Bible reading & studying on 11/19/2021 Jeremiah 39-42 by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Bible reading & studying on 11/19/2021 Jeremiah 39-42

by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce 

Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts & Gospel music 

Chapter 39 the events of this chapter are also described in chapter 52 the fall of Jerusalem. There at Riblah the king Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the nobles of Judah. They he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. Nergal-Sharezer. King Neriglissar, son in-law of Nebuchadnezzar; he reigned 560-550.

This is how Jerusalem was taken: in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it. And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city wall was broken through. Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate; Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Saresekim a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officials of the king of Bbylon.(vv.1-3)

When Zedekiah king Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and headed toward the Arabah. But the Babylonian army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. There at Riblah the king Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the nobles of Judah. They he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. (vv.4-7)

The Babylonians set fire to the royal palace and the house of the people and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard carried into exile to Babylon the people who remained in the city, along with those who had gone over to him, and the rest of the people. But Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.  (vv.8-10).

God honored His promise to Jeremiah.

Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given these orders about Jeremiah through Zebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard: “take him and look after him; don’t harm him but do for him whatever he asks.”(39:11-12)

Chapter 40 recorded the events after the fall of Jerusalem, and Jeremiah ministers to Jews in Palestine. Gedaliah was grandson of one of Josiah’s nobles was made puppet governor of denuded Judah (v.5). “men who were still in the open county”(v.7). Jewish guerilla units that had not been captured, they are urged to obey the Babylonian officials.

The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had released him at Ramah. He had found Jeremiah bound in chains among all the captives from Jerusalem and Judah who were being carried into exile to Babylon. When the commander of the guard found Jeremiah, he said to him, “the Lord your God decreed this disaster for this place. And now the Lord has brought it about; He has done just as He said He would. All this happened because you people sinned against the Lord and did not obey Him.” But today I am freeing you from the chains on your wrists. Come with me to Babylon , if you like, and I will look after you; but if you do not want to , then don’t come… “Go back to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the towns of Judah, and live with him among the people or go anywhere else you please. (vv.1-4)

So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left behind in the land…(v.6)

The king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam as governor over the land and had put him in charge of the men, women and children who were the poorest in the land and who had not been carried into exile to Babylon...Gedaliah son of Ahikam, took an oath to reassure them and their men. “Don’t be afraid to serve the Babylonians,” he said, “settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you. I myself will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians who come to us, buy you are to harvest the wine, summer fruit and oil, and put them in your storage jars, and live in the towns you have taken over.” (vv.7-10)

When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom and all the other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as governor over them, they all came back to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, from all the countries where they had been scattered. And they harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruit. (vv.11-12)  

Chapter 41 Ishmael may have been motivated by jealousy to kill Gedaliah, because he felt slighted in being passed over for the office of governor. Gedaliah refused to believe his life was in danger form Ishmael, a would-be assassin.

In the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood and had been one of the king’s officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. (v.1)

Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of shaphan, with the sword, killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land. Ishamael also killed all the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Babylonian soldiers who were there. Ishmael made captives of all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah…(vv2-3)

Then Johanan son Kareah and all the army officers who were with him led away all the survivors from Mizpah whom he had recovered from Ishmael…they went on, stopping at Geruth Kimham near Bethlehem on their way to Egypt to escape the Babylonians. They were afraid of them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land. (vv.16-18)

 

 

Bibliography,

Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986. 

Bible reading & studying Jeremiah33-35 by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Bible reading & studying on 11/17/2021 Jeremiah33-35 

by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce 

Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts & Gospel music

Chapter 33 the Lord’s promise reaffirmed: the Davidic covenant. In chapter 33:6-13 God promised again to restore His people and Jerusalem.

“Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. Then this city will bring me renown, joy , praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.” (vv.6-9).

This is what the Lord says: you say about this place, “it is a desolate waste, without men or animals, Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will be heard once more. The sounds of joy and gladness the voices of bride and bridegroom and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying, “Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever.” For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before, says the Lord.”(vv.10-11)

In Chater33:14-26 the King –Messiah will emerge from the Davidic dynasty to rule in the millennial kingdom (23:5).

 “The days are coming, “declares the Lord, “When I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.” “In those days and at that times a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord our Righteousness.” (vv.14-16).

For this is what the Lord says: “David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, nor will the priests, who are Levites, ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.” (vv.17-18)

In chapter 34 are the events before the fall of Jerusalem 34:1-38:28 and is message to Zedehiah. And the final assault against Jerusalem had begun; provoked by Zedekiah’s revolt in 589 Jeremiah again predicted the downfall of Jerusalem (v.2) and Zedekiah’s captivity in Babylon, where he would die in peace (v.5). His death would be marked by ceremonial incense burning (cf.the burial of Jehoiakim,22:18-19).

“Yet hear the promise of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the Lord says concerning you: You will not die by the sword; you will die peacefully. As people made a funeral fire in honor of your fathers, the former kings who preceded you, so they will make a fire in your honor and lament, “Alas, O master!” I myself make this promise, declares the Lord.(34:4-5)

34:8-11 Zedekiah convinced the people to release their Hebrew salves (who were supposed to be given their freedom after six years, (Ex.21:2), hoping thereby to impress God and cause Him to relieve the Babylonian siege against Jerusalem. But when news came that an advancing Egyptian army caused the Babylonians temporarily to life the siege and regroup against the Egyptians (37:5), the slaveowners feeling that the danger was past, forced their slaves back into service.

“Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your forefathers when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I said,” Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrew who has sold himself to you. After he has served you six years, you much let him go free. Your fathers, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me.  Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: each of you proclaimed freedom to his countrymen. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name. But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you has taken back the male and female salves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your salves again. (vv.12-16)

Therefore, this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom for your fellow countrymen. So I nor proclaim ‘freedom’ for you, declares the Lord –‘freedom to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth.  The men who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces…(vv.17-18)

I will hand Zedehiah king Judah and his officials over to their enemies who seek their lives, to the army of the king Babylon, which has withdrawn from you. I am going to give the order, declares the Lord, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, take it and burn it down. And I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there. (vv.21-22)  

 

 Bibliography,

Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986. 

Bible reading & studying Jeremiah chapter30-32 by Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce

 Bible reading & studying Jeremiah chapter30-31

by Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce 

Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts & Gospel music

 

In chapter 30:1 in this section (through32:25) Jeremiah looks beyond the immediate judgment to the future day of the Lord, the restoration of Israel, and the blessings of the new covenant. v.7 a time of trouble for Jacob. The coming days of tribulation that will come upon all Israel (Jacob). That day (v.8) the day of the Lord, which will also see the restoration of Israel under Messiah, the son of David. In chapter30:17-22 God’s future blessings on Israel will include health (i.e., physical and spiritual healing, v.17), restoration of the people and Jerusalem (v.18), reestablishment of the Davidic line in the person of King Messiah (v.21) and fellowship with God (v.22).

 

How awful that day will be! None will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it. In that day, declares the Lord Almighty, I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them. Instead, they will serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. So do not fear, O Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, O Israel, declares the Lord. I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid. I am with you and will save you. Declares the Lord. Though I completely destroy all the nations among which scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only with justice; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.(vv.7-11)

 

This is what the Lord says, “your wound is incurable, your injury beyond healing. There is no one to plead your cause, no remedy for your sore no healing for you. All your allies have forgotten you; they care nothing for you. I have struck you as an enemy would and punished you as would the cruel, because your guilt is so great and your sins so many. Why do you cry out over your wound, your pain that has no cure? Because of your great guilt and many sins, I have done these things to you. (vv.12-15)

 

But all who devour you will be devoured’ all your enemies will go into exile. Those who plunder you will be plundered; all who make spoil of you I will despoil. But I will restore you to health and heal you wounds. Declares the Lord. Because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares. (vv.16-17)

 

This is what the Lord says, “ I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings, the city will be rebuilt on her ruins, and the palace will stand in its proper place, from them will come songs of thanksgiving and the sound of rejoicing . I will add to their numbers and they will not be decreased; I will bring them honor, and they will not be disdained. (vv.18-19)

 

Their leader will be one of their own; their ruler will arise from among them. I will bring him near and he will come close to me, for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me? Declares the Lord. So you will be my people, and I will be your God. (v.21-22)

 

In Chapter 31:1, this chapter continues the theme of restoration for Israel, Verses1-22 concern the Northern Kingdom’ verses23-26, the Southern Kingdom; verses27-40, both kingdoms.

“At that time”, declares the Lord, “I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they will be my people.” This is what the Lord says, “The people who survive the sword will find favor in the desert; I will come to give rest to Israel.” The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness. I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful.(vv1-4)  

 In 31:6 “watchmen.” Those who signaled the first appearance of the crescent moon in connection with Passover or new moon celebrations. In the Millennium the schism between north and south will be healed and all will go to Zion (Jerusalem) to worship.

 

There will be a day when watchmen cry out on the hills of Ephraim, ‘come, let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.” This is what the Lord says, “Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard, and say, ‘O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’ See, O will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng will return. They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son. (vv.6-9)  

 In 31:15 “Raman”. A town five and one half miles N. of Jerusalem, used as an assembly point for the captives taken to Babylon (40:1). Rachel. The mother of Joseph and Benjamin is seen weeping over the exiles but is assured that they will return (31:16). This weeping is used as a type in connection with Herod’s slaughter of the infants. (Matt.2:18)

 

Hear the word of the Lord, O nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: ‘ He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd. For the Lord will ransom Jacob and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they. They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord-the grain, the new wine and the oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more, then, maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and my people will be filled with my bounty. Declares the Lord. (vv.10-13)

This is what the Lord says, “ A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted; because her children are no more. This is what the Lord says, “ restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded, “ declares the Lord. “ they will return from the land of the enemy so there is hope for your future. Declares the Lord. your children will return to their own land. (vv.16-17)

  

In 31:22 a woman will surround a man. The meaning is uncertain. Some understand it to indicate the security of Israel in the Millennium when a woman can provide all the protection needed. Others take it as a reference to Israel (a woman) embracing a man (i.e. God). Still others relate it to the incarnation.

 

Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Take note of the highway, the road that you take. Return, O virgin Israel, return to your towns, How long will you wander o unfaithful daughter? The Lord will create a new thing on earth-a woman will surround man. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “ when I bring them back from captivity, the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: ‘ The Lord bless you, O righteous dwelling O sacred mountain.” …I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint…” (vv21-23,25)

 In 31: 29-30 The people excused themselves by saying they were being punished for the sins for their fathers; in reality each person is punished for his own sins.(Deut.24:16; Ezek.18:2-4)

                  “In those days people will no longer say, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the  children’s teeth are set on edge. Instead, everyone will die for his own sin. Whoever eats sour grapes, his own teeth will be set on edge.” (vv.29-30)

In 31:31-34 The principal O.T. Passage on the new covenant (cf.Isa.59:20-21; Jer.32:37-40; Ezek.16:60-63; 37:21-28; ) it will be made in the future with the whole nation  of Israel (Jer.33:31); It will be unlike the Mosaic covenant in that it will be unconditional (Jer.31:32); its provisions will include (1) a change of heart, 2)fellowship with God, 3) knowledge of the Lord, and 4) forgiveness of sins. All of this will be fulfilled for Israel when the Lord returns (Rom.11:26-27)

 

“The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them. Declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after the time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor or a man his brother, saying, “know the Lord.’ because they will all know me from the lease of them to the greatest.” Declares the Lord. For I will forgive their wickless and will remember their sins no more.( Jeremiah31:31-34) 

 

 

Bibliography,

Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986. 

Weekly Message: Why is it important to keep Sabbath holy and rest? by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Weekly Message: Why is it important to keep Sabbath holy and rest?               11/14/2021

by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical Precepts & Gospel Music

 

                 Why is it important to keep Sabbath holy and rest? What is the Lord’s Sabbath principle? If the people violet the Sabbath principle what is the punishment? Today, Let us discover it in the Old Testament Exodus 16, 20 and Jeremiah 17.

 

What is the Lord’s Sabbath principle?

                 Now the Lord provided meat in the evening and bread to the full in the morning; for the Lord hears people’s grumblings and The Lord commanded Israelites to rest on the seventh day, and not to go out to gather bread on Sabbath, for there will be none in the field. On the Sixth day, the Lord provided two days' potion of bread and meat for them. They shall cook or bake or boil it on the sixth day and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning. So the bread didn’t become foul, nor was there any worm in it.  But some people didn’t follow the instructions and principle of law, went out to gather the meat and bread, however, they found none. And the Lord questioned Moses, how long these people refused to listen to Me. The Lord has given people the Sabbath so the people can rest on the Seventh day. And He provided two days' bread to them to gather in the field, however, some didn’t listen nor follow the instruction.

 

              Exodus 16:22-26 shows that when Moses received Lord’s commands, he urged Israelites, “Now it came about on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, then he said to them, “This is what the Lord meant: Tomorrow is a Sabbath observance, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning. So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not become foul, nor was there any worm in it. And Moses said, “eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.” (Exodus16:22-26).

              And it came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather but they  found none. Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions?” see, the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; Let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day. (Exodus16:27-30)  

             In Exodus 20 the Lord spoke Ten Commandments, and in verse 8 to 11 again reminded about the Sabbath, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (vv.8-11).

             Jeremiah 17 shows a call to hallow the Sabbath as a sign of repentance on the part of the people (cf Neh.10:31; 13:15-22), who were using the Sabbath to bring their crops and wares into the city in violation of the law. It stated, “This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers (vv.21-22). Yet, they did not listen or pay attention; they were stiff-necked and would not listen or respond to discipline.

             Why is it important to keep Sabbath holy and rest? According to Jeremiah 17:23-25, it provides the answer as follows,           

             “But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy by not doing any work on it, then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem and this city will be inhabited forever.”  (Jeremiah 17:23-25)

              If the people violet the Sabbath principle what is the punishment? Jeremiah 17:27 shows that the city will be consumed by an unquenchable fire.

            “But if you do not obey me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying any load as  you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.” (Jeremiah 17:27). 

Conclusion

             The Lord had given Sabbath to His people so they could rest on the Seventh day, not do any work, but work on the six days. The Lord provided two days' potion on the sixth day, but none on the seventh day. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning. So they put it aside until morning. If people obey the Lord to keep the Sabbath day holy by not word, nor carrying any load come through the gates of Jerusalem, then, the city will be inhabited forever. In contrast, if people disobey the commands, the Lord will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.

            My friends, do you keep Sabbath holy and rest on the seventh day? Learn from the Biblical principle of living in the Bible, you will gain the wisdom of living, how to gain a peaceful life without restlessness, or lose your health. The Lord surely blesses those people who keep Sabbath holy and obey His Ten Commandments. Let your soul, mind, heart and body rest on Sabbath day. The Lord owns it all; the Lord is Jehovah-Jireh, who provides everything.  He is Jehovah-Rohi, who is our Shepherd, we shall not want; He is El-Shaddai, all bountiful and all sufficient, trust in Him, and He will provide all the needs. The Sabbath principle is to keep six days working unto the Lord, but rest on the Sabbath day and keep it holy.       

Bibliography,

 

New American Standard Bible, The Open Bible.. La Habra, CA: Thomas Nelson publishers, 1978.

Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986.  

Bible reading & studying Jeremiah chapter 22-24 by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Bible reading & studying Jeremiah chapter 22-24

by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce 

Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts & Gospel Music

           In the chapter 22 is the message concerning Jehoahaz (Shallum) and Jehoiakim, the sons of King Josiah, who had been killed, Jehoahz reigned three months before being departed to Egypt by Necho. He never returned to Palestine (2Kings23:29-35)

             In 22:13-19 is a denunciation against Jehoiakim, the elder brother and successor of Shallum. He built elaborate royal buildings with forced labor (vv13-14). Jeremiah predicted that the normal form of lament world not be used when Jehoiakim died and that he would not be buried but simply dragged out of the city and dumped on the garbage heap (“the absence of” or was buried” in 2 Kings 24:6 is significant.)

        In 22:24-30 these verses describe the fate of Jehoiachin (Coniah in the Heb. Also called Jeconiah), son of Jehoiakim. After a three-month reign, he was taken to Babylon never to return (2Kings24:8-15;25:27-30), in spite of Hananiah’s false prophecy to the contrary (Jer.28:4;cf.52:31-34)

 

"This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots an don horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. But if you do not obey these commands, declares the Lord, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin. (vv.3-5) People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’  And the answer will be ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods." (vv. 8-9)

 

           In 22:30 Although Jehoiachim (Heb.Coniah) had seven sons, none occupied the throne. So as far as a continuing dynasty was concerned, Jehoiachim was to be considered “childless.” Although his line of descendants retained the legal throne rights, no physical descendant would ever prosperously reign on the Davidic throne. The genealogy of Matthew traces the descent of Jesus through Solomon and Jeconiah (Heb., Coniah) (Matt.1:12); this is the genealogy of Jesus’ legal father, Joseph. Luke traces Jesus’ physical descent back through Mary and Nathan to David, by-passing Jeconiah’s line and showing accurately the fulfillment of this prophecy of Jeremiah. If Jesus had been born only in the line of Joseph (and thus of Jeconiah), He would not have been qualified to reign on the throne of David in the Millennium.

 

       In the Chapter 23 is the message concerning Messiah.  “Branch”. Lit., shoot, a messianic title signifying the new life that Messiah will bring. (Isa.4:2) He will secure righteousness for His people.

 

“ The day are coming,” declares the Lord, “ when I will raise up to David a righteous Brach, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: the Lord Our Righteousness. (23:5-6)

In Chapter 24: 1-10 this vision occurred after Jeconiah and others were taken to Babylon in 597. The good figs represented those who had been deported and promised their return to Palestine. The poor gifs depicted those who remained in the land of Palestine or who went to Egypt and were not promised restoration. Excavations show the remarkable architectural accomplishments of Nebuchadnezzar, who used the skilled artisans

 

“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.’ (vv5-7)

 

"But like the poor figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten, says the Lord; ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt. I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, an object of ridicule and cursing, wherever I banish them. I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their fathers." (vv8-10)

 

 

 Bibliography,

Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986

Bible reading & studying Jeremiah chapter 18-20 by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Bible reading & studying on Jeremiah chapter 18-20

by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

Christian Arts Ministries : Biblical precepts & Gospel Music

 

Chapter 18:1-11 this parable of the potter teaches the absolute sovereignty of God over nations, not capriciously, but with sensitivity to the possibility of their repenting (v.8).

 

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message, “So I went down to the potter’s house and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands, so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

Then the word of the Lord came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand. O house of Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if the nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation of kingdom is to be built up and planted and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it… (vv1-10)…

Yet my people have forgotten me; they burn incense to worthless idols and in the ancient paths. They made them walk in bypaths and on roads not built up. (v.15)

I will show them my back and not my face in the day of their disaster. (v.16)

In chapter 18: 18-23 shows another conspiracy against Jeremiah, with his reaction (11:18-23;12:1-6;15:10-12) so Jeremiah plead to the Lord, “ But you know, O Lord, all their plots to kill me. Do not forgive their crimes or blot out their sins from your sight. Let them be overthrown before you; deal with them in the time of your anger.” (v23)

 

In chapter 19 the message indicates Judah as a broken jar. A clay jar, once hardened, it could not be remade but had to be broken if unacceptable. Judah had arrived at that stage.Topheth. Probably means “fireplace” Ben Hinnom. Gehenna, avalley on the SW. of Jerusalem. Judah was outdoing the heathen, who rarely made child sacrifices.    

This is what the Lord says, “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people and of the priests… I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned sacrifices in it to gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind…. “(vv.1-5)

 

Then break the jar while those who go with you are watching, and say to them. “This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the Lord.  I will make this city like Topheth.

 

In Chapter 20 Jeremiah complained about his lot (vv.7-8, 14-18) yet was compelled to proclaim God’s message (v.9) Terror on every side (v.10). In Hebrew, Magor –Missabib a sarcastic nickname for Jeremiah, means “terror on every side”; Pashhur’s change of name became a symbol of what would happen then the Babylonians came (vv4-6).

 

“O Lord, you deceived me, and I was deceived you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. (vv.7-8).

But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in His name; His word is in my heart life a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side! Report him! Let’s report him! All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him.” (vv.9-10)

“But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten. O Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.  

Sing to the Lord! Give to the Lord! Give praise to the Lord! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked…”(vv.11-13)

 

Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986. 

Bible reading & studying Jeremiah chapter 12-14 by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Bible reading & studying Jeremiah chapter 12-14

by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

Christian Arts Ministries : Biblical Precepts & Gospel Music

 

  In the chapter 12 Jeremiah asked the age-old question, why do the godless prosper? God’s reply is to warn him of even greater opposition from the people in Jerusalem (horses, v.5)  than he was experiencing from those in Anathoth (men on foot, v.5). “The thickets by the Jordan.” The low luxuriant bottom land of the Jordan inhabited by wild animals. (49:19).

 

“You are always on their lips but far from their hearts. Yet, you know me, O Lord, you see me and test my thoughts about you. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished. Moreover, the people are saying, “He will not see what happen to us.” “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?(vv.2-5)

 Jeremiah describes the coming devastation as if it had already occurred. “Sword of the Lord” means that the Babylonian armies, which would be used in God’s hand to punish His people. “My wicked neighbors.”  Indicates that Syria (Aram), Moab, and Ammon, who, with Judah, would be punished by Babylon.

Your brothers, your own family even they have betrayed you; they have raised a loud cry against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you. (v.6)  

Over all the barren heights in the desert destroyers will swarm, for the sword of the Lord will devour from one end of the land to the other, no one will be safe.(v.12)

This is what the Lord says, “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance I gave my people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them. But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to his own inheritance and his own country. And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, “ As surely as the Lord lives- even as they once taught my people to swear by Ball then they will be established among my people. But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it.” declares the Lord. (vv.14-17)  

In the Chapter 13 actions speak louder than words, so Jeremiah is told to take a linen belt (a thigh –length undergarment that clung to the body, symbolizing the closeness of Israel to God’s heart, (v11), hide it in a rock, then retrieve it only to discover that, like the nation, it was ruined and useless. To Perath, or to the Euphrates(v.6), may mean the river (at least 350 miles away) or may refer to the town of Perath about three miles from Anathoth (in the expression “to Perath” both names take on an identical form in Hebrew. Though the people complacently looked for prosperity (illustrated by the wineskin filled with wine), in reality they would behave in the coming crisis as though inebriated, unable to distinguish friend from foe. The third warning was against pride and arrogance.

“This is what the Lord said to me. “ Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist. Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time: “take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist and go nor to Perath and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” So

I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me. Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless. (vv.1-7)

“Then the Word of the Lord came to me: “this is what the Lord says, ‘in the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt completely useless!” (vv.8-10)

For as a belt is bound around a man’s waist, so I bound the whole house or Israel and the whole house of Judah to me, ‘declares the Lord, to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they have not listened.’ (v.11) 

 The third warning was against pride and arrogance.

             A lament over King Jehoiachin (then eighteen years old) and the queen mother (Nehushta, 2Kings24:8), who were taken captive into Babylon (Jer.29:2)

Hear and pay attention, do not be arrogant, for the Lord has spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God before he brings the darkness, before you feet stumble on the darkening hills. Your hope for light, but he will turn it to thick darkness and change it to deep gloom. But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride, my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the Lord’s flock will be taken captive.  (vv.15-17)

 A final warning that punishment (the Babylonian captivity) would be the inevitable consequence of Judah’s continuance in sin, verse 23 shows who impossible it was for Judah to change her ways.

And if you ask yourself, “why has this happened to me? It is because of your many sins that your skirts have been torn off and your body mistreated…because you have forgotten me and trusted in false gods. I will pull up your skirts over your face that your shame may be seen-your adulteries and lustful neighing, your shameless prostitution! I have seen your detestable acts on the hills and in the fields. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will you be unclean? (vv. 22, 25-27)

               

          In the Chapter 14 Jeremiah interceded for the people, confessing sin and pleading the covenant relationship (vv7-9), but God told him to stop praying for this people (vv.11-12), because judgment is certain on the false prophets and those who listened to them (vv.15-16). Still Jeremiah, in the tradition of Abraham (Gen.18:22-33), continued to intercede (vv.17-22)

                   

              “You are among us, O Lord, and we bear your name; do not forsake us!” (v.9)

Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people. Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague.” (vv.11-12)

“O Lord, we acknowledge our wickedness and the guilt of our fathers; we have indeed sinned against you. For the sake of your name do not despise us; do not dishonor your glorious throne. Remember your covenant with us and do not break it. Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, O Lord our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this.(vv.20-22)

    

 

Bibliography

     Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986.