JEREMIAH 27-34 I WILL PERFORM MY GOOD WORD2013 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Jeremiah 27-34 I Will Perform My Good Word

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2013.

The Word of God. And so we're here in Jeremiah. We're looking at chapters 27 through 34 this evening, which are the chapters that we read this week as we go through the Bible in three years. Jeremiah is the second of the major prophets. We'll be looking at Jeremiah's writings in this book as well as Lamentations and then going on to Ezekiel and Daniel over the next couple of months.

The prophet Jeremiah ministered from about 626 to 586 BC, which is the last really period, the last few kings of the nation of Judah before they're conquered by Babylon. And we'll see that over and over again in our chapters this evening. And so he was ministering to the kings Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and then Zedekiah. Those are the last five kings of the nation of Judah.

His contemporaries were Zephaniah and Habakkuk, and those were the guys who were also ministering to the nation during this time period. Jeremiah began ministering about 626 BC, and then a lot was going on because the nation was under attack

by Babylon. And so Babylon becomes the world empire around 612 BC as it overtakes Assyria, which is the world power before Babylon. And now Babylon is threatening the nation of Judah, which really is just about, you know, the city of Jerusalem. That's all that's about left.

a couple other little cities, but Jerusalem is really the remnant of the nation of Judah at this time. And now Babylon has its eyes on Judah and is going to conquer it. Now Babylon actually conquers Judah three times. And so you can see here it happens, first of all, in about 605 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar conquers Babylon. Jehoiakim is the king. He's defeated Nebuchadnezzar.

And he, as well as some of the young men from the royal family, and some of the temple articles and vessels are taken to Babylon. So...

It's not completely wiped out at that time. Instead, Babylon sets up Jehoiachin as king and says, all right, Jehoiachin, you pay your tribute, you know, be submitted to Babylon and you'll be fine. We'll let you continue to rule in Jerusalem. And so in 597, though, Jehoiachin is defeated because he

against Babylon and Babylon has to come back and conquer Jerusalem once again. And at that time Jehoiachin some more temple treasures and some more people are taken to Babylon as captives. But they don't wipe out Jerusalem at that time. Instead they set up Zedekiah. Say alright Zedekiah we've beaten you twice already. Now learn the lesson. Be faithful. Pay your tribute. Be submitted to Babylon and you'll continue to rule here.

Zedekiah does well for a little bit, but then he rebels. And so Babylon comes the third time and in 586 conquers Jerusalem for the third time. At this time, they say, all right, that's enough. No more chances.

The temple is destroyed. The city is completely leveled. Everybody is taken out except for a small, tiny remnant. And they don't stay in the land very long, as we'll see at the end of the book of Jeremiah. So those are the three times that Babylon conquers Jerusalem. And it's during that last time,

attack that most of the chapters we're looking at this evening will be, you know, in that time period between the second attack and the third attack of Babylon against the nation of Judah. So we pick it up now in chapter 27 and verse 6 is the key verse. It says, And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, my servant, and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him.

Here as we pick it up in the middle here of Jeremiah chapter 27, God is explaining through Jeremiah that Babylon is his instrument. That Nebuchadnezzar is his servant. Now that doesn't mean that Nebuchadnezzar worshipped God and followed God, especially not at this time, but it's possible later on.

But what God is saying is that's his instrument. That's his tool. He's using this nation to bring judgment upon Judah as well as the surrounding nations because of their rebellion against God because of their sinfulness.

And so God gives Jeremiah another illustration. We've been seeing several illustrations that God has used through Jeremiah. And this time in verses 1 through 11, he uses the illustration of bonds and yokes. Now these are devices that would be placed upon animals to keep them in control, to keep them working the way that they're supposed to.

And so he says, make up these bonds and yokes and send them to Edom, to Moab, to Ammon, to Tyre, and to Sidon.

So this is an illustration that Jeremiah uses not just one time, but actually several times throughout his ministry. We see in verse 1 here of chapter 27, he uses this illustration for Jehoiakim. And so that happens around 609 B.C. But then about 10 years later, 597 B.C. is when Zedekiah takes the throne. And he also uses it, we can see in verse 12,

he uses this illustration for Zedekiah as well. So this is kind of a long-lasting illustration. You know, he pulls it out. Remember the bonds and yokes, guys? And so he would use this to give them a picture of what God is saying. And so God tells him in verse 2 to make bonds and yokes for himself as well. Send them to all these nations, but also make a pair for yourself and put it on. And so he has to put on this yoke to say, verse 9...

The false prophets were there speaking to Judah, also speaking to all those surrounding nations saying, you don't have to submit to Babylon. You can stand on your own. You don't have to surrender to them. You don't have to obey them. You know, we're going to be protected from Babylon's armies.

But God's message is the opposite of that. And we can learn from this. You know, sometimes God wants his people to be submitted to evil kings. How do you feel about that? Is that a little bit difficult? Sometimes God wants his people to be submitted to evil kings. To be submitted to and serve evil kings. The false prophets were saying, you don't need to serve the king of Babylon.

But verse 11, God says, And so God says, sometimes I'm going to use evil kings and I'm going to want you to be submitted. And if you're submitted to them, then I will let you live.

He tells Judah, if you serve Babylon, I will let you live. He tells the surrounding nations, if you serve Babylon, I will let you live and I'll let you stay in the land. But if you rebel against Babylon, that's my servant. That's my instrument. You're rebelling against me when you rebel against Babylon. And so in verses 12 through 15, he says, serve Babylon and live. Because they're my instrument,

Because they're my tool, serve Babylon. Be submitted to Babylon. Now this message is specifically targeted to Zedekiah, the final king of Judah. So Jerusalem has been conquered twice by Babylon. And Babylon's coming the third time because Zedekiah has rebelled against Babylon. And God says to Zedekiah, stop rebelling against Babylon. That's my servant.

submit to babylon surrender and serve babylon he says in verse 13 why will you die you and your people by the sword by the famine and by the pestilence as the lord has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of babylon why would you choose death here's your choice life or death serve babylon and live or rebel against babylon and die because babylon is my instrument

And so whatever you do to Babylon, you're doing to me. If you surrender to me, you're surrendered to Babylon. If you're rebelling against me, you're rebelling against Babylon because they are my instrument. And so he tells Zedekiah, why will you die? Why do you insist on bringing this upon yourself by rebelling against me? This is the theme that we see throughout Jeremiah. We see over and over again the need for us as the people of God to be broken and submitted to God.

That we would be humble before God. And it's not just, you know, those awful sinners, you know, all over the place who are doing terrible things all the time that, you know, need repentance and need brokenness. But as I read through these things, the Lord is reminding me and refreshing me of the need for brokenness in my life. I need to be broken before Him. And so humbled. And so blessed.

moldable and shapeable and responsive as he speaks because it's so easy for us to get caught up in our own selves and to want to do what we want to do and want to believe what we want to believe. As the false prophets were saying, you don't need to serve Babylon. You know, God's going to protect us. I'd much rather believe that than God wants you to submit to this king of Babylon. I'd much rather believe that God's going to save me

I'd rather that. That's the option I prefer. That's what I want God to do. That's what the false prophets were saying. In verses 16 through 22, it says that the temple vessels will be taken to Babylon. Now this is because the false prophets were saying the temple treasures that are already in Babylon from the first two times Jerusalem was conquered, they're going to be brought back to Jerusalem very soon.

And so they're saying, not only is Babylon not going to be successful in conquering these lands again, but the treasures that are there, they're going to be released and brought back very soon. And God says to them, look, if you're really prophets, then you need to pray that the treasures that remain are not taken to Babylon.

If you're really prophets, stop saying that nonsense and start praying because what's looming ahead is, well, all the rest of the treasures will be taken. Verse 17, he says, do not listen to them. That is the false prophets. Serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city be laid waste? Don't listen to those false prophets, he says. Serve the king of Babylon.

And so Babylon was the empire of the day. They ruled basically this entire land and they're conquering the nation of Judah and the region around Jerusalem as well. And so as God gives Jeremiah this, you know, instruction to make these yokes, he says, send them out. And so he's sending them out to all the surrounding nations, to Edom to the south, Moab and Ammon to the west or the east, and then Tyre to the north,

Let them know they are to be submitted to Babylon. If they submit, they will live. If they do not, then they will be conquered by Babylon. They will die. Well, that brings us now to chapter 28. Verse 11 is the key verse. It says,

Thus says the Lord, even so I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way. So the false prophets say, hey, we can use illustrations to Jeremiah. All right, you're talking about yokes. Hananiah, this false prophet says, within two years, God's going to break the yoke of king Nebuchadnezzar.

Verses 1 through 4 we see he says that God's going to bring back the captives from the first two conquerings of Jerusalem. He's going to bring them back within two years. Now this is the fourth year of Zedekiah when he's announcing these things. Judah's been conquered twice and it's shown that he is a false prophet because well two years comes by and the captives are not released. But what's interesting is he speaks in the name of the Lord. Look at verse 2.

Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. He says, thus says the Lord. Here's what the Lord speaks. It's an important discovery or realization for us to recognize that people can speak in the name of the Lord absolute lies. That they can use God's name and speak something that is absolutely not true.

And that is why as we look at these things, it is so important to have your own relationship with God. You can't just believe everyone who speaks in the name of the Lord. In fact, that's what as we go through equipped to believe on Sunday mornings, that's part of what the course is all about. Because you need to not just take my word for it, but learn what you believe and why you believe it so that you understand where the Bible teaches what it is we're talking about.

That it's not just something I've created, but that it's what the scriptures teach. And we need to have that foundation. Because there are those who speak in the name of the Lord, but do not speak the truth. In verses 5 through 9, Jeremiah replies and he says, The prophets are known when their word comes to pass. Jeremiah says in verse 6, Amen to Hananiah's message. Yeah, of course. I pray that that's so. That all the captives would be returned within two years.

But he says, let's see what happens. And let's see. If you're really a prophet, it'll be fulfilled in two years. But he is not a prophet. He did not speak on behalf of God. In verses 10 through 17, we see Hananiah breaks Jeremiah's yoke. So remember God told Jeremiah to wear a yoke? And so Hananiah takes it off him and breaks it. And he says, God's broken the yoke of Babylon. He gives the exact opposite message that the Lord gave through Jeremiah. God said...

Babylon is my instrument. Put on this yoke. Be submitted to him. And he says, no, Babylon's yoke is broken. You are not submitted or you're not to be submitted to Babylon. In verse 13, God tells Jeremiah, go and tell Hananiah saying, thus says the Lord, you have broken the yokes of wood, but you have made in their place yokes of iron.

So he had a yoke of wood around his neck. He takes it off. He breaks it. It says Babylon's yoke is broken. And God says, here's what you've done with your message. You've removed the yoke of wood, but you've replaced it with a yoke of iron. How did he do that? What is God talking about? Well, he tells him in verse 15, he says, you've made this people trust a lie. You've caused this people to believe your false message. And so they're not going to submit to Babylon. And so they're

They're

subjection to Babylon is even more certain, more strong. Instead of a yoke of wood, it will be a yoke of iron. And God also tells him in verse 16, you shall die this year because he's delivering these false prophecies. Here's a quick look at what the yokes kind of look like. There's different kinds of yokes for different kinds of instruments and animals. This is a single yoke. Sometimes yokes are, you know, tying two animals together. And that's where Paul said, don't be unequally yoked.

But this is a single yoke. So you would put it on the animal and then you could attach your plow to it or whatever instrument that you are using. And that's what Jeremiah is using as this illustration of being submitted to Babylon. I thought Warren Wiersbe had some really great things to say about this idea of yokes. And so I want to read to you a quick quote from him. He says, God is in charge of yokes.

The yoke he gives you is the right one for you. No matter who may put it on your shoulders. God can even use unsaved people to help you do his will. He says, accept every yoke as the yoke of God. And he will transform it from bondage to blessing. Break the light yoke and the next yoke will be heavier. Everyone must wear a yoke.

He talks about yokes. He says it's God who's in charge of yokes. He places authorities over you. And so our job is to be submitted to those yokes. Even if it's by someone who is not saved. He says accept the yoke. Receive it. Be submitted to it. And God will turn it into a blessing. But if you break it or if you rebel against it, then God will replace it with a heavier yoke. Because, well, as we've been saying throughout the book of Jeremiah,

If you will not be broken, you will be broken. We have the choice to be broken or God will break us. And my heart is, as I read these things, Lord, I want to be broken before you. I want to be open and submitted to you in all things, no matter what. In another place, Warren Wiersbe says, let God break you and control you now and the future will be bright. The same choice is before us.

He said, be broken, be submitted to Babylon and live or fight against it and you'll be destroyed. In the same way, we can be broken and submitted to God and those authorities that he's placed over us or we can be resisting that and bringing destruction upon ourselves. Everyone must bear a yoke.

Well now chapter 29 verse 10 is the key verse. It says, Here in verses 1 through 3 we see that this is a letter to the captives. So two sets of captives have already been sent to Babylon. Jeremiah writes them a letter from Jerusalem and it's a great encouraging letter.

But it's also a letter that they don't like and don't want to receive. In verses 4 through 7, Jeremiah says, build houses and dwell in them. You guys are there in Babylon now. He's basically saying, settle down. You're going to be there for a while. So build some houses. Don't just stay in a tent because you're going to have to be there for the rest of your life.

So you're there. So build a house. Get married. Give your sons and daughters in marriage. Plant gardens. Have kids. Get established there. That's where you are. You're not coming back. So build some houses and get settled there. And verse 7 he says, "...seek the peace of the city where I've caused you to be carried away captive and pray to the Lord for it. For in its peace you will have peace."

God says, this is where I have you, so pray for peace for your city. Now, can you imagine how hard this would be for them? Because they're held captive by their enemy. They're displaced against their will from Jerusalem to this new place in Babylon. They don't want to be there. God says, pray for peace for the city where you're in. Oh, but I hate this place. Pray for peace because this is where I have you.

And when this city has peace, you will have peace because this is where I have you. Jeremiah says, stop fighting against it and settle in. Have you ever been in a place where God has kept you in that place even though you didn't want to be there? This is what they were experiencing. And sometimes he just wants us to settle in. This is where he has us.

For a time. For a season. Because in verses 8 through 14. He says after 70 years. I will perform my good word. He says in verse 8. Don't let your prophets deceive you. Because they're promising immediate deliverance. God saying I'm going to deliver you. But after the time of discipline. And so after 70 years. Then I will perform my good work. Or my good word. Those promises that I gave. Of restoration. I'm going to do those.

It's not going to happen immediately. It's going to happen after 70 years. Verse 11, of course, is a famous verse which you know. For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Now here's the amazing thing. Jeremiah is writing to the captives in Babylon who are there in Babylon because they've been hard-headed and rebellious and stubborn in refusing to hear the word of the Lord immediately.

Even after many, many, many, many, many opportunities. And yet God is sending this message to them to make sure they hear it, to make sure they get it. I'm not done with you. I haven't given up on you. I know the thoughts that I think towards you and they're thoughts of peace and not of evil. I'm not trying to wipe you out. I'm bringing discipline. I want to give you a future and a hope. His plans have a purpose. He's accomplishing what he wants.

So Warren Wiersbe says, don't waste your suffering by resisting God. Settle in. Settle in to what God has given to you. Don't resist it because he has great plans for you to give you a future and a hope. When God's people are so rebellious that he is forced to bring severe judgment, he still does not give up on them. He's writing to the captives in Babylon.

Revealing that this is not a matter of execution. Where God's done with them, he's trying to get rid of them. But it's a matter of discipline. In Hebrews chapter 12, the author of Hebrews tells us that the Lord chastens the ones that he loves. And it's because he loves us that he brings chastening. He says, if you endure chastening, it's because God is dealing with you as his child. And as his child, God chastens us.

But if you don't have chastening, he says, then you're not his child. But he chastens the ones that he loves. Now, I remember, I was thinking about as I was going through this, I remember in my life, remembering times when I just felt like a million miles away from the Lord. And like the people here, it's my own doing. I put myself there by disregarding God and his word and what he had spoken to me and revealed to me.

And the Lord did this similar type of thing. He sent messengers. He sent letters. He sent reminders. I'm not done with you. I still have. And in that place, you're thinking, there's just no way God could ever recover this. I mean, it's just, it's too far gone. It's too bad. It's too awful. I've been too rebellious. But God says, no, I have a future and a hope for you. I know the thoughts I think towards you. I have plans for you to give you a future and a hope.

Verses 15 through 23 now though, he goes on to say, I will send sword and famine. He says to Jerusalem, I'm still going to bring the rest of this judgment. The judgment there is not over. Now he's talking to Babylon, but the people in Babylon were thinking, all right, God's going to do some miracle. And the people in Jerusalem, they're going to hold out. They're going to conquer Babylon. And then we're going to be free and we're going to be able to go home. So don't build houses. We'll just stay in tents because we want to be ready to go back at any time.

And Jeremiah is saying, no, that's not going to happen. God's still going to bring the judgment upon Jerusalem. He says in verse 23, because they've done disgraceful things, they've committed adultery with their neighbor's wives, have spoken lying words in my name, which I've not commanded, and so on and so forth. That because of their sinfulness, he's still going to deal with Jerusalem. So stop thinking about your escape plan and start settling in. Then in verses 24 through 32, we see a guy named Shemaiah

He's another example of a false prophet. He sends back word to Jerusalem, hey, rebuke Jeremiah because here's what he's saying. And so God is dealing with him also in verses 24 through 32.

Well, here's a quick look at the 70 years. God says, I'm going to do this work, this good word, and bring restoration after 70 years. So that begins in 605 when Jehoiakim is defeated. The first wave of captives are taken to Babylon. And it's 70 years from that point, 536 BC, when Cyrus allows the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.

And they head back there and they begin the work on the temple. It's not completed for a little bit. And so there's actually 70 years without a temple too from in 586 BC when Babylon destroys it to 516 BC when the temple is completed. And we'll see that later on in the Minor Prophets. So that's the 70 years. And so God says, when that time is up, then I will bring you back and restore you. And it was fulfilled exactly as he declared.

Chapter 30, now verse 3 is the key verse. It says, Now this is the theme. We saw this in chapter 29. This is the theme for a couple chapters where God's saying, I'm not done. I'm not destroying you completely. I'm going to bring you back. I'm going to bring you back.

This is happening in the midst of, well, the final battle as Babylon is coming for the third time. And God wants them to know, even in the midst of that situation, it's not over, I'm not done with you, this is me at work.

because I love you and so verses 1 through 11 he says I will bring my people back he tells Jeremiah in verse 1 to write down all the words that he's spoken in a book and so that's part of the reason why we have the book of Jeremiah because God told him to write it down for us

But he says in verse 10, he says, He goes on in verse 11 to say,

And the nations where you're at, even if I completely destroy them, I'm going to save you in the midst of those nations and bring you back. And so God's promising to do a great work and bring them back to the land of Judah, to Jerusalem, to that promised land that he had given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In verses 12 through 17, he explains, because your sins have increased, I've done these things. So God's saying, look, I'm not doing this because I hate you.

I'm doing this because you insist on rebelling against me. And because your sins increased, I've done these things. But then he says in verse 17, I will restore health to you and heal your wounds because they called you an outcast saying, this is Ziah, no one seeks her.

And so God says, even in the midst of it, saying, hey, you're in rebellion against me, but I'm still going to heal you. I'm bringing discipline so that I can bring healing upon you. Then verses 18 through 22, he says, I will multiply and glorify them. Not only is he going to bring them back into the land, but he's going to multiply them and bring glory once again. In verse 19, it tells us there's going to be thanksgiving. Now think about Jerusalem at that point.

You know, Babylon's coming for the third time. Huge, massive army. There are just a few people left in the city of Jerusalem. There's no hope for them. There's nobody they can reach out to. And all the other nations are being defeated by Babylon as well. In that situation, I can imagine them thinking, when will we ever have the voice of joy again?

Will there ever be opportunity for Thanksgiving again? And I can think back to my own lives and times of where there's that kind of despair. It's like you feel like it's never, I'm never going to have joy again. It's just over. My life is just going to be miserable. And that's how it's going to be till the day that I die because I've so messed it up. And God says, hey guys, there's going to be Thanksgiving. There's going to be the voice of those who make merry.

I'm going to multiply them. There's going to be a full restoration. And there's going to be great joy. You probably know what it's like to feel like there'll never be joy in your life again. And God says, look, I'll bring discipline. And I'll allow these kinds of chastenings. Because I love you. And at the end of it, I'm going to do a great work of healing and restoration.

He says in verse 21, I'm going to raise up rulers from their own midst. You're not going to be submitted to surrounding nations anymore. You'll have rulers amongst your own people. And in verse 22 is really the most important verse. You shall be my people and I will be your God. Our relationship will be restored as I bring you through this chastening.

In verse 23 and 24, he says, the fierce anger of the Lord will not return until he has done it. And so God's making it very clear. I love you. I want to restore you. I'm going to bring healing. But I am going to bring the discipline that is necessary, the judgment that is necessary. And I'm not going to rest that judgment until it's done. The judgment has to be brought in completion because of the amount of your sin, because of your continued rebellion.

But it's not because I hate you. It's not because I'm done with you. It's because I want to bring you back and heal you afterwards. Well, now chapter 31, verse 10 is the key verse.

Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He who scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd does his flock. So this theme continues. He says in verses 1 through 6, I have loved you with an everlasting love. I've loved you with an everlasting love. How long does everlasting love last? Forever. Forever.

I'm not done with you. This isn't over. It's an everlasting love. In verse 3, Jeremiah says, Now again, at this time, Judah probably does not feel loved. But God chastens those that he loves. He brings this chastening. He brings this judgment because of this everlasting love.

The enemy, whenever we go through any kind of difficulty or affliction or any time of testing, the enemy will plant in our mind and say, this is because God doesn't love you. And God says, no, I've loved you with an everlasting love. And he says in verse 4, again, I shall build you. I still have plans for you. I'm going to build you. I haven't stopped loving you. The love I have for you is everlasting.

And so in verses 7 through 14, he says, I will gather them. He says in verse 7, sing with gladness and shout, proclaim, give praise. Now these are all things that, again, Judah probably thought they will never do again. Maybe there's times where you think, I'm just never going to be able to worship God again. To sing praise and to rejoice in his work. In verse 8, he says, I will gather them from the ends of the earth. We think, man, it's lost. It's just too far scattered. God says, I'm going to bring them back.

He also explains, though, in verse 9, they're going to come back humbled because that's the problem to begin with. They're in rebellion. They will not humble themselves. So when I bring them back, they will come back humbled with prayer and supplication. They're really going to seek me. In verse 11, he says, for the Lord has redeemed Jacob and ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he. He says in verse 13, I will turn their mourning into joy. God says, I'm going to bring you back. I'm going to redeem you. I'm going to do a great work

And your mourning will be turned to joy. In verses 15 through 22, we see that there is hope in your future. Same thing, we're seeing this. There's hope in your future. Now verse 15 talks about the voice heard in Ramah, the lamentation and bitter weeping. This is quoted in Matthew chapter 2, during the time when Herod killed the babies of Bethlehem, trying to kill the Messiah.

And so this is quoted there in Matthew chapter 2 because of the weeping and bitterness there. But then in verse 17, God says, there is hope in your future. There's weeping and bitterness now, but that's not how it's going to be for the rest of your life. Things are difficult, really difficult now, but that's not how I have it for the rest of your life. This is not the permanent plan for you. There's hope in your future, says the Lord, that your children shall come back to their own border.

And again, Israel will be repentant. In verse 19 it says, Surely after my turning I repented. And after I was instructed I struck myself on the thigh. I was ashamed, yes even humiliated. Because I bore the reproach of my youth. And so what's happening through this judgment, God is breaking them. And so they will be broken. And say yes, after I was instructed I repented. And I turned back to the Lord. I was ashamed.

I was humiliated. It's hard for us to be ashamed and humiliated, but we need to be because the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things. We need to be broken, submitted. And here's the beautiful thing. In verse 20, God says, I surely will have mercy on him. So when God's people say, I'm repentant, I'm turning, I'm instructed now, and oh, I'm ashamed and I'm humiliated, then God says, I will have mercy on

You see the contrast? If God's people say, I'm going to do what I want to do and follow what I want to follow and think what I want to think and follow my own advice and counsel and I'm going to do what I want to do. God says, I'm going to bring judgment because you're not submitted to me. But then if we'll repent of our ways and be instructed by the Lord, then God says, I will have mercy. Again, it's that issue of brokenness. He says in verses 23 through 30, I will build and plant them.

Not only will I have mercy, but I'm going to build them up. He said, I have satiated the weary soul and have replenished every sorrowful soul. In verses 31 through 40, he talks about the new covenant. He says, I will put my law in their minds. There's a new covenant that God makes with his people. Now this is, as Jeremiah explains it, a preview of the new covenant in Jesus Christ. The author of Hebrews talks about this in Hebrews chapter 8 and quotes this passage saying,

Talking about the new covenant in Christ where there's a new relationship. In verse 33 and 34, he talks about this new covenant saying, I will put my law in their minds and on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. Again, that personal relationship. He says, they all shall know me from the greatest to the least. The wonderful thing about the new covenant that we have in Jesus Christ is the greatest person and the least person is

Now you might think you're the greatest or you might think you're the least, but regardless, God grants you access to himself by faith in Jesus Christ. That's the new covenant. You have access to God. You don't have to go to somebody else to have access to God. Chico, can you talk to God for me and tell him this is what's happening in my life and I need this? You don't have to go to Chico. You can go to God. You have access to God from the greatest to the least.

Why? He goes on to explain because iniquity is forgiven. That's what faith in Jesus Christ is all about. That's what justified is all about. That our sin is forgiven. It's just as if I had never sinned and so I have access into the presence of God, to the person of God. And so I can connect with him. You can connect with him.

As we go on now in the final chapters, we're looking at a little bit different time period. A little bit later. We've been looking at 593, 595. We're now jumping to about 586 BC for the next couple chapters. This is actually when the final siege has begun. Babylon is there around Jerusalem. The final battle is underway.

And these next couple of chapters are God's words through Jeremiah to the people of Judah. Chapter 32, now verse 9 is the key verse. It says, Chapter 32 is an interesting chapter because we have Jeremiah in prison purchasing a field.

In verses 1 through 5, we see he's imprisoned by Zedekiah. Because as Babylon besieges Jerusalem, he tells Zedekiah, this is it. This is it. You're going to be destroyed. Babylon is going to be successful. They're going to be victorious. And Zedekiah doesn't like that message. And so he puts Jeremiah in prison. Then in verses 6 through 15, we see him buying...

The field of Hanamel, his relative. Now this is like the yokes and the bonds. This is another illustration. It's not just a transaction. It's something God is using to deliver a message to the people. In verse 7, Jeremiah says, And then in verse 8,

Hanamel comes and says, hey, by my field. But what's really interesting is the last part of the verse. Jeremiah says, then I knew this was the word of the Lord. This is a great example for us of allowing God to speak and knowing that it's God speaking when he brings the confirmation. Here's Jeremiah the prophet. Now, this isn't his rookie year of ministry. This is just about his final year of ministry. He's been prophesying for over 20 years.

And God speaks to his heart. But he's not certain that it's the Lord. Until God brings the confirmation. That's a lot of times how God works. He speaks to our hearts. And you're like, is that the Lord? I'm not sure if that's the Lord. And later on, God will bring the confirmation. Sometimes it's the next verse. Sometimes it's a couple chapters later. But God will bring the confirmation to those things that he is speaking.

And so Jeremiah is able to say, oh, then I knew because then it happened, you know, then it took place. And I knew that it was the word of the Lord. And so he purchases Hanamel's field. In verse 14, he seals it in an earthen vessel so it can last a long time. And verse 15 is the message that this illustration is providing. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.

So the whole point of this transaction is God giving hope once again to the people. They're under the final siege. Babylon's going to come. They're going to be victorious. And God wants them to know one more time, it's not completely over. This battle will be lost and Jerusalem will be destroyed. But it's not completely over. Houses, fields, vineyards, they will be possessed once again in this land by my people.

Now verses 16 through 25, Jeremiah expresses his confusion. And I love how Jeremiah lets us see his struggles and his confusion throughout his ministry. He starts out in verses 16 through 22 basically saying, God, you're amazing and big and nothing's too hard for you. You've caused this calamity in verse 23. And yet, verse 25, you've said, by the field. What on earth are you doing, God? I don't understand. You've brought this calamity. Why did you make me by a field? Why?

So verses 26 through 44, God responds and he says, I will give this city to Babylon, but I will bring them back. That's why Jeremiah, because I want the people to know, I'm not done with you. I will bring you. I will gather them from all the countries that I've sent them. They're being dispersed because of their evil. They've turned their back to me, God says, and not their face in verse 33. But I'm going to bring them back. They're going to be broken so that I can bring them back.

Going on in chapter 33 now. Verse 12 is the key verse. It says, Verses 1 through 3, God says, Verse 3 is another famous verse. Jeremiah is still in prison at this point. And God says, Jeremiah...

I know it looks terrible right now. You're in prison. Babylon is at the gate about to destroy the city. But call out to me. And Jeremiah, call to me because I want to show you great and mighty things which you can't even imagine. He says in verses 4 through 9, I will heal and cleanse them. Now he's talking about the people. They're going to fight against Babylon. They're going to try to defend themselves. And God says they're just taking themselves to the grave as they continue to resist my work.

But I'm going to heal and cleanse them. I'm going to do a work in my people and bring restoration. Verses 10 through 13, he explains that joy will be heard once again. The voice of joy, the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. This was unimaginable for them. Under this final siege, siege conditions are horrendous. You don't want to think about it. You don't even want to know about it.

bridegroom bride that's that's far from their mind that's never going to happen again as far as they could tell there's no longer joy everything is miserable but god says no there's going to be the voice of joy again there's going to be brides and bridesgrooms there's going to be weddings there's going to be marriages there's going to be great excitement and they're going to praise the lord and say for he is good for his mercy endures forever

Verses 14 through 18, he talks about the branch on David's throne. He kind of looks forward, not just to the restoration from Babylon to Jerusalem, but the full restoration that comes during the millennium in these verses. He talks about the branch, which is a term for the Messiah that was introduced by Isaiah the prophet. We saw that. And so the Messiah, the branch, will sit upon the throne. Jesus will rule and reign upon the earth forever.

1,000 years. Now verses 19 through 26, he brings another illustration. He says, if you can break my covenant with day, then my covenant with David may be broken. I wasn't awake for it, but maybe you were. Did you guys see, did the sun rise this morning? Anybody see that? Anybody notice? When that stops happening, God says, then maybe I'll be done with my people. But until that stops happening,

I'm not done. If you could break that covenant, if you could stop the sun from rising, then my covenant with my people can be broken. But if the sun keeps on rising, God says, I still have a work for my people. God's not done with Israel. He's not done with his people. He still has a plan. The millennium will still take place just exactly as God has described.

Well now chapter 34, our final chapter, verse 2 is the key verse. Now he tells us the timing in verse 1. This is Babylon's final attack and God sends the message to Zedekiah.

You're going to lose. The city is going to be destroyed. He tells Zedekiah, you, Zedekiah, shall not escape. You're going to die in peace. He's actually carried off in captivity to Babylon. But you will not escape the king of Babylon. He tries to escape. He actually runs out the wall when Babylon breaks through. He runs out. He tries to get away. And he's caught. He does not escape.

In verses 8 through 16, we have an interesting account where the slaves are released and then enslaved again. Now the law declared that Jews were not to enslave their brethren and their brethren who were slaves were not to be slaves for more than six years. That the seventh year they were to be let go free and they were not to treat them harshly, but they were to treat them gently as their brethren, as servants.

But they had disregarded that law. They hadn't paid attention to it. Until now, they're under siege. Now remember last time, God gave a sample thing. Hey, if you obey the Sabbath, then I will relent and allow you to stay in this place. So maybe God gave them a message. We don't have it recorded. But maybe God gave them a message and said, let the slaves go free. And I'll give you relief from Babylon, perhaps.

And so Zedekiah makes a covenant with the people. All right, we're going to let our slaves go free. We're going to obey God. And they let the slaves go free. But then they changed their mind. And it gets really interesting. In verses 17 through 22, God says, I will give the men who transgressed into the hand of their enemies.

He says in verse 17, you have not obeyed me in proclaiming liberty, everyone to his brother and everyone to his neighbor. Behold, I proclaim liberty to you, says the Lord, to the sword, to pestilence and to famine. And I will deliver you to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth. So I proclaim liberty to you. You're free to die by the sword and by famine and by pestilence because you wouldn't give liberty to your brethren.

says in verse 20 i'm going to give you into the hands of your enemies but check this out verse 21 and 22 kind of caught me off guard i didn't recognize it the first couple times i read it but as you read verses 21 and 22 here in chapter 34 you'll see babylon had turned away from jerusalem so here's the picture they decide okay it's going to be hard but we're going to obey god

We're going to put away our slaves and follow what God has told us to do. And so they do it. And Babylon turns away from Jerusalem. It's a miracle. Actually, Egypt comes into the picture. And so Babylon says, okay, we got to stop dealing with Jerusalem. We got to deal with Egypt. And so Babylon's turned away and they're not attacking Jerusalem anymore. The people are like, whew, we did it. All right, let's get those slaves back. And so they got the slaves back. And so God says,

I'm bringing Babylon back. Because he didn't really obey me. They started to obey. And God relented as he promised he would. They repented and then they unrepented. They went back. And so God says, I'm bringing Babylon back. Because you refuse to really be obedient. You're just putting on a show. Trying to get out of that situation. Trying to escape that. But your heart is not right with me. As we finish up this evening.

Going back to the beginning, God gave the illustration of the yoke. And I want to encourage you as I encourage myself, stay under the yoke of God. Stay under his yoke. Be broken or you will be broken. Those are our choices. God requires complete surrender. Not partial, not the things that we like or feel good about. He requires complete surrender. But here's the thing, when we are under his yoke,

And broken. And it's so hard for us to die to ourselves. It's really painful and difficult. Yet, here's the miraculous thing that seems impossible to us. When we're broken and we die to ourselves, that's when we really have life.

Jesus said in Matthew chapter 11, Jesus says, take the yoke. And it's going to feel like you're dying to yourself because you are. It's going to be excruciatingly painful. You're going to have to be broken. But in the midst of your brokenness, you're going to find life.

And you think it's easier to not be submitted. And you carry these heavy burdens because you refuse to repent. But if you will repent, I'll relieve you of those burdens. When you submit to me, you'll find my yoke is easy and my burden is light. We must be broken. We must be submitted to God. And as we are submitted to God, no matter what our circumstances is, even if we're in Babylon because of our

rebellion against God, we can trust that He will work. As Warren Wiersbe said, we all have to bear a yoke and every yoke that we have, it's from God. So submit to it. Be broken. Be submitted. And let God work because He has a future and a hope for you. Lord, thank you for your incredible, abounding, everlasting love and mercy and grace. Help us, God, to stop fighting against that and help us, Lord, to receive.

Your work, your words, your commands, your call. In Jesus' name I 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.