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
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