Latest / Dwelling Place: The Bible for Moms / #161. When Following God Costs You + When Obeying God Means Standing Alone | Jeremiah 19-24

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#161. When Following God Costs You + When Obeying God Means Standing Alone | Jeremiah 19-24 · Dwelling Place: The Bible for Moms

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  This is The Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.
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  I'm Stephanie Hickox.
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  As we glean from Jeremiah 19 through 24, we can't help but be reminded that although Jeremiah was speaking to a different people in a different time, God's Word thoroughly applies to our lives and our parenting today.
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  In chapter 19, God gives Jeremiah directions To provide yet another illustration of his impending judgment upon Jerusalem God asks him to buy some pottery and to go to the valley of the son of Hinnom And declare that disaster
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  is coming upon it because they have filled the place With the blood of innocence God said it would become known as the Valley of Slaughter After all of these sacrifices, the valley was full of bones and next God
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  tells Jeremiah to break the pottery, because he is about to break the people and the city in a way that could never be mended God declares that their most beautiful city of Jerusalem was going to become like this
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  valley filled with bones When you think about the most beautiful city in the world, what comes to mind?
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  Is it Paris, New York, Prague, Singapore, Florence?
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  If someone told you that city was soon going to look like a concentration camp, You'd be shocked as well Honestly, it helps me to think about the most wicked influences that we know about in our time It's easy
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  to understand God's judgment when we're talking about the Nazi Party.
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  But the Assyrians, the Phoenicians, the Amorites, the Moabites, and these different groups of Canaanites not only terrorized their enemies, they were sacrificing their own families.
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  So when God says He wants to judge them, we should rejoice in His redemptive justice instead of wonder why God would wipe out a wicked people In chapter 20, we're introduced to Pashur.
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  He's a priest and one of the chief officers in the temple, and he's completely offended by Jeremiah's message It seems odd because as a priest, he should understand that Jeremiah is speaking in line with the judgments God told
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  them would occur in Deuteronomy 28 Then Pashur beat Jeremiah the prophet and put him in the stocks that were in the Upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the Lord.
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  This was a very public punishment, but Jeremiah didn't back down.
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  The next day, when Pashur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, The Lord does not call your name Pashur, but Terror on Every Side."
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  Peshor means freedom.
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  But as God describes the judgment that's going to come upon him, it is terrifying And it doesn't come about only because he persecuted Jeremiah.
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  It's also because he was filling the people with lies, giving them comfort that judgment wasn't coming.
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  A true messenger and priest of the Lord should have encouraged the people to repent.
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  There isn't much of a transition, but all of a sudden in chapter 20, verse 7, we read a prayer of Jeremiah.
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  It seems to be words of lament, which, to quote Pastor Mark Vroegop, is a prayer made in pain that turns to praise.
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  But Jeremiah's lament is a little bit of a rollercoaster.
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  Jeremiah processes a lot of different emotions here, And maybe you'll find him more relatable after I read it O Lord, you have deceived me, and I was deceived.
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  You are stronger than I, and you have prevailed.
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  I have become a laughingstock all the day.
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  Everyone mocks me, For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout violence and destruction.
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  For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long.
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  If I say, 'I will not mention Him or speak anymore in His name,' there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, And I am weary with holding it in and I
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  cannot.
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  For I hear many whispering, Terror is on every side.'"
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  Denounce him, let us denounce him," say all my close friends watching for my fall.
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  Perhaps he will be deceived.
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  Then we can overcome him and take our revenge on him."
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  But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior; therefore, my persecutors will stumble.
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  They will not overcome me.
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  They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed.
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  Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten.
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  O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them.
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  For to you have I commanded my cause.
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  Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers Yes, Jeremiah reached the point of praise.
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  But next, he curses the day that he was born Let's go back to verse seven.
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  I really appreciate the clarity that Charles Dyer and Eva Rydelnik provide to this.
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  The NASB says Jeremiah felt that God had deceived him.
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  However, the word can mean to be enticed, coerced, or persuaded.
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  A more helpful translation would be, You coerced me into being a prophet, and I allowed you to do it.
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  You overcame my resistance and prevailed over me."
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  God didn't trick Jeremiah.
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  In fact, He told them from the beginning that Jeremiah's message would not be successful but after decades of serving the Lord in this way, Jeremiah's thinking, As long as I speak for you, I get persecuted."
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  he even considers the idea of not saying God's name anymore But that thought is fleeting because there is a burning fire in his heart to speak the word of the Lord Even his closest friends are wanting him to
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  be proved wrong And part of me understands this just a little bit because Jeremiah was saying that awful things were going to happen to all of them, but they forgot it was their own sin that was bringing about
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  the judgment Aren't you fascinated by that phrase, "But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior"?
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  This is a fierce description Of a ruthless, mighty hero, champion, and defender.
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  Jeremiah had full confidence that his persecutors would stumble And I delight in how much God reveals His character Throughout His Word.
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  verse 12 we read that God tests the righteous.
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  It's encouraging because if He's testing the righteous, He's giving them an opportunity to prove themselves so He can reward them And at the conclusion, it's possible that when Jeremiah cursed the day he was born, He may have been
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  saying, God, the message you've given me to deliver is a really hard one.
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  I know all that's going to come about, and maybe it's better if I wasn't even born to deliver it But Jeremiah was chosen before he was even born to be God's messenger at the exact right time in the
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  exact kingdom In chapters 21 through 23, God confronts the wickedness of the kings through His prophet.
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  He starts with the current king, Zedekiah But after that, he goes back chronologically through some of the most recent kings God tells Zedekiah, I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and strong arm, in anger and in
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  fury and in great wrath.
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  For I have set my face against this city for harm and not for good," declares the Lord.
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  For harm and not for good.
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  It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire But as is consistent with the Lord, He offers a choice.
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  Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death."
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  God encourages Zedekiah to surrender to the Chaldeans And reveals that will actually be the place of protection not resisting against them If you're confused about why all of a sudden the Bible's talking about Chaldeans when we thought the
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  Babylonians were coming against them, I get it, it's confusing, but scripture uses Babylonians and Chaldeans interchangeably I think you'll appreciate why God is rebuking the kings Jeremiah tells Zechariah, Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of
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  the oppressor him who has been robbed: and do no more wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.
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  And if he repents and stops oppressing the innocent people God says he will use him to continue the throne of David The call to be a Davidic king was to do justice and righteousness and to care for the
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  oppressed.
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  And we see that list once again, the fatherless, the widow and the innocents, and the innocent Because our God is a God of love, following Him should transform our treatment of others But these kings neither love God nor
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  love people Next, listen to the strong rebuke toward Josiah's son Shallum.
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  Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice; who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing, and does not give him his wages; who says, I will build myself a great house, with
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  spacious upper rooms'; who cuts out windows for it, paneling it with cedar and painting it with vermilion; Do you think you are a king because you can eat and sit here?
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  Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness?
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  Then it was well with him.
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  He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well.
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  Is not this to know Me?"
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  declares the Lord.
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  But you have eyes and heart only for your dishonest gain, for shedding innocent blood, and for practicing oppression and violence Shalom was taxing the people and profiting from it.
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  They were frustrated because he was thriving while they were struggling.
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  And meanwhile, he was painting his walls red.
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  That's what vermilion means.
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  This whole description makes me think of Louis XIV of France, who also oppressed his people.
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  They were starving to death while he was throwing lavish balls at Versailles Truly, this son is far from the example his father set I love that line that God says, Is not this to know me?"
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  When we stand up for the cause of the poor and needy That reveals that we know the Lord I was so excited when we were studying Josiah and the reforms he brought about.
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  But it's quite evident the more we read through Jeremiah that Josiah's example wasn't truly embraced in the hearts of the people.
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  God used him for a time But as soon as he was out of the picture, they continued their wicked practices.
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  it seems that his reforms penetrated deeply in his own heart, but not as much so in the people The last king rebuked is Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim and there is a powerful yet extremely negative prophecy written about
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  him.
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  Thus says the Lord, Write this man down as childless, a man who shall not succeed in his days, for none of his offspring shall succeed in sitting on the throne of David and ruling again in Judah."
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  You know what?
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  This king had seven sons, and we know all of their names, but none of them became king.
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  This is an incredibly important prophecy because it says that none of his offspring will sit on the throne of David.
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  This is fascinating because the person who rules after him is Zedekiah, not his son, his uncle and if you look to the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew chapter 1 Coniah, or Jeconiah as he's also known, has a son
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  listed.
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  Now, did this prophecy not come true?
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  What happened?
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  Well, we'll talk more about this later, but Matthew 1 records Joseph, Jesus' earthly guardian.
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  But Jesus did not come through Joseph's bloodline Luke records Mary's genealogy And it's this bloodline through which Jesus comes If he hadn't, he would've been disqualified from sitting on the throne of David We'll get into it more later,
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  but I hope you know by now that genealogies can be exciting too After God rebukes all of these wicked kings for their oppressive deeds, God explains why the coming king is so superior.
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  Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply.
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  I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed.
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  Neither shall any be missing," declares the Lord.
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  Behold, the days are coming declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
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  In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely.
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  And this is the name by which he will be called, The Lord is our righteousness.'
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  Don't miss that that title shows that Jesus will be the righteous king, that he is God, and that he is the Redeemer And after reading about the good shepherd who is to come, rebukes the false prophets that have
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  led their flock astray.
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  They've deceived the people saying all will be well And God is well aware In verse 23, Am I a God at hand," declares the Lord, and not a God far away?
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  Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him?"
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  declares the Lord.
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  Do I not fill heaven and earth?"
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  declares the Lord.
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  I have heard what the prophets have said, who prophesy lies in my name.
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  and to further confirm that surrendering to the Chaldeans will bring about a greater result.
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  In chapter 24, God gives Jeremiah a vision of two baskets of figs We have an abundance of historical confirmation that these events really happened And we can rejoice in a God who sees all things and hears all things,
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  and whose word always comes to pass.
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  there may be times our own kids are tempted to not speak about their faith or speak about the Lord, as Jeremiah himself was tempted.
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  And we can remind them through Jeremiah's example that even when there is persecution, following God will always be worth it And we can train them that knowing God often looks like standing up for the needy and the oppressed
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  Just like the Lord, we're to have eyes to see and we're to bless the needs of those around us And finally, when we read about the false prophets, we're reminded that we're called to be discerning, to not believe
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  all that we hear And this quote in the Moody commentary was so on point the people were rejecting Jeremiah because they didn't like his message.
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  Similarly, people today must guard against the tendency to become attached to a religious leader based solely on outward appearances or their presentation of endlessly inspiring or engaging messages that ignore sin and its consequences.
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  God's people then and now must always evaluate every teacher, message, and book by the contents of Scripture, which means they must spend time digesting God's Word in order to know what it says Heavenly Father We rejoice that you
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  are the Lord our righteousness.
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  though it feels somewhat uncomfortable to call ourselves righteous, we thank you that we can cling to your faithfulness because we know that when you promise something, you will bring it to pass And it's because of this that we
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  can confidently pray that you would help us become more and more like you We pray we would be discerning.
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  Rather than getting caught up in YouTube channels or podcasts with large followings or influencers or platforms Help us to be captivated by you alone.
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  Lord, I pray once again for myself that I would only speak the words that you call me to.
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  And if anything I say is not in line with the truth of your Word, I pray you would give the moms that listen discernment to cast it off We pray you would give our children a deep fire that
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  they must speak your word regardless of persecution or consequences.
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  Help them to be winsome and feel an unshakable sense of justice and compassion for the oppressed Jesus, we thank you that you are perfectly qualified to sit on the throne in the line of David, and we long to
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  see you worshiped for the righteous branch that you are.
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  Amen