Day 231: Jeremiah 25-27

(The previous post covered numerous prophecies concerning the kings of Judah before the captivity and prophecies concerning the captivity itself.)

Jeremiah 25
¹ The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (the same was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon,)

(In Daniel 1:1 it said the third year of Jehoiakim. Nebuchadnezzar left Babylon in the third year of Jehoiakim and reached Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim. Jeremiah received a word from God concerning all of Judah…)

² which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying:
³ From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even unto this day, these three and twenty years, the word of Jehovah hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising up early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened.

(Jeremiah had been speaking God's Word to Judah for twenty-three years and the people still did not listen. Remember, God had warned Jeremiah that the Jews would fight against him: Jeremiah 1:19.)

⁴ And Jehovah hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, (but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear,)
⁵ saying, Return ye now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that Jehovah hath given unto you and to your fathers, from of old and even for evermore;
⁶ and go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the work of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
⁷ Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith Jehovah; that ye may provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own hurt.
⁸ Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Because ye have not heard my words,

(Because they had not heard God's Words...)

⁹ behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith Jehovah, and I will send unto Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations.
¹⁰ Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.
¹¹ And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

(...they would be in captivity for seventy years.)

¹² And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith Jehovah, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it desolate for ever.

(When the seventy years were finished, God would punish the king of Babylon. This was fulfilled in Daniel 5.)

¹³ And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.

(God would do all that He said.)

¹⁴ For many nations and great kings shall make bondmen of them, even of them; and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their hands.

(God would reward them, and all people, according to their actions…good and evil. God was Just.)

¹⁵ For thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, unto me: take this cup of the wine of wrath at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
¹⁶ And they shall drink, and reel to and fro, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.

(All the nations that God gave His "cup of the wine of wrath" to would become mad and disoriented.)

¹⁷ Then took I the cup at Jehovah's hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom Jehovah had sent me:

(There were at least twenty nations "drinking" God's wrath, including Judah.)

¹⁸ to wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is this day;
¹⁹ Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people;
²⁰ and all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of the Uz, and all the kings of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Gaza, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;

(Uz was Job’s country.)

²¹ Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon;

(Edom was from Esau. Moab and Ammon were from Lot. Notice, Amalek (from Esau) was not mentioned.)

²² and all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the isle which is beyond the sea;
²³ Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that have the corners of their hair cut off;
²⁴ and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the wilderness;
²⁵ and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes;

(Zimri was a nation of Zimran, a son of Abraham. Elam was Persia. Media was north of this.)

²⁶ and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.

(Sheshach was another name for Babylon.)

²⁷ And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink ye, and be drunken, and spew, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.
²⁸ And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thy hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Ye shall surely drink.

(The nations were given the choice to accept God's judgment. If they refused, they would be judged in response to Justice.)

²⁹ For, lo, I begin to work evil at the city which is called by my name; and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished; for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith Jehovah of hosts.

(Judah/Jerusalem would "drink" God's wrath first.)

³⁰ Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, Jehovah will roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he will mightily roar against his fold; he will give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.
³¹ A noise shall come even to the end of the earth; for Jehovah hath a controversy with the nations; he will enter into judgment with all flesh: as for the wicked, he will give them to the sword, saith Jehovah.

(After Judah, the other nations would "drink"…)

³² Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest shall be raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth.
³³ And the slain of Jehovah shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the face of the ground.
³⁴ Wail, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow in ashes, ye principal of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are fully come, and ye shall fall like a goodly vessel.

(The shepherd (pastors) would be destroyed.)

³⁵ And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.

(...the pastors would not escape but would be carried away to Babylon.)

³⁶ A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and the wailing of the principal of the flock! for Jehovah layeth waste their pasture.
³⁷ And the peaceable folds are brought to silence because of the fierce anger of Jehovah.
³⁸ He hath left his covert, as the lion; for their land is become an astonishment because of the fierceness of the oppressing sword, and because of his fierce anger.

(God was pictured here as an angry lion upon its prey and executing judgment on the wicked.)




Jeremiah 26
¹ In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word from Jehovah, saying,

(This prophecy took us back to twenty-two years before the Babylon captivity…)

² Thus saith Jehovah: Stand in the court of Jehovah's house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in Jehovah's house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word.

(God told Jeremiah to stand in the court of the temple and speak to all the cities of Judah. God made sure to tell Jeremiah to speak every word God told him to speak.)

³ It may be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way; that I may repent me of the evil which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.

(God told Jeremiah to not diminish a word because these words could lead the people to repentance.)

⁴ And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah: If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,

(If they did not listen to the words from God...)

⁵ to hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send unto you, even rising up early and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;
⁶ then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.

(…then God would make the temple like Shiloh. Just as God ceased to dwell in Shiloh and transferred His temple to Jerusalem, so God would cease to dwell at Jerusalem. Shiloh used to be the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant.)

⁷ And the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of Jehovah.
⁸ And it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that Jehovah had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold on him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.

(After Jeremiah finished speaking, the priests, prophets, and all the people that Jeremiah spoke to, took him and threatened to kill him.)

⁹ Why hast thou prophesied in the name of Jehovah, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant? And all the people were gathered unto Jeremiah in the house of Jehovah.

(All the people were against Jeremiah. They did not want to consider why God would leave Jerusalem. They were focused on why Jeremiah spoke these words. They were blaming Jeremiah.)

¹⁰ And when the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king's house unto the house of Jehovah; and they sat in the entry of the new gate of Jehovah's house.
¹¹ Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy of death; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.

(The prophets and priests told the princes that Jeremiah was worthy to die because of what he prophesied from God...because of the words he spoke.)

¹² Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, Jehovah sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard.
¹³ Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of Jehovah your God; and Jehovah will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.

(Jeremiah stood his ground and said that the words he proclaimed were from God and then he encouraged repentance. Jeremiah was attempting to help the people examine their own lives instead of being focused on Jeremiah.)

¹⁴ But as for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as is good and right in your eyes.

(Jeremiah was not defensive and was about the causes regardless of the effects, he was a man. Jeremiah told them to do what they would with him.)

¹⁵ Only know ye for certain that, if ye put me to death, ye will bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof; for of a truth Jehovah hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.

(He did warn them that they would be spilling innocent blood because of the truth that he proclaimed.)

¹⁶ Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets: This man is not worthy of death; for he hath spoken to us in the name of Jehovah our God.

(The princes decided that Jeremiah was not worthy of death because Jeremiah spoke in the Name of God. Did this mean they considered his words or was it only because he mentioned God's Name within his words?)

¹⁷ Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying,
¹⁸ Micah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.

(Some of the elders spoke for Jeremiah. They mentioned Micah (the author of the Book of Micah) and how Micah also spoke judgment on Israel.)

¹⁹ Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? did he not fear Jehovah, and entreat the favor of Jehovah, and Jehovah repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus should we commit great evil against our own souls.
²⁰ And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of Jehovah, Uriah the son of Shemaiah of Kiriath-jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah:

(This incident with Uriah was not mentioned elsewhere in scripture…)

²¹ and when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty-men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Uriah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt:
²² and Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him, into Egypt;
²³ and they fetched forth Uriah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king, who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.
²⁴ But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.

(Ahikam and Shaphan helped Jeremiah out of the hands of the people that wanted Jeremiah dead. Ahikam was a confidant of Josiah: 2 Kings 22:12.)




Jeremiah 27
¹ In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,
² Thus saith Jehovah to me: Make thee bonds and bars, and put them upon thy neck;

(God told Jeremiah to make bonds and bars (yoke), used for oxen, on his neck.)

³ and send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the children of Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers that come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;

(Jeremiah was also told to send them to the kings of six different nations: Edom (from Esau), Moab and Ammon (from Lot), Tyre, Sidon, and Judah.)

⁴ and give them a charge unto their masters, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Thus shall ye say unto your masters:
⁵ I have made the earth, the men and the beasts that are upon the face of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I give it unto whom it seemeth right unto me.
⁶ And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field also have I given him to serve him.

(All these nations (verse 3) would be given to Nebuchadnezzar by God.)

⁷ And all the nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the time of his own land come: and then many nations and great kings shall make him their bondman.
⁸ And it shall come to pass, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith Jehovah, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

(The nations that did not submit to Babylon would be punished by God with the sword, famine, and pestilence. They were better off submitting to Nebuchadnezzar than resisting this judgment and receiving worse.)

⁹ But as for you, hearken ye not to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreams, nor to your soothsayers, nor to your sorcerers, that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:
¹⁰ for they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land, and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.

(They were told not to listen to the prophets who prophesied falsely. These words God spoke would happen.)

¹¹ But the nation that shall bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, that nation will I let remain in their own land, saith Jehovah; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.

(The nations that submitted to Babylon would be restored.)

¹² And I spake to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.

(Jeremiah also spoke to Zedekiah to also submit to Babylon. Jeremiah knew this would be the best thing for Judah to do, obey God: accept God's punishment through Justice.)

¹³ Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as Jehovah hath spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
¹⁴ And hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon; for they prophesy a lie unto you.

(Jeremiah continued to relay God's message to Zedekiah king of Judah.)

¹⁵ For I have not sent them, saith Jehovah, but they prophesy falsely in my name; that I may drive you out, and that ye may perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.
¹⁶ Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of Jehovah's house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon; for they prophesy a lie unto you.

(Jeremiah also spoke to the priests to submit themselves and the vessels of God's house to Babylon.)

¹⁷ Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city become a desolation?
¹⁸ But if they be prophets, and if the word of Jehovah be with them, let them now make intercession to Jehovah of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of Jehovah, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon.
¹⁹ For thus saith Jehovah of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that are left in this city,

(The vessels would be taken away but would be restored again…)

²⁰ which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;
²¹ yea, thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of Jehovah, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem:
²² They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be, until the day that I visit them, saith Jehovah; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.

(This post covered a word that was given to Jeremiah at the beginning of Jehoiakim's reign, yet was not made known to Zedekiah during the ninth year of his reign. This post also covered Jeremiah's deliverance from the wrath of the people.)

Day 232