Bible

We’re back in the Bible room with Jeremiah again today, continuing the reading of the summary of the book bearing his name. Here is Session 3, chapters 23 through 33.

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Jeremiah – Session 3 of 5

Chapter 23. Increase

The Lord will gather the remnant of His people and they will increase:

• Their leadership has failed them, caused them to disobey;
• The Lord has allowed them to be scattered to many places;
• In time, the Lord will gather them together again;
• At that time, they will be fruitful and increase;
• And a new, righteous king will rise up;
• His name will be: “The Lord Our Righteousness;”
• His people will no longer remember coming out of Egypt;
• But they will remember their release from Babylonian captivity;
• They will be allowed to come back to their promised land;
• But right now, there is wickedness in the house of the Lord;
• All the priests and the prophets have turned from the Lord;
• Profaneness has overtaken the Lord’s people;
• The Lord tells His people to not listen to the false prophets;
• These false prophets have not listened to the Lord;
• If they had, they could have turned His people to do right;
• Instead, they led the Lord’s people to their evil ways;
• The Lord says He will cast these prophets away from Him.

Chapter 24. Figs

The Lord shows Jeremiah two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple:

• This is after Nebuchadnezzar took the king of Judah captive:
• One basket contains good figs, the other has bad figs;
• The Lord asks the prophet what he sees in front of the temple;
• The prophet replies: One basket of good figs, one of bad figs;
• The Lord says the basket of good figs are like His people;
• He has sent them away into captivity for their own good;
• He says He will bring them back and plant them permanently;
• But the bad figs are like those who have rejected Him;
• He will punish them wherever they go in the Earth.

Chapter 25. Seventy

Jeremiah declares Judah will be captive in Babylon for seventy years:

• The prophet has been preaching in Jerusalem for 23 years;
• He has been telling them the Word of the Lord;
• Doing his best to get them to turn from their evil ways;
• He reminds them he is not the only prophet sent to them;
• But the Lord’s people have not listened to any of the prophets;
• The Lord has appointed Nebuchadnezzar to be His servant;
• He will take all the joy and happiness out of Jerusalem;
• He will take all the leaders and families as captives to Babylon;
• Judah will be held captive by the Chaldeans for seventy years;
• And then the Lord will have His people released from captivity;
• And then the Lord will punish the Chaldeans;
• He tells Jeremiah to prophesy against all the kings of the Earth;
• All nations will feel the wrath of the Lord for their evil deeds.

Chapter 26. Attack

Jeremiah’s life is under attack but he has a friend who protects him:

• King Josiah’s son, Jehoiakim, becomes king in Jerusalem;
• The Lord instructs Jeremiah to stand in the court of the temple;
• And to proclaim the Lord’s judgement upon all Judah;
• The priests and false prophets listen to Jeremiah’s words;
• They have heard the voices of other prophets before;
• They hated them and now they hate Jeremiah;
• They take him into custody, plan to kill Jeremiah the prophet;
• The king’s officers come to the temple from the king’s palace;
• They tell the priests that Jeremiah does not deserve to die;
• That he has been saying what the Lord told him to say;
• They remind the people about Micah, the prophet in the past;
• Under King Hezekiah Micah had proclaimed the Lord’s word;
• The people had listened and repented of their evil ways;
• The prophet, Micah, was not killed;
• There was another prophet named Urijah;
• He also proclaimed the Lord’s word as did Jeremiah;
• King Jehoiakim caught him and killed him by the sword;
• But Jeremiah has a friend who saves the prophet from death.

Chapter 27. Yokes

Jeremiah’s preaching continues under the reign of King Zedekiah:

• The Lord tells Jeremiah to fashion himself a yoke;
• And make copies to send to all the surrounding leaders;
• The yokes are to represent the coming rule of Babylon;
• Every nation should yield to King Nebuchadnezzar;
• All those who surrender will be spared;
• Those who resist the rule of Babylon will be destroyed;
• There are many false prophets who advocate for resistance;
• But the people should not listen to them, they all will die;
• The Lord tells Jeremiah there are valuable items at the temple;
• These items were not taken to Babylon during the invasion;
• But now they should be taken to Nebuchadnezzar;
• They should stay in Babylon until the day of the Lord;
• At that time, they will all be restored to the temple.

Chapter 28. False

A false prophet predicts that the captivity in Babylon will last two years:

• Jeremiah meets Hananiah and some priests at the temple;
• Hananiah is the son of a prophet;
• He declares it’s the word of the Lord: the yoke is broken;
• The captivity in Babylon will be broken within two years;
• Jeremiah is still wearing the yoke he made around his neck;
• Hananiah takes the yoke from Jeremiah and breaks it;
• He says it’s the word of the Lord: the captivity is soon over;
• Jeremiah tells Hananiah he hopes it is true;
• Later, the word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah;
• He goes to Hananiah, tells him he is a false prophet;
• He has been lying to his people and many have believed him;
• Nebuchadnezzar will continue his rule over the nations;
• Jeremiah says the Lord is going to punish Hananiah;
• The false prophet dies that same year.

Chapter 29. Letter

After the captivity, Jeremiah writes a letter to the exiles in Babylon:

• Jeremiah is left behind in Jerusalem after the captives are gone;
• King Zedekiah sent the letter with messengers to Babylon;
• Jeremiah offers advice given to him by the Lord, God of Israel;
• He tells the exiles to settle into their new life, be productive;
• They should become part of the Babylonian culture;
• They should marry, build new families, increase their numbers;
• The Lord has brought about this happening for their good;
• They are not to listen to any false prophets about the future;
• The exile will last for seventy years, no more, no less;
• And then He will allow them to return to their homeland;
• The Lord says He knows what He has planned for them;
• His plan is for them to have peace, and not evil;
• He is going to give them a future and hope;
• They are going to pray to the Lord, and He will listen;
• They will seek the Lord, and they will find Him
• As they seek the Lord with their whole heart;
• Jeremiah addresses words from the Lord to Shemaiah;
• This man has written to Zephaniah, the priest in Jerusalem;
• He says Jeremiah has told the exiles to adopt their new home;
• And Jeremiah should be stopped from writing to the exiles;
• Jeremiah tells Shemaiah he has seen his letter to Zephaniah;
• And the Lord will punish him for lying to His people in exile.

Chapter 30. Words

The Lord tells Jeremiah to write in a book all the words He has told him:

• There is coming a day when the exiles will return from captivity;
• The yoke of bondage to the foreigners will be broken;
• Judah and Israel can be assured of their coming peace;
• The Lord gives His word: I am with you to save you;
• The Lord says “I have wounded you like an enemy;”
• “I will restore your health, and heal your wounds;”
•  “You shall be My people, and I will be your God.”

Chapter 31. Unending

The Lord has loved Israel with an unending love:

• He says He is going to rebuild Israel;
• The people pray: O Lord, save the remnant of Israel;
• He will gather His people from all over the earth;
• There shall be no more sorrow;
• The Lord tells Israel to stop weeping;
• He will watch over them as they plant and rebuild;
• In those days the people will have no reason to say:
• “The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
• And the children’s teeth are set on edge;”
• The Lord says in the coming days He has a new plan;
• He is going to make a new covenant with Judah and Israel;
• The new covenant will be greatly different from the old;
• This time the Lord will put His law in their minds,
• And He will write his commandments on their hearts;
• He will be their God, and they will be His people;
• And the Lord will forgive, and forget, their sins.

Chapter 32. Assurance

The Lord gives Jeremiah assurance that He will restore His people:

• It was the tenth year of King Zedekiah in Judah;
• And the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon;
• The Babylonians have put a siege around Jerusalem;
• Zedekiah has locked up Jeremiah in a room at the palace;
• The king does not like Jeremiah’s prophesy about him;
• He says Jerusalem is going to be attacked by Babylon;
• And the king is going to be taken prisoner to Babylon;
• Meanwhile, Jeremiah has a visitor to his lock-up;
• His cousin comes to ask him to buy a piece of ground;
• He has first rights to it; it’s located in the region of Benjamin;
• So, the prophet perceives this deal to be from the Lord;
• And he buys the land from his cousin, gives him cash;
• Jeremiah tells his secretary, Baruch, to secure the deed;
• He is to place the documents in a sealed, clay pot for safety;
• Jeremiah says someday business activity will resume;
• And Judah will again be a place of land ownership;
• But for now, he asks the Lord to help him understand;
• He has bought the land, then the country is overrun;
• The Lord has given Judah, Jerusalem to the Chaldeans;
• They will destroy it, burn all the houses;
• The Lord says He will restore this place, this people;
• He will bring His people back to dwell in safety;
• He says: They shall be My people; I will be their God;
• Just as the Lord has brought all this calamity on them,
• So shall the Lord bring all the good He has promised;
• He will bring the captives back to their homeland.

Chapter 33. Restoration

The Lord speaks again to Jeremiah with words of restoration:

• Jeremiah is still confined in a room in the palace;
• He receives the word of the Lord;
• The Lord says if His people will pray, He will answer;
• He will show them many great things they don’t know;
• He will use the Chaldeans to show His anger with Judah;
• But His people will be released from captivity;
• They will return to their homeland and restoration;
• The Lord will cleanse His people from their sins;
• They will be awestruck by all their great prosperity;
• They will bring the sacrifice of praise to the house of the Lord;
• The day will come when the Lord will grow up from David
• A Branch of righteousness, The Lord Our Righteousness;
• The Lord gives Jeremiah his assurance of a new covenant;
• This covenant will be permanent, like night and day;
• He will get the captives returned, and have mercy on them.

End of Session 3 of 5 of the book of Jeremiah