NOTES ON JEREMIAH

Notes from the Jewish Study Bible
 

For the next few days I am going to publish some notes taken from the Jewish Study Bible on Jeremaih and overlay them with their meaning from a follower of Yeshua perspective.

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. 1 Corinthians 15.19

The books of the prophets are types and shadows of the coming millennial kingdom. Within the historial context of Israel's rebellion and punishment we are seeing the coming end of the age. When Paul said the above quote he was looking towards the resurrection and the coming kingdom. Our present troubles are preparation for something much greater to come. As God's people we need to have a vision of the world to come in order to sustain us in times of trouble. Read on!


Then (some princes)…heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying…the LORD said, He that remains in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, but he that goes forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey and shall live. Thus hath the LORD said, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army…Therefore the princes said unto the king…let this man be put to death: for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war that remain in this city and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them; for this man does not seek the peace of this people, but the hurt. Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand, for the king can not do any thing against you. Jeremiah 38.1-5


The princes who control weak king Zedekiah have Jeremiah arrested. They say he is bad for the moral of the city and does not seek the peace of the people. Jeremiah, however, is saying don’t resist--you will be taken captive and live. In chapter 29 the people taken captive are told by Jeremiah to pray for Babylon and that they will prosper in captivity!


Jeremiah is viewed as a traitor to the nation! He is saying those taken into captivity will be safe and prosper. This is an interesting study. We think of captivity as a negative--but is some cases it can be a place of safety and prosperity. To pursue this idea further see the post on this blog: The Hiding Place published on April 2nd 2014.
 

Jeremiah 42...Jeremiah taken to Egypt. The people ask Jeremiah to seek the Lord on whether or not they should go to Egypt. Jeremiah says he will pray and the people swear they will listen to whatever the Lord tells him they should do!


And it happened after ten days that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah…called…all the people from the least even to the greatest…and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him: ‘If you will still remain in this land, then I will build you and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up. For I relent concerning the disaster that I have brought upon you. Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; do not be afraid of him,’ says the Lord, ‘for I am with you, to save you and deliver you from his hand. And I will show you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and cause you to return to your own land.’ Jeremiah 42.7-12


After ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. In Jewish thought it is believed that Gedaliah was murdered on the 1^st of Tishri the Feast of Trumpets. This would mean the ten days were right after Yom Kippur the Day of Atonement when the people are to repent. This date would emphasize the theme of repentance, which will not take place in the next verses. The ten days would also represent the “days of awe” between Trumpets and Yom Kippur which represent the last chance to repent. The Bible is painting a prophetic overlay that helps us understand the end of the age.


“But if you say, ‘We will not dwell in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the Lord your God, saying, ‘No, but we will go to the land of Egypt where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor be hungry for bread, and there we will dwell’— Then hear now the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah! Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you wholly set your faces to enter Egypt, and go to dwell there, then it shall be that the sword which you feared shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; the famine of which you were afraid shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there you shall die. Jeremiah 42.13-16


Jeremiah tells them if they stay in Judea they will be rebuilt and replanted but if they go to Egypt they will die there and never return to Judea.


“The Lord has said concerning you, O remnant of Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt!’…I have admonished you this day. For you were hypocrites in your hearts when you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the Lord our God, and according to all that the Lord your God says, so declare to us and we will do it. Jeremiah 42.19-20 


Once again, Jeremiah strongly warns the people. He is clearly telling them not to go to Egypt! In Deut 17.14-20 (Torah) it emphasizes that the king is forbidden to return the people to Egypt. Isaiah also warned the people not to ally with Egypt (Isaiah 18-20; 30-31). If the remnant is to grow they must not go to Egypt but stay in the land.
 

Jeremiah 43...The guidance is rejected! All the army officers and the people did not obey the word of the Lord. They take Jeremiah, all the men, women, and children, including the daughters of Zedekiah (v 6) and went to Egypt.

Jeremiah 44...Israelites will be punished in Egypt.


The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt…saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘You have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them, because of their wickedness…in that they went to burn incense and to serve other gods whom they did not know, they nor you nor your fathers. However I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, “Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate!” But they did not listen or incline their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense to other gods. So My fury and My anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as it is this day…They have not been humbled, to this day, nor have they feared; they have not walked in My law or in My statutes that I set before you and your fathers. Jeremiah 44.1-10


The people refused to give up their false gods! They refused to turn from the mixture and idolatry that the Lord hated, worshipping the gods of Egypt. They refused to repent--what is God supposed to do?


Therefore thus says the Lord…‘Behold, I will set My face against you for catastrophe and for cutting off all Judah… I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to dwell there, and they shall all be consumed and fall in the land of Egypt. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine…For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone into the land of Egypt to dwell there shall escape or survive, lest they return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return and dwell. For none shall return except those who escape.” Jeremiah 44.11-14


The people reply:
Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to other gods…a great multitude, and all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt…answered Jeremiah, saying: “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you! But we will certainly do whatever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and saw no trouble. But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.” Jeremiah 44.15-18

The people are in total rebellion and refuse to repent! Jeremiah then tells them (verses 24-29) that only a very small few of them will ever return to Judah--they will die in Egypt because of their sin.

The message to the church is that God does not want mixture! It is time to rid our assemblies of new age, human secular, and witchcraft practices. You think it is not there? Look again! Read Revelation chapters 2 and 3. This is a warning to the church...Balaam and Jezebel are entrenched in our assemblies! We better heed what God is saying.

End of Study