Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Going to have us turn in our Bibles this morning back to the book of Jeremiah. And as I said earlier, we've had a very significant moment in the life of our nation because our constitutional head, the Queen of England, actually passed away.
[00:00:17] And it makes us pause and be amazed that she reigned for 70 years.
[00:00:24] And you know, one thing I appreciate about Queen Elizabeth, she was such a consistent moral influence on other people. I don't know if you've ever listened to her speeches, but she always brought God into the equation and always pointed people to God himself. Because in the system, the British system, she was not only the head of the state in a figurative sort of way, but she was also the head of the church, the Anglican Church over England. So she felt very deeply her responsibility to live a moral life.
[00:00:57] And so tomorrow people are going to honor her as they eulogize. She'll be eulogized by people all around the world and rightfully so.
[00:01:08] So what is it that God requires of those who are in position, such as the Queen or Prime Minister?
[00:01:16] Or move it. Filter it down to people who are in a role of leadership. Business owner, political leader, pastor, teacher, parent. See, we can just keep moving this down because all of these roles influence the lives of other people. And God has a standard and I want to look at that standard. We're going to see that standard here in the book of Jeremiah, beginning in chapter 22. And so God was speaking to what he would call the shepherds of his people or the leaders, the kings of his people, or those officials who were working with the king to bring direction over the land.
[00:01:54] And so we notice here, Dr. Longman brings this out, Tremper. He says it was the King's duty to protect those who could not protect themselves. That's one of the main roles of a person in an area of responsibility. And also create a society that was harmonious for law abiding citizens. In other words, create an environment where people could flourish. Isn't that a great thing? That's what leaders should be doing. That's what parents should be doing. That's what business owners should be creating for their employees and the people they serve. This is an environment that leaders are to bring about.
[00:02:28] But what happens when those in authority flaunt or abuse their positions? What then will God address those abuses? And maybe the greater question is not will God? Because I'm going to tell you right now, God will. But how does God go about doing it? And if we're to understand the chapter that we're going to look at, I need to give us a little brief historical background. And so I made a decision. I printed a little bit of notes for you. Okay, you might want to grab that piece of paper because as we're looking at this chapter, we're going to get a deep historical insight into really the Babylonian Captivity. Now what's happening in this chapter is we're going to look at three of the last four kings in the southern kingdom of Judah. And all of these people, unfortunately it said about them that they did, which was evil in the eyes of the Lord. These were not good kings and God's going to address their lives. As a matter of fact, Josiah was the last godly king.
[00:03:30] And in 626 B.C. that's when Jeremiah began his prophetic ministry. And it was during the reign of Josiah. And Josiah previously had been getting rid of the idols in the land. He was a reformer. He was trying to get people back to the true worship of God.
[00:03:49] Judah at that time was a vassal state. It was under the control of the Assyrian Empire. They didn't have total freedom. They were paying tribute.
[00:03:57] And there was arising further away another new emerging kingdom, another group and power group called the Babylonians.
[00:04:08] And so in 621, when the Babylonians were fighting with the Assyrians, they actually captured the Assyrian capital city of Nineveh. And they ended up fleeing and setting up, you know, the Assyrians did a new headquarters in a place called Carchemish, which is located on the Euphrates River a little bit northeast of where the land of Israel was in 609. This is now a few years later, Nico, the pharaoh of Egypt, forms an alliance with the Assyrians. He's marching up to help the Assyrians against this emerging threat from Babylon. And now Josiah, the godly Judah, king of Judah, decides he doesn't. He's trying to break free from this Assyrian domination. So he attacks the Egyptian pharaoh and. And in that battle near Megiddo, he was killed, which was a sad thing for the people of Israel. The Judean people then placed the fourth and youngest son, Jehoahaz on his throne.
[00:05:14] Most of the reason people feel like he did that was the youngest son. Usually it's the oldest son, but he picked the youngest one because he probably shared the sympathies of his father.
[00:05:24] Now his reign lasts three months. That's not a very long reign compared to Queen Elizabeth. 70 years, three months. What happened? Well, Nicol goes up, joins the Assyrians, is totally defeated, comes back to Egypt. But what he's doing is he stops and he dethrones this young 18 year old king and sets up an older brother who is in a sense a political alliance with the Assyrians and the Egyptians.
[00:05:53] And so this new leader, we're going to find out a lot more about him.
[00:06:01] Babylon continues its ascendancy under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Subdues all of Syria, which is just north of Israel, and eventually makes Judah. He takes that over and makes it the staging area to conquer Egypt. Jehoiachin, which is the older brother, is now under tribute and so he has to send vessels to Babylon. And also many of the young nobility are taken away to Babylon, one of which is Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Okay, Those guys are taken in that first conquering of the Babylonians. We following the story so far. Jehoiachin eventually rebels against the king of Babylon in 597.
[00:06:45] And while Babylon is coming to deal with him, the people are terrified. They dethrone this guy from his power base and they remove him and they set up his son Jehoiachin. I know they all sound the same, but that's why it's a little confusing.
[00:07:02] The Babylonians start bringing a siege on the city. The Judeans surrender.
[00:07:08] So his reign lasts all of, guess what, three months.
[00:07:13] That's not a long reign either. The other guy reigned for quite a bit longer, but this guy goes three months and he's taken and changed to Babylon. And eventually, if you keep reading the story, one day after Nebuchadnezzar dies, his son rules and he restores him out of prison. It's the very end of the Book of Chronicles.
[00:07:32] Now Nebuchadnezzar sets up another guy and his name is Zedekiah. He's the last king of Judah. He reigns for 11 years. In the ninth year, he decides to ally himself with Egypt. Bad move.
[00:07:46] Rebels against Babylon. Jeremiah's warning, don't do that. But he does it anyways, under a lot of pressure from his nobles.
[00:07:54] And there's a siege that lasts three years.
[00:07:57] Zedekiah is taken, his sons are all killed. His eyes are taken out. He's taken off to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar is so angry, he totally destroys the city and the temple. In 586B, you say, well, you know, Pastor, I mean, it sounds kind of chaotic and a bit confusing, but it is. And that's what I'm trying to bring across. That's the nature of sin.
[00:08:21] When it's in our lives, it creates instability, confusion and chaos. So anytime you're living in a time of instability, confusion and chaos. What's driving it is that sin is predominantly reigning in. In the environment in which we're in. So if you're saying today, man, there just seems to be so chaotic, so confusing, I'm telling you, it's because sin has ascended in our culture and it's having an impact, and that's why people are in the state that they're in.
[00:08:49] So what was tragic was that not one of these last four kings looked to God. They trusted in their own political understanding, and all of them failed. As a matter of fact, all of them. The Bible says, I could go through and show you all these verses, but they all did that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord. In other words, they were not turned towards God. They had no interest in obeying God. They were interested in doing their own thing. And so what we learn from this story is that sin leads to separation from what we cherish the most. Isn't it kind of tragic? In our lives, we think, oh, you know, I'll just do this thing. But what it eventually does is, is rob us of the very things ultimately we love the most, we lose it. And I find this all the time. I've been a pastor for four decades now, and I see when people come to me, all the losses that they experience because they've allowed sin to rule and reign in their lives. And it's heartbreaking to listen to it.
[00:09:53] The significance of this exile is that for the Judeans, they get exiled out of their land. You go, well, why is it that they're so hung up on this land? Well, let me explain. Explain it to us, because we don't get it.
[00:10:06] We're 21st century people. We've moved from country to country. But I'm going to explain something to you. The promised land was the land that God gave these people. And it was the land that God himself said, I will rule and reign in this land. The temple spoke of the very presence of God. So in their minds, when they were banished from their land, in a sense, they were banished from the presence of God. And now you can understand why they were so grieved and why they wanted to come back to the land. Because really, it's. It's a picture in our minds that when you and I sin, we're in a sense, we're banished from the presence of God. And yet there's a longing to get back there. Because that which is the greatest need in our life, which is a healthy relationship with God, is no longer there for us. As a matter of fact, Isaiah says it this way.
[00:10:49] Isaiah 59:2 says, but your iniquities have separated you from your God. Your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will.
[00:10:57] He will not hear.
[00:10:59] So what can we learn from this chapter? What are we going to learn from these prophetic announcements that Jeremiah is going to walk us through here? What is it that God requires of us, especially when you and I have been given a responsibility to care for the lives of other people?
[00:11:15] You know, maybe we're parents, we have a responsibility to care for our children. Or, you know, we have a responsibility to be concerned about our neighbors. We can't just be indifferent to the people around us or whatever realm of influence that we have with people. What is that God is requiring of us and how we treat others is one of the most important tests of our genuineness of our faith in God. You see, you know, people tell me all the time, well, I really love God. I really believe in God. And all God does is look at how we're treating people. And if we're treating people wrongly, it's a negation of everything we say we believe.
[00:11:49] And so it's so critical today to understand that a real faith in God should affect how I'm treating people. And if I'm treating people wrongly, actually it's a negation. It's a negative. It's actually, I'm fooling myself. I'm not experiencing what God really wants to have happen in my soul. God wants to bring about a transformed heart. He wants us to become like him. God wants us to become godlike. That's what the word godly means. We become godly, we become like God, we become Christlike. And we're going to look at that today. What does that look like as we live out our lives? You know, when we examine the work of the Holy Spirit, listen to what Paul says regarding what he calls the fruit or the result of the Spirit in our life. If the Spirit of God is really working in our life, what should come from us is love.
[00:12:40] What should come from us is joy. What should come from our lives is peace. Forbearance means I'm able to tolerate things.
[00:12:50] There's a low level of tolerance today. Everybody's offended by everything. We have no tolerance for anything, folks. That's because we don't have the spirit. If we have the Spirit in our lives, we are far more forbearing.
[00:13:03] As a matter of fact, he goes on to describe kindness.
[00:13:07] Would you say that our culture is Marked by kindness today, probably not.
[00:13:12] But in the life of the believer it should be marked by kindness. You and I should be evidencing kindness because the Spirit of God is at work in our lives. There should be goodness. We should be people that are faithful. Faithfulness is an important thing. As a matter of fact, Jesus, when he commends his servants at the end of the age, he says, well done thou, what good and faithful. And so I find that people today are less faithful, less committed, less, less consistent in their lives. But God, that's the fruit of the Spirit. When you see people who are faithful, people who are gentle, people who have self control, they're not out of control, they're not losing it all the time. So we're going to look at God's requirement and evaluation of some of the who disregarded God's instructions and the consequences of their actions. But I think what's even more important than all of that is the lessons that you and I learn from their mistakes. Now, how many know if we don't learn from other people's mistakes, we're going to make them? Okay, so my take in life is why do all the wrong things and suffer all the bad consequences? Why don't I just learn from other people's mistakes and avoid them?
[00:14:19] And that's hopefully what we're going to do today. So let's take a look. We're going to look at two lessons today. The first lesson we need to learn in life is what does God require of us?
[00:14:29] And I'm going to just say it this way. God's all about people. It's all about how we treat people.
[00:14:34] And especially those people who need us, especially the people who may be weak. We're going to take a look at the people that we need to nurture, we need to care for. We discover in life that God's bringing people into our lives so that we can nurture, help care for them and influence them in a positive way.
[00:14:54] So what are we to do? How do we respond to the challenges that this poses for us?
[00:15:00] You know, we come across the sick, the elderly, the disabled, the weak, children, those who have suffered the loss of a spouse. They're all in need of assistance and they must not be neglected. Now I know that we live in a social system and our mind immediately goes, well, that's the government's job. And I'm going to argue it. No, it's not.
[00:15:20] I think the government is meddling in God's business. A lot of times the job of the church is to care for people. And I want you to know we want to do that. We take that very seriously. I take it extremely seriously. You know, there's a reason why God spoke to our congregation years ago when we built an orphanage in India. There's a reason why that some of us have been supporting orphans for, you know, a dozen years now in India. There's a reason why we're involved in these kinds of things. There's a reason why we. We have a benevolence fund in our church. And every single week I see people coming to this building and receiving food. And many agencies send people to us. And it's just every single day, if you ask our staff, it's just a normal thing. People coming in, people receiving help, people listening. This is just a normal way of doing life in this congregation. Some of you are totally unaware of what's going on. I'm bringing you up to speed. We're committed to doing these things because this is required of us by God. Pure religion that says in the book of James is to care for the widow and the orphan in their distress. And you and I cannot look a blind eye to the needs of people around us. We have a moral responsibility, so we're called to do the right thing on behalf of others. Let's pick up the chapter here. It says, this is what the Lord go down to the palace of the King of Judah and proclaim this message that there hear the word of the Lord to you, King of Judah, you who sit on David's throne, you, your officials and your people. Now, in my notes, I highlighted who he's speaking to, the king, the officials and the people, they're all included in this message who come through these gates. So the statement was, Jeremiah was to go down. Now, if you know anything about topography in the place of Jerusalem, you'll find out that the highest building was the temple and the palace was lower down. That suggests to me, where was Jeremiah? He must have been in the temple. God says, okay, I want you to go down. Now. I think there's another reason why it's stated this way. Because the higher authority in the land of Judah was God. And then it was the king. And the king was subservient to God. And I'm going to make a suggestion. Today it's the same thing. Today there was only one authority. There's no authority. I'll say it this way. There's no authority greater than God. In the land, there's no authority. No prime minister is greater than God. There's no King or queen greater than God. God is the ultimate authority in the land. And as we're going to see, every authority needs to be under that authority in their lives. But before we can chide these people for their behavior, we need to evaluate our own lives and see if we are in submission to God's authority.
[00:18:06] Are we basically living an autonomous, independent life from God now? You know, sometimes I'm a Christian pastor. Yeah, but let me. Let me frame it this way. You know what I mean by autonomous, independent life? Am I serving God on my terms or am I serving God on His terms? And is there a difference?
[00:18:25] And I'm going to put it to you this way. When you and I determine what we should be doing, where we should be going, and how we should be going about it, and we're doing it our way, believe me, we're living independently and autonomously from God.
[00:18:37] I'm throwing that out there. I want you to think about this.
[00:18:40] See, I think God is the one who wants to define what we should be doing with our time, our resources, our energy.
[00:18:48] I believe everything you and I have is a gift from God. And we're accountable to God for the way we use our resources, our time, and our energy. God's evaluating that. And we need to be directed by his precepts and principles in life. We need to embrace God's value system. We need to see people through the eyes of God. We need to be that Good Samaritan that sees the person in need and not be like the priest and the Levite who just walks by him and doesn't attend to him. Right.
[00:19:17] You see, you're getting a picture. This is consistent with the entire scripture. God says, when you and I are his followers, you and I would be like Him. And when we're like him, we're going to see people in need and we're going to do something about it. We're not going to be indifferent to the needs of people around us. And we're going to be consistent in our responsibilities before Almighty God.
[00:19:37] Now, should not God be the one who determines our priorities in life? I think so. This is my life verse. I've just. I said, this is the most important verse for me in my life. And I looked at this verse on the Sermon on the Mount, and it says, but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.
[00:19:54] That's the number one priority in our life. And I ask myself the question, am I doing that? Am I seeking his kingdom above everything else? Am I putting God first in everything I do? And then God Says, if you do that, I'll take care of all the rest.
[00:20:07] I feel like that's the promise. God says, if you take care of my business, I'll take care of yours.
[00:20:12] Great.
[00:20:14] What a deal, God. I'll just be busy doing your business, and I'll let you take care of mine. And, you know, I've done this for 47, 48 years now, and it's worked out perfectly. I can tell you. I feel like I'm the most blessed person on the planet. I'm the happiest camper. I'm just saying, God, you've been so good. I don't even deserve most of what you've done for me. I am blown away by your goodness.
[00:20:36] You know, a lot of times we strive and strive, and when in reality, we need to learn how to trust God and put him above everything else.
[00:20:44] And a lot of times we mentally ascent to this, but the fruit is in the pudding, as they say.
[00:20:50] Are we living this out? Oh, we could say, yeah, I get it. God's first. But then we proceed to make decisions in conflict with the text of scripture. We put other activity ahead of God's priorities. Let me give you some examples. You know, this is what I'm talking about. You know, some of us, and they're doing studies on this. You know where Christians are at today? There was a day when Christians came to church at least once a week.
[00:21:14] Today people think they're attending church when they come once a month.
[00:21:18] I'm serious about this.
[00:21:20] You know, the Bible says, do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together.
[00:21:24] He says, why? Because this time is designed to motivate, spur, inspire, warn, encourage, prod, spur us on to good deeds and to love each other. It's designed to do that. It's designed to meet with God. It's designed to reorient our life.
[00:21:44] You know, I need to do it every day.
[00:21:46] See, I spend time every morning reorienting my life to make sure, okay, God, I'm starting my day with you. I'm looking for direction from you. I'm reading your word. I'm learning of your ways. And so when I'm confronted with things in my day, the things that I've received from you, today is helping me live out that day.
[00:22:05] That's how we should be living. And then, you know, church isn't optional, guys.
[00:22:11] Some of us act like, you know, well, I got time. Well, I've got this other thing I got to do here. Well, I'll just get it a little later on Stream. Oh, yeah, I forgot to look at that streamed message. Come on.
[00:22:22] You know what are we spectators? Are we going to participate in the Kingdom of God? Do you know when you and I don't do what God's asking us to do, there's a lot of people that suffer as a result. When we're inconsistent in our lives, other people suffer because we're not there.
[00:22:38] We don't understand that. Don't you think you're needed? God's chosen to need us. And it makes a big difference when you and I are consistent. When people can depend on us. Isn't it great when people can say, yeah, I know he'll be there. If he says he'll be there, he'll be there. Isn't that nice about some people? You just know if they say they're going to do something, they do it. They're consistent, they're there, they're faithful.
[00:22:59] That's powerful stuff. That's what I'm talking about. It's got to be put into reality in our lives.
[00:23:06] You know, I think a lot of times we neglect giving God the best of our time, the best of our resources, and the best of our effort. And, you know, we say, I'll give God whatever I have left and God gets the leftovers in our lives.
[00:23:21] And then we say, I'm putting God's kingdom first. I'm going, no, you're not. You're putting his kingdom last. You're putting yourself first.
[00:23:28] You're going, this is pretty direct, Pastor. Well, I think we need to hear this once in a while. We need to wake up.
[00:23:34] We need to stop fooling ourselves and think, oh, I'm really serving God. Yeah, how? Explain it to me. Show me in your life how God is first and how you're giving him the best of your life.
[00:23:45] Read the book of Malachi. God says, listen, I'm not interested in your leftovers. I'm interested in your best.
[00:23:52] It's challenging.
[00:23:53] Can you say in your heart of hearts, I give God the best of who I am every single day?
[00:24:00] Can you say, yes, I do, Lord?
[00:24:02] Or do you say, you know, I have to admit many times I get sloppy, I get indifferent, I get apathetic, I get negligent, I'm indifferent. There's opportunities, but I don't even see them.
[00:24:15] Yeah, it's challenging, isn't it?
[00:24:19] How many of us realize that it takes faith to act upon what God says, believing that God will enrich our lives?
[00:24:26] You see, really, the sermon is entitled the Danger of Enriching Ourselves. At the expense of others.
[00:24:32] That's how the culture, that's their thinking.
[00:24:34] Can I tell you what Jesus is like? Jesus enriched others at the expense of himself.
[00:24:41] So if I'm saying I'm a Christian, what am I doing? Then I should be enriching others at the expense of myself if I'm truly a follower of Christ.
[00:24:51] And that's why I think God wants to bless us. See, a lot of us think, oh man, I'm so blessed. I got so much going on in my life. If God is enriching my life, he's giving me the resources to enrich others. Because how many know I can't give you what I don't have, right?
[00:25:08] And how about it? Think about it this way. You know, for some people, and Mark and I talk about this, I talk to others about it. But you know what? As a minister, you can be lazy.
[00:25:19] Come on, Mark, you can. No, he's not lazy.
[00:25:26] What I mean is, I say it this way now, Mark's one of the hardest people that I know, works very hard, does a lot here.
[00:25:34] What I'm saying is simply this. It takes a lot of discipline to work at getting yourself prepared and do better. Mark's working on courses. I've worked on course. I've worked on graduate courses for over 20 some odd years.
[00:25:47] You know, we could, we have. I had an undergraduate degree, I have three graduate degrees. Why did I do that? You go, you just like learning, Pastor. Well, that's true, I do. But I also knew I wanted to get better at what I was doing so I could do a better job.
[00:26:01] Does that make sense? A lot of people just kind of skim at their work. When I went to work, even outside of the ministry, I always tried to do the best I could do. I always tried to learn the most I could. I always tried to give it the best, best I had. I believed that that honored God. I wasn't just serving my employer, I was serving Christ. And I understood that we need to understand that in our lives.
[00:26:21] Okay, let's go back onto this task here of the passage here.
[00:26:27] So we need to understand that Jeremiah goes down and tells the king this message and the people this message. How many know he was not invited?
[00:26:34] Anybody see that God says, go down there and tell them. How many know that God tells you and I to go down and tell people something? You go, well, I don't feel invited by them, Pastor. Matter of fact, some of them don't appreciate what I'm saying. Yeah, well, that happened to Jeremiah, joined the club Jesus said, go into all the world and make disciples, preach the gospel. Yeah, but I didn't feel invited.
[00:26:54] We're not necessarily invited. We're just told to go. How about that? So Jeremiah goes down and tells these guys stuff they don't want to hear. Ever have that experience? You're telling people something they don't want to hear? That happens.
[00:27:05] All right, so what did God want to communicate to his people? He wanted to remind them of the standards which they had forsaken and abused. Look at verse three here. This is what the Lord says. Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor, the one who's been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. They were guilty of all of these things. And he says, stop doing that. Okay.
[00:27:31] For if you're careful to carry these commands, then the kings who sit on David's throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. What does God say? If you do what's right in my eyes, you'll retain your role in life. You will actually be a blessing to people. You'll finish well. People will be blessed. It's all good. If you don't do these things, here comes the warning. You're going to be in trouble.
[00:27:55] Verse 5. But if you do not obey these commands, declares the Lord, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin. Guess what happens. The palace became a ruin. They didn't listen.
[00:28:04] That happened. They were ignored.
[00:28:06] How many know that God promises blessings, but he also promises discipline? If we refuse to obey. Walter Bruegerman says, if. Then argument is consistent with the old Mosaic covenant tradition, which we expected Jeremiah to articulate. The net effect of the if you do this, then this will happen. Formula is to subordinate the monarchy to the Torah. What is he saying? The king needed to understand that he had authority as long as he was complying with the word of God. And he was to read the word of God. Most of these kings didn't do it. Matter of fact, we're going to find out. One guy, he was just shaving the scroll and throwing it in the fireplace. Like, I'm not listening to this nonsense. I'm the king.
[00:28:47] You see? He was usurping his position of authority. Guess what? When you pull that stunt, God says, I'll take you down.
[00:28:54] And he did. We'll find out what happens, its requirements and its sanctions. This subordination de Absolutizes. In other words, it takes away the idea that the leader has absolute power and authority, the monarch, and makes the king, like everybody else, subject to the demands of Torah, which is the word of God. Wow.
[00:29:16] I'm saying, or what he's saying, or what the scriptures are saying is no king, no person is above the word of God, period.
[00:29:29] Not one person in this room, none of us can say we're above God's word.
[00:29:34] As a matter of fact, God's word judges us.
[00:29:37] But, you know, today a lot of us judge the word that's backwards.
[00:29:42] And so we refashion it to suit our lifestyle today. Is that not happening? Of course it is. Danger, danger. I'll point that out. That's dangerous. As a matter of fact, all human beings on this planet are subject to God's standard. Listen to what Paul writes in Thessalonians.
[00:30:01] God will punish the He. There is God. Those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
[00:30:11] That's a solemn verse, don't you think?
[00:30:14] Every human being will be what, punished who don't know God, you say, well, wait a minute. That's not fair, Pastor.
[00:30:22] Yeah, it is fair. God's revealed himself through all of creation. And as a matter of fact, God has given his witness all over creation that he exists. Read Romans.
[00:30:34] And I want you to know something, church of God. That we have a responsibility to bring the gospel, but we also have a responsibility to obey the gospel.
[00:30:44] This is a big issue. You know, we think, oh, I believe, therefore I'm saved. I'm going. You know, true obedience.
[00:30:51] Sorry, true belief leads to obedience. Or if I could say it this way, I was so impressed with this thought the other day. I was listening to some.
[00:31:00] I won't go into where I was at studying something, but it hit me with such impact. Jesus said these words, you have to do his will in order to understand.
[00:31:12] Obedience comes before understanding. See, in our culture, we go, I'll only believe if I understand. I'm going. Good luck.
[00:31:21] It won't happen. A lot of people don't understand.
[00:31:24] The moment you respond to God in obedience, understanding comes. Jesus, if you do my will, you'll know my teaching. It's true. It is.
[00:31:33] They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his might. In other words, they'll be cut off from God. They'll be, in that sense, exiled. Just exactly what happens here in the Old Testament. That's why this book is relevant. We're talking about being shut from the presence of God. We're talking about being separated from God. The tragic example and consequences of disregarding God's warnings. For this is what the Lord says about the palace of the King of Judah. Though you are like Gilead to me, like the summit of Lebanon, I will surely make you like a wasteland, like towns not inhabited. I will send destroyers against you, each man with his weapon. And they will cut up your fine cedar beams and and throw them into the fire.
[00:32:12] I'm going to come back to this, but I'll just make this remark.
[00:32:16] The palace was so ornate, they had built it out of all this beautiful cedar from Lebanon. Actually, it looked like they were living in a forest. That was how opulent this palace was.
[00:32:29] We'll come back to that.
[00:32:31] We need to understand that God desires to save us.
[00:32:36] God wants us to experience his love. And God wants us to walk in obedience to Him.
[00:32:42] So the lesson is that people from all nations and times need to learn that those who forsake the Lord and embrace other gods will experience ruin in their lives. Look what it says in verse 8. This is what we're to learn from the story of Judah and Jerusalem's destruction. People from many nations are going to pass by the city and will ask one another, why has Yahweh done such a thing to this great city?
[00:33:06] What happened here?
[00:33:07] And the answer will be because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods. Isn't that powerful? So everyone's going to learn from what you've done wrong. I'm going to use it as an example to teach people from every nation and all times what not to do. Okay, here's the last second point.
[00:33:25] The consequences of abusing those we're called to care for.
[00:33:29] So what happens in this message? Jeremiah explains the tragic losses that three of the final four kings experience as a result of their rejection of God's warning. So we have these three little vignettes. I was thinking we three kings. Well, you don't want to be like these three kings. I like the New Testament kings or the astrologers or astronomers that came to worship Jesus. But here, these guys are going to suffer a tragic hand and the brief and tragic reign and end of Jehoahaz, the first king. This is Josiah's first son, God, speaking to Jeremiah. And he says to the people, listen. What he says, do not weep for the dead king. In other words, don't weep for Josiah, the good king, the godly king. How many know when you have good leadership and they're no longer in place, and then you get a bad leader. Everyone's crying, I wish we still had so. And so they did it right.
[00:34:21] They were crying because Josiah had blessed that nation.
[00:34:24] He says rather weep bitterly for him who is exiled because he will never return to see his native land again. So he's talking about his son that replaced him. For this is what the Lord says about Shallum, son of Josiah. Now you say, well, I thought it was Jehoahaz. Well, it is. Shallum is his name. But a lot of these kings, when they come to power, they change their names to. Did you know that? And by the way, that's the way it is all the time, even today. A lot of times people will change their names when they change roles. That's what he did, who succeeded his father, King of Judah. But he is gone from this place.
[00:35:04] He will never return.
[00:35:05] Now, remember I told you about this banishment idea, this idea of being exiled. That's the part that you should be weeping over. He's never coming back to what he longs for in his soul. It says he will die in the place where they have led him captive, and he'll never see this land again. He says, you want to weep over something, weep over that. That's. That's tragic. And then we Read this In Second Kings, Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his predecessors had done.
[00:35:35] So that's the story.
[00:35:39] And we'll just say this.
[00:35:41] The next king is Jehoiakim, and he's an oppressive leader, probably of all the kings described. This guy is really not in a good place. He's got all the wrong priorities. And Jeremiah, this is the guy that Jeremiah has the most problems with, big time problems with this guy. In chapter 22, verse 13, we read this. Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing and not paying them for their labor. In other words, he's using his people. He's taking advantage of his people. He's enriching himself at their expense.
[00:36:16] It says, he'll say, I'll build myself a great palace with spacious upper rooms. So he makes large windows in it, panels it with cedars, and decorates it in red. Red's always a color of royalty, expense, opulence.
[00:36:31] Then he goes on here. So the question that we need to Ask is what makes for a good leader?
[00:36:38] Well, he goes on, God's talking to him. Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar?
[00:36:44] Did not your father have food and drink? He did that which was right and just and all went well with him. In other words, this is the measure of a person. It's not how much you and I acquire in life.
[00:36:54] It's rather what we did with our life.
[00:36:57] It's how we related to people. It's about our character, not the things we possess. That's what he's trying to tell this guy.
[00:37:04] So we see this contrast between himself and his father, Josiah. It says he defended the cause of the poor and needy and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?
[00:37:16] How many you should? That's a good verse.
[00:37:19] I was thinking this morning as I was up really early looking at this text, I was going, I wonder how many people really read Jeremiah. I wonder how many people read chapter 22. I wonder if we see the beautiful nuggets in these chapters I would highlight. Is that not what it means to know me? What?
[00:37:35] That I'm concerned about the needy and the poor.
[00:37:39] Isn't that beautiful? That's when you know you know God because you're concerned about what God's concerned about. You're concerned about the people that are struggling in life and you're trying to do something about it. That's when you know you know God. Powerful. I think we're presented with a great challenge in understanding what it means to know when we serve the interests of others on God's behalf. We're serving God when we're concerned about the people that God is concerned about. We're God's representatives.
[00:38:04] However, Jehokiakim's actions revealed the condition of his soul. His understanding of a measure of a person was what he attained in richest status and prestige. God's measure of a person is what we do for others, showing care, generosity and kindness. Josiah, in contrast, was a man who took his responsibilities to do the right thing and to show mercy and justice and to help those that were in need.
[00:38:28] God blessed him.
[00:38:29] Here's the indictment against Jehoiakim. But your eyes and hearts are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, and on oppression and extortion, as I said, enriching himself at the expense of others.
[00:38:43] And you know what? God ultimately judged him. And for his ungodly life, his memory was held in disdain by the people. There was no mourning his inglorious hand. Listen to what it Says here, this is what the Lord says about Jehoiachin, son of Josiah, king of Judah. They will not mourn for him. They will not say, alas, my brother, alas, my sister. They will not mourn for him. Alas, my master, Alas Splendor. What is he saying is no good. Eulogies. No one's going to cry over his being gone. They're all going to be rejoicing when he's finally out.
[00:39:13] Isn't that sad? To be a leader in a nation? And when you finally end your time, everyone goes, good riddance.
[00:39:21] Isn't that sad?
[00:39:22] You know, tomorrow, I think you're going to hear a lot of good things said about the queen. But, you know, I hate to say this, but there's people that have been leaders, you know. You think when Hitler's end came to, everyone goes, oh, we're so sad to see Hitler go.
[00:39:36] They were dancing in the streets.
[00:39:39] See what I'm saying? This is what we're talking about, you know. Verse 19. He will have the burial of a donkey dragged away and thrown outside the gate of Jerusalem. This is how highly he will be thought of.
[00:39:52] Verse 20. Go up to Lebanon and cry out. Let your voices be heard in Bashan. Cry out from the Abraham, for all of your allies are crushed. In other words, what he's saying is, you trusted in all these people to help you. They're going to all let you down. How many know when you're trusting in man, you'll be disappointed. That's what he's telling them. He said, I warned you when you felt secure, but you said, I will not listen.
[00:40:12] Remember, Jeremiah's warning this king, and he's taking the scroll and he's throwing it into the fire. Like, I'm really threatened by this stuff. You felt secure. That has been your way of life from your youth. You have not obeyed me. God says, the wind will drive all your shepherds away. All your allies will go into exile. Then you'll be ashamed and disgraced because of all your wickedness. Wow. You who live in Lebanon, you who are nestled in cedar buildings, how you will groan when pangs come upon you. Pain like that of women in labor.
[00:40:43] Here we see the tragedy of his life. The third king mentioned in this chapter is Jehoiachin, verse 24. Surely as I live, declares the Lord, even if you, Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, this is now his son, the bad guy's son takes over now.
[00:40:57] This is the grandson of Josiah.
[00:41:00] Even if you were a signet ring on My right hand, I would still pull you off.
[00:41:05] John Thompson explains the meaning of what this means. Signet ring was the seal that you seal things with.
[00:41:11] You see, the kings of Judah were regarded as Yahweh's official representatives who employed his signet ring. In other words, they were God's. God was using them. That was his authority. It's kind of like a notarized stamp. What's being expressed here is God says, I'm rejecting this guy.
[00:41:26] He's not my representative. You guys picked him, not me. We're told of this brief three month stint as king and what happens to him. In verse 25, he says, I'm going to deliver you into the hands of those who want to kill you. Those who you fear. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon and the Babylonians. I will hurl you from you and the queen mother who gave you birth into another country where neither of you was born. And there you will both die. By the way, that's exactly what happened. You will never come back to the land you long to return to.
[00:41:54] Is this man Jehoiachin, a despised broken pot, an object no one wants? Hey, how would you like to be said? This is God's estimate. You're just a broken pot of no value.
[00:42:06] I don't like that. Will he and his children be hurled out, cast into a land they do not know?
[00:42:12] O land, land, land. Hear the word of the Lord.
[00:42:18] This is what the Lord says. Record this man as childless, even though he had children. Just record him as childless. A man who will not prosper in his lifetime. For none of his offspring will prosper. None will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah.
[00:42:32] Wow. What does he say? This is coming to an end. God's bringing all this stuff to an end. As a matter of fact, Tremper Longman says clay pots were easily broken and were unusable. If we judge by the millions of potsherds that litter the surface of the Tels today, that's the digging sites in Israel or in other countries. They probably grew to be quite a nuisance to the ancient inhabitants, since they do not disappear with time. You know, they're all over the place.
[00:42:58] Progeny and succession were matters of great concern to ancient kings, including those of Judah, a land ruled by a single dynasty for its entire history.
[00:43:09] However, Jehoiachin would be like a childless king. Though he had children, they would never rule. So what have we seen today? I'm going to close the devastating end of leaders who rejected their responsibility to care for people entrusted to them, people who enrich their lives at the expense of others.
[00:43:27] Often we think that only happens directly, but it can also happen indirectly. I was doing a lot of thinking about this. You know, sometimes we think, I'm just taking advantage of this person and we're doing a direct thing. But I think we can also do it in an indirect way by simply neglecting to do God's will.
[00:43:48] And therefore, because of our indifference and apathy, others which could and should have been blessed and enriched by our involvement, we're not there, and therefore they suffer.
[00:44:01] Isn't that true?
[00:44:02] You know, sometimes it's just being there that counts.
[00:44:07] You know, a lot of times people lose a loved one, and then you go, I don't know what to say to the family.
[00:44:13] You don't have to say anything.
[00:44:15] Just being there says you care.
[00:44:19] See, Jesus said, you know, when you've done it to the least of these my brothers, you've done it to me. Just being there matters.
[00:44:27] Caring people know you care.
[00:44:30] That's a powerful thing.
[00:44:33] You know, somebody have a stand this morning as we close the service.
[00:44:41] See, I think our culture has. This is. This is the cultural mindset.
[00:44:45] I mind my business, you mind yours. Isn't that kind of the ultimate value?
[00:44:52] I want to just say this.
[00:44:55] I remember one time I was reading a story. This was back in the American Civil War. There was a guy was preaching, and the guy says, why don't you just mind your own business? He goes, this is my business.
[00:45:07] This is my business.
[00:45:09] I'm about my father's business.
[00:45:12] I'm concerned for people.
[00:45:14] You say, well, you're just a busybody. I'm saying, no, I'm trying to rescue the dying.
[00:45:20] I'm trying to help people who are totally confused and broken and spent and lost.
[00:45:25] This is what it's about, folks.
[00:45:28] You can live an entire life. Some of us are getting a little old. We start looking back, you start saying to yourself, what is it all about?
[00:45:34] I'll tell you what it's about.
[00:45:36] It's about becoming the person God desires you to become.
[00:45:42] It's becoming like God.
[00:45:45] We become like Christ.
[00:45:48] We become life to people who are broken by death.
[00:45:53] We care about the people that God cares about, by the way, God cares about people. We know that's true.
[00:45:59] God cares about the people that most of us insulate ourselves from. You see, one of the problems of being super rich is that we don't bump shoulders with the super poor. We insulate our lives, and we don't even hear their crying anymore.
[00:46:12] That's sad. We can do that or we can say, you know what, Lord, I want to hear the cry.
[00:46:18] I want to experience what you experience. You see, Jesus was touched with the feelings of people's infirmities. Are we touched by people's pain?
[00:46:28] Do we get moved to do things? Or are we just sitting there and going, I'm totally indifferent to the cries of the people around me.
[00:46:34] So I'm trying to challenge us. Today I believe the spirit of God says, I want you guys to wake up.
[00:46:39] I want you to reevaluate your life right now and say, am I putting the kingdom of God first in my life? Is it what God wants me to do? Or is this just about my life and I'm asking God's blessing?
[00:46:51] Or am I saying, God, I want to do your will.
[00:46:55] I want your life to be so lived out in my life that when I come at the end of the journey and I look back, I can see the lives that have been helped and strengthened and blessed and resourced, that I've used what you've given me for the good of not just my family or myself, but the good of those around me, that somehow when I pass by, love and mercy and grace are flowing with me, and people's lives are being touched with every head bowed right now. You know, I think this is a great day to say, you know what? I can see that God doesn't just want to save my soul.
[00:47:35] God wants to transform it.
[00:47:38] God wants to do such a powerful work in my life. He wants me to become an instrument of righteousness and goodness and grace and blessing and generosity and kindness in the world around me.
[00:47:52] Maybe today you're saying, you know what? I have drifted.
[00:47:57] I've allowed other things to crowd into my life. I can honestly say I can see it. I'm hearing it. The spirit of God is speaking into my soul and saying, hey, you know what? I'm calling you this morning. It's time to wake up.
[00:48:10] You've been sleeping.
[00:48:12] You know, I love that parable, the 10 virgins, they were all sleeping.
[00:48:16] It's amazing how the world can deaden us and we can put us to sleep.
[00:48:21] And Jesus is saying this morning, wake up.
[00:48:25] I've got something for you to do.
[00:48:28] I've got people for you to touch. I got lies for you to influence. I've got people that you could be blessings to, and I want you to open up your soul. How many say, you know, pastor, I feel the spirit of God speaking me this morning, telling me it's time to Wake up.
[00:48:44] Is that you this morning? Just raise your hand. I'm going to pray with you. Is that you this morning? You know, it's time to wake up.
[00:48:49] I need to awaken. I need to, you know, to give God the very best of who I am.
[00:48:55] I mean, yes, I'm a Christian. I'm not suggesting you're not a Christian. I'm just saying, are you giving God the best of who you are?
[00:49:03] And when you are? I'll tell you something, that's when Christianity gets exciting.
[00:49:07] God will start using you. He'll be amazed.
[00:49:10] And you know, even as you're impoverishing yourself to enrich another person, person, you will feel the richer. It's so amazing to me how that happens.
[00:49:19] You'll feel like you know what you're being blessed, when in reality you're blessing another. You will sense it because you will now sense the spirit of Christ working through you.
[00:49:31] So, Father, I pray this morning that you will speak powerfully into our souls, that this message will resonate within our hearts. That this will not just be a moment of time, but this will be transforming moment. This will be a movement that we move from glory to glory, that there'll be a shift in our thinking about the way we see people, the way we treat people, the way we care for people.
[00:49:54] Because now we recognize it's not just about us being saved, if we're really saved. It's about us responding to the gospel in obedience, seeing transformation in the lives around us.
[00:50:08] We thank you for that, Father. In Jesus name, Amen. God bless you as you leave this morning.
