Call to Commitment

 

 

God’s word to Zedekiah

      1.      The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying, 

 2.      "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. 

 3.      And you shall not escape from his hand, but shall surely be taken and delivered into his hand; your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, he shall speak with you face to face, and you shall go to Babylon.' " ' 

 4.      Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the LORD concerning you: 'You shall not die by the sword. 

 5.      You shall die in peace; as in the ceremonies of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they shall burn incense for you and lament for you, saying, "Alas, lord!" For I have pronounced the word, says the LORD.' " 

 6.      Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem, 

 7.      when the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and Azekah; for only these fortified cities remained of the cities of Judah.

 In the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah, the last king over Judah, Nebuchadnezzar came to besiege Jerusalem. Zedekiah reigned eleven years and his kingship ended with the Babylonian conquest. In this chapter, the narration advances rapidly towards the fatal fourth month of the 11^th year of the king, when the enemy army will penetrate the city. In chapter 32, Jeremiah was imprisoned, because he dared to speak, not only of the judgment coming to Judah, but he also declared that the king would not escape out of the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. At the beginning of this chapter, we have an amplification of the judgment of Zedekiah, given in chapter 32. However, God speaks with compassion and shows that mercy will accompany the judgment.

 The mighty emperor came, along with the armies of defeated nations, to conquer Jerusalem (1). The Lord sent Jeremiah to speak directly to his king that He was about to turn the city over to Babylon and the result would be that they would totally set it on fire (2). As in chapter 32, this word again pronounced the capture of Zedekiah, that he would come face to face with the emperor, and then be carried into Babylon (3).  

Herman, late in life, still living Jeremiah 33:3*.

 

The Word of God is not bound

      1.      Moreover the word of the LORD came to     Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying, 

      2.     "Thus says the LORD who made it, the LORD who formed it to establish it (the LORD is His name): 

 3.      'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.' 

 4.      "For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah, which have been Pulled down to fortify against the siege mounds and the sword: 

 5.      'They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but only to fill their places with the dead bodies of men whom I will slay in My anger and My fury, all for whose wickedness I have hidden My face from this city. 

 Satan and his forces have no greater nemesis than the word of God. It reminds them of the purposes of God from before the foundation of the world. It tells how man can be freed from demonic bondage through the victory at Calvary. It shows Christ conquering death, coming out of the tomb and manifesting Himself alive to over 500 believers. It declares the defeat and eternal condemnation of the fallen angels. This is nothing to comfort them from Genesis to Revelation, so they fight desperately in a vain attempt to silence the word. But Paul wrote Timothy from prison: “The word of God is not bound” (2 T.2:9).

 Paul still had his pen and wrote letters from his cell more precious for the church than “silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times” (Ps.12:6). The Romanian songwriter, Nicolae Moldoveanu, had his pen and paper taken away, when he entered a Communist prison, but he still had his mind. He composed several hundred hymns, while being tortured by the devil’s agents, and stored them in his memory until he was released. He went on to write over 6,000 more, during the rest of his life. Testimonies still come continuously from the battlefront of victory through Christ.

 

 

Chapter 32

A prophet must represent truth

      1.      The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD—in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 

      2.      For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house. 

 3.      For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, "Why do you prophesy and say, 'Thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; 

 4.      and Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face, and see him eye to eye; 

 5.      then he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall be until I visit him," says the LORD; "though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed" '?" 

 Jeremiah, God´s prophet, must stand on the side of truth against political expediency. It is always the way of God, in contrast to the compromising ways of men, who think that it is prudent that their ethics should adjust to the whims of the times. They take pride in their ability to be adjustable. Truth is unchangeable, as is the character of God, therefore His representative cannot sway to the right or the left, as he speaks to the people of his day.

 Kings demand loyalty and might accuse a prophet of treason. Jeremiah´s passion for truth has landed him in prison, King Zedekiah challenging his message that the Judean nation would fall to the enemy (3). The prophecy addressed the king personally and predicted that he would not escape capture, but that Nebuchadnezzar would foil his attempt to escape and would personally look him in the face (4). Zedekiah could have profited from this prediction, had he believed it and not tried to flee (2 K.25:5-7). His sons were killed before his eyes and that was the last scene that he observed, because his eyes were then removed and he was deported to Babylon (5).

 Jerusalem is already under a siege, which began a year earlier, the ninth year of Zedekiah, and a year later, the 11^th year of the king, the city was penetrated (Jer.29:1-2). Right in the middle of it, in the 10^th year, the Lord gives the message of this chapter to Jeremiah (1-2).      

 

Chapter 31:21-40

 

The highway of return

      21.  "Set up signposts, Make landmarks; Set your heart toward the highway, The way in which you went. Turn back, O virgin of Israel, Turn back to these your cities. 

      22.  How long will you gad about, O you backsliding daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the earth—A woman shall encompass a man." 

    
23.  Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: 'The LORD bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness!' 

 24.  And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks. 

 25.  For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul." 

       26.  After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was sweet to me. 

From the old ways of rebellion and enmity with their God, Israel looks forward to new times and a new relationship with Him. It begins with a return from 70 years in Babylon, but that is an immediate and partial restoration. By a study of Ezra and Nehemiah, as well as some of the latter prophets, we can see that there was no full-heart repentance and newness of life at that time. The prophecies sometimes have dual fulfillment and the final and perfect completion will take place in the end of time.

 This chapter is about new beginnings in the Promised Land. The preparation for this time will begin in the heart of Israel… set your heart… where a longing to return from within will motivate them. God challenges them to remember the way by which they came to Babylon. It is not simply a geographical consideration, but a call to deeply examine the sins that brought them so far from their homeland and their God. They were to remember the signposts and the landmarks, as they were driven along this way; and they were to observe them, as they returned. Let two graces rise from within at every juncture: 1) Profound remorse for the rebellion that caused the loss and 2) extreme gratitude to the Lord, Who planned and supervised their return.

 God’s remedy gives total restoration and, as stated in the last article concerning verse 4, He gives back Israel’s virginity. That requires miraculous transformation. The sinner is returned to a state of perfect righteousness, his sins are tossed behind the Lord’s back (Is.38:17), and fall into the deepest sea (Mic.7:19). Israel can once again live in his former cities (1).

 With all these possibilities before her, He chides her for lingering in her present state… He Who saw her restored position as the virgin of Israel, sees her actual position as a backsliding daughter. Commentators have problems with the following statement: a woman shall encompass a men (22), about which the Lord said that He “has created a new thing on the earth”. Some simply saw a defenseless Israel, withstanding its stronger enemies. One tells me that the Jews see in it a promise of the coming Messiah. The church fathers, such as Augustine, almost unanimously understood that this statement referred to the Virgin Mary and the unprecedented miraculous conception, speaking of a new creation. 

  

Chapter 31:1-20

 

God will restore Israel with everlasting love

      1.      "At the same time," says the LORD, "I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people." 

 2.      Thus says the LORD: "The people who survived the sword Found grace in the wilderness Israel, when I went to give him rest." 

 3.      The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. 

 4.      Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice. 

 5.      You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria; The planters shall plant and eat them as ordinary food. 

 God continues to speak from the previous chapter, which ended with a ferocious threat to the wicked, and which He will be faithful to fulfill in fury. Verses 23 and 24 tell of the latter day outpouring of His seven bowls of wrath.  Now He declares that, at the same time, He will restore all the tribes to His gracious favor. In Jeremiah’s day, the northern tribes have been taken captive by Assyria.

 Some, who were left in the land, however, were called to the Passover under King Hezekiah: Ephraim Manasseh, Zebulun, Asher and Issachar are mentioned (2 Chr.30:10, 11).  King Josiah held the greatest Passover since the time of Samuel with priests and Levites, all Judah and Israel present (2 Chr.35:18). Benjamin stood with Judah in the southern kingdom, the tribe of Simeon had possessions in Judah and, of course, the Levites, lived throughout the land. In the New Testament, Paul is a Benjamite, Anna, the prophetess, is of the tribe of Asher, and there are many Levites, along with those of Judah.

 At the same time… in the latter days, God will reclaim all the tribes as His people, both Judah and Israel (1). These are the people that He knew in the wilderness. Through the prophet Hosea, God refers to His wilderness people, as well: “I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of great drought” (Ho.13:5) and gives them the same assurance, as He did through Jeremiah: “You are destroyed, but your help is from Me… I will be your King… I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from him…  Ephraim shall say, ‘What have I to do anymore with idols’” (Ho.13:9, 10, 14:4, 8).