JEREMIAH 18-26 OPPORTUNITY TO REPENT2013 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Jeremiah 18-26 Opportunity To Repent

Jeremiah chapter 18.

Going through chapter 26, as we look at the chapters that we read this week, as we go through the Bible in three years. As we look at the book of Jeremiah, this is the second of the major prophets. Jeremiah writes this book and the book of Lamentations, so we'll be looking at his writings for a few more weeks still. And then we'll be heading into the prophets Ezekiel and Daniel and some more exciting things that God has in store for us.

The book of Jeremiah are the words of Jeremiah that God spoke through him to the people.

He ministered to the nation of Judah from about 626 to 586 BC or thereabouts. And he was prophesying during the reigns of Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. And prophets who were prophesying around the same time as him were Zephaniah and Habakkuk. Those are some minor prophets that we'll get into later on this year.

The timeline for Jeremiah, remember the nation was divided in two at about 933 BC. The northern kingdom was wicked from the beginning. They were conquered by Assyria because of their rebellion against God. And now Judah is on the same path. And so God has sent Jeremiah as kind of like the last voice calling the people to repentance up until the final destruction when Babylon conquers Jerusalem.

He began to prophesy around 626 BC during the reign of Josiah. And he continues to prophesy until actually after the city of Jerusalem is conquered by Babylon. And he's one of the few that are left in the land of Judah before they flee to Egypt.

Now we talk about Babylon conquering Judah a lot and it actually happened three times and we'll kind of see hints of that in our chapters this evening. In 605 BC is the first time and this was under King Jehoiakim. He was defeated and him and some of the men, the royal family were taken captive as well as some of the treasures taken captive to Babylon. But Babylon established peace.

Then Jehoiachin as king, and he did good for a while, but then he rebelled against Babylon. And then so in 597 BC, Babylon came back and came against Jerusalem. Jehoiachin surrendered, and then he and some more treasures and some more people were taken captive back to Babylon. And then Zedekiah was established as king by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.

And he did good for a little bit, but then he rebelled against Babylon as well. And so Babylon came against Jerusalem for the third time. And in 586 BC, Zedekiah and Jerusalem was defeated. The temple was completely destroyed. The city was completely destroyed. There was only rubble left within the city of Jerusalem.

And the rest of the population, except for just a tiny few, were taken to Babylon and they were there in captivity. So those are the times that Babylon conquered Jerusalem and Judah, which is really interesting because Jeremiah is prophesying all throughout these things. And it's amazing to think that, you know, here's Jeremiah prophesying, let's say in the middle,

They've already been conquered once by Babylon and still the people aren't believing the message of Jeremiah. It kind of shows the state and the condition of their hearts and how stubborn they were in not turning back to God and not hearing what he was saying.

Well, the geography of Jeremiah, here's a quick look at the nation of Israel and Judah on the left side here. Israel at this time has been conquered and taken away by Assyria. Judah, this was the borders when they first split, but really they've just been reduced pretty much to the city of Jerusalem. That's the last stronghold for the nation of Judah.

And so that was the divided kingdom and where they were at when Babylon came against them was much different. On the top right you have the nation of Assyria. We dealt with them a lot in the book of Isaiah. But primarily we're talking about Babylon and that's the bottom right. And that's the nation that comes against Jerusalem. God gives them into Babylon's hands and they conquer and level the city of Jerusalem.

We start out this evening in Jeremiah chapter 18 and verse 6 is the key verse. It says,

There's a lot of ways that God uses to communicate his truth. And he loves to pull in illustrations and examples, visuals for his people and also for his prophets. And so here in chapter 18, we have a great illustration that God gives to Jeremiah. He says, go down to the potter's house, watch him work, and I'm going to give you a message.

And so he's watching the potter. He's making, you know, this vessel that he is fashioning, that he has in his mind. But then as he's fashioning this vessel...

He finds that the clay is marred. It's messed up. There's something wrong with it. He cannot make what he originally intended. And so because the clay is marred, he changes his plans and he remakes the vessel into something completely different. That's the visual illustration that God gives to Jeremiah. Then he's going to give some application. And so in verses 5 through 10,

We see God says, can I not do with you as this potter with the clay? God says, the potter changes his mind in the middle of making the vessel and he has the right, he's able to remake that into something completely different.

And God is saying, I have that right as well as I am fashioning you. Now he's speaking to the nation of Judah. But I think there is some personal application here that we can consider. God working in us. He's the potter. We are the clay. And he has the right to fashion us into whatever vessel he decides and determines because he is God.

Now what he is actually making a point of though is that when he announces judgment, it's an opportunity to repent. And you can see this in verse 7. He says, the instant I speak concerning a nation, concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it,

And so God is saying, when I announce judgment, it's an invitation to repent. We see this clearly in the book of Jonah, right? As Jonah goes through the city of Nineveh saying, in 40 days, this land, this city is going to be destroyed. But then the people repented and so God relented.

And that's this picture of the potter. He's in the middle of shaping a vessel in the clay. And then in the middle of it, he decides, no, I'm going to make something else out of it. God says, that's the same as when I announced judgment. I'm making this vessel of judgment. But then when I find the conditions have changed, well, then I'm able in the middle to switch and make it a vessel of blessing. And the reverse is true, as you see in verse 9 and 10. When I announce blessing upon a people, upon a nation...

But then as I'm working on it, then I find that the clay is marred. I'm able to switch. And if the people I promised to bless stop walking with me and live in disobedience, then I will make them into a vessel of judgment and they will experience the judgment of God. And so God is claiming the right to relent. He's claiming the right to change. Although he promised this or although he declared this,

It's conditional upon the people that he's speaking to. And so if the people continue in wickedness, when God promises judgment, he will bring the judgment. But if they repent, he will relent. And when God promises blessing, if the people turn to wickedness, then he's not holding himself to keep that promise any longer. He says, I can, like the potter, change it, make a new vessel, and bring judgment because...

The clay was marred. So God gives Jeremiah this illustration and along with it, this message to the people. And so in verse 11, we see the call to repent that Jeremiah gives to the people, but they respond, verses 11 through 17, the people respond saying, we will walk according to our own paths. It's amazing. God gives this illustration. Here's like this vessel, right? I'm promising judgment. I'm declaring Babylon is coming. If you repent, I will relent.

But the people's response is, verse 12, that is hopeless. Repentance, that's hopeless. That's too hard. No, instead they say, we will walk according to our own plans. And we will, everyone, obey the dictates of his evil heart. Now we talked a lot about the evil heart last week. That is deceitful and desperately wicked. It's more than anything else. Our heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. We got to understand walking according to our own heart is

That's bad news. You should not ever do that. Don't walk based on your own feelings, on your own thoughts, on your own heart, on your own counsel, on your own plans. That's not a good idea. That's foolish. In fact, the Proverbs tell us you're a fool if you trust your own heart. But this is what the people said. It's too hard to repent. It's too hard to walk with the Lord. So we're just going to do what we want to do.

And it sounds tragic. It is tragic. And yet, I know that feeling. I've been there once or twice or 10 or 20 times in my life where I know what God wants, but I'm thinking that's too hard. That's hopeless. God, what you're asking is too much.

But again, that's my thoughts. That's my heart that determines what you're asking God is too much. You know what I really need to do when I feel like it's hopeless, I can't do what God wants me to do, I need to surrender. You can do it. When God calls you to do it, you can do it. What it really requires is brokenness and surrender. And the visual of the potter and the clay is so perfect because the clay on the potter's wheel is

In order for it to be made into the vessel that the potter intends, what it really has to do is be soft, be submissive, be obedient, and just let the master work. In the same way, that's how you and I need to be. We need to be soft and submissive and let the master work. We might feel like it's hopeless, but that's our feelings. We might hate it, but that's our wicked and evil heart. It might not be what we plan, what we want, our goals, whatever, but

But that's because of our wicked heart. And that's the point. We have to put ourselves in a place of submission and keep ourselves on the potter's wheel on purpose because we know our heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. And so it's a great illustration, a really great visual to help us remember to be soft and broken and submitted to the Lord. To not exclaim that's hopeless and we're just going to do what we want to do.

Well, the people don't like Jeremiah's message. And so verses 18 through 23, we see that there's plans against Jeremiah. They're devising schemes and plans about putting Jeremiah to death.

And so he's crying out to the Lord. In verse 23 he says,

Kind of a harsh prayer that Jeremiah prays. But he says, Lord, I mean, you've announced judgment upon them. They're refusing to repent. So be faithful to your word and bring the judgment that you declared. Because they are not repenting. If they repented, Lord, you would relent. But they're not repentant. So Lord, bring forth the judgment that you promised.

Well, as Jeremiah is giving this, we're jumping down kind of in the timeline to a little bit further than what we've been in Jeremiah before. So this is all happening around 589 BC. The dates are not exact. They're approximations. But this is during the reign of Zedekiah. And the next couple chapters will be around the same time frame. So this is the last king of the nation of Judah. This is the last call, the last chance.

Because Babylon's coming for the third time and is going to conquer the nation and take them away captive. But isn't it amazing? Check it out. Judah's been conquered twice by Babylon already. And God's still giving them this other chance. He's still saying, if you repent, I will relent. He's still giving them the option to repent. It's amazing how gracious and patient God is. Sometimes we can look at the Old Testament and all these announcements of judgment and

And think, man, God is so harsh and angry. But if we remember the context and how much time is passing and the great mercy and patience of God, we really see he's incredibly gracious. Still giving, even up until this last king, the opportunity to repent. Well, now we jump into Jeremiah chapter 19, verse 11 is the key verse.

God says, say to them, thus says the Lord of hosts, even so I will break this people and the city as one breaks a potter's vessel which cannot be made whole again. And they shall bury them in Tophet till there is no place to bury. In verses 1 through 9, God says, I will make this city desolate. He tells Jeremiah, hey, while you're there at the potter's house, bring a flask and

And I'm going to use this flask as a further illustration for the message. So take the flask, take the leaders, and go to the Valley of Hinnom, God says. Now the Valley of Hinnom is right there outside of Jerusalem. And this is where they would offer sacrifices to the God of Molech, where they would actually burn their children as these sacrifices to this idol, this false god.

And so God says, take the leaders to that place and give them this message and show this illustration. He says in verse 4,

And it goes on in the next verse to talk about those child sacrifices. Then verse 9 it says, So God announces their judgment. When Babylon comes against them, they're going to lay siege to the city of Jerusalem. They're basically going to starve him out.

And the things that happen in siege conditions are horrendous. You don't want to talk about them. You don't want to think about them. God says they're going to be eating their children because they're so desperate. They're insisting on offering their children as living sacrifices. And so God says they're going to eat their children out of desperation as a result of this judgment. It's going to be that bad.

And that is a great illustration for us to know, hey, when God calls you to repentance, He knows what He's talking about. He knows what He's talking about. When He calls you to repentance, the judgment you don't want to think about. It's going to be horrendous. If we continue in sin, the judgment will be horrendous. It's much better to listen to Him and respond and be soft and be moldable.

That we would be responsive as he speaks to our hearts rather than insist on our way and experience the repercussions for our sin. Well, God says in verses 10 through 13, I will break this people and this city. So as he's giving this message to those leaders, they're the valley where this sacrifices would take place. He breaks the flask that he brought from the potter's house. And he says, in the same way you will be broken, the city will be broken.

Again, we have the choice. We can be broken or we will be broken. We can be broken. We can choose ourselves to be broken before the Lord or we will be broken before the Lord as he brings judgment upon us. In the same ways, you know, the scriptures tell us that every knee will bow.

You can choose to bow right now in brokenness, in submission, as the clay on the potter's wheel, or you will be forced to bow later on as you are judged for your sin. You can be broken or you will be broken. Those are the choices that we have. They chose to be stubborn. Verse 14 and 15 tells us that they, or he says, "...because they have stiffened their necks that they might not hear my words."

God says, I'm bringing this judgment. I'm breaking them like a flask. Why? Because they've stiffened their necks. Instead of being soft, instead of being responsive, they were more determined. They were more stubborn. They were more stiff. Refusing to hear God's words. I mean, this is happening with the nation of Judah, but there's so many parallels. It's so appropriate for us to consider these things because you and I can find ourselves in this place very quickly where our hearts are hard.

And we're not listening to the Lord. And we want our way. We insist on our way. We have to have it our way. We want to do what we want to do. It's all about our heart. And we forget that it's deceitful and desperately wicked. Well, chapter 20 now, verse 9 is the key verse. Then I said, I will not make mention of him nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in my heart like a burning fire, shut up in my bones. I was weary of holding it back and I could not.

We start out this chapter in verses 1 through 6. God says that Pasher and his house will go into captivity. Now Pasher was there at the temple as Jeremiah is announcing a message from the Lord. And Pasher, who is the chief governor, that would be kind of like we might consider him the vice president to the high priest. He was like second in command there.

And so he's there. He hears the message. He doesn't like what Jeremiah has to say. So he strikes him and he locks him up. And so God speaks to Jeremiah and says, Pasher, you're going to be renamed. And the name that he gives him means fear on every side. Now Pasher was declaring to the people, there's peace. You don't have to worry about Babylon. Jeremiah is saying, Babylon's coming. We're going to be broken. We're going to be conquered. He's saying peace.

And so God renames him and says there's not going to be peace. In fact, there's going to be fear on every side. And so he's rebuking and correcting him and declaring that all Judah will be given into the hand of Babylon there in verse 4. So Babylon is coming down. The way that they would go is they would go up the Euphrates River and then they would come down. So it always talks about them coming from the north. So they would come down south once they were up in the northern area and come down against Judah.

All the region, not just Jerusalem, but Egypt and all the region around Judah and Israel and Jerusalem, that area. And so God's saying, you guys, Babylon's coming. They're going to conquer. And then they're going to take away you, pastor, and your family captive. And there's going to be fear on every side. We're going on in chapter 20, verses 7 through 10. Now we're getting some insight into the situation and condition of Jeremiah. He says...

In verse 7 through 10, I am in derision daily. Now as I read this, I am really glad for Jeremiah's honesty. He's really honest here. He gets to, you know, he shares with us a glimpse of what's happening in his heart. The ministry that he is called to is incredibly hard. In the same way that the ministry that you are called to is incredibly hard. I don't know if you've discovered this yet or not, but

If you don't know, listen, God's calling you to ministry. God's called you to make disciples. He's called you to live according to his commands. And what he's called you to is very hard. And you're going to be going through times where you feel like Jeremiah and say, I'm in derision daily. We cannot do only what we like to do. We must do what God has called us to do.

And Jeremiah here though, he doesn't like how hard this is, how difficult it is, what the response is like. And so he tries to quit. He tries to quit. Here's Jeremiah preaching this message, right? And he's like, I'm tired of preaching this message. And the people aren't responding. They're not receiving it. I'm just going to stop bringing forth the message from the Lord. In verse 9 he says, Then I said, I will not make mention of him nor speak anymore in his name. He tries to quit.

But then he says, the word was in my heart like a burning fire. I couldn't hold it in. It burned within me. This is a really good picture of ministry. I don't know what you think or what your heart is as you think about people like, let's say, Pastor Greg Laurie. You know, as he just finished the Harvest Crusade in the Anaheim Stadium and looking forward now to Harvest America happening September 28th and 29th.

I think a lot of times in our minds, we kind of look at people like that and we think, you know, they're just going for it. They're just doing what they want to do. And great, you know, lots of people are being saved. I think we have kind of an inaccurate picture of ministry when we think about other people. The reality is ministry is hard and all of us try to quit. When you're doing what God has called you to do, you're going to try to quit. It's just...

Because God's going to call you to do things that require you to rely upon him. And we hate to do that. That's really hard for us. We can't depend on him because, well, we don't understand. How is it going to work that way? I don't have that kind of strength. I don't have those kind of thoughts. That's not me. That's not my personality. We have all these reasons. Right? Just like Moses, I stutter. You know, we have, we're all going to try to quit. Just like Jeremiah tried to quit. Because ministry is hard. But when you're submitted to the Lord...

If you try to quit and you're stubborn and you're going to run away like Jonah, even then God's not going to let you go real easy. But if you want to quit but you're submitted to the Lord, there's this battle and it's like, I can't hold it in. I have to be faithful to do what God's called me to do. I think for most people in ministry, if they were given an option, if God said, look, I'll let you do whatever you want to do in ministry. I'd vote for sound ministry. Maybe, you know, hey, I'll just work on the website. I'll be the web guy.

I'll take that. Let that be the extent of my responsibility. I'll try to quit. But I cannot do that and still be faithful to walk with the Lord. Because God has called me to do more than that. And so there's this battle. And Jeremiah is expressing this. It's good for us to see this. Because this is reality.

And so he's wrestling with this and then he's reminded in verses 11 and 12, the Lord is with me. Look, my ministry is hard. It's unpopular, but I'm called. I can't hold it in. And he says in verse 11, but the Lord is with me as a mighty and awesome one. So it doesn't look good. They look like they're winning, but I can know and I can rest that God is with me. And maybe as I talk about the flashlight fellowships, maybe you get freaked out and you're like, nope, I'm not going. Nope, nope, not gonna happen.

Listen, if you're part of this fellowship, it's part of what God wants for you. I guarantee that. So be involved, one a month. And remember that the Lord is with you. And you're going to wrestle with it. And you're going to want to quit. You're going to try to quit. But if you're going to be faithful to the Lord, you can't do both. Be faithful to the Lord and quit what God has called you to. You can't. Either you're going to have to run in rebellion from the Lord and be broken, or you'll be broken and be submitted to what God has called you to.

Well, Jeremiah goes on in verse 13 through 18 to say, Cursed be the day that I was born. See the contrast here. In verse 13, he says, Sing to the Lord. And then in the next verse, Cursed be the day which I was born. Welcome to ministry. Welcome to walking with God. This is what it will be like. There will be days you sing to the Lord. There will be days you're like, Why was I ever born? Why don't you just take me home to be with you, Lord? Why do I have to go through this? Why do you call me to this? This is too hard.

And it comes back to we must be broken and submitted. And we, the ministers, also like the people, must be the clay on the potter's wheel. Soft, submitted, obedient, whether we like it or not. That the master may complete the work that he sees fit to accomplish in us. We're going on now to chapter 21, verse 10 is the key verse.

God says, We're still later on in Judah's history. We're around 588 BC. It's about this time that the final siege is beginning on the city of Jerusalem. And Zedekiah, this final king of Judah, he sends messengers to Jeremiah and he says...

hey, what's the Lord saying? Because we got these, you know, armies of Babylon camping around us and starting this siege. Well, what's God saying? How are we going to get out of this? Interesting how they refuse to hear, but then, okay, the crisis is here. So what's the Lord saying? And in verse 4, here's what God says. God says, I will turn your weapons back.

You've got all your weapons pointed at them. You've got, okay, if we put the oil here, you've got all your strategies. And God says, I'm going to reverse that. And all those weapons are going to be turned back upon yourselves. You're going to end up destroying yourselves with your weapons. In verse 5, God says, I will fight against you. Why are you worried about Babylon? I'm going to fight against you. In verse 8, he says, now you shall say to this people, thus says the Lord, behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. Check it out.

This is the final siege, the final battle. After two conquerings, after years and years and years and years of resisting and refusing to hear the word of the Lord, here in the final siege, God says, I'm setting before you two choices, the way of life and the way of death. It's still a call to repentance. It's still a call where God says, listen to me, will you hear me? Here's your choice. If you stay in the city, you will die.

But if you will surrender to Babylon, then you will live. Those are your choices. Stay in the city and you'll be killed. Or surrender to Babylon and you'll survive. You'll be taken captive, but you'll survive. You'll be taken to Babylon, but you'll survive. Those are your choices. And what is it again? Insist on your ways and be stubborn and die. Or listen to my words. Be submitted. Be surrendered.

And you'll have life. It's not really different than what Jesus said to us. Matthew 16, 25. He says, whoever desires to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. If we insist on grasping hold of having life our way and doing what we want to do and living by what we think is best and our counsel, our plans, our thoughts, we're going to lose our life. We're going to destroy our life. But if we will surrender, if we'll lose our life for Christ's sake,

Surrender to him, his will, his plans. Then, he says, you will find it. And so again, it comes to brokenness. Surrender being the clay on the potter's wheel. Then in verses 11 through 14, God says, I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings. He's speaking here to the house of David, to the kings of Judah. And he says, I'm against you in verse 13. In verse 14, he says, I'm going to punish you

according to your actions, according to the fruits of your doings, because you're refusing to listen to me. God says, I am against you. Now there's a verse in Romans. You might remember Romans chapter 8, where Paul says, if God is for us, who can be against us? But if you reverse that around, if God is against us, who can be for us? God says, I am against you. Is God against you?

God is against you when you insist on your way. God is against me when I refuse to listen to him and I do what I want to do. I live by what I want to live by. God says, I'm going to punish you according to your works because your works are according to your own wickedness, your own thoughts, your own heart, and you're deserving of judgment.

Well now as we go on to Jeremiah chapter 22 and actually the next few chapters 22, 23, 24. We're jumping back on the timeline. Jeremiah does this. He kind of goes back and forth in time. So we're going back about 10 years to around 597 BC or so. And Jehoiachin is king during that time. It's the second you know conquering. It's in that that time frame where the Babylon comes for the second time against Jerusalem. And

And it's during that time frame that he speaks forth these words from the next couple of chapters. So Jeremiah chapter 22 verse 30 is the key verse. It says,

In verses 1 through 10, God says, if you do not hear, this house will become a desolation. So we're backing up about 10 years. God's giving basically the same message. Repent, turn back to me. If you don't hear this, well then the house, this city is going to become a desolation. But in verse 4, he says, if you do this thing that I'm calling you to do,

Then shall enter the gates of this house riding on horses and in chariots accompanied by servants and people, kings who sit on the throne of David. So during this second time frame of Babylon coming against Jerusalem, God is saying at that point, if you'll obey me now, this kingdom will survive. And there will be kings who sit on the throne of David. That will continue. But if you refuse, if you do not hear, then...

It will become a desolation. So again, the choice is life or death. The choice is God for you or God against you. Which do you choose? Which do you want? They chose their own ways and continued on. So they were conquered the second time and then conquered the third time, taken away captive and experienced the judgment of God. Well, the rest of the chapter now, God's going to be addressing the different kings individually. So verses 11 through 17, he talks to Shalom. He says, Shalom will die in captivity.

Now Shalom is also known as Jehoahaz. He was only king for a short time. He reigned for about three months. And then he was taken captive by Egypt. And he was so taken captive to Egypt. And in verse 12, Jeremiah says he will die there. And that's actually what happened. He died in Egypt as God declared through Jeremiah.

Then Jehoiakim, verses 18 through 23, he says Jehoiakim will be buried like a donkey. There's not going to be any mourning for him. He's not going to have a king's burial. And so that's what happens to Jehoiakim as he's taken captive to Babylon. Then in verses 24 through 30, he speaks to Keniah. We also know him as Jeconiah or Jehoiachin. And so it says that his descendants shall not sit on the throne of David.

So Jehoiachin was king. He was, well he surrendered to Babylon and he was taken captive to Babylon. His sons are never kings but he wasn't the last king. Zedekiah was the last king and so I'll show you what that means in just a moment.

But verse 30 here is a really important verse for the genealogy of Jesus. And I just want to walk you through that briefly to give you a good sense of what's happening here. So we go back to David, okay? That's where God established, you know, the throne of David. And he promised David that as long as they walked with him, that is walked with God, that David would never cease to have one of his sons or his descendants on the throne.

And so that was taking place up to this point. So David had Solomon and then had a bunch of sons in between. All of them reigned, you know, as kings. Then to Josiah, he was the last good king for the nation of Judah. And then Josiah had three sons, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah. And so after Josiah died, then Jehoahaz...

or Shalom, who we just read about earlier. He was king. He was conquered by Egypt, taken captive to Egypt. And Jehoiakim was then set up as king. He was conquered by Babylon and taken to Babylon. And Jehoiachin was set up as king. So Jehoiachin is Jehoiakim's son. But then Jehoiachin

As Babylon comes against, Jehoiachin surrenders to Babylon and is taken captive to Babylon. And then Zedekiah is set up as king. So Jehoiachin's sons don't become king. It's actually his uncle, the other son of Josiah, who is the final king for the nation of Judah. And so verse 30 is fulfilled in that Jehoiachin's sons surrender.

Do not sit on the throne. Because it's actually his uncle who is king after him. Well this also carries more significance. Because as you go through Matthew chapter 1. In the genealogy of Jesus. You can see that the line of Jesus is traced back through. All this way. So from David. Through Solomon. Through Josiah. Through Jehoiakim. Through Jehoiachin. Through a bunch of other guys in between. Through Joseph. Through Joseph.

Then you have Jesus, which means if Jesus was a biological son of Joseph, he would not be qualified to sit on the throne of David as the Messiah is supposed to do.

Because God announced in verse 30, write this man down as childless, a man who shall not prosper in his days, for none of his descendants shall prosper sitting on the throne of David and ruling anymore in Judah. And so if Jesus was...

you know, the product of Joseph and Mary with normal intercourse, normal conception, all of that, then Jesus would be disqualified from sitting on the throne of David and being the savior that God promised. But Jesus was not the biological son of Joseph because of the virgin birth. And so instead he becomes the adopted son of Joseph. And so he doesn't have the bloodline, but he has the legal right to the throne because he is the adopted son of Joseph.

However, Jesus still is a descendant of David, but it's through Mary. Mary, did I lose control? I just lost control. Hang on one second. Mary, you have her genealogy in Luke chapter 3.

And it traces her ancestors all the way back up through David. And then, of course, Jesus is Mary's son. He is actually her son. You know, her genetics were passed on to him. And so he is a descendant of David by blood. And he has a legal right to the throne because of Joseph, his father. But I'm going to end it and start over.

Alright, while I'm doing that, we'll go on now to Jeremiah chapter 23. Verse 4 is the key verse. It says, I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them. And they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed. Nor shall they be lacking, says the Lord. In verses 1 through 8, God says, I will gather the remnant.

Although they're going to be scattered, as he's promising through Jeremiah, they're going to be, you know, cast out and the nation is going to be destroyed. The city is going to be destroyed. God says, I'm going to gather them back. They're going to be brought back into the land. And so God is saying, I'm not done with them. And this is one of the rare times

of Jeremiah where we can see he gave a prophecy that was not fulfilled in his lifetime. Most of the prophecies of Jeremiah are fulfilled in his lifetime. He actually watches them happen. But this one happens later on.

It happens after Jeremiah is gone. So it's partially fulfilled in the return from Babylon. Because God brings them back from Babylon where they were scattered. It's partially fulfilled in 1948 when...

The people of Israel were reestablished as a nation in the land of Israel. But the real fulfillment, the final fulfillment of this is in the millennium. And you can see all this also in verse 5 as he talks about the branch. Which is the Messiah, the Savior. Partially fulfilled by Jesus in the first coming. But as you look at him ruling and reigning, that's talking about his second coming and the millennial kingdom.

And so this is one of those few prophecies that are for the distant future, even still as we read it today. Most of Jeremiah's prophecies were not that way. Verses 9 through 15 describe for us how both the prophet and the priest are profane. Jeremiah is heartbroken as he sees the unfaithfulness of the spiritual leaders. That they are both prophet and priest in rebellion against God.

And it describes it further in verses 16 through 29. He says that the prophets speak a vision of their own heart. Now we talked about the heart last week. There's an issue there. If you speak a vision of your own heart, that's a problem because the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Only the Lord knows how terrible your heart is. And so when I speak a vision of my own heart, that's a very dangerous thing to do because my heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.

In verse 17, it says that they continually say to those who despise me, the Lord has said you shall have peace. They're talking to people who hate God and they're saying, God says you're going to have peace. But that's not what God says to people who hate God. That's not what God says to people who disregard God.

He says, to those who walk according to the dictates of their own heart, they say, no evil shall come upon you. But that's not what God says. No, if you walk according to the dictates of your own heart, you're going to receive the judgment of God. The wages of sin is death. You will destroy your life. That is guaranteed. What you reap, you will sow. But that's not what they were saying. They were saying, hey, walk however you want. Do whatever you want. God's going to take care of you. No evil is going to come upon you. God's going to bring you peace.

Warren Wiersbe says, the false prophets invented their visions and passed them off as oracles from God. They did not get their messages from God. What they said was chaff compared to the wheat. It didn't stand up to the word of God. God says in verse 21, I've not sent these prophets, but they ran. I've not spoken to them, but they've prophesied. They're just speaking forth their own thoughts. Now,

Verse 22. This is a verse you should highlight, you should bold, you should memorize. This is a crazy, crazy, crazy verse. Verse 22 says, but if they had stood in my counsel. He's talking about these false prophets. I didn't send them, but they ran. I didn't speak to them, but they spoke. But if, God says, they had stood in my counsel and had caused my people to hear my words,

Then they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings. This to me is a radical verse. It blows my mind. Because God's basically saying, look, that's not my first choice. They weren't the prophets I wanted to send. But even so, if they would just seek me, if they would stand in my counsel, and if they would make sure that the people hear my words,

This people would not be in that condition. They would not be on the verge of destruction. They wouldn't be receiving the judgment of God. God says, if they would have been faithful to deliver my words, the nation would have been turned away from the evil of their doings. This verse causes my heart to quiver. As one who proclaims, as one who teaches, it should, I think, cause your heart to quiver a little bit.

As one who shares, as one who ministers, as one who prays, as one who talks to others around you. Man, there's such a great need for us to stand in God's counsel and not to speak from our own hearts and not to speak what we think or what we feel. But if we will cause people to hear God's words, that is able to bring real change. That's what's able. Well, God says, it will not return to me void. But the issue is,

If we don't stand in the counsel of God and hear from God, we're just speaking our own thoughts, our own feelings, our own wisdom, which is not able to save. Now there's two sides to think about this. First of all, I would encourage you, be sure that your counselors stand in the counsel of God and give out His word. The people that you let speak into your life, listen,

If they're not speaking forth from the word of God. If they're not speaking forth God's words. Then understand there's only one other source. That's their own hearts. What they think. I need to make sure that those counselors that I receive from. Are those who seek God. Who hear from God. And who pass on to me. The words of God. And in the same way the other side of this is. Be sure that when you give counsel.

And you might say, well, I'm not a counselor. You know, I don't have counseling meetings or counseling sessions. Listen, we all give counsel all the time. People ask us our opinions, our thoughts. They ask us for advice all the time. When you give counsel, when you give instruction, here's what you should do. Make sure that it's after you have sought the Lord and you've spent time with Him and you can give out His word. This is what God says. I think too quick we just jump to just say what we want to say, what we think is best.

Without seeking first the counsel of God and standing in his counsel so that we could give out his word. Don't just give your thoughts or what you saw happen or what you experienced in your own life and it worked for me so here's what you should try. Maybe God wants them to try something completely different. Don't give peace to someone who God says they need to repent. If they had stood in my counsel and caused my people to hear my words then they would have turned from their evil way and from the evil of their doings. But they didn't.

And so God says in verses 30 through 40, I am against the prophets. He's against them because they're just speaking their own thoughts and not the words of God. Chapter 24, now verse 2. Another visual illustration given to Jeremiah. Verse 2, it says,

In verses 1 through 3, Jeremiah is given this vision of baskets. One of good figs and one of bad figs. And what does that mean? Well, God says in verses 4 through 7, the good figs represent those I've set my eyes upon and they're captives for their good. He's talking about the nation, the city of Jerusalem. Some of them have been taken captive to Babylon. God says those are the good figs.

And those good figs, I'm watching over and I'm going to bring them back. Now you and I might look at this and think, captivity, you know, that's not God watching out for me. But God says, no, no, captivity, that's what's best in this circumstance, in this situation. So those are the good figs. I'm going to take them captive to Babylon, preserve them there, and then bring them back when the time is right. But the bad figs, he says in verses 8 through 10, are those who I will deliver trouble to those who remain.

And so those who remain in Jerusalem, again, that maybe seems backwards to us. We might think, well, the good figs, those who God's protecting, stay in Jerusalem. God says, no, actually, I'm going to send them out into captivity. They're going to be slaves for a while. That's me watching out for them. The bad figs, I'm leaving behind, and they're going to go through horrible things through the siege and attack of Babylon.

A few will be left as captives, but most will suffer horrendously through this siege that is coming. It's going to be a great judgment upon them. Well, as we go on to the next couple chapters, we're changing time frame again, going backwards yet further. So we started out in 586 or so. We went back to 597. Now we're going back to 605 BC. And now in chapter 25, verse 11 is the key verse.

It says, And verses 1 through 7, again speaking to the nation of Judah, it says, It tells us in verse 1 that this is the first year of King Nebuchadnezzar. So right around 605 BC. Jeremiah says,

At this point. I've been prophesying a long time guys. And you've not listened. And it's not just me. In verse 4 he says. The Lord sent you all his servants the prophets. Rising early and sending them. But you have not listened or inclined your ear. What's the message? Verse 5. The message is repent. But again in verse 7. You have not listened. Now when we go through these books. There's always a strong call to repentance. As we study these things for ourselves.

And as I teach these things, I firmly believe God is speaking this not just to the nation of Judah, but through the prophet Jeremiah. As we study these things right now, he's speaking perhaps to some of you. And there's a call to repentance.

And he's been sending messages after messages because we've been week after week in Isaiah and the Jeremiah. We're going to continue on in Ezekiel, Daniel. There's going to be a consistent call to repentance just like the nation of Judah experienced a consistent call to repentance. The question is, I don't know you. I don't know your heart. I don't know your condition. I don't know your situation. But God does. The question is, will you listen as he brings forth this call to repentance through the prophet Jeremiah?

As you read on your own, as you're listening to the messages, will you repent? Will you listen as God cries out to you and calls you to right relationship? Will you be the clay on the potter's wheel, surrender to God, or will you insist, no, I can live this way that I want to live and still be okay coming to church, still be okay being involved, but having this situation in my life. Listen, these people were completely deceived.

I firmly believe the reason why the prophetic books are so long and we go through them and it takes a long time to get through them is because we can easily be deceived like the nation of Judah. And we need this consistent call so that it brings us to the point where we're like, well, maybe it is possible. God, is there areas that I've been avoiding you? Is there stubbornness in my life? Is there sin that I'm harboring and hiding?

Am I willing to be submitted to you? We need these challenges because otherwise we'll just live in our own comfort zone and we won't allow God to do the work in us that he wants to do. But if we resist, if we refuse, if we don't listen, well, God says to them in verses 8 through 14, I will bring Nebuchadnezzar against this land. He's going to bring a pagan king to bring horrendous judgment upon them because they refuse to listen.

And he declares in verse 12 that it's going to be a 70 year period. Now this is really interesting because this is what Daniel was reading in Daniel chapter 9 verse 2. And he realizes oh the 70 years are almost up. So here's a quick look at the 70 years. And there's actually two time frames that are often referred to talking about the 70 year period. Jehoiakim was defeated around 605 BC by Babylon.

He was taken captive and counting from then, so the first captivity to when the people returned to the land in 536 BC, that is recorded in the book of Ezra. Remember, they came back to rebuild the temple. And so that time period from the first captivity to the time that they got back into the land to rebuild the temple was 70 years.

But then there's also another 70 year period. If you count from 586 BC, this is the final destruction of Jerusalem. The temple is completely destroyed. And then when the people get back into the land in 536, they start working on the temple. They get discouraged and give up. Remember Haggai and Zephaniah have to encourage them like, get back to work. God wants you to build the temple.

And so they lay the foundation about 520 BC. That's completed. And then four years later, the temple is completed and it's rebuilt. And that completes about another 70 year period where they were without a temple. The nation of Babylon from Nebuchadnezzar

Through the end of the nation... When it was conquered by Persia... It was also a 70 year period... So there's a lot of 70 year periods... That are being referred to here... But it's interesting how... Whichever one you want to look at... Whichever one you want to take... It's these 70 years... That Jeremiah prophesied about... Which is an amazing work of God... Alright... Continuing on in chapter 25... Verse 15 through 33... God gives Jeremiah a cup of fury... For all the nations... Prophets were not only sent to Israel and Judah...

He sends them all over the place. Sometimes people object to God bringing judgment upon other nations. For example, like how could God command his people to go into the land of Canaan and wipe them out? But what we forget is that God was reaching out to them, communicating to them, speaking to them. We may have no knowledge about how God was doing that, but like Jeremiah is an example, he sends his messengers to the nations and he gives them opportunity to repent.

Then in verses 34 through 38, he says, wail shepherds and cry because you're scattered, your flock is scattered, your city is destroyed. And now we finish it off in chapter 26. Verse 13 is the key verse. It says, now therefore, amend your ways and your doings and obey the voice of the Lord your God. Then the Lord will relent concerning the doom that he has pronounced against you.

Once again, we have this call to repentance. And God says in verses 1 through 6, Hey, if you won't listen, I will make this house like Shiloh. Now, Shiloh, if you look on the map here real quick, Shiloh was a little bit north of Jerusalem. And Shiloh was significant because when the children of Israel first crossed into the promised land, in Joshua chapter 18, you can read about, they set up the tabernacle at Shiloh. So it was a significant place where they would go to worship the Lord. And they would go to worship the Lord.

And the tabernacle was there in Shiloh until David built the temple in Jerusalem, or Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem. And then, of course, that became the place of worship. And so God says, look, here's a good example. Shiloh, significant place. That's where the tabernacle was set up. Now it's demolished. It's destroyed as a result of judgment because of the rebellion against God. And if you don't listen, because what were they saying? They were saying, we have the temple. God's not going to allow this. He's not going to allow Babylon to conquer us because we have the temple.

And God says, look at Shiloh. That's desolate, destroyed. God's not opposed to destroying religious places if his people are in rebellion. We can't count on our religion. We have to count on our hearts being right with God. Well, the people don't like this message. And so verses 7 through 11 tells us that they seize Jeremiah.

They're going to put him to death. But the princes intervene in verses 12 through 19. As they hear the account, Jeremiah says, look, I've just been saying what God told me to say. And so the princes say, look, he doesn't deserve to die. He gives the example of Micah. The book of Micah we'll get to later on this year. And he prophesied judgment. But he wasn't put to death. The princes say, see, Jeremiah doesn't need to be put to death. But then they give another example. There's the prophet Uriah who prophesied judgment.

Against Jerusalem. Just like Jeremiah was. And he was threatened. He got scared. He ran to Egypt. And the king sent people after him. Brought him back. Put him to death. But it says that the Lord's hand was with Jeremiah. So that he was not put to death. He stood fast. He was faithful to the Lord. Even though it was not popular. Other prophets around him had already been killed for the same message he was delivering. But he had to be faithful. To give the message that God had called him to give. There's a lot of meat in these chapters. There's a lot of meat in these chapters.

I'd love to spend a lot more time. But let me just wrap up looking at the first and last chapter. Chapter 18, Jeremiah, look at the potter. And remember, I can shape it. I can make it into any kind of vessel I want to. And if I say, blessing is pronounced upon you, and then they turn away from me, I can bring judgment. Or if I announce judgment and they repent, then I'll relent regarding that judgment and I'll bring blessing upon them. I have that right.

The question for us is, will we be like the clay? Soft, moldable, submitted, surrendered. Allowing God to do the work in us that he wants to do. In chapter 26 verse 13, God says, It's always the choice. We have the choice. Right now we have the choice.

Will we amend our ways? Will we be stubborn? Will we insist on our own thoughts, our own ideas, our own plans? Or will we let God be God? Will we be the clay on the potter's wheel? Lord, as we consider these things, we do pray. Lord, help us to be the clay. Help us, Lord, to be soft, to not be stubborn, to not be stuck in our own mindset. Lord, our flesh really hates this idea.

But Lord, help us to be crucified with you for real, to really be put to death, that we would live for you in obedience to you, completely surrendered to you, that we would do what you say no matter what we think or how we feel about it. And Lord, that we wouldn't be satisfied with our own wisdom, that we wouldn't be content with our own counsel, Lord, that we wouldn't just follow our own heart. But God, I pray that you would give us a thirst for you.

Help us, Lord, to see how much we desperately need you. Lord, that we won't just rely upon our own strength or wisdom, but that we will look to you and run to you and call out to you continually. And Lord, that will be true when we realize how much we really need you. Forgive us for forgetting how much we need you and relying upon our own selves or listening to the counsel of others who aren't speaking forth your word. God, I pray.

that you would bring your word to us clearly and help us to be responsive, surrendered, submitted. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.