Latest / Dwelling Place: The Bible for Moms / #168. Jeremiah 47–52: The LORD Is Our Strong Redeemer | Learning to Patiently Trust the Justice of God While Keeping Our Eyes on Eternity

Transcript

#168. Jeremiah 47–52: The LORD Is Our Strong Redeemer | Learning to Patiently Trust the Justice of God While Keeping Our Eyes on Eternity · Dwelling Place: The Bible for Moms

• 0:00
  This is a Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.
• 0:03
  Steph: I'm Stephanie Hickox,
• 0:04
  today we're concluding the Book of Jeremiah and focusing on chapters forty-seven through fifty-two.
• 0:09
  Jeremiah doesn't get wrapped up with a pretty bow, Nor does this prophet's life itself, but the sovereignty and purposes of the Lord are elevated in these chapters, and we are reminded that God is the judge of the earth.
• 0:22
  this reality encourages us to teach our kids patience and forgo retaliation A message very consistent with our Savior's mission God's judgment upon the nations begins in chapter 46.
• 0:33
  For today, I'm going to highlight some key verses in these judgments instead of having a longer portion of reading chapter 46 contains God's rebuke against Egypt.
• 0:42
  And even though we read yesterday that God said, Don't even call on me anymore," if you take refuge in the land of Pharaoh We can be astounded by God's mercy in 46:27 and 28.
• 0:55
  But fear not, O Jacob, my servant, nor be dismayed, O Israel, for behold, I will save you from far away and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
• 1:04
  Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease And none shall make him afraid.
• 1:09
  Fear not, O Jacob, my servant, declares the Lord, for I am with you.
• 1:13
  I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have driven you.
• 1:17
  But of you, I will not make a full end.
• 1:20
  I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished As Joni Eareckson Tada says in her book, The God I Love, Sometimes God allows what He hates to accomplish what He loves."
• 1:32
  He preferred a different way for Judah, but because of their hard-heartedness, they required His discipline, and He will faithfully use it to bring about their good.
• 1:42
  In chapter forty-seven, the Philistines receive a much shorter rebuke than the Egyptians did.
• 1:47
  But it will be thorough as verse six says, Ah, sword of the Lord, how long till you are quiet?
• 1:53
  Put yourself into your scabbard, rest and be still."
• 1:56
  As the prophet Habakkuk observed and questioned, God was patient, but he would not endure the wickedness of the Philistines forever, and there was a day when he did rise up in judgment against them.
• 2:07
  In Chapter forty-eight contains a lengthy rebuke against the Moabites.
• 2:11
  Remember, the Moabites came through Lot.
• 2:13
  Though they were near relatives of the Israelites, they were inhospitable and multiple times teamed up with Israel's enemies to fight against them.
• 2:21
  Our God of hospitality and loyalty and honor is certainly not okay with that.
• 2:27
  And in verse seven, he rebukes the nation, For because you trusted in your works and your treasures, you also shall be taken.
• 2:34
  and Shamash shall go into exile with his priests and his officials.
• 2:38
  Chamash was their false god who required wicked sacrifices Yahweh is so determined in his efforts against Moab that he says, "Whoever I send to destroy Moab, I will curse you if you're slack with your discipline against them."
• 2:51
  This basically means you better go after them full throttle, or I'll come after you.
• 2:56
  There are a couple times in this chapter where we read, "Declares the King, whose name is the Lord of Hosts."
• 3:02
  Think about the power of that name The Lord of hosts, is Yahweh Sabaoth, which means the God of all the armies of the hosts of heaven Saying our God is King and Yahweh and the host of heaven, that
• 3:14
  is a powerful title In verse 35 God continues to bring clarity and consistency When he says, and I will bring to an end in Moab him who offers sacrifices in the high places and makes offerings to his God
• 3:27
  But 48:31 is surprising Therefore I wail for Moab, I cry out for all Moab.
• 3:34
  For the men of Kir Hareseth I mourn Even when punishment is deserved, it doesn't mean that God delights in it It's a commonly quoted verse, but for good reason, as the New Testament tells us that the Lord is
• 3:46
  patient, not willing that any should perish.
• 3:49
  And He truly has been patient with these nations and yet His patience and mercy and love has not produced the affection and devotion he deserves and rightfully requires.
• 4:00
  At the conclusion of the chapter, God promises to restore the fortunes of Moab in the latter days In chapter 49, he rebukes multiple nations, including the Ammonites and the Edomites.
• 4:11
  The Ammonites were also descendants of Lot And they receive a similar promise in verse six, But afterward, I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites," declares the Lord God also promises that their false God will go into exile,
• 4:24
  which of course just means that God will prove him false as well.
• 4:27
  Next, we have the Edomites who descended from Esau.
• 4:29
  In verse 10, But I have stripped Esau bare; I have uncovered his hiding places, and he is not able to conceal himself."
• 4:37
  When we studied Obadiah, we talked about the Edomites hiding in the cleft of the rock.
• 4:41
  But God is certainly sovereign over geology, and even hiding in the clefts of the rock is not secure if God wants you found.
• 4:48
  In verse 16, The horror you inspire has deceived you, and the pride of your heart, you who live in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill.
• 4:57
  Though you make your nest as high as the eagles, I will bring you down from there."
• 5:01
  God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble, and the Edomites have been arrogant.
• 5:06
  Their ruin will be similar to that of Sodom and Gomorrah.
• 5:09
  But mercifully God's kindness and protection is still available Because in verse 11 he says, Leave your fatherless children, I will keep them alive, and let your widows trust in me."
• 5:21
  though the Babylonians, also known as the Chaldeans, have been God's instrument of judgment, Their ruin is imminent as well.
• 5:28
  We read of it in chapters fifty and fifty-one.
• 5:30
  Beginning in fifty, verse three, For out of the north a nation has come up against her, which shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it.
• 5:39
  Both man and beast shall flee away.
• 5:41
  In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come, and they shall seek the Lord their God.
• 5:51
  They shall ask the way to Zion with faces turned toward it, saying, 'Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.'
• 6:01
  My people have been lost sheep.
• 6:03
  Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains.
• 6:07
  From mountain to hill they have gone.
• 6:09
  They have forgotten their fold.
• 6:10
  All who found them have devoured them, and their enemies have said, We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the Lord, their habitation of righteousness, the Lord, the hope of their fathers.'
• 6:21
  Yet another prophetic promise that God will redeem a remnant of His people.
• 6:26
  It's incredible how suffering refines us, isn't it?
• 6:29
  God knows that that captivity and discipline and judgment will purify His people And so he faithfully brings it about.
• 6:35
  And wasn't that such a beautiful title in verse seven?
• 6:38
  The Lord their habitation of righteousness, the Lord, the hope of their fathers."
• 6:43
  I can't help but think about our dwelling place theme because we do want the Lord to be our habitation, and certainly we want His presence to help us be transformed in righteousness continuing God's words in verse seventeen, he
• 6:55
  explains, Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions.
• 6:59
  First, the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has gnawed at his bones.
• 7:06
  Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing judgment.
• 7:12
  I am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria.
• 7:17
  I will restore Israel to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and in Bashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.'
• 7:27
  In those days and in that time," declares the Lord, iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for I will pardon those whom I leave as a
• 7:38
  remnant."
• 7:39
  There are more promises for the people of God found in 33 and 34.
• 7:44
  thus says the Lord of hosts, The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah are with them.
• 7:50
  All who took them captive have held them fast; they refuse to let them go.
• 7:54
  Their Redeemer is strong— the Lord of hosts is his name— he will surely plead their cause that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.
• 8:04
  Let's think about this in a judicial sense.
• 8:07
  the people are imprisoned without bail And what is God's response?
• 8:10
  The- their Redeemer is strong.
• 8:13
  Whatever the punishment, whatever the price, your Jesus and His blood are able to redeem you, and He has.
• 8:21
  He was fully able to rescue His people from whatever enemy they faced.
• 8:26
  and verse 11 reveals who will defeat them The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it.
• 8:34
  For that is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple.
• 8:38
  We'll learn more about the Meads later God denounces Babylon's idolatry beginning in fifty-one seventeen.
• 8:44
  Every man is stupid and without knowledge.
• 8:47
  Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them.
• 8:52
  They are worthless, a work of delusion.
• 8:55
  At the time of their punishment, they shall perish.
• 8:57
  Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is a tribe of his inheritance.
• 9:06
  The Lord of Hosts is his name This passage makes it clear.
• 9:09
  You may worship a God that is formed by a goldsmith, or you may worship the God who formed all things.
• 9:15
  He is our portion and our inheritance And the choice seems clear as can be And God plainly says, If you can't understand how obvious this choice is, you are a fool and you're stupid."
• 9:27
  Because I love that idea of the Lord fighting for us so much, I wanted to point out 51:36.
• 9:33
  "Therefore thus says the Lord, 'Behold, I will plead your cause and take vengeance for you.'"
• 9:39
  At the end of chapter 51, we hear our final words from Jeremiah as he directs Seraiah to read the words of the scroll when they reach Babylon The end of chapter 51 concludes, "Thus far are the words of
• 9:50
  Jeremiah."
• 9:51
  Like many other prophets, we don't get to read about Jeremiah's death in scripture, but his ministry was widespread, so there are several historical accounts of what occurred but before I share any of that, I'd like to read a
• 10:03
  list from my MacArthur commentary of the major trials of Jeremiah.
• 10:07
  First, he had a trial by death threats in chapter 11, then a trial by isolation in chapter 15.
• 10:12
  Next, a trial of stocks in 19 and 20, a trial by arrest in chapter 26, a trial by challenge in 28, a trial by destruction in chapter 36, a trial by violence and imprisonment in 37, and a trial
• 10:28
  of starvation in 38.
• 10:30
  A trial by chains in 40, and a trial by rejection in 42 and 43.
• 10:35
  This is a difficult list, but it's also evidence that God spared Jeremiah many times from death.
• 10:41
  He reminds me of the Apostle Paul in this way The New Testament preacher often lived to preach another day.
• 10:46
  Though he endured much for the Lord, he regretted none of it.
• 10:50
  Paul got to see a lot more fruit in his ministry than Jeremiah did, but I'm confident that despite the trials and tribulation that each of these men faced, neither regretted their service to the King, whose name is the
• 11:02
  Lord of Hosts.
• 11:03
  To learn a little bit more about Jeremiah's death, I referred to gotquestions.com.
• 11:08
  It's a website I found to be really biblically faithful Regarding Jeremiah's death, they write, After the Babylonians carried Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar gave orders not to harm Jeremiah.
• 11:19
  The prophet was released and allowed to go to Mizpah.
• 11:21
  Our last glimpse of Jeremiah in scripture is when he is forcibly taken by a band of Jewish rebels who left Judah to live in Egypt."
• 11:29
  According to the early church father Tertullian, the Jews stoned Jeremiah to death in Daphne, Egypt, jeremiah's crime was telling them truths that they did not want to hear.
• 11:40
  The tradition of Jeremiah's martyrdom is backed by other first century extra-biblical writings, including Jerome.
• 11:46
  In Hebrews 11:37, when we read, "Some died by stoning," it's quite possibly an allusion to Jeremiah's death Yet if this was the end of God's faithful prophet Jeremiah, we know that his eternity was and is filled with an
• 12:00
  abundance of rewards You may also wonder how the prophet Isaiah died.
• 12:04
  Scripture didn't tell us about his death either, but tradition says that he was martyred by wicked King Manasseh.
• 12:10
  he was placed in the hollow of a tree trunk and sawn, and sawed in two.
• 12:15
  it's believed that the Hebrews reference to some being sawn in half, that it refers to Isaiah.
• 12:20
  In chapter 52, we encounter yet another telling of the fall of Jerusalem We can grieve when God's people's lives are cut short and when places of worship come to ruin because we grieve with hope.
• 12:33
  Heavenly Father, We thank You that You, our Redeemer, are strong.
• 12:37
  No bail can be set upon us that You have not paid.
• 12:41
  Thank You that we are no longer captive to the bondage of our sin, and that we are no longer declared guilty for an eternal punishment and separation from You.
• 12:49
  We also rejoice that we can be patient because You are not only faithful to redeem, You are faithful to judge.
• 12:57
  Help us to be patient when we are wronged and mistreated we pray that we could trust that vengeance is yours and honor you in that we are not to return evil for evil We pray we would have a
• 13:08
  deep trust that vengeance is yours It's something we can only accomplish through your Spirit, And we pray that as our kids watch us patiently entrust justice to you, that they would also learn to walk in patience, not allowing
• 13:20
  themselves to be pushovers, but to become peacemakers Thank you, Jesus, that your way is so radically different from the world, and thank you for the joy that we can have as we follow in your footsteps.
• 13:31
  I pray we would be faithful to follow wherever you lead.
• 13:35
  It's in your worthwhile, beautiful name we pray, Jesus.
• 13:38
  Amen