Latest / Journey Elgin / Journey Through Scripture- Jer 46, 37, 30-3, 37
Transcript
- Phillip Thomas: All right, it's good to see you today. Welcome to our journey through scripture. My name is Philip Thomas, pastor of Journey here in Elgin, and we're excited to continue our journey through the Old Testament. At this point, we're moving chronologically through the Bible. ⁓ So if you remember, we're at that place where the exile has begun. So we've had Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon has come and removed... the first wave of exiles, including Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel. We know that ⁓ Ezekiel has been taken over there as well. And then you have Jeremiah, who is still back in Jerusalem with King Zedekiah. And what's happening here, we're going to be first looking at Jeremiah 46. We're going to kind of go through quite a few different chapters from Jeremiah. But starting off the last part of Jeremiah 46, there's kind of a, so the exile had happened the first wave, then King Zedekiah kind of started to rebel again. And so the Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians came and put Jerusalem under siege, which is just a brutal time. It was a horrible time for the people, but ⁓ King Zedekiah would not give up. Even though Jeremiah was telling him, this is what's going to happen. If you want to follow God, you should give up, but Zedekiah would not. so Jeremiah chapter 46 talks about Egypt actually comes up to kind of try to help. And so it relieves the pressure for just a little bit, but not very long. ⁓ It definitely doesn't ⁓ push out Nebuchadnezzar, but it does... give them a little bit of relief. says, Jeremiah chapter 46, starting in verse 13, says, word of the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet how Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, would come and strike the land of Egypt. Verse 17 says, they cried there, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is but a noise. He is passed by the appointed time. So there were some that were kind of getting excited, maybe Egypt is going to bail us out, right? And Jeremiah as he many times did, kind of threw cold water on that and said, no, he's going to be destroyed too. I love this, verse 20, Egypt is a very pretty heifer, but destruction comes. It comes from the north, talking about Babylon. Also, her mercenaries are in her midst, are like fat bulls, for they are also turned back. They have fled away together. They did not stand for the day of their calamity had come upon them. So again, Egypt comes and tries to help but to no avail. Then we see that God does remind the people through Jeremiah, verse 27, do not fear, do not be dismayed, O Israel, for behold, I will save you from afar and your offspring for the land of their captivity. Verse 28, do not fear. says the Lord, I am with you, for I will make complete end of all the nations to which I have driven you, but I will not make a complete end of you. I will rightly correct you, for I will not leave you wholly unpunished." Right? So again, this is reminder, no, this is, you knew this was coming and I'm going to do it. ⁓ You know, God is going to follow through with His punishment, even though it's going to be hard. ⁓ So during this kind of ⁓ You have Jeremiah ⁓ chapter 37 and then chapters 30 to 33. ⁓ And a few things happen here. And it's kind of interesting because Jeremiah's tone is going to change a little bit. And you have ⁓ Zedekiah that gets hopeful. ⁓ It talks about that in Jeremiah chapter 37. But Jeremiah just continues to give the same old message. ⁓ Jeremiah ends up being ⁓ thrown in prison. So now the people don't want to hear his message. The king doesn't want him to speak. ⁓ And I thought one thing that was interesting, and this kind of repeats itself in chapters 30 through ⁓ 33 as well, it says, Verse 16, when Jeremiah entered the dungeon in the cells, Jeremiah had remained there many days, Zedekiah the king sent and took him out. The king asked him secretly in his house and said, Is there any word from the Lord? And Jeremiah said, There is. Then he said, You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. I love how that conversation must have gone. The king has put Jeremiah in prison so that he couldn't Because the king is telling the people, we're going to stand firm and we're going to repel this invasion. he's using Egypt coming up as proof that everything may be okay. And so he goes and he's hoping that Jeremiah may have a different message for him. And Jeremiah just gets right to the point. Now you're going to be delivered into the hand of the Babylonians. You can hit in verse... ⁓ I keep saying verse, sorry, chapter. In chapter 30 through 33, see Jeremiah's demeanor change drastically. It's kind of interesting. know, Jeremiah throughout is woe and lamentation, right? But there's always that look forward. And these few chapters really talk about that look forward as to what is coming. Chapter 30 talks about the restoration of Israel and of Judah. It says there in verse 5, we have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask now and see whether a man is ever in labor with child. So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins? Right? So that's where they have been. That's what has been going. But then in verse 8, for it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord of Hosts. that I will break his yoke from your neck and will burst your bonds. Foreigners shall no more enslave them, but they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. Therefore do not fear, says the Lord, nor be dismayed, Israel, for behold, I will save you from afar and your seed from the land of their captivity." So this look forward is, ⁓ but you're going through this very difficult time now, but I will... restore you. Verse 15, it says, why do you cry about your affliction? This is ⁓ pretty interesting. Why do you cry about your affliction? Your sorrow is incurable, right? It's kind of like, you know what? This is the result. This is the consequence. It's not denying that they're undergoing affliction. They're under the siege and everything like that. It's not denying that, but why are you crying about it? That sorrow is incurable. your crying isn't going to change that. It says, because of the multitude of your iniquities, because your sins have increased, I have done these things to you. This is God being a stern, good parent. He warned, He gave chance after chance after chance, ⁓ but whenever He set the punishment and said, if you cross this line, this is what's going to happen. ⁓ Well, they crossed the line and now they are experiencing that affliction. You continue, you can read through verse 23. This is definitely much, as you read it, you'll see it's definitely more upbeat. Verse 23, behold, the whirlwind of the Lord goes forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind. It will fall violently on the head of the wicked. The fierce anchor of the Lord will not return until he has done it, until he has performed the intents of his heart. In the latter days, you will consider it, right? That nothing is going to stop the Lord and what His plans are and what He has set His mind to. Chapter 31 talks about the remnant of Israel that will be saved. Verse 3 says, The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying, Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness I have drawn you. Again, I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O Virgin of Israel. You shall again be adorned with tambourines, and shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice. You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria." So, just this beautiful poetic language that God still loves them, that He is going to have mercy on them and restore them. As you continue to read that, it'll talk about the future prosperity of Judah. Verse 23, "'Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and the cities when I bring back their captivity. The Lord bless you, O home of justice and mountain of holiness. And there shall dwell in Judah itself and in all the cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul. I have replenished every sorrowful soul. After this, I awoke, looked around and my sleep was sweet to me." That's the most... ecstatic, upbeat thing that Jeremiah has ever said. After this I awoke, I looked around and my sleep was sweet to me. Even Jeremiah deserved to have a good day now and then. ⁓ So it talks about a new covenant that God is going to restore the nation to ⁓ his original intent. right, in chapter 32, ⁓ It's talking about Jeremiah buying a field. Now this is happening while he is in prison. Now when we say prison, it's not like today. He was actually basically put under someone's watch at their home. Now he was in prison. He couldn't go out. He was a prisoner, but he was in someone's home that was watching him. The king was keeping him quiet, as we talked about just a little bit earlier. but his ⁓ family member came to him for him to redeem his land. At that time, wasn't property the way that we see property. Property was guaranteed to the family and it would pass down from the family. It's not like you could go and buy someone else's. It was designed to stay within the family. And so... starting in verse 7 of chapter 32, Behold, Hanamel the son of Shalom, your uncle, came, said, By my field, which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it," talking to Jeremiah. Then Hanamel, my uncle's son, came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the Lord and said to me, Please by my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin, for the right of inheritance is yours. and the redemption is yours, buy it for yourself." Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord, so he bought the field from Hanumel, because the Lord had told him that this was going to happen and to do it. So Jeremiah ⁓ buys the house, the land, redeems it. Verse 15, "'For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.'" Now, As you go through verse 16, starting in verse 16, Jeremiah prays in response to this because imagine being Jeremiah and seeing the landscapes like, why did I just claim this land? Look at all that's going on. Why would I do this? And so he cries out to God, verse 25, says, look at all that has happened. And it says, and then you have said to me, O Lord, buy this field for money and take witnesses. Yet the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans." Right? So he's kind of questioning, this a smart decision? And then God responds to him, starting in verse 26, says, "'Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?' And then he continues on, verse 33, "'And they have turned to me the back and not the face, though I taught them rising up early, teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive my instruction.'" So he's talking again what the people have done. Then again, 42 says, For thus says the Lord, just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them. And the fields will be bought in this land of which you say it is desolate without man or beast. It has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans. Men will buy fields for money, sign deeds and seal them, and will take witness in the land of Benjamin and the places around Jerusalem and the cities of Judah. and in the cities of the mountains, and the cities of the lowland, and the cities of the south. For I will cause their captives to return, says the Lord." So God answers Jeremiah's question by saying, is there anything too hard for me? Is there anything impossible for me? I will return everything to its rightful place. ⁓ Chapter 33 just kind of talks more about the restored nation of how excellent it will be. Verse 6, "'Behold, I will bring health and healing. I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth. And I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return and rebuild those places that I did at first. Then it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them. They shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.'" ⁓ I love down there in verse 11, praise the Lord of hosts for the Lord is good for his mercy endures forever. It says, of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord, for I will cause the captives of the land to return as at first, says the Lord. You know, again, just very encouraging word from the Lord. I'm sure Jeremiah is so glad to be writing this down, to be receiving this word. about how things will eventually work out. Jeremiah chapter 23 kind of repeats some of this about how Judah will be the branch of righteousness. Then Jeremiah chapter 38, so that was 23. Then Jeremiah chapter 38 talks about Jeremiah being thrown into a dungeon. Kind of goes back to that very first that we were looking at at the beginning whenever Zedekiah came and brought Jeremiah out of the dungeon and put him into the court, which was again, the prison court. Well, there was a group of guys that they threw him into the dungeon. says, therefore the princess said to the king, please let this man be put to death for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in the city. in the hands of all the people by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm." Now, this is really interesting. So Jeremiah is speaking truth. It's not the truth that they want to hear. So their rebuttal is that he doesn't care about the people. He just wants to harm them. You know, we kind of see that today, I feel that that's an easy attack. If you don't like what someone says, just say, well, they're just trying to harm people and they don't care about anybody. ⁓ Well, that may not be true. Maybe what they're saying is actually true. So Jeremiah is in the dungeon, but then is removed from the dungeon, but is kept into prison. It says ⁓ verse 14, then Zedekiah, the king sent Jeremiah and had Jeremiah brought to him. He said, I will ask you something, hide nothing from me. Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, if I declare it, You must not put me to death. So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, says, the Lord lives, who made our very souls, I will not put you to death. Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, if you surely surrender to the king of Babylon's princes, then your soul shall live. The city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. But if you do not surrender to the king of Babylon's princes, then the city shall be given to the hands of the Chaldeans. they shall burn it with fire and you shall not escape from their land." And then Zedekiah basically says, well, I'm scared. I don't want to give up. And he ends up holding out and eventually Jerusalem will be burned. All right. So for next time, read Ezekiel chapters 8 through 11. So Ezekiel 8. through 11 and 2 Chronicles 36. It's just a few verses there in 2 Chronicles 36. And yeah, so it will be kind of short that this one 8 through 11. And if you want to start diving into that book. All right. We'll see you.