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Burning the Scroll - The Books of Jeremiah & 2 Kings · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. Take thee again another roll, and write
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  Speaker 1: it in all the former words that were in the
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  Speaker 1: first roll, which Jehoakim the king of Judah hath burned.
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  Speaker 1: Jeremiah 36.28 Give me the boldness to speak and proclaim
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  Speaker 1: your truth, even when I face persecution from those who
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  Speaker 1: feel they know better. In the same way that Jeremiah
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  Speaker 1: had the confidence to stand, in the face of opposition.
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  Speaker 1: I thank you that I too possess that same confidence
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  Speaker 1: to stand for what is right and godly, even though
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  Speaker 1: I may be the only one holding fast to your
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  Speaker 1: words of truth. When society seeks to silence my words
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  Speaker 1: and actions, when those in power look to burn and
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  Speaker 1: destroy your truths, I thank you that your word and
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  Speaker 1: your decrees are eternal and indestructible. Whereas others fold under
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  Speaker 1: the pressure of the mantle of purpose, I will endure,
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  Speaker 1: because you've anointed me to share your goodness and to
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  Speaker 1: reach the lost in whatever environment I'm in. I declare
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  Speaker 1: that revival is on us and change flows through us.
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  Speaker 1: In Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Burning the Scroll.
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  Speaker 2: In our last story, we learned about the calling of Jeremiah.
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  Speaker 2: He was chosen as a prophet to bring the people
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  Speaker 2: of Judah back to God. Jeremiah proclaimed the word of
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  Speaker 2: God in the city streets and in front of the temple.
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  Speaker 2: Much of his words fell on deaf ears. Other words
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  Speaker 2: fell on angry ears. And Jeremiah was forced to feel
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  Speaker 2: the blunt force of people's clubs and fists. Now we
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  Speaker 2: learn about the word of Jeremiah being recorded into a scroll,
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  Speaker 2: and the word of God spreading for more people to hear. However,
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  Speaker 2: whenever truth is proclaimed, there are those in power who
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  Speaker 2: desire to repress it. Inspired by the book of Jeremiah
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  Speaker 2: and 2 Kings.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, this is the Bible in a Year podcast, and
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  Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham. In our last episode, we heard of
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  Speaker 3: Jeremiah's call to be God's voice to the people of Judah.
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  Speaker 3: Speaking God's truth can be lonely and often dangerous. But
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  Speaker 3: Jeremiah was a man of courage. And even when he
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  Speaker 3: was weary and tired, he still maintained the ministry and
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  Speaker 3: the mission that God had given him. Today, we'll hear
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  Speaker 3: more of Jeremiah's life and ministry as he proclaimed the
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  Speaker 3: Word of God. His words will be recorded onto a
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  Speaker 3: scroll preserved for future generations. But as we've already seen,
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  Speaker 3: Jeremiah would face anger and hatred. And there would be
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  Speaker 3: those trying to silence his voice and the voice of God.
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  Speaker 3: So let's listen to the reading of God's word now.
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  Speaker 2: The righteous King Josiah had passed to be with his
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  Speaker 2: father David. With him, the hope for a repentant Judah
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  Speaker 2: grew dim. Jeremiah wasted no time. Josiah's death would set
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  Speaker 2: the north in motion, and it was only a matter
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  Speaker 2: of time before Babylon descended upon God's peoples. Jeremiah proclaimed
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  Speaker 2: God's call to repentance with urgency. He stood in the
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  Speaker 2: court of the Lord's house and spoke to all the cities.
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  Speaker 2: He waved his hands and raised his voice, shouting for
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  Speaker 2: all to turn from their ways and come back to
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  Speaker 2: God before it was too late. God wanted to give
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  Speaker 2: Judah every possible chance to turn away from evil. Josiah
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  Speaker 2: did his best to remove all the idols from the nation,
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  Speaker 2: but he could not change their hearts. Only they could
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  Speaker 2: personally choose to worship and love the Lord. Despite Jeremiah's
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  Speaker 2: best efforts, the Lord's warnings were not received with gladness.
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  Speaker 2: In fact, Jeremiah was often met with incredible disdain, especially
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  Speaker 2: from the priests. One day, Jeremiah was finishing his sermon
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  Speaker 2: in front of a large crowd calling for repentance. In
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  Speaker 2: the middle of his proclamation, Jeremiah saw a flurry of
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  Speaker 2: temple guards come after him. Jeremiah tried to turn away,
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  Speaker 2: but one of them grabbed him by the ankles.' You
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  Speaker 2: shall die!' the priests yelled.' You speak as God, saying
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  Speaker 2: that we will be destroyed. Who has given you the right?'
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  Speaker 2: The priests were so busy focusing on their damaged egos
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  Speaker 2: that they could not hear what Jeremiah was trying to
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  Speaker 2: tell them. They detained him, and a large crowd gathered
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  Speaker 2: in the courtyard of the temple to watch. When the
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  Speaker 2: king's judges and officials heard about the commotion near the
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  Speaker 2: temple and came down to settle the matter, This man
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  Speaker 2: deserves to die, the priests spat. You have heard it yourself,
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  Speaker 2: he proclaims destruction against Judah. The officials looked at Jeremiah
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  Speaker 2: and gestured for him to defend himself. The temple guards
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  Speaker 2: let go of him and Jeremiah spoke again, saying, I
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  Speaker 2: say nothing that has not been asked of me by
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  Speaker 2: God himself. Mend your relationship with him and he will relent.
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  Speaker 2: He is kind and willing to spare us if we
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  Speaker 2: simply turn back to him. Jeremiah paused, looking at their
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  Speaker 2: blank stares. He held up his hands and gestured for chains.
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  Speaker 2: But if you truly see me as a threat, go
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  Speaker 2: ahead and detain me. Do what seems good to you,
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  Speaker 2: but know that you would be shedding the blood of
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  Speaker 2: an innocent man. The officials mumbled amongst themselves. Jeremiah looked
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  Speaker 2: at them and then back to the priests. It was tense,
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  Speaker 2: and Jeremiah did not know what would happen next. It
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  Speaker 2: is clear, one of the officials began, that this man
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  Speaker 2: does not deserve to die. He clearly speaks for the Lord,
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  Speaker 2: as did our King Josiah before him. Jeremiah released a
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  Speaker 2: sigh of relief. He was more pleased that the people
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  Speaker 2: were finally beginning to understand him. Time had passed, and
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  Speaker 2: Jeremiah could see a small revival blossoming. However, Jeremiah could
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  Speaker 2: not shake the feeling that what the Lord was telling
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  Speaker 2: him was for the future generations as well as the current.
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  Speaker 2: So the Lord prompted his heart and told him to
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  Speaker 2: write down all that he had told him. God's words
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  Speaker 2: to Jeremiah would serve as a compass and comfort to
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  Speaker 2: the captive people of Judah in the years to come.
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  Speaker 2: So Jeremiah summoned Baruch, a trusted friend and scribe. Together
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  Speaker 2: they wrote down all the Lord had shown Jeremiah. All
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  Speaker 2: the warnings and calls for repentance were documented for future
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  Speaker 2: generations to read. I am banned from entering the temple
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  Speaker 2: because of the angered priests, Jeremiah said. You must go
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  Speaker 2: and take this scroll to the people, read it to them,
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  Speaker 2: and pray they turn to God. So Baruch took the
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  Speaker 2: scroll into the temple. Before God and man, he declared
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  Speaker 2: the warnings of Jeremiah. Revival began to blossom even more
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  Speaker 2: as the people listened. A fast was declared for the people,
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  Speaker 2: and the priests began to soften towards the warnings of God.
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  Speaker 2: The word of God began to heal the broken hearts
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  Speaker 2: of Judah. People were beginning to run back to God.
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  Speaker 2: They were hearing the voice of their shepherd as they
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  Speaker 2: once did in the wilderness. However, King Jehoiakim was not
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  Speaker 2: like King Josiah. He was a prideful man. He was
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  Speaker 2: calm and filled with quiet rage. Word came to him
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  Speaker 2: that Baruch was reading the word of God and people
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  Speaker 2: were filling the temple with repentant hearts. His servants went
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  Speaker 2: to retrieve the scroll written by Baruch and Jeremiah. The
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  Speaker 2: servant brought the scroll back to the king. He was
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  Speaker 2: brooding over the fire, watching the coals pop in the fireplace.
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  Speaker 2: Read it to me, the king said impassively. So the
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  Speaker 2: servant began to read Jeremiah's words. They spoke of coming destruction,
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  Speaker 2: past sins, and opportunities for love. The words vexed Jehoiakim.
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  Speaker 2: He gestured for the servant to hand him the scroll.
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  Speaker 2: Each page after it was read was tossed into the fire.
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  Speaker 2: One by one, the word of God was burnt. Little
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  Speaker 2: did Jehoiakim know the word of God is eternal and unwavering.
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  Speaker 2: There is no stopping truth. Disaster would befall Jehoiakim. Disaster
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  Speaker 2: unlike anything he could imagine. Jeremiah and Baruch created another
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  Speaker 2: copy of the scroll. It was passed around to the
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  Speaker 2: people and read in the temple. However, the anger of
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  Speaker 2: the king was felt, and people were more reluctant to
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  Speaker 2: receive God's warnings. The blossoming evil retreated for a moment
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  Speaker 2: back into its bud. For now, the people remained distant
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  Speaker 2: from their first love.
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  Speaker 3: As we open God's Word today, Israel's righteous king, Josiah,
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  Speaker 3: has died. God had promised him that the demise of Judah,
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  Speaker 3: their punishment for years of disobedience, would not come about
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  Speaker 3: in his lifetime. But now with the king gone, the
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  Speaker 3: prophet Jeremiah knew that judgment was sure and that time
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  Speaker 3: was short. There was such an urgency to the calling
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  Speaker 3: of this man. God's hand of judgment would not be
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  Speaker 3: stayed forever, and Babylon was growing stronger from the north.
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  Speaker 3: And though punishment would come, God desired to see those
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  Speaker 3: in Judah turn from their ways to worship him once again.
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  Speaker 3: Jeremiah understood the importance of his task, but those to
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  Speaker 3: whom he proclaimed God's word were unmoved. Worse yet, they
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  Speaker 3: were bothered by the mere mention of judgment or calamity
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  Speaker 3: that would come upon Judah. Some of Jeremiah's staunchest opponents
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  Speaker 3: were the priests. Men who were to guide God's people
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  Speaker 3: and instruct them in his ways were content to let
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  Speaker 3: the people do as they wished, telling them only what
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  Speaker 3: they wanted to hear. When those who are supposedly ministers
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  Speaker 3: of God refuse to speak truth, disobedience, disorder, and disaster
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  Speaker 3: are not far behind. This is also true in our
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  Speaker 3: own generation. When ministers of the gospel or ministers of
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  Speaker 3: the church do not speak God's truth, disaster is sure
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  Speaker 3: to follow. The priests were so threatened, their egos so
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  Speaker 3: damaged by Jeremiah that they wanted him killed. and brought
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  Speaker 3: him before the officials, calling for his death. Jeremiah's experience
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  Speaker 3: foreshadowed what God's own son, Jesus, would one day experience.
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  Speaker 3: When he, the way, the truth, and the life came,
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  Speaker 3: they put him on a cross and took his life.
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  Speaker 3: The religious establishment always resists the true work of God.
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  Speaker 3: Facing a martyr's fate, Jeremiah spoke to defend himself. He
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  Speaker 3: hoped some of the people would hear the truth and
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  Speaker 3: turn to God. So in Jeremiah 26, verses 12 through 14,
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  Speaker 3: here is what we read. Then Jeremiah spoke to all
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  Speaker 3: the officials and all the people, saying, The Lord sent
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  Speaker 3: me to prophesy against this house and this city all
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  Speaker 3: the words you have heard. Now therefore mend your ways
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  Speaker 3: and your deeds, and obey the voice of the Lord
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  Speaker 3: your God, and the Lord will relent of the disaster
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  Speaker 3: that he has pronounced against you. But as for me, behold,
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  Speaker 3: I am in your hands. Do with me as seems
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  Speaker 3: good and right to you. Here was a bold, brave,
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  Speaker 3: courageous man, committed and convicted always to obey God, even
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  Speaker 3: if it meant death. With these courageous words, the officials
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  Speaker 3: were convinced that Jeremiah did not actually deserve to die,
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  Speaker 3: that he truly was speaking for God. And slowly hearts
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  Speaker 3: began to warm to the words that Jeremiah the prophet spoke.
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  Speaker 3: These were just small steps in just the beginnings but
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  Speaker 3: there were seeds of renewal and revival. Jeremiah knew that
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  Speaker 3: there were many who needed to hear his words, so
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  Speaker 3: he and his scribe Baruch committed to writing the words
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  Speaker 3: God gave him to speak. These words, the very words
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  Speaker 3: of God, were not just for his generation, but for
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  Speaker 3: those to come. The scroll with God's warnings was taken
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  Speaker 3: into the temple by Baruch because Jeremiah was not welcomed there.
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  Speaker 3: As more people heard the warnings, more hearts began to change.
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  Speaker 3: Even the priests, the religious establishment who had opposed Jeremiah,
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  Speaker 3: began to listen. There was hope for the future. But
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  Speaker 3: Judah's king, Jehoiakim, was filled with pride. He didn't want
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  Speaker 3: to hear condemnation or of a looming disaster or judgment.
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  Speaker 3: He had the scroll brought to him, and as it
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  Speaker 3: was read, he had his servant burn it in hopes
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  Speaker 3: that God's word would be snuffed out. How absolutely foolish
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  Speaker 3: of this king to think that he could restrain or
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  Speaker 3: stop the word of God. God will always find a
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  Speaker 3: way for his word to penetrate every heart. And sometimes
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  Speaker 3: all he needs are a few faithful people. Jeremiah and
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  Speaker 3: Baruch recorded another scroll and it went out to more
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  Speaker 3: people as it was read in the temple. Still, the
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  Speaker 3: king's heart was hard and the people feared this king.
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  Speaker 3: So Judah continued on a path of destruction. We'll hear
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  Speaker 3: about that in our next episode. Dear Lord, may we
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  Speaker 3: always be faithful, like Jeremiah and Baruch, to deliver your word,
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  Speaker 3: that we would always believe your word, live your word,
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  Speaker 3: and speak your word, because your word is truth. May
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  Speaker 3: we be willing to be courageous and confident that your
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  Speaker 3: word will change lives. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you
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  Speaker 3: for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm
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  Speaker 3: Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app
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  Speaker 3: and make prayer a priority along with Bible study in
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  Speaker 3: your life. And if you enjoyed this podcast, be sure
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  Speaker 3: and share it with someone you know because it can
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  Speaker 3: truly make a difference in someone else's life. And if
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  Speaker 3: you want more resources on how you can know the
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  Speaker 3: Bible and live the Christian life, contact me at jackgraham.org.
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  Speaker 3: That's jackgraham.org for many resources that will help you in
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  Speaker 3: your walk with God.