
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inhabitants of the land. For behold, I am calling all the
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families of the kingdoms of the north, says the Lord.
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They shall come, and each one set his throne at the entrance
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of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all
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around, and against all the cities of Judah.
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I will utter my judgments against them concerning all
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their wickedness, because they have forsaken me or forsaken me,
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burned incense to other gods, and worshipped the works of
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their own hands. Therefore prepare yourself and
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arise and speak to them all that I command you.
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Do not be dismayed before their faces, lest I dismay you before
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them. For behold, I have made you this
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day a fortified city, and an iron pillar and bronze walls,
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against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against its
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Princess, against its priests, and against the people of the
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land. They will fight against you, but
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they shall not prevail against you.
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For I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you, Gloria, my
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understanding, when they have. A bar mitzvah the boy is.
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Supposed to become a man. And isn't that the age of like
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1314? So that is at the age of 13 as
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far as that goes. But in the Old Testament times,
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the age at which, at least from my understanding, the age at
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which a boy was considered a man was the age at which he was
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taking on the responsibilities of a man.
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And a lot of that would start with military service or with
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his ability to start serving his apprenticeships for whatever
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role and responsibility he was going to take on.
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And that was at the age of 20. They were not allowed to serve
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in the military at in any formal sense until the age of 20,
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though some would go and fight, given the circumstances when
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invasions took place. You know, if you were capable of
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carrying a sword or a spear or a pitchfork or whatever the case
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might be, you were going to fight because it was your family
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that was being attacked. But from the standpoint of being
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considered an adult in this time period, usually that was set at
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the age of 20 years old. And that's why David in First
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Samuel is not with the army. He's not old enough yet.
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He is not yet of that particular age.
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And he still looked at as a young man or as a boy.
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And Jeremiah falls into the same type of classification.
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He's not necessarily what we would call a child still, but
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he's not yet to the point of being considered a man fully
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capable of all things within Jewish society.
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David, don't the Levites have the?
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20 to 50 that they serve. And the the Levites is actually
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25. You have to be before you could
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serve as a priest and then you would serve until the age of 50.
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Those those five years between 20 and 25, you're you're
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basically an apprentice for all of the functions that the
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Levites were supposed to undertake and were supposed to
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do. And then at age 25, you could
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begin serving as a priest. But yes, and then you would
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serve until the age of 50. All right, other questions,
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comments. Anybody have anything they want
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to add into it at this point, Eric?
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It's encouraging to know that Josiah dedicated to the Lord and
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mature for their age and doing just amazing things.
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Not only Josiah at 8:00, but you'll see him at 16 and age 20
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just doing, you know, cleaning house, cleaning, idolatry.
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And and then you have Jeremiah on the prophesying and preaching
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side of things. And to see that that tandem at
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the same time in leadership positions was must have been
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very encouraging, at least to the faithful.
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And, and I think it's a, it's a dual, dual edged sword as far as
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that goes because you know, at the time, remember, Jeremiah is
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going to be called in the 13th year of Josiah.
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That means Josiah is 21 years old at the time that Jeremiah,
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who is in his late teens is going to be called by God to be
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his prophet to the people. So you have this youth movement
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among the Kingdom of Judah with who God is utilizing.
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But you know what that means as far as the people of Judah, the
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older men can't be trusted. The older men aren't doing their
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job. The older men are the ones who
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are offering sacrifices to idols, and they are the ones who
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are going through and pulling the people of Judah away.
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And their hearts are not where they should be.
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God's having to utilize the young people in order to lead
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Judah back to where they're supposed to be because the
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fathers and the grandfathers aren't doing it and they
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probably don't want to hear it and they really don't want to
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hear it from their sons and their grandsons.
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He says I am but a youth. But I want you to think about
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the weight that God is placing on Jeremiah.
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He is a young man. He is 161718 years old.
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And God says in Jeremiah chapter 1 and in verse 18, he says, for
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behold, I have made you this day a fortified city, and an iron
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pillar and bronze walls against the whole land, against the
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kings of Judah, against its Princess, against its priests,
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and against the people of the land.
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Jeremiah, you're not going to be liked by anybody.
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Let me ask you a question. For most teenagers, what is the
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one thing they want more than anything else?
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They want to be liked. They want somebody to appreciate
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them. Now, oftentimes they have plenty
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of people appreciating them, but that's not the kind of
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appreciation they want. That being said.
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How much pressure does it put on a young man to be told, all
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right, you're my guy and you need to be ready?
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Don't be scared. I'll be here with you the whole
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way. But nobody's going to like you.
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And it's going to be even harder for Jeremiah because I want you
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to turn forward in the book to Jeremiah chapter 16.
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In Jeremiah chapter 16, we learn a little bit more about this
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young man, and one of the harder aspects of the book of Jeremiah
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is the fact that everything is given in an order and it's given
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in a certain way for a reason, but it's not necessarily a
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chronological order. There's going to be several
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instances of jumping back and forth in the timeline during the
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days of Jeremiah with the various prophecies that are
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being made because it's going to be in some ways, you know the
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style or the type of prophecy you are going to move through
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Jeremiah's life as you get deeper in.
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But not every chapter is going to be in chronological order.
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But as you get to chapter 16, at the beginning of chapter 16, God
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tells Jeremiah, the word of the Lord also came to me saying, you
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shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in
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this place. For thus says the Lord,
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concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this
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place, and concerning their mothers who bore them, and their
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fathers who begot them in this land, they shall die gruesome
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deaths. They shall not be lamented, nor
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shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face
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of the earth. They shall be consumed by the
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sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the
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birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.
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For thus says the Lord, Do not enter the House of mourning, nor
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go to lament or bemoan them. For I have taken away my peace
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from this people, says the Lord. Jeremiah's got the great burden
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of being the prophet of God, but he's also going to be asked to
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carry another burden through his life.
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What is it? He's got to do it alone.
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He's not going to have a wife. He's not going to have children.
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You know, there are those, we, we often talk about those as
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Jesus discusses them over in Matthew chapter 19.
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Who are those who are going to be, as Jesus puts it, eunuchs
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For the Kingdom of heaven's sake, that's Jeremiah.
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Jeremiah was told by God, don't marry, don't have children.
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But there's a specific reason why he tells Jeremiah.
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This is the reason because you know what, Jeremiah?
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I just don't want you to have any happiness in life.
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I, I don't want you to feel any joy for anything.
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I need you to be the miserable prophet.
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Is that what he says? No, actually be more miserable
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if he had family and they were in all this stuff, he tells
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Jeremiah. Jeremiah, I need you to
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understand something. You don't want to have children
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in this environment because if you have children in this
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country, in this environment in which you live right now, you're
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going to bury your children. He is actually trying to save
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Jeremiah from an even deeper grief and struggle and loss so
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that he can focus on the things that the Lord needs him to focus
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on for the people. Jeremiah is 1 of the strongest
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individuals you will ever read about in scripture.
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From this prospect of, of his mental stamina, his emotional
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fortitude, Jeremiah is called upon as a young man to take a
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mantle that most older men would reject.
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And then he is asked to do it, living a a lifestyle and, and
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under circumstances that most men would not accept and would
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not want. And he does it, and it is
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difficult and it is painful for him.
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But, you know, the older he gets and the more that he endures,
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the more that he realizes just how much wisdom God had in
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saving him from those struggles and trials.
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Because Jeremiah is going to deal with all kinds of hardship
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as you get toward the end or into the second-half of the book
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of Jeremiah. The first half has a great deal
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of the, of the judgments that are coming of, of the promises
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of the desolation that is to come.
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And, and over the course of of 20 years, while good King Josiah
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is still on the throne, Jeremiah is going throughout the land
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warning the people of the impending doom of Judah, which
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seems to go contrary to Josiah being on the throne.
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But you know, the interesting thing is Jeremiah is not sent to
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Josiah to tell him about all of the things that he's doing wrong
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and all of the things that he needs to change in all of the
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ways he's not acceptable. He's not told to do that once.
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Where is Jeremiah sent? He's sent to the people because
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one of the most fascinating aspects of this time in Judah is
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for so many of the occasions in Judah, you have people that are
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trying to do what's right and the leadership that is evil and
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wicked in the sight of the Lord. In Josiah's day, it's flipped on
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its head. You have good leadership in
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Judah and the people that don't want to do what God says.
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So Jeremiah is not going to be sent to Josiah.
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He's going to be sent to the people to proclaim what is
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coming after Josiah's death. You are going to have three of
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Josiah's sons that are going to sit on the throne of Judah, one
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for a very short period of three months.
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Jehoiah has and then you're going to have Jehoiah Kim, who
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is the son of Josiah, who will sit on the throne.
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His son Jehoiah Kin, or Koniah as he's otherwise going to be
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known, will then be placed upon the throne for a period of about
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3 months. And then Jehoiah Kim's uncle,
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Jehoiah Kim's brother, the third son of Josiah Zedekiah, will sit
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on the throne for the last 11 years.
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There's going to be another 2223 years from the death of Josiah
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until Judah completely falls. But it's just going to be a
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couple of years after the death of Josiah when we have that
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initial carrying away in six O 6 BC, where Nebuchadnezzar is
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going to come and you're going to have Daniel and those of of
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his group who were part of the royal family who are going to be
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taken away into captivity. Jehoiakim is going to sit on the
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throne as somewhat of a puppet king in many ways.
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He is going to sit on the throne, but he's supposed to do
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what he's told and he's supposed to behave himself, and he's
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supposed to just sit under the thumb of Nebuchadnezzar.
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Well, he does that for a little while, and then he decides he
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doesn't like being under the thumb of Nebuchadnezzar, so he
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rebels. That's when Nebuchadnezzar is
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going to come and there's going to be a second carrying away.
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And it's going to be during that second carrying away that
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Ezekiel is going to be carried away.
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And he's going to go with those of of his carrying away over by
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the river Kibar. And Jehoiakin or Konaya is going
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to take the throne After three months, he's going to be
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removed. And Zedekiah will be placed on
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the throne, and he will be on the throne until the final
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carrying away in 586 BC. So while Daniel's going to
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Babylon, and while Ezekiel's going to Babylon, and while the
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people are getting spread every which way and the Kingdom is
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crumbling and the Kingdom is falling apart, guess who's still
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in Jerusalem? Jeremiah and Jeremiah is going
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to be saved on many different occasions from death.
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You turn over to Jeremiah chapter 26 and in Jeremiah 26 at
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the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim.
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So this is the first, actually, it's the second son of Josiah to
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take the throne, the first having only been on the throne
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for a couple of months before being removed.
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Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah.
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So it's the beginning of his reign.
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We're not quite to the Babylonian captivity yet, but
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we're almost there. And it says the word of the Lord
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came to Jeremiah saying, Thus says the Lord, Stand in the
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court of the Lord's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah
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which come to worship in the Lord's house.
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All the words that I command you to speak to them.
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Do not diminish a word. Perhaps everyone will listen and
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turn from his evil way, that I may relent concerning the
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calamity which I propose to bring on them because of the
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evil in their doings. And you shall say to them Thus
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says the Lord, if you will not listen to me, to walk in My law
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which I have set before you, to heed the words of My servants
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and prophets whom I sent to you, both rising up early and sending
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them, but you have not heeded. Then I will make this house like
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Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse to all the nations
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of the earth. Here's your chance, Jeremiah, go
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and proclaim, and perhaps everyone will listen.
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So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard
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Jeremiah speaking these words in the House of the Lord, verse 7.
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And it happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all
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that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, that
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the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him,
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saying, You will surely die. Why have you prophesied in the
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name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and
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this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant.
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And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the House of
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the Lord. And when the Princess of Judah
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heard these things, they came up from the King's house to the
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House of the Lord, and sat down at the entry of the new gate of
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the Lord's house. And the priests and the prophets
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spoke to the Princess and all the people, saying, This man
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deserves to die, for he has prophesied against this city, as
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you have heard with your ears. And Jeremiah spoke to all the
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Princess and all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to
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prophecy against this house and against this city with all the
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words that you have heard. Now, therefore, amend your ways
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and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and
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the Lord will relent concerning the doom that he has pronounced
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against you. As for me, here I am in your
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hand. Do with me as seems good and
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proper to you, but know for certain that if you put me to
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death, you will surely bring innocent blood on yourselves, on
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this city, and on its inhabitants.
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For truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words
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in your hearing. So the Princess and all the
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people said to the priests and the prophets, This man does not
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deserve to die, for he has spoken to us in the name of the
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Lord our God. Certain of the elders of the
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land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people,
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saying, Micah of Moorishev prophesied in the days of
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Hezekiah king of Judah, and spoke to all the people of
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Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts,
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Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become
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heaps of ruins, and the mountains of the temple like the
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bare hills of the forest. Did Hezekiah, king of Judah, and
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all Judah ever put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and
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seek the Lord's favor? And the Lord relented concerning
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the doom which he had pronounced against them.
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But we are doing great evil against ourselves.
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Jeremiah is going to be told, hey, you go into the the temple
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grounds and you preach. Maybe they'll change.
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What's the first response of the people when they hear it?
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Kill him? Why don't want to hear it?
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Same way with you. He spoke bad about our city.
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Interestingly enough. Who is it that comes to the
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defense of Jeremiah the Princess?
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Question. Who are the Princess in Judah at
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this time? It's the family of King Josiah.
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It's the royal family. Would have included likely the
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family of Daniel and various others.
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They come and they say he's not worthy of death.
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You remember Michael who prophesied in the days of
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Hezekiah a few generations ago? He said really rotten things
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about the city of Jerusalem. And guess what?
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Hezekiah didn't kill him. And we are evil.
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We're not doing what's right. Speaking of we as a people, do
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you notice that even within the last two years before the Israel
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or before Judah is going to go into captivity, Jeremiah, by
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means of his prophecies from God, is giving them a way they
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can avoid it? God doesn't want to do it.
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He doesn't want this to be the outcome.
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He knows their hearts. He knows they're not going to
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change their ways, but He's giving them every opportunity to
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change their path and the overwhelming majority of the
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people are dead set against it. Jeremiah is going to endure
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great misery over the next 10 to 12 years.
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Remember at the time that he's going to give this message at
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the start of of Jehoiakim's reign, he's going to be in his
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mid 30s. He's been prophesying now for 20
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years. He's now approaching 40 years of
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age. Everybody in the round knows who
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Jeremiah is. They've heard him for two
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decades. They've seen him since he was a
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boy. It's not any question about
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whether or not he actually speaks for God.
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It's a question of whether or not they like what it is, he
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said. And they didn't.
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They want to kill him. The Princess of Judah are going
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to spare him. It won't work the same for a man
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by the name of Urijah. You read at the end of the
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chapter who God is going to have prophecy.
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Much the same thing. Urijah is going to flee to Egypt
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and they're going to bring him back, and Jehoiakim will kill
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him for speaking. Much the same thing that
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Jeremiah does, but Jeremiah will be spared.
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Jeremiah is going to, at the behest of God, write letters
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after the first carrying away to the captives in Judah or in
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Babylon. In Jeremiah chapter 29.
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He is going to prophecy so many different things, and he's going
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to be interacting with the kings of Judah all the way up until
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the fall. We don't have time to read what
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happens in the fourth year of Jehoiakim after the first
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carrying away has taken place. Over in Jeremiah chapters 35 and
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36 where God tells Jeremiah to write the book of the message
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that he has and, and the things that he has prepared to write
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them in the scroll of the book. And so Jeremiah is going to put
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the prophecy that God has wanted written down and and Baruch is
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going to take it for Jeremiah and it's going to come into the
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presence of Jehoiakim, that same king that had been on the throne
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in chapter 26. Jehoiakim is going to read the
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prophecy and he's going to read the things that Jeremiah has to
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say. And he's going to take his pen
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knife and he's going to slice it into pieces and throw it into
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the fire. They're not going to listen.
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And Jeremiah is going to watch as not one, not 2, but three
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different times his people are going to be carried away into
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captivity. And when Jerusalem falls in
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Jeremiah chapter 39, Jeremiah is still there.
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It is going to be on that occasion, at that particular
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time, that a short little book by the name of Lamentations is
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going to be written. Jeremiah is going to be left
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behind with the remnant of the people of Judah that are left to
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remain. But then one final thing I want
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to show you before we close. Jeremiah is not even going to
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get to remain in Judah. In Jeremiah chapters 42 and 43
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after the third carrying away after the destruction of
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Jerusalem, society in Judah is completely crumbling and falling
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apart. And the leaders at that
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particular time in in that area decide we're going to Egypt,
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we're going to flee to Egypt, we're going to get out of here,
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and we're going to go find sanctuary among the Egyptians
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because the Egyptians are the enemies of the Babylonians.
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So the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?
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In Jeremiah chapter 42, God tells Jeremiah after they ask
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Jeremiah to petition God for whether God will bless them for
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traveling to Egypt. Jeremiah says that he will.
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And God tells Jeremiah do not go.
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Do not go down into Egypt. It will not go well with you if
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you do and you know what happens.
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Verse 19, Jeremiah says, the Lord said concerning you, O
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remnant of Judah, do not go to Egypt.
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No, certainly that I have admonished you this day, for you
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were hypocrites in your hearts when you sent me to the Lord
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your God saying, pray for us to the Lord our God.
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And according to all that the Lord your God says, so declare
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to us and we will do. And I have this day declared it
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to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God,
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nor anything which He has sent you by me.
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Now, therefore, no, certainly that you shall die by the sword,
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by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go
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dwell. Jeremiah gives them the response
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of God. And you know what they say?
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Well, we'll see you later. We're on our way.
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But not only that, chapter 43 tells us they dragged Jeremiah
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to Egypt with them. It's not ever fully certain
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whether or not Jeremiah went willingly or whether he was
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forced to go along. God is going to use Jeremiah
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even in Egypt, even in the midst of all of the hardships and
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struggles that are going to be there, and they will be punished
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in Egypt and Jeremiah's time. The book of Jeremiah ends with
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Jeremiah in Egypt. Jeremiah's time was extremely
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difficult, and there were times where Jeremiah was hurting and
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struggling and even a little bit bitter about everything that he
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has had to go through in life. We didn't even talk about him
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being thrown into the cistern or various other things that he's
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going to have to deal with. Jeremiah is worthy of being
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known and remembered in our hearts.
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Being somebody that we look up to, being somebody whose
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devotion and courage and desire to be faithful to God is
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something we want to emulate in our own lives.
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He should not be the forgotten prophet.
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He should be the often remembered faithful spokesman
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for God. I hope that maybe this gives you
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a desire to read about Jeremiah's life a little bit
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more and to see some of the things that he went through to
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be faithful to God in a time when his people were far from
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faithful. Thank you so much for your
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attention this morning. Dwayne will be back next week,
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but I appreciate the opportunity to stand before you this week
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and last week.