Latest / Dwelling Place: The Bible for Moms / #164. Jeremiah 37-10 + Psalm 74, 79 | The Parenting Lesson Hidden in Jerusalem's Destruction (What If Faithful Parenting Doesn't Look Successful?)

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#164. Jeremiah 37-10 + Psalm 74, 79 | The Parenting Lesson Hidden in Jerusalem's Destruction (What If Faithful Parenting Doesn't Look Successful?) · Dwelling Place: The Bible for Moms

• 0:00
  Steph: This is the Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.
• 0:02
  Steph: I'm Stephanie Hickox, today we encounter the most detailed account of the climax of the judgment of Babylon upon Jerusalem.
• 0:10
  Steph: In Jeremiah 37 through 40 and Psalms 74 and 79, we'll read vivid depictions of what this historical event actually entailed I don't know about you, but to me it feels that God has been warning about this forever.
• 0:23
  Steph: And even if we didn't include the other prophets, Jeremiah has been warning about it for decades.
• 0:28
  Steph: About five, in fact.
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  Steph: It doesn't seem to me that the people should be surprised, And yet here the moment is.
• 0:34
  Steph: With all of the opportunities they had for repentance, they have chosen this.
• 0:39
  Steph: It reminds me of a time when one of my sons said that all he wanted for his birthday was an iPhone.
• 0:44
  Steph: Of course, I understood why he thought it was so cool.
• 0:46
  Steph: I prayed about it and read a lot of books on the topic, some of which I read for our Again podcast, and some I read just because I want to have an understanding of how our culture is changing.
• 0:55
  Steph: I was also watching my son's character and how he was handling the availability of technology.
• 1:00
  Steph: And months before his birthday, I pulled him aside and said, I want you to know I've prayerfully considered it, and I don't feel comfortable giving you an iPhone."
• 1:08
  Steph: He wasn't happy with me, but I could tell he still wanted to change my mind.
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  Steph: I waited a while, pulled him aside again, and explained my reasoning Which of course was based upon some of his own decisions.
• 1:18
  Steph: And I reiterated I did not feel comfortable giving him an iPhone yet.
• 1:21
  Steph: As his birthday approached, I tried to be very clear, took him shopping for other things, and asked for as many other requests as possible.
• 1:29
  Steph: I reminded him yet again, I don't want you to be disappointed, but you're not getting an iPhone this year."
• 1:34
  Steph: Still, on the day of his birthday, after he opened up all of his presents, he was polite, but he confessed to me that deep down he was disappointed, and he had hoped I would change my mind This is
• 1:45
  Steph: a simplistic example but it reminded me of how sometimes when we don't wanna believe bad news, we can be blind to it Or if we don't like what the messenger delivers We can walk in denial.
• 1:56
  Steph: in chapter 37, once again, we encounter Zedekiah, who is the last king of the southern kingdom of Judah.
• 2:02
  Steph: That's kind of easy to remember, right?
• 2:03
  Steph: If you think that Z is the last letter of the alphabet, and he is the only king with a Z name in the southern kingdom, not if you look at the northern kingdom, too.
• 2:11
  Steph: Of paramount importance, 37:2 tells us, "But neither he nor his servants, nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet."
• 2:23
  Steph: So it's interesting that the next verse reads, King Zedekiah sent to Jeremiah the prophet saying, Please pray for us to the Lord our God.'"
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  Steph: at this point, Jeremiah was going in and out among the people and he hadn't yet been put in prison.
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  Steph: And this is a good time to remind you that Jeremiah is not entirely in chronological order.
• 2:40
  Steph: But since Zedekiah is the last king of the southern kingdom, we know this occurs in his 11-year reign, very near the captivity.
• 2:47
  Steph: The Lord tells Jeremiah to remind Zedekiah, Don't be deceived.
• 2:50
  Steph: The Chaldeans are coming against you And just as a reminder, the Chaldeans and the Babylonians were the same people at this time.
• 2:58
  Steph: Heartbreakingly, because Jeremiah was encouraging the people to surrender to Babylon, he's accused of being a traitor.
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  Steph: The officials beat and imprison him But King Zedekiah keeps sending for him secretly, asking if God has any new messages for him.
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  Steph: Jeremiah says, The message is still the same.
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  Steph: You're going to be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon."
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  Steph: And also, what did I do wrong to be put in prison?
• 3:19
  Steph: Zedekiah improves Jeremiah's circumstances But after Jeremiah continues to proclaim that those that stay in Jerusalem will die by sword, famine, or pestilence, this is not a crowd-pleasing message, and he's thrown into a deep cistern, so deep that he
• 3:35
  Steph: had to be let down by ropes.
• 3:36
  Steph: Because there was a drought in the land, we read, And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud."
• 3:44
  Steph: this had to be both a physical and emotional low in Jeremiah's life.
• 3:48
  Steph: I'm sure he felt as disgusting as he was discouraged.
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  Steph: Mercifully, Ebed-Melek, an Ethiopian who was serving in the king's house Asked King Zedekiah for permission to get Jeremiah out.
• 3:59
  Steph: The king grants it and allows to take 30 men out before Jeremiah dies.
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  Steph: He expects that there will be resistance to this On the way they make a wardrobe stop because they need old rags to put around the ropes so that Jeremiah isn't injured As he's pulled up King Zedekiah once again
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  Steph: sends for the prophet, and once again
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  Jeremiah recounts,
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  Steph: to the king, Surrender to the king of Babylon.
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  Steph: That's the best it can go for you."
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  Steph: Zedekiah basically confesses he's afraid of how his own people would handle that and wonders if they would punish him.
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  Steph: And then finally, in Jeremiah 39, we reach the fall of Jerusalem Scripture specifically tells us the year and the month because of the historical and religious significance of this moment And we read that the officials of the king
• 4:43
  Steph: of Babylon come in through the gate.
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  Steph: When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled, going out of the city at night by way of the king's garden through the gate between the two walls.
• 4:54
  Steph: And they went toward the Arabah.
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  Steph: but the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho.
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  Steph: And when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him.
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  Steph: The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes.
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  Steph: and the king of Babylon, slaughtered All the nobles of Judah.
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  Steph: He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon.
• 5:20
  Steph: The Chaldeans burned the king's house and the house of the people and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
• 5:27
  Steph: Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city.
• 5:33
  Steph: Those who had deserted to him and the people who remained, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left in the land of Judah.
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  Steph: Some of the poor people who owned nothing and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
• 5:44
  Steph: Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, gave command through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying, Take him, look after him well, and do him no harm, but deal with him as he tells you.
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  Steph: So Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard And Rab-saris, Nergal-sarzer, the Rab-mag, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon sent and took Jeremiah from the court of the guard.
• 6:05
  Steph: They Entrusted him to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, that he should take him home.
• 6:09
  Steph: So he lived among the people.
• 6:11
  Steph: The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard: Go and stay at Abed-melech the Ethiopian.
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  Steph: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day.
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  Steph: But I will deliver you on that day,' declares the Lord, 'and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid.
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  Steph: For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have put your trust in me,' declares the Lord."
• 6:43
  Steph: Though Zedekiah tried to flee, the Chaldeans caught up to him and slaughtered his sons before his very eyes.
• 6:50
  Steph: As if that wasn't awful enough, They gouged out his eyes, so the very last thing that he saw was the death of his children.
• 6:57
  Steph: He was then carried away to Babylon while Jeremiah was allowed to stay and be protected.
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  Steph: if we converted this military attack to our modern-day calendar, it occurred from January 15th of 598 BC to August 14th of 586 BC.
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  Steph: This is a 30-month-long siege to break down the walls of Jerusalem and take it over I'm reminded of the chapters and chapters we read that described the glory of the tabernacle and of Solomon's temple And God allows all
• 7:24
  Steph: of that beauty to be destroyed and overtaken I recall years ago watching the Notre Dame as it had caught fire.
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  Steph: I was grieved to see such a beautiful architectural and religious landmark be destroyed.
• 7:35
  Steph: but Jerusalem is the city God chose to put His name.
• 7:38
  Steph: I find it incredible that ultimately God allowed temples to be destroyed, furnishings to be taken away, and even the Ark of the Covenant to be hidden Because the new covenant that God would institute had everything to do with
• 7:50
  Steph: God finding his dwelling place in our hearts and no longer requiring a building.
• 7:55
  Steph: but it would be hundreds of years from this point before Christ tore the veil and ushered in the new era.
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  Steph: There are a couple psalms that were evidently penned at this time because of their description of the destruction of Jerusalem.
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  Steph: Psalm seventy-four begins, O Lord, why do you cast us off forever?
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  Steph: Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?"
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  Steph: And in verse three, The enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary.
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  Steph: Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place.
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  Steph: set up their own signs for signs.
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  Steph: They set your sanctuary on fire.
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  Steph: they profaned the dwelling place of your name, bringing it down to the ground."
• 8:29
  Steph: Psalm seventy-nine is similar.
• 8:31
  Steph: O God, the nations have come into your inheritance.
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  Steph: They have defiled your holy temple.
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  Steph: They have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
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  Steph: They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the heavens for food, the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.
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  Steph: They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.
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  Steph: We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and defiled by those around us.
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  Steph: How long, O Lord?
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  Steph: Will you be angry forever?
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  Steph: Will your jealousy burn like fire?
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  Steph: Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call upon your name.
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  Steph: For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation."
• 9:09
  Steph: Do not remember against us our former iniquities.
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  Steph: Let your compassion come speedily to us, for we are brought very low.
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  Steph: Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name.
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  Steph: Deliver us and atone for our sins for your namesake.
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  Steph: Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?"
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  Steph: Let the avenging of the outpouring blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes.
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  Steph: And the psalmist finishes, But we, your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever.
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  Steph: From generation to generation, we recount your praise."
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  Steph: And if he could praise in that moment, then no matter what you and I are going through, we can as well Heavenly Father, we rejoice at the confirmation of the promise of a new covenant, and that you continue
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  Steph: to make a way to make your dwelling place with us We rejoice that the temple building is no longer necessary It's the joy of our lives that you now dwell with us, though we know we have nothing fit
• 10:03
  Steph: for a king, we pray you would fill us more and more with the gratitude of this honor with each passing day.
• 10:09
  Steph: When we continually fall short, may we still press on to meet with you because it's your presence that transforms us We pray for our kids and for the disappointments and devastations that they're sure to encounter on this earth.
• 10:22
  Steph: We ask that in all of it, they would have a deep trust in your purposes and plans, and that they would walk righteously through trials, also drawing near to you.
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  Steph: It's in the name of Jesus, the one who tore the veil that we trust, love, and lift up.
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  Steph: Amen.