Jeremiah 25 - Jeremiah Among the Remnant in the Land - Jeremiah 40-42

[Music] the Prophet Jeremiah spoke to the kingdom of Judah for something like 40 years and they didn't listen he warned them about judgment to come and they didn't listen he told them that the Babylonians were gonna conquer them and they didn't listen he told them that the best thing they could do was not fight against the Babylonians but surrender to them he did they didn't listen to Jeremiah and it all happened exactly like the word of the Lord promised through the Prophet now that's all behind us at this point in the Book of Jeremiah Jeremiah chapter 39 describes the terrible catastrophe of the fall of Jerusalem where the Babylonians came and destroyed the city and after they destroyed the city they exiled they carried away as forced refugees forced captives anybody who had any kind of value the only people left behind were the poorest people in the land the most ill-educated and useless people and then the really clever ones who could hide out in the hills so that they could escape capture that was it does the only ones left in the land now kind of it's a it's a bit of a rage bit of a fad in our culture at large the kind of post apocalyptic book or movie you know while Hunger Games Mad Max you know that kind of thing where some terrible catastrophe has happened to society and now people have to function afterwards and what do they do that's a little bit of what begins in Jeremiah chapter 40 the catastrophe has come now where is God after the catastrophe has hit let's take a look at this together Jeremiah chapter 40 verse 1 the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after neba zadran the captain of the guard had let him go from Rama where he had taken him bound in chains among all who were carried away captive from Jerusalem and Judah all who were carried away captive to Babylon this word came to Jeremiah after the Babylonians had conquered and destroyed Jerusalem and the surrounding area of Judah once Jerusalem was conquered Jeremiah was briefly gathered together with the other captives until they understood who he was and then they allowed him to stay behind that's what verse 1 says among all who were carried away captive from Jerusalem and drew them but look at what happens next in verse 2 and the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him the Lord your God has pronounced doom on this place now the Lord has brought it and has done just as he said because you people have sinned against the Lord and have not obeyed his voice therefore this thing has come upon you and now look I free you this day from the chains that were on your hand if it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon then come and I will look after you if it seems wrong for you to come with me to Babylon remain here see all the land is before you wherever it seems good and convenient for you to go go there now notice this this man known as the captain of the guard who's a babylonian he's not a Jew he's not from Judah this Babylonian looks at the whole situation and he comes up to Jeremiah and goes you're Tara Maya aren't you yes I'm Jeremiah you're the guy who prophesied the fall of Judah aren't you you're the guy who told them to surrender to the Babylonians aren't you yes that's me because listen I know that you're a man of God I know verse 2 the Lord your God has pronounced this doom on this place he knew of Jeremiah he knew of his prophecies he knew that this was the judgment of Yahweh against his people why verse 3 says because they had sinned against the Lord you know what I find fascinating methis the Babylonian captain of the guard believed more in the word of Yahweh than the people of Judah did is that crazy but you have it that way isn't it sometimes people who are brand new to the faith sometimes people who are unbelievers can have more of a instinctive trust in God than those who carry the name believe ever in any regard look at what he says here verse 4 the captain of the guard tells him I free you this day from the chains that were on your hand Jeremiah you are a free man we're taking thousands of captives bound back to Babylonian but listen Jeremiah you're not one of them verse 4 if it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon come and I'll look after you Jeremiah you can have a pretty good life in Babylon I'll look out after you I'll make sure that you're accommodated well I'll make a good place for you among the Babylonians but you don't have to look at verse 4 if it seems wrong for you to come with me to Babylon then remain here Jeremiah had a rare choice the ones who went to Babylonia with the conquering army they generally didn't have a choice about it and they generally didn't have a promise that they would be well taken care of but Jeremiah had this promise so what are you gonna do Jeremiah you've been saying for decades that the Babylonians gonna conquer now they did now you can go back to Babylon with the other exiles but you have a promise that you'll be taken well care of their what are you gonna do Jeremiah look at what Jeremiah does starting to verse 5 now well Jeremiah had not yet gone back nimbus Arad on said go back to get a liya the son of akka calm the son of shaphan whom the king of Babylon made governor over the cities of Judah and dwell with him among the people or go wherever seemed convenient for you to go so the captain of the guard gave him rations and a gift and let him go then Jeremiah went to get a lie of the son of a he come at 2 Misbah and dwelt with him among the people who were left in the land I like that phrase in verse 5 look at verse 5 while Jeremiah had not yet gone back apparently he was lingering I could go to Babylon I'll be well taken care of I can stay here in Jerusalem and Judah what am I gonna do and apparently is thinking about it and just the indecision told the captain of the guard everything he needed to do verse 5 he says you go back you dwell among the people he sensed that Jeremiah really wanted to say and stay and the captain of the guard voiced what seemed to be his choice you go you stay and you align yourself with this man get Alaia who was a Judean man who was going to be the new governor over the province under the direction of the king of Babylon now you know it's interesting about this man get Alya he had nothing to do with the royal family of David Nebuchadnezzar was done with the royal family of David those people that he had appointed from the royal family David to govern over the land or to be a king displace they had stabbed Nebuchadnezzar in the back again and again he was done with him he picked someone from outside the family this man get Alya you are gonna be my appointed governor over the area now by the way just something for your information a few ancient seals with get aleeah's name from this very period have been discovered it's kind of thrilling this is one of the men in the Bible that they have actual archaeological evidence of his name of his seal appearing in history this meant get Alya who was the governor of the land so notice what happens next starting here in verse 5 it says that the captain of the guard gave him rations and a gift and let him go by the way isn't this amazing Jeremiah is treated better by the Babylonians than he is by his own countrymen his own countrymen throw him in jail his own countrymen throw him into a pit his own countrymen yell at him its own country to do terrible things to him but the Babylonians take good care of them and but what does Jeremiah decide to do verse 6 he dwelt with him among the people who were left in the land you know friends I find this amazing Jeremiah could have had a pretty good life among the other exiles in Babylon the Babylonians would have taken care of him but no Jeremiah said no I'm gonna stay in the land I'm gonna stay with the people of God even though they are in a low estate even though they're weak I'm not gonna go to the place it's more comfortable where I could have easier life I'm gonna do the tough thing and I'm gonna stay behind now look what happens next verse 7 and when all the captives are the armies who were in the fields they and their men heard that the king of Babylon had made get Alya the son of a the land and then committed to a men women children the poorest of the land who had not yet been carried away captive to Babylon then they came to get a lie at Mizpah Ishmael the son of Nanaia Johanna and then Jonathon the sons of carrier Surya the son of tan MF the sons of a path the Nephite ingeras on the maca night in their men and get a liar the son of a Hakam the son of shaphan took an oath before them and their men saying do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon and it shall be well with you as for me I will indeed dwell at Mizpah and serve the Chaldeans who come to us but you gather wine and summer fruit and oil and put them in your vessels and dwell in your cities that you have taken okay a few things to notice about this section verses 7 through 10 first of all come on did you notice all the difficult names in that section now I don't want anybody give the wrong idea I really don't know how to pronounce those names I just follow the own thing that I say to teachers and preachers just say it confidently and like you know what you're doing and you know people think you know what you're talking about so I don't know exactly I depress those names but those guys mentioned in those verses the second thing I want to notice is this notice verse 7 it describes the captains of all the armies who were in the fields who was left when the Babylonians took away the exiles the poorest of the land and guerrilla fighters guys who had escaped and went back into the hills some of them were officers some of them were soldiers and once the Babylonian military left these guys reassembled and came to get Alaia and they'd go get a lion what are we gonna do are we gonna launch a little guerrilla warfare here are we gonna get along with the Babylonians what are we gonna do get a laia you see they heard verse 7 that the king of Babylon had made get a liar the son of I he come the governor of the land they were wondering should we keep fighting for an independent Judah or should we submit to the Babylonian Dominion that's the big question should they carry on a guerrilla warfare or should they submit to the babylonians what did get Elias a verse 9 do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans that's what get Elias set so guys listen if we serve the Chaldeans God will honor it God will bring us out of captivity in his appointed time let's just submit to the Lord on this let's just submit to God's judgment and not worry about it and see what God will do we'll serve them as we should we'll pay our taxes look at verse 10 gather wine and summer fruit and oil and put them in your vessels and dwell in your cities guys chill out do your work pay your taxes see what God does when you have a simple obedience get a lie is telling them don't start up a guerrilla insurgency against the Babylonians but look what happens verse 11 likewise when all the Jews were in Moab among the ammonites in Edom and all who are in the countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah and then he had said over them get a liar the son of a geek come the son of shaphan then all the Jews returned out of all the places where they had been driven and came to the land of Judah to get Alya and Mizpah and gathered wine and summer fruit an abundance once the situation is stable in Judah the smoke has cleared from the apocalypse the catastrophe is settling down a little bit then those Jews who got out at Jerusalem when things started getting bad and went over to the neighboring countries like Moab and Edom they said maybe we can come back maybe it's gonna be okay and they did and they started paying their taxes and they started living their lives now in the midst of this look what happens in verse 13 moreover Johanna and the son of Kara and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields came to get a lie at Mizpah and said to him do you certainly know that Ballas the king of the ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nathania to murder you but get a liar the son of a Hakam did not believe them so what happens in verse 14 well get Alya the Jewish man who was appointed the governor over conquered Judah by the Babylonians he gets wind of an assassination plot that Ballas the king of the ammonites has sent a man named Ishmael the son of Nathania to murder him some of these officers of the guerrilla forces said this is what's going to happen now one thing I got to say and I won't get into it deeply this fellow Ishmael who was supposedly to be the assassin against get Alya he was of the royal family of David he may have been quite disturbed that he was passed by for the governorship and that it was given to get Alya instead maybe that was his motive by the way according to the Bible commentator charles feinberg the saran bottle that was excavated in jordan bears the name of this ballast the king of the ammonites that's mentioned in verses 13 and 14 and you're seeing their picture of the Saran bottle which apparently has this inscription but notice this verse 14 here's the payoff get a liya the son of AI he come did not believe them get lie I didn't believe the report get Alya there's this man he wants to assassinate you Bartlett's the king of the ammonites has hired him what are you gonna do listen I don't believe it we don't know why he didn't believe it get Elias seems to have been a good-natured man and you know what some of the problems can be with a good-natured man he believes other people are good-natured as well in any regard get a lie it didn't believe it maybe he knew this fella Ishmael personally and couldn't believe that he would do it we don't know why exactly but verse 14 says get Elisha the son of he come did not believe them now verse 15 then Johanna and the son of Kara spoke secretly to get a lie at Mizpah saying let me go please and I will kill Ishmael the son of meth and ayah and no one will know it why should he murder you so that all the Jews who are gathered to you and would be scattered and the remnant of Judah perish but get a lie of this he comes said to Johanna in the son of Kara you shall not do this thing for you speak falsely concerning Ishmael the attila said to this man get Alaia he's a good man he really wants to govern Judah the best that he can and do good for Judah even after the catastrophe that's come upon them from the Babylonian conquest and when he hears of a murder plot against me cuz no I know this guy I've heard of him it can't happen even when a ninja assassin says I'm gonna they'll take him out for him if you want me to said no no don't you dare do that we're gonna be good don't go out after now I don't wanna give you a spoiler anything Simmi got a clue what happens in the next chapter let's go to chapter 41 verse 1 now it came to pass in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nathaniel the son of Elias Shana of the royal family and of the officers of the King came with 10 men to get a lie of the son of a he come at Misbah and there they ate bread together in Mizpah then Ishmael the son of death Anaya and the 10 men who were with him arose and struck get a lie of the son of a he calm the son of shaphan with the sword and killed him whom the king of babylon had made governor over the land Ishmael also struck down all the Jews were with him that is get a lie at Mizpah and all the Chaldeans who were found there the men of war would you please notice a phrase in verse 1 they ate bread together in Misbah in ancient Eastern culture and it's still present in modern Eastern culture but in ancient Eastern culture there was a sacred understanding that when you ate bread together with a person and by the way bread is used their little metaphorically they had more than bread when you ate a meal together with the person whom you sat down together and you ate out of the same dish there was a bond of hospitality and courtesy that was made between those people that could not be broken an ancient reader would read this and gasp he ate bread together with him and then he did what well I'll tell you what he did look at verse 2 he arose and struck get Alya Ishmael and his ten men murdered the governor that was appointed by the king of Babylon as well as murdering all the Jews who were with him and all the babylonian soldiers the men of war were there to protect the governor they must have done it well they must have done it cleverly they had it planned out they position themselves rightly nobody saw coming get Alya took no unusual precautions he he wasn't this regard foolish he was too trusting and they were all struck down in a moment the lady said I wonder sit all this happened in the plan in the Providence of God God was not uh you know taking a vacation while these things happened but but nobody could have faulted get a life for taking proper precaution you know sometimes this is a very practical thing in life to take proper precaution do you believe God will protect you and take care of you yep but you don't leave your keys in your car when you go into the market for an hour do you well I thought you trusted God but but you take just common sense precautions you lock your doors at night you you you just do things sensibly and if get a lie it was guilty of anything god bless him this good-hearted man he just didn't take some common-sense precautions that he should have and what a massacre get Elias struck down by the sword that the men who were with him struck down the the Babylonian guards all in it was a massacre at Mizpah can you imagine the violence can you imagine that the shock and the surprise but you know it gets worse look at verse 4 and it happened on the second day after he'd killed get a liar they're still there two days they're camped out there among the dead corpses of all the people they murdered they stayed there at get Elias encampment at Mizpah it happened on the second day after he'd killed get Alya when no one yet knew it that certain men came from Shechem from Shiloh and from Sumeria 80 men with their beard shaved and their clothes torn having cut themselves with offering an incense in their hand to bring them to the house of the Lord now Ishmael the son of nathan Iowan out from Mizpah to meet them weeping as he went along and it happened as he met them that he said to them come to get a liar the son of I he come so it was when they came into the midst of the city that Ishmael the son of method I had killed them and cast them into the midst of the pit he and the men that were with them what a blood thirsty animal this Ishmael was there camped out for two days there among the dead corpses a get Alaia and his crew there at Mizpah then come a group of about 80 men from different cities from the north Shiloh Shechem Samaria they come from these different cities and we have this fascinating picture of apparently there were faithful Jews remaining as a scattered remnant we don't know much about these guys we don't know when they were there we don't know if they were a remnant that survived the fall of Samaria and the Northern Kingdom 135 years before we don't know if they emigrated out from the southern kingdom we don't know exactly maybe under the reforms of Josiah they came back with old we don't know but these were men from the northern cities there outside of Judah in what was formerly the Kingdom of Israel the northern ten tribes coming down and they're coming to Jerusalem they know the city is conquered they know the temple is destroyed they come bring not animal offerings but the Hebrew there's very specific they bring grain offerings and they're gonna come and probably at a makeshift altar at or near the site of the destroyed temple they're gonna honor Yahweh and sacrifice to him anyway these guys are fascinating it says that they trim their beards and cut themselves which were pagan displays of mourning so they have this kind of weird mixture of wanting to honor Yahweh yet still clinging to pagan customs yet nevertheless they're gonna make the long journey they're gonna go to Jerusalem and as they're on their way to Jews and they stop at Mizpah and they want to pay a visit to get Alya they're gonna honor him he's the governor of the land and what does Ishmael do Oh friends you noticed it when I read it what an Ishmael do it says that Ishmael the son of Nathaniel earth went out from Mizpah to meet them weeping as he went along all those crocodile tears of that wicked wicked man oh he's weeping for them oh isn't it terrible what happened to Jerusalem isn't it terrible oh you come from so long you're gonna honor Yahweh there at Jerusalem and what did he do he massacred them just as he massacred get Alya in his men these completely innocent men whose only crime was to discover the crime of get Alya he killed them and he cast them into the midst of a pit no doubt it was an empty sister and used for storing water that they cast him into so verse 8 what happens next but but 10 men were found among them who said to Ishmael do not kill us for we have treasures of wheat barley oil and honey in the field so he desist it did not kill them among the Brethren now the pit into which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had slain because of get Alya was the same one ASSA the king and made for fear of basha the king of Israel Ishmael the son of Nathan I have filled it with the slain then Ishmael carried away captive all the rest of the people are in Mizpah the king two otters and all the people remain in Mizpah whom Nezha visitin Neb bouzid aaron the captain of the guard had committed to get a lie of the son of AI he come and Ishmael the son of Nathania came and carried away the captives and departed to go over to the ammonites you see what happens here a few men survived the massacre by saying we'll pay you off with the treasures that we brought Israel says ok but I'll take you cap I'll take all your stuff and I'll sell you as slaves to the ammonites so he gathered up everybody he could from Mizpah even some people were apparently connected to the royal family of David and they came and they brought them to the ammonites this man Ishmael is a despicable pirate now I just want you understand something right here pause he said why are we being told this I mean it's a it's a good bad story isn't it I mean this would make a good movie it's a good bad story why we told us listen do you sense the chaos after the catastrophe what was the catastrophe the fall of Jerusalem the conquest of Judah by the Babylonians what could have been a very settled life leading into a rebuilding and a restoration if they would have all submitted to get Alya and gone for that that's how it could have been but it wasn't that way the people were so wicked and rebellious that there was utter chaos and the people of the land feared for their lives can you imagine what it was like to live in that area if you one of the poor remnant left behind once you heard this story how could you guard yourself how could you protect yourself against a guy like Ishmael and as marauding band of vicious murders you knew that you would be next so keep that in mind the purpose of this text is to tell us about the chaos that followed the catastrophe now look in verse 11 but when Johanna and the son of Kara and all the captains of the forces that were with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of nathan I had done they took all the men and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nathaniel and they found him by the great pool that is in Gibeon so it was when all the people were with with Ishmael saw johanan the son of Karia then all the captains of the forces who were with him then they were glad and all the people who mystery all carried away captive from Mizpah turned around and came back and went to johanna the son of carrier but Ishmael the son I'm Nathan I escaped from Johannine with eight men and to the ammonites it's a little bit tragic verse 11 that johanan the same man who warned get Alya about Ishmael that very same man discovers the massacre at Mizpah and sets out after Ishmael and finds him and is ready to capture him when what happens all these captives all these people that he had taken as slaves that he would sell to the ammonites they started running towards their savior johanan and in the confusion of it all Ishmael and ten men escaped they get away it says verse 15 that they escaped from Johanna well what happened notice here next verse 16 then Johanna and the son of Kara and all the captains of the forces that were with him took from Mizpah all the rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nathania after he had murdered get Ally the son of a the mighty men of war and the women and the children and the eunuchs whom he had brought back from Gibeon and they departed and dwelt in habitations at Kim non which is near Bethlehem as they went on their way to Egypt because of the Chaldeans but they were afraid of them because Ishmael the son of Neth and ayah had murdered get Alya the son of a he come from the king of Babylon had made governor in the land what does Johanna do he gathers up everybody he can let's get as many of this remnant as we can we'll rescue as many as we possibly can let's all get together and we're going to Egypt will be safe in Egypt now what were they worried of look at verse 18 it says for they were afraid of them they were afraid of two things number one they were afraid of the violent chaotic situation of men like Ishmael you just knew that Ishmael would be at your door next with a knife and a sword and murder your whole family that's number one number two they were afraid of the Babylonians why were they afraid of the Babylonians they were afraid Nebuchadnezzar is going to hear your governor's been murdered and gamba ken is gonna go wipe them all out kill them all destroy them all that's what they're afraid of so they say we're going back to Egypt we're gonna be safe in Egypt we're not safe here in Judah we don't want to go to Babylon we'll be safe in Egypt because everybody got that straight in their mind think about that as we look at our last chapter here this evening Jeremiah chapter 42 this is where it gets fascinating verse 1 now all the captains of the forces Johan in the son of Kara Jezz Anaya the son of hosh Anaya and all the people from the least to the greatest came near and said to Jeremiah the Prophet oh yeah remember him yeah I thought this was the book at Jeremiah's and where's Jeremiah well Jeremiah is here they came to Jeremiah the Prophet please let our petition be acceptable to you and pray for us to the Lord your God for all this remnant since we are left but a few of many as you can see that the Lord your God may show us the way in which we should walk and the thing which we should do and you read those first three verses and you have the same reaction I did when I first read them oh this is beautiful they're scared of the chaos they're afraid of Ishmael they're afraid of the Babylonian reprisals that they think they should go to Egypt but they're not sure they just want God to show them so what do they do they do what it seems like the people of Judah never did in the 40 years before the fall of Babel before the fall of Jerusalem they came to Jeremiah the Prophet - Jeremiah what should we do Jeremiah would you pray for us that God would guide us we just want to do God's will Jeremiah would you pray for us and friends from the first three verses done that sound wonderful doesn't that sound amazing it says verse 2 please let our petition be acceptable to you verse 3 that the Lord your God may show us the way in which we should walk and the thing which we should do would you do pretty good with that as a model for the 2016 Oh Lord show me the way in which I should walk show me the thing I should do that's pretty good isn't it I was gonna make a cultural reference to Colombo but half you people don't even know who he is oh you young people you have no idea but Colombo would question goes there's just one thing I don't understand there's just one thing I don't get in the midst of this go ahead look it up on YouTube or whatever a TV detective okay and he had these idiosyncrasies there's one thing I understand about this these people didn't mean it at all now you can't tell from that verse but you can tell from what happens later on and ladies and gentlemen on the surface this was a great prayer to pray on the surface but it's got to go deeper than the surface they came to Jeremiah saying oh we just want to know what God's will is but they had already decided what God's will was and they just wanted to be confirmed in it and that wouldn't be any of us would it what a common thing that is to do is know what a difficult thing it is for us to really empty our heart and say have your own way Lord not my will but your will truly and sincerely it's great words to say but you really got to have it true in your heart let me give a couple quotes one from FB Meyer he says it is useless to profess our desire to know God's will whilst in our secret heart we are determined to follow a certain course come what may how often to believers ask for prayer that their course may be made clear when in point of fact they've already decided on it and are secretly hoping to turn God to their own side and G Campbell Morgan said something similar it is possible to deal deceitfully with our own Souls we do so as these people did whenever we ask for divine guidance having previously decided as to what our course of action is to be such praying is only a superstitious activity when prayer is conceived of the means of getting our own desires fulfilled it is superstition well let's see how Jeremiah handles us verse 4 and then Jeremiah the Prophet said to them I have heard indeed I will pray to the Lord your God according to your words and it shall be that whatever the Lord answers you I will declare to you I will keep nothing back from you kind of an interesting prayer is it you can tell Jeremiah sensed that the words did not truly reflect their heart I got good news for you and bad news for you what do you want first you want the good news first here's the good news first when you pray God really knows your heart when you pray isn't that good news because sometimes I don't know the words to say sometimes my heart isn't jumbled but I just pour it out to God that's good news now I've got some bad news for you won't know what the bad news is when you pray God sees your heart and the spiritual words you pile one upon the other throw in a little bit of King James English so it sounds really good listen God sees right through it if it's not from the heart Jeremiah must a sense this it goes I'll pray to the Lord God according to your words verse 4 and then he says verse or I'll declare it to you I'll keep nothing back from you ok so what's gonna happen verse 5 so they said to Jeremiah let the Lord be true and a faithful witness between us if we do not do according to everything which the Lord your God sends by you whether it's please displeasing we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we send you that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God Jeremiah we pinkie swear we're gonna do whatever the Lord tells you we should do will swear on a stack of Bibles i double-dog swear whatever you want to say man they're they're really Pilate well that what does it say there in verse 5 let the Lord be true and faithful witness if we do not do according to everything verse 6 whether it is pleasing or displeasing you just tell us the truth Jeremiah and we'll do whatever the Lord says verse 7 and it happened after 10 days that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah stop right there 10 days a long time or a short time well you know 10 days let you look in the past sins like 10 days goes like that I mean ten days ago what's today January 6 did 10 days ago it was hardly after Christmas he doesn't Christmas seemed a million years ago I mean it's like so in the past ten days is nothing when you're in the midst of those ten days well how about this when you're afraid that a Babylonian army is gonna bring reprisals against you and slaughter you or Ishmael's gonna knock at your door and slaughter you every day seems like a lifetime you better believe these people agonized over these ten days they couldn't believe that it took so long anyway I had happened after ten days that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah well I gotta say one more thing about this nobody should misunderstand the nature of prophecy in God's prophets this was not something Jeremiah could turn on and off as he pleased oh you want a prophecy great I'll hit the button prophesy it didn't work like that friends he had to go to the Lord and get a word from the Lord and if the Lord wasn't given that the Lord wasn't given it it was not with his power to prophesy when everyone had brought sired prophesy different he listened to Lord and if the Lord didn't tell it for ten days then he didn't have anything to say for ten days anyway back to verse seven and it happened after 10 days at the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah then he called Johan and the son of Kerry of the captain of the forces which were with him and all the people from the least even of the greatest and said to them thus says the Lord the God of Israel to whom you sent me to present your petition before him if you will still remain in this land then I will build you and not pull you down and I will plant you and not pluck you up for i relent concerning the disaster that I brought upon you do not be afraid of the king of Babylon of whom you are afraid do not be afraid of him says the Lord for I am with you to save you and deliver you from his hand and I will show you mercy that he may have mercy on you and cause you to return to your own land listen isn't this dramatic after 10 days the answer comes and what's the answer after 10 days jeremiah says this is the word of the Lord you trust God and stay right here but but we can't stay here Nebuchadnezzar is going to wipe us out that the Ishmael's are gonna wipes out what are we gonna do this is God's Word you trust him and stay right here and God will protect you and bless you and God will make you fruitful in this land verse 10 if you will still remain in this land then I will build you and not pull you down verse 12 I will show you mercy isn't that spectacular you want you're seeking God you want your answer here it is trust me I promise to protect you now ladies and gentlemen if Johanna Johanna and the remnant of Judah if they were spiritual men and women how would they have responded to this promise from Jeremiah hallelujah we have God's promise of protection all we got to do is obey what he says and stay right here and let God promise of simpler times we do not have to sleep go to bed at night I should say with one I open terrify to the babylonians or the Ishmael's of the land we don't have to worry about them because if we stay here and obey what God tells us to do we are safe that's how spiritual men and women would have responded what do you think about this group verse thirteen Jeremiah's still speaking but if you say we will not dwell in this land disobeying the voice of the Lord your God saying no but we will go up to the land of Egypt where we shall see no war nor hear the howl sound of the trumpet nor be hungry for bread and there we will dwell then here now the word of the Lord O remnant of Judah thus says the Lord of hosts the God of Israel if you wholly set your faces to enter Egypt and go to dwell there then it shall be that the sword which you feared shall overtake you in the land of Egypt the famine of which you afraid shall follow close after you in Egypt and there you shall die and so it shall be with the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to dwell there there they shall die by the sword by famine and by pestilence and none of them shall remain or escape from the disaster that I will bring upon them you know what the first thing I think when I read this I think poor Jeremiah 40 years of delivering an unpopular message to people who didn't want to hear it and now he has to do it again poor you know okay don't you think Jeremiah just Lord just once couldn't I just tell them what they want to hear please let just one just please could just once God says no no that's not the message I have you got to deliver this you got to tell them not only the promise that if they stay in the land I will protect them and you gotta admit that's a glorious glorious promise that's the beautiful promise but you got to tell them the curse and the curse is if you disobey me the Lord says on this one what's going to happen look at verse 16 then it shall be that the sword which you feared shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt you are a dead duck if you go to Egypt and hope that God will God will not protect you there God will be against you there it took faith in the word and the promise of God to say we're gonna stay put in Judah the friends we know it from the Bible I know it from my life I'm gonna be bold enough to say that you probably know it from your life I'm not that I never forget it you probably forget it too sometimes but don't we know from our own experience and from the Scriptures itself that the absolutely safest place for us to be is in the center of God's will you're in God's will God will take care of you we're not trying to say everything goes smooth everything will go easy no there still may be catastrophe that strikes but God will be with you in the midst of it the safe place to be is in radical obedience to God and this was the choice before them matter of fact look how dramatic it is verse 18 for thus says the Lord of hosts the God of Israel as my anger and my fury have been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem so will my fury be poured out on you when you enter Egypt and it shall be an oath and astonishment a curse and a reproach if you see this place no more you go to Egypt I'm coming out after you God says we'll get to in coming weeks but I'm just struck by the unbelievable sadness of this what did they do did they stay in Judah or did they go to Egypt Lisa general they went to Egypt it's as if they looked at God's square in the face and said I don't believe you I have to fend for myself you're not going to help me no wonder God says you shall be an oath an astonishment a curse and a reproach I like what Phillip RIKEN said about this he said the risky choice was perfectly safe well the easy way out was deadly verse 19 the Lord has said concerning you Jeremiah is not done by the way speaking of these people the Lord has said concerning you O remnant of Judah do not go to Egypt know certainly that I have admonished you this day for you were hypocrites in your heart when you sent me to the Lord your God sake pray for us to the Lord God and according to all that the Lord your God says and declare to us and we will do it and I have this day declared it to you but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God or anything which he has sent you by me now therefore know certainly that you shall die by the sword by famine and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go dwell friends what a frightening line it is in verse 20 you were hypocrites in your hearts when you sent me to the Lord your God O Lord you just tell me your will the Lord I just want to know your will I just want to know your will you know how your kids you cross your fingers behind your back right oh Lord I just want to know just tell me your will or just whatever it is God says go well not really I'm I'm gonna do what I want to do I was just hoping you'd go along with me then I'd feel better about what ladies and gentlemen submission is never an issue in our life until we're confronted with something that we wouldn't normally do if you submit to God when he happens to agree with what you want that's not submission at all not on a human level or a divine level no they were hypocrites in their hearts and therefore verse 22 know certainly that you shall die by the sword by famine and by pestilence in the place where you desire to dwell Adam Clarke said as you have determined to disobey God has determined to punish John Trapp said in running from death you'll only run to it how's this gonna unfold we'll see next Wednesday night but can we just close with the simple thought of how important it is to the very best of our ability to truly surrender ourselves in our will to God you know in a garden there was a man who told God not your will but mine and he took a fruit and plunged the human race into it's fallen condition there was a second Adam who went to a garden and said to God not my will but yours and he won salvation for his people now if you're a follower of Jesus Christ if you've surrendered your life to Him Jesus lives in you does he not Jesus lives in you so really friends I'm not even telling you to try harder to surrender I'm telling you to seek Jesus and let his surrender live itself [Music]

Channel: David Guzik

Views: 3,678

Rating: 4.939394 out of 5

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Id: DVvwv4XVEKU

Length: 48min 20sec (2900 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 23 2019