Class Notes, Jer 30:1-33:26, God promises an even greater restoration in the future millennial kingdom

Jer 31:3-6 (NIV) The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:


"I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness.
4 I will build you up again
and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel.
Again you will take up your tambourines
and go out to dance with the joyful.
5 Again you will plant vineyards
on the hills of Samaria;
the farmers will plant them
and enjoy their fruit.
6 There will be a day when watchmen cry out
on the hills of Ephraim,
'Come, let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God.'"


• God reminds Judah that his love is everlasting, why then does he punish Judah?
• Because they broke the covenant
• Because he loves them and discipline is for their good
• Because he wants them to draw them back to himself
• APPLICATION: God sees a relationship with him as far better than experience the creature comforts that this life has to offer.  If we fall in love with this world, God may have to take it away from us in order for us to seek him again


Deut 27:9-13 (NIV) Then Moses and the priests, who are Levites, said to all Israel, "Be silent, O Israel, and listen! You have now become the people of the Lord your God. 10 Obey the Lord your God and follow his commands and decrees that I give you today."


11 On the same day Moses commanded the people:


12 When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. 13 And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.


• Two mountains (hills) are very famous in Israel, Mt Gerizim and Mt Ebal.  Shechem is located between them.  Six tribes stood on Mt Gerizim and six tribes on Mt Ebal and shouted curses and blessings back and forth. 
• Later in Israel's history, I believe, this act is repeated
• What is the purpose of such an event or why does God have the Israelites do this?
• Events can etch memories
• Events are like signposts to remind us of key happenings
• What events do we use to remind ourselves of God's work in our lives?
• I will use Time Alone with God (TAG) as a way of putting down markers.  A TAG event is where I will spend a half day or so in prayer and in the word.  I will read and sing and pray and memorize and write down thoughts in a journal.  The journal entry becomes a sort of EBENEZER, a stone reminding me of what God is doing / has done in my life


Deut 28:1-2 (NIV) If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:


Deut 28:15 (NIV) However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:


• Deuteronomy 28 is a significant chapter in the covenant contract.  It lists in great detail the blessings and curses attached to obedience and disobedience for Israel
• There are 14 verses describing the blessings
• There are 54 verses describing the curses
• In the New Covenant we are no longer under this particular blessing-curses dichotomy
• Gal 3:13-14 (NIV) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."  14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
• Why? Jesus has taken the curse of the law away
• Heb 12:7-11 (NIV) Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
• What do we experience under the New Covenant? Discipline, like a father to a son


Jer 31:7-9, 12-15, 19 (NIV) This is what the Lord says:


"Sing with joy for Jacob;
shout for the foremost of the nations.
Make your praises heard, and say,
'O Lord, save your people,
the remnant of Israel.'
8 See, I will bring them from the land of the north
and gather them from the ends of the earth.
Among them will be the blind and the lame,
expectant mothers and women in labor;
a great throng will return.
9 They will come with weeping;
they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead them beside streams of water
on a level path where they will not stumble,
because I am Israel's father,
and Ephraim is my firstborn son.
. . .
12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion;
they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord —
the grain, the new wine and the oil,
the young of the flocks and herds.
They will be like a well-watered garden,
and they will sorrow no more.
13 Then maidens will dance and be glad,
young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into gladness;
I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.
14 I will satisfy the priests with abundance,
and my people will be filled with my bounty,"
 declares the Lord.


15 This is what the Lord says:


"A voice is heard in Ramah,
mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because her children are no more."
. . .
19 After I strayed,
I repented;
after I came to understand,
I beat my breast.
I was ashamed and humiliated
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.'


• In context, this chapter has eschatological references.  The reference of returning, verses 7-9 probably refer to a future regathering  near the time of the millennial kindgom than the time 70 years after Babylon attacks Israel
• Verses 12-14 sounds like the wedding banquet and not like the return from Babylon that Ezra, Nehemiah, and some of the other prophets describe
• Verse 15 is used by Matthew to describe Herod's killing of the young children.  It is a town, not far from Jerusalem where the people probably stopped on the way to exile in Babylon, and cried at Rachel's tomb.  Rachel has a grave but never a home in the promised land.  Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin and represents the extent of a mother's love for her children, dying so that they could have life
• Verse 19 suggests real repentance, the type that might be more representative of the New Covenant


Jer 31:31-34 (NIV) "The time is coming," declares the Lord,
"when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,"
 declares the Lord.
33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time," declares the Lord.
"I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,'
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,"
 declares the Lord.
"For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more."


• What do we see about the New Covenant that is different (or the same) from the Old Covenant?
• The NC is not like the OC. It is DIFFERENT!
• The "newness" suggests a replacing of the previous covenant, otherwise it would be a modification or change and not a new covenant
• The NC will also include Israel (and Judah)
• The law will be in their minds and on their hearts. Deut 6:6-8 says something similar, but the OC was primarily external and the NC is internal
• They would know the Lord.  David and others knew the Lord, but not everyone seemed to have the same personal relationship.  Therefore, there is something different.  It will be the Holy Spirit residing in their hearts
• Their sin will be forgiven and forgotten.  Technically, the OC only covered their sin.  It required a mediator, the Levitical priesthood.  In the NC, all of that is replaced
• The New Covenant is an outgrowth of the Abrahamic Covenant, which like the Davidic and Palestinian Covenants, are unconditional
• There are three views regarding the NC (Constable, 2010)
• God made the covenant with Israel alone when he renews it in the Millennium (Romans 11)
• God made it with the church alone.  The church replaces Israel in God's plan (covenant theologians advocate this view)
• God made it with Israel at the cross, and the church enters into its blessings until the time of Israel's restoration.  This agrees even more strongly with Paul's argument in Romans 11


Jer 33:14-18 (NIV) "'The days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.


15 "'In those days and at that time
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line;
he will do what is just and right in the land.
16 In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it will be called:
The Lord Our Righteousness.'


17 For this is what the Lord says: 'David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, 18 nor will the priests, who are Levites, ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.'"


• This brings in both the Davidic covenant and the New Covenant
• It is interesting that the Davidic line continues forever but it does have a break, starting from the end of Zedekiah to when Christ returns
• Actually Jer 30:9 suggests that David himself will reign over Israel
• Jer 30:9 Instead, they will serve the Lord their God // and David their king, // whom I will raise up for them.
• In which case Jesus would rule over all, and others would rule over the nations
• This passage is also a clear reference to the divinity of the Messiah
• He is a righteous branch
• He will sprout from David's line
• Judah and Jerusalem will be saved (probably at the second coming of Christ)
• He is called "the Lord Our Righteousness"

Class Notes, Jer 26:1-29:32, God's message is not always popular, but always true

609	Josiah killed in battle by Egyptians at Megiddo	2 Chron. 35:20-25
	Jehoahaz reigns over Judah for 3 months	2 Chron. 36:1-3
	Jehoiakim made king of Judah by Pharaoh Necho	2 Chron. 36:4
605	Nebuchadnezzar defeats the Egyptians at Carchemish	Jer. 46:2
	The first deportation of exiles (including Daniel) to Babylon	Dan. 1:1-7
604	Jehoiakim burns Jeremiah's first scroll	Jer. 36
601	Jehoiakim rebels against Babylon	2 Kings 24:1
598	Jehoiakim is deposed and dies	2 Chron. 36:3
	Jehioachin reigns over Judah for 3 months	2 Kings 24:8
597	The second deportation of exiles (including Jehoiachin) to Babylon	2 Kings 24:12-16
	Zedekiah made king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar	2 Kings 24:17
593	Zedekiah summoned to Babylon	Jer. 51:59
588	Zedekiah is besieged in Jerusalem for treachery	Jer. 52:3-4
586	Fall of Jerusalem	Jer. 39



Jer 26:1-9, 17-23 (NIV) Early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the Lord: 2 "This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard of the Lord's house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the Lord. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word. 3 Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from his evil way. Then I will relent and not bring on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done. 4 Say to them, 'This is what the Lord says: If you do not listen to me and follow my law, which I have set before you, 5 and if you do not listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again (though you have not listened), 6 then I will make this house like Shiloh and this city an object of cursing among all the nations of the earth.'"


7 The priests, the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the Lord. 8 But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, "You must die! 9 Why do you prophesy in the Lord's name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?" And all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.
. . .
17 Some of the elders of the land stepped forward and said to the entire assembly of people, 18 "Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, 'This is what the Lord Almighty says:


"'Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,
the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.'


19 "Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did not Hezekiah fear the Lord and seek his favor? And did not the Lord relent, so that he did not bring the disaster he pronounced against them? We are about to bring a terrible disaster on ourselves!"


20 (Now Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord; he prophesied the same things against this city and this land as Jeremiah did. 21 When King Jehoiakim and all his officers and officials heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But Uriah heard of it and fled in fear to Egypt. 22 King Jehoiakim, however, sent Elnathan son of Acbor to Egypt, along with some other men. 23 They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him struck down with a sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.)


• Is this prophecy before or after the broken pot prophecy?
• It is before
• Israel is a vassal to Egypt
• This is prior to any major actions by Babylon
• The editor, possibly a scribe of Jeremiah, organizes the material using a standard Jewish process of colleting things thematically
• At an early point in the reign of Jehoiakim (second son of Josiah), what do we learn?
• There is still a chance that there actions will change God's response.  If the repent, God will relent of the disaster he has proposed (at least for a time)
• While most of the priests and prophets were against Jeremiah, there were still some (a remnant) who were faithful and believed
• Micah had prophesied a similar message
• Jehoiakim was already killing prophets for a similar message
• APPLICATION:  When there was still a chance for salvation, how do the leaders respond to the message? They refused to listen or change


Jer 27:1-11. 19-21 (NIV) Early in the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 This is what the Lord said to me: "Make a yoke out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck. 3 Then send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 Give them a message for their masters and say, 'This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Tell this to your masters: 5 With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please. 6 Now I will hand all your countries over to my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him. 7 All nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate him.


8 "' "If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation with the sword, famine and plague, declares the Lord, until I destroy it by his hand. 9 So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, 'You will not serve the king of Babylon.' 10 They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish. 11 But if any nation will bow its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let that nation remain in its own land to till it and to live there, declares the Lord." '"
. . .
19 For this is what the Lord Almighty says about the pillars, the Sea, the movable stands and the other furnishings that are left in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away when he carried Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem —  21 yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about the things that are left in the house of the Lord and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem: 22 'They will be taken to Babylon and there they will remain until the day I come for them,' declares the Lord. 'Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.'"


• Is this prophecy before or after the broken pot prophecy?
• It is after
• Israel has had two deportations
• This is probably around 593, prior to Zedekiah's summoning to Babylon
• In 5 years, Judah will rebel and after two years of seige, Jerusalem will be completely destroyed
• Zedekiah is Josiah's brother.  Jehoiachin, the third son, only lasted a few months before he was taken to Babylon.  The passage seems to suggest Zedekiah was Josiah's son, but that is not done in all manuscripts, and some commentators feel that it was a common was to refer to the ancestral relationship of king to king
• Once again, after two deportations, and many furnishings and treasure having been taken, the false prophets are saying, "but, these things won't be taken."  What does it sound like the prophets are doing?
• "Well, maybe we didn't get it exactly right, but we are sure now"
• These are false prophets because God's word requires a prophet to be 100 percent accurate
• What evidence does Zedekiah have for doing the right thing?
• Jeremiah has already been proved right and the false prophets wrong
• Zedekiah still chooses to ignore Jeremiah's message
• APPLICATION: Now there is no chance for salvation (changing of the circumstances), but life is offered to those who will repent and obey.  They still refuse to listen and change


2 Chron 36:11-19 (NIV) Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. 12 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord. 13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath in God's name. He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel. 14 Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.


15 The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they mocked God's messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy. 17 He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and spared neither young man nor young woman, old man or aged. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar. 18 He carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the Lord's temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. 19 They set fire to God's temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there.


• When God says "he did not humble himself before Jeremiah," how might you put that in other words?
• Zedekiah would not admit he was wrong when confronted with his sin
• Zedekiah thought he was more important than God's messenger
• Zedekiah thought he was above following the rules.  They were for everyone else
• Chronicles says "… until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy."  The end until point was the "pottery" prophecy.  From 931 to 586 was 345 years, and 931 to 722 was 209 years.  God was extremely patient with Israel and Judah, but God does reach a point where there is no longer a "remedy."  How much longer before the US reaches that point?


Jer 28:1-4, 10-11, 15-17 (NIV) 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: 2 "This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 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. 4 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.'"
. . .
10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, 11 and he said before all the people, "This is what the Lord says: 'In the same way will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.'" At this, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.
. . .
15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, "Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. 16 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: 'I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord.'"


17 In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.


• How would a message like Hananiah's go over in Judah?  Would he have a lot of crowds, admirers, well-wishers, ministry supporters, fans …?
• 2 Tim 4:3-4 (NIV) For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
• People flock to those who say what their itiching ears want to hear
• Notice what Paul tells Timothy to do
• 2 Tim 4:1-2, 5 (NIV)
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction. … 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
• What did Jeremiah do after Hananiah's theatrics (when he takes the yoke off of him and breaks it to the crowd's amusement)?
• Jeremiah walks away
• Jeremiah waits for a message from the Lord (there is apparently more than what is said given that Jeremiah's message to Hananiah is not repeated)
• Jeremiah boldly declares the message to a very popular preacher
• APPLICATION: Not everyone who hangs the "Christianity" shingle on their life is truly a believer.  Clearly the terrorist in Norway chose a method of evangelism which is against everything that is taught in the scriptures.  Jesus never forced anyone to be saved.  Jesus never killed anyone to make a point.  Jesus does talk about being ready for persecution (sword and Peter), but not in the sense of trying to make a physical conquest of another
• For Hananiah, probably all signs pointed to a ministry that was blessed by God.  I can imagine large crowds with increasing attendance, opportunities to speak pouring in, favor with the king and other high leaders, how could his life be anything but "blessed by God?"
• APPLICATION:  Numbers, popularity, increasing attendance, being well-liked, are not sufficient conditions for evaluating a ministry.  In this case, the most important standard, adherence to the word of God was ignored.  Is the message I preached watered down to "politically correct" level or do I adhere to the whole counsel of God?
• One last note.  Pashhur, the guy who put Jeremiah in stocks, was punished much differently than Hananiah.  I wonder if Pashhur was redeemable, that is, a man willing to humble himself before God, whereas Hananiah was not


Jer 29:4-14 (NIV) This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." 8 Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them," declares the Lord.


10 This is what the Lord says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."


• Jeremiah is not taken in the first two deportations, but he still ministers to those in Babylon through letters.  In this chapter we see the context for a verse that is one of the most often quoted verses in scripture.  What about the context gives different insight into the promise?
• The people are fugitives from their homes
• They live in a foreign place with people who have a foreign speech
• They hear conflicting stories of what God is going to do or not do
• Jeremiah promises that in 70 years they will return which for most will be after their death
• APPLICATION: When life is falling apart and things don't make sense, even in those conditions, God has a plan to give hope and a future.  God does not create evil or cause evil.  But God can bring good out of evil.  God can use evil for good (Joseph's story is a case in point (Gen 50:20)).  Our response is never to give up, but to call on God, to seek his face, to humble ourselves, to repent, to pray to him

Class Notes, Jer 22:1-25:38, God rebukes leadership for the sins of the people

Jer 22:8-10 (NIV) "People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, 'Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?' 9 And the answer will be: 'Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.'"

10 Do not weep for the dead [king ] or mourn his loss;

rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled,

because he will never return

nor see his native land again.

• Two points to the people
• What is the reason for the disaster? It is specific to the covenant (Deut 27-30 spell it out very clearly)
• What is the result of those who go into exile? 
• They will never see the land again
• There is also a promise of returning to the land in 70 years, but probably no one who lived and remember the land from their youth with make the trip back

Jer 22:11-16 (NIV) For this is what the Lord says about Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: "He will never return. 12 He will die in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again."

13 "Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness,

his upper rooms by injustice,

making his countrymen work for nothing,

not paying them for their labor.

14 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.

15 "Does it make you a king

to have more and more cedar?

Did not your father have food and drink?

He did what was right and just,

so all went well with him.

16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy,

and so all went well.

Is that not what it means to know me?"

declares the Lord.

• This is specific to the king, Josiah's fourth son, Shallum also called Jehoahaz.  He dies in captivity to Egypt.  After Josiah's death, Egypt temporarily rules over Judah.  Which is why Jeremiah's prophecies are even more startling.  Jeremiah says that Judah's real enemy will come from the north
• What was Jehoiakim's error (Jehoiakim follows Shallum's 3-month reign)?
• He lived for himself instead of the people
• "Jehoiakim, who was only twenty-five years old when he began to reign and only thirty-six when he died (2 Ki 23:36), was evidently a thoroughly spoiled and self indulgent young despot." (Thompson)
• Michael Card song says, "But some of the shepherds, Have pastured themselves on their sheep" (One Faith, Brother to Brother Album)
• Successful kings (and by implication, shepherds) focused on justice, defending the poor and needy.  They used their great power for the good of others and not to make themselves fat

• So what does it mean to know God?
• A relationship with God is evidenced by compassion for others
• If a person knows the heart of God, his heart will be for others

Jer 23:1-6 (NIV) "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!" declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: "Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done," declares the Lord. 3 "I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the Lord.

5 "The days are coming," declares the Lord,

"when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch,

a King who will reign wisely

and do what is just and right in the land.

6 In his days Judah will be saved

and Israel will live in safety.

This is the name by which he will be called:

The Lord Our Righteousness.

• God holds teachers, shepherds, and leaders to a higher standard.  When God puts us in a place of ministry, we need to hold that position in high regard.  God will judge the shepherd more harshly than he will judge the sheep
• James 3:1 (NIV) Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
• It is an honor to be a teacher or a shepherd or an elder, but it also includes greater responsibility to God

• But God gives a promise of a future day when God will raise up a King from David's line who will do what is right and just.  He also promises shepherds who will truly care for the people
• I think the shepherd part is being partly fulfilled now in the new covenant.  I say partly because I am not sure if the remnant here is specific to Israel, in which case it would most likely refer to the time after the second coming
• Likewise, I think the reference to Jesus, The Lord our Righteousness, is not spiritually now, but physically in the millennial kingdom

Jer 23:13-14 (NIV) "Among the prophets of Samaria

I saw this repulsive thing:

They prophesied by Baal

and led my people Israel astray.

14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem

I have seen something horrible:

They commit adultery and live a lie.

They strengthen the hands of evildoers,

so that no one turns from his wickedness.

They are all like Sodom to me;

the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah."

• God differentiates the failures of the shepherds in the days of Samaria (Israel the northern kingdom) and the failures of the shepherds of Judah (or Jerusalem).  What is the distinction?
• In Israel, they prophesied by false idols
• In Judah, while the problem is also idols, the issue with the shepherds is multifold
• The committed adultery (physical and spiritual).  They probably prophesied in Jehovah's name, but were on the side worshipping idols too
• The lived a lie
• The supported evildoers (suggests poor teaching)

• What does it mean to live a lie?
• To tell others to do something that you yourself don't do
• The shepherds taught some truth, but were hypocrites in their own lives

• The reference to Sodom and Gomorrah is the openly brazen nature of their sin.  It is not just homosexuality.  It is the brazen willfulness of all kinds of sexual sin against God, as well as other sins
• The result of their sin was their destruction
• APPLICATION:  I do not believe the US has a covenant relationship with God, but still I wonder how long before God severely judges this nation, maybe even destroys it?

Jer 23:33-40 (NIV) "When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, 'What is the oracle of the Lord?' say to them, 'What oracle? I will forsake you, declares the Lord.' 34 If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, 'This is the oracle of the Lord,' I will punish that man and his household. 35 This is what each of you keeps on saying to his friend or relative: 'What is the Lord's answer?' or 'What has the Lord spoken?' 36 But you must not mention 'the oracle of the Lord' again, because every man's own word becomes his oracle and so you distort the words of the living God, the Lord Almighty, our God. 37 This is what you keep saying to a prophet: 'What is the Lord's answer to you?' or 'What has the Lord spoken?' 38 Although you claim, 'This is the oracle of the Lord,' this is what the Lord says: You used the words, 'This is the oracle of the Lord,' even though I told you that you must not claim, 'This is the oracle of the Lord.' 39 Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your fathers. 40 I will bring upon you everlasting disgrace — everlasting shame that will not be forgotten."

• This goes to the heart of a system of belief which simply is not true.  What is the problem that God is addressing
• Everyone has their own opinion of what God says is true
• In our culture, we are being taught that all ways lead to God
• In our culture, we are told to accept other religious view points
• Clearly, we can be tolerant of viewpoints that disagree with ours, but we must never accept them as true
• There is only one God.  The oracle of God can only come from one God.  It will not contradict itself.  It is impossible for their to be multiple ways to God.  It is impossible for their to be multiple religions
• Jesus said it very clearly, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father but through me."

• APPLICATION: There are not multiple interpretations of scripture.  Scripture has one meaning, but many applications to our lives.  We need to seek truth and not opinions.  We need to accept what the bible says, not what we feel comfortable believing
• As a shepherd, if I was to tell you any different thing, I would be in danger of God's judgment

Jer 25:1-3, 8-14 (NIV) The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 2 So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah and to all those living in Jerusalem: 3 For twenty-three years — from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day — the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened.

8 Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: "Because you have not listened to my words, 9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon," declares the Lord, "and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. 10 I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

12 "But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt," declares the Lord, "and will make it desolate forever. 13 I will bring upon that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. 14 They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands."

• I close with this passage for two reasons.  One, when does Jeremiah give the prophecy of Babylon coming against Judah?
• It is done in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, long before he would be a threat to Israel
• Egypt was probably seen as the greater threat

• Two, what does God promise?
• After 70 years of captivity, God will return the exiles (future exiles) to the land
• Here we see the judgment and mercy of God.  Judgment, in that their sin is being punished.  Mercy, in that he offers hope for the future

• Daniel will read this prophecy many years later (and probably near the end of his life) and specifically pray about it.  And God does bring the people back with Nehemiah and Ezra.  God's word gives us hope in the midst of terrible trials.  When we are discouraged and depressed by the pain of life, we need to seek God in his word