Jeremiah 39

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Zedekiah had more than ample warning of the danger that was coming and yet he was unwilling to obey the words of Jeremiah. As the years went by his fears seemed to grow, but he could not find any way out as he considered his options. He actually needed to surrender to the Babylonians as an expression of His submission to God. This was the only safe choice, but he repeatedly rejected that instruction from the Lord.

Even after one and a half years of a siege against Jerusalem, when the city walls had been breached and key Babylonian officials had taken their seats in the place of power, Zedekiah and his army attempted to escape by night. They were pursued and frightful punishments were brought against them with swift and unwavering determination. What could be worse for a king than to see his sons killed before his very eyes? The murder of those young men was the last thing that he ever saw on this earth, for his own eyes were put out on that same day.

In addition, the nobles of Judah were put to death, the wall was broken down, and the king’s house was destroyed. Anyone of use to the Babylonians was taken into exile and the rest were left in the land.

In contrast to this strict judgment, the king of Babylon gave a special instruction of mercy regarding Jeremiah. He was to be cared for, and no one was to do any harm to him. The prophet had been in confinement in the court of the guard for some time. He ended up staying with the poor and the weak who remained in the land after the destruction of the city.

Another man that was treated well was the Ethiopian servant of the king who had earlier pleaded with Zedekiah for the rescue of Jeremiah from a muddy well where he would have soon died. God delivered him from the trouble that so many others would face.

When a judgment from God overtakes a nation like Judah, we expect to hear that the most righteous people will be vindicated and the most wicked will suffer. But what about the cross of Christ? What happened to the best man that day? Why did Jesus die and the guilty go free?

What was it that uniquely qualified our Lord for the cross? It was His unparalleled righteousness. If He had sinned, He would have been disqualified from serving as our atoning sacrifice. If He had transgressed, there would have been no salvation for us in His death.

Of course the death of the very best Man could never be a fitting end to God's story. Christ has risen. He satisfied God’s demands of perfect holiness, carried the full weight of our eternal debt, and then rose far above the sin and death that He had so soundly defeated. He continues to identify with us, the poor and the weak, remaining with us forever.

There are many occasions in this world when the sentence of punishment seems to fit the crime, but the gospel is not one of those times. In the good news of Christianity, the sinless Redeemer has taken our hell and we have been granted His heaven. We should hate the idea of facing the punishment that we actually deserve, but we can rejoice forever because of the life and death of Jesus Christ for sinners.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God Almighty, when an agent of destruction and discipline from Your hand comes, will we see him rightly? How will we patiently receive the challenges that are a part of Your decree for Your church here below? Will we strike Your hand and run from You, or will we faithfully bear the affliction that You have sent for our good? Do we really believe that You know how to deliver us out of all harm? Do we truly know that You are working all things for our good? We believe Your Word. Strengthen us as servants of Your Son in a day of trouble.

Jeremiah 38

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Jeremiah's enemies were not content to ignore him. They wanted to kill him. Zedekiah gave them permission to do with the prophet as they saw fit. They lowered him down to the bottom of a muddy well, abandoning him to a slow and miserable death.

An Ethiopian man came to Jeremiah's defense. He brought news to the king, asking permission to rescue the Lord's suffering servant. This the king allowed.

When King Zedekiah later called for Jeremiah, the prophet used the imagery of his unusual suffering to describe the situation that Zedekiah faced. All of his friends, advisers, and false prophets had deceived him. The king was like a man left all alone, stuck in the mud at the approach of the Babylonians.

Zedekiah needed to surrender to the Babylonians. Not only would he thus save his own life, but the whole city would be spared as well. Zedekiah rejected God's Word yet again. He was afraid of others who had already deserted to the Babylonians. What would they do to him if he followed Jeremiah’s advice?

There was no way out for Zedekiah, at least in his own mind. He was bogged down in his own anxious thoughts. The fear of man was more potent in his life than the reverence of Almighty God. He considered it a small problem to ignore the Lord's instruction through Jeremiah, and a much larger danger to suffer the harm that men might inflict upon him.

Zedekiah did not even want anyone to know the truth of his conversation with Jeremiah. He was very concerned about his own safety.

Would we have fared better in such a troubling situation? Our confidence is not in our own reaction under fire. Our hope is entirely vested in the Man who had the courage to give Himself into the hand of a betrayer. He allowed Himself to be horribly mistreated, unjustly condemned, and brutally tortured and killed by evil men. More than all of this, He gave Himself up to the wrath of His loving Father. In this one great act of obedience we find our salvation, for He is our Substitute. Our Savior was entirely unwilling to come down from the cross when wicked men mocked Him and taunted Him. By His wounds we have been healed.

No other king could have accomplished what Jesus did for us. This great Son of David sent no ambassador out with half truths to try to protect His body or His reputation. He was despised and rejected by men, and even His own disciples abandoned Him. Yet from this moment of His greatest shame has come the power and love that is the boast of millions today. We who believe in Him love His cross. We have come to see that through His death, we have eternal life.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Merciful God, the servants of Your Word are in great need. Some are being threatened by those around them. Others are already in prison or have had their property confiscated from them. Appoint someone to help them today, that they might have food to eat, healing for their illnesses, aid for their financial distress, friendship for their loneliness, and especially Your strong presence in their lives. Make them to be men of great courage. Though the wicked seek their lives, You are able to preserve Your servants again this day. Through all this distress, help those who are true messengers of Your Son to continue with the fullness of Your holy counsel. Though their homes and even their families be destroyed, preserve Your servants through every trial.

Jeremiah 37

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There were four kings in Judah after the death of Josiah. Two of these reigned for a very short period of time. The others, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, were both sons of Josiah. During their years the great powers in this region of the world were the Egyptians and the Babylonians, and they were each involved in defining who would reign in Judah.

Zedekiah was the final king of Judah before the destruction of Jerusalem. For some time the prophet Jeremiah had been warning about the inevitable fate of the city at the hands of the Babylonians. There were also many false prophets who gave a different message of peace than that of Jeremiah, but by the time of this account, Jeremiah had been proven right, though the city had not yet been destroyed.

Despite the fact that Jeremiah’s word was truly from God and recent events should have caused the prophet to receive everyone's respect, he was still treated as an unpatriotic enemy of the state. Yet Zedekiah sent a messenger to him asking that he pray to the Lord.

About that time the Babylonians withdrew somewhat from their position near Jerusalem because of the movements of the Egyptian army. Despite this brief change of events, the Word of the Lord through Jeremiah remained consistent. The Babylonians would come back, they would capture the city, and burn it with fire.

According to the Lord Himself, even if the men of Judah were able to defeat the Babylonian forces and all that remained of that foreign power were wounded men recovering in their tents, still the city of Jerusalem would be captured and burned. The coming victory of the Babylonians had never been about the strength of men. It was the judgment of God.

During the brief withdrawal of Babylonian forces from the immediate vicinity, Jeremiah began the short journey to the land of Benjamin. Knowing of Jeremiah’s uncompromising message of a coming Babylonian conquest, one of the sentries seized the prophet, claiming that he was deserting to the enemy. Jeremiah flatly denied this, but the officials did not believe him. They placed him in a makeshift prison in the home of one of the leaders.

Once again, King Zedekiah desired a secret conference with the prophet. He continued to show interest in the oracles of God that might come through Jeremiah. The message had not changed. “You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.”

Six centuries later, important men like Herod and Pilate had an interest in Jesus of Nazareth. They did not come to Him as the Son of God and the long awaited Messiah King. Jesus had almost nothing to say to important men like them, but to the meek and lowly who would receive Him, the Lord of Glory spoke a true Word of life. “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, will we utterly ignore Your warnings to Your church? You have told us to repent, lest You remove Your lampstand from among us. Would we put You to the test? Lying messengers assure us that everything is all right, though Your church would be dedicated to false teaching and wicked living. We have spoken against loyal ministers of Your Word, treating them as traitors. We willfully forget that false prophets who we once eagerly listened to have been proven wrong through events that we have seen with our own eyes. Save Your church, O Lord! Fill us with a true and right Spirit we pray. We need Your power and love.

Jeremiah 36

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Josiah was one of the greatest kings in the history of Judah. Three of his sons and one of his grandsons also ruled after him, but their years as kings were far below the standard of the reign of their father and grandfather. Johoiakim, one of the sons of Josiah, had a callous disregard for the oracles of God.

We might expect that the king would have paid more attention to the Word of the Lord after suffering some of the setbacks that he faced. The episode described in this chapter took place during a time when Babylonian forces were coming against Jerusalem. Whatever adversity Jehoiakim faced prior to this event did not lead the king to a godly repentance. Instead he became hardened in his rebellion against God.

The Lord told Jeremiah to record on a scroll all the words that God had spoken to him over his years of prophetic ministry. The Lord indicated that these words were to be read aloud to the authorities. The proper reaction to this revelation would have been a sincere change of heart evidenced by new behavior.

The writing of a document like this was a time-consuming and expensive project. It involved many hours of effort on the part of Jeremiah who dictated the words, and also for Baruch his scribe who recorded the words on the scroll. The effort was not only physical, time-consuming, and expensive, but also emotionally taxing. The speaker was reviewing messages of the utmost importance for the nation that came from God, words from the Almighty that had not been adequately considered and obeyed.

Baruch took the product of these efforts to the Lord’s house and read them in the hearing of the people during a day of fasting. Jeremiah's writings were received with a measure of openness by some important people, and they determined to have the scroll read to the king. Jeremiah and Baruch were not present for this event, since everyone understood that the reading of these words could bring life-threatening trouble upon these men.

The reaction of the king himself was scandalous. Despite the objections of some of his officials, the king cut off strips of the scroll as it was read and tossed these into the fire that was warming the small group of advisers that had gathered in the king's winter house. Throughout the history of God’s speech to men, there have been many disrespectful reactions to the Word of God, yet this is one of the most memorable.

God then gave Jeremiah the task of preparing a second scroll with the same message. This time there was an additional curse on Jehoiakim. None of his children would sit on the throne of David.

What was it in the message of Jeremiah that disturbed Jehoiakim so deeply, provoking such an impious reaction? It was the prophet’s forthright instruction that the king of Babylon would come and destroy the land, and that he would cut off from it man and beast. Jehoiakim refused to accept this prophecy.

Burning the scroll could not change the Word of God. The king heard the truth. No benefit came from trying to destroy the evidence. Why would he do this, except to express his complete disdain for the Lord of glory?

When the Word of God came in person, the reaction of His adversaries was similar to that of Johoiakim. Killing the Messiah could never have changed the fact of His saving work. In His death He accomplished His mission. How do you defeat someone who will achieve His greatest goals when you put Him to death? Though enemies despised Jesus, there was nothing that anyone could do to stop the saving power of the Son of God.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Almighty God, we thank You for the gift of Your Word, spoken to us through the prophets. We are very grateful that You have provided for us a written record of Your voice in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Grant to us Your Spirit that we might hear Your Word with deep reverence and with a willingness to worship and obey You. Use the ministers of Your Word to accurately explain to us the meaning. Show us the great themes that are so clearly put forth in the Bible. Some would have the most profound disrespect for Your Word. They would not tremble at Your warnings, but would gladly destroy any record of Your message to us. They will not succeed in their wicked plots. Though they would seem to be the most powerful people on the earth, they will not be able to take away the power of Your promises to us. We hear Your voice through the Scriptures, and we bow before You.

Jeremiah 35

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In the days of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, God told the prophet Jeremiah to go to a people group then staying in Jerusalem who were called Rechabites. One of their ancestors, Jonadab, had commanded them to follow certain practices. They had to live in tents, they could not plant crops, and they could not drink wine. The Rechabites were told to follow these laws, to pass them on to their children, and to keep on living in this separate way forever.

In the days of Jeremiah the Rechabites were still obeying Jonadab's rules. They had only come within the protection of the city walls of Jerusalem because of the danger of the Babylonians. Their obedience to their own regulations was tested during a visit to the Lord's temple. Jeremiah instructed them to drink wine. They explained that they could drink no wine, and they spoke of the heritage of their customs that they followed.

We know almost nothing else about this group of people except what we learn in Jeremiah 35. God honored them for at least being true to the law that they had been given. The Lord gave them an amazing promise that one of their descendants would always “stand before” Him.

Why did the Rechabites make it into the Bible at all? They proved that it was not physically impossible for people to keep laws that had been handed down to them from earlier generations. They were a living contrast to the people of Judah.

God had spoken to Judah persistently. He had performed great acts of deliverance for His people over many centuries. He had given them a beautiful system of moral, civil, and ceremonial statutes that could have defined the society as set apart from the world in the most wonderful ways. These laws were not mindless or random, but fit into the larger purpose of redemption. They comprised a system of justice, but also commanded the people in the way of mercy. God's commandments gave them festivals and offerings that told the most important stories that they needed to know. They were of great aid to the poor, the foreigner, the widow, the orphan, the slave, and any one else in need. His statutes addressed issues of war and peace, property distribution, taxation, civil justice, restitution, and so many other matters which were necessary for a well-ordered nation.

How could it be that the Rechabites had no problem with their law of a nomadic existence, and yet the children of Jacob simply refused to follow God’s wonderfully and robust Law that He had given them?

At the most basic level, the people of God had abandoned Yahweh. They worshiped other gods instead of Him. If they would not worship God, of course they would not incline their hearts to hear and obey His Word. How would God overcome the problem of the lawlessness of His people?

The Lord Jesus Christ has taken care of our every need. First, He obeyed God's Law more fully than any Rechabite every kept the commands of Jonadab. Second, through His death on the cross He paid the penalty that God's elect had built up over many centuries. Everything that the Law taught the Jews was fulfilled by Jesus. His death on the cross has removed our blood-guilt. His record of perfect obedience has yielded us a happy verdict in the courtroom of the Almighty.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Our Father, the disobedience of Your people is so unusual. We have been given a very good and holy law. We would do well to follow it carefully. Yet we find obedience to Your commandments to be a great spiritual struggle. Others may be able to do what their ancestors have handed down to them. They follow old customs and do not hate the ways that their fathers have given them. Your people have treated You with such a dishonorable rebellion, despite the fact that Your moral law is so far superior to the traditions of men. Forgive us for this deep treachery, and remember the full obedience of Your Son on our behalf. Your ways are so very good. We will obey Your commandments. Have mercy on us.

Jeremiah 34

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God brought a message through Jeremiah to Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. The exile to Babylon would surely take place and the king would not escape. Zedekiah would go to Babylon and die in peace. These were stubborn facts that the king would have a hard time accepting. Because of this, he brought more trouble upon himself and others than was necessary.

The account of this prophesy was followed by another message from the Lord regarding the reign of Zedekiah, one that had to do with the fate of Hebrew slaves held by their fellow countrymen. According to the law of God, Hebrews were to release their slaves at the end of seven years of service. This was something that the people did not do, even in the final days prior to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians.

During Zedekiah’s reign the king made a covenant with the people whereby they committed themselves to freeing their slaves. They actually seemed to be following through on their solemn word for a time. In ancient days when a public promise was made involving powerful people and nations, a ceremony was often used to seal that promise. In this case that ritual apparently involved the cutting of a calf into various pieces and walking between the pieces of the slain animal. What was the point of the ritual? May it be done to me as has happened to this calf if I do not keep my promise.

The people actually did what they were supposed to do and freed their Hebrew slaves. Unfortunately the former masters later took back their male and female slaves and brought them into subjection again.

The provisions in the law for liberty were important signposts to the coming of Israel's Redeemer. Those statutes were to help people to understand the liberty that they would experience as they were brought out of cruel chains of sin. When God's people freed slaves and then forced them back into submission, they were living out a false message. Instead of a picture of perfect and permanent liberty through a Savior, those who were slaves were given a taste of freedom that was quickly followed by the sad return to a life of captivity.

To make this solemn commitment to free Hebrew slaves, to actually free them, but then to recapture them again was a more serious offense against God and humanity than to never have pledged to follow God’s Law at all. The consequences would be serious, as the Lord announced through Jeremiah. As the pieces of that calf became food for scavenger birds and beasts, the bodies of those who abandoned their solemn promises would be food for animals.

Imagine if the consequence of this deception and oppression were that Zedekiah alone would suffer the penalty required. Would it have been just in God's eyes for liars to go free and to have the king alone face the penalty for sin? But this is precisely what has happened for us in the cross of Jesus Christ. He has taken the trouble that we deserved upon Himself and has freed us from the “wages of sin.” (Romans 6:23)

Zedekiah could never have been a sinless substitute for us. He was a wicked king who needed help outside of himself. Jesus was a perfectly righteous King. Through His sinless life and atoning death He has won for us a deep and abiding freedom. It is our free privilege now to offer up our bodies as living sacrifices to Him so that the good news of liberty in Christ may be proclaimed throughout the world.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, there is a tremendous need in Your church today. We need spiritual resources for the battle that is near us and even within us. We would give in to worldliness without even seeming to know what is happening. We would be caught in enslaving sins and encourage others in that slavery, and think that all that we were doing is just normal living. Even when we make some small progress, the attack against us may be fierce, and we would quickly turn to some evil way. Have mercy on us, and send us the spiritual power that we need for the challenge of this day. Your Son has confirmed Your covenant love for us through His own blood. Bring us back home again to You, for You are faithful in Your kindness to us.

Jeremiah 33

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Many prophets in Judah were willing to speak a false word of peace or to deliver a lying message of a speedy return to the Promised Land on the part of the earliest exiles. Jeremiah, writing from a prison cell, was vehement in his denial of these falsehoods.

God made the earth. He did so with a purpose. What would the Lord truly do? He would not end the exile immediately, but He would eventually heal, restore, rebuild, cleanse, and forgive His city. God spoke plainly about the sickness, poverty, brokenness, filth, and sinfulness of His people. His settled intention was to accomplish His plans through the fullness of His own divine love.

The Lord would bring about a robust joy. There would be such praise and glory in His city that all the nations would be drawn into the celebration. The fortunes of the city would return and shepherds would again be seen counting their flocks in the countryside.

The focal point of this good news would be the chosen descendant of an ancient king. There would come a “righteous branch” springing up in the house of David. His name in another place would be “The Lord is our righteousness.” Here in Jeremiah 33, that title would be applied to the whole city of Jerusalem. For both the King and the city He loved, this unusual phrase told the story of the Bible from beginning to end: The Lord Himself is the source of all our righteousness.

Because of the perfect Messianic obedience of the Son of God, the Lord could promise abundant rejoicing all over the new Jerusalem. Along with the great King there would one day be a large number of Old Testament worshipers. The city would be a kingdom of priests.

Jeremiah also spoke of the “offspring of David my servant.” Not only would this city be a priesthood of believers, but the citizens would be counted as sons of God. Just as the Lord had promised Abraham so many centuries ago, the people of that kingdom would be more than could be numbered.

This solemn oracle of a perfectly restored Jerusalem would be as certain as God’s covenant with the day and the night and as sure as the fixed order of heaven and earth. Such a promise only finds its fulfillment through the One Son of David who is our righteousness, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

God of Peace and Truth, You have made the earth. We worship You. You work out Your plans for Your church. There will be health and security for Your people. There will be full forgiveness for us through Jesus Christ our Lord. You have a plan that includes great joy and prosperity for us. We will have peace as we worship You forever. In the power of Your steadfast love, the fortunes of Your people will be restored. O bring forth that great day, O God. You will fulfill Your promises through the Righteous Branch, and we will be called by His great name. Thank You that Your Son has ascended into heaven and has given great gifts to Your church. Fill us with Your Spirit, and multiply the offspring of Your Servant, the Son of David. As the sun rises every morning, and as night follows day, so Your promises of mercy and restoration for Your people are absolutely secure.

Jeremiah 32

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An invading army was besieging Jerusalem. There remained little doubt that the events that Jeremiah had been speaking of concerning the victory of the Babylonians and the coming exile were very near. The prophet himself was shut up in the king’s prison. Was this a time for him to buy land near Jerusalem?

Jeremiah was told to buy property in the Promised Land at this very moment of societal despair. This purchase was to be a testimony to the certainty of the Word of the Lord. The prophet was professing belief in God’s promise that a remnant would be brought back home after seventy years. In that future day, ownership of land would again have meaning.

“Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.” Though Jeremiah did what God commanded, he himself questioned the wisdom of God. He asked the Lord for divine assistance.

This day had to come. The people of Judah needed to see the problems that had come from their sin. Yet the exile would not be the end of Yahweh's plan for His chosen people.

The Lord would bless Israel again. His elect would have a new heart. They would be united in a life of godliness forever. Jeremiah wrote of an everlasting covenant. He compared the fact of God's future mercy with the certainty of the imminent destruction which was already at the gates of Jerusalem. The Lord plainly promised, “I will restore their fortunes.”

Centuries later the Son of Man would come to earth to save sinners. He believed the Word that the Almighty had spoken concerning a coming kingdom. Merely stating His belief in the truth of the promises of His Father would not have been enough. When the final moment of covenant faithfulness came, the Mediator of God's new covenant had to seal His faith with a purchase. The cost of our redemption would be His own precious blood.

The Messiah's statement of trust means everything to us in our own times of struggle. Can we really count on the Word of God? Will we be brought home to God on the final day of resurrection? Rejoice and be glad. Our debt has been paid through the blood of Lamb. Jesus' offering of Himself is the highest testimony of His dedication to the reliability of the Almighty. His supreme act of obedience must never be forgotten.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Father God, Your plan for Your people is sure and wonderful. Despite the troubles that come upon us, You give us news of a great future. We are citizens of a better land, and we long for the day when we can take full possession of the good things that You have for Your children. Give us strength to persevere through the current age until the promise comes to us in full. O Lord God, we trust You. You can bring about that great day. Even now You can help us as we cry out to You. You see our weakness, but nothing is too difficult for You. We would not have anything had You not determined long ago to give good gifts to Your children. Show us today Your power and Your love. Preserve us through whatever means You see fit. Though the city be burned with fire, and though You would come in anger against Your unfaithful people, You are still fully able to carry us through the worst trials. We turn away from our sins, O Lord. We will worship You according to Your Word with a full heart of obedience. Sanctify us, Lord God, that we might dwell in safety in Your presence. Remember Your own covenant love, and help us in the time of trouble that is too much for us to bear. Do Your great work within the troubled souls of those who call upon Your Name.