Bible

Back in the Bible room today with Jeremiah, and we’re reading Session 4, the summaries of chapters 34 through 44.

____________________________________

Jeremiah – Session 4 of 5

Chapter 34. Freedom

The Lord speaks about freedom to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:

• The Lord tells Jeremiah to speak to King Zedekiah;
• He says the army of Babylon will burn down Jerusalem;
• And then Zedekiah will no longer reign as king of Judah;
• But he will die in peace and will be buried in peace;
• The Lord demands that all slaves be granted their freedom;
• He declares no Jewish man or woman should be enslaved;  
• At first, the people agree; then they change their minds;
• The Lord says He will punish those who would not obey;
• He will allow Babylon to burn Jerusalem, kill the men;
• Judah and Jerusalem will be left barren of any people.

Chapter 35. Example

The Lord uses a nomadic tribe of people as an example of true obedience:

• In Judah, there is a family of nomads known as the Rechabites;
• They live in tents, travel about, will never build dwellings;
• The Lord sends Jeremiah to visit the Rechabites;
• He invites some of them to come visit the temple;
• There, he asks if they would like something to drink;
• He offers them wine, knowing they will refuse to drink;
• They decline the wine, obeying their father never to drink;
• The Lord says these people are the example of obedience;
• Their fathers have taught them a good way of life;
• And they have never disobeyed any of their teaching;
• But the Lord’s people have disobeyed His commandments;
• Therefore, they are going to be punished;
• The Rechabites will live long lives, honoring the Lord.

Chapter 36. Vengeance

The Lord will take vengeance against a king in Jerusalem:

• Jeremiah has been preaching to Judah for several years;
• He has declared the word of the Lord as he was directed;
• The Lord’s word to His people was always ‘repent’;
• If they don’t, calamity is coming to Judah and Jerusalem;
• Jehoiakim is now king following good King Josiah;
• Jeremiah has instructed his secretary, Baruch, to write;
• He will write all of Jeremiah’s strong words from the Lord;
• The prophet tells Baruch to read the scroll in public;
• All the king’s men heard the harsh words from the scroll;
• They suggest Jeremiah and Baruch find a place to hide;
• They take the scroll to the king’s palace and read it to him;
• The king is not happy to hear Jeremiah’s predictions;
• He especially does not want to hear Babylon is coming;
• He sits near the fireplace while he hears the reading;
• He cuts the scroll in pieces, throwing each piece into the fire;
• He wants his people to find the prophet and Baruch;
• But the Lord has hidden them securely out of sight;
• Then, judgement is pronounced by the Lord on Jehoiakim;
• First, this king will not have an heir to sit on the throne;
• Then he will be killed and his body thrown outside;
• Then his whole family and his servants will be punished;
• Jeremiah dictates to Baruch as he rewrites the entire scroll.

Chapter 37. False

A false accusation is lodged against Jeremiah, the prophet:

• The Chaldeans have placed a siege around Jerusalem;
• Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Chaldeans, is in charge;
• He installs Zedekiah as the puppet king of Judah;
• As king he does not call for the people to return to God;
• But he does not like to be ruled by the Chaldeans;
• One day he sends his men to see the prophet, Jeremiah;
• His purpose is to ask Jeremiah to pray to the Lord for help;
• An army from Egypt comes up to Jerusalem to help them;
• This caused the Chaldeans to leave Jerusalem and go home;
• The Lord says to Jeremiah: The Egyptians will go home;
• The Chaldeans will come back, attack Jerusalem and burn it;
• While the Egyptian army was protecting Jerusalem
• Jeremiah went to the land of Benjamin to claim his property;
• When he arrived there, he was arrested, imprisoned;
• The guards place a false charge against him as a traitor;
• They claim he was on his way to join the Chaldeans;
• In prison, Jeremiah is visited by King Zedekiah;
• He asks what the Lord has told the prophet;
• Jeremiah delivers him the truth: the king will fall to Babylon;
• Zedekiah’s false prophets had told him a lie about his future;
• The king orders Jeremiah confined to the prison court;
• He will remain there and be fed only bread every day.

Chapter 38. Promise

King Zedekiah secretly makes a promise to Jeremiah:

• Jeremiah has advised the people to surrender to the invaders;
• By surrendering they will live good lives in safety;
• He tells them everyone who fights against them will die;
• The Lord has said: Jerusalem will fall to the king of Babylon;
• Zedekiah’s men implore him to kill Jeremiah for his words;
• Instead, he turns the prophet over to them to do as they want;
• They lower Jeremiah with ropes into a pit of mud, no water;
• An Ethiopian worker in the king’s house intervenes;
• He begs the king to spare the prophet’s life, which he does;
• With ropes they retrieve Jeremiah from the pit;
• He will remain in prison but will be kept in the courtyard;
• The king has Jeremiah brought to the back side of the temple;
• Secretly, he asks the prophet to give him the whole truth;
• He tells the king: if he gives him the truth he will not listen;
• Or, if he listens, he might have him killed for what he will say;
• King Zedekiah promises Jeremiah, he will not have him killed;
• The prophet tells the king he should surrender to the Chaldeans;
• If he does, he and his family will live, and the city will survive;
• But if he resists, he will be taken, and the city will be burned;
• The King says he is in fear of the Jews who have surrendered;
• He implores Jeremiah to secrecy about meeting with the king;
• The prophet will remain in prison until Jerusalem is overrun.

Chapter 39. Fall

Jerusalem and King Zedekiah will fall in the eleventh year of his reign:

• The army of Babylon enters the city of Jerusalem;
• The officers gather together in a prominent place;
• King Zedekiah and his sons escape from the city at night;
• The enemy army chases them down, takes them prisoners;
• They bring them to King Nebuchadnezzar for trial;
• He kills Zedekiah’s sons on the spot and his companions;
• He blinds the eyes of the former king, take him to Babylon;
• The Chaldeans burn all the houses in Jerusalem;
• They break down the walls around the city;
• They take the people who are left in Jerusalem to Babylon;
• The poor people of Judah are given the farms and vineyards;
• The captain of the guard is given charge of Jeremiah;
• The prophet is freed from prison, allowed to live a normal life;
• The Lord tells Jeremiah to find the Ethiopian house servant;
• The man who helped Jeremiah to be taken from the pit;
• The Lord says this man has put his trust in the Lord;
• He will be protected and live a long, blessed life.

Chapter 40. Freedom

Jeremiah is given his freedom from prison by the Chaldeans:

• From Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar orders Jeremiah freed;
• He sends his captain of the guard to help the prophet;
• The captain explains the options Jeremiah can choose;
• He can go live in peace in Babylon with the captives;
• Or he can live anywhere in Judah among his people;
• The captain gives Jeremiah some food and money, then leaves;
• Jeremiah decides he will stay in Judah, live at Mizpah;
• Nebuchadnezzar names Gedaliah, a Jew, governor over Judah;
• Gedaliah reassures all the people that they can live in safety;
• Life under the rule of the Chaldeans will be peaceful and safe;
• Gedaliah decides his dwelling place will be in Mizpah;
• All the Jews scattered everywhere decide to return to Judah;
• They will farm the land and tend the vineyards;
• A rumor spreads that a man named Ishmael will kill Gedaliah;
• Ishmael is one of the Ammonites who have returned;
• The governor does not believe this rumor about Ishmael.

Chapter 41. Murder

The rumor about the murder of Gedaliah turns out to be true:

• Ishmael and ten men are welcomed to Mizpah for a visit;
• They have a meal, then they attack and kill the governor;
• They also kill many Jews and Chaldeans who are in Mizpah;
• Then they attack some men coming to visit Gedaliah;
• Ten of the visiting men have food and provisions with them;
• So, Ishmael spares the lives of these men;
• He throws the bodies of all those he kills into a cistern;
• He kidnaps a large group of Jews including Gedaliah’s family;
• Ishmael tries to escape to the Ammonites with his victims;
• Johanan, a captain in Judah’s army, hears about the murder;
• He had told Gedaliah of Ishmael’s plan to murder him;
• They chase after Ishmael and the crowd he has kidnapped;
• The captive victims are glad to see Johanan following them;
• They turn back to Johanan to leave Ishmael and his men;
• Ishmael escapes, with eight of his men, over to the Ammonites;
• The victims Ishmael tried to kidnap decide to move to Egypt;
• They make a temporary stop near Bethlehem to plan;
• They think they will be safer in Egypt than with the Chaldeans.

Chapter 42. Disallowed

After their rescue, the kidnap victims gather to discuss their next move:

• They all had planned to move to Egypt and settle there;
• They decide to find Jeremiah, the prophet, and ask him to pray;
• They want him to ask the Lord what they should do;
• They promise they want only the will of the Lord for them;
• And they promise to abide by whatever the Lord says;
• After ten days, Jeremiah says he has heard from the Lord;
• The Lord says their plan to move to Egypt is disallowed;
• He says they will be safe and prosper if they stay in Judah;
• They should not be afraid of the rule of the Babylonians;
• But if they move to Egypt, they will all die of famine;
• The Lord tells this remnant of Judah: “Do not go to Egypt!”
• But the people decide to disobey the word of the Lord;
• The Lord tells them it is certain, they will all die in Egypt.

Chapter 43. Disobedience

The people renege on their pledge to obey the word of the Lord:

• They blame Baruch, Jeremiah secretary, for lying to them;
• They say he has not given them the true word of the Lord;
• Many Jews had returned to Judah from various nations;
• They claim they will be taken captive by the Chaldeans;
• They are all determined to go with Johanan to Egypt;
• In disobedience to the Lord, they leave Judah for Egypt;
• They take the prophet, Jeremiah, with them;
• In Egypt, Jeremiah continues to prophesy to the people;
• He says Nebuchadnezzar will attack Egypt, take control;
• He will punish the Jews who left Judah to move to Egypt;
• And he will destroy the houses of the false gods there;
• Eventually he will make peace with Egypt.

Chapter 44. Punished

The Jews who leave Judah for Egypt, against the Lord’s will, are punished:

• Jeremiah tells his people they cannot continue their sinful ways;
• They have resumed their idolatrous, wicked behavior in Egypt;
• The Lord reviews the history of the evil past of His people;
• He reminds this group in Egypt why Judah was now in captivity;
• But these who have disobeyed going to Egypt will not change;
• The Lord will use Nebuchadnezzar again to bring punishment;
• This remnant of Jews in Egypt will die by the sword and famine;
• There will be a few who escape Egypt, return to Judah;
• But the Lord says He will punish them there as well;
• They will not be allowed to continue to disobey the Lord.

End of Session 4 of 5 of the book of Jeremiah