The Fallout of the Final Siege

[0:00] Last week, you recall, we saw Jeremiah thrown into a cistern pit in the muck and the mire left there to die.

[0:22] ! But God comes to the rescue as always, rescues his prophet by the hand of the hand of the hand. The hands of someone that would never be suspected of being someone that would rescue the prophet.

[0:35] And that was the Ethiopian eunuch, Ebed-Melech. And he is one that was responsible for making it possible for Jeremiah to be brought out of that pit and be spared.

[0:54] Realize then that Jeremiah was asked by Zedekiah, the king, to pray for them. Seek the Lord on our behalf, Zedekiah said, and let me know what it is he says.

[1:11] And of course, Jeremiah, well aware of the resistance that Zedekiah has had in the past to his message from God, suspected that, OK, if I give you the word of God that he responds to your prayer for or through, you won't listen to what I say and you won't do what God says.

[1:36] And so he turns it so that Zedekiah promises Jeremiah that he will spare his life, not put him to death, and he will do whatever God says that he is to do.

[1:51] Of course, Jeremiah knew that wasn't going to be the case. And so we find out it's not going to be. Remember, the result was God said, or Jeremiah, God said through Jeremiah, if you don't do what I say, then it's not going to go well for you.

[2:10] And if you just let Chaldea take you and take you prisoner, things will go well for you. And you'll die there in captivity, but you'll die a normal death.

[2:23] So he doesn't do what God says, of course. So that brings us to chapter 42 tonight. And remember, last week we were looking at the beginning of the final siege of Nebuchadnezzar of Jerusalem.

[2:38] And now as we come to chapter 42, that siege has pretty much been completed. The city lies in ruins. Citizens have been deported to Babylon.

[2:52] And so things are just like Jeremiah prophesied they would be. Nebuchadnezzar was the Babylonian officer in charge. Every time I hear that or read that name or speak that name in particular, Nebuchadnezzar, Dan.

[3:11] Wasn't there a rice that comes out of San Francisco? Zatarain or something like that? Well, but there's something. Zatarain's from New Orleans.

[3:22] There's a, Zaradan's from New Orleans? Yeah, Rice of Rome is from San Francisco. Oh, okay. Well, you switch them around. I don't, it doesn't matter. All right. Yeah, yeah. They're both crazy cities anyway.

[3:33] So, yeah. Yeah. It reminds me of that. So this is the rice guy. Okay. All right. Zaradan. Nebuchadnezzar. I'm going to be saying that all night now. Nebuchadnezzar was the Babylonian officer in charge when Jerusalem then was destroyed.

[3:51] He gave strict orders that Jeremiah, in all of this carnage, Jeremiah was not to be taken captive. But you know how that goes.

[4:03] Somebody didn't get the word and Jeremiah ended up being captured. And so he was placed in chains, taken to Ramah.

[4:14] But when that discovery was made, he was set free. Now, it's amazing here how God used Nebuchadnezzar and his officers and so forth with Jeremiah.

[4:31] Nebuchadnezzar then gave Jeremiah a choice. A choice of two things. You can either stay with us here in Babylon, be well taken care of, or you can go back to Judah if you want to.

[4:53] Whichever one you want to do, you can do that. Now, so in chapter 40, verses 4 through 6, we see that. Now, see, I am freeing you today, Jeremiah, from the chains upon your hands.

[5:08] If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come. And I will keep an eye on you and look after you well. But if it seems bad to you to come with me to Babylon, then do not do it.

[5:21] Behold, all the land is before you, wherever it seems good. Wherever it seems good, right, and convenient for you to go, go there. So, Jeremiah has that possibility.

[5:33] He's got to make a determination what he's going to do. So while he's doing that, while Jeremiah was hesitating, the captain of the guard said, isn't it amazing, he's trying to figure this, which do I want to do?

[5:46] The captain of the guard recognizes and realizes what he really wants to do, and that's to go back home. So he says, go back then to Gedalia, son of Ahicham, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people.

[6:08] Or go wherever it seems right for you to go. So the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a present and let him go. Again, unheard of means by which God takes care of his prophet here.

[6:29] Some of the military leadership of the Babylonian army. So, then Jeremiah went to Gedalia, son of Ahicham, at Mizpah, and dwelt with him among the people who were left in the land.

[6:47] So, remember, Nebuchadnezzar had allowed the poorest of the people to remain in the land of Judah. Only those that would benefit him are the ones he took captive.

[6:58] The rest of them he left there. They were free to live in whatever town they wanted to in Judah, with the exception, of course, of Jerusalem, which is now lying in ruins.

[7:11] Gedalia was appointed as acting governor of the territory. He was a Judean, and he was stationed there at Mizpah with a limited number of Babylonian troops as well.

[7:26] After the Babylonian troops departed now, there were Judean soldiers and civilians that had fled to the mountains to hide from all of this.

[7:38] When Babylon left the city and ruins, they came down from the mountains, from their hiding place, to rejoin the rest of the people that were still living there in the city.

[7:51] So, they began to rebuild their lives and try to live somewhat a normal existence in the carnage.

[8:03] So, remember, these are people now. Here's people. People of Judah that had rejected and resisted Jeremiah's message for so many years.

[8:15] For 40 some odd years. All right? Isn't it amazing to me that in spite of the fact that that was the case, Jeremiah's decision was to go back to Judah and dwell with the people of God.

[8:35] Why did he do that? Let me ask you first. How many of you, if you were in Jeremiah's place, how many of you would have gone back to live with these folks after they had rejected you for 40 years?

[8:48] Why did Jeremiah do that? Yeah. They're still the people of God, no matter what they've done, no matter how they've rejected him.

[9:01] They're still the people of God. Boy, what does that show us? What's that speak to us about? God's far more patient than we are. Yeah. How long-suffering is God?

[9:13] Amen. Yeah. What is it I read the other day? Somebody had written, no matter how long we've been away from God, returning to him is only one step away.

[9:24] Yeah. Just one step away. God's merciful. He's long-suffering. And the reality, you know, how many people have made the excuse, well, God understands.

[9:38] Well, he does. He understands our life. He understands our whims. He understands our rejection, our sin. But he's so loving and kind.

[9:48] God so loved the world that he gave a son. And so he takes us back upon our repentance. All right. And so that's kind of the picture we have here.

[10:01] They're still in need of God's messenger as God's people. And so Jeremiah is going to continue to remain faithful to the call of God on his life. And that is to continue to preach God's truth and to love God's people.

[10:17] Got to believe that in the midst of this, as harsh and stern as the message of God was that Jeremiah had to preach, he still had a love for those folks.

[10:29] Because they were part of him. He's a Jew. They were Jews, all a part of the covenant nation. And so he had to have had a tremendous love for them, an agape love, if you will.

[10:40] And so he still loves God's people. So at some point then, after the return of Jeremiah to Judah, once again, the people make a request of Jeremiah.

[10:54] Look in verse 1 through 3, verses 1 through 3 of chapter 42. Jeremiah 42, verses 1 through 3. Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan, son of Kerea, and Jezaniah, or that's also Azariah, son of Hosea, and all the people from the least, even to the greatest, came near.

[11:18] Now take that. All the people, all of them, whatever their character, background, society, level of society, they all came near and said to Jeremiah the prophet, we beseech you, Jeremiah, we beg of you that you will let our supplication be presented before you and that you will pray to the Lord your God for us, even for all this remnant of the people of Judah.

[11:47] For whereas we were once many, there are but a few of us left, as you see with your own eyes. Pray that the Lord your God may show us the way in which we should walk and the thing that we should do.

[12:01] Anything catch your eye in that passage? We know your prophecy came true. All of that take place. So please make a request to the Lord your God, to Jehovah your God.

[12:16] All right? He's your God. They don't claim Him as their own here. But He's your God. Now, I just think that interesting here because Jeremiah kind of turns that around here just a moment.

[12:31] All right? So, they seem to be humbled here by what they've undergone and seen the destruction of the city and watching that take place. So they desire now to know how it is that God wants them to go.

[12:46] What's the right proper road for them to take here? What direction should they take? And there's a, there's a, there's a ulterior motive in here. They want to know all that to avoid whatever vengeance the Chaldeans may have against them for whatever reason.

[13:04] So, what are we to do to keep that from happening? So, Jeremiah replies in verses 4 through 6. Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, I have heard you and behold, I will pray to the Lord.

[13:20] Now, notice, your God. Hey, folks, I'll pray to Jehovah, your God, according to your words. And it will be that whatever thing the Lord will answer you, I will declare it to you.

[13:34] I will keep nothing back from you. Then said they to Jeremiah, may the Lord, or may Jehovah, be a true and faithful witness against us if we fail to do according to all the things that the Lord, your God, sends you to tell us.

[13:48] Still the same. Whether it be good or evil, we will obey. Now, notice, we will obey the voice of the Lord, our God.

[13:59] Oh, for some reason here it changes. All right. to whom we are sending you to inquire that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord, our God.

[14:11] Why do you suppose there's a change in the way they address the response about God? Why do you suppose here?

[14:26] Do you read anything into that? Can we not get the idea here that, you know, just like Zedekiah earlier, they want Jeremiah to pray for them to take their petition before the Lord, but they're doing that with the idea that they have a way they know they want God to answer this and are hoping that He will.

[14:55] So, why not call Him our God now to see if that can't take place, that God will go ahead and give the answer that we really long for here.

[15:06] Okay? Now, so, you know, we'll do whatever God says. We'll obey the voice of the Lord, our God.

[15:18] We'll do that. Deuteronomy, this, Deuteronomy chapter 5 verses 27 through 29 always strikes a note in my mind in this.

[15:28] here's what it says, Go thou near and hear all that the Lord our God shall say. That is the people of Israel speaking here. And speak unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee and we will hear it and do it.

[15:47] All right? Now, the Lord heard the voice of your words when you spake unto me and the Lord said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken unto thee.

[16:00] They have well said all that they have spoken. In other words, when they said we will do what God said, God says, they've well spoken here. But look at the next phrase.

[16:11] Interesting. Oh, that there were always such an heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my commandments always that it might be well with them and with their children forever.

[16:29] See the longing in the heart of God there? Yeah. People are saying we'll do anything God says as if to say we will do that forever.

[16:39] Whatever He wants we'll do. Just tell us what it is. And God says, oh, if only, if only they would have their heart forever like that.

[16:53] But God, of course, at the time knew they lacked true sincerity in what they were saying. So, God's to be a faithful witness in what these people are saying to Him.

[17:09] Not in regard to the truth of what they say, but in their actions, in what they do in response to what they say or in fulfillment of their promise.

[17:21] So, if they would not obey His word, He can then come forward and punish them, but we will obey the word, whether it be good or evil is what they said here, remember.

[17:34] Now, so God has the right to come and bring judgment against them if they disobey. God's answer in verses 7-11, after 10 days, now notice there's a 10-day wait here.

[17:49] After 10 days, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. Then He called Joannan, son of Korea, and all the captains of the forces that were with Him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, and said to them, thus says the Lord, now notice the phraseology here, the God of Israel, okay, to whom you have sent me to present your supplication before Him.

[18:18] So now He's addressing the idea that He's not just the people of Judah's God, He's the God of Israel. If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pull you up, for I will relent and comfort and ease myself concerning the evil that in chastisement I have done to you, I will substitute mercy and loving kindness for judgment.

[18:46] Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are fearful. Be not afraid of him, says the Lord, for he is a mere man, and I am all, and I am the all-wise, all-powerful, ever-present God.

[19:03] I, the Lord, or I, Jehovah, am with you to save you and to deliver you from his hand. Wow. Here, they've already personally experienced the reality of the, of the faithfulness of God to Jeremiah's prophecy to them.

[19:26] It's all been fulfilled. Except for the fact he's got to bring it back into the land, which that will come later. And now, what is it that God wants us to do?

[19:37] What direction are we supposed to go? Now, look what he says. God tells him, just stay where you are.

[19:53] Don't be afraid. I'm going to take care of you. Now, God had a reason for the 10-day delay. gave them time to think things through here.

[20:08] The request that they made of God to think it through to see how they decide to respond to whatever God says. Now, even with what God says, I'll take care of you.

[20:22] I'll watch over you. It did not alleviate their fears. God says, stay where you are. Don't go to Egypt. Don't be afraid. Why?

[20:33] Because I am with you. I'm with you. I will deliver you. All right? To them, they knew God is the great I am.

[20:47] He's always eager to reveal himself to mankind. That's, of course, the name Jehovah. Genesis 15, one, fear not, Abram.

[20:57] I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. In verse 7 of that same chapter, he said unto him, I am Jehovah that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees.

[21:11] Again, Jehovah, the self-existent revealer of himself to man. In Genesis 17, one, the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him, I am the almighty God.

[21:23] walk before me, be thou perfect. I am El Shaddai. Twofold idea. The word El here is the strong one.

[21:34] Shaddai is the literal term, the breasted one. It's the picture of the baby nursing at the breast of his mother to get strength, to get nourishment, everything it needs to grow.

[21:48] And that's the picture here. I am El Shaddai. I'm the satisfier. I'm the one that wants to pour myself into your life.

[21:59] God does that. Then Exodus 3, 14, God said unto Moses, I am that I am. I will be what I will be.

[22:10] Denoting the idea that the God that made the covenant with Israel is the God that's going to be the one to fulfill that covenant, to keep that covenant, that covenant that he gave to their fathers.

[22:28] He'll be acting with unfettered liberty and self-dependence as the great I am. Now, in verses 12 through 16, take note of Jeremiah 42.

[22:41] I will grant mercy to you that he may have mercy on you and permit you to remain in your own land. But, if you say we will not dwell in the land, and so disobey the voice of the Lord your God, saying, no, but we will go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the sound of the trumpet or be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there.

[23:09] Then hear the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts. Ah, there's the word. Isn't it amazing how God, as Jehovah, reveals himself.

[23:21] This is what the Lord of hosts, Jehovah, who has at his disposal everything he needs to satisfy every condition.

[23:34] Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, if you are fully determined to go to Egypt, and you do go to dwell there temporarily, then the sword which you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, and in it there you shall die.

[24:03] The heart was, we're going to go into Egypt because there's food there already, we don't have to wait for time for crops to grow and this and that rebuild, we'll go to Egypt because we can eat food there, but it'll just be temporary, just for a little while.

[24:19] God said, even if it's just going to be temporary, if you go, I'm going to bring death to you. Isn't it amazing how God freed them from death while they were in bondage in Egypt through the Passover blood, but now they flee to Egypt, they're going to die.

[24:36] All right? Now, he in other words, he will put in the heart of the king of Babylon compassion for the people of Judah.

[24:49] God said, I will obtain that compassion for you in his heart so that he'll show pity on you. But if they determine to go to Egypt, you'll perish by the sword, by the famine, by the plague, and Nebuchadnezzar then is going, because Nebuchadnezzar is going to conquer Egypt.

[25:08] Now verses 16 through 18, then the sword which you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt and in it, and there you shall die.

[25:26] So will it be with all the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to dwell there temporarily. They will die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.

[25:39] None of them will remain or survive the evil that I will bring upon them. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, my anger and my wrath have been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

[25:54] So shall my wrath be poured forth upon you when you enter Egypt. Ye shall be a detested thing and an astonishment and horror, a taunt and a reproach.

[26:09] Ye shall see this place no more. Now, Jeremiah has already taken for granted that the people are not going to obey the voice of God.

[26:21] So he applies the word of God to them in their situation. Now, several points here that we see in this address.

[26:32] The Lord has spoken to them. He spoken clearly to them. He's forbidden them to go to Egypt and he the prophet Jeremiah by proclaiming the word of the Lord has warned them not to go.

[26:46] So they're in danger if they disobey the Lord as they were before. All right? Now verses 19 through 22 The Lord has said to you O remnant of Judah do not go to Egypt know for a certainty that I have warned and testified to you this day that you have dealt deceitfully against your own lives for you sent me to the Lord notice your God saying pray for us to the Lord our God and whatever the Lord our God says declare it to us and we will do it and I have this day declared it to you but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God in anything he sent me to tell you to this point now therefore know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword by famine by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to dwell temporarily!

[27:58] strong words boy you would think you would just think that seeing the rubble of your city the great city Jerusalem and God now saying this to you stay where you're at don't go to Egypt if you go you're going to die that they would have without a question without a problem obeyed the Lord and stayed but look what happens here same song 20th verse amen verse chapter 43 verses 1 through 7 when Jeremiah had finished speaking to all the people all these words of the Lord their God everything for which the Lord their God had sent them sent to them then Azariah the son of Hoshiah and Jonathan the son of

[28:58] Kareah same characters and all the proud and insolent men said to Jeremiah you're not telling the truth the Lord our God has not sent you this to say do not go into Egypt to dwell there temporarily but Baruch son of Neriah is setting you against us to deliver us into the hands of the Chaldeans amazing yeah Baruch doesn't even seem to be on the scene here but remember back yonder they said there's one that scribed that wrote this stuff down now so they may put us to death to carry us away captive to Babylon so Jonathan son of Korea and all the captains of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the Lord to remain in the land but Johanan son of Korea and all the captains of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to dwell in the land of Judah from all the nations to which they have been driven even men women and children the king's daughters and every person whom

[30:06] Nebuchadreldan the captain of the guard had left with Gedalia son of Akim the son of Zephan also he took Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah so they came into the land of Egypt for they obeyed not the voice of the Lord and they came!

[30:24] Tapanes notice how they avoided any mention of the promise they had made to the Lord in the response here they just declared Jeremiah's prophecy to be untrue not a thing about their promise now so Jeremiah and the other captains were all took taken all the remnant of Judah taken by them captured them now look in verse 8 through 13 God responds to all this amazing the pictures that God paints here then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah and Tapanes saying take large stones in your hands hide them in the mortar in the pavement of brick which is at the entrance of Pharaoh's house in Tapanes in the side of the men of

[31:27] Judah say to them thus says the Lord of hosts the God of Israel behold I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon my servant because he works for me and I through him will set his throne upon these stones that I have hidden his glittering royal canopy will stretch over them he shall come and smite the land of Egypt giving such as are destined for death to death such as are destined for captivity to captivity and such are as destined for the sword to the sword and I through him will kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt and he will burn the houses and carry the people away captive he will array himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd puts on his garments and he wills and will and when he chooses and he will go away from there in peace Nebuchadnezzar shall break also the images of obelisks of

[32:28] Helipolis in the land of Egypt and the temples of the gods of Egypt shall he burn with fire so the prophecy here is introduced by symbolic act taking bricks burying them in mortar they're there but they're not being able to be seen on the surface and he's saying to them this is the place this is going to be the foundation where Nebuchadnezzar will come and establish and put up his throne put the canopy over his throne in this place now and the significance of that is this is at the entrance to the palace of Pharaoh right what a picture there yeah just inconceivable what these folks were thinking yeah but nonetheless that's what takes place here the stones and all of those things that lie by the brick kiln there in the doorway to the palace of

[33:39] Pharaoh do denote the idea of strength stability and in comparison to the kingdom of Pharaoh which is going to crumble like clay when Nebuchadnezzar sets up his particular rule and reign over the people of Egypt now so Nebuchadnezzar is going to come to Egypt smite the land with its inhabitants and every person will receive that that God has appointed to them death by pestilence imprisonment and the sword or death in battle if you will Thank you.