These next 3 chapters of Jeremiah’s show us that kings and rulers come and go, but the Word of God lasts forever. Furthermore, it continues to show us that all God wants from us is respect and obedience. At the end we’ll see what makes a devoted Christian. Let’s dig in…
Jeremiah 34 – A Warning for King Zedekiah
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came with all the armies from the kingdoms he ruled, and he fought against Jerusalem and the towns of Judah. At that time this message came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go to King Zedekiah of Judah, and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down. 3 You will not escape his grasp but will be captured and taken to meet the king of Babylon face to face. Then you will be exiled to Babylon.
4 “‘But listen to this promise from the Lord, O Zedekiah, king of Judah. This is what the Lord says: You will not be killed in war 5 but will die peacefully. People will burn incense in your memory, just as they did for your ancestors, the kings who preceded you. They will mourn for you, crying, “Alas, our master is dead!” This I have decreed, says the Lord.’”
6 So Jeremiah the prophet delivered the message to King Zedekiah of Judah. 7 At this time the Babylonian army was besieging Jerusalem, Lachish, and Azekah—the only fortified cities of Judah not yet captured.
Freedom for Hebrew Slaves
8 This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah made a covenant with the people, proclaiming freedom for the slaves. 9 He had ordered all the people to free their Hebrew slaves—both men and women. No one was to keep a fellow Judean in bondage. 10 The officials and all the people had obeyed the king’s command, 11 but later they changed their minds. They took back the men and women they had freed, forcing them to be slaves again.
12 So the Lord gave them this message through Jeremiah: 13 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors long ago when I rescued them from their slavery in Egypt. 14 I told them that every Hebrew slave must be freed after serving six years. But your ancestors paid no attention to me. 15 Recently you repented and did what was right, following my command. You freed your slaves and made a solemn covenant with me in the Temple that bears my name. 16 But now you have shrugged off your oath and defiled my name by taking back the men and women you had freed, forcing them to be slaves once again.
17 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says: Since you have not obeyed me by setting your countrymen free, I will set you free to be destroyed by war, disease, and famine. You will be an object of horror to all the nations of the earth. 18 Because you have broken the terms of our covenant, I will cut you apart just as you cut apart the calf when you walked between its halves to solemnize your vows. 19 Yes, I will cut you apart, whether you are officials of Judah or Jerusalem, court officials, priests, or common people—for you have broken your oath. 20 I will give you to your enemies, and they will kill you. Your bodies will be food for the vultures and wild animals.
21 “I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials to the army of the king of Babylon. And although they have left Jerusalem for a while, 22 I will call the Babylonian armies back again. They will fight against this city and will capture it and burn it down. I will see to it that all the towns of Judah are destroyed, with no one living there.”
Jeremiah 34 NLT (bold emphasis mine)
You Can’t Say God Didn’t Warn Him!
We face warnings every day. I would say that the majority of the times we heed them. We pay attention. For 3 days this week I had some plumbing excavation right outside my door. When the contractors were done for the day, they cordoned off the area. We warned the kids to stay away from it. They were obedient and heeded the warning.
Panic-Piety
The king thought that if he set the slaves free as God’s law commands, then God would stop the Babylonians from invading. However, they were not so pious. They forced the people they let go to be salves again. See, these “slaves” were really indentured servants. They were working out their debt. Every 7 years, the people of Israel were to let their servants go and forgive their debt. These people didn’t. Thus, God continued with his just punishment, since He sees EVERYTHING.
Had the king and the people obeyed God, they would have been OK.
Going on…
Jeremiah 35 – The Faithful Recabites
This is the message the Lord gave Jeremiah when Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah: 2 “Go to the settlement where the families of the Recabites live, and invite them to the Lord’s Temple. Take them into one of the inner rooms, and offer them some wine.”
3 So I went to see Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah and grandson of Habazziniah and all his brothers and sons—representing all the Recabite families. 4 I took them to the Temple, and we went into the room assigned to the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God. This room was located next to the one used by the Temple officials, directly above the room of Maaseiah son of Shallum, the Temple gatekeeper.
5 I set cups and jugs of wine before them and invited them to have a drink, 6 but they refused. “No,” they said, “we don’t drink wine, because our ancestor Jehonadab son of Recab gave us this command: ‘You and your descendants must never drink wine. 7 And do not build houses or plant crops or vineyards, but always live in tents. If you follow these commands, you will live long, good lives in the land.’ 8 So we have obeyed him in all these things. We have never had a drink of wine to this day, nor have our wives, our sons, or our daughters. 9 We haven’t built houses or owned vineyards or farms or planted crops. 10 We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed all the commands of Jehonadab, our ancestor. 11 But when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked this country, we were afraid of the Babylonian and Syrian armies. So we decided to move to Jerusalem. That is why we are here.”
12 Then the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: 13 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Go and say to the people in Judah and Jerusalem, ‘Come and learn a lesson about how to obey me. 14 The Recabites do not drink wine to this day because their ancestor Jehonadab told them not to. But I have spoken to you again and again, and you refuse to obey me. 15 Time after time I sent you prophets, who told you, “Turn from your wicked ways, and start doing things right. Stop worshiping other gods so that you might live in peace here in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you would not listen to me or obey me. 16 The descendants of Jehonadab son of Recab have obeyed their ancestor completely, but you have refused to listen to me.’
17 “Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you refuse to listen or answer when I call, I will send upon Judah and Jerusalem all the disasters I have threatened.’”
18 Then Jeremiah turned to the Recabites and said, “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed your ancestor Jehonadab in every respect, following all his instructions.’ 19 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Recab will always have descendants who serve me.’”
Jeremiah 35 NLT
A Test of Faith for the Nomads
Here we have a flashback. Who were the Recabites? Theses folks were Midianites, descendants of Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law. They were Gentiles living among the Jews because of their lineage.
Pastor Sandy comments…
Jonadab, father of the Rechabites, lived in Israel shortly after the time of the wicked King Ahab. He helped King Jehu put an end to the vile worship of Baal in the northern kingdom. And he gave his heirs a few prohibitions. The Rechabites weren’t to drink wine, or build homes, or plant fields and vineyards. They weren’t to settle down. They were to live a nomadic lifestyle. Apparently, the Rechabites were like the Nazarites.
In Israel there were men who took a special vow to God. [Like Samson] The Nazarite vow involved three prohibitions… Not to touch the fruit of the vine – grapes or wine…Not to cut your hair…And not to come in contact with anything dead. The Nazarites were a walking billboard for the values of God. They avoided cocktails, clips, and cemeteries. Wine represented physical pleasure. Hair is a part of outward beauty. A corpse reminds us of life’s brevity. Thus, to avoid wine was to seek spiritual pleasure over physical. To forego a haircut was to value inward beauty over outward. And to steer clear of corpses and funerals was to set your sites on eternity rather than the here and now… The Nazarite’s life was a advertisement for godly living – real pleasure is found in spiritual things not physical, real beauty is inward not outward, real meaning is found in eternity not on earth.
The vow of the Rechabites was not as extensive, but it too majored on avoiding wine and not planting vines. Wine is a symbol of earthly, physical pleasure. And though the Bible allows it in moderation, the Scriptures warn us repeatedly of its dangers. It can lead us astray. The Rechabite vow was also about sinking roots. Essentially, their lifestyle said don’t get comfortable in this life.
Like Christians today they were pilgrims and strangers on earth. They should live like citizens of heaven. The Rechabites had been faithful to their vow.
Sandy Adams
Statement of Faith and Vow Before God
When we become born-again Christians we take a vow before God. We vow to repent from our sins — to stop sinning and do a 180 degree turn in our lives and follow Jesus only. Obviously, that’s not easy. We humans have a sinful nature and we tend to go back to our sinful ways. That’s why Jesus gave us His Holy Spirit in our hearts. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us and helps us become Christlike.
Continuing…
Jeremiah 36 – Baruch Reads the Lord’s Messages
During the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king in Judah, the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: 2 “Get a scroll, and write down all my messages against Israel, Judah, and the other nations. Begin with the first message back in the days of Josiah, and write down every message, right up to the present time. 3 Perhaps the people of Judah will repent when they hear again all the terrible things I have planned for them. Then I will be able to forgive their sins and wrongdoings.”
4 So Jeremiah sent for Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated all the prophecies that the Lord had given him, Baruch wrote them on a scroll. 5 Then Jeremiah said to Baruch, “I am a prisoner here and unable to go to the Temple. 6 So you go to the Temple on the next day of fasting, and read the messages from the Lord that I have had you write on this scroll. Read them so the people who are there from all over Judah will hear them. 7 Perhaps even yet they will turn from their evil ways and ask the Lord’s forgiveness before it is too late. For the Lord has threatened them with his terrible anger.”
8 Baruch did as Jeremiah told him and read these messages from the Lord to the people at the Temple. 9 He did this on a day of sacred fasting held in late autumn, (December) during the fifth year of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah. People from all over Judah had come to Jerusalem to attend the services at the Temple on that day. 10 Baruch read Jeremiah’s words on the scroll to all the people. He stood in front of the Temple room of Gemariah, son of Shaphan the secretary. This room was just off the upper courtyard of the Temple, near the New Gate entrance.
11 When Micaiah son of Gemariah and grandson of Shaphan heard the messages from the Lord, 12 he went down to the secretary’s room in the palace where the administrative officials were meeting. Elishama the secretary was there, along with Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Acbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13 When Micaiah told them about the messages Baruch was reading to the people, 14 the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah, grandson of Shelemiah and great-grandson of Cushi, to ask Baruch to come and read the messages to them, too. So Baruch took the scroll and went to them. 15 “Sit down and read the scroll to us,” the officials said, and Baruch did as they requested.
16 When they heard all the messages, they looked at one another in alarm. “We must tell the king what we have heard,” they said to Baruch. 17 “But first, tell us how you got these messages. Did they come directly from Jeremiah?”
18 So Baruch explained, “Jeremiah dictated them, and I wrote them down in ink, word for word, on this scroll.”
19 “You and Jeremiah should both hide,” the officials told Baruch. “Don’t tell anyone where you are!” 20 Then the officials left the scroll for safekeeping in the room of Elishama the secretary and went to tell the king what had happened.
King Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll
21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. Jehudi brought it from Elishama’s room and read it to the king as all his officials stood by. 22 It was late autumn, and the king was in a winterized part of the palace, sitting in front of a fire to keep warm. 23 Each time Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king took a knife and cut off that section of the scroll. He then threw it into the fire, section by section, until the whole scroll was burned up. 24 Neither the king nor his attendants showed any signs of fear or repentance at what they heard. 25 Even when Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, he wouldn’t listen.
26 Then the king commanded his son Jerahmeel, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch and Jeremiah. But the Lord had hidden them.
Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll
27 After the king had burned the scroll on which Baruch had written Jeremiah’s words, the Lord gave Jeremiah another message. He said, 28 “Get another scroll, and write everything again just as you did on the scroll King Jehoiakim burned. 29 Then say to the king, ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned the scroll because it said the king of Babylon would destroy this land and empty it of people and animals. 30 Now this is what the Lord says about King Jehoiakim of Judah: He will have no heirs to sit on the throne of David. His dead body will be thrown out to lie unburied—exposed to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. 31 I will punish him and his family and his attendants for their sins. I will pour out on them and on all the people of Jerusalem and Judah all the disasters I promised, for they would not listen to my warnings.’”
32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and dictated again to his secretary, Baruch. He wrote everything that had been on the scroll King Jehoiakim had burned in the fire. Only this time he added much more!
Jeremiah 36 NLT
Key Points
- Baruch was Jeremiah’s friend and scribe.
- They held a “day of fasting” when people would refrain from eating food and come to the temple to sacrifice and worship. They were trying to be pious in the face of God’s judgment.
- First the Word of God was read to the public. Then, to the king’s officials — his “cabinet”. Finally, the king heard the Word of God.
- He cut it up before He burned it.
- Baruch wrote it up again and added much more!
Things of the World are Temporary,
but the Word of God is Eternal
Everything we see in this world is temporary — kings, rulers, presidents, governors, buildings, things, etc. Nevertheless, Jesus said…
35 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
Matthew 24:35
Coming from both a Catholic and a Progressive background, it wasn’t until a few years ago that I really started STUDYING the Bible. The WHOLE BIBLE. (My Story is at the bottom). As a Catholic, I was never encouraged to read the Bible. Tradition, supposedly trumped the Bible. The Catholic “catechism” was a twisted, profaned way to get people indoctrinated to worshiping the church, not Jesus.
At the liberal, Progressive church, we studied the Bible, but they cut it up. They highlighted only the feel-good parts.
Pastor Sandy Adams comments…
Think of ways that people today cut up the Bible. There are liars, and liberals, and the lukewarm.
Liars are cultists who deny doctrines clearly taught in Scripture. They cut and paste, twist and torture to make the Bible say what it was never meant to say.
Tonight, in Kingdom Halls and in Mormon wards, rather than let the Bible mean what it says, it’s being sliced and diced to fit someone’s bias and false doctrine.
The same is done in liberal circles in the name of what’s called “Higher Criticism” – where scholars dare to tell you what is and isn’t the reliable Word of God.
These people have an anti-supernatural bias, so that anything in the text that smacks of a miracle is rejected off-hand. It’s arbitrary and arrogant. It’s the equivalent of grabbing the book in anger, and cutting it up with a knife, and
eliminating what makes you uncomfortable.They don’t just reject the Bible and throw it in the fire, they first have to try and cut it up – discredit its authority. It’s not enough for liberals to dismiss the Bible, they first want to mock it, refute it, discredit it.
Yet perhaps the worst example of a modern-day Jehoiakim is the pastor who believes the Bible to be God’s inerrant Word, yet rather than teach the whole counsel of God, he only addresses the portions that are his favorites, or that
won’t spark any controversy. You don’t even have to dull your blade, you can eliminate whole passages of Scripture by just never dealing with them. If the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or the reality of hell is going to make the pastor or his listeners uncomfortable – just avoid it. Don’t go there. Christians often make the same mistake by always reading the same passages, to the neglect of others. For some of us our highlighter is actually our penknife.Paul told the Ephesians in Acts 20:27, “I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.” Don’t ever forget we’re responsible for all the Book.
Jehoiakim’s attempt at destroying God’s Word was thwarted, as have all other attacks since that time. In 300 AD the Roman emperor, Diocletian, ordered the
destruction of all Bibles. Possessing a Bible was a capital crime. Yet fifty years after Diocletian’s death, the next Roman emperor ordered the copying of fifty new Bibles, paid for at the government’s expense. God has supernaturally preserved His Word.It takes a whole Bible to make a whole Christian.
Sandy Adams
Current Apostasy
A recent Pew Research Study found that 3 in 10 U.S. Adults are religiously unaffiliated. Many have walked away from so-called “Christian” churches and have gone “none”. I think the reason is that they were never born-again in the first place and the churches they attended were either Protestant-Progressive-Liberal or Catholic — where they weren’t getting the True Word of God. They left because they weren’t being nourished with the Truth. And that’s sad. It is part of the last days prophecies.
Jesus didn’t suffer torture and die so we could have religion! He died so He could have a personal Relationship with YOU!
What are you waiting for?
Invite Jesus into Your Heart and Receive the Gift of Grace, Joy, Peace, and the Confident Hope of Eternal Life…
Top image by Sweet Publishing from FreeBibleImages.org, (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Soli Deo Gloria! To God Alone Be the Glory!
My Testimony…
- From Catholic to Prodigal: Surviving College
- From Prodigal to Progressive: Surviving Hurricanes
- From Progressive to Born Again Christian: Surviving Unemployment