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792. Bible Study: Jeremiah 33 (Prophecy about return of Jesus) · Faith by annm2705

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  We are back to the book of Jeremiah and we are on chapter
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  33 today. And the reason why we read
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  Scripture is because all scripture is God breathed and is
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  useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in
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  righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly
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  equipped for every good work. That's found in Second Timothy
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  chapter 3, verses 16 and 17. The other reason that's
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  important to read the Word every day is that, as Romans 10/17
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  says, consequently, faith comes from hearing the message and the
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  message is heard through the Word about Christ.
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  Now not every day that we do this do we talk about Christ
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  because we are in books that were written in the BC era and
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  this is an exception. Jesus is mentioned in this.
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  There is a future prophecy about Jesus that is in this chapter.
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  So let's get started. Dear Lord please be with us as
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  we read through this chapter. Please open eyes and ears to
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  hear what you have to say. We ask this in Jesus name.
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  So this is called the promise of restoration.
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  While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the
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  guard, the word of the Lord came to him a second time.
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  So Jeremiah is hearing from the Lord fairly regularly, it seems.
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  This is what the Lord says. He who made the earth, the Lord
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  who formed it and established it.
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  The Lord is his name call to me and I will answer you and tell
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  you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
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  Isn't that interesting? I want to stop for a minute on
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  that. And you know, is this something
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  that God is speaking to, you know, exclusively saying this to
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  Jeremiah? He is certainly is.
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  I mean, he's giving the word to Jeremiah.
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  But sometimes when God speaks to people, he says truths that are
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  applicable to everyone. And I wonder about this, like if
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  we call on God, it's, you know, this is what he he said to
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  Jeremiah. He said, I will answer you and
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  tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
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  I find it very interesting. And I do want to share a little
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  bit of a personal experience that I had in my early moments
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  of seeking God. It was after I read the Bible,
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  actually, it was this all started like the night of my
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  baptism and I started having dreams and I started having
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  dreams with the name of Jesus in my dreams.
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  I was not a religious person at all before I read the Bible and
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  I wouldn't even call myself religious now.
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  I would say that I have a passion for Christ and I'm
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  getting to know God over time through scripture and learning
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  more and more each day. But as far as you know, someone
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  who you know be would be recognized as somebody highly
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  involved in a church or anything.
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  I'm not that and I'm I'm not that.
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  This is personal to me. And so anyway, what happened on
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  my, you know, about these dreams?
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  That's, I guess that's why I wanted to mention those things
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  because the dreams that I started having with Jesus in it
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  are not something that I you because I do these podcasts.
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  People may think I'm really religious, but I'm not.
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  I'm just seeking God. I'm just a normal regular person
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  that wanted to know what's in the Bible because it it
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  concerned me that I didn't know what was in here and that there
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  was important information. And, and I was right about that.
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  Maybe God was, you know, inspiring me to you better read
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  the Bible because there's things in there that are really
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  important for you. But what for whatever reason, I
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  did actually pick up the Bible and read it in a relatively
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  quick time frame. It was in 2019 from August
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  through October, I read the entire Bible and I spent like
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  every waking moment listening to it or reading it or something.
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  So, and I also was doing a lot of driving at that time.
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  So I would listen to all as I was driving and that enabled me
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  to get through it so quickly. But I did it kind of like fast.
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  I just wanted to get through it as quickly as possible so I
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  could understand what was covered in it.
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  But in these dreams, besides the name of Jesus, there were things
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  that would happen in my dreams that then would happen in my
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  real life. Only a scene of something, not
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  the whole entire dream, but just like a segment or something I
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  would see in my dream. And, and there were also
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  scriptures that would come up in my dreams.
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  And there were also details about certain events that are in
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  the Bible that would come up in in my dreams.
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  And I didn't really know those things.
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  So when I it would happen in my dream, then I would start
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  searching the Bible for it and then I would find it in the
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  Bible. And I was like, wow, that was in
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  my dream. So that's why I paused on this
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  statement. And I wonder if this is true
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  because I was really seeking the Lord.
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  I still AM. And it says here that you know
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  that he's talking to Jeremiah, though.
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  Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and
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  unsearchable things you do not know.
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  So I, I do believe that when we are truly seeking God that
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  things like this will come up. We don't know what they are or
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  when they will come up, but in my experience, I've had it.
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  So I encourage people to seek God because he, if he did it for
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  me, he could do it for anyone. And we see historically that he
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  did it for Jeremiah and there's others too.
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  So anyway, I'll get back to Scripture now, for this is what
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  the Lord the God of Israel says about the houses in the city and
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  the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used
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  again, the siege to be used against the siege ramps and the
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  sword in the fight with the Babylonians.
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  They will be filled with dead bodies of the people I will slay
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  in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from the
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  city because of all its wickedness.
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  This is a terrible judgement. Can you imagine being Jeremiah
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  and hearing this about your community, about your city that
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  you live in, and hearing what God has planned?
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  I mean, he already told them that if they stayed in the city
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  they were going to, they were they would die there by various
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  means. But if they went to Babylon and
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  they were, you know, basically peacefully surrendered and go,
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  not surrendered, but peacefully go with them, they would be OK.
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  They would keep their lives. So this would be a huge weight
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  to bear and to hear this from God.
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  And he knows, he knows God. So he knows that if God says
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  something, it's going to happen. It continues what the Lord said.
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  Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it.
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  I will heal my people and I will let them enjoy abundant peace
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  and security. I will bring Judah and Israel
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  back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were
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  before. I will cleanse them from all the
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  sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their
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  sins of rebellion against me. Look at how merciful God is.
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  Like God's like this is going to happen.
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  It's going to be bad, but there's going to be a
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  restoration. And you know, this is, you know,
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  there is, I think judgment really is it's not, you know, a
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  a temporary moment where God is angry with somebody, so he's
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  going to act out against it. No, it's a consequence of sin
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  because it says like the wages of sin is death.
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  So judgment or hard times or tribulation or troubles or
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  whatever you call it that from God is there's a purpose behind
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  it. And the purpose is to get people
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  to repent, to turn back to God when the pressure comes up.
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  A lot of people come to God when they're at their lowest points
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  in life. And anyway, God is, you know, I,
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  I don't, I don't believe that this comes from a place that we
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  can relate to as far as if somebody makes us angry, it's
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  not just to vent his frustration.
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  It's because God is just and he has laws that are established.
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  And when people break those laws and he keeps warning them and
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  they don't listen, eventually there's a consequence for sin.
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  And that's going to come upon every single person on this
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  earth is that we are going to have a consequence for the sins
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  that we've done, the rebellion that we've done.
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  God is very merciful, and He relents with his punishment
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  historically when people turn to him in repentance and then
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  choose not to do it again. But we all need the help of the
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  Holy Spirit to make progress like that.
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  Anyway, going back as to the scripture, God is showing his
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  mercy here. He's he's saying, you know, this
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  is going to this going to be a tough time, but there's
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  something better to come. Like he's giving that hope at
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  the same time that he's delivering this information
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  about what judgments going to come upon.
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  So at verse 9, then this city will bring me renown, joy,
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  praise and honor before all the nations on earth that hear of
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  the good things I do for it. And they will be in awe and will
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  tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide
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  for it. Now, right now in the world,
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  people are hoping for this. There's been a lot of war, a lot
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  of fighting, and there is a big push for expanded peace,
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  expanded security due to it. But this is false peace that
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  will come because Jesus said that wars and rumors of wars
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  will continue until the end, the end of the age, and until he
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  returns. We are not going to have true
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  peace until the Messiah, until Jesus returns once again.
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  And as we read further, we will see that this peace and
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  security, this peace and prosperity, abundant prosperity
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  and peace is not for it. You know it.
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  There are things that are talked about in this chapter that did
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  not have not happened to Israel yet.
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  So this is still a future prophecy that remains
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  unfulfilled. And we know that when Jesus
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  comes back, that's when it's going to happen.
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  Other prophets talk about animals lying down next to one
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  another like they're seem like they're no longer predators and
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  the lion and the lamb together. So and, and in more animals that
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  are talked about that are in peace and are not dangerous
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  anymore. So there's I can't wait till
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  that time when Jesus restores things to that level.
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  Let's go to verse 10. This is what the Lord says, you
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  say about this place. It is a desolate waste without
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  people or animals. Yet in the towns of Judah and
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  the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by
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  neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more
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  the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and
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  bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings
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  to the House of the Lord, saying, Give thanks to the Lord
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  Almighty, for the Lord is good, His love endures forever, for I
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  will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before, says
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  the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty
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  says. In this place, desolate and
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  without people or animals in all its towns, there will again be
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  pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks.
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  In the towns of the Hill Country of the western foothills and in
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  the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around
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  Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flock will again pass
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  under the hand of the one who counts them, says the Lord.
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  The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill
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  the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
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  I believe this is Jesus's return in those days, and at that time
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  I will make a righteous branch sprout from David's line.
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  Jesus is a descendant of David's line, and he's from the tribe of
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  Judah. And there's a whole ancestry
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  that is in the Gospels that shows how Jesus descended from
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  the tribe of Judah, which is where David came from.
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  So he will do what is just and right in the land in those days.
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  Judah will be saved. So see, until this righteous
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  branch from David's line does what is just and right in the
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  land in those days, Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will
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  lived in safety. So see this doesn't happen until
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  the righteous branch or Jesus comes.
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  This is the name by which he will be called the Lord, our
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  righteous Savior. Who does that define Jesus?
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  And and because like Savior, like first of all, the Lord, I
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  mean, this is our, you know, giving him those the godly
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  attribute, the Lord, our righteous Savior.
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  So what is he saving people from eternal damnation.
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  He saved everyone by his death and resurrection on the cross.
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  He defeated death at that point because he rose again by the
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  power of the Holy Spirit, and he is living today.
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  He is living right now. He is living in the heavenly
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  realms currently. But he will return because
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  that's what prophecy says, that he will come back someday and he
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  will reign from Jerusalem as king.
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  Israel will once again have a king, in fact, the whole world.
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  He will rule the entire world when he comes back.
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  There's going to be justice for everything, like there's going
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  to be the wrath of God is going to come when he returns.
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  But those who are prepared, who are not in rebellion to Jesus
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  will be very thankful when Jesus comes because he will gather
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  those people. Now I'll continue on at verse 12
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  or 17, for this is what the Lord says.
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  David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of
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  Israel, nor will the Levitical priests ever fail to have a man
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  to stand before me, continually to offer burnt offerings, to
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  burn grain offerings, and to present sacrifices.
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  The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.
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  This is what the Lord says. If you can break my covenant
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  with the day and my covenant with the night so that the day
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  and the night no longer come at their appointed time, then my
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  covenant with David and my servant with the covenant with
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  David my servant and my covenant with the Levites who are the
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  priest ministering before me, can be broken and David will no
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  longer have a descendant to reign on his throne.
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  I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites
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  who minister before me as countless as the stars in the
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  sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.
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  So unless, you know, the sun doesn't rise and the night
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  doesn't happen as long as there's day and night, then this
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  covenant remains. The covenant God has remains.
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  The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.
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  Have you not noticed that these people are saying the Lord has
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  rejected the two kingdoms he chose?
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  I'm presuming that they're talking about the northern
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  Kingdom called Israel, which was 10 tribes, and the southern
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  Kingdom called Judah which were two tribes.
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  So they despise my people and no longer regard them as a nation.
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  The Jews are always have people that don't like them even today.
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  I mean look at the anti-Semitism that's rising among so many
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  people, so many countries. I mean, this is just you know
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  and you know, this is this is what the Bible says is going to
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  happen. God has to correct all of this.
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  This is what the Lord says. If I have not made my covenant
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  with the day and the night, established the laws of heaven
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  and earth, then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and
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  David my servant, and will not choose one of his sons to rule
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  over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
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  So again, he, the Lord is reaffirming who this promise is
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  with and it's Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
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  So he gives that this covenant and of course, God made the
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  laws. He established the laws and he
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  created day and night. So he's kind of just saying, you
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  know, this is how it's going to be.
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  This is not going to go away. My covenant is solid.
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  And he says for I will restore their fortunes and have
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  compassion on them. And that's the end of chapter
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  34. So I'm going to read the
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  questions and answers for this chapter and then wrap it up.
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  What was behind this amplified description of God?
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  The pronouncements that were to follow were weighty and serious,
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  and the Lord underscored their accuracy and dependability by
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  attaching His name to them. What was about to be declared
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  would come about, for the Creator and Sustainer of all
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  things had signed His name to it.
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  How did shepherds count their flocks under the hand shepherds
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  in this geographic region took? Stood at the entrance of
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  whatever temporary fold they created to protect their sheep
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  for the night and counted their sheep as they entered.
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  The sheep entered into the fold by passing under the shepherd's
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  rod or hand, which made it possible to count them at night.
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  This was done for two reasons. Number one, to account for all
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  the sheep and #2 to ensure that no predators entered the fold.
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  What kind of safety was offered to the city of Jerusalem?
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  This promise, like others in Jeremiah, came with conditions.
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  It was offered to those who would allow the righteous branch
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  to rule over them. This was a prophecy of a future
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  Messiah whose Kingdom would not be of this earth.
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  He would offer spiritual safety to all those who whose hearts
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  belonged to Him. Why call a city the Lord, our
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  righteous say Savior? In Jeremiah's culture, names
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  were used to describe the characteristics of a person, not
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  just to label or identify a person.
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  The prophecy tells us of a time when a righteous Jerusalem will
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  honor the name of the Lord by mirroring his characteristics.
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  How could there be a countless number of ministering Levites?
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  The Old Testament priesthood called for priests to stand as
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  intermediaries between God and the people.
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  But the New Testament introduced a new priesthood, one in which
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  believers are priests. That's found in First Peter
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  chapter 2, verse 9. Every believer may directly
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  enter the presence of God because Jesus, the great high
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  Priest found in Hebrews chapter 4, verses 14 through 16, has
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  opened the way believers enjoy a better priesthood than that
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  known by the Old Testament priest.
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  For believers can enjoy an intimate and personal
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  relationship with God. And that concludes Chapter 33.