Jeremiah 52

Jeremiah 52 (Review of Nebuchadnezzar's Defeat of Judah)

1-11 The Captivity of Zedekiah by Babylon (Also see Jeremiah 39)

• Zedekiah (son of Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah), was 21 years old when he began to reign, reigned 11 years, and was evil in God's sight, just like Jehoiakim.
• This angered God so much that he "expelled" them out of his sight.
• Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon, so in Zedekiah's 9th year, Babylon laid siege on Jerusalem for two years.
• After two years, Zedekiah and his officials fled through a breach in the wall, but Nebuchadnezzar's men caught them and took them to Babylon.
• Nebuchadnezzar commanded Zedekiah's sons be put to death in front of him, then he put out Zedekiah's eyes and imprisoned him in Babylon until his death.

12-16 Destruction of Jerusalem

• In the 5th month, 10th day (Nebuchadnezzar's 19th year), his captain entered Jerusalem and burned the temple, the palace and all the great houses of Jerusalem.
• He captured many of the poor, those who had defected to Babylon, and the artisans and took them back to Babylon.
• He left the poorest of the poor as vinedressers and tillers of the soil.

17-23 Sacking of the Temple

• Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, stands, the sea and carried away the bronze, with the pots and all other utensils and gold, silver and bronze vessels.
• The bronze in the pillars was too heavy to weigh.

24-30 Execution and Capture of Judeans

• Nebuzaradan brought the chief priest Seraiah, second priest Zephaniah, 3 guardians of the threshold, an army commander, 7 councilmen, the army secretary, and 60 "men of the people" to the king of Babylon in Riblah, and he killed them.
• A total of 4,600 (4,591) Judeans were taken into exile: 3023 in Nebuchadnezzar's 7th year; 832 in his 18th year; 745 in his 23rd year.

31-34 Jehoiachin Favored in Captivity (See notes on Jeremiah 22, June 15, 2009)

• In 37th year of Babylonian exile (12th month, 25th day), when Evil-merodach of Babylon begins to reign, he releases King Jehoiachin of Judah.
• For the rest of his life Jehoiachin (nephew of Zedekiah, grandson of Josiah) dines at the king's table and is given a daily allowance.

Note: See Chapter 39 to see what happens to Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 51

Jeremiah 51

1-19 Destruction of Babylon

1-2 I will stir up a destructive wind against Babylon. winnowers will empty her land, coming from everywhere.

3-4 Don't give Babylon's soldiers a chance to defend themselves; do not spare her young men, but utterly destroy them.

5 I have not forsaken Israel and Judah, even though they are full of guilt.

6 Flee from Babylon; do not perish for her guilt.

7-8 Babylon was the LORD's golden cup, and the nations went mad with her wine, but now she is fallen.

9-10 We tried unsuccessfully to heal Babylon, and now we must forsake her and go back to our own country, for the LORD has vindicated us. It appears the the Jews in exile tried to have a good influence on their Babylonian neighbors, but to no avail.

11-12 God has stirred up the Medes to defeat Babylon; it is his plan.

13-14 The LORD will put an end to your life by the river and your treasures, filling up your city with troops like swarms of locusts.

15-16 The LORD is the Creator. When he speaks, all the powers of the earth listen. If God has complete power over the elements of the earth, which we can't control, how much more control does he have over us?

17-19 The work of the goldsmiths are worthless, delusional. Not like the LORD of hosts, who formed all things. "Israel is the tribe of his inheritance."

20-23 The Creator's Instrument

20-23 With you I smash nations, armies, men and women, shepherds, farmers and governors. Commentaries don't agree about who "you" refers to. I tend to think, because of the violent language, that he's speaking of the way he used Babylon to mete out justice, particularly because of verses 24 and 25, "I will repay Babylon.., O destroying mountain."

24-55 The Doom of Babylon

24-26 I will repay Babylon for all the wrong they have done in Zion. You will be like a burned-out mountain, with not even a stone left that can be used to rebuild.

27-29 I will raise up the nations around her to war against her – Ararat, Minni, (Upper and Lower Armenia), Ashkenoz (Phrygia and Bithynia) and the kings of the Medes – she will tremble and writhe.

30-33 Babylon's warriors will give up fighting; they will tell their king his city has been taken; she will be like a threshing floor trodden underfoot.

34-35 The inhabitants of Jerusalem will tell how King Nebuchadnezzar devoured and crushed them.

36-37 The LORD will defend their cause and take vengeance on Babylon for their sakes.

38-40 Babylon will become drunk with her own power; then she'll sleep and never wake up.

41-43 Babylon will become the horror of the nations, covered by a sea, a deserted land where no one can live.

44 I will make Bel (principal Babylonian god) disgorge what he has swallowed (treasures of other nations that have been offered to this god).

45-46 Come out of her, my people; do not be fainthearted or fearful.

47-49 I will punish the images of Babylon, using destroyers from the north. She will fall for the slain of Israel, as the slain of the earth have fallen because of Babylon.

50-51 You who have survived the sword, remember Jerusalem and the dishonor her holy places have suffered.

52-53 Therefore I will punish Babylon's idols. She can't build a fortress too high nor too strong for me to overcome.

54-56 Listen! Babylon is crashing, for a destroyer has come against her; the LORD will recompense in full.

57 I will makes her officials and wise men so drunk they will never wake up.

58 The broad wall of Babylon will be leveled, the high gates burn, the people exhaust themselves for nothing.

59-64 Jeremiah's Command to Seraiah

• Jeremiah tells Seraiah (son of Neriah son of Mahseiah), who was going to Babylon with King Zedekiah in the fourth year of his reign, to take a scroll to read in Babylon.
• The scroll would announce that God would destroy Babylon so that it would be uninhabitable.
• Then Seraiah was to throw the scroll into the middle of Euphrates, declaring, "Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more...."

(See more detailed notes from June 19, 2009)

Jeremiah 50

Jeremiah 50
1-46 Judgment on Babylon

• Declare among the nations that Babylon will be put to shame. After God uses Babylon to punish his people, he punishes Babylon for her arrogance. We join with Habakkuk in trying to understand this strategy of God to punish the nation he's used to punish his people. I'm thinking that if Babylon had humbled herself before God after her conquest of Judah, maybe he wouldn't have seen fit to destroy her. But she doesn't. Her conquest of Judah just adds to her own arrogance. It's not unlike when we credit ourselves too much, even while knowing we would have nothing without God.
• For out of the north a nation has come up against her, and all who dwell in her will flee. When the warning was for Judah, this expression "out of the north" referred to Babylon. Now it refers to the Medo-Persian empire.
• In those days, the people of Israel and Judah will weep as they seek the LORD; they shall ask the way to Zion. Literally, only the inhabitants of Judah returned to their land. But the covenant of faithfulness they make, recorded in Nehemiah 9, is made on behalf of the entire Jewish nation.
• My people have been like lost sheep, devoured by their enemies, who deny any guilt, because they were merely the instruments of my punishment. Jeremiah quotes these enemies as referring to God as "the true pasture, the LORD, the hope of their ancestors." Though they didn't worship him, Israel's conquerors recognized YHWH as the source of their strength against God's people.
• Flee from Babylon, because a "company of great nations" shall "array themselves" against her, and they will not return home empty-handed. Again, referring to the combined nation of the Medes and Persians under Cyrus.

[Poetry format follows]
11-13 "O plunderers of my heritage," though you play about like a young heifer, your mother will be disgraced, because the wrath of the LORD will turn her into an utter desolation.
14-16 Warriors, surround Babylon. Shout against her, spare no arrows, cut her off, for the LORD is taking vengeance on her. Her captives will flee to their own lands.

[Prose format]

• Israel is a hunted sheep, first by Assyria and then by Babylon.
• I will punish Babylon just like I punished Assyria.
• I will restore Israel to its land and will forgive the sins of the remnant I have spared.

[Poetry]
21-22 Go up against Merathaim (Double Rebellion, symbol for Babylon) and Pekod (previously the province of Nineveh, now a Babylonian province, translated as "punishment"), and utterly destroy them.
23-25 Babylon, you have caught yourself in your own snare because you challenged the LORD, and now he has opened up his whole armory against you.
26-27 Open her granaries and spill all her wheat, kill all her cattle, for Babylon's day has come.

• [Jewish] refugees will come back to Jerusalem telling of Babylon's destruction.
• Summon archers against Babylon; let no one escape, for she has arrogantly defied the LORD.

31-32 I am against you, O arrogant one, for your day has come.

• The people of Israel and Judah are oppressed; their captors have refused to let them go, but their Redeemer is strong, and he will give them rest while giving unrest to Babylon.

35-38 A sword against the Chaldeans, against her officials, her sages, her diviners, her warriors, her horses and chariots, her foreign troops, against her treasures; a drought against her waters. "For she is a land of images, and they go mad over idols." Idol worship – in our case, worldly distractions – can create a kind of madness.

• Babylon shall become a land of hyenas and ostriches, never more inhabited by people, just like Sodom and Gomorrah. Prophesied also about Edom, in 49:18.
  

41-42 A cruel and mighty nation is coming from the north, arrayed in battle against Babylon.
43 When the king of Babylon hears of them, anguish and pain seize him, like a woman in labor. Jeremiah has used this analogy of a woman in labor before. Before, it has been an illustration of helplessness, now of pain.

• The LORD is like a lion entering a pasture, preying on the little sheep. No shepherd can protect his flock against God. He uses the same language for Edom (49:19).
  
• When Babylon is captured, the whole earth will tremble and hear her cries.
  

Jeremiah 49

Jeremiah 49

1-6 Judgment on the Ammonites

1 The LORD says, Israel has heirs for its land, so why do the people of Milcom (Ammonite god) live in its cities?
2 The LORD will wage war against Rabbah (major city of Ammon), and it shall become a desolate mound, burned by fire.
3 Wail, Heshbon (city of Moab, also mentioned in 48:2), for Ai (city of Ammon) is destroyed.
3 Mourn and weep, for your god Milcom will be exiled, along with his priests. Interesting how God talks about an idol like he is real. I guess he was, to the Ammonites.
4-5 You have been boastful, but I will bring you down with terror; there won't even be anyone to pick up the pieces.
6 But afterward I will restore your fortunes. According to commentaries, the Ammonites were restored under the reign of Cyrus (Medo-Persian empire)

7-22 Judgment on Edom
7 Is there no wisdom in Teman (city named after a grandson of Esau)? In other words, have you lost your minds?
8 Hide, people of Dedan (a tribe bordering on Edom, named for a grandson of Abraham by Keturah).
9-10 Grape gatherers would leave something behind, as would thieves, but I will strip you bare.
11 However, I will spare your orphans and widows. God has great compassion on orphans and widows. His condemnations often include not only idol worship but poor treatment of widows, orphans and the poor.

• If those less evil than you are to be punished, do you think I would spare you?
• Bozrah (royal city of Edom) will be laid waste, an object of cursing.

14-15 The LORD has sent a message to the nations to gather and war against Edom, making you, the prideful, the least among the nations.
16 You think you hide in the high clefts of the rock, but I'll bring you down. This has to refer to Petra, a city built into the cliffs of a mountain. I love it when the Bible mentions in passing a place that is now considered an ancient wonder of architecture and archeology.

• Edom will become an object of horror, compared to Sodom and Gomorrah, where no one wanted to live.
• I am like the lion who chases the shepherd away; who can stand against me?
• God will swoop down like an eagle over Edom, and the hearts of the warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

23-27 Judgment on Damascus

23-24 Hamath and Arpad (cities of Syria) will melt in fear at the bad news; Damascus will be seized by panic, anguish and sorrows.
25-26 The famous city is forsaken, with her young men and soldiers destroyed.
27 The LORD will kindle a fire at its walls that will devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad (common name for Syrian kings that means "son of Hadad," an idol).

28-33 Judgment on Kedar and Hazor
Note: Kedarites were nomadic descendants of Ishmael (Genesis 25:13); Hazor was a district in Arabea-Petrea, according to Jamiesson, Fausset and Brown.

28-30 God commands Babylon to destroy Kedar and warns the inhabitants of Hazor to flee.
31-33 Rise up against Kedar and Hazor, who feel so secure they think they need no protection, but their cattle will be taken, their cities laid waste.

34-39 Judgment on Elam (part of Persia, who helped Babylon defeat Judah)

• I will break the bow of Elam and scatter them to the winds. Apparently they were known for their skilled bowmen (Isaiah 22:6)
  
• I will terrify them, consume them, and set my throne there, destroying their kings and their officials.
• But in the latter days I will restore their fortunes. The Elamites were among the first to accept the gospel (Acts 2:9)
  

Jeremiah 48

Jeremiah 48
1-47 Judgment on Moab

1-2 Alas for Nebo (mountain and city of Moab), Kiriathaim (two cities), and Heshbon (chief city) , because the Chaldeans plan to cut off Moab from being a nation; the sword shall pursue you.
3-6 Horonaim (same as Avara, in the valley) and Luhith (city on a high place) will cry out and weep bitterly: Flee! Save yourselves!
7-8 Because you have trusted in your works and treasures, you will be taken; your god Chemosh, with his priests and attendants, will go into exile; no town shall escape.
9 Set salt aside for Moab, for she will surely fall. NASV (RSV) translate this "Give wings to Moab, for she will (would) fly away"; ASV (KJV): "Give wings to Moab that she may fly (flee) and get her away." The NRSV seems to be the only version that translates this "salt." Bottom line, is of course, that she's destined to fall.

• Accursed is 1) one who is slack in the work of God; 2) one who keeps back the sword from bloodshed. Per commentators, this is a warning to Babylon to do his will and completely destroy Moab.

11-13 Moab has been comfortable too long. Interesting metaphor here, where God compares Moab to wine: 1) settled like wine in its dregs; 2) not emptied from vessel to vessel; 3) his flavor remains, with aroma unspoiled; 4) I shall send him decanters to decant him, empty his vessels and break his jars into pieces. Then he will be ashamed of Chemosh (his god), like Israel was ashamed of [the golden calf of] Bethel (when they were captured by Assyria).
14-17 How can you claim to be mighty warriors? Your destruction is at hand.
18-20 You are being humiliated; your people will not know what is happening.

• Judgement has come upon the tableland (list of geographical locations)
• Let Moab wallow in the vomit of drunkenness, because Israel was a laughingstock to you.

28-31 Leave your towns and live on the rock, for I know of your insolence, your false boasting, and I cry out for Moab.
32-33 Gladness and joy have been taken away from the fruitful land of Moab.

• The LORD will bring an end to Moab, to those who sacrifice on high places, and my heart moans for them like a flute, for their riches that perish.
• The men will shave their heads, cut their beards, gash their hands, wear sackcloth and be a subject of horror and derision to their neighbors.

40-43 The LORD says he will swoop down like an eagle on Moab, and strong warriors will become like a woman in labor, because he magnified himself against the LORD.
44 He who flees will fall into a pit, and he who climbs out of the pit will be caught in a trap. There is no escape.
45-46 Woe to you, Moab, as your sons and daughters are taken into captivity.
47 Yet in the latter days I will restore Moab.

Matthew Henry's commentary on this prophecy of Moab's future:

Thus tenderly does God deal with Moabites, much more with his own people! Even with Moabites he will not contend for ever, nor be always wrath. When Israel returned, Moab did; and perhaps the prophecy was intended chiefly for the encouragement of God’s people to hope for that salvation which even Moabites shall share in. Yet it looks further, to gospel times; the Jews themselves refer it to the days of the Messiah; then the captivity of the Gentiles, under the yoke of sin and Satan, shall be brought back by divine grace, which shall make them free, free indeed. This prophecy concerning Moab is long, but here it ends; it ends comfortably: Thus far is the judgment of Moab.

Jeremiah 46-47

Jeremiah 46

1-12 Judgment on Egypt (Destruction of the Egyptian army)

• Prophecy of Egypt, about Pharaoh Neco's army at Carchemish by the Euphrates River
• Defeated by Nebuchadnezzar in the 4th Year of King Jehoiakim (son of Josiah) of Judah

[In poetry format]

3-5 Prepare for battle, soldiers! Why are they terrified and falling back?

6-9 Egypt rises like the Nile, covering the earth, destroying cities; Ethiopia and Put carry her shield; Ludim draws the bow

10-12 It is the LORD's retribution; he will sacrifice Egypt. Her medicines will not heal her.

13-26 Babylonia Will Strike Egypt (Destruction of the Land of Egypt)

Note: According to commentaries, the first 12 verses are a different prophecy, applying only to the army. Note that it's in the 4th year of Jehoiakim. These verses happen 16 years after Jerusalem is defeated by Nebuchadnezzar, in the 27th year of his reign.

• The word of the LORD to Jeremiah about Nebuchadnezzar's attack on Egypt

14 Tell Egypt to get ready, for the sword shall devour those around you.

15-16 Your god, the bull, cannot protect you; your immigrants will want to go back home.

17-19 Name your Pharaoh "Braggart who missed his chance"; pack your bags, for Memphis shall become a waste.

20-21 Egypt is a beautiful heifer with mercenaries like fatted calves. They'll all flee together.

22-24 Egypt will slither away like a snake, beaten by locusts, put to shame by people from the north.

• Says the LORD, I am punishing Egypt and Pharaoh, her gods and her kings, handing them over to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and she shall look like she used to (before her dominance).

27-28 As for you, my servant Jacob, have no fear, for I will save you; you will return to quiet and ease. I will chastise you, but I will not destroy you.

Jeremiah 47

1-7 Judgment on the Philistines

2 The waters are rising out of the north to flood the land of the Philistines.

3-4 The noise of the chariots will be so loud and sudden, parents will not even be able to turn back for their children.

5 The land will be wiped clean.

6-7 The sword of the LORD cannot be quiet, for the LORD has appointed it for destruction of Ashkelon (one of the cities of the Philistines).

Jeremiah 42-44

Jeremiah 42

1-21 Jeremiah Advises Survivors Not to Migrate

• Commanders, with Johanan (son of Kareah), Azariah (son of Hoshaiah), and all the people approach Jeremiah to inquire of God what they should do and where they should go.
• Jeremiah promises to pray to God on their behalf; he will keep nothing from them.
• Listen to the humble approach these people take. It's such a great statement, I'm going to quote it in full. Notice how the people say they are sending Jeremiah to God on their behalf. He won't be talking into thin air; he'll be going into the presence of God. He's their emissary to God.

May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to everything that the LORD your God sends us through you. whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, in order that it may go well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.

• After ten days, the word of the LORD comes to Jeremiah. Not an instant message!
• Jeremiah calls Johanan, the commanders and all the people (from the least to the greatest) and conveys God's word to them:
• If you remain in the land, 1) I will build you up, not pull you down; 2) I will plant you and not pluck you up; 3) I am sorry for the disaster I have brought upon you. This is like a father apologizing for the need to discipline his child, like a physician cutting out a cancerous tumor, knowing the rest of the body will suffer for it.
• Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, for I will protect you.
• But if you abandon the land to go to Egypt, 1) the sword you fear will overtake you, 2) the famine you dread will follow you, 3) you will have no remnant or survivors, 4) I will pour out my wrath on you as I have poured out my wrath on Jerusalem, and you shall see this place no more
• Jeremiah adds: You asked me to inquire of the LORD, and I have.
• You promised to do whatever he told you, so don't follow your former patterns of disobedience. If you do, be aware that you "shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go and settle."

Jeremiah 43

1-13 Taken to Egypt, Jeremiah Warns of Judgment

• Azariah, Johanan and "all the other insolent men" accuse Jeremiah of lying.
• They insist that Baruch (son of Neriah) is inciting Jeremiah against them so they will be captured by the Chaldeans. Obviously the leaders did not mean what they said when they came to inquire of God. They were just wanting Jeremiah's endorsement of what they had already planned to do.
• Johanan and all the commanders take the remnant of Judah -- everyone whom Nebuzaradan had left with Gedaliah, including Jeremiah and Baruch – and to Tahpanhes in Egypt.
• God tells Jeremiah to take some large stones and bury them in the clay pavement at the entrance to Pharaoah's palace and to let the Judeans see him do it.
• Then he is to declare: The LORD of hosts will send Nebuchadnezzar, and he will set his throne above those stones.
• He will 1) ravage the land of Egypt, 2) kindle fires in Egyptian temples; 3) take Egypt captive; 4) pick Egypt clean.
• He will give pestilence to those destined for pestilence, captivity to those destined for captivity, and the sword to those who are destined for the sword.

Jeremiah 44

1-30 Denunciation of Persistent Idolatry (God's word to Jeremiah for the Judeans living in Egypt at Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and the land of Pathros)

• You've seen the disaster I brought on Jerusalem because of their idolatry, even though I told them it was an abomination to me.
• Why do you still provoke me to anger, doing such harm to yourselves? Do you not have any fear?
• I will bring disaster on all of you, to bring Judah to an end. None of you who fled to Egypt will survive to return to the land of Judah, though you will long to go back.
• All the men who were aware that their wives had been making offerings to other gods, and all the women -- all the people of Pathros -- answer Jeremiah.
• Another amazing quote in verses 15-19, the complete opposite of what the people vowed in Jeremiah 42. Here, the women are involved. They all openly defy Jeremiah and God. They not only act out their defiance, they openly boast about it. They think their troubles started when they stopped giving homage to the "queen of heaven." Is there any wonder God is giving them up?
• Jeremiah: Your attitude is why these disasters have come upon you.
• Thus says the LORD: Go ahead and worship the queen of heaven, for my name will no longer be known among you.
• I will deliver Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, into the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar just as I delivered Zedekiah into his hands.

Jeremiah 40-41

Jeremiah 40

1-16 Jeremiah with Gedaliah the Governor

• Nebuzaradan, captain of Nebuchadnezzar's guard, releases Jeremiah from the court of the guard in Ramah, with the acknowledgement that Judah's defeat has been a judgment of God for its wickedness. This pagan seems to realize what the people of God have not realized: that their destiny lay in their choice to obey or disobey God, that whatever strength Babylon had was not the issue.
• He gives him the choice of going to Babylon or staying in Judah.
• If he stays in Judah, he must return to Gedaliah (son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan), whom Nebuchadnezzar has appointed as governor of the towns of Judah.
• Jeremiah chooses to stay in Judah, and Nebuzaradan gives him an allowance of food and a gift and lets him go.
• When the leaders of the forces (including Ishmael son of Nethaniah) who have fled into the fields hear that Gedaliah has been appointed governor, they come to him at Mizpah.
• Gedaliah tells them if they serve the king of Babylon, it will go well with them.
• He tells them to gather wine, summer fruits and oil in their vessels and live in the towns they have taken over.
• All the Judeans return from the places to which they had scattered.
• Johanan (son of Koreah) and other force leaders come to Gedaliah to warn him that Baalis, king of the Ammonites, has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take his life, and they offer to assassinate him.
• Gedaliah doesn't believe them.

Jeremiah 41 (7th month of Gedaliah's term as governor)

1-18 Insurrection against Gedaliah

• Ishmael (son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama of the royal family) comes with 10 men to Gedaliah
• As they eat, Ishmael and his men get up and strike Gedaliah with the sword, killing him, the Judeans that are with him and the Chaldean soldiers that are there as well.
• The day after the murder, before anyone knows about it, 80 men from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria, with beards shaved, clothes torn and bodies gashed, bring grain offerings and incense to the temple.
• Ishmael comes out from Mizpah, weeping, and tells the 80 men to come to Gedaliah.
• When they reach the middle of the city, Ishmael and his men slaughter them and throw them into a cistern.
• Ten of the men beg Ishmael for mercy, telling him they have stores of wheat, barley, oil and honey hidden in the fields, so Ishmael spares their lives.
• The cistern, which Ishmael fills with the bodies of those he kills, had been built by King Asa for defense against King Baasha of Israel.
• Ishmael captures all the rest of the people at Mizpah, including the king's daughters, and sets out to cross over to the Ammonites.
• When Johanan (son of Karesh) and all the leaders of the forces hear about what Ishmael has done, they follow him to the pool at Gibeon and rescue his captives.
• However, Ishmael and eight men escape to the Ammonites.
• Johanan and those he has rescused plan to go to Egypt because they are afraid of Ishmael.

Note: What a lot of action takes place in these chapters! I actually want to read on to see what happens next, but for the sake of the day's plans, I'll wait until the next posting.

Jeremiah 39

Jeremiah 39

1-10 The Fall of Jerusalem (9th and 10th Years of King Zedekiah)

• 9th year, 10th month - Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem
• 10th year, 4th month, 9th day - Babylonian troops breach the city
• Babylonian officials come and sit in the middle gate, causing Zedekiah and all the soldiers to flee from the city through the king's garden.
• The Chaldeans pursue them, overtake Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and bring him to Nebuchadnezzar, who passes sentence on him.
• They kill his sons then put out his eyes.
• They burn the houses, including the king's.
• The captain of the guard, Nebuzaradan, exiles survivors to Babylon, giving property to the poor he leaves behind.

11-18 Jeremiah Set Fee, Remembers Ebed-melech

• Nebuchadnezzar orders Nebuzaradan to release Jeremiah from the court of the guard and entrusts him to Gedaliah (son of Ahikam son of Shaphan) to be brought home, and he stays in Jerusalem with his people.
• While Jeremiah is still in the court of the guard, God tells him to go to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian and tell him that though Jerusalem will be destroyed, he will be saved because of his trust in God. Ebed-melech had rescued Jeremiah from the cistern by telling the king he was there 28:7-13.

Jeremiah 32-33

Jeremiah 32 (10th Year of King Zedekiah; 18th year of Nebuchadnezzar)
1-15 Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege

• Zedekiah comes to the guard house where Jeremiah is held prisoner and asks him why he's prophesying that Nebuchadnezzar will capture Jerusalem and take Zedekiah into captivity, that no matter how hard they fight, Judah will be defeated.
• Jeremiah replies that the LORD told him that his cousin Hanamel (son of Jeremiah's uncle Shallum) would ask him to buy his field in Anathoth. It happened just as God has told him it would, so Jeremiah knows it was the LORD's word.
• So Jeremiah buys the field for 17 shekels of silver, takes the sealed deed of purchase and gives it to Baruch (son of Neriah son of Mahseiah) in the presence of witnesses.
• He tells Baruch that according to God's word he is to put the deed in an earthenware jar to preserve it so that when Judah is restored to its people, the deed to the land will still be intact. I can't determine whether or not Jeremiah returned to Israel to reclaim the land. If he did, he would have been 70 years older than he was at the time of the captivity.

16-25 Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

• After Jeremiah gave the deed of purchase to Baruch, he prayed to God:
• O Creator God, for whom nothing is too hard, you show steadfast love but repay parents' guilt to their children.
• O great God, who sees all our ways and rewards accordingly, you brought your people out of Egypt into this land with signs and wonders, but they did not obey you, and you have brought these disasters on them.
• The city is about to be taken by the Chaldeans, yet you have told me to go buy a field. Even though Jeremiah had obeyed, he didn't understand why if God loves his people, he must destroy them before he can restore them. He prays for understanding in order to put his mind at east.

26-44 God's Assurance of the People's Return

• God replies to Jeremiah: I am the LORD; there is nothing too hard for me.
• I am going to give this city to the Chaldeans and to Nebuchadnezzar, who will burn it with all the houses where sacrifices have been made to false gods.
• Because the people have done nothing but evil since their youth; kings, priests, officials, the people – they have all turned their backs to me.
• I will gather my people from all the lands where I have driven them, and they shall be my people and I will be their God.
• They will live in unity, and I will rejoice in doing good to them.
• Just as I have brought disaster, just so will I bring them good fortune.

Jeremiah 33

1-13 Healing after Punishment

• God speaks to Jeremiah a second time while Jeremiah was confined to the court of the guard.
• When you call, I will answer.
• The Chaldeans are coming, and I will strike down those from whom I have hidden my face because of their wickedness.
• But I will recover it and heal it and will restore Judah's and Israel's fortunes.
• All nations will hear of the good I do for this city, and they shall fear and tremble.
• In this place that is now waste, you will once again hear the voices of mirth and gladness
• And they will sing "Give thanks to the LORD of hosts, for the LORD is good, and his steadfast love endures forever!"
• There will again be pasture for shepherds, and in the hill country towns, those who will count the sheep.

14-26 The Righteous Branch and the Covenant with David

• The days are coming when I will fulfill my promise: a righteous Branch will spring up for David, who will execute justice and righteousness and will be called "The LORD is our righteousness." While the previous section of this chapter refers back to the restoration of Israel back to their land after the Babylonian captivity, this speaks of the ultimate reason for their restoration, the coming of the Messiah. (See also Jeremiah 23:5)
• One of David's descendants will always sit on my throne, and a levitical priest will always burn offerings and make sacrifices. Since Zedekiah was the last descendant of David to sit on his throne, this must apply to the Messiah, whose kingdom is without end. (Luke 1:32,33) 1 Peter 2:9 refers to Christians as "a royal priesthood."
• Though they say I have rejected the covenant with my two families, I have not rejected them any more than I have rejected "my covenant with day and night and the ordinances of heaven and earth." God made a covenant with Abraham that in his name all the famlies of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3). Also in the midst of this is God's declaration that the continuation of his creation is a covenant he has made. By his hand the earth and heavens stand. He did not create then walk away.
• I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy upon them.

Jeremiah 30-31

Jeremiah 30
1-24 Restoration Promised for Israel and Judah

• God to Jeremiah: Put my words in a book, for the days are coming when I will restore my people back to their land.

[In poetry format:]
5-7 We have heard a cry of terror. Men bend over in pain like women in labor. It is a distressful time for Judah, but he will be rescued from it.

[Prose format:]

• On that day, says the LORD, I will release my people from their bonds, and they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king.

[Poetry format:]
10-11 Don't be dismayed, Judah and Israel, for I will save you from your captivity, but you will not go unpunished.
12-17 Your hurt is incurable, for there is no one to heal your wounds. I have wounded you like an enemy would because of your numerous sins. All your enemies will [eventually] go into captivity themselves, and I will heal your wounds.
18-22 I will restore Judah's fortunes, rebuild her city, establish her congregation. Her prince will be one of her own. You shall be my people, and I will be your God.
23-24 The LORD has sent the storm in his wrath. It is a part of his plan. In the latter days, you will understand.

Jeremiah 31
1-26 The Joyful Return of the Exiles

1-6 Just as the people found grace in the wilderness, so as an expression of my love I will build you again, and you shall be merry, plant vineyards, enjoy your fruit and receive visitors from other regions.
7-9 Sing aloud with gladness, for I will bring the remnant of Israel from the farthest parts of the earth, including the blind and the lame. They will come weeping, and I will console them, lead them by brooks of water, for I have become their father.
10-14 Declare it on the coastlands that he who scattered Israel will gather him into his flock, will redeem him from stronger hands, and they will rejoice again in their fertile land. The young women will dance, the young and old men will be merry, all the people satisfied with their bounty.
15-17 Messianic prophecy: Rachel is weeping for her children (Matthew 2:17-18). Keep from weeping, for there is a reward for your work, hope for your future.
18-20 Ephraim has repented and is pleading for mercy. Even as I speak against him, I remember him, and I will have mercy, says the LORD.
21-22 Set up road markers so you know the way to return. Return to your cities, O virgin Israel, "for the LORD has created a new thing on the earth: a woman encompasses a man." This is a strange phrase, referring either to the church (weak in number at first) encompassing the world as a weaker woman would overcome a stronger man, or to the virgin Mary bearing her holy son.

[Prose format follows]

• The LORD says: Once more those in the land of Judah will say "The LORD bless you, O abode of righteousness, O holy hill!"
• Judah's towns, farmers and shepherds will live there together; I will replenish the faint.
• Jeremiah: "I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me." I think this is Jeremiah speaking, though it doesn't exactly say so. If so, it means that at least this prophecy has come to him in a dream, and he is comforted by the promises it holds.

27-30 Individual Responsibility

• Says the LORD, I will plant the seeds of people and animals in the lands of Israel and Judah that I have chosen to overthrown because of their evil.
• I will also watch over them and plant.
• They shall no longer say, "The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." But all shall die for their sins. When I read this, I just knew I had read it somewhere other than Jeremiah. Sure enough, it's also in Ezekiel 18. Of course, this appeals to our New Testament mindset; it's the justice we're used to. Maybe that's why we are so appalled by the Old Testament stories of innocents being slaughtered for the sins of their fathers.

31-34 A New Covenant

31 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt - a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband,says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the Lord," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Note: I quote this in its entirety because of its significance to us. We are recipients of the blessings of this new covenant, in which the law is not written on stone but in our hearts as we read it and ingest it. We aren't physically born into a relationship with God but come to know Him and His will by learning and by making the conscious decision to become one of His.

[Poetry format follows]

35-37 Says the LORD, As long as the fixed order of my creation – the sun, moon, stars and sea – exist, so shall the offspring of Israel exist. Says the LORD, if the heavens and foundations of earth can be measured, then I will reject the offspring of Israel. Though it is true that the physical descendants of Israel are scattered through the world and still retain their identity (though because of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 they can't prove their heritage), since this closely follows the prophecy of the new covenant and speaks of its eternal nature, I interpret "the offspring of Israel" as the church of God, the church of Christ. Regarding his church, Christ said that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18).

38-40 Jerusalem to Be Enlarged

• Says the LORD, the days are coming when the city will be rebuilt and extended further.
• The whole valley of "dead bodies and the ashes" will be sacred to God.
• It shall never again be uprooted or overthrown. (See Revelation 21 for a description of the heavenly Jerusalem.)

Jeremiah 34, 37-38

Jeremiah 34 (When the Babylonian army is fighting against Jerusalem and all its cities)
1-7 Jeremiah Predicts Death in Captivity for Zedekiah

• God tells Jeremiah to go to Zedekiah and prophesy that the king of Babylon will burn Jerusalem with fire.
• Zedekiah will not escape, but will be captured and taken to Babylon.
• He will not die by the sword, but will die in peace in Babylon, and the people will mourn over him.
• At this time, Lachish and Azekah were the only fortified cities to remain standing in Judah.

8-22 Treacherous Treatment of Slaves

• Zedekiah orders the release of all Hebrew slaves in Jerusalem, and the people comply.
• Then they enslave them again.
• God tells Jeremiah to say to the people that part of his covenant with his people was that every seven years all indentured Hebrew slaves must be set free.
• Their ancestors had not heeded this word, but they had, but only for a little while.
• In enslaving the freed slaves, they profaned his name.
• "You have not obeyed me by granting a release to your neighbors and friends; I am going to grant a release to you, says the LORD – a release to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine."
• I will make you a horror, cut you into two like a sacrificed calf, and hand officials over to your enemies; their corpses will be food for the animals.

Jeremiah 37
1-10 Zedekiah's Vain Hope

• Zedekiah sends Jehucal (son of Shelemiah) and Zehaniah the priest (son of Maaseiah) to Jeremiah to ask him to pray for them.
• Meanwhile, when the Chaldeans (Babylonians) hear that Pharaoh's army had come out of Egypt, they withdraw from their siege of Jerusalem.
• Jeremiah tells the men that Pharaoh's army will return to Egypt, and the Chaldeans will return and fight against Jerusalem and burn it.
• Even if Judah defeats the Chaldean army, and only one wounded Chaldean remains, he will burn the city with fire.

11-21 Jeremiah Is Imprisoned

• When the Chaldean army withdraws from Jerusalem, Jeremiah decides to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his property there.
  
• When he reaches the Benjamin Gate, a sentinel named Irijah (son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah) accuses him of defecting to the Chaldeans, arrests him and takes him to the officials who in rage beat him and imprison him in the cistern house [other versions translate this dungeon) of the secretary Jonathan, where he remains many days.
• King Zedekiah sends for him and questions him in private, asking for any word from the LORD.
• Jeremiah answers and tells him "Yes. You will be handed over to the king of Babylon."
• Jeremiah pleas with the king to release him from the house of Jonathan, so Zedekiah orders that Jeremiah be put in the court of the guard, where they give him a loaf of bread every day, until all the bread in the city is gone.

Jeremiah 38
1-6 Jeremiah in the Cistern

• When Shephaniah (son of Mattan), Gedaliah (son of Passhur), Jual (son of Shelemiah) and Pashhur (son of Malchiah) hear that Jeremiah is prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem, they ask the king to put him to death because his prophecies are bad for morale.
• King Zedekiah tells them to do what they must do; he is powerless against them.
• They throw Jeremiah into the cistern of Malchiah, the king's son, letting him down by ropes.
  
• There is no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sinks into the mud.

7-13 Ebed-melech Rescues Jeremiah

• Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian eunuch, hears what they have done with Jeremiah, and goes to the king (who is sitting at the Benjamin Gate) and tells him they have put Jeremiah into the well to die.
• The king orders Ebed-melech to take three men with him to pull Jeremiah out of the well.
• They get rags and old clothes from the king's wardrobe, drop them into the well and instruct Jeremiah to place them between his armpits and the ropes so they can lift him up.
• They return Jeremiah to the guard house.

14-28 Zedekiah Consults Jeremiah Again

• Zedekiah sends for Jeremiah and asks him not to hide anything from him.
• Jeremiah tells the king if he tells him the truth, the king will kill him, but the king swears that he will not.
• Jeremiah tells Zedekiah that if he surrenders to the king of Babylon, his life will be spared and the city will not be burned.
• Zedekiah says he is afraid of being abused by the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans.
• Jeremiah tells him that will not happen, if he obeys God and surrenders to Babylon.
• But if he does not surrender, his wives and children will be taken to the Chaldeans and the city will be burned with fire.
• The king tells Jeremiah not to reveal the conversation, under penalty of death.
• Jeremiah is to tell anyone who asks that he went to the king of plead with him not to send him back to the house of Jonathan.
• When the officials ask him, he answers as the king has instructed, they leave him alone, and he remains in the guard house until the capture of Jerusalem.
  

Jeremiah 19-21

Jeremiah 19
1-15 The Broken Earthenware Jug

• God tells Jeremiah to buy an earthenware jug, take elders and senior priests to the valley of Hinnom and proclaim the disasters the LORD will bring on the people because of their profane worship, which includes offering their children as burnt offerings.
  
• He will void their plans, make them fall by their enemies' sword, give their dead bodies as food for birds and beasts, and make them eat the flesh of their sons, daughters and neighbors.
• Jeremiah is to break the jug and tell the people the LORD will break the people so that they can never be mended. In Topheth they will run out of places to bury the dead, and Jerusalem will become like Topheth.
• Jeremiah returns from Topheth and stands in the temple and restates the LORD's intention to destroy Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 20
1-6 Jeremiah Persecuted by Pashhur

• After Pashhur, a priest and son of the Chief Officer of the temple, Immer, hears Jeremiah's prophecy, he strikes Jeremiah and puts him in stocks in one of the temple gates.
• Jeremiah tells Pashhur that God has named him "Terror-all-around" and that the king of Babylon will carry away not only all the treasures of Judah but Passhur and his family and friends, and they will all die there.

7-18 Jeremiah Denounces His Persecutors

7 LORD, you have overpowered me, and I have become a laughingstock.
8-9 Even when I decide not to prophesy anymore, your word explodes from my bones, and I can't hold it in.
10-12 Though I hear them threaten me with revenge, the LORD will fight for me, and my persecutors will fail in shame and dishonor, for the LORD knows the hearts of men.
13 "Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers." One moment, Jeremiah is praising God for his goodness...
14-18 Cursed be the day I was born, the man who told my father of my birth. Why was I ever born? ...the next he is cursing his own birth. Echoes of Job's distress in Job 3:3

Jeremiah 21
1-10 Jerusalem Will Fall to Nebuchadnezzar

• Zedekiah sends Pashhur (son of Malchiah) and the priest Zephaniah (son of Maaseiah) to Jeremiah (in stocks, per chapter 20) for him to ask God for help against King Nebuchadnezzar, to perform a "wonderful" deed and rescue his people once again. It looks like Zedekiah is giving Jeremiah a chance to redeem himself by proclaiming good words upon Judah.
  
• Jeremiah tells them that God will not rescue them; in fact, he will weaken their weapons and fight against them, striking humans and animals with a great pestilence.
• Afterward, he will give Zedekiah, his servants and all those who survive the pestilence over into the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar. Obviously, Jeremiah does not cave in.
  

11-14 Message to the House of David
11-12 Execute justice "in the morning" [soon!], or else my wrath will go forth like fire, with no one to quench it.
13-14 I will punish you who think you are invincible; I will punish you for your evil doings.

Jeremiah 51:59-64

Jeremiah 51
59-64 Jeremiah's Command to Seraiah (4th year of Zedekiah's reign)

• When Seraiah son of Neriah son of Mahseiah goes to Babylon [on behalf of, not with, according to commentaries] King Zedekiah, Jeremiah tells him to take a scroll and read it there.
• The scroll announces that God will destroy Babylon so that neither humans nor animals will be able to live in it. This pronouncement is 7 years before Zedekiah and the rest of Judah go into Babylonian captivity, 60 years before the destruction of Babylon.
  
• After he reads the scroll, Seraiah is to throw it into the Euphrates and compare its sinking to the sinking of Babylon, never to rise again.

Note: Seraiah's identity is variously translated. The New Revised Version (which I am reading for the first time for this blog), the New American Standad and New King James render it "quartermaster." The American Standard Version reads "chief chamberlain," but the King James Version translates it "quiet prince." So some commentaries have long paragraphs about the nature of Seraiah's character, the reason Jeremiah trusted him with the message.

Jeremiah 27-29

Jeremiah 27 (Beginning of the reign of Zedekiah)
1-22 The Sign of the Yoke

• God tells Jeremiah to make a yoke of straps and bars and put them on his neck.
• Then he is to go to the envoys that have come to Zedekiah from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon and tell them to take home this message:
• Since I am the Creator of this earth, I can give lands to whomever I choose, and I have chosen King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
• I am commanding all nations to put themselves under the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar. If they don't, I will bring destruction on them. If they do, I will allow them to stay in their own lands. Tell them not to listen to their soothsayers.
  
• Say the same thing to Zedekiah: Do not listen to the prophets; I have not sent them.
• Do not listen to the prophets who say the temple vessels will soon be brought back to Jerusalem. Indeed, the vessels that have been left behind will also be taken to Babylon until I restore them to their place.

Jeremiah 28 (4th year, 5th month of Zedekiah's reign)
1-17 Hananiah Opposes Jeremiah and Dies

• Hananiah, a prophet, confronts Jeremiah in public in the temple, declaring that God has broken the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar and in two years will bring the temple vessels back to Jerusalem, along with Jeconiah and all the other exiles.
• Jeremiah replies that that's what his prayer is, too. Many prophets have foretold the destruction of other nations. If this prophecy of peace comes true, then the people will know that this prophet is from God. I see in Jeremiah's reply great tact. He doesn't defend himself as God's prophet; in essence he says, "Time will tell; God will speak for himself."
• Hananiah breaks the yoke around Jeremiah's neck (a physical relief for Jeremiah, I'm sure), saying it is a sign of how God will break the yoke Nebuchadnezzar has placed on Judah.
• Jeremiah leaves the temple.
• God tells Jeremiah to go to Hananiah and tell him that because he has broken the wooden yoke, he will place an iron yoke on the people – even the animals will serve the king of Babylon.
  
• And Hananiah, the LORD has not sent you; in fact, you will be dead within a year.
• Hananiah dies within two months of his declaration in the temple.

Jeremiah 29
1-3 Jeremiah's Letter to the Exiles in Babylon

• Sent by the hand of Elasah and Gemariah, whom King Zedekiah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar
• Jeremiah to the exiles: Thus says the LORD: Build houses, plant gardens, establish yourselves in Babylon.
  
• "Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." I quoted this whole passage because I really like this concept and think it is such good advice for God's people anywhere, especially if you're in a place you don't want to be: a geographical location; a job; a neighborhood; with a disagreeable family member(s). It encourages us to improve a bad situation by always seeking the best and doing our best; it promises we can make a difference.
  
• Don't listen to the prophets and diviners among you; they are lying, for I did not send them.
• After 70 years I will restore you to your home, because then you will be calling on me and praying to me. "If you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me."
• As for King Zedekiah and others that have been left behind in Jerusalem, I will punish them with sword, famine, and pestilence.
• They will also be captured by Nebuchadnezzar, and he will kill Ahab (son of Kolaiah) and Zedekiah (son of Masseiah) who lie to you in my name – will kill them before your eyes.
• They have "perpetrated outrage," committed adultery with their neighbors' wives, and spoken lies in my name.

24-32 The Letter of Shemaiah

• Shemaiah of Nehelam sends a letter from Babylon to the priest Zephaniah (son of Maaseiah) and to the other priests, asking them why they are not controlling the "madman" Jeremiah by putting him in stocks, because Jeremiah has written a letter to the exiles saying they will be there for 70 years.
• Zephaniah reads the letter in Jeremiah's hearing.
• God tells Jeremiah to send another letter: He will punish Shemaiah and his descendants for his false prophecy; none of his people will see the good that the LORD will do for his people.
  

Jeremiah 24

Jeremiah 24 (During reign of Zedekiah, after Jeconiah's exile to Babylon - See notes on the Sons of Josiah - Jeremiah 22)

1-10 The Good and the Bad Figs

• God shows Jeremiah two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple: One with just-ripe figs, and one with figs that are inedible.
• The good figs represent those exiled to Babylon. (Besides Jeconiah, Nebuchadnezzar had also taken officials, artisans and smiths.) God will build them up and give them a heart to know that he is the LORD.
• The bad figs are Zedekiah and his officials, those who remain in Judah and Egypt. God wil make them a disgrace and a byword and will send sword, famine and pestilence on them until they are utterly destroyed.

Jeremiah 23

Jeremiah 23
1-4 Restoration after Exile

• Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter my sheep; I will attend to you.
• Then I will gather the remnant of my sheep, bring them back to the fold, where they will multiply, and I will appoint new shepherds.

5-8 The Righteous Branch of David

• The days will come when I will raise up a righteous branch of David, when Judah and Israel will live in safety, and his name will be "The LORD is our righteousness." What a comforting prophecy of Christ in the midst of all the dire warnings.
• The days are coming when the people will talk not of their escape from Egypt but of their escape from the land of the north.

9-40 False Prophets of Hope Denounced

9-12 My heart is crushed because of all the adultery in the land, because both prophet and priest are ungodly. The LORD has seen all their wickedness, and they will fall into darkness.
13-15 The LORD was disgusted by the prophets of Samaria who prophesied by Baal and led his people astray, but even more shocking were the prophets in Jerusalem who commit adultery and walk in lies. He will make them eat wormwood and drink poisoned water.

• Do not listen to the prophets, for they speak visions out of their own minds, saying it will be well with those who despise the LORD's word.

18-20 Who has heeded the LORD's word to proclaim it? The storm of the LORD will burst upon the head of the wicked; his anger will not abate until he has executed judgment.
21-40 The prophets did not prophesy my words, says the LORD; if they had, they would have turned the people from their evil ways. God holds leaders responsible for the direction his people take.

• You can not hide from me, says the LORD . I see how you prophesy lies, making my people forget my name.
• If you have a dream, tell them it is a dream, but if it is my word, tell if faithfully. One is straw, and the other wheat. They are not the same.
• My word is like fire or a hammer, and I will punish the prophets who steal my words from each other, who attribute their lies to me, who prophesy lying dreams, who lead my people astray by their lies and recklessness.
• The people, prophets, and priests are "the burden of the LORD ," and I will cast them off.
• Therefore, whoever uses that phrase will suffer everlasting disgrace and shame. The people would ask this question of Jeremiah, not to learn what God has said of them, but in derision: "So! What bad news from God to you have today?"

Jeremiah 22

Jeremiah 22
1-10 Exhortation to Repent
Note: According to some commentators, this is a generic warning to kings from Josiah to Zedekiah. James Rogers, whose outline I'm following for chronological order, states that chapter 22 and 23 are probably between Jehoiakim and Zedekiah.

• God tells Jeremiah to go to the king of Judah and tell him to act with justice and righteousness, delivering victims from their oppressors.
• If he obeys God, descendants of David will continue to sit on his throne.
• Yet even though Judah is like a fertile land to God, he will make it like a desert if they disobey.
• When nations pass by and ask why God has done this to his people, they will answer, "Because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD."

10 Do not weep for him who is dead but for him who is sent away from his native land.

11-23 Message to the Sons of Josiah

• Concerning Shallum, son of Josiah, he will die in captivity.
  

Notes about the sons of Josiah (2 Kings 23-24): Shallum is the same person as Jehoahaz, who succeeded Josiah. After only 3 months on the throne, Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt (who had killed Josiah in battle), deposes Jehoahaz and exiles him to Egypt, where he dies (just as Jeremiah prophesies here). Pharaoh Neco makes his brother Eliakim king in his place and changes his name to Jehoiakim.

When Jehoiakim dies, his son Jeconiah (Coniah) becomes king, and reigns only three months when Nebuchadnezzar captures him and makes his uncle, Zedekiah, king. Zedekiah is the last king of Judah.

So this means that three of Josiah's sons - Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah - and his grandson - Jehoiachin - are the last four kings of Judah before the Babylonian captivity. I don't know why that interests me. Maybe it's because I hadn't known it before. And I learned it not from reading history but a book of prophecy.

13-14 Woe to you because you have built your house by unrighteousness, forcing your neighbors to build it for nothing.
15-17 You're not a king because you live in a cedar house. It was well with your father because he was righteous and helped the cause of the poor and needy, but your eyes and heart are set only on dishonest gain.

• Concerning King Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, he will be buried like a donkey, thrown out of the gates of Jerusalem, and none shall mourn him.

20-23 God to Jeremiah: Go to Lebanon and cry out, I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you would not listen. Therefore your lovers will go into captivity, and you will groan like a woman in labor.

24-30 Judgment on Coniah (AKA Jehoiachin)

• Coniah, even if you were the signet ring on my right hand, I would tear you off and give you into the hands of those who seek your life.
• I will "hurl" you and your mother into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, and there you will die.

28-30 Is Coniah a vessel no one wants? He and his offspring are cast away. He might as well be childless, because none of his offspring will sit on the throne of David.

Jeremiah 25, 26, 35, 36, 45

Note: From here on, my posts will be out of order numerically. Jeremiah is not a chronological book, but what is called a Composite Book. I am following the order recommended by James Rogers in "Introduction to Jeremiah," a lecture he presented at a church of Christ in Duluth, Georgia. "Notes on Jeremiah" by Dr. Thomas L. Constable, 2009 Edition, page 168, also addresses this characteristic.

The Reign of Jehoiakim (26; 25; 36:1-10; 45; 36:11-21; 35)

Jeremiah 26
1-24 Jeremiah's Prophecies in the Temple (Beginning of Jehoiakim's reign)

• God tells Jeremiah to go stand in the court of the temple and warn the people that if they continue in their evil ways, he will make the city a curse, but if they repent, he might change his mind.
• The priests, prophets and people react by threatening Jeremiah with death, crying, "Why are you prophesying these bad things?" Classic example of killing the messenger because they don't like the message.
  
• When the officials of Judah hear what Jeremiah has said, they come to the temple, where the priests and prophets tell them Jeremiah deserved to die.
• Jeremiah tells them to do what they have to do, but what he has spoken is God's word, and if they kill him they will be guilty of shedding innocent blood.
• The officials and people tell the priests and prophets that Jeremiah does not deserve death, that they should listen to him like they listened to Micah in the days of Hezekiah, else they will be bringing disaster upon themselves.
• Another man named Uriah (son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearin) had also prophesied against the city, but fled to Egypt when Jehoiakim threatened to kill him. Jehoiakim sent Elnathan and other men after Uriah, and they brought him back to Jehoiakim, who killed him and threw his body into a common burial plot.
• But Ahikam the son of Shaphan prevents Jeremiah from being given into the hands of the people to be put to death. We have the "people" here who want to put Jeremiah to death, and we have the "people" earlier who seem to side with the officials. Unless the "people" are very wishy-washy, this must refer to different groups of people.
  

Note: Obviously, Jeremiah's denunciations of the priests and prophets has not been misplaced. They are the bad guys here. You would expect it to be the other way around – that the religious leaders would be the voice of God trying to influence the public officials to do what's right.

Jeremiah 25 (4th Year of Jehoiakim's reign, 1st year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign in Babylon)
1-14 Babylonian Captivity Foretold

• Jeremiah to the people: For 23 years – from the 13th year of King Josiah to this day – I have been warning you to turn from your evil ways, from your idolatry, but you have not listened.
• Thus says the LORD: I will bring Nebuchadnezzar, my servant, against this land and its people, and I will destroy them.
• I will banish the sound of mirth, voices of brides and bridegroom, the millstone and the lamp.
• And this whole land will serve in Babylon for 70 years, after which I will punish Babylon for its iniquity, and they will become slaves to other nations.

15-38 The Cup of God's Wrath

• God tells Jeremiah to take from him a cup of "the wine of wrath" and make the nations to whom he will send Jeremiah drink it, so that they will get drunk, stagger, and suffer from the sword the LORD will send.
• So Jeremiah takes the cup to the kings and officials of Judah; Egypt; Uz; the Philistines,\; Edom, Moab and Ammon; Tyre and Sidon; the coastland across the sea; Arabia; Zimri; Elam and Media; the north, far and near, one after another; all the kingdoms of the earth.
  
• "After them Sheshach [Babylon] will drink."

30-31 The LORD will roar mightily and shout, like those treading grapes, for he has an indictment against the nations and will put the guilty to the sword.
32 The disaster spreads from nation to nation, a great tempest.

• Those slain will be spread throughout the earth, and no one will mourn.

34 Wail, shepherds, for your slaughter is coming. Another indictment against the leaders.
35 The shepherds will not be able to escape the LORD's despoiling, for he is like a lion that has left his covert.

Jeremiah 36:1-10 (4th and 5th years of Jehoiakim's reign)
1-10 The Scroll Read in the Temple

• God tells Jeremiah to take a scroll and write on it all the warnings of disaster God intends for Judah.
• Jeremiah calls Baruch to transcribe his words and read them in the temple on a fast day, because Jeremiah has been banned from the temple.
• The next year the people proclaim a fast, and Baruch read Jeremiah's words in the temple, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the secretary.

Jeremiah 45
1-5 A Word of Comfort to Baruch

• When Jeremiah dictates to Baruch, Baruch cries that the LORD has "added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest."
• Jeremiah is to tell Baruch that even though God is going to destroy the land, He will spare Baruch's life.

Jeremiah 36:11-32
11-19 The Scroll Read in the Palace

• Michaiah son of Gemariah son of Shaphan goes to the palace and tells the officials (listed by name) what Baruch had read.
• They send for Baruch and ask him to read the scroll to them. I wonder why they weren't at the temple.
• When they hear it, they determine the king should hear it as well and ask Baruch if "he" dictated it.
• When Baruch says yes, "he" did, they advise that he and Jeremiah go into hiding.
  

20-26 Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll

• As they read the scroll to the king, he tears off each part read and throws it into the fireplace (it was winter), even though the officials urge him not to.
• He orders the arrest of Jeremiah and Baruch, but "the LORD hid them."

27-32 Jeremiah Dictates Another

• God instructs Jeremiah to duplicate the previous scroll and declare that none of Jehoiakim's descendants will sit on the throne of David, and "his dead body will be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night."
• So Jeremiah dictates another scroll that includes the same warnings as the previous one, with similar words added.

Jeremiah 35
1-19 God Commends the Rechabites (in the days of Jehoiakim)

• God tells Jeremiah to bring the Rechabites into one of the chambers of the temple and offer them wine to drink.
• Jeremiah does so, but they refuse the wine, because their ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab commanded that they should never drink wine, nor build a house, nor sow seed, nor plant a vineyard, but that they should always live in tents. Jonadab was with Jehu when he set out to eradicate all the Baal worshipers in the land, in 2 Kings 10.
  
• They are living in Jerusalem because King Nebchadrezzar threatened the country.
• God tells Jeremiah to tell the people how the Rechabites have continued to obey their ancestor, but Judah does not obey God.
• Therefore he will bring on Judah the disaster he has pronounced against them.
• As for the house of Rechab, they "shall not lack a descendant to stand before me for all time."
  

Jeremiah 18

Jeremiah 18
1-11 The Potter and the Clay

• Per God's instructions, Jeremiah goes to the potter's house and watches him rework a spoiled vessel of clay.
• God tells Jeremiah the house of Israel is his vessel of clay.
• He may rework a nation he has promised to destroy, if that nation repents.
• He may destroy a nation he has promised to build, if it turns to evil.

12-17 Israel's Stubborn Idolatry

• But they say it makes no difference; they will follow their own plans.

13-14 Thus says the LORD: Who has heard of such a thing? It's like snow leaving the mountains.
15 My people have forgotten me, burning offerings to a delusion.
16 They've made their land a horror, a hiss and a byword.
17 "I will show them my back, not my face."

18-23 A Plot against Jeremiah

• The people plot to accuse Jeremiah; they prefer the counsel of others.

19-20 Jeremiah prays to God: Should I receive evil for doing good? Remember how I defended them before you?
21-23 No more: Now I ask that they suffer from famine, from the sword, from pestilence and war. Do not forgive their iniquity. God had instructed Jeremiah not to pray on Judah's behalf (14:11); now that Jeremiah's received personal attacks, he echoes God's wrath on the people.