Is abuse from a human government normal in this world? Was Jeremiah’s persecution a forerunner of Jesus’ mistreatment? Let’s begin in Jeremiah 38.
Which princes heard Jeremiah’s prophecy about surrendering to the Babylonians?
Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah had been telling the people. He had been saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who surrender to the Babylonians will live. Their reward will be life. They will live!’ The Lord also says: ‘The city of Jerusalem will certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’” (Jer 38:1-3 NLT)
Did the princes accuse Jeremiah of being a traitor? What punishment did they give him?
Then the princes said to the king, “Please let this man be put to death, because he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words to them; for this man doesn’t seek the welfare of this people, but harm.” Zedekiah the king said, “Behold, he is in your hand; for the king can’t do anything to oppose you.” Then they took Jeremiah and threw him into the dungeon of Malchijah the king’s son, that was in the court of the guard. They let down Jeremiah with cords. In the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire. (Jer 38:4-6 WEB)
Who reported the unjust punishment of Jeremiah to king Zedekiah?
Ebed-melech the Cushite, a court official in the royal palace, got word that they had thrown Jeremiah into the cistern. Since the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate, Ebed-melech left the palace and said to the king: “My master the king, these men have made a terrible mistake in treating the prophet Jeremiah the way they have; they have thrown him into the cistern where he will die of starvation, for there’s no bread left in the city.” (Jer 38:7-9 CEB)
What did king Zedekiah immediately order to be done with Jeremiah?
Zedekiah answered, “Take 30 of my soldiers and pull Jeremiah out before he dies.” Ebedmelech and the soldiers went to the palace and got some rags from the room under the treasury. He used ropes to lower them into the well. Then he said, “Put these rags under your arms so the ropes won't hurt you.” After I did, the men pulled me out. And from then on, I was kept in the courtyard of the palace guards. (Jer 38:10-13 CEV)
What did Zedekiah ask and what was Jeremiah’s reply?
King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me.” Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” Then King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, “As the Lord lives, who made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of these men who seek your life.” (Jer 38:14-16 ESV)
What did Jeremiah tell king Zedekiah would happen if he surrendered to the Babylonians?
Jeremiah therefore said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If indeed you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive. But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans. They will burn it down, and you yourself will not escape from them.’” (Jer 38:17-18 HCSB)
What was king Zedekiah’s fear and what did Jeremiah say in reply?
Then King Zedekiah told Jeremiah, “I’m afraid of the Judeans who have gone over to the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans may turn me over to them, and they may treat me harshly.” Jeremiah said, “They won’t turn you over. Obey the Lord in what I’m telling you, and it will go well for you and you will live. But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has shown me: Look, all the women who are left in the house of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon, and will say, ‘These friends of yours have mislead you and overcome you. Your feet have sunk down into the mire, but they have turned away.’ (Jer 38:19-22 ISV)
What would happen to king Zedekiah if he chose to disobey God in this matter?
So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire. (Jer 38:23 KJV)
What did king Zedekiah say to Jeremiah in secret and what happened then?
Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no man know about these words and you will not die. But if the officials hear that I have talked with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us now what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death,’ then you are to say to them, ‘I was presenting my petition before the king, not to make me return to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him. So he told them in accordance with all these words which the king had commanded; and they ceased speaking with him since the conversation had not been overheard. So Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was captured. (Jer 38:24-28 LSB)
Did the abuse of Jeremiah foreshadow Pilate mistreating Jesus, who was also innocent?
As a result of this, Pilate made efforts to release Him; but the Jews shouted, saying, “If you release this Man, you are not a friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar!” Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement—but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Look, your King!” So they shouted, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king except Caesar.” So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified. (John 19:12-16 NASB)
Is abuse from a human government normal in this world? Was Jeremiah’s persecution a forerunner of Jesus’ mistreatment? You decide!
False Arrest (Jeremiah 37)
Was Jeremiah falsely arrested for his faithful prophecies? Are Christians still falsely arrested in some countries for preaching God’s word? Let’s begin in Jeremiah 37.
After Jehoiakim’s son Coniah (Jehoiakin), did the king of Babylon make Zedekiah king of Judah? Did he or the people obey God?
Josiah’s son King Zedekiah reigned in place of Jehoiakim’s son Coniah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had made king of the land of Judah. But neither he nor his officials nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that were spoken by Jeremiah the prophet. (Jer 37:1-2 ISV)
When the Chaldeans, who were attacking Jerusalem heard that Pharaoh’s army was heading their way, did they depart?
And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the Lord our God for us. Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison. Then Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem. (Jer 37:3-5 KJV)
Did Jeremiah pass on God’s word that the Chaldeans would return and burn Jerusalem?
Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Thus you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, the military force of Pharaoh which has come out for your assistance is going to return to its own land of Egypt. The Chaldeans will also return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire.”’ Thus says Yahweh, ‘Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go. For even if you had struck down the entire military force of the Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men remaining among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.’” (Jer 37:6-10 LSB)
Was Jeremiah falsely arrested by Irijah and beaten by officials?
Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, that Jeremiah left Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to take possession of some property there among the people. While he was at the Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!” But Jeremiah said, “A lie! I am not deserting to the Chaldeans”; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. Then the officials were angry at Jeremiah and they beat him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they had made it into the prison. For Jeremiah had come into the dungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days. (Jer 37:11-16 NASB)
What happened when Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah? What was Jeremiah’s request?
Then King Zedekiah sent for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there any word from the Lord?” “Yes,” Jeremiah replied, “you will be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon.” Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What crime have I committed against you or your attendants or this people, that you have put me in prison? Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, ‘The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land’? But now, my lord the king, please listen. Let me bring my petition before you: Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, or I will die there.” King Zedekiah then gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread from the street of the bakers each day until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard. (Jer 37:17-21 NIV)
Did Jesus give a similar but later prophecy regarding Jerusalem?
Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:41-44 NKJV)
Was Jeremiah falsely arrested for his faithful prophecies? Are Christians still falsely arrested in some countries for preaching God’s word? You decide!
After Jehoiakim’s son Coniah (Jehoiakin), did the king of Babylon make Zedekiah king of Judah? Did he or the people obey God?
Josiah’s son King Zedekiah reigned in place of Jehoiakim’s son Coniah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had made king of the land of Judah. But neither he nor his officials nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that were spoken by Jeremiah the prophet. (Jer 37:1-2 ISV)
When the Chaldeans, who were attacking Jerusalem heard that Pharaoh’s army was heading their way, did they depart?
And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the Lord our God for us. Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison. Then Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem. (Jer 37:3-5 KJV)
Did Jeremiah pass on God’s word that the Chaldeans would return and burn Jerusalem?
Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Thus you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, the military force of Pharaoh which has come out for your assistance is going to return to its own land of Egypt. The Chaldeans will also return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire.”’ Thus says Yahweh, ‘Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go. For even if you had struck down the entire military force of the Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men remaining among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.’” (Jer 37:6-10 LSB)
Was Jeremiah falsely arrested by Irijah and beaten by officials?
Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, that Jeremiah left Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to take possession of some property there among the people. While he was at the Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!” But Jeremiah said, “A lie! I am not deserting to the Chaldeans”; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. Then the officials were angry at Jeremiah and they beat him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they had made it into the prison. For Jeremiah had come into the dungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days. (Jer 37:11-16 NASB)
What happened when Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah? What was Jeremiah’s request?
Then King Zedekiah sent for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there any word from the Lord?” “Yes,” Jeremiah replied, “you will be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon.” Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What crime have I committed against you or your attendants or this people, that you have put me in prison? Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, ‘The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land’? But now, my lord the king, please listen. Let me bring my petition before you: Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, or I will die there.” King Zedekiah then gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread from the street of the bakers each day until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard. (Jer 37:17-21 NIV)
Did Jesus give a similar but later prophecy regarding Jerusalem?
Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:41-44 NKJV)
Was Jeremiah falsely arrested for his faithful prophecies? Are Christians still falsely arrested in some countries for preaching God’s word? You decide!
The Scroll (Jeremiah 36)
What is an example of how God has made sure down through the ages that His word is preserved? Let’s look at Jeremiah 36.
Why did God tell Jeremiah to write all his prophecies on a scroll?
In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, “Take a scroll and write on it all the words which I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day. Perhaps the house of Judah will listen to all the disaster which I plan to carry out against them, so that every person will turn from his evil way; then I will forgive their wrongdoing and their sin.” (Jer 36:1-3 NASB)
To whom did Jeremiah dictate the scroll and ask to read it to all the people of Judah?
So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and while Jeremiah dictated all the words the Lord had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll. Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the Lord’s temple. So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting and read to the people from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote as I dictated. Read them to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns. Perhaps they will bring their petition before the Lord and will each turn from their wicked ways, for the anger and wrath pronounced against this people by the Lord are great.” (Jer 36:4-7 NIV)
Did Baruch read the scroll of Jeremiah to those assembled in the house of the Lord?
And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house. Now it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the Lord to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem. Then Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court at the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house, in the hearing of all the people. (Jer 36:8-10 NKJV)
Did Baruch read the scroll of Jeremiah to those assembled in the palace?
When Micaiah son of Gemariah and grandson of Shaphan heard the messages from the Lord, he went down to the secretary’s room in the palace where the administrative officials were meeting. Elishama the secretary was there, along with Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Acbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. When Micaiah told them about the messages Baruch was reading to the people, the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah, grandson of Shelemiah and great-grandson of Cushi, to ask Baruch to come and read the messages to them, too. So Baruch took the scroll and went to them. “Sit down and read the scroll to us,” the officials said, and Baruch did as they requested. (Jer 36:11-15 NLT)
What warning did the princes give to both Baruch and Jeremiah?
Now when they had heard all the words, they turned in fear one toward another, and said to Baruch, “We will surely tell the king of all these words.” They asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us now, how did you write all these words at his mouth?” Then Baruch answered them, “He dictated all these words to me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.” Then the princes said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah go hide. Don’t let anyone know where you are.” (Jer 36:16-19 WEB)
What did the king do with the scroll as he had it read to him?
After leaving the scroll in the room of Elishama the scribe, they went to the king’s court and told him everything. The king sent Jehudi to take the scroll, and he retrieved it from the room of Elishama the scribe. Then Jehudi read it to the king and all his royal officials who were standing next to the king. Now it was the ninth month, and the king was staying in the winterized part of the palace with the firepot burning near him. And whenever Jehudi read three or four columns of the scroll, the king would cut them off with a scribe’s knife and throw them into the firepot until the whole scroll was burned up. Neither the king nor any of his attendants who heard all these words were alarmed or tore their clothes. Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, but he wouldn’t listen to them. (Jer 36:20-25 CEB)
Did God tell Jeremiah to dictate a second scroll, a copy of the original, to Baruch?
The king told his son Jerahmeel to take Seraiah and Shelemiah and to go arrest Baruch and me. But the Lord kept them from finding us. I had told Baruch what to write on that first scroll, but King Jehoiakim had burned it. So the Lord told me to get another scroll and write down everything that had been on the first one. (Jer 36:26-28 CEV)
What were the consequences for king Jehoiakim because of his actions?
And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord, You have burned this scroll, saying, “Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cut off from it man and beast?” Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have none to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night. And I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the people of Judah all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, but they would not hear.’” Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them. (Jer 36:29-32 ESV)
What are the consequences of adding to or taking away from a prophetic book?
I testify to everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of this prophetic book, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, written in this book. (Rev 22:18-19 HCSB)
What is an example of how God has made sure down through the ages that His word is preserved? You decide!
Why did God tell Jeremiah to write all his prophecies on a scroll?
In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, “Take a scroll and write on it all the words which I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day. Perhaps the house of Judah will listen to all the disaster which I plan to carry out against them, so that every person will turn from his evil way; then I will forgive their wrongdoing and their sin.” (Jer 36:1-3 NASB)
To whom did Jeremiah dictate the scroll and ask to read it to all the people of Judah?
So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and while Jeremiah dictated all the words the Lord had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll. Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the Lord’s temple. So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting and read to the people from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote as I dictated. Read them to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns. Perhaps they will bring their petition before the Lord and will each turn from their wicked ways, for the anger and wrath pronounced against this people by the Lord are great.” (Jer 36:4-7 NIV)
Did Baruch read the scroll of Jeremiah to those assembled in the house of the Lord?
And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house. Now it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the Lord to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem. Then Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court at the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house, in the hearing of all the people. (Jer 36:8-10 NKJV)
Did Baruch read the scroll of Jeremiah to those assembled in the palace?
When Micaiah son of Gemariah and grandson of Shaphan heard the messages from the Lord, he went down to the secretary’s room in the palace where the administrative officials were meeting. Elishama the secretary was there, along with Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Acbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. When Micaiah told them about the messages Baruch was reading to the people, the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah, grandson of Shelemiah and great-grandson of Cushi, to ask Baruch to come and read the messages to them, too. So Baruch took the scroll and went to them. “Sit down and read the scroll to us,” the officials said, and Baruch did as they requested. (Jer 36:11-15 NLT)
What warning did the princes give to both Baruch and Jeremiah?
Now when they had heard all the words, they turned in fear one toward another, and said to Baruch, “We will surely tell the king of all these words.” They asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us now, how did you write all these words at his mouth?” Then Baruch answered them, “He dictated all these words to me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.” Then the princes said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah go hide. Don’t let anyone know where you are.” (Jer 36:16-19 WEB)
What did the king do with the scroll as he had it read to him?
After leaving the scroll in the room of Elishama the scribe, they went to the king’s court and told him everything. The king sent Jehudi to take the scroll, and he retrieved it from the room of Elishama the scribe. Then Jehudi read it to the king and all his royal officials who were standing next to the king. Now it was the ninth month, and the king was staying in the winterized part of the palace with the firepot burning near him. And whenever Jehudi read three or four columns of the scroll, the king would cut them off with a scribe’s knife and throw them into the firepot until the whole scroll was burned up. Neither the king nor any of his attendants who heard all these words were alarmed or tore their clothes. Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, but he wouldn’t listen to them. (Jer 36:20-25 CEB)
Did God tell Jeremiah to dictate a second scroll, a copy of the original, to Baruch?
The king told his son Jerahmeel to take Seraiah and Shelemiah and to go arrest Baruch and me. But the Lord kept them from finding us. I had told Baruch what to write on that first scroll, but King Jehoiakim had burned it. So the Lord told me to get another scroll and write down everything that had been on the first one. (Jer 36:26-28 CEV)
What were the consequences for king Jehoiakim because of his actions?
And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord, You have burned this scroll, saying, “Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cut off from it man and beast?” Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have none to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night. And I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the people of Judah all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, but they would not hear.’” Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them. (Jer 36:29-32 ESV)
What are the consequences of adding to or taking away from a prophetic book?
I testify to everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of this prophetic book, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, written in this book. (Rev 22:18-19 HCSB)
What is an example of how God has made sure down through the ages that His word is preserved? You decide!
Tradition (Jeremiah 35)
How does a legitimate human tradition compare to a tradition of disobedience? Let’s look at Jeremiah 35.
What did the Lord tell Jeremiah to do with the gentile descendants of Rechab?
The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, “Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak to them, and bring them into Yahweh’s house, into one of the rooms, and give them wine to drink.” (Jer 35:1-2 WEB)
What did Jeremiah offer the Rechabites after bringing them into a special room of the temple complex?
So I took Jaazaniah, Jeremiah’s son and Habazziniah’s grandson, and his brothers and all his sons, and the whole Rechabite family. I brought them to the room in the Lord’s temple assigned to the sons of Hanan, Igdaliah’s son, the man of God. The room was next to the one used by the chief officers and right above the room of Maaseiah, Shallum’s son, the temple doorkeeper. Then I set bowls full of wine before the Rechabites, along with several cups, and I said to them, “Have some.” (Jer 35:3-5 CEB)
Though Jews were permitted to drink wine in moderation, what had Jonadab son of Rechab set as clan rules?
But they answered: No! The ancestor of our clan, Jonadab son of Rechab, made a rule that we must obey. He said, “Don't ever drink wine or build houses or plant crops and vineyards. Instead, you must always live in tents and move from place to place. If you obey this command, you will live a long time.” Our clan has always obeyed Jonadab's command. To this very day, we and our wives and sons and daughters don't drink wine or build houses or plant vineyards or crops. And we have lived in tents, except now we have to live inside Jerusalem because Nebuchadnezzar has taken over the countryside with his army from Babylonia and Syria. (Jer 35:6-11 CEV)
Did God compare honoring a clan rule to a nation that disobeys God’s rules?
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction and listen to my words? declares the Lord. The command that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons, to drink no wine, has been kept, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father's command. I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me. I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear or listen to me. The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command that their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me. (Jer 35:12-16 ESV)
What did God say would happen to Judah for disobeying and ignoring Him?
Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring to Judah and to all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster I have pronounced against them because I have spoken to them, but they have not obeyed, and I have called to them, but they would not answer.” (Jer 35:17 HCSB)
Because the Rechabites honored a clan rule from their father Jonadab, what blessing did God promise them?
And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you: Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever. (Jer 35:18-19 KJV)
Is there a difference between a legitimate tradition and a tradition that sets aside the commandment of God?
Leaving the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” And He was also saying to them, “You are good at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.” (Mark 7:8-9 LSB)
How does a legitimate human tradition compare to a tradition of disobedience? You decide!
What did the Lord tell Jeremiah to do with the gentile descendants of Rechab?
The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, “Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak to them, and bring them into Yahweh’s house, into one of the rooms, and give them wine to drink.” (Jer 35:1-2 WEB)
What did Jeremiah offer the Rechabites after bringing them into a special room of the temple complex?
So I took Jaazaniah, Jeremiah’s son and Habazziniah’s grandson, and his brothers and all his sons, and the whole Rechabite family. I brought them to the room in the Lord’s temple assigned to the sons of Hanan, Igdaliah’s son, the man of God. The room was next to the one used by the chief officers and right above the room of Maaseiah, Shallum’s son, the temple doorkeeper. Then I set bowls full of wine before the Rechabites, along with several cups, and I said to them, “Have some.” (Jer 35:3-5 CEB)
Though Jews were permitted to drink wine in moderation, what had Jonadab son of Rechab set as clan rules?
But they answered: No! The ancestor of our clan, Jonadab son of Rechab, made a rule that we must obey. He said, “Don't ever drink wine or build houses or plant crops and vineyards. Instead, you must always live in tents and move from place to place. If you obey this command, you will live a long time.” Our clan has always obeyed Jonadab's command. To this very day, we and our wives and sons and daughters don't drink wine or build houses or plant vineyards or crops. And we have lived in tents, except now we have to live inside Jerusalem because Nebuchadnezzar has taken over the countryside with his army from Babylonia and Syria. (Jer 35:6-11 CEV)
Did God compare honoring a clan rule to a nation that disobeys God’s rules?
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction and listen to my words? declares the Lord. The command that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons, to drink no wine, has been kept, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father's command. I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me. I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear or listen to me. The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command that their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me. (Jer 35:12-16 ESV)
What did God say would happen to Judah for disobeying and ignoring Him?
Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring to Judah and to all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster I have pronounced against them because I have spoken to them, but they have not obeyed, and I have called to them, but they would not answer.” (Jer 35:17 HCSB)
Because the Rechabites honored a clan rule from their father Jonadab, what blessing did God promise them?
And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you: Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever. (Jer 35:18-19 KJV)
Is there a difference between a legitimate tradition and a tradition that sets aside the commandment of God?
Leaving the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” And He was also saying to them, “You are good at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.” (Mark 7:8-9 LSB)
How does a legitimate human tradition compare to a tradition of disobedience? You decide!
Slavery (Jeremiah 34)
Why did God desire to set slaves free in Israel? Is a godly principle, freedom from all forms of bondage? Let’s look at Jeremiah 34.
What prophecy did Jeremiah relay to king Zedekiah of Judah?
This is the message that came to Jeremiah from the Lord while king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, all his army, all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his authority, along with all the people were fighting against Jerusalem and all its towns: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Go and speak to king Zedekiah of Judah. Say to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Look, I’m giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will set it on fire. You won’t escape from him. You will certainly be captured and given into his control. You will see the king of Babylon eye to eye, he will speak to you face to face, and you will go to Babylon.’”’ (Jer 34:1-3 ISV)
Would king Zedekiah of Judah die by the sword or in peace?
Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the Lord of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword: But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the Lord. (Jer 34:4-5 KJV)
How many free cities were left in Judah when Jeremiah spoke to Zedekiah, king of Judah?
Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem when the military force of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, that is, Lachish and Azekah, for they alone remained as fortified cities among the cities of Judah. (Jer 34:6-7 LSB)
Were all slaves to be emancipated, but did the people change their minds?
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem, to proclaim release to them: that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, so that no one would keep them, his Jewish brother or sister, in bondage. And all the officials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, so that no one would keep them in bondage any longer; they obeyed, and set them free. But afterward they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male servants and as female servants. (Jer 34:8-11 NASB)
Was God disgusted that slavery to debts and similar forms of bondage persisted in Israel despite His order to proclaim liberty?
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I said, ‘Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you six years, you must let them go free.’ Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me. Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to your own people. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name. But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again. (Jer 34:12-16 NIV)
What did God say because they had not proclaimed liberty to their slaves?
“Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and every one to his neighbor. Behold, I proclaim liberty to you,’ says the Lord—‘to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine! And I will deliver you to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth.
And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it— the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf— I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life.
Their dead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth. And I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army which has gone back from you. Behold, I will command,’ says the Lord, ‘and cause them to return to this city. They will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’ ” (Jer 34:17-22 NKJV)
How does sin relate to slavery, putting ourselves into bondage?
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. (John 8:34-36 NLT)
Why did God desire to set slaves free in Israel? Is a godly principle, freedom from all forms of bondage? You decide!
What prophecy did Jeremiah relay to king Zedekiah of Judah?
This is the message that came to Jeremiah from the Lord while king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, all his army, all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his authority, along with all the people were fighting against Jerusalem and all its towns: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Go and speak to king Zedekiah of Judah. Say to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Look, I’m giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will set it on fire. You won’t escape from him. You will certainly be captured and given into his control. You will see the king of Babylon eye to eye, he will speak to you face to face, and you will go to Babylon.’”’ (Jer 34:1-3 ISV)
Would king Zedekiah of Judah die by the sword or in peace?
Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the Lord of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword: But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the Lord. (Jer 34:4-5 KJV)
How many free cities were left in Judah when Jeremiah spoke to Zedekiah, king of Judah?
Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem when the military force of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, that is, Lachish and Azekah, for they alone remained as fortified cities among the cities of Judah. (Jer 34:6-7 LSB)
Were all slaves to be emancipated, but did the people change their minds?
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem, to proclaim release to them: that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, so that no one would keep them, his Jewish brother or sister, in bondage. And all the officials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, so that no one would keep them in bondage any longer; they obeyed, and set them free. But afterward they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male servants and as female servants. (Jer 34:8-11 NASB)
Was God disgusted that slavery to debts and similar forms of bondage persisted in Israel despite His order to proclaim liberty?
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I said, ‘Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you six years, you must let them go free.’ Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me. Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to your own people. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name. But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again. (Jer 34:12-16 NIV)
What did God say because they had not proclaimed liberty to their slaves?
“Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and every one to his neighbor. Behold, I proclaim liberty to you,’ says the Lord—‘to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine! And I will deliver you to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth.
And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it— the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf— I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life.
Their dead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth. And I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army which has gone back from you. Behold, I will command,’ says the Lord, ‘and cause them to return to this city. They will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’ ” (Jer 34:17-22 NKJV)
How does sin relate to slavery, putting ourselves into bondage?
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. (John 8:34-36 NLT)
Why did God desire to set slaves free in Israel? Is a godly principle, freedom from all forms of bondage? You decide!
Restored (Jeremiah 33)
Though He disciplined both Israel and Judah for a time, what are God’s long-term plans for them and us? Let’s begin in Jeremiah 33.
Did God invite Jeremiah to hear about some great and mighty things?
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, saying, “This is what the Lord says, He who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to create it, He whose name is the Lord: ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ (Jer 33:1-3 NASB)
Why did God not defend Jerusalem against the Babylonian siege ramps?
For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege ramps and the sword in the fight with the Babylonians: ‘They will be filled with the dead bodies of the people I will slay in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness. (Jer 33:4-5 NIV)
After punishment would God bring health and healing to Israel and Judah?
Behold, I will bring it 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 will rebuild those places as at the first. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me. 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.’ (Jer 33:6-9 NKJV)
Will there once more be heard the sounds of joy and laughter in the streets of Jerusalem?
“This is what the Lord says: You have said, ‘This is a desolate land where people and animals have all disappeared.’ Yet in the empty streets of Jerusalem and Judah’s other towns, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will be heard again, along with the joyous songs of people bringing thanksgiving offerings to the Lord. They will sing, ‘Give thanks to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, for the Lord is good. His faithful love endures forever!’ For I will restore the prosperity of this land to what it was in the past, says the Lord. (Jer 33:10-11 NLT)
Would people live again in Israel with flocks in the country and live in the cities?
Yahweh of Armies says: “Yet again there will be in this place, which is waste, without man and without animal, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of him who counts them,” says Yahweh. (Jer 33:12-13 WEB)
Will there be someone of David’s line to rule the land, a righteous branch called the Lord is our Righteousness?
The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill my gracious promise with the people of Israel and Judah. In those days and at that time, I will raise up a righteous branch from David’s line, who will do what is just and right in the land. In those days, Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is what he will be called: The Lord Is Our Righteousness. The Lord proclaims: David will always have one of his descendants sit on the throne of the house of Israel. And the levitical priests will always have someone in my presence to make entirely burned offerings and grain offerings, and to present sacrifices. (Jer 33:14-18 CEB)
Who is this descendant of David who will always rule as king of Israel?
Then the Lord told me: I, the Lord, have an agreement with day and night, so they always come at the right time. You can't break the agreement I made with them, and you can't break the agreements I have made with David's family and with the priests from the Levi tribe who serve at my altar. A descendant of David will always rule as king of Israel, and there will be more descendants of David and of the priests from the Levi tribe than stars in the sky or grains of sand on the beach. (Jer 33:19-22 CEV)
Did God permanently cast off the two clans of Israel and Judah? Will both their spiritual and physical descendants be given mercy?
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Have you not observed that these people are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two clans that he chose’? Thus they have despised my people so that they are no longer a nation in their sight. Thus says the Lord: If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed order of heaven and earth, then I will reject the offspring of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his offspring to rule over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.” (Jer 33:23-26 ESV)
Though we sometimes may feel abandoned, what does God promise us?
“So I say to you, keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:9-10 HCSB)
Though He disciplined both Israel and Judah for a time, what are God’s long-term plans for them and us? You decide!
Did God invite Jeremiah to hear about some great and mighty things?
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, saying, “This is what the Lord says, He who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to create it, He whose name is the Lord: ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ (Jer 33:1-3 NASB)
Why did God not defend Jerusalem against the Babylonian siege ramps?
For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege ramps and the sword in the fight with the Babylonians: ‘They will be filled with the dead bodies of the people I will slay in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness. (Jer 33:4-5 NIV)
After punishment would God bring health and healing to Israel and Judah?
Behold, I will bring it 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 will rebuild those places as at the first. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me. 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.’ (Jer 33:6-9 NKJV)
Will there once more be heard the sounds of joy and laughter in the streets of Jerusalem?
“This is what the Lord says: You have said, ‘This is a desolate land where people and animals have all disappeared.’ Yet in the empty streets of Jerusalem and Judah’s other towns, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will be heard again, along with the joyous songs of people bringing thanksgiving offerings to the Lord. They will sing, ‘Give thanks to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, for the Lord is good. His faithful love endures forever!’ For I will restore the prosperity of this land to what it was in the past, says the Lord. (Jer 33:10-11 NLT)
Would people live again in Israel with flocks in the country and live in the cities?
Yahweh of Armies says: “Yet again there will be in this place, which is waste, without man and without animal, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of him who counts them,” says Yahweh. (Jer 33:12-13 WEB)
Will there be someone of David’s line to rule the land, a righteous branch called the Lord is our Righteousness?
The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill my gracious promise with the people of Israel and Judah. In those days and at that time, I will raise up a righteous branch from David’s line, who will do what is just and right in the land. In those days, Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is what he will be called: The Lord Is Our Righteousness. The Lord proclaims: David will always have one of his descendants sit on the throne of the house of Israel. And the levitical priests will always have someone in my presence to make entirely burned offerings and grain offerings, and to present sacrifices. (Jer 33:14-18 CEB)
Who is this descendant of David who will always rule as king of Israel?
Then the Lord told me: I, the Lord, have an agreement with day and night, so they always come at the right time. You can't break the agreement I made with them, and you can't break the agreements I have made with David's family and with the priests from the Levi tribe who serve at my altar. A descendant of David will always rule as king of Israel, and there will be more descendants of David and of the priests from the Levi tribe than stars in the sky or grains of sand on the beach. (Jer 33:19-22 CEV)
Did God permanently cast off the two clans of Israel and Judah? Will both their spiritual and physical descendants be given mercy?
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Have you not observed that these people are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two clans that he chose’? Thus they have despised my people so that they are no longer a nation in their sight. Thus says the Lord: If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed order of heaven and earth, then I will reject the offspring of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his offspring to rule over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.” (Jer 33:23-26 ESV)
Though we sometimes may feel abandoned, what does God promise us?
“So I say to you, keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:9-10 HCSB)
Though He disciplined both Israel and Judah for a time, what are God’s long-term plans for them and us? You decide!
Hanamel's Field (Jeremiah 32)
Why did God tell Jeremiah to buy a field right before Jerusalem was invaded by Babylon? Let’s begin in Jeremiah 32.
Just as preaching God’s unpopular truth in certain countries today will get you jailed, was Jeremiah imprisoned?
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. Now at that time the king of Babylon’s army was besieging Jerusalem. Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah’s house. (Jer 32:1-2 WEB)
Had king Zedekiah placed Jeremiah in prison because he believed the prophecies to be “fake news” or because he was just angry?
Judah’s King Zedekiah had Jeremiah sent there after questioning him: “Why do you prophesy, ‘This is what the Lord says: I’m handing this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will occupy it; and Judah’s King Zedekiah will be captured and handed over to the king of Babylon; he will speak to the king of Babylon personally and see him with his very own eyes. And Zedekiah will be carried off to Babylon to live out his days until I punish him, declares the Lord. If you make war against the Babylonians, you will fail.’” (Jer 32:3-5 CEB)
Did God tell Jeremiah to buy a parcel of family land that was available?
Later, when I was in prison, the Lord said: Jeremiah, your cousin Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will visit you. He must sell his field near the town of Anathoth, and because you are his nearest relative, you have the right and the responsibility to buy it and keep it in the family. Hanamel came, just as the Lord had promised. And he said, “Please buy my field near Anathoth in the territory of the Benjamin tribe. You have the right to buy it, and if you do, it will stay in our family.” The Lord had told me to buy it from Hanamel, and so I did. The price was 17 pieces of silver, and I weighed out the full amount on a scale. (Jer 32:6-9 CEV)
Was the deed to be preserved as a sign that Israel would return and things would be back to normal in the future?
I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy. And I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. I charged Baruch in their presence, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’ (Jer 32:10-15 ESV)
What did Jeremiah pray to God regarding the sins of Israel and their consequences?
“After I had given the purchase agreement to Baruch, son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord: Oh, Lord God! You Yourself made the heavens and earth by Your great power and with Your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You! You show faithful love to thousands but lay the fathers’ sins on their sons’ laps after them, great and mighty God whose name is Yahweh of Hosts, the One great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are on all the ways of the sons of men in order to give to each person according to his ways and the result of his deeds.
You performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt and do so to this very day both in Israel and among mankind. You made a name for Yourself, as is the case today. You brought Your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror. You gave them this land You swore to give to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey. They entered and possessed it, but they did not obey Your voice or live according to Your instructions.
They failed to perform all You commanded them to do, and so You have brought all this disaster on them. Look! Siege ramps have come against the city to capture it, and the city, as a result of the sword, famine, and plague, has been handed over to the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What You have spoken has happened. Look, You can see it! Yet You, Lord God, have said to me: Buy the field with silver and call in witnesses—even though the city has been handed over to the Chaldeans!” (Jer 32:16-25 HCSB)
What was the Lord’s reply to Jeremiah’s prayer regarding the nation’s idolatry?
Then this message from the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Look, I am the Lord, the God who rules over all flesh. Is anything too difficult for me?” Therefore, this is what the Lord says: “I’m about to give this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he will capture it. The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come, set this city on fire, and burn it along with the houses on whose roofs incense was burned to Baal and liquid offerings were poured out to other gods in order to provoke me. Indeed, the Israelis and Judeans have been doing only evil in my presence since their youth. Indeed, the Israelis have done nothing but provoke me by what they have made with their hands,” declares the Lord. (Jer 32:26-30 ISV)
What did God say about Jerusalem and idolatry and murderous child sacrifice in the valley of Hinnom?
For this city hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face, Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction. But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it. And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. (Jer 32:31-35 KJV)
What future covenant promises a renewed relationship between God and all Israel?
“So now, therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you are saying, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence.’ Behold, I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have banished them in My anger, in My wrath, and in great indignation; and I will cause them to return to this place and make them inhabit it in safety. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God; and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. And I will cut an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. And I will rejoice over them to do them good and will truly plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul. For thus says Yahweh, ‘Just as I brought all this great evil on this people, so I am going to bring on them all the good that I am promising them. Thus fields will be bought in this land of which you all are saying, “It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” Men will buy fields for money, sign and seal deeds, and call in witnesses in the land of Benjamin, in the surroundings of Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negev; for I will return their fortunes,’ declares Yahweh.” (Jer 32:36-44 LSB)
How will the new covenant differ from the old one written on stone tablets?
“This is the covenant which I will make with them After those days, declares the Lord: I will put My laws upon their hearts, And write them on their mind,” He then says, “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will no longer remember.” (Heb 10:16-17 LSB)
Why did God tell Jeremiah to buy a field right before Jerusalem was invaded by Babylon? You decide!
Just as preaching God’s unpopular truth in certain countries today will get you jailed, was Jeremiah imprisoned?
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. Now at that time the king of Babylon’s army was besieging Jerusalem. Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah’s house. (Jer 32:1-2 WEB)
Had king Zedekiah placed Jeremiah in prison because he believed the prophecies to be “fake news” or because he was just angry?
Judah’s King Zedekiah had Jeremiah sent there after questioning him: “Why do you prophesy, ‘This is what the Lord says: I’m handing this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will occupy it; and Judah’s King Zedekiah will be captured and handed over to the king of Babylon; he will speak to the king of Babylon personally and see him with his very own eyes. And Zedekiah will be carried off to Babylon to live out his days until I punish him, declares the Lord. If you make war against the Babylonians, you will fail.’” (Jer 32:3-5 CEB)
Did God tell Jeremiah to buy a parcel of family land that was available?
Later, when I was in prison, the Lord said: Jeremiah, your cousin Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will visit you. He must sell his field near the town of Anathoth, and because you are his nearest relative, you have the right and the responsibility to buy it and keep it in the family. Hanamel came, just as the Lord had promised. And he said, “Please buy my field near Anathoth in the territory of the Benjamin tribe. You have the right to buy it, and if you do, it will stay in our family.” The Lord had told me to buy it from Hanamel, and so I did. The price was 17 pieces of silver, and I weighed out the full amount on a scale. (Jer 32:6-9 CEV)
Was the deed to be preserved as a sign that Israel would return and things would be back to normal in the future?
I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy. And I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. I charged Baruch in their presence, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’ (Jer 32:10-15 ESV)
What did Jeremiah pray to God regarding the sins of Israel and their consequences?
“After I had given the purchase agreement to Baruch, son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord: Oh, Lord God! You Yourself made the heavens and earth by Your great power and with Your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You! You show faithful love to thousands but lay the fathers’ sins on their sons’ laps after them, great and mighty God whose name is Yahweh of Hosts, the One great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are on all the ways of the sons of men in order to give to each person according to his ways and the result of his deeds.
You performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt and do so to this very day both in Israel and among mankind. You made a name for Yourself, as is the case today. You brought Your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror. You gave them this land You swore to give to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey. They entered and possessed it, but they did not obey Your voice or live according to Your instructions.
They failed to perform all You commanded them to do, and so You have brought all this disaster on them. Look! Siege ramps have come against the city to capture it, and the city, as a result of the sword, famine, and plague, has been handed over to the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What You have spoken has happened. Look, You can see it! Yet You, Lord God, have said to me: Buy the field with silver and call in witnesses—even though the city has been handed over to the Chaldeans!” (Jer 32:16-25 HCSB)
What was the Lord’s reply to Jeremiah’s prayer regarding the nation’s idolatry?
Then this message from the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Look, I am the Lord, the God who rules over all flesh. Is anything too difficult for me?” Therefore, this is what the Lord says: “I’m about to give this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he will capture it. The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come, set this city on fire, and burn it along with the houses on whose roofs incense was burned to Baal and liquid offerings were poured out to other gods in order to provoke me. Indeed, the Israelis and Judeans have been doing only evil in my presence since their youth. Indeed, the Israelis have done nothing but provoke me by what they have made with their hands,” declares the Lord. (Jer 32:26-30 ISV)
What did God say about Jerusalem and idolatry and murderous child sacrifice in the valley of Hinnom?
For this city hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face, Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction. But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it. And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. (Jer 32:31-35 KJV)
What future covenant promises a renewed relationship between God and all Israel?
“So now, therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you are saying, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence.’ Behold, I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have banished them in My anger, in My wrath, and in great indignation; and I will cause them to return to this place and make them inhabit it in safety. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God; and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. And I will cut an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. And I will rejoice over them to do them good and will truly plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul. For thus says Yahweh, ‘Just as I brought all this great evil on this people, so I am going to bring on them all the good that I am promising them. Thus fields will be bought in this land of which you all are saying, “It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” Men will buy fields for money, sign and seal deeds, and call in witnesses in the land of Benjamin, in the surroundings of Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negev; for I will return their fortunes,’ declares Yahweh.” (Jer 32:36-44 LSB)
How will the new covenant differ from the old one written on stone tablets?
“This is the covenant which I will make with them After those days, declares the Lord: I will put My laws upon their hearts, And write them on their mind,” He then says, “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will no longer remember.” (Heb 10:16-17 LSB)
Why did God tell Jeremiah to buy a field right before Jerusalem was invaded by Babylon? You decide!
A New Covenant (Jeremiah 31)
How does the new covenant offer so much more grace than the old? Is this worth exploring more? Let’s begin in Jeremiah 31.
Does God still show Israel grace and will He still be their God?
“At the same time,” says the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.” Thus says the Lord: “The people who survived the sword Found grace in the wilderness—Israel, when I went to give him rest.” (Jer 31:1-2 NKJV)
What kind of love does God show to Israel and how will He bless them?
Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel. You will again be happy and dance merrily with your tambourines. Again you will plant your vineyards on the mountains of Samaria and eat from your own gardens there. The day will come when watchmen will shout from the hill country of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord our God.’” (Jer 31:3-6 NLT)
Why will the people of Israel sing and shout with gladness?
For Yahweh says, “Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout for the chief of the nations. Publish, praise, and say, ‘Yahweh, save your people, the remnant of Israel!’ Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, along with the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her who travails with child together. They will return as a great company. They will come with weeping. I will lead them with petitions. I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they won’t stumble; for I am a father to Israel. Ephraim is my firstborn. (Jer 31:7-9 WEB)
Does God promise to rescue the people of Jacob and will they come shouting for joy?
Listen to the Lord’s word, you nations, and announce it to the distant islands: The one who scattered Israel will gather them and keep them safe, as a shepherd his flock. The Lord will rescue the people of Jacob and deliver them from the power of those stronger than they are. They will come shouting for joy on the hills of Zion, jubilant over the Lord’s gifts: grain, wine, oil, flocks, and herds. Their lives will be like a lush garden; they will grieve no more.
Then the young women will dance for joy; the young and old men will join in. I will turn their mourning into laughter and their sadness into joy; I will comfort them. I will lavish the priests with abundance and shower my people with my gifts, declares the Lord. (Jer 31:10-14 CEB)
How will God provide for the dead? How will they come home from the enemy’s land, unless God has something planned beyond this life?
In Ramah a voice is heard, crying and weeping loudly. Rachel mourns for her children and refuses to be comforted, because they are dead. But I, the Lord, say to dry your tears. Someday your children will come home from the enemy's land. Then all you have done for them will be greatly rewarded. So don't lose hope. I, the Lord, have spoken. (Jer 31:15-17 CEV)
Would we exhibit the same humble, teachable attitude that Ephraim had when disciplined by God?
I have heard Ephraim grieving, ‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf; bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the Lord my God. For after I had turned away, I relented, and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh; I was ashamed, and I was confounded, because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’ Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he my darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I do remember him still. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, declares the Lord. (Jer 31:18-20 ESV)
Is the way back to God clearly signposted? Will the land be so safe that a woman can stand guard?
Set up road markers for yourself; establish signposts! Keep the highway in mind, the way you have traveled. Return, Virgin Israel! Return to these cities of yours. How long will you turn here and there, faithless daughter? For the Lord creates something new in the land—a female will shelter a man. (Jer 31:21-22 HCSB)
Will God restore Judah and will they preach a message of comfort in the land?
This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: “They’ll again speak this message in the land of Judah and its towns when I restore their fortunes: ‘The Lord bless you, righteous dwelling, holy mountain.’ Judah and all its towns will live together in the land, along with farmers and those who follow the flock. I’ll provide abundance for those who are weary, and fill all who are faint.” Then I awoke and looked around, and I had had a pleasant sleep. (Jer 31:23-26 ISV)
Did people believe that God punishes people for the sins of their forefathers? Is the truth that God punishes people for their own sins?
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the Lord. In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. (Jer 31:27-30 KJV)
How will the new covenant differ from the covenant on stone, the Ten Commandments?
“Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will cut a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I cut with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, but I was a husband to them,” declares Yahweh. “But this is the covenant which I will cut with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Yahweh: “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know Yahweh,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares Yahweh, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jer 31:31-34 LSB)
How impossible is it for a mere human being to measure all that God has created?
This is what the Lord says, He who gives the sun for light by day And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—The Lord of armies is His name: “If this fixed order departs From Me,” declares the Lord, “Then the descendants of Israel also will cease To be a nation before Me forever.” This is what the Lord says: “If the heavens above can be measured And the foundations of the earth searched out below, Then I will also reject all the descendants of Israel For everything that they have done,” declares the Lord. (Jer 31:35-37 NASB)
Did Jeremiah prophecy that there would be a rebuilt Jerusalem never again uprooted or demolished?
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this city will be rebuilt for me from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. The measuring line will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the Lord. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.” (Jer 31:38-40 NIV)
What is a major difference between the old covenant, the Ten Commandments, and the new covenant?
But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. (2 Cor 3:7-9 NKJV)
What kind of cleansing does the new covenant offer compared to the old?
The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. (Heb 10:1 NLT)
How does the new covenant offer so much more grace than the old? Is this worth exploring more? You decide!
Does God still show Israel grace and will He still be their God?
“At the same time,” says the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.” Thus says the Lord: “The people who survived the sword Found grace in the wilderness—Israel, when I went to give him rest.” (Jer 31:1-2 NKJV)
What kind of love does God show to Israel and how will He bless them?
Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel. You will again be happy and dance merrily with your tambourines. Again you will plant your vineyards on the mountains of Samaria and eat from your own gardens there. The day will come when watchmen will shout from the hill country of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord our God.’” (Jer 31:3-6 NLT)
Why will the people of Israel sing and shout with gladness?
For Yahweh says, “Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout for the chief of the nations. Publish, praise, and say, ‘Yahweh, save your people, the remnant of Israel!’ Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, along with the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her who travails with child together. They will return as a great company. They will come with weeping. I will lead them with petitions. I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they won’t stumble; for I am a father to Israel. Ephraim is my firstborn. (Jer 31:7-9 WEB)
Does God promise to rescue the people of Jacob and will they come shouting for joy?
Listen to the Lord’s word, you nations, and announce it to the distant islands: The one who scattered Israel will gather them and keep them safe, as a shepherd his flock. The Lord will rescue the people of Jacob and deliver them from the power of those stronger than they are. They will come shouting for joy on the hills of Zion, jubilant over the Lord’s gifts: grain, wine, oil, flocks, and herds. Their lives will be like a lush garden; they will grieve no more.
Then the young women will dance for joy; the young and old men will join in. I will turn their mourning into laughter and their sadness into joy; I will comfort them. I will lavish the priests with abundance and shower my people with my gifts, declares the Lord. (Jer 31:10-14 CEB)
How will God provide for the dead? How will they come home from the enemy’s land, unless God has something planned beyond this life?
In Ramah a voice is heard, crying and weeping loudly. Rachel mourns for her children and refuses to be comforted, because they are dead. But I, the Lord, say to dry your tears. Someday your children will come home from the enemy's land. Then all you have done for them will be greatly rewarded. So don't lose hope. I, the Lord, have spoken. (Jer 31:15-17 CEV)
Would we exhibit the same humble, teachable attitude that Ephraim had when disciplined by God?
I have heard Ephraim grieving, ‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf; bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the Lord my God. For after I had turned away, I relented, and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh; I was ashamed, and I was confounded, because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’ Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he my darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I do remember him still. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, declares the Lord. (Jer 31:18-20 ESV)
Is the way back to God clearly signposted? Will the land be so safe that a woman can stand guard?
Set up road markers for yourself; establish signposts! Keep the highway in mind, the way you have traveled. Return, Virgin Israel! Return to these cities of yours. How long will you turn here and there, faithless daughter? For the Lord creates something new in the land—a female will shelter a man. (Jer 31:21-22 HCSB)
Will God restore Judah and will they preach a message of comfort in the land?
This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: “They’ll again speak this message in the land of Judah and its towns when I restore their fortunes: ‘The Lord bless you, righteous dwelling, holy mountain.’ Judah and all its towns will live together in the land, along with farmers and those who follow the flock. I’ll provide abundance for those who are weary, and fill all who are faint.” Then I awoke and looked around, and I had had a pleasant sleep. (Jer 31:23-26 ISV)
Did people believe that God punishes people for the sins of their forefathers? Is the truth that God punishes people for their own sins?
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the Lord. In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. (Jer 31:27-30 KJV)
How will the new covenant differ from the covenant on stone, the Ten Commandments?
“Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will cut a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I cut with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, but I was a husband to them,” declares Yahweh. “But this is the covenant which I will cut with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Yahweh: “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know Yahweh,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares Yahweh, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jer 31:31-34 LSB)
How impossible is it for a mere human being to measure all that God has created?
This is what the Lord says, He who gives the sun for light by day And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—The Lord of armies is His name: “If this fixed order departs From Me,” declares the Lord, “Then the descendants of Israel also will cease To be a nation before Me forever.” This is what the Lord says: “If the heavens above can be measured And the foundations of the earth searched out below, Then I will also reject all the descendants of Israel For everything that they have done,” declares the Lord. (Jer 31:35-37 NASB)
Did Jeremiah prophecy that there would be a rebuilt Jerusalem never again uprooted or demolished?
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this city will be rebuilt for me from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. The measuring line will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the Lord. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.” (Jer 31:38-40 NIV)
What is a major difference between the old covenant, the Ten Commandments, and the new covenant?
But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. (2 Cor 3:7-9 NKJV)
What kind of cleansing does the new covenant offer compared to the old?
The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. (Heb 10:1 NLT)
How does the new covenant offer so much more grace than the old? Is this worth exploring more? You decide!
Book of Consolation (Jeremiah 30)
Does God’s consolation of Israel and Judah lay the foundation for a new covenant to be discussed next? Let’s begin in Jeremiah 30.
Is this prophecy something God wants to preserve in writing? Is it a significant turning point for both Israel and Judah?
Jeremiah received the Lord’s word: The Lord, the God of Israel, proclaims: Write down in a scroll all the words I have spoken to you. The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will bring back my people Israel and Judah from captivity, says the Lord. I will bring them home to the land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it. (Jer 30:1-3 CEB)
Does God predict a time known prophetically as Jacob’s trouble before he is finally saved?
These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: “Thus says the Lord: We have heard a cry of panic, of terror, and no peace. Ask now, and see, can a man bear a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor? Why has every face turned pale? Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob [Jacob’s trouble]; yet he shall be saved out of it.” (Jer 30:4-7 ESV)
Does God promise freedom from slavery? How can David be their king unless this is only partially fulfilled in this age? Is God’s discipline just? Can only God restore life after death?
“On that day”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“I will break his yoke from your neck and tear off your chains so strangers will never again enslave him. They will serve the Lord their God and I will raise up David their king for them.”
As for you, My servant Jacob, do not be afraid—this is the Lord’s declaration—and do not be dismayed, Israel, for without fail I will save you from far away, your descendants, from the land of their captivity! Jacob will return and have calm and quiet with no one to frighten him.
For I will be with you—this is the Lord’s declaration—to save you! I will bring destruction on all the nations where I have scattered you; however, I will not bring destruction on you. I will discipline you justly, and I will by no means leave you unpunished. (Jer 30:8-11 HCSB)
Though some complain that God’s punishment is unjust, who alone can restore life after a mortal injury? Should God tolerate sin for all eternity?
“For this is what the Lord says: ‘Your injury won’t heal; your wound is severe. There is no one to plead your cause. There is no medicine for your sore; no healing for you.
All your lovers have forgotten you; they don’t seek you. Indeed, I’ve struck you down with the blow of an enemy, with the punishment of a cruel foe because your wickedness is great, and your sins are numerous. Why do you cry out because of your injury? Your wound won’t heal. Because your wickedness is severe, and your sins are numerous, I’ve done all these things to you.
In addition, all who devour you will be devoured, and all your oppressors—all of them—will go into captivity. Those who plunder you will become plunder, and all who spoil you will become spoil. Indeed, I’ll bring you healing, and I’ll heal you of your wounds,’ declares the Lord, ‘because they have called you an outcast and have said, “It is Zion, no one cares for her!”’” (Jer 30:12-17 ISV)
Will Jacob again be released from slavery? Will they prosper again?
Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will bring again [release] the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.
Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them. And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord. (Jer 30:18-21 KJV)
What is the bottom line? Will they be God’s people and will He be their God?
‘You shall be My people, And I will be your God.’” (Jer 30:22 LSB)
Are there mysteries that critics of God and the Bible miss? Will the latter days and the ministry of Jesus Christ begin to open those mysteries?
Behold, the tempest of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, A sweeping tempest; It will whirl upon the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back Until He has performed and accomplished The intent of His heart. In the latter days you will understand this. (Jer 30:23-24 NASB)
Who will be the descendant of David that God will give to reign forever?
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:32-33 NIV)
Does God’s consolation of Israel and Judah lay the foundation for a new covenant to be discussed next? You decide!
Is this prophecy something God wants to preserve in writing? Is it a significant turning point for both Israel and Judah?
Jeremiah received the Lord’s word: The Lord, the God of Israel, proclaims: Write down in a scroll all the words I have spoken to you. The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will bring back my people Israel and Judah from captivity, says the Lord. I will bring them home to the land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it. (Jer 30:1-3 CEB)
Does God predict a time known prophetically as Jacob’s trouble before he is finally saved?
These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: “Thus says the Lord: We have heard a cry of panic, of terror, and no peace. Ask now, and see, can a man bear a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor? Why has every face turned pale? Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob [Jacob’s trouble]; yet he shall be saved out of it.” (Jer 30:4-7 ESV)
Does God promise freedom from slavery? How can David be their king unless this is only partially fulfilled in this age? Is God’s discipline just? Can only God restore life after death?
“On that day”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“I will break his yoke from your neck and tear off your chains so strangers will never again enslave him. They will serve the Lord their God and I will raise up David their king for them.”
As for you, My servant Jacob, do not be afraid—this is the Lord’s declaration—and do not be dismayed, Israel, for without fail I will save you from far away, your descendants, from the land of their captivity! Jacob will return and have calm and quiet with no one to frighten him.
For I will be with you—this is the Lord’s declaration—to save you! I will bring destruction on all the nations where I have scattered you; however, I will not bring destruction on you. I will discipline you justly, and I will by no means leave you unpunished. (Jer 30:8-11 HCSB)
Though some complain that God’s punishment is unjust, who alone can restore life after a mortal injury? Should God tolerate sin for all eternity?
“For this is what the Lord says: ‘Your injury won’t heal; your wound is severe. There is no one to plead your cause. There is no medicine for your sore; no healing for you.
All your lovers have forgotten you; they don’t seek you. Indeed, I’ve struck you down with the blow of an enemy, with the punishment of a cruel foe because your wickedness is great, and your sins are numerous. Why do you cry out because of your injury? Your wound won’t heal. Because your wickedness is severe, and your sins are numerous, I’ve done all these things to you.
In addition, all who devour you will be devoured, and all your oppressors—all of them—will go into captivity. Those who plunder you will become plunder, and all who spoil you will become spoil. Indeed, I’ll bring you healing, and I’ll heal you of your wounds,’ declares the Lord, ‘because they have called you an outcast and have said, “It is Zion, no one cares for her!”’” (Jer 30:12-17 ISV)
Will Jacob again be released from slavery? Will they prosper again?
Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will bring again [release] the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.
Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them. And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord. (Jer 30:18-21 KJV)
What is the bottom line? Will they be God’s people and will He be their God?
‘You shall be My people, And I will be your God.’” (Jer 30:22 LSB)
Are there mysteries that critics of God and the Bible miss? Will the latter days and the ministry of Jesus Christ begin to open those mysteries?
Behold, the tempest of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, A sweeping tempest; It will whirl upon the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back Until He has performed and accomplished The intent of His heart. In the latter days you will understand this. (Jer 30:23-24 NASB)
Who will be the descendant of David that God will give to reign forever?
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:32-33 NIV)
Does God’s consolation of Israel and Judah lay the foundation for a new covenant to be discussed next? You decide!
Letter to Exiles (Jeremiah 29)
Do God’s plans sometimes test our faith in Him? Is trust in God important? Let’s look at Jeremiah 29.
Did Jeremiah send a letter to the exiles of Judah in Babylon?
This is the text of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exiles, the priests, the prophets, and all the people Nebuchadnezzar had deported from Jerusalem to Babylon. This was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had left Jerusalem. The letter was sent by Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah whom Zedekiah king of Judah had sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. The letter stated: (Jer 29:1-3 HCSB)
What did God have to tell the exiles in Babylon? Should they settle down, live normal lives and seek the welfare of the city?
“This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles who were taken from Jerusalem into exile to Babylon, ‘Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and father sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so they may have sons and daughters. Increase in numbers there, don’t decrease. Seek the welfare of the city to which I’ve exiled you and pray to the Lord for it, for your welfare depends on its welfare.’ (Jer 29:4-7 ISV)
What did God say warning the exiled people about false prophets?
For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord. (Jer 29:8-9 KJV)
How long did God say that the exiles would have to live in Babylon? Is there a general principle here of God desiring to give loyal believers a future and a hope, or did this just apply to the specific situation?
“For thus says Yahweh, ‘When seventy years have been fulfilled for Babylon, I will visit you and establish My good word to you, to return you to this place. For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘plans for peace and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and I will return your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have banished you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and I will cause you to return to the place from where I sent you into exile.’ (Jer 29:10-14 LSB)
What did God say would happen to those who did not go into exile?
“Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon’— for this is what the Lord says concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who live in this city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile— this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the sword, famine, and plague; and I will make them like rotten figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with plague; and I will make them an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and an object of horror and hissing, and a disgrace among all the nations where I have driven them, because they have not listened to My words,’ declares the Lord, ‘which I sent to them again and again by My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,’ declares the Lord. ‘You, therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. (Jer 29:15-20 NASB)
What did God say would happen to the prophets Zedekiah and Ahab who preached lies?
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in my name: “I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes. Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned in the fire.’ For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and in my name they have uttered lies—which I did not authorize. I know it and am a witness to it,” declares the Lord. (Jer 29:21-23 NIV)
What did Shemaiah do to attack and threaten Jeremiah for his prophecies?
You shall also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, “The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there should be officers in the house of the Lord over every man who is demented and considers himself a prophet, that you should put him in prison and in the stocks. Now therefore, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who makes himself a prophet to you? For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘This captivity is long; build houses and dwell in them, and plant gardens and eat their fruit.’ ” (Jer 29:24-28 NKJV)
What consequences did God publicly announce would come upon Shemaiah?
But when Zephaniah the priest received Shemaiah’s letter, he took it to Jeremiah and read it to him. Then the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: “Send an open letter to all the exiles in Babylon. Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Since he has prophesied to you when I did not send him and has tricked you into believing his lies, I will punish him and his family. None of his descendants will see the good things I will do for my people, for he has incited you to rebel against me. I, the Lord, have spoken!’” (Jer 29:29-32 NLT)
Is the situation of the exiles in Babylon, an example of trusting God to work things out for good for those who love Him?
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Rom 8:28 WEB)
Do God’s plans sometimes test our faith in Him? Is trust in God important? You decide!
Did Jeremiah send a letter to the exiles of Judah in Babylon?
This is the text of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exiles, the priests, the prophets, and all the people Nebuchadnezzar had deported from Jerusalem to Babylon. This was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had left Jerusalem. The letter was sent by Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah whom Zedekiah king of Judah had sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. The letter stated: (Jer 29:1-3 HCSB)
What did God have to tell the exiles in Babylon? Should they settle down, live normal lives and seek the welfare of the city?
“This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles who were taken from Jerusalem into exile to Babylon, ‘Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and father sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so they may have sons and daughters. Increase in numbers there, don’t decrease. Seek the welfare of the city to which I’ve exiled you and pray to the Lord for it, for your welfare depends on its welfare.’ (Jer 29:4-7 ISV)
What did God say warning the exiled people about false prophets?
For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord. (Jer 29:8-9 KJV)
How long did God say that the exiles would have to live in Babylon? Is there a general principle here of God desiring to give loyal believers a future and a hope, or did this just apply to the specific situation?
“For thus says Yahweh, ‘When seventy years have been fulfilled for Babylon, I will visit you and establish My good word to you, to return you to this place. For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘plans for peace and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and I will return your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have banished you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and I will cause you to return to the place from where I sent you into exile.’ (Jer 29:10-14 LSB)
What did God say would happen to those who did not go into exile?
“Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon’— for this is what the Lord says concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who live in this city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile— this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the sword, famine, and plague; and I will make them like rotten figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with plague; and I will make them an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and an object of horror and hissing, and a disgrace among all the nations where I have driven them, because they have not listened to My words,’ declares the Lord, ‘which I sent to them again and again by My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,’ declares the Lord. ‘You, therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. (Jer 29:15-20 NASB)
What did God say would happen to the prophets Zedekiah and Ahab who preached lies?
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in my name: “I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes. Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned in the fire.’ For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and in my name they have uttered lies—which I did not authorize. I know it and am a witness to it,” declares the Lord. (Jer 29:21-23 NIV)
What did Shemaiah do to attack and threaten Jeremiah for his prophecies?
You shall also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, “The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there should be officers in the house of the Lord over every man who is demented and considers himself a prophet, that you should put him in prison and in the stocks. Now therefore, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who makes himself a prophet to you? For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘This captivity is long; build houses and dwell in them, and plant gardens and eat their fruit.’ ” (Jer 29:24-28 NKJV)
What consequences did God publicly announce would come upon Shemaiah?
But when Zephaniah the priest received Shemaiah’s letter, he took it to Jeremiah and read it to him. Then the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: “Send an open letter to all the exiles in Babylon. Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Since he has prophesied to you when I did not send him and has tricked you into believing his lies, I will punish him and his family. None of his descendants will see the good things I will do for my people, for he has incited you to rebel against me. I, the Lord, have spoken!’” (Jer 29:29-32 NLT)
Is the situation of the exiles in Babylon, an example of trusting God to work things out for good for those who love Him?
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Rom 8:28 WEB)
Do God’s plans sometimes test our faith in Him? Is trust in God important? You decide!
Hananiah (Jeremiah 28)
What does Jeremiah’s experience with Hananiah teach us about the lies and fate of false prophets? Let’s begin in Jeremiah 28.
What false prophesy did Hananiah make about the exiles from Judah in Babylon?
In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people: “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’” (Jer 28:1-4 NIV)
What did Jeremiah say to the false prophet Hananiah about how to tell who is a true prophet?
Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people who stood in the house of the Lord, and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! The Lord do so; the Lord perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house and all who were carried away captive, from Babylon to this place. Nevertheless hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms—of war and disaster and pestilence. As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.” (Jer 28:5-9 NKJV)
Did Hananiah repent or repeat his false prophecy using an illustration? Have false teachers today ever truly repented?
Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck and broke it in pieces. And Hananiah said again to the crowd that had gathered, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Just as this yoke has been broken, within two years I will break the yoke of oppression from all the nations now subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.’” With that, Jeremiah left the Temple area. (Jer 28:10-11 NLT)
How did God ask Jeremiah to undo the false prophecy by Hananiah?
Then Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah, after Hananiah the prophet had broken the bar from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Go, and tell Hananiah, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “You have broken the bars of wood, but you have made in their place bars of iron.” For Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says, “I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they will serve him. I have also given him the animals of the field.”’” (Jer 28:12-14 WEB)
What consequences did Hananiah face from the Lord for his false preaching?
Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah: “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord hasn’t sent you. All you are doing is persuading these people to believe a lie. Therefore, the Lord proclaims: I’m going to send you somewhere—right off the face of the earth! Before the year ends, you will die since you have incited rebellion against the Lord.” The prophet Hananiah died in the seventh month of that year. (Jer 28:15-17 CEB)
What did Jesus predict about false prophets in our day?
Many false prophets will come and fool a lot of people. (Mat 24:11 CEV)
What was Peter’s experience and prediction regarding false prophets?
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. (2 Peter 2:1 ESV)
What does Jeremiah’s experience with Hananiah teach us about the lies and fate of false prophets? You decide!
What false prophesy did Hananiah make about the exiles from Judah in Babylon?
In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people: “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’” (Jer 28:1-4 NIV)
What did Jeremiah say to the false prophet Hananiah about how to tell who is a true prophet?
Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people who stood in the house of the Lord, and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! The Lord do so; the Lord perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house and all who were carried away captive, from Babylon to this place. Nevertheless hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms—of war and disaster and pestilence. As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.” (Jer 28:5-9 NKJV)
Did Hananiah repent or repeat his false prophecy using an illustration? Have false teachers today ever truly repented?
Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck and broke it in pieces. And Hananiah said again to the crowd that had gathered, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Just as this yoke has been broken, within two years I will break the yoke of oppression from all the nations now subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.’” With that, Jeremiah left the Temple area. (Jer 28:10-11 NLT)
How did God ask Jeremiah to undo the false prophecy by Hananiah?
Then Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah, after Hananiah the prophet had broken the bar from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Go, and tell Hananiah, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “You have broken the bars of wood, but you have made in their place bars of iron.” For Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says, “I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they will serve him. I have also given him the animals of the field.”’” (Jer 28:12-14 WEB)
What consequences did Hananiah face from the Lord for his false preaching?
Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah: “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord hasn’t sent you. All you are doing is persuading these people to believe a lie. Therefore, the Lord proclaims: I’m going to send you somewhere—right off the face of the earth! Before the year ends, you will die since you have incited rebellion against the Lord.” The prophet Hananiah died in the seventh month of that year. (Jer 28:15-17 CEB)
What did Jesus predict about false prophets in our day?
Many false prophets will come and fool a lot of people. (Mat 24:11 CEV)
What was Peter’s experience and prediction regarding false prophets?
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. (2 Peter 2:1 ESV)
What does Jeremiah’s experience with Hananiah teach us about the lies and fate of false prophets? You decide!
Yoked (Jeremiah 27)
As Judah was taken captive to ancient Babylon, are we also yoked as slaves to this world? Is there a light yoke that will give us a true Sabbath rest for our souls? Let’s begin in Jeremiah 27.
Would the nations surrounding Judah come under the yoke of slavery to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon? Would Babylon then also become a slave?
In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord. Thus the Lord said to me: “Make yourself straps and yoke-bars, and put them on your neck. Send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the sons of Ammon, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. Give them this charge for their masters: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: “It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes. Then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave. (Jer 27:1-7 ESV)
Should the people of Judah submit to the king of Babylon or rebel? What was God’s declaration?
“As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and does not place its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish by sword, famine, and plague”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“until through him I have destroyed it. But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, fortune-tellers, or sorcerers who say to you, ‘Don’t serve the king of Babylon!’ for they prophesy a lie to you so that you will be removed from your land. I will banish you, and you will perish. But as for the nation that will put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave it in its own land, and that nation will cultivate it and reside in it.” This is the Lord’s declaration. (Jer 27:8-11 HCSB)
What did Jeremiah report to Zedekiah, king of Judah, about false prophets and the consequences of rebelling against Babylon?
I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah using words like these: “Bring your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon. Serve him and his people, and you will live! Why should you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by plague as the Lord has decreed about the nation that does not serve the king of Babylon? Don’t listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, ‘You won’t serve the king of Babylon.’ Indeed, they’re prophesying a lie to you. For I didn’t send them,” declares the Lord, “and they’re falsely prophesying in my name, so I will drive both you and the prophets who prophesy to you out of the land.” (Jer 27:12-15 ISV)
Should the people listen to false prophets? Should we?
Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the Lord's house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste? But if they be prophets, and if the word of the Lord be with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon. (Jer 27:16-18 KJV)
Would God eventually cause people to bring back the vessels of the temple sanctuary to Jerusalem?
For thus says Yahweh of hosts concerning the pillars, concerning the sea, concerning the stands, and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried away into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. Indeed, thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of Yahweh and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem, ‘They will be brought to Babylon, and they will be there until the day I visit them,’ declares Yahweh. ‘Then I will bring them up and return them to this place.’” (Jer 27:19-22 LSB)
What did Jesus say about the yoke of worldly ways imposed upon people, and His own yoke of true rest for our souls?
“Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.” (Mat 11:28-30 NASB)
As Judah was taken captive to ancient Babylon, are we also yoked as slaves to this world? Is there a light yoke that will give us a true Sabbath rest for our souls? You decide!
Would the nations surrounding Judah come under the yoke of slavery to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon? Would Babylon then also become a slave?
In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord. Thus the Lord said to me: “Make yourself straps and yoke-bars, and put them on your neck. Send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the sons of Ammon, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. Give them this charge for their masters: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: “It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes. Then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave. (Jer 27:1-7 ESV)
Should the people of Judah submit to the king of Babylon or rebel? What was God’s declaration?
“As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and does not place its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish by sword, famine, and plague”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“until through him I have destroyed it. But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, fortune-tellers, or sorcerers who say to you, ‘Don’t serve the king of Babylon!’ for they prophesy a lie to you so that you will be removed from your land. I will banish you, and you will perish. But as for the nation that will put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave it in its own land, and that nation will cultivate it and reside in it.” This is the Lord’s declaration. (Jer 27:8-11 HCSB)
What did Jeremiah report to Zedekiah, king of Judah, about false prophets and the consequences of rebelling against Babylon?
I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah using words like these: “Bring your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon. Serve him and his people, and you will live! Why should you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by plague as the Lord has decreed about the nation that does not serve the king of Babylon? Don’t listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, ‘You won’t serve the king of Babylon.’ Indeed, they’re prophesying a lie to you. For I didn’t send them,” declares the Lord, “and they’re falsely prophesying in my name, so I will drive both you and the prophets who prophesy to you out of the land.” (Jer 27:12-15 ISV)
Should the people listen to false prophets? Should we?
Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the Lord's house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste? But if they be prophets, and if the word of the Lord be with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon. (Jer 27:16-18 KJV)
Would God eventually cause people to bring back the vessels of the temple sanctuary to Jerusalem?
For thus says Yahweh of hosts concerning the pillars, concerning the sea, concerning the stands, and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried away into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. Indeed, thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of Yahweh and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem, ‘They will be brought to Babylon, and they will be there until the day I visit them,’ declares Yahweh. ‘Then I will bring them up and return them to this place.’” (Jer 27:19-22 LSB)
What did Jesus say about the yoke of worldly ways imposed upon people, and His own yoke of true rest for our souls?
“Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.” (Mat 11:28-30 NASB)
As Judah was taken captive to ancient Babylon, are we also yoked as slaves to this world? Is there a light yoke that will give us a true Sabbath rest for our souls? You decide!
Jeremiah Accused (Jeremiah 26)
Do those who preach God’s word faithfully sometimes face threats from even religious officials? Let’s begin in Jeremiah 26.
What did Jeremiah prophesy about Jerusalem if the people failed to turn from evil?
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from Yahweh, saying, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Stand in the court of the house of Yahweh, and you shall speak to all the cities of Judah who have come to worship in the house of Yahweh all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. Do not take away a word! Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the evil which I am devising to bring against them because of the evil of their deeds.’
And you will say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law which I have given before you, to listen to the words of My slaves the prophets, whom I have been sending to you, rising up early and sending, but you have not listened, then I will make this house like Shiloh, and this city I will make a curse to all the nations of the earth.”’” (Jer 26:1-6 LSB)
What threats were made to Jeremiah after his prophecy about Jerusalem?
The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. Yet when Jeremiah finished speaking everything that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You must die! Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house will be like Shiloh and this city will be in ruins, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered to Jeremiah at the house of the Lord. (Jer 26:7-9 NASB)
What did the priests and false prophets urge the officials to do to Jeremiah?
When the officials of Judah heard about these things, they went up from the royal palace to the house of the Lord and took their places at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man should be sentenced to death because he has prophesied against this city. You have heard it with your own ears!” (Jer 26:10-11 NIV)
What did Jeremiah say to the people in his own defense?
Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and all the people, saying: “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city with all the words that you have heard. Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you.
As for me, here I am, in your hand; do with me as seems good and proper to you. But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will surely bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.” (Jer 26:12-15 NKJV)
Did the officials rebuke the priests and false prophets?
Then the officials and the people said to the priests and prophets, “This man does not deserve the death sentence, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” (Jer 26:16 NLT)
What did some of the elders say about the prophet Micah?
Then certain of the elders of the land rose up, and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, “Micah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies says: “‘Zion will be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem will become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.’
Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Didn’t he fear Yahweh, and entreat the favor of Yahweh, and Yahweh relented of the disaster which he had pronounced against them? We would commit great evil against our own souls that way!” (Jer 26:17-19 WEB)
What did some of the elders say about the prophet Uriah?
There was another man who prophesied in the Lord’s name: Uriah, Shemaiah’s son from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied the same things that Jeremiah did about this city and against this land. When King Jehoiakim and all his warriors and officials heard his words, the king sought to kill him. Uriah heard of this and fled in fear to Egypt. But King Jehoiakim dispatched Elnathan, Achbor’s son, and others to Egypt. They brought Uriah back from Egypt to the king who had him killed, and his body was thrown into the common burial ground. (Jer 26:20-23 CEB)
Whose hand was with Jeremiah to protect him from his persecutors?
But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death. (Jer 26:24 ESV)
Did Stephen face a similar kangaroo court from religious leaders?
They turned the people and their leaders and the teachers of the Law of Moses against Stephen. Then they all grabbed him and dragged him in front of the council. Some men agreed to tell lies about Stephen, and they said, “This man keeps on saying terrible things about this holy temple and the Law of Moses. We have heard him claim that Jesus from Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses gave us.” (Acts 6:12-14 CEV)
Do those who preach God’s word faithfully sometimes face threats from even religious officials? You decide!
What did Jeremiah prophesy about Jerusalem if the people failed to turn from evil?
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from Yahweh, saying, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Stand in the court of the house of Yahweh, and you shall speak to all the cities of Judah who have come to worship in the house of Yahweh all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. Do not take away a word! Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the evil which I am devising to bring against them because of the evil of their deeds.’
And you will say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law which I have given before you, to listen to the words of My slaves the prophets, whom I have been sending to you, rising up early and sending, but you have not listened, then I will make this house like Shiloh, and this city I will make a curse to all the nations of the earth.”’” (Jer 26:1-6 LSB)
What threats were made to Jeremiah after his prophecy about Jerusalem?
The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. Yet when Jeremiah finished speaking everything that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You must die! Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house will be like Shiloh and this city will be in ruins, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered to Jeremiah at the house of the Lord. (Jer 26:7-9 NASB)
What did the priests and false prophets urge the officials to do to Jeremiah?
When the officials of Judah heard about these things, they went up from the royal palace to the house of the Lord and took their places at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man should be sentenced to death because he has prophesied against this city. You have heard it with your own ears!” (Jer 26:10-11 NIV)
What did Jeremiah say to the people in his own defense?
Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and all the people, saying: “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city with all the words that you have heard. Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you.
As for me, here I am, in your hand; do with me as seems good and proper to you. But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will surely bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.” (Jer 26:12-15 NKJV)
Did the officials rebuke the priests and false prophets?
Then the officials and the people said to the priests and prophets, “This man does not deserve the death sentence, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” (Jer 26:16 NLT)
What did some of the elders say about the prophet Micah?
Then certain of the elders of the land rose up, and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, “Micah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies says: “‘Zion will be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem will become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.’
Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Didn’t he fear Yahweh, and entreat the favor of Yahweh, and Yahweh relented of the disaster which he had pronounced against them? We would commit great evil against our own souls that way!” (Jer 26:17-19 WEB)
What did some of the elders say about the prophet Uriah?
There was another man who prophesied in the Lord’s name: Uriah, Shemaiah’s son from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied the same things that Jeremiah did about this city and against this land. When King Jehoiakim and all his warriors and officials heard his words, the king sought to kill him. Uriah heard of this and fled in fear to Egypt. But King Jehoiakim dispatched Elnathan, Achbor’s son, and others to Egypt. They brought Uriah back from Egypt to the king who had him killed, and his body was thrown into the common burial ground. (Jer 26:20-23 CEB)
Whose hand was with Jeremiah to protect him from his persecutors?
But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death. (Jer 26:24 ESV)
Did Stephen face a similar kangaroo court from religious leaders?
They turned the people and their leaders and the teachers of the Law of Moses against Stephen. Then they all grabbed him and dragged him in front of the council. Some men agreed to tell lies about Stephen, and they said, “This man keeps on saying terrible things about this holy temple and the Law of Moses. We have heard him claim that Jesus from Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses gave us.” (Acts 6:12-14 CEV)
Do those who preach God’s word faithfully sometimes face threats from even religious officials? You decide!
Cup of God's Anger (Jeremiah 25)
As God was angry with Judah and Jerusalem for their sins, is He also with other nations? What sins have the nations committed? Let’s look at Jeremiah 25.
How long did Jeremiah warn Judah and Jerusalem? Did they listen?
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: “From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the word of the Lord has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you have not listened. And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear.
They said, ‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.’ Yet you have not listened to Me,” says the Lord, “that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. (Jer 25:1-7 NKJV)
What would be the divine consequences of not listening to God’s warning and how many years would be the result?
And now the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Because you have not listened to me, I will gather together all the armies of the north under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whom I have appointed as my deputy. I will bring them all against this land and its people and against the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy you and make you an object of horror and contempt and a ruin forever. I will take away your happy singing and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard. Your millstones will fall silent, and the lights in your homes will go out. This entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. (Jer 25:8-11 NLT)
As God would punish Judah, would He later punish their captors?
“It will happen, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,” says Yahweh, “for their iniquity. I will make the land of the Chaldeans desolate forever. I will bring on that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings will make bondservants of them, even of them. I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their hands.” (Jer 25:12-14 WEB)
Did God send Jeremiah to nations with a symbolic cup of judgment against them?
This is what the Lord, God of Israel, said to me: Take this seething cup of wine from my hand and make all the nations gulp it down where I’m sending you. They will drink and stagger about half-crazed because of the sword that I am sending against them. (Jer 25:15-16 CEB)
What did Jeremiah do as he went to the kings of various nations?
I took the cup from the Lord's hand, and I went to the kings of the nations and made each of them drink some. I started with Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, and the king and his officials were removed from power in disgrace. Everyone still makes insulting jokes about them and uses their names as curse words. The second place I went was Egypt, where everyone had to drink from the cup, including the king and his officials, the other government workers, the rest of the Egyptians, and all the foreigners who lived in the country.
Next I went to the king of Uz, and then to the four kings of Philistia, who ruled from Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what was left of Ashdod. Then I went to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, and to the kings of Tyre, Sidon, and their colonies across the sea. After this, I went to the kings of Dedan, Tema, Buz, the tribes of the Arabian Desert, Zimri, Elam, Media, and the countries in the north, both near and far. I went to all the countries on earth, one after another, and finally to Babylonia. (Jer 25:17-26 CEV)
What did Jeremiah pronounce to the kings he visited, and what if they refused to drink?
“Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of the sword that I am sending among you.’ And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: You must drink! For behold, I begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the Lord of hosts.’ (Jer 25:27-29 ESV)
What did Jeremiah prophesy to the kings of the nations?
“As for you, you are to prophesy all these things to them, and say to them: The Lord roars from heaven; He raises His voice from His holy dwelling. He roars loudly over His grazing land; He calls out with a shout, like those who tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. The tumult reaches to the ends of the earth because the Lord brings a case against the nations. He enters into judgment with all flesh. As for the wicked, He hands them over to the sword—this is the Lord’s declaration. This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Pay attention! Disaster spreads from nation to nation. A great storm is stirred up from the ends of the earth.” (Jer 25:30-32 HCSB)
Is God still angry with the leaders of nations today? Are there similar reasons to God’s warnings to the kings of Judah and Jerusalem?
“Those slain by the Lord on that day will extend from one end of the earth to the other. They won’t be mourned for or gathered up or buried. They’ll be like dung on the surface of the ground. Scream, you shepherds! Cry out! Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock! Indeed, the time for your slaughter and your dispersion has arrived, and you will break like a choice vessel. Flight will be impossible for the shepherds, as will be escape for the leaders of the flock. A sound—it’s the cry of the shepherds and the scream of the leaders of the flock—because the Lord is destroying their pastures. The peaceful meadows are silent because of the Lord’s fierce anger. Like a lion, he has left his den. Indeed, their land has become a waste because of the anger of the oppressor and because of the Lord’s fierce anger.” (Jer 25:33-38 ISV)
How will God judge the last oppressive reign of human civilization, symbolic Babylon, with a similar cup of wine when Christ returns?
And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. (Rev 16:19 KJV)
As God was angry with Judah and Jerusalem for their sins, is He also with other nations? What sins have the nations committed? You decide!
How long did Jeremiah warn Judah and Jerusalem? Did they listen?
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: “From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the word of the Lord has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you have not listened. And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear.
They said, ‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.’ Yet you have not listened to Me,” says the Lord, “that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. (Jer 25:1-7 NKJV)
What would be the divine consequences of not listening to God’s warning and how many years would be the result?
And now the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Because you have not listened to me, I will gather together all the armies of the north under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whom I have appointed as my deputy. I will bring them all against this land and its people and against the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy you and make you an object of horror and contempt and a ruin forever. I will take away your happy singing and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard. Your millstones will fall silent, and the lights in your homes will go out. This entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. (Jer 25:8-11 NLT)
As God would punish Judah, would He later punish their captors?
“It will happen, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,” says Yahweh, “for their iniquity. I will make the land of the Chaldeans desolate forever. I will bring on that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings will make bondservants of them, even of them. I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their hands.” (Jer 25:12-14 WEB)
Did God send Jeremiah to nations with a symbolic cup of judgment against them?
This is what the Lord, God of Israel, said to me: Take this seething cup of wine from my hand and make all the nations gulp it down where I’m sending you. They will drink and stagger about half-crazed because of the sword that I am sending against them. (Jer 25:15-16 CEB)
What did Jeremiah do as he went to the kings of various nations?
I took the cup from the Lord's hand, and I went to the kings of the nations and made each of them drink some. I started with Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, and the king and his officials were removed from power in disgrace. Everyone still makes insulting jokes about them and uses their names as curse words. The second place I went was Egypt, where everyone had to drink from the cup, including the king and his officials, the other government workers, the rest of the Egyptians, and all the foreigners who lived in the country.
Next I went to the king of Uz, and then to the four kings of Philistia, who ruled from Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what was left of Ashdod. Then I went to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, and to the kings of Tyre, Sidon, and their colonies across the sea. After this, I went to the kings of Dedan, Tema, Buz, the tribes of the Arabian Desert, Zimri, Elam, Media, and the countries in the north, both near and far. I went to all the countries on earth, one after another, and finally to Babylonia. (Jer 25:17-26 CEV)
What did Jeremiah pronounce to the kings he visited, and what if they refused to drink?
“Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of the sword that I am sending among you.’ And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: You must drink! For behold, I begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the Lord of hosts.’ (Jer 25:27-29 ESV)
What did Jeremiah prophesy to the kings of the nations?
“As for you, you are to prophesy all these things to them, and say to them: The Lord roars from heaven; He raises His voice from His holy dwelling. He roars loudly over His grazing land; He calls out with a shout, like those who tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. The tumult reaches to the ends of the earth because the Lord brings a case against the nations. He enters into judgment with all flesh. As for the wicked, He hands them over to the sword—this is the Lord’s declaration. This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Pay attention! Disaster spreads from nation to nation. A great storm is stirred up from the ends of the earth.” (Jer 25:30-32 HCSB)
Is God still angry with the leaders of nations today? Are there similar reasons to God’s warnings to the kings of Judah and Jerusalem?
“Those slain by the Lord on that day will extend from one end of the earth to the other. They won’t be mourned for or gathered up or buried. They’ll be like dung on the surface of the ground. Scream, you shepherds! Cry out! Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock! Indeed, the time for your slaughter and your dispersion has arrived, and you will break like a choice vessel. Flight will be impossible for the shepherds, as will be escape for the leaders of the flock. A sound—it’s the cry of the shepherds and the scream of the leaders of the flock—because the Lord is destroying their pastures. The peaceful meadows are silent because of the Lord’s fierce anger. Like a lion, he has left his den. Indeed, their land has become a waste because of the anger of the oppressor and because of the Lord’s fierce anger.” (Jer 25:33-38 ISV)
How will God judge the last oppressive reign of human civilization, symbolic Babylon, with a similar cup of wine when Christ returns?
And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. (Rev 16:19 KJV)
As God was angry with Judah and Jerusalem for their sins, is He also with other nations? What sins have the nations committed? You decide!
Good & Bad Figs (Jeremiah 24)
In a picture of good and bad figs, is there a difference between the hearts of those who love God and those who don’t? Let’s begin in Jeremiah 24.
What did Jeremiah see in two baskets in front of the temple?
After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had deported Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, the officials of Judah, and the craftsmen and metalsmiths from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord. One basket contained very good figs, like early figs, but the other basket contained very bad figs, so bad they were inedible. The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “Figs! The good figs are very good, but the bad figs are extremely bad, so bad they are inedible.” (Jer 24:1-3 HCSB)
What did the basket of good figs picture and what wholehearted attitude determined their worth?
Then this message from the Lord came to me: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Like these good figs, so I’ll regard as good the exiles of Judah whom I sent from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. I’ll look at them with good intentions, and I’ll bring them back to this land. I’ll build them up. I won’t tear them down; I’ll plant them and not rip them up. I’ll give them the ability to know me, for I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God when they return to me with all their heart. (Jer 24:4-7 ISV)
What character trait determined that the other basket of figs was so bad?
And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the Lord, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt: And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers. (Jer 24:8-10 KJV)
What is a major difference between the old and new covenants?
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, And upon their hearts I will write them. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people. (Heb 8:10 LSB)
What is a definitive example of the law written on our hearts?
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from people, but from God. (Rom 2:28-29 NASB)
What was the inward intended lesson of circumcision of the flesh?
For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh (Phil 3:3 NIV)
In a picture of good and bad figs, is there a difference between the hearts of those who love God and those who don’t? You decide!
What did Jeremiah see in two baskets in front of the temple?
After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had deported Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, the officials of Judah, and the craftsmen and metalsmiths from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord. One basket contained very good figs, like early figs, but the other basket contained very bad figs, so bad they were inedible. The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “Figs! The good figs are very good, but the bad figs are extremely bad, so bad they are inedible.” (Jer 24:1-3 HCSB)
What did the basket of good figs picture and what wholehearted attitude determined their worth?
Then this message from the Lord came to me: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Like these good figs, so I’ll regard as good the exiles of Judah whom I sent from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. I’ll look at them with good intentions, and I’ll bring them back to this land. I’ll build them up. I won’t tear them down; I’ll plant them and not rip them up. I’ll give them the ability to know me, for I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God when they return to me with all their heart. (Jer 24:4-7 ISV)
What character trait determined that the other basket of figs was so bad?
And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the Lord, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt: And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers. (Jer 24:8-10 KJV)
What is a major difference between the old and new covenants?
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, And upon their hearts I will write them. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people. (Heb 8:10 LSB)
What is a definitive example of the law written on our hearts?
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from people, but from God. (Rom 2:28-29 NASB)
What was the inward intended lesson of circumcision of the flesh?
For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh (Phil 3:3 NIV)
In a picture of good and bad figs, is there a difference between the hearts of those who love God and those who don’t? You decide!
False Teachers (Jeremiah 23)
Do false teachers still exist? What are some indicators that expose their lies? Let’s look at Jeremiah 23.
What did God say to destructive leaders of the nation? Will God raise up faithful shepherds?
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” This is the Lord’s declaration. “Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who shepherd My people: You have scattered My flock, banished them, and have not attended to them. I will attend to you because of your evil acts”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “I will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands where I have banished them, and I will return them to their grazing land. They will become fruitful and numerous. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them. They will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any be missing.” This is the Lord’s declaration. (Jer 23:1-4 HCSB)
Would God raise up a righteous descendant of king David to be called the Lord our righteousness? Could that refer to a righteousness not by our effort, but a gift from God, involving a safe relationship with God?
“The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I’ll raise up a righteous branch for David. He will be a king who rules wisely, and he will administer justice and righteousness in the land. In his time Judah will be delivered and Israel will dwell in safety. This is the name by which he will be known: ‘The Lord Our Righteousness.’ (Jer 23:5-6 ISV)
Will the scattered descendants of Israel be brought back to their own land?
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land. (Jer 23:7-8 KJV)
What does God say about corrupt prophets and priests?
As for the prophets: My heart is broken within me; All my bones tremble; I have become like a drunken man, Even like a man overcome with wine, Because of Yahweh And because of His holy words. For the land is full of adulterers; For the land mourns because of the curse. The pastures of the wilderness have dried up. Their course also is evil, And their might is not right. “For both prophet and priest are polluted; Even in My house I have found their evil,” declares Yahweh. “Therefore their way will be like slippery paths to them; They will be driven away into the thick darkness and fall down in it; For I will bring their evil upon them, The year of their punishment,” declares Yahweh. (Jer 23:9-12 LSB)
Had some prophets created false images of God, tolerated adultery and the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah? Do some today?
“Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray. Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: The committing of adultery and walking in deceit; And they strengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one has turned back from his wickedness. All of them have become to Me like Sodom, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah. (Jer 23:13-14 NASB)
Who did God blame for the ungodliness throughout the land?
Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets: “I will make them eat bitter food and drink poisoned water, because from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.” (Jer 23:15 NIV)
What did God say about listening to the words of false prophets?
Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; They speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the Lord. They continually say to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, “You shall have peace” ’; And to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you.’ ”
For who has stood in the counsel of the Lord, And has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His word and heard it? Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord has gone forth in fury—A violent whirlwind! It will fall violently on the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back Until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart. In the latter days you will understand it perfectly.
“I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel, And had caused My people to hear My words, Then they would have turned them from their evil way And from the evil of their doings.
“Am I a God near at hand,” says the Lord, “And not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the Lord; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord. (Jer 24:16-24 NKJV)
Did the false prophets claim they had a dream from God? Did they deceitfully invent everything they said?
“I have heard these prophets say, ‘Listen to the dream I had from God last night.’ And then they proceed to tell lies in my name. How long will this go on? If they are prophets, they are prophets of deceit, inventing everything they say. By telling these false dreams, they are trying to get my people to forget me, just as their ancestors did by worshiping the idols of Baal. “Let these false prophets tell their dreams, but let my true messengers faithfully proclaim my every word. There is a difference between straw and grain! Does not my word burn like fire?” says the Lord. “Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces? (Jer 23:25-29 NLT)
What did God say about these false prophets and their lying dreams and vain boasting?
“Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” says Yahweh, “who each steal my words from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophets,” says Yahweh, “who use their tongues, and say, ‘He says.’ Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams,” says Yahweh, “who tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their vain boasting; yet I didn’t send them or command them. They don’t profit this people at all,” says Yahweh. (Jer 23:30-32 WEB)
What consequences would the false prophets face for their ministry built on deceptive lies?
When these people or a prophet or a priest asks you, “What is the Lord’s message?” say to them, “What message? I will cast you off, declares the Lord.” I will punish anyone, including prophet or priest, who says, “This is the Lord’s message.” This is what you should ask each other: “What has the Lord said?” “What has the Lord declared?” But you are no longer to mention the Lord’s message, because everyone thinks they have received a message from the Lord. You destroy the very word of the living God, the Lord of heavenly forces, our God.
So this is what you should say to the prophet: “What has the Lord said to you?” “What has the Lord declared?” But if you insist on saying, “This is the Lord’s message,” the Lord says to you: Because you have made this claim—this is the Lord’s message—when I told you not to proclaim the Lord’s message, I will lift you up and cast you out of my presence, together with the city that I gave to your ancestors. I will make you an object of disgrace and enduring shame that no one will ever forget. (Jer 23:33-40 CEB)
Who is the good shepherd setting the highest standard of a true shepherd of the flock?
I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep. Hired workers are not like the shepherd. They don't own the sheep, and when they see a wolf coming, they run off and leave the sheep. Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock. Hired workers run away because they don't care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and they know me. (John 10:11-14 CEV)
Did God work out a great exchange, so that we might become the righteousness of God?
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor 5:21 ESV)
Do false teachers still exist? What are some indicators that expose their lies? You decide!
What did God say to destructive leaders of the nation? Will God raise up faithful shepherds?
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” This is the Lord’s declaration. “Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who shepherd My people: You have scattered My flock, banished them, and have not attended to them. I will attend to you because of your evil acts”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “I will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands where I have banished them, and I will return them to their grazing land. They will become fruitful and numerous. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them. They will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any be missing.” This is the Lord’s declaration. (Jer 23:1-4 HCSB)
Would God raise up a righteous descendant of king David to be called the Lord our righteousness? Could that refer to a righteousness not by our effort, but a gift from God, involving a safe relationship with God?
“The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I’ll raise up a righteous branch for David. He will be a king who rules wisely, and he will administer justice and righteousness in the land. In his time Judah will be delivered and Israel will dwell in safety. This is the name by which he will be known: ‘The Lord Our Righteousness.’ (Jer 23:5-6 ISV)
Will the scattered descendants of Israel be brought back to their own land?
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land. (Jer 23:7-8 KJV)
What does God say about corrupt prophets and priests?
As for the prophets: My heart is broken within me; All my bones tremble; I have become like a drunken man, Even like a man overcome with wine, Because of Yahweh And because of His holy words. For the land is full of adulterers; For the land mourns because of the curse. The pastures of the wilderness have dried up. Their course also is evil, And their might is not right. “For both prophet and priest are polluted; Even in My house I have found their evil,” declares Yahweh. “Therefore their way will be like slippery paths to them; They will be driven away into the thick darkness and fall down in it; For I will bring their evil upon them, The year of their punishment,” declares Yahweh. (Jer 23:9-12 LSB)
Had some prophets created false images of God, tolerated adultery and the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah? Do some today?
“Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray. Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: The committing of adultery and walking in deceit; And they strengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one has turned back from his wickedness. All of them have become to Me like Sodom, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah. (Jer 23:13-14 NASB)
Who did God blame for the ungodliness throughout the land?
Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets: “I will make them eat bitter food and drink poisoned water, because from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.” (Jer 23:15 NIV)
What did God say about listening to the words of false prophets?
Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; They speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the Lord. They continually say to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, “You shall have peace” ’; And to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you.’ ”
For who has stood in the counsel of the Lord, And has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His word and heard it? Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord has gone forth in fury—A violent whirlwind! It will fall violently on the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back Until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart. In the latter days you will understand it perfectly.
“I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel, And had caused My people to hear My words, Then they would have turned them from their evil way And from the evil of their doings.
“Am I a God near at hand,” says the Lord, “And not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the Lord; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord. (Jer 24:16-24 NKJV)
Did the false prophets claim they had a dream from God? Did they deceitfully invent everything they said?
“I have heard these prophets say, ‘Listen to the dream I had from God last night.’ And then they proceed to tell lies in my name. How long will this go on? If they are prophets, they are prophets of deceit, inventing everything they say. By telling these false dreams, they are trying to get my people to forget me, just as their ancestors did by worshiping the idols of Baal. “Let these false prophets tell their dreams, but let my true messengers faithfully proclaim my every word. There is a difference between straw and grain! Does not my word burn like fire?” says the Lord. “Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces? (Jer 23:25-29 NLT)
What did God say about these false prophets and their lying dreams and vain boasting?
“Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” says Yahweh, “who each steal my words from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophets,” says Yahweh, “who use their tongues, and say, ‘He says.’ Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams,” says Yahweh, “who tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their vain boasting; yet I didn’t send them or command them. They don’t profit this people at all,” says Yahweh. (Jer 23:30-32 WEB)
What consequences would the false prophets face for their ministry built on deceptive lies?
When these people or a prophet or a priest asks you, “What is the Lord’s message?” say to them, “What message? I will cast you off, declares the Lord.” I will punish anyone, including prophet or priest, who says, “This is the Lord’s message.” This is what you should ask each other: “What has the Lord said?” “What has the Lord declared?” But you are no longer to mention the Lord’s message, because everyone thinks they have received a message from the Lord. You destroy the very word of the living God, the Lord of heavenly forces, our God.
So this is what you should say to the prophet: “What has the Lord said to you?” “What has the Lord declared?” But if you insist on saying, “This is the Lord’s message,” the Lord says to you: Because you have made this claim—this is the Lord’s message—when I told you not to proclaim the Lord’s message, I will lift you up and cast you out of my presence, together with the city that I gave to your ancestors. I will make you an object of disgrace and enduring shame that no one will ever forget. (Jer 23:33-40 CEB)
Who is the good shepherd setting the highest standard of a true shepherd of the flock?
I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep. Hired workers are not like the shepherd. They don't own the sheep, and when they see a wolf coming, they run off and leave the sheep. Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock. Hired workers run away because they don't care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and they know me. (John 10:11-14 CEV)
Did God work out a great exchange, so that we might become the righteousness of God?
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor 5:21 ESV)
Do false teachers still exist? What are some indicators that expose their lies? You decide!
Three Kings Warned (Jeremiah 22)
Did God warn three kings of Judah to uphold justice and not to mistreat the weak or face ruin? Do our national leaders? Let’s look at Jeremiah 22.
Was Jeremiah sent to the king of Judah with a message from God?
This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and tell him this: ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David—you, your officials, and your people who enter these gates. This is what the Lord says: “Uphold justice and righteousness. Deliver from their oppressor those who have been robbed. Don’t mistreat or do violence to the alien, the orphan, or the widow, or shed the blood of innocent people in this place. Rather, carefully obey this message, and then kings sitting for David on his throne and riding in chariots and on horses will enter the gates of this house. The king will enter along with his officials and his people. But if you don’t listen to these words, I swear,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a ruin.”’” (Jer 22:1-5 ISV)
Was the king exalted like the beautiful mountains of Gilead? What would happen to him?
For thus saith the Lord unto the king's house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited. And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. (Jer 22:6-7 KJV)
What will foreign nations inquire about Judah, and how will they answer?
“Many nations will pass by this city; and they will say to one another, ‘Why has Yahweh done thus to this great city?’ Then they will say, ‘Because they forsook the covenant of Yahweh their God and worshiped other gods and served them.’” Do not weep for the dead or console him, But weep continually for the one who goes away, For he will never return Or see the land of his birth. (Jer 22:8-10 LSB)
What does God want Jeremiah to tell Shallum or Jehoahaz, king of Judah?
For this is what the Lord says regarding Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in the place of his father Josiah, who went out from this place: “He will never return there; but in the place where they took him into exile, there he will die and he will not see this land again. (Jer 22:11-12 NASB)
What misuse of power does God warn a nation’s leader not to engage in?
“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labor. He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace with spacious upper rooms.’ So he makes large windows in it, panels it with cedar and decorates it in red.” (Jer 22:13-14 NIV)
Does the accumulation of wealth for selfish purposes exalt a national leader or justice, righteousness, and caring for the poor and needy?
“Shall you reign because you enclose yourself in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink, And do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy; Then it was well. Was not this knowing Me?” says the Lord. “Yet your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness, For shedding innocent blood, And practicing oppression and violence.” (Jer 22:15-17 NKJV)
What did God say about Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and his greed?
Therefore, this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim, son of King Josiah: “The people will not mourn for him, crying to one another, ‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’ His subjects will not mourn for him, crying, ‘Alas, our master is dead! Alas, his splendor is gone!’ He will be buried like a dead donkey—dragged out of Jerusalem and dumped outside the gates! (Jer 22:18-19 NLT)
Was there hope for Judah in foreign allies, so-called lovers like Lebanon, Bashan and east of the Jordan in Abarim?
“Go up to Lebanon, and cry out. Lift up your voice in Bashan, and cry from Abarim; for all your lovers have been destroyed. I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you said, ‘I will not listen.’ This has been your way from your youth, that you didn’t obey my voice. The wind will feed all your shepherds, and your lovers will go into captivity. Surely then you will be ashamed and confounded for all your wickedness. Inhabitant of Lebanon, who makes your nest in the cedars, how greatly to be pitied you will be when pangs come on you, the pain as of a woman in travail! (Jer 22:20-23 WEB)
What did God say about Coniah (also called Jehoiachin or Jeconiah) king of Judah?
As surely as I live, declares the Lord, even if Coniah, King Jehoiakim’s son from Judah were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still remove you from there. I would hand you over to those who seek to kill you, those you dread, even Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar and his army. I will banish you and your mother who bore you to a land far from your native soil, and there the two of you will die. You will never return to the land you long to go back to. (Jer 22:24-27 CEB)
Why did God say Jehoiakin (Coniah) was unwanted, like a broken clay pot?
Jehoiachin, you are unwanted like a broken clay pot. So you and your children will be thrown into a country you know nothing about. Land of Judah, I am the Lord. Now listen to what I say! Erase the names of Jehoiachin's children from the royal records. He is a complete failure, and so none of them will ever be king. I, the Lord, have spoken. (Jer 22:28-30 CEV)
What did James confirm about pure religion that these kings of Judah missed?
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:27 ESV)
Did God warn three kings of Judah to uphold justice and not to mistreat the weak or face ruin? Do our national leaders? You decide!
Was Jeremiah sent to the king of Judah with a message from God?
This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and tell him this: ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David—you, your officials, and your people who enter these gates. This is what the Lord says: “Uphold justice and righteousness. Deliver from their oppressor those who have been robbed. Don’t mistreat or do violence to the alien, the orphan, or the widow, or shed the blood of innocent people in this place. Rather, carefully obey this message, and then kings sitting for David on his throne and riding in chariots and on horses will enter the gates of this house. The king will enter along with his officials and his people. But if you don’t listen to these words, I swear,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a ruin.”’” (Jer 22:1-5 ISV)
Was the king exalted like the beautiful mountains of Gilead? What would happen to him?
For thus saith the Lord unto the king's house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited. And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. (Jer 22:6-7 KJV)
What will foreign nations inquire about Judah, and how will they answer?
“Many nations will pass by this city; and they will say to one another, ‘Why has Yahweh done thus to this great city?’ Then they will say, ‘Because they forsook the covenant of Yahweh their God and worshiped other gods and served them.’” Do not weep for the dead or console him, But weep continually for the one who goes away, For he will never return Or see the land of his birth. (Jer 22:8-10 LSB)
What does God want Jeremiah to tell Shallum or Jehoahaz, king of Judah?
For this is what the Lord says regarding Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in the place of his father Josiah, who went out from this place: “He will never return there; but in the place where they took him into exile, there he will die and he will not see this land again. (Jer 22:11-12 NASB)
What misuse of power does God warn a nation’s leader not to engage in?
“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labor. He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace with spacious upper rooms.’ So he makes large windows in it, panels it with cedar and decorates it in red.” (Jer 22:13-14 NIV)
Does the accumulation of wealth for selfish purposes exalt a national leader or justice, righteousness, and caring for the poor and needy?
“Shall you reign because you enclose yourself in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink, And do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy; Then it was well. Was not this knowing Me?” says the Lord. “Yet your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness, For shedding innocent blood, And practicing oppression and violence.” (Jer 22:15-17 NKJV)
What did God say about Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and his greed?
Therefore, this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim, son of King Josiah: “The people will not mourn for him, crying to one another, ‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’ His subjects will not mourn for him, crying, ‘Alas, our master is dead! Alas, his splendor is gone!’ He will be buried like a dead donkey—dragged out of Jerusalem and dumped outside the gates! (Jer 22:18-19 NLT)
Was there hope for Judah in foreign allies, so-called lovers like Lebanon, Bashan and east of the Jordan in Abarim?
“Go up to Lebanon, and cry out. Lift up your voice in Bashan, and cry from Abarim; for all your lovers have been destroyed. I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you said, ‘I will not listen.’ This has been your way from your youth, that you didn’t obey my voice. The wind will feed all your shepherds, and your lovers will go into captivity. Surely then you will be ashamed and confounded for all your wickedness. Inhabitant of Lebanon, who makes your nest in the cedars, how greatly to be pitied you will be when pangs come on you, the pain as of a woman in travail! (Jer 22:20-23 WEB)
What did God say about Coniah (also called Jehoiachin or Jeconiah) king of Judah?
As surely as I live, declares the Lord, even if Coniah, King Jehoiakim’s son from Judah were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still remove you from there. I would hand you over to those who seek to kill you, those you dread, even Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar and his army. I will banish you and your mother who bore you to a land far from your native soil, and there the two of you will die. You will never return to the land you long to go back to. (Jer 22:24-27 CEB)
Why did God say Jehoiakin (Coniah) was unwanted, like a broken clay pot?
Jehoiachin, you are unwanted like a broken clay pot. So you and your children will be thrown into a country you know nothing about. Land of Judah, I am the Lord. Now listen to what I say! Erase the names of Jehoiachin's children from the royal records. He is a complete failure, and so none of them will ever be king. I, the Lord, have spoken. (Jer 22:28-30 CEV)
What did James confirm about pure religion that these kings of Judah missed?
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:27 ESV)
Did God warn three kings of Judah to uphold justice and not to mistreat the weak or face ruin? Do our national leaders? You decide!
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