192. THE PROPHET JEREMIAH — THE KINGDOM OVERTHROWN

"Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart"

The life of the prophet Jeremiah reveals a wonderful example of pa­tient continuance in well-doing. He bore great responsibilities and suf­fered powerful opposition as a young man, therefore he has a wonderful reward awaiting him in the kingdom, along with the faithful of all ages. In many ways his ministry foreshadows the experiences of the Lord Jesus Christ. With all his strivings behind him and the hopes of the kingdom before him, he could at the end declare,

"It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salva­tion of Yahweh. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke of his youth." Lamentations of Jeremiah 3:26-27.

Jeremiah 1; 2 Kings 24; 25:1-21; 2 Chronicles 36; Ezekiel 21:24-27

JEREMIAH

Jeremiah's prophetic ministrations began in the 13th year of Josiah and continued for 40 years until after the reign of Zedekiah the last king of Judah. Jeremiah's work continued among the remnant left in the land even to the time of their departure into Egypt (Jer. 40:2, 4, 6; 43:7, 8). Jeremiah showed a remarkable, enduring faith, and steadfastness in the face of opposition and persecution. Judah at this time was in a state of spiritual and moral wickedness (23:14).

Jeremiah was a young man when called to be a prophet for in Jeremiah 1:6 he is termed a "child" (Hebrew "Naar" which means "a lad, servant, young man"). So we have two young men — Josiah and Jeremiah who together tried to bring about a great reform.

JEREMIAH'S MESSAGE AND CHARACTER

Jeremiah's mission was to preach a message of coming judgment upon Judah. He tried, by every means possible to stop the nation from heading towards disaster. As an extremely loyal servant of Yahweh Jeremiah suf­fered many things — he was hated and despised by the people (Jer. 12:6), he was scourged (Jer. 20:2), he was put in a miry pit (Jer. 38:6), and in prison (Jer. 38:13). Yet despite all this hatred that was heaped upon him, Jeremiah loved his people and it grieved him to see them continue in their sins. In this way he shows a remarkable similarity to the Lord Jesus Christ, e.g. see Jer. 11:19; Isa. 53:7; 1 Pet. 2:23.

This wonderful man, who wept for his people, was quite uncom­promising in the message he preached. It was because of his love for his people that he continued his efforts to restore them. Despite the mocking he received from his opponents Jeremiah's love for the Word of God was deep in his heart and could not be snuffed out. It was a "burning fire shut up in my bones ... and I could not stay" (20:9). Here is a great lesson for us. When wrong is established, and standards deteriorate, then love demands that we take the stand of Jeremiah and speak up for the Truth.

GOD'S JUDGMENT BEGINS

With the death of Josiah the judgments of God fell fast and heavy on the guilty nation. Josiah left 3 sons who each reigned, but they all did evil in the sight of Yahweh. The king of Egypt took away the first king, Jehoahaz, and made the people pay tribute to him. Then Nebuchadnez­zar, king of Babylon defeated Egypt and took the next king, Jehoiakim away to Babylon. Jehoiakim's son reigned for a while, but he too was taken captive into Babylon. Finally Josiah's 3rd son Zedekiah reigned, but he too was forced to promise allegiance to Babylon.

JEREMIAH CONTINUES TO WARN THE PEOPLE. Jeremiah 27:12-22.

Right until the bitter end Yahweh's mercy was evident in His sending of prophets to warn and exhort the people of Judah. His compassion was on His people and on His dwelling place. But they "mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words and misused His prophets, until the wrath of Yahweh arose against His people, till there was no remedy" (2 Chron. 36:15-16).

On one occasion Jeremiah wore a wooden yoke about his neck and told the people that they would have to surrender to the Chaldeans and be under the yoke of Babylon or they would die by "sword, famine and pestilence" (Jeremiah 27:8). But a false prophet, Hananiah, stood up and broke the yoke from Jeremiah's neck and told the people that Yahweh had spoken by him to say the power of Babylon would soon be broken and all the captives returned! (28:1-4). Of course the people wanted to believe this instead of Jeremiah's prophecy, which had truly come from Yahweh.

ZEDEKIAH—LAST KING IN JUDAH.

When Zedekiah began to reign he had given a promise of allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. As time went by, however, the false prophets in Judah claimed that God would destroy Babylon and that all in Judah would be safe. Zedekiah believed these wrong reports, instead of listening to Yahweh's word spoken by Jeremiah, and he decided to join with Egypt and other surrounding nations to rebel against Babylon. It was on this occasion that Jeremiah, wearing the yoke, warned the king that they would all die if they did not continue to serve Babylon. Zedekiah listened to Jeremiah at this time and did not rebel.

Some years later, however, Zedekiah did break his promise to Babylon (Ezek. 17). He made an alliance with Egypt and openly rebelled against Babylon, believing that Egypt would come and help him fight.

Nebuchadnezzar was very angry and quickly began his march towards Jerusalem. When Nebuchadnezzar heard the Egyptian army was coming, he went on past Jerusalem to fight the Egyptians and defeated them. Zedekiah was now without help, and Nebuchadnezzar returned and besieged the city of Jerusalem.

Then followed a terrible 18 months for the people in Jerusalem. While the army of Babylon weakened the wall from outside, the people in the city suffered disease and starvation, for their food was soon all eaten. So Jeremiah's prophecy (27:8) came true—they had rebelled against Babylon and were now dying by the "sword, famine and pestilence". Again Zedekiah turned to Jeremiah for help, but when the prophet advis­ed surrender to Nebuchadnezzar, the king's princes became angry and had Jeremiah thrown into a dungeon. When Jeremiah was delivered he again told the king to surrender to the Babylonians for in so doing he would both save his own life and spare the city from fiery destruction (38:17-23). But Zedekiah hesitated. He was more worried about keeping in favour with his fellow princes. At last the weakened soldiers could no longer defend the walls. The enemy broke in and began to destroy the people, the city and the Temple. The treasures and furniture of the Tem­ple were carried off to Babylon (approximately 586 B.C.). King Zedekiah was dragged before Nebuchadnezzar, his sons were killed before him, his own eyes put out, and he was taken in chains to Babylon. So by turning from God and not listening to His word, the people brought upon themselves dreadful judgments.

The Babylonians searched for Jeremiah—to release him! They delivered him from prison and bonds, looked after him and even gave him a reward (39:11-14; 40:1-6). King Nebuchadnezzar had decreed, "Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm, but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee" (30:12). How wonderful then was Yahweh's protection of Jeremiah to ensure that His work would be ac­complished.

"I WILL OVERTURN . . . UNTIL HE COME".

Of this overthrow the prophet Ezekiel had clearly warned the people and told King Zedekiah, "Thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end. Thus saith Yahweh God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, over­turn, overturn it: and it shall be no more, until he come WHOSE RIGHT IT IS; and I will give it him" (Ezekiel 21:24-27).

Thus the kingdom of Judah came to a tragic end. Since the overthrow of Zedekiah there has never been a king in the royal line of David reign­ing over Israel. This one "whose right it is" is the Lord Jesus Christ, David's greater son and son of God (2 Samuel 7:12-14) who is yet to return and rule over the earth as king on the throne of David.

PROMISE OF A NEW KING AND THE KINGDOM RESTORED. Jeremiah 23:1-8.

In the midst of prophesying trouble for Israel and Judah, Jeremiah spoke a wonderful promise from God (Jeremiah 23:5-6). God said, "I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and pro­sper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely". What a different king this would be from the many who had ruled so badly over Israel. We know this promised king is the Lord Jesus Christ, for at his birth the angel said of him "and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob (i.e. Israel and Judah) forever" (Luke 1:32-33). We, too, look forward to the com­ing of this king who will not only rule over all Israel, but will bring judg­ment and justice to all the earth.

LESSON FOR US:

Jeremiah was a man of faith and courage who was true to God even though the people hated him for it. Zedekiah was a weak and faithless man who turned from God and broke his word of promise to Nebuchadnezzar. Let us be like Jeremiah and have steadfast faith in God at all times.

We look forward to the time when God will give the throne to him "whose right it is", even the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us be aware of the signs of his near return and like faithful Jeremiah, prepare ourselves for that day.

REFERENCE LIBRARY:

"The Prophecy of Jeremiah" (C.C. Walker).

"The Story of the Bible" (H.P. Mansfield)—Vol. 6, Nos.5-9.

PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS:

1. What was Jeremiah foretelling when he wore a yoke on his neck?

2. What were some of the things that Jeremiah suffered at the hands of his brethren?

3. Ezekiel the prophet told of the overturning of the Kingdom of Judah (Ezekiel 21:24-27). What did he speak of in this prophecy?

ESSAY QUESTIONS:

1. Describe the prophetic warnings that Jeremiah made in word and in actions during the reign of Zedekiah.

2. The people of Judah mocked Jeremiah and despised His words, until the wrath of God arose against His people—

1. Explain how Jerusalem was finally overthrown.

2. Zedekiah was the last king to sit upon the throne of Judah — give proof to show that the throne will be restored to Christ.