Day 243: Ezekiel 4-6

(The previous post covered Ezekiel's commissioning by God to be a prophet to His people.)

Ezekiel 4
¹ Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it a city, even Jerusalem:

(Ezekiel was told to lay a tile before him and portray Jerusalem upon it. The "tile" mentioned would have been a sun-dried brick. These bricks were often used for inscriptions.)

² and lay siege against it, and build forts against it, and cast up a mound against it; set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it round about.
³ And take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face toward it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.

(Ezekiel was told to use an iron pan as a wall between him and the tile (which represented Jerusalem). Then Ezekiel was to "lay siege against" the tile. The destruction of this tile represented the coming destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.)

⁴ Moreover lie thou upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it; according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it, thou shalt bear their iniquity.
⁵ For I have appointed the years of their iniquity to be unto thee a number of days, even three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

(Ezekiel then had to lie on his left side on the ground for 390 days. Each day represented a year of iniquity of the Israelites. The 390 years were from the division of the kingdom under Jeroboam and Rehoboam to the eleventh year of Zedekiah, when Jerusalem fell.)

⁶ And again, when thou hast accomplished these, thou shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah: forty days, each day for a year, have I appointed it unto thee.

(Next, Ezekiel had to lie on his right side for forty days. Again, each day represented a year but this time of the iniquity of Judah. However, this iniquity of Judah did represent all of Israel since during this time the ten tribes of Israel had already been destroyed.)

⁷ And thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with thine arm uncovered; and thou shalt prophesy against it.

(Ezekiel had to prophesy against Jerusalem.)

⁸ And, behold, I lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to the other, till thou hast accomplished the days of thy siege.
⁹ Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof; according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, even three hundred and ninety days, shalt thou eat thereof.

(Ezekiel had to prepare enough food for himself to eat during the days he would be lying on the ground. The ingredients were unusual and signified the lack of food that would be available, especially wheat and barley.)

¹⁰ And thy food which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.
¹¹ And thou shalt drink water by measure, the sixth part of a hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.
¹² And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it in their sight with dung that cometh out of man.

(Again, food and water would be scarce. The food was cooked over a fire made of human dung. This would make the food unclean…)

¹³ And Jehovah said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations whither I will drive them.

(…it symbolized and would teach Israel that they would be eating defiled bread among the Gentiles.)

¹⁴ Then said I, Ah Lord Jehovah! behold, my soul hath not been polluted; for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn of beasts; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.

(Ezekiel had never eaten defiled food and he was torn up by the idea.)

¹⁵ Then he said unto me, See, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread thereon.

(God told him the fire could be made with cow's dung instead of man's.)

¹⁶ Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with fearfulness; and they shall drink water by measure, and in dismay:
¹⁷ that they may want bread and water, and be dismayed one with another, and pine away in their iniquity.

(Eating this unclean food by measure indicated famine for Jerusalem.)




Ezekiel 5
¹ And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp sword; as a barber's razor shalt thou take it unto thee, and shalt cause it to pass upon thy head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair.

(The razor upon Ezekiel's head represented judgment against the Israelites. "Balances to weigh, and divide..." meant that this judgment was in response to Justice.)

² A third part shalt thou burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled; and thou shalt take a third part, and smite with the sword round about it; and a third part thou shalt scatter to the wind, and I will draw out a sword after them.

(Ezekiel was told to take a third of his hair and burn it in the midst of the city, a third was to be cut with a sword, and a third was to be scattered in the wind.)

³ And thou shalt take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts.
⁴ And of these again shalt thou take, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; therefrom shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.
⁵ Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations, and countries are round about her.
⁶ And she hath rebelled against mine ordinances in doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries that are round about her; for they have rejected mine ordinances, and as for my statutes, they have not walked in them.

(Jerusalem was to be judged because of her rebellion against God.)

⁷ Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because ye are turbulent more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept mine ordinances, neither have done after the ordinances of the nations that are round about you;
⁸ therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I, even I, am against thee; and I will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations.

(Because of the wickedness of the Jews, God responded with judgment.)

⁹ And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.
¹⁰ Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments on thee; and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter unto all the winds.

(Verse 10 was an effect of denying God and worshipping idols. What would happen in this verse was first warned of by Moses: Leviticus 26:29, Deuteronomy 28:53.)

¹¹ Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, and I also will have no pity.
¹² A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee; and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and a third part I will scatter unto all the winds, and will draw out a sword after them.

(The judgment would be by famine, sword, and dispersion. Each of these three forms of judgment were represented by the three things Ezekiel did with his hair.)

¹³ Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my wrath toward them to rest, and I shall be comforted; and they shall know that I, Jehovah, have spoken in my zeal, when I have accomplished my wrath upon them.

(After Justice was equaled out, God's anger would be accomplished.)

¹⁴ Moreover I will make thee a desolation and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by.
¹⁵ So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment, unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments on thee in anger and in wrath, and in wrathful rebukes (I, Jehovah, have spoken it);
¹⁶ when I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, that are for destruction, which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread;
¹⁷ and I will send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee: I, Jehovah, have spoken it.

(Complete destruction was foretold.)




Ezekiel 6
¹ And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
² Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy unto them,

(Ezekiel was commanded to prophesy against the mountains of Israel.)

³ and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.

(God's Word to the mountains was that He would destroy the high places...worship of anything other than God.)

⁴ And your altars shall become desolate, and your sun-images shall be broken; and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.
⁵ And I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.
⁶ In all your dwelling-places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your sun-images may be hewn down, and your works may be abolished.
⁷ And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.

(After the destruction of the high places, altars, and the idolaters, the people would know it was Jehovah.)

⁸ Yet will I leave a remnant, in that ye shall have some that escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.

(A remnant would be saved.)

⁹ And those of you that escape shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captive, how that I have been broken with their lewd heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which play the harlot after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.

(God described Himself as "broken." God was weary of the idolatry of the people.)

¹⁰ And they shall know that I am Jehovah: I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.

(The people would know that God meant the words He said.)

¹¹ Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Smite with thy hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas! because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel; for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.
¹² He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my wrath upon them.

(God's wrath would fall upon all of the people regardless of where they were.)

¹³ And ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the places where they offered sweet savor to all their idols.

(God gave the people the measure for them to know that God was doing this: when all these events happened to the people, they would know that Jehovah was God.)

¹⁴ And I will stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate and waste, from the wilderness toward Diblah, throughout all their habitations: and they shall know that I am Jehovah.

(This post covered God's warning to the people through Ezekiel with details so that they would know God did this, and would turn again to God.)

Day 244

Day 242: Ezekiel 1-3

(The Book of Ezekiel was the fourth of the five books that made up the major prophet section of the Old Testament. Ezekiel's purpose was to confront Israel while in captivity to confess and repent for her sins. There were four types of prophecies presented in the Book of Ezekiel:
1. Destruction of Jerusalem. (Chapters 1-24)
2. Judgments against other nations. (Chapters 25-32)
3. Events during the Tribulation. (Chapters 33-39)
4. Events during Christ's Millennial Reign. (Chapters 40-48).
We will cover the Book of Ezekiel with this four part perspective.)

Ezekiel 1
¹ Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

(Ezekiel was among the captives while he received his visions from God. It appeared Ezekiel was thirty years old when God began Ezekiel's ministry with heavenly visions.)

² In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity,
³ the word of Jehovah came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of Jehovah was there upon him.

(Ezekiel was a priest. He received the visions near the Chebar River (in present day Iraq) in the land of the Chaldeans (Babylon). Ezekiel, like Jeremiah, was called to be a prophet directly by God.)

(Verses 4-25: Ezekiel's vision of the cherubim and the wheels.)

⁴ And I looked, and, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, a great cloud, with a fire infolding itself, and a brightness round about it, and out of the midst thereof as it were glowing metal, out of the midst of the fire.

(The judgment against Jerusalem that led to complete destruction would come from the north, the Babylonians. Remember, the destruction of Jerusalem had not occurred within five years of Jehoiachin's captivity.)

⁵ And out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man.

(In the vision, he saw four living creatures with the likeness of a man. These were cherubim.)

⁶ And every one had four faces, and every one of them had four wings.
⁷ And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot; and they sparkled like burnished brass.
⁸ And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings thus:
⁹ their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.
¹⁰ As for the likeness of their faces, they had the face of a man; and they four had the face of a lion on the right side; and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four had also the face of an eagle.

(The cherubim had hands and wings and four faces: man, lion, ox, and eagle.)

¹¹ And their faces and their wings were separate above; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.
¹² And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; they turned not when they went.

(Where the Spirit went was where the cherubim went.)

¹³ As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches: the fire went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.
¹⁴ And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.

(Verse 15: began the description of the four wheels.)

¹⁵ Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold, one wheel upon the earth beside the living creatures, for each of the four faces thereof.
¹⁶ The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto a beryl: and they four had one likeness; and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel within a wheel.
¹⁷ When they went, they went in their four directions: they turned not when they went.
¹⁸ As for their rims, they were high and dreadful; and they four had their rims full of eyes round about.
¹⁹ And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.

(The cherubim and the wheels moved in the same direction.)

²⁰ Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went; thither was the spirit to go: and the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

(They went wherever the Spirit went. The spirit of the cherubim were in the wheels.)

²¹ When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up beside them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

(Verse 22: continued the description of the cherubim.)

²² And over the head of the living creature there was the likeness of a firmament, like the terrible crystal to look upon, stretched forth over their heads above.
²³ And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two which covered on this side, and every one had two which covered on that side, their bodies.
²⁴ And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings like the noise of great waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a noise of tumult like the noise of a host: when they stood, they let down their wings.

(The noise of their wings was as the Voice of God.)

²⁵ And there was a voice above the firmament that was over their heads: when they stood, they let down their wings.

(Verse 26: began a description of God.)

²⁶ And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man upon it above.

(A vision of a throne with an appearance of a man upon it.)

²⁷ And I saw as it were glowing metal, as the appearance of fire within it round about, from the appearance of his loins and upward; and from the appearance of his loins and downward I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness round about him.
²⁸ As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

(Notice, fire and a glowing metal were associated with God. The Bible consistently stated that a precious metal was refined by fire. A precious metal not only withstands the effects of a fire, it is improved with fire. The appearance of the Glory of God caused Ezekiel to fall upon his face. There was an even more detailed description of the cherubim and the throne in Ezekiel 10.)




Ezekiel 2
¹ And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak with thee.

(God told Ezekiel to stand and God would speak to him. This chapter covered Ezekiel's commission from God…)

² And the Spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet; and I heard him that spake unto me.

(The Spirit entered into Ezekiel. Unlike the 6th Dispensation (Pentecost) when the Holy Spirit dwells inside all believers, during the 5th Dispensation (the Law) the Holy Spirit only dwelt inside the prophets, Ezekiel being one of them. Notice, Ezekiel was already kneeling. The Holy Spirit told Ezekiel to stand.)

³ And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to nations that are rebellious, which have rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me even unto this very day.

(Ezekiel was sent to the Israelites.)

⁴ And the children are impudent and stiffhearted: I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah.
⁵ And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
⁶ And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.
⁷ And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear; for they are most rebellious.

(Ezekiel was to not be afraid of them even though they were rebellious. Whether Ezekiel was heard or not, he still was commanded to proclaim the Word of God. Essentially, God told Ezekiel to be a man: to be about the causes regardless of the effects.)

⁸ But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that which I give thee.
⁹ And when I looked, behold, a hand was put forth unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;
¹⁰ And he spread it before me: and it was written within and without; and there were written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

(Ezekiel was given a roll of a book that contained words of sorrow.)




Ezekiel 3
¹ And he said unto me, Son of man, eat that which thou findest; eat this roll, and go, speak unto the house of Israel.

(In the vision, Ezekiel was told to eat the book, just like John was told to do in Revelation 10 with the same effects.)

² So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat the roll.
³ And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

(Ezekiel spiritually "ate" the book and it was like honey in his mouth.)

⁴ And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
⁵ For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel;

(Ezekiel was sent to prophesy to his own people.)

⁶ not to many peoples of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, if I sent thee to them, they would hearken unto thee.
⁷ But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are of hard forehead and of a stiff heart.

(Although Ezekiel was sent to his own people, they would not listen to him because they would not listen to God because the Israelites were not willing to consider they could be wrong.)

⁸ Behold, I have made thy face hard against their faces, and thy forehead hard against their foreheads.
⁹ As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.

(God prepared Ezekiel for the work ahead of him. The "adamant harder than flint" was a diamond.)

¹⁰ Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thy heart, and hear with thine ears.

(Ezekiel was told to receive God's Word in his heart and to hear (understand) them.)

¹¹ And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
¹² Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of Jehovah from his place.
¹³ And I heard the noise of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, even the noise of a great rushing.

(Ezekiel was lifted up by the Spirit and he heard a voice of great rushing as well as the wings of the cherubim and the wheels.)

¹⁴ So the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away; and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; and the hand of Jehovah was strong upon me.

(Notice, Ezekiel was transported by the Spirit. Ezekiel went away bitter because of the people's attitude against God and Ezekiel's message. God strengthened Ezekiel to continue his ministry.)

¹⁵ Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river Chebar, and to where they dwelt; and I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.

(After the vision, Ezekiel sat overwhelmed for seven days.)

¹⁶ And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
¹⁷ Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

(God made Ezekiel a "watchman" of the Israelites.)

¹⁸ When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

(Ezekiel would have a share in the wickedness caused if he did not warn the people.)

¹⁹ Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
²⁰ Again, when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

(Notice, the presence of a "watchman" did not guarantee that people would respond. Salvation was ultimately the choice of the individual. The "watchman" allowed the individual to make an informed choice. As "watchman" unto the Israelites, Ezekiel was held accountable to proclaim God's Word to the people. Because of Ezekiel's position as a prophet, God held him responsible for that gift.)

²¹ Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning; and thou hast delivered thy soul.

(Ezekiel would also have a share in the deliverance of those who took heed to his warnings.)

²² And the hand of Jehovah was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.
²³ Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of Jehovah stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face.
²⁴ Then the Spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet; and he spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thy house.

(Ezekiel saw the Glory of Jehovah and then the Spirit entered into him…the previous recording of this was in a vision, this was the actual event the vision foretold.)

²⁵ But thou, son of man, behold, they shall lay bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them:
²⁶ and I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover; for they are a rebellious house.
²⁷ But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

(God would be the cause of the words that Ezekiel spoke to the people.)

(This post covered Ezekiel's commissioning by God to be a prophet to His people.)

Day 243

Day 241: Lamentations 3-5

(The previous post covered the first two lamentations which showed God's judgment was on all of His people because they did not heed His warnings. These terrors did not have to happen. The reason they did was Justice.)

Lamentations 3

(This third poem contained sixty-six verses, three times as many as the other two. This poem represented the deepest of sufferings, contained a confession of sin, an acknowledgment of God's Justice, and a prayer of faith and for forgiveness. Jeremiah used his own experiences and response to affliction to help the Jews know how to respond well to the affliction they were experiencing.)

(Verses 1-21 showed Jeremiah crying out about his own sorrows…)

¹ I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
² He hath led me and caused me to walk in darkness, and not in light.

(Jeremiah was sent to prophesy to people that he knew would not receive his message and would persecute him.)

³ Surely against me he turneth his hand again and again all the day.
⁴ My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.
⁵ He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail.
⁶ He hath made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead.
⁷ He hath walled me about, that I cannot go forth; he hath made my chain heavy.

(Jeremiah carried a heavy burden for God.)

⁸ Yea, when I cry, and call for help, he shutteth out my prayer.
⁹ He hath walled up my ways with hewn stone; he hath made my paths crooked.
¹⁰ He is unto me as a bear lying in wait, as a lion in secret places.
¹¹ He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces; he hath made me desolate.

(Jeremiah felt torn apart and destroyed by God.)

¹² He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.
¹³ He hath caused the shafts of his quiver to enter into my reins.
¹⁴ I am become a derision to all my people, and their song all the day.
¹⁵ He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath sated me with wormwood.
¹⁶ He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones; he hath covered me with ashes.

(Jeremiah was continually bitter and lamenting.)

¹⁷ And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace; I forgat prosperity.

(Jeremiah's calling was such a burden to him that he forgot prosperity.)

¹⁸ And I said, My strength is perished, and mine expectation from Jehovah.
¹⁹ Remember mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
²⁰ My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is bowed down within me.
²¹ This I recall to my mind; therefore have I hope.

(Although Jeremiah professed his sorrow, his soul was humbled (verse 20) and this brought him hope. Jeremiah knew that when he humbled himself was when God worked through him.)

²² It is of Jehovah's lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

(God's mercy was why they were not all consumed.)

²³ They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.

(God's compassions were new every morning.)

²⁴ Jehovah is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

(Now we see how Jeremiah was showing the Jews how to rightly handle the affliction against them: humble yourself, focus on God, and put your hope in Him.)

²⁵ Jehovah is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

(God was Good (Right and Just) to those who wait for Him. Wait meant "to eagerly pursue" and "to bind together.")

²⁶ It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Jehovah.
²⁷ It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
²⁸ Let him sit alone and keep silence, because he hath laid it upon him.
²⁹ Let him put his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope.
³⁰ Let him give his cheek to him that smiteth him; let him be filled full with reproach.
³¹ For the Lord will not cast off for ever.

(If men were repentant ("give his cheek to him that smiteth him"), they would be forgiven.)

³² For though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
³³ For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.

(God cannot act apart from Right and Just. He does have compassion and mercy but eventually everything will be equaled out.)

³⁴ To crush under foot all the prisoners of the earth,
³⁵ To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the Most High,
³⁶ To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not.
³⁷ Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?
³⁸ Out of the mouth of the Most High cometh there not evil and good?

(Out of God's Mouth proceeded evil and good. This verse proved the importance of understanding the definitions of key words. If evil and good are not understood, it will result in a contradiction.
-Evil destroys.
-Good creates.)

³⁹ Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?

(Jeremiah began a confession and repentance for Jerusalem…)

⁴⁰ Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to Jehovah.

(Jeremiah wanted the people to be contrastive: to search out where they could be wrong.)

⁴¹ Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.
⁴² We have transgressed and have rebelled; thou hast not pardoned.

(God was Just.)

⁴³ Thou hast covered with anger and pursued us; thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied.
⁴⁴ Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, so that no prayer can pass through.

(Since the people were on the wrong side of Justice, God could not hear their prayers.)

⁴⁵ Thou hast made us an off-scouring and refuse in the midst of the peoples.
⁴⁶ All our enemies have opened their mouth wide against us.
⁴⁷ Fear and the pit are come upon us, devastation and destruction.
⁴⁸ Mine eye runneth down with streams of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people.

(Jeremiah continued to express his sorrow for the destruction of the Jews.)

⁴⁹ Mine eye poureth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission,
⁵⁰ Till Jehovah look down, and behold from heaven.
⁵¹ Mine eye affecteth my soul, because of all the daughters of my city.
⁵² They have chased me sore like a bird, they that are mine enemies without cause.

(Jeremiah began praying for vengeance on his enemies…)

⁵³ They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and have cast a stone upon me.
⁵⁴ Waters flowed over my head; I said, I am cut off.
⁵⁵ I called upon thy name, O Jehovah, out of the lowest dungeon.

(Jeremiah had reached out to God when he was in prison.)

⁵⁶ Thou heardest my voice; hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.
⁵⁷ Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee; thou saidst, Fear not.

(God did hear Jeremiah's prayers…because Jeremiah was obedient and on the right side of Justice.)

⁵⁸ O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.
⁵⁹ O Jehovah, thou hast seen my wrong; judge thou my cause.

(Jeremiah wanted to be judged. He wanted God to show him where/how and why he was wrong. Jeremiah was humble.)

⁶⁰ Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their devices against me.
⁶¹ Thou hast heard their reproach, O Jehovah, and all their devices against me,
⁶² The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day.
⁶³ Behold thou their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their song.
⁶⁴ Thou wilt render unto them a recompense, O Jehovah, according to the work of their hands.

(Jeremiah asked God for judgment against his enemies.)

⁶⁵ Thou wilt give them hardness of heart, thy curse unto them.
⁶⁶ Thou wilt pursue them in anger, and destroy them from under the heavens of Jehovah.




Lamentations 4

(This fourth poem, like the first two and the fifth, was composed of twenty-two verses. This poem was divided into three parts: verses 1-11 concerned the miseries that had fallen upon Judah; verses 12-20 concerned the causes for judgment on Judah; verses 21-22 was a prophecy of the punishment of Edom and the final restoration of Israel.)

¹ How is the gold become dim! how is the most pure gold changed! The stones of the sanctuary are poured out at the head of every street.

(The temple had been completely torn down by the Babylonians.)

² The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, How are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!

(The lives of the Jews were turned from fine gold to clay pitchers.)

³ Even the jackals draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: The daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.
⁴ The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: The young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.

(Children were thirsty and hungry and not a man was giving nourishment to them.)

⁵ They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: They that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills.
⁶ For the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the sin of Sodom, That was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands were laid upon her.

(The iniquity of Jerusalem was greater than the sin of Sodom.)

⁷ Her nobles were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk; They were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was as of sapphire.
⁸ Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: Their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.
⁹ They that are slain with the sword are better than they that are slain with hunger; For these pine away, stricken through, for want of the fruits of the field.

(It was better to die by the sword than how the people in Jerusalem were dying of hunger.)

¹⁰ The hands of the pitiful women have boiled their own children; They were their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.

(The famine was so severe that children were eaten. Remember, the Jews were deep into idolatry and had at times given their children as offerings to their false gods: 2 Kings 22:6; 23:10.)

¹¹ Jehovah hath accomplished his wrath, he hath poured out his fierce anger; And he hath kindled a fire in Zion, which hath devoured the foundations thereof.

(Verse 12 transitioned into part two of this poem…)

¹² The kings of the earth believed not, neither all the inhabitants of the world, That the adversary and the enemy would enter into the gates of Jerusalem.

(All the people of the world did not believe that Jerusalem would be destroyed by an adversary. This verse showed that at that time, Jerusalem looked invincible. Are there nations today that appear to be invincible?)

¹³ It is because of the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, That have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her.

(The cause of the judgment was the iniquity of the prophets and priests of the people. Are there nations today that no longer appear invincible because of the sins of their prophets and priests? These were two very powerful verses. A nation that looked invincible ended up being conquered not because of economic, military, or political reasons. The reasons this nation was conquered was because of religious reasons.)

¹⁴ They wander as blind men in the streets, they are polluted with blood, So that men cannot touch their garments.
¹⁵ Depart ye, they cried unto them, Unclean! depart, depart, touch not! When they fled away and wandered, men said among the nations, They shall no more sojourn here.
¹⁶ The anger of Jehovah hath scattered them; he will no more regard them: They respected not the persons of the priests, they favored not the elders.

(The Jews were scattered among other nations but were not favored by them.)

¹⁷ Our eyes do yet fail in looking for our vain help: In our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save.

(The nations whom Judah saw as their allies were of no help to them.)

¹⁸ They hunt our steps, so that we cannot go in our streets: Our end is near, our days are fulfilled; for our end is come.
¹⁹ Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the heavens: They chased us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.

(During this time, the Jews were pursued (persecuted) continually.)

²⁰ The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Jehovah, was taken in their pits; Of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the nations.

(Verse 21 transitioned into part three of this poem…)

²¹ Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz: The cup shall pass through unto thee also; thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked.

(Edom's time was short before judgment would come. Edom was from Esau.)

²² The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: He will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will uncover thy sins.




Lamentations 5

(The fifth and final poem of this book contained twenty-two verses. This poem was divided into two parts: verses 1-16 spoke again of the ruin of Judah and Jerusalem; verses 17-22 were Jeremiah's plea for mercy.)

¹ Remember, O Jehovah, what is come upon us: Behold, and see our reproach.

(The Jews wanted God to remember what had happened.)

² Our inheritance is turned unto strangers, Our houses unto aliens.
³ We are orphans and fatherless; Our mothers are as widows.

(Jerusalem was filled with strangers and aliens and the Jews had become orphans and widows.)

⁴ We have drunken our water for money; Our wood is sold unto us.

(Water and wood were resources the Jews began to have to pay for.)

⁵ Our pursuers are upon our necks: We are weary, and have no rest.
⁶ We have given the hand to the Egyptians, And to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.

(The Jews were persecuted so often they were unable to rest.)

⁷ Our fathers sinned, and are not; And we have borne their iniquities.
⁸ Servants rule over us: There is none to deliver us out of their hand.

(Those who were servants now ruled over the Jews.)

⁹ We get our bread at the peril of our lives, Because of the sword of the wilderness.
¹⁰ Our skin is black like an oven, Because of the burning heat of famine.

(The famine was so great that the wilderness was as an enemy to the Jews.)

¹¹ They ravished the women in Zion, The virgins in the cities of Judah.
¹² Princes were hanged up by their hand: The faces of elders were not honored.
¹³ The young men bare the mill; And the children stumbled under the wood.
¹⁴ The elders have ceased from the gate, The young men from their music.

(The people were being persecuted in a number of ways.)

¹⁵ The joy of our heart is ceased; Our dance is turned into mourning.

(Verse 16 transitioned to part two of this poem. Jeremiah began to plea for mercy…)

¹⁶ The crown is fallen from our head: Woe unto us! for we have sinned.

(Jeremiah made a confession. He was speaking for the people.)

¹⁷ For this our heart is faint; For these things our eyes are dim;
¹⁸ For the mountain of Zion, which is desolate: The foxes walk upon it.
¹⁹ Thou, O Jehovah, abidest for ever; Thy throne is from generation to generation.
²⁰ Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, And forsake us so long time?

(Jeremiah was not aware of how long God would forsake His people.)

²¹ Turn thou us unto thee, O Jehovah, and we shall be turned; Renew our days as of old.

(Jeremiah wanted God to help the Jews turn back to Him.)

²² But thou hast utterly rejected us; Thou art very wroth against us.

(Jeremiah also knew how angry God was toward them. The Book of Lamentations was the third of the five books that made up the major prophet section of the Old Testament. This book consisted of five poems of lamentation by Jeremiah over the destruction of Israel and Jerusalem. The next book of the major prophet section continued the chronology of Israel's captivity...)

Day 242

Day 240: Lamentations 1-2

(The Book of Lamentations was the third of the five books that made up the major prophet section of the Old Testament. This book consisted of five poems of lamentation by Jeremiah over the destruction of Israel and Jerusalem.)

Lamentations 1

(The poem of chapter 1 was divided into two main parts: verses 1-11 described the misery which had come upon the Jews; verses 12-22 showed Jerusalem lamenting (mourning) over her suffering.)

¹ How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! She is become as a widow, that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the provinces is become tributary!

(The first word of this book "How" could be translated as "Alas." This one word was an exclamation of pain and grief, the theme of this entire book. Jerusalem was alone, widowed, and a tributary (a body of forced laborers). Those left were forced to care for the land while the rest were taken to Babylon.)

² She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks; Among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they are become her enemies.

("Her lovers" were the other nations and gods that she fornicated with, which were all gone from her.)

³ Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude; She dwelleth among the nations, she findeth no rest: All her persecutors overtook her within the straits.

(Judah was in captivity and dwelt among the heathens.)

⁴ The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn assembly; All her gates are desolate, her priests do sigh: Her virgins are afflicted, and she herself is in bitterness.
⁵ Her adversaries are become the head, her enemies prosper; For Jehovah hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: Her young children are gone into captivity before the adversary.

(The affliction against Jerusalem was because of her transgressions.)

⁶ And from the daughter of Zion all her majesty is departed: Her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, And they are gone without strength before the pursuer.

(Jerusalem's leaders were like harts (deer) that find no pasture, they were without a home.)

⁷ Jerusalem remembereth in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that were from the days of old: When her people fell into the hand of the adversary, and none did help her, The adversaries saw her, they did mock at her desolations.

(When Jerusalem was in affliction and misery, then she remembered the pleasant things of old. What was the cause of Jerusalem's pleasant things?)

⁸ Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is become as an unclean thing; All that honored her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness: Yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward.

(Those who once honored Jerusalem now despised her because of her sin.)

⁹ Her filthiness was in her skirts; she remembered not her latter end; Therefore is she come down wonderfully; she hath no comforter: Behold, O Jehovah, my affliction; for the enemy hath magnified himself.
¹⁰ The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things: For she hath seen that the nations are entered into her sanctuary, Concerning whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thine assembly.
¹¹ All her people sigh, they seek bread; They have given their pleasant things for food to refresh the soul: See, O Jehovah, and behold; for I am become abject.

(Jerusalem wanted God to consider her sorrows. Did Jerusalem seek God during the "good" times or only during affliction?)

(Verse 12 transitioned to part two of this poem…)

¹² Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is brought upon me, Wherewith Jehovah hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.

(A call to passersby to see the sorrow of Jerusalem that was an effect of God's Righteous judgment on her.)

¹³ From on high hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them; He hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back: He hath made me desolate and faint all the day.
¹⁴ The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand; They are knit together, they are come up upon my neck; he hath made my strength to fail: The Lord hath delivered me into their hands, against whom I am not able to stand.

(Jerusalem was weakened by this affliction and was not able to stand against Babylon who came to conquer her.)

¹⁵ The Lord hath set at nought all my mighty men in the midst of me; He hath called a solemn assembly against me to crush my young men: The Lord hath trodden as in a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah.
¹⁶ For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water; Because the comforter that should refresh my soul is far from me: My children are desolate, because the enemy hath prevailed.

(Jeremiah wept at the affliction and sorrow of Jerusalem. Jerusalem wept because God was far from her. Did Jerusalem ever rejoice when God was near her?)

¹⁷ Zion spreadeth forth her hands; there is none to comfort her; Jehovah hath commanded concerning Jacob, that they that are round about him should be his adversaries: Jerusalem is among them as an unclean thing.
¹⁸ Jehovah is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: Hear, I pray you, all ye peoples, and behold my sorrow: My virgins and my young men are gone into captivity.

(Jerusalem confessed that God was Righteous and that His actions were an effect of Jerusalem's rebellion against God.)

¹⁹ I called for my lovers, but they deceived me: My priests and mine elders gave up the ghost in the city, While they sought them food to refresh their souls.

(Jerusalem's "lovers" deceived her. Again, these were the nations/gods/people that Jerusalem preferred more than God.)

²⁰ Behold, O Jehovah; for I am in distress; my heart is troubled; My heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: Abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death.

(Jeremiah began to speak.)

²¹ They have heard that I sigh; there is none to comfort me; All mine enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that thou hast done it: Thou wilt bring the day that thou hast proclaimed, and they shall be like unto me.

(Jeremiah was compassionate. He was mirroring the sorrow felt by Jerusalem.)

²² Let all their wickedness come before thee; And do unto them, as thou hast done unto me for all my transgressions: For my sighs are many, and my heart is faint.

(Jeremiah was asking God to be Just.)




Lamentations 2

(This second poem was also divided into two parts: verses 1-10 described the punishment which had fallen upon Zion (Jerusalem); verses 11-22 were a lamentation and a prayer.)

¹ How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger! He hath cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, And hath not remembered his footstool in the day of his anger.

(Jerusalem was being judged by God.)

² The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied: He hath thrown down in his wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah; He hath brought them down to the ground; he hath profaned the kingdom and the princes thereof.

(Not only was Jerusalem judged but the Jews who lived there were judged as well…because of their own actions.)

³ He hath cut off in fierce anger all the horn of Israel; He hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy: And he hath burned up Jacob like a flaming fire, which devoureth round about.

(The "horn of Israel" referred to the king of Israel. God’s "right hand" symbolized His great Power.)

⁴ He hath bent his bow like an enemy, he hath stood with his right hand as an adversary, And hath slain all that were pleasant to the eye: In the tent of the daughter of Zion he hath poured out his wrath like fire.
⁵ The Lord is become as an enemy, he hath swallowed up Israel; He hath swallowed up all her palaces, he hath destroyed his strongholds; And he hath multiplied in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation.

(God was as an enemy to Israel. God brought destruction on His people, again because of their own wicked actions.)

⁶ And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden; he hath destroyed his place of assembly: Jehovah hath caused solemn assembly and sabbath to be forgotten in Zion, And hath despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest.

(The unjust actions of the Jews were so great that God destroyed His own place of assembly.)

⁷ The Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath abhorred his sanctuary; He hath given up into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces: They have made a noise in the house of Jehovah, as in the day of a solemn assembly.
⁸ Jehovah hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion; He hath stretched out the line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying; And he hath made the rampart and wall to lament; they languish together.
⁹ Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: Her king and her princes are among the nations where the law is not; Yea, her prophets find no vision from Jehovah.

(Jerusalem was desolate. The Law was no more and the prophets found no vision from God.)

¹⁰ The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, they keep silence; They have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth: The virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground.

(The elders and even the virgins were in a state of great mourning.)

(Verse 11 transitioned to part two of this poem…)

¹¹ Mine eyes do fail with tears, my heart is troubled; My liver is poured upon the earth, because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, Because the young children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city.

(The extent of Jeremiah's compassion was shown. The Jews considered the intellect to be in the heart and the emotions in the liver. The heart is where all the individual's choices are planted. So, this verse stated the effect of everything that happened resulted in a troubled heart. Second only to the brain, the digestive system has the most emotional receptors in the individual's body.)

¹² They say to their mothers, Where is grain and wine? When they swoon as the wounded in the streets of the city, When their soul is poured out into their mothers' bosom.

(The city was so desolate that the children were on the streets and were lacking food.)

¹³ What shall I testify unto thee? what shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I compare to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? For thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee?
¹⁴ Thy prophets have seen for thee false and foolish visions; And they have not uncovered thine iniquity, to bring back thy captivity, But have seen for thee false oracles and causes of banishment.

(The prophets saw and spoke false and foolish (no why) visions. Prophets ought to be making the people aware of a problem such as iniquity. These false prophets were not perceiving the iniquity in the Jews.)

¹⁵ All that pass by clap their hands at thee; They hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men called The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?

(People who passed by taunted Jerusalem knowing that it was once the city that men called "The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth." Jerusalem was known by foreigners as a great city, now it was destroyed.)

¹⁶ All thine enemies have opened their mouth wide against thee; They hiss and gnash the teeth; they say, We have swallowed her up; Certainly this is the day that we looked for; we have found, we have seen it.

(The enemies of Israel took credit for the destruction of her greatest city.)

¹⁷ Jehovah hath done that which he purposed; he hath fulfilled his word that he commanded in the days of old; He hath thrown down, and hath not pitied: And he hath caused the enemy to rejoice over thee; he hath exalted the horn of thine adversaries.

(Moses warned of these days numerous times: Deuteronomy 4:25-31; 30:1-10; 31:29.)

¹⁸ Their heart cried unto the Lord: O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night; Give thyself no respite; let not the apple of thine eye cease.

(The "wall of the daughter of Zion" referred to the hearts of the Jews.)

¹⁹ Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches; Pour out thy heart like water before the face of the Lord: Lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger at the head of every street.

(Jeremiah was encouraging the Jews to cry out to God and pour out their hearts to Him.)

²⁰ See, O Jehovah, and behold to whom thou hast done thus! Shall the women eat their fruit, the children that are dandled in the hands? Shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?

(Jeremiah asked (prayed to) God to consider who He was doing this to: Women were eating their children and priests and prophets were being killed in God's temple.)

²¹ The youth and the old man lie on the ground in the streets; My virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword: Thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger; thou hast slaughtered, and not pitied.

(The judgment from God was upon all the people.)

²² Thou hast called, as in the day of a solemn assembly, my terrors on every side; And there was none that escaped or remained in the day of Jehovah's anger: Those that I have dandled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed.

(This post covered the first two lamentations which showed God's judgment was on all of His people because they did not heed His warnings. These terrors did not have to happen. The reason they did was Justice.)

Day 241

Day 239: Jeremiah 51-52

(The previous post continued to cover prophecies against Gentile powers: Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, Elam, and Babylon. Chapter 51 continued the theme of prophecies against Gentile powers…)

Jeremiah 51
¹ Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in Leb-kamai, a destroying wind.

(This chapter continued the focus on judgment against Babylon.)

² And I will send unto Babylon strangers, that shall winnow her; and they shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.

(The strangers sent to Babylon would "winnow" her. The evil/unprofitability would be removed from Babylon.)

³ Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his coat of mail: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.

(The destruction on Babylon would include all of her army.)

⁴ And they shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and thrust through in her streets.
⁵ For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, of his God, of Jehovah of hosts; though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.

(Israel and Judah were still God's people.)

(Verses 6-8: referred to the future destruction of Babylon mentioned in Revelation 16-19.)

⁶ Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; be not cut off in her iniquity: for it is the time of Jehovah's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense.
⁷ Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
⁸ Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: wail for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

(Verses 9-18: referred to the immediate destruction of Babylon.)

⁹ We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.
¹⁰ Jehovah hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of Jehovah our God.
¹¹ Make sharp the arrows; hold firm the shields: Jehovah hath stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; because his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it: for it is the vengeance of Jehovah, the vengeance of his temple.

(God stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes to cause destruction on Babylon.)

¹² Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Jehovah hath both purposed and done that which he spake concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
¹³ O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy covetousness.
¹⁴ Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with the canker-worm; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.
¹⁵ He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding hath he stretched out the heavens:

(God was The Creator.)

¹⁶ when he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries.
¹⁷ Every man is become brutish and is without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

(There is no breath (spirit) in images/idols.)

¹⁸ They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

(False gods were vanity/unprofitable. They were a work of delusion/deceit.)

¹⁹ The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name.

(Jehovah was not like these idols. Jehovah was Spirit, Profitable, and Truth.)

²⁰ Thou art my battle-axe and weapons of war: and with thee will I break in pieces the nations; and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;

(God was referring to Cyrus as His "battle-axe and weapons of war." Cyrus was the king God would use to judge Babylon…)

²¹ and with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider;
²² and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and him that rideth therein; and with thee will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces the old man and the youth; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the virgin;
²³ and with thee will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces governors and deputies.
²⁴ And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith Jehovah.

(Babylon would receive the evil they had given to other nations, especially Zion (Jerusalem): God was Just.)

²⁵ Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith Jehovah, which destroyest all the earth; and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

(Nebuchadnezzar was referred to as a "destroying mountain.")

²⁶ And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith Jehovah.

(This verse concerned the future destruction on Babylon prophesied in the Book of Revelation.)

²⁷ Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz: appoint a marshal against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough canker-worm.

(Transition back to immediate destruction by the Medes and Persians…)

²⁸ Prepare against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, the governors thereof, and all the deputies thereof, and all the land of their dominion.
²⁹ And the land trembleth and is in pain; for the purposes of Jehovah against Babylon do stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.
³⁰ The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they remain in their strongholds; their might hath failed; they are become as women: her dwelling-places are set on fire; her bars are broken.

(The weakness of Babylon and its people being crippled by fear.)

³¹ One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to met another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter:
³² and the passages are seized, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
³³ For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor at the time when it is trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her.

(Babylon was compared to a threshing floor that was trodden down. The harvest mentioned was the judgment on Babylon.)

³⁴ Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath, like a monster, swallowed me up, he hath filled his maw with my delicacies; he hath cast me out.
³⁵ The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.

(Verses 34-35 were from Israel's perspective.)

³⁶ Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry.

(God responded to Israel's complaint and would avenge Israel.)

³⁷ And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.
³⁸ They shall roar together like young lions; they shall growl as lions' whelps.
³⁹ When they are heated, I will make their feast, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Jehovah.
⁴⁰ I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats.

(The different methods and symbols of God's judgment on Babylon.)

⁴¹ How is Sheshach taken! and the praise of the whole earth seized! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!

(Sheshach was another symbolic name for Babylon.)

⁴² The sea is come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
⁴³ Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.
⁴⁴ And I will execute judgment upon Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.

(The judgment on Babylon would include judgment on her idols/gods.)

⁴⁵ My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and save yourselves every man from the fierce anger of Jehovah.

(Again, God commanded His people to flee Babylon so they would not be destroyed with her.)

⁴⁶ And let not your heart faint, neither fear ye for the tidings that shall be heard in the land; for tidings shall come one year, and after that in another year shall come tidings, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.
⁴⁷ Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will execute judgment upon the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be confounded; and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.

(God continued to assure the people that judgment would fall upon Babylon.)

⁴⁸ Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for joy over Babylon; for the destroyers shall come unto her from the north, saith Jehovah.

(All that will be in the heavens and the earth would sing for joy over Babylon and her destruction. The joy would be an effect of witnessing God's Justice being equaled out.)

⁴⁹ As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the land.
⁵⁰ Ye that have escaped the sword, go ye, stand not still; remember Jehovah from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.

(The people were directed to think on Jerusalem. Soon they would be returning to the land God gave them.)

⁵¹ We are confounded, because we have heard reproach; confusion hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of Jehovah's house.
⁵² Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will execute judgment upon her graven images; and through all her land the wounded shall groan.

(Again, judgment on Babylon was mentioned.)

⁵³ Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall destroyers come unto her, saith Jehovah.
⁵⁴ The sound of a cry from Babylon, and of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
⁵⁵ For Jehovah layeth Babylon waste, and destroyeth out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their voice is uttered:
⁵⁶ for the destroyer is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, their bows are broken in pieces; for Jehovah is a God of recompenses, he will surely requite.

(The "destroyer" here was Cyrus and the Medes and Persians. Jehovah was a God of recompenses. God was Just.)

⁵⁷ And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.
⁵⁸ Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the peoples shall labor for vanity, and the nations for the fire; and they shall be weary.

(The broad walls and high gates would be destroyed. It was recorded that Babylon's walls were 104 ft. 2 in. thick and 416 ft. 8 in. high.)

⁵⁹ The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was chief chamberlain.

(Seraiah was the brother of Jeremiah's secretary, Baruch.)

⁶⁰ And Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written concerning Babylon.

(Jeremiah wrote down all the evil that would come upon Babylon.)

⁶¹ And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, then see that thou read all these words,
⁶² and say, O Jehovah, thou hast spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that none shall dwell therein, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.
⁶³ And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates:

(Jeremiah told Seraiah to read the words Jeremiah wrote about Babylon and to then cast it into the Euphrates River.)

⁶⁴ and thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again because of the evil that I will bring upon her; and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

(The book being cast into the Euphrates symbolized Babylon sinking/falling because of God's judgment on her.)

("Thus far are the words of Jeremiah." - There was a belief that the last chapter (52) was not included in Jeremiah's writings but was added by some inspired man, possibly Ezra.)




(Chapter 52 explained the events that came after 2 Kings 24:18-25:30.)

Jeremiah 52

(This chapter was an historical appendix that gave details of the Babylonian invasion of the Jews.)

¹ Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

(Zedekiah reigned in Judah.)

² And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

(Zedekiah did evil before the Lord.)

³ For through the anger of Jehovah did it come to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

(Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. Remember, God told the Jews in Judah to submit to the judgment coming from Babylon.)

⁴ And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about.
⁵ So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.

(Jerusalem was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar.)

⁶ In the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
⁷ Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden; (now the Chaldeans were against the city round about;) and they went toward the Arabah.
⁸ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.

(Although Zedekiah and his people fled the Babylonians, they were surrounded and overtaken by the Babylonian army.)

⁹ Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he gave judgment upon him.
¹⁰ And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.

(Judgment on Zedekiah: 2 Kings 24:5-7.)

¹¹ And he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.

(The king of Babylon killed Zedekiah's sons right before his eyes and then blinded Zedekiah.)

¹² Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, who stood before the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem:
¹³ and he burned the house of Jehovah, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burned he with fire.

(Jerusalem was burned, including the temple, by Nebuzaradan.)

¹⁴ And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about.

(The walls of Jerusalem were also destroyed.)

¹⁵ Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the poorest of the people, and the residue of the people that were left in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the residue of the multitude.

(The Jews were taken captive to Babylon.)

¹⁶ But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.

(Some of the poor were left behind to care for the land.)

¹⁷ And the pillars of brass that were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases and the brazen sea that were in the house of Jehovah, did the Chaldeans break in pieces, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon.
¹⁸ The pots also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.
¹⁹ And the cups, and the firepans, and the basins, and the pots, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the bowls-that which was of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver,- the captain of the guard took away.
²⁰ The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve brazen bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made for the house of Jehovah-the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
²¹ And as for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a line of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow.
²² And a capital of brass was upon it; and the height of the one capital was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the capital round about, all of brass: and the second pillar also had like unto these, and pomegranates.
²³ And there were ninety and six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network round about.

(The treasures of the temple were also taken captive.)

²⁴ And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold:
²⁵ and out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war; and seven men of them that saw the king's face, that were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city.
²⁶ And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
²⁷ And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.

(The priests and princes of Judah were executed.)

²⁸ This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty;

(In Nebuchadnezzar's seventh year of reign, he took 3,023 Jews captive.)

²⁹ in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons;

(In Nebuchadnezzar's eighteenth year he took 832 more.)

³⁰ in the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.

(In Nebuchadnezzar's twenty-third year of reign he sent Nebuzaradan who took 745 more Jews captive. The total of Jews taken in these years was 4,600.)

³¹ And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison;

(The latter days of Jehoiachin, also known as Jechoniah and Coniah: 2 Kings 25:27-30.)

³² and he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon,
³³ and changed his prison garments. And Jehoiachin did eat bread before him continually all the days of his life:
³⁴ and for his allowance, there was a continual allowance given him by the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.

(The Book of Jeremiah was the second of the five books that made up the major prophet section of the Old Testament. This book documented prophecies where God made His people aware of their backsliding and eminent captivity by Babylon. This book also spoke of God's judgment on Babylon and His people's eventual regathering under Christ's earthly reign during the Millennium. The next book consisted of five poems of lamentation by Jeremiah over the destruction of Israel and Jerusalem.)

Day 240

Day 238: Jeremiah 49-50

(The previous post covered prophecies against Gentile powers: Egypt and north African countries, Philistia, and Moab. Chapters 49-51 continued the theme of prophecies against Gentile powers…)

Jeremiah 49
¹ Of the children of Ammon. Thus saith Jehovah: Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth Malcam possess Gad, and his people dwell in the cities thereof?

(These verses transitioned to a focus on the Ammonites. Remember, Ammon was from Lot.)

² Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the children of Ammon; and it shall become a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel possess them that did possess him, saith Jehovah.
³ Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste; cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth: lament, and run to and fro among the fences; for Malcam shall go into captivity, his priests and his princes together.

(Mourning was proclaimed to the Ammonites. Ai and Rabbah were cities of Ammon, Rabbah being its capital. The word Malcam meant "king." The king of the Ammonites would be taken captive along with his priests and princes.)

⁴ Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me?
⁵ Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, from all that are round about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth, and there shall be none to gather together the fugitives.

(The Ammonites would be driven out of their land because they had gloried in and trusted in the physical.)

⁶ But afterward I will bring back the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith Jehovah.

(Just as Moab, Ammon would be restored in the "latter days": the Millennium.)

⁷ Of Edom. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?

(The focus of God's Words turned to Edom. Remember, Edom was from Esau.)

⁸ Flee ye, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I shall visit him.

(The inhabitants of Dedan were warned of the coming judgment and told to flee from the coming invasion.)

⁹ If grape-gatherers came to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, would they not destroy till they had enough?
¹⁰ But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is destroyed, and his brethren, and his neighbors; and he is not.

(Edom's secret places were in the mountains of Seir-Petra. Edom's seed referred to the many nations joined to him. His neighbors being Dedan, Tema, Buz, and others in the great Arabian desert.)

¹¹ Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.
¹² For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, they to whom it pertained not to drink of the cup shall assuredly drink; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink.

(God would protect the orphans and widows, but the men of war would be destroyed.)

¹³ For I have sworn by myself, saith Jehovah, that Bozrah shall become an astonishment, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.

(Bozrah, another city in Edom, would be destroyed.)

¹⁴ I have heard tidings from Jehovah, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, saying, Gather yourselves together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.
¹⁵ For, behold, I have made thee small among the nations, and despised among men.

(Babylon was to be sent to destroy Edom and make him "small among the nations.")

¹⁶ As for thy terribleness, the pride of thy heart hath deceived thee, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith Jehovah.

(Edom was in pride and God would humble Edom through judgment.)

¹⁷ And Edom shall become an astonishment: every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.

(Edom would be so desolate that everyone that passed by would be astonished.)

¹⁸ As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof, saith Jehovah, no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.

(The destruction of Edom was compared to the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.)

¹⁹ Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and whoso is chosen, him will I appoint over it: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd that will stand before me?

(This verse referred to Nebuchadnezzar and his invasion of Edom.)

²⁰ Therefore hear ye the counsel of Jehovah, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely they shall drag them away, even the little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate over them.
²¹ The earth trembleth at the noise of their fall; there is a cry, the noise whereof is heard in the Red Sea.
²² Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread out his wings against Bozrah: and the heart of the mighty men of Edom at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

(The destruction and crying of the Edomites would be heard from afar off. The mighty men would become faint and weak as a woman in childbirth.)

²³ Of Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad; for they have heard evil tidings, they are melted away: there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.

(The prophecy changed focus to judgment on Damascus.)

²⁴ Damascus is waxed feeble, she turneth herself to flee, and trembling hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in travail.

(Damascus had heard of the evil coming upon them and they were weak and sorrowful.)

²⁵ How is the city of praise not forsaken, the city of my joy?
²⁶ Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be brought to silence in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts.
²⁷ And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad.

(Like the other Gentile nations, Damascus would be invaded by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians.)

²⁸ Of Kedar, and of the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote. Thus saith Jehovah: Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and destroy the children of the east.

(The prophecy changed focus to judgment on Kedar.)

²⁹ Their tents and their flocks shall they take; they shall carry away for themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Terror on every side!

(There would be terror on every side of Kedar because of the smiting of them by Nebuchadnezzar.)

³⁰ Flee ye, wander far off, dwell in the depths, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith Jehovah; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.

(The people were warned of Nebuchadnezzar and told to flee.)

³¹ Arise, get you up unto a nation that is at ease, that dwelleth without care, saith Jehovah; that have neither gates nor bars, that dwell alone.

(Kedar and the inhabitants of Hazor were very wealthy and lived without defenses. They trusted that their peaceful ways would be respected by the nations around them.)

³² And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter unto all winds them that have the corners of their hair cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, saith Jehovah.
³³ And Hazor shall be a dwelling-place of jackals, a desolation for ever: no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.

(Kedar would be made a spoil and Hazor a desolation forever.)

³⁴ The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,

(The prophecy changed focus to judgment on Elam. Elam was a country east of the Tigris River.)

³⁵ Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.

(The Elamites depended mainly on the use of the bow to protect themselves in war. God would break this main source of protection.)

³⁶ And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.

(The "four winds" was symbolic for the four directions. Elam would be scattered in every direction.)

³⁷ And I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life; and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith Jehovah; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them;
³⁸ and I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence king and princes, saith Jehovah.

(Nebuchadnezzar would be the evil brought upon the Elamites and his throne would be set up in Elam.)

³⁹ But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring back the captivity of Elam, saith Jehovah.

(Elam will eventually be restored in the "latter days.")




Jeremiah 50
¹ The word that Jehovah spake concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet.

(The prophecy changed focus to judgment on Babylon and its destruction.)

² Declare ye among the nations and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed; her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.

(Jeremiah was told to declare to the nations that Babylon was taken. Bel and Merodach were gods of the Babylonians. These gods would be destroyed.)

³ For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they are fled, they are gone, both man and beast.

(The nation out of the north was Media-Persia.)

⁴ In those days, and in that time, saith Jehovah, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; they shall go on their way weeping, and shall seek Jehovah their God.

(In those days the children of Israel and Judah would be regathered and reenter the land God gave them…with Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zerubbabel.)

⁵ They shall inquire concerning Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come ye, and join yourselves to Jehovah in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten.
⁶ My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray; they have turned them away on the mountains; they have gone from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting-place.

(God's people, Israel and Judah, were scattered…this was before the people were regathered.)

⁷ All that found them have devoured them; and their adversaries said, We are not guilty, because they have sinned against Jehovah, the habitation of righteousness, even Jehovah, the hope of their fathers.

(God was described as "the habitation of righteousness" and "the hope of their fathers" by the very nations that devoured Israel and Judah.)

⁸ Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he-goats before the flocks.

(God wanted His people to leave Babylon before it was destroyed by the Medes and Persians…)

⁹ For, lo, I will stir up and cause to come up against Babylon a company of great nations from the north country; and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of an expert mighty man; none shall return in vain.
¹⁰ And Chaldea shall be a prey: all that prey upon her shall be satisfied, saith Jehovah.
¹¹ Because ye are glad, because ye rejoice, O ye that plunder my heritage, because ye are wanton as a heifer that treadeth out the grain, and neigh as strong horses;
¹² your mother shall be utterly put to shame; she that bare you shall be confounded: behold, she shall be the hindermost of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

(The reasons Babylon would be destroyed was because they were glad when Israel was destroyed and they became as animals…focused on short term fulfillment.)

¹³ Because of the wrath of Jehovah she shall not be inhabited, but she shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.

(Babylon would be another place that was so desolate that passersby would be astonished at its condition.)

¹⁴ Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about, all ye that bend the bow; shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against Jehovah.

(The Medes and Persians were commanded to war against Babylon.)

¹⁵ Shout against her round about: she hath submitted herself; her bulwarks are fallen, her walls are thrown down; for it is the vengeance of Jehovah: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.

(God was Just. As Babylon had done, so would be done to her.)

¹⁶ Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.
¹⁷ Israel is a hunted sheep; the lions have driven him away: first, the king of Assyria devoured him; and now at last Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

(Israel was scattered because of Assyria and Babylon...)

¹⁸ Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.

(…therefore, God would punish Babylon as He did Assyria. God was Just.)

¹⁹ And I will bring Israel again to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.

(Just as was mentioned in verse 4, Israel would be regathered and would reenter the land God gave them.)

²⁰ In those days, and in that time, saith Jehovah, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I leave as a remnant.

(In the days when Israel and Judah reenter the Promised Land, their sins would not be found. This was after God had judged them, they had paid for their transgressions. Justice had been equaled out.)

²¹ Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: slay and utterly destroy after them, saith Jehovah, and do according to all that I have commanded thee.

(Merathaim and Pekod were symbolic names for Babylon. God was commanding the destruction of Babylon.)

²² A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.
²³ How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!

(The "hammer" here was symbolic of Nebuchadnezzar.)

²⁴ I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against Jehovah.
²⁵ Jehovah hath opened his armory, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation; for the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, hath a work to do in the land of the Chaldeans.
²⁶ Come against her from the utmost border; open her store-houses; cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly; let nothing of her be left.
²⁷ Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.

(Not only would the people of Babylon be judged but their land and possessions as well.)

²⁸ The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of Jehovah our God, the vengeance of his temple.
²⁹ Call together the archers against Babylon, all them that bend the bow; encamp against her round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her; for she hath been proud against Jehovah, against the Holy One of Israel.

(Just as Babylon had destroyed other nations, Babylon would also be destroyed. Babylon had been proud against God.)

³⁰ Therefore shall her young men fall in her streets, and all her men of war shall be brought to silence in that day, saith Jehovah.
³¹ Behold, I am against thee, O thou proud one, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts; for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.
³² And the proud one shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up; and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all that are round about him.

(The judgment on Babylon would cause the prideful to fall, and not rise up.)

³³ Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together; and all that took them captive hold them fast; they refuse to let them go.
³⁴ Their Redeemer is strong; Jehovah of hosts is his name: he will thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.

(Israel and Judah were oppressed by Babylon but God, their Redeemer, was strong…much stronger than the Babylonians.)

³⁵ A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith Jehovah, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men.

(The swords were those of the Medes and Persians.)

³⁶ A sword is upon the boasters, and they shall become fools; a sword is upon her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed.
³⁷ A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures, and they shall be robbed.
³⁸ A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of graven images, and they are mad over idols.

(The judgment on Babylon would include a drought.)

³⁹ Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wolves shall dwell there, and the ostriches shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.

(Only wild beasts would dwell in Babylon.)

⁴⁰ As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof, saith Jehovah, so shall no man dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.

(Again, this destruction was compared to the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.)

⁴¹ Behold, a people cometh from the north; and a great nation and many kings shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth.
⁴² They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, every one set in array, as a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.

(The people from the north (Medes and Persians) were cruel and would not show mercy.)

⁴³ The king of Babylon hath heard the tidings of them, and his hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail.

(Just hearing of the Medes and Persians caused Nebuchadnezzar to grow weak.)

⁴⁴ Behold, the enemy shall come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and whoso is chosen, him will I appoint over it: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd that can stand before me?

(This was the second time the expression "like a lion" was used. In 49:19 it referred to Nebuchadnezzar but here it referred to Medio-Persia.)

⁴⁵ Therefore hear ye the counsel of Jehovah, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely they shall drag them away, even the little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate over them.
⁴⁶ At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembleth, and the cry is heard among the nations.

(Babylon was so strong at its peak that the noise of her destruction and fall was heard among the nations.)

(This post continued to cover prophecies against Gentile powers: Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, Elam, and Babylon.)

Day 239