Jeremiah 26-29 (series)

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Jeremiah 29 - Seeking the Shalom of Babylon - part 2: Pray  

I invite you to turn to Jeremiah 29. We’re continuing to look at this chapter with a view to seeking the welfare or the shalom of Babylon. Last week we looked at God’s sovereign hand being the hand that ultimately sent His people into exile, and that exile, in a very real sense was a mercy. The rest of Israel and Judah are not so fortunate. We also looked at the initial part of God’s commission to the exiles to build, plant, marry, have kids, and multiply, not as citizens of Babylon, but as resident aliens. Today, we’re going to focus on verses 7 and 11, looking more closely at what it means to seek the welfare of Babylon.

So in honor of God’s Word, please stand as your able, as I read from Jeremiah 29, beginning at verse 7.

READ: Jeremiah 29:7-14 

PRAY

Now, I’ll often post highlights of Sunday’s message throughout the week, and I mentioned, as I did last Sunday, that CONTEXT MATTERS. Jeremiah 29:11, I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope, is written to elect exiles commissioned to seek nothing less than the comprehensive welfare of Babylon, the land of their exile. In other words, the way Jeremiah 29:11 is often used, is completely removed from its context.

Well, not surprisingly, there were those who took it as me suggesting that Jeremiah 29:11 has nothing to do with the church, or believers in general, as if the promises of the Old Testament are for Israel, and the promises of the New Testament are for the church. But such couldn’t be further from the case. Every promise of the Old Testament, including Jeremiah 29, finds its YES in Christ and is therefore applicable to the church (2 Corinthians 1:20).

But we can only apply the promises of the Old Testament, rightly to the church — we can only apply the promises the way Paul himself does, if we read our Bibles — our Old Testaments — the way Paul read his, the way Peter read his, indeed, the way Jesus interpreted His Bible. And if we are to trust anyone’s interpretation of the Old Testament, it best be the Author Himself, who says, “It’s all about ME!” 

The whole of the Old Testament, including Jeremiah 29, is about Christ, the ultimate seed of promise, and His offspring. In Christ, you and I are elect exiles called to seek the welfare of Babylon. 

1 PETER

In fact, 1 Peter is an excellent place to see this. Perhaps you should jump there so you can put your finger on it. Peter has Jeremiah 29 very much in mind when writing his first epistle. To give a glimpse of what Peter’s doing, 1 Peter 1:1, he opens with the greeting: “To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion.” The dispersion simply refers to the scattered church, just as Israel was scattered among the nations when she was sent into exile. Turn to the end of Peter’s letter, 5:13, and you’ll notice he wraps up his letter, further capturing the thrust of Jeremiah 29. “She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings.”

Now, Babylon, in Peter’s letter, in one sense, likely refers to Rome. But when we understand the canonical context, that all the cities, nations, kingdoms of man are represented by Babylon, which, as we’ve covered, goes back to Babel in Genesis 11. We recognize that the entire church is in exile in Babylon. The main point of Peter’s letter is a call to suffer for the sake of righteousness—for doing good in a world hostile to God and His people, in order that we might have a testimony to the world for the hope that is in us. 

The life of the believer is not first and foremost about seeking your own personal welfare. Instead, just like Jeremiah 29, we are to seek the welfare of wherever exile finds us until Christ brings us home. The promise that helps us to persevere in seeking the welfare of none less than our enemies is that we can trust the Lord’s plans for us, because those plans are always good.

Now, if you’re living for yourself, then the promise of Jeremiah 29:11 is not yet yours, because you’re not in Christ. The promise is for God’s elect exiles, those who are in Christ, not for those who are at home in Babylon. When you come to Christ, you are immediately placed in exile, no longer at home in the world. Your citizenship is not in heaven.

So this passage, if you’re in Christ, very much applies to you. But in applying it, we don’t set aside the original context, we allow the fullness of Scripture—the whole of redemption history—to fill up what this text means, and in particular, what it means for us as elect exiles in Christ.

ADDING IT ALL UP:

So, that’s the angle I’m approaching our text. I’m not setting aside the rest of redemption history and isolating this passage from the rest of what the Bible teaches us. That would be like us trying to figure out how many screws we needed for our new gaga ball pit we just put together and saying, “I’m going to forget how to multiply for a minute because we’re not there yet.” So, lets see, we have 20 screws on each end of 8 frames. So we need to add 20 plus 20 plus 20, 16 times. Or maybe we’ll set aside addition too and just individually count the places where each screw goes until we get to 320.

That would be absolutely ridiculous, but that’s how some people suggest we are to read the Bible. Let’s set Christ aside until we get to Him in the New Testament. If that’s the case, we can just rip out the first 4/5ths of this book because it really has little to do with us. NO!!! All Scripture is profitable, and it’s profitable because it applies to us in Christ.

Now, that’s a very long introduction, just to say, Jeremiah 29 indeed applies to us today, every bit as much as it did to the people of Judah who were far removed from their homeland. In Christ, we are far from our homeland. We’re in exile in Babylon. And we’re called to seek the welfare of the city where God has sent us into exile, for—verse 7 says—in its welfare, you will find your welfare.

ILLUSTRATION: BLOWING LEAVES

Over the winter, almost immediately after cleaning up the fallen leaves from our yard, our neighbor removed the leaves from their yard. But they did their leaves a bit differently than we did ours. Our leaves were blown and gathered into the woods and the compost pile. Our neighbor’s leaves were blown into the street directly across from our house, awaiting the next blustery winter gust to provide us an opportunity to re-remove the leaves from our front lawn all over again.

Now, you could be like me and grumble about the leaves poised to raid our yard. (Yes, your pastor is still very much a sinner who finds plenty to repent of daily.) Or you could be like my much more sanctified wife, who reasoned with our then 14-year-old. We can pick up the leaves while they’re somewhat piled together along the street, or we can wait and have the whole yard to clean up again later this week. So, with wheelbarrow and rakes in hand, Jenny and Chase took to the street, and in a matter of minutes the leaves were no longer arrayed against our freshly cleared front lawn. (I’m making it sound as if we keep our yard all that manicured… we don’t!) 

Now, in one sense, this was a kind gesture to our neighbors, not just the ones who blew the leaves, but all who would enjoy cleaning up the leaves once the wind caught hold of them. But understand, the motive wasn’t so much our neighbor’s welfare, but ours.

BETTER CURB APPEAL

That’s not at all the call here in Jeremiah 29:7. Hey, clean up the mess in the city, so that while you live as resident aliens across the street, you’ll enjoy better curb appeal. 

Many have equated seeking the welfare of the city to be that of helping further the city’s economy, the education systems, civil justice, and so on. You help aid the economy; you’ll tend to be wealthier too. You keep the neighborhood clean and welcoming, the value of your home will increase, and your quality of life will be more pleasurable. Better schools mean better education for your kids too. And of course, who doesn’t want to live in a more just society. Partner with the city—partner with Babylon—and you’ll be a beneficiary of what Babylon produces.

But here’s the problem. Babylon has a vastly different take on these most basic structures of life than God and His people do. For starters, the world’s view of welfare, peace, shalom, is not at all aligned with God’s. The world sees peace and welfare as that of affirming and supporting others in their agendas and ideologies regardless of how displeasing to God they might be. And if you don’t want to affirm, at least keep quiet and stay out of the way.

WORLDLY PEACE VERSUS WELFARE

Well, let’s consider it like this. Your toddler likes playing with the electrical outlet, sticking whatever she finds in it. Who’s going to suggest that non-interference is the way to go. I’ll just let her make up her own mind. It’s her body. It’s her life. Now, allowing her to do what she wants might prevent a tantrum, if that’s what you want to call peace, but it’s not seeking her welfare. 

Your teen wants to hang with his girlfriend at the house while no one else is home. Do you think honoring his wish is truly seeking his welfare? O it might provide some superficial peace between you and him, but only superficial. There’s no true peace inside for the parent who desires the genuine welfare for their teen son. And there’s no peace for your son in his pursuit of ungodliness. Far from it! It will leave his soul in turmoil.

Your child wants uninhibited unsupervised access to the internet and pushes back at the boundaries you set. Do you really think giving into her desire is seeking her welfare? You may find life a bit easier in laying aside your role of training her up in the way she should go; you may find less hostility towards you by not standing in the way of her supposed freedom; but don’t ever think that supporting others in their godless pursuits is a means of seeking their welfare.

Your female student wants to be called “he.” Your nephew wants to take on a girl’s name. You’re not seeking their welfare by catering to their wishes. It takes a love that far surpasses the world’s understanding of love, to love them enough to say, “I can’t support you in this. I can’t support you in this because I love you, and I desire the best for you. This may cause you to think I’m against you, but I’m not. I’m against the pursuits that bring harm to you, even if you don’t recognize the harm.” 

COMPREHENSIVE PEACE

You see, shalom, in a sense, means peace, but it’s more than simply peace between you and your neighbor, as in easing their hostility towards you for not getting onboard with their pursuits. It’s a comprehensive peace that impacts the whole person, including their relationship with their Creator. 

Aiding and abetting others in activities and pursuits that lead them deeper into love for the things of Babylon and further from the God who created them is not at all seeking one’s welfare but assisting in their destruction. We’ve got to love our neighbors more than that.

BABYLON’S HOSTILITY

Now, we have a great dilemma, just as Judah did when they were sent to Babylon. How are they to seek the shalom of the nation that took them captive? Babylon has torn down and destroyed everything Israel and Judah valued and held dear, including the temple. The problem is that Judah and Israel’s values were every bit as misaligned as Babylon’s. Otherwise, they would have never gone into exile to begin with.

Israel was to be a light to the nations, but they were anything but. They may have worshiped in God’s temple, but they didn’t worship the God who caused His name to dwell there. In fact, they worshipped the same things Babylon worshiped. So what did it matter if they were removed from one plot of ground to another. Their hearts couldn’t be any further removed from God than they already were while in Jerusalem. 

And that’s the boat we were in when Christ came and found us. We were as far from God as we could possibly be. So, how are we to seek the shalom of a nation hostile to God, a nation that celebrates immorality at every level, a nation that is self-righteously opposed to God Himself?

FIRST PRAY

The first thing we need to do is found in the text itself. We are to pray. The first thing we should do in our seeking the shalom of Babylon, is to pray to the Lord on its behalf. We pray for the city’s good, recognizing that worldly flourishing and godly flourishing are not the same. 

It’s so easy to grumble over the city. It’s so easy to read and watch the news and grumble over the state of our nation. It’s so easy to grumble over our neighbor’s leaves. It’s so easy to grumble over the world’s godless ideologies. But we’re not called to grumble. We’re called to pray. They’re lost! Did you forget that? And there was a time your Shepherd had to come and find you because you were lost too.

But I assure you, before you were found, there was someone praying for you, for your welfare, for your greatest shalom—peace with God Himself. Now that you’ve been found, it’s your turn to pray.

ACT ON BEHALF

And those prayers should also turn into action. It’s not enough to pray and pray, yet never lift a finger. God has called us to a faith that works. While shalom means comprehensive peace and wholeness, we can err on exalting the spiritual needs so much that we completely neglect the physical. Now we have to be careful in discerning what’s truly a need for someone’s welfare, especially in prosperous America. 

I find James 3 helpful. If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 

We’ve got to care for people’s physical needs, especially when they cross our path. That’s what love does!

I was so encouraged recently to see this in action when such a physical need was presented to our church. In all honesty, at first, many of us weren’t quite sure how we could even manage this. Our congregation isn’t very big. Some of the need would require strong backs for heavy lifting, of which we were limited.

One Saturday morning, I stepped away from a meeting where the consensus was that this need was really beyond our capacity. But we prayed. The next day, Bill assessed the situation personally, and came up with a game plan. And here’s the thing, we proceeded in faith, unsure how it would all work out. We ended up with plenty of bodies, assisting on multiple days, from at least four different churches. God is so good. 

PHYSICAL OR SPIRITUAL

The physical needs matter, along with the spiritual. And in our seeking the physical welfare of our neighbors, we let them know our motivation is Christ. Why? Because we don’t just care about the physical. We care about the physical and the spiritual, the temporary and the eternal. 

I think John Piper captures our call to seek the welfare of the city best. “Christians care about all suffering, but especially eternal suffering.”  Seeking the shalom of Babylon calls us to respond to human suffering.

FIND YOUR WELFARE

Now, we have to deal with the end of verse 7. For in seeking the city’s welfare, you will find your welfare. We pour out our lives for the welfare of the city, because in its welfare we find our welfare also. How so?

To live is Christ, a life poured out in service to others for their good. Our gain is in heaven! That’s where our reward is! It’s not here!

But how many “Christians,” rather than seeking shalom for Babylon, are seeking their own little shalom, their own personal welfare in the city first. “Self-care” is a popular thing among Christians today. Someone shared the other day that “Whilewe run the streets taking care of others, make sure you take time to put your feet up too... Today… just be good to yourself. You are worth it!”

But the text doesn’t say, make sure to seek your own welfare. It says, in seeking the shalom, the peace of the city, that is, the people who make up the city, you will find your peace. What peace! What shalom can you possibly have living in a society marching to hell while your legs are propped up, and you’re kicked back in your easy chair thinking, “Hey, I got my shalom. I got my Jesus. So, I’m kind of good with whatever happens to you guys. Go find your own shalom. I found mine.”

That’s not a heart of one who knows the sovereign grace of God, that rescued you from the deadness of your trespasses and sins. That’s not the disposition of our Savior. He wept over the city! He served and got His hands dirty! He proclaimed the hard words people needed to hear despite their hostility towards Him! And He bled for the city, all so that some might be saved and find everlasting shalom.

So, as resident aliens, we have a purpose—seeking the shalom of Babylon. We’ve been planted right here, right where we are at this particular moment in history to be a living witness of God’s goodness that people might come to know the shalom of Christ. God’s sovereign placement of you has a goal… a plan… a plan for a future and a hope.

A FUTURE

Exile is not the end game! It may seem bleak at times, but God intends your exile for good. Now, this most famous of verses, Jeremiah 29:11 is often taken as a promise given to individuals, but this is a word to the collective whole. God’s plans for good are for the exiles collectively. They’re not so much plans for who you’re going to marry, what house to buy, what career to pursue. Not that they’re irrelevant, but it’s not the point of the promise. 

The promise is for a future more than any particular future. These plans are for a future rather than an end. Those who didn’t submit to God’s chosen king and go into exile, they had no future but the sword, famine, and plague. Those who remained in Jerusalem, verse 17 says, were reckoned as vile figs, so rotten they couldn’t be eaten. 

So, while the exiles were under God’s rod of discipline, they weren’t condemned. They were chastised that they might be preserved and restored to a right relationship with the Lord. And part of that right relationship includes being aligned with God in His mission, the welfare of the people who dwell in Babylon.

What the people deserved was destruction, not exile; condemnation, not chastisement. And that’s what we deserve. But God set His love on us despite ourselves, that we might have a future.

I mentioned Joseph last week. God’s plans appeared to be anything but good when Joseph was sent into exile in Egypt. But Joseph was sent for the welfare of God’s people, that they might not perish, that they might have a future. And yet, we’ll tag on our ideals of worldly success and prosperity to this word of promise and make it personal regarding us. But this plan for a future is more about preservation than prosperity, that there’s more to come after your time in Babylon. Babylon’s not the end.

A HOPE

Plans for a future and a hope. Now, hope falls in line with what is meant by a future. But this word, “hope,” has what I find to be a truly incredible use. It’s the word תִּקְוָה (tiqvah). Used 34 times, all but twice it is translated as hope, longing, or expectation. But the first two occurrences of tiqvah are translated “cord.” And both are found in Joshua chapter 2, referring to a cord of scarlet thread.

When Rahab spared the spies, she pleaded with them, “When the Lord gives you the land, please deal kindly with me and my house as I have dealt with you.” In other words, consider the welfare of my family, just as I considered your welfare in not handing you over to certain death. And Rahab asks for a sign that they will indeed spare the lives of her family.

This is the sign she was given. Joshua 2:18. Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. 

So long as they don’t go out the door of your house, they shall be spared. But if they go out the door, their blood shall be on their own head.

Now, if we were to translate tiqvah as “hope” it would read, thread of scarlet hope. Now, I didn’t have time to trace out the history of the usage of this term. You can see Sherif for that. But here’s the thing. That scarlet thread, at the very least, represented hope—hope for a future, that her family would live on and not perish along with the rest of Jericho.

God’s plans for His people are for them to live on and not perish. God’s plans for us—His church—is for us to live on and not perish along with Babylon and the rest of the world. The walls are coming down. But there’s a door of hope, Hosea 2 says… same word. (Hosea ties together Joshua 2 and 7 with the Exodus.) There’s a door of hope in which we are, not just to hide behind, but in seeking the welfare of others, we’re to bring them behind this door of hope with us… a door of hope marked with scarlet, as a sure sign that those who seek refuge behind this door, might not perish but have a future… everlasting life. And in John 10, we find that door is Christ.

But our hope isn’t a thread of hope, as if it might snap under the weight of our sin. The promise, the guarantee of our hope is a sure cord that holds and sustains us, a scarlet thread that marked the lintel and the posts of none less than the door of the cross—a scarlet thread, a scarlet line that ran down the lintel and post of this door we take refuge behind. It’s scarlet in that it was marked by the precious blood of Christ, who came, not seeking His own welfare, but the welfare of those in Babylon, where we once found our citizenship. But we have now been ransomed by that crimson blood for a future… and a hope. And that’s the welfare we seek for others, to bring them with us, safely behind the door of Christ.

PRAY

Jeremiah 29: Seeking the Shalom of Babylon

I invite you to turn with me to Jeremiah 29. We are continuing our series: The Uncompromising Word of the Lord. So, I have a question for each of us to wrestle with. What do you do when God’s uncompromising Word calls you to seek the peace, the welfare, the shalom of none other than Babylon? That’s the question I want us thinking through as we work through this passage.

Now, Jeremiah 29 holds what is likely the second most popular verse of Scripture in all the Bible. And it’s more than we’re able to cover in my allotted time up here before Steve sends Samuel and Eli to cart me off into exile. So in order to save myself that unnecessary embarrassment… and what would surely be embarrassing for you as well, we’re going to divide this over the next couple weeks. 

Follow along as I read. (Read Jeremiah 29:1-14.) 

PRAY.

As mentioned, and we also covered this when we first set out to study the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah 29:11 is easily the second most popular verse in all of Scripture, second only to John 3:16. If you have a single verse of Scripture somewhere in your house or at the office, the chances are very high that it’s: For I know the plans I have in mind for you declares the Lord, plans for good and not for harm, to give you a future and a hope. It is the most used verse on journal covers, Bible cases, and wall art. In fact, for the dozen years I’ve been following Jesus, I’ve received at least as many journals as gifts, and not one of them, that I can recall, failed to have Jeremiah 29:11 on the front cover.

But as popular as this verse is, how often is it considered in context? This letter that takes up the space of Jeremiah chapter 29, is a letter to exiles. In fact, the entirety of chapter 29 is written to exiles, even God’s words to the false prophets, which we'll get to next week, Lord willing. 

This is a reminder that the Bible is primarily to and for God’s people, even when the message concerns Those coming under God's judgment. You read the oracles against the nations, those oracles aren’t so much written to those nations as a warning as much as they are to God’s people concerning the fate of those nations. 

Sherif has walked us through Jonah over the past five weeks. Jonah was sent to Nineveh, but the book of Jonah was for God’s people. 

Many will read the Bible, hear the Bible, check out the Bible, at least bits of it, but the Bible is first and foremost for the people of God. Three times in his letters, the apostle Paul reminds us that the words of Scripture were written down for us, the people of God in every age, for instruction, endurance, encouragement, and hope. 

Take the book of Revelation for example. Most read Revelation as if it primarily concerns events surrounding some future church, completely missing the fact that it is every bit as relevant for the church in every age because it is a book that concerns the church in every age.

I begin here, because context matters. This letter, this chapter is to elect exiles, and it concerns God’s elect exiles. And in case you’re not aware, if you’re a member of Christ’s church, that is you. We are elect exiles, and we’ll remain elect exiles until Christ brings us home. 

Yes, there were original recipients of this letter, but this letter has been preserved as instruction, endurance, encouragement, and hope for us who are also elect exiles.

Something else that we need to consider: the 8 verses of promise and hope found in this chapter are couched in the same warnings and judgments we’ve seen concerning the false prophets and the disobedient. In fact, more than half of the chapter is devoted specifically to addressing the fate of false prophets.

Still, the emphasis of this chapter is God’s good plan for His elect exiles, the remnant, or as the King James says, the residue of God’s people. This chapter is about God's commission to them, His word of promise, and His word of warning. And as elect exiles, especially when we understand the theological thrust of the redemption history, this chapter very much concerns you and I today.

So, the setting is one of exile. That’s where the recipients of this letter find themselves. Why? Because Nebuchadnezzar carted them off to Babylon. Why? Because the Lord sent Nebuchadnezzar to cart them off to Babylon. Why? Because they had neglected their calling in the land of promise. Why? Because they had rejected the Lord of the promise.

You see, technically, the people had been in exile long before God sent them off to Babylon. Their hearts had deserted the Lord long ago. O they clung to the location of the Lord, the place where His name dwelt; they clung to the land the Lord gave to them. In Jesus’ day, we’ll see that the people even clung to the ceremonies and rituals. But they didn’t cling to the Lord. Their hearts were far from Him. 

[Illustration of Numbers 9:17-23 — following the Lord in locale only.]

Because the people’s hearts were far removed from the Lord, the Lord, through Nebuchadnezzar, removed the people far from the City called by His name. Because what matters is not the physical location of where your feet are planted and your home is constructed. What matters is not so much the position of your body but the disposition of your heart, whether such is directed to the Lord or toward yourself. 

Now, I know we’ve discussed God’s sovereignty quite a bit over these last few chapters, but that’s because it keeps coming up. And such is the case here in Jeremiah 29.

When I was first interviewed for this church, I was asked my position on this question, specifically in regard to that of Calvinism. For those of you who don’t know the term or what it means, I’m not going to take time to cover it this morning. Nevertheless, I think it’s helpful to express my stance on the issue here, so that as we walk through passages like this, hopefully it will help you to understand my heart on the issue. 

Now, it’s not my position on this that matters, but God’s. My goal is to align myself with His Word. So this is what I shared:

In order to remain faithful to Scripture we must not over emphasize any doctrine beyond the degree in which Scripture emphasizes it. This means, at times, certain doctrines of grace will be more articulated than at others. It also means that we take care never to negate anything that Scripture clearly affirms. So, while I hold that God is absolutely sovereign, including over the hearts and wills of men, I also affirm that Scripture teaches that man is responsible for his every thought, word, and deed, and can never blame the Potter for the failures of the clay. 

While I affirm the doctrines of grace to be a clear and accurate articulation of the gospel, I have no desire to disciple a people to march around with CALVINIST branded on their chests but rather CHRIST written on their hearts. To confuse the two distorts who it is we seek to glorify. So, it is doubtful that my Calvinism will ever be more overt than the Scriptures emphasize — but never less pronounced either.

I bring this up, because God’s good plans are for those fortunate enough to go into exile. The fate of the rest is that of Judgment. 

While the exiles failed to see God’s plan for them as good, the exiles are the ones who find themselves under God’s sovereign grace.

In Christ, we are immediately moved into exile, which places the world at enmity with us. But it is the elect exiles that are the recipients of God’s sovereign grace of salvation.

So, to be faithful to our current text, we need to deal with this. In verse 1, we’re told the people went into exile because king Nebuchadnezzar had taken them into exile. Nebuchadnezzar came into Judah with his military might and took captive those who chose to surrender over that of being slayed by the sword. 

This included, verse 2, the previous king, Jeconiah, and his mother, along with eunuchs, officials, craftsmen, metal workers, priests, prophets, and more.

But in verse 4, we see that ultimately it was the Lord who sent His people into exile. Both are true. Nebuchadnezzar and Yahweh both sent the people into exile. But Nebuchadnezzar is an instrument in the hand of the Almighty. God is the sovereign hand behind this sending the people into exile. In fact, the text makes it a point to tell us 4 times over the course of this chapter that He is the One who sent the people into exile. (Verses 4, 7, 14, and 20, and that He did so for good, verse 11.)

Now, some have equated God’s sovereign rule over the hearts and actions of man to be nothing more than that of knowing all the possible outcomes and adding His little piece to the mix in order to get the outcome He desires. Sort of like playing expert level chess against a computer. The computer knows not just every possible move, but every possible series of moves, and compensates accordingly. 

But that’s not at all the picture painted in the Scriptures. God not only knows every possible move on the chessboard of history, but also plans and purposes every move of the opponent as He sovereignly sees fit. God takes the Nebuchadnezzars of this world and moves them exactly as He sovereignly purposes.

It’s kind of like a well written book where the author weaves so many various threads into the story that just happen to place every character of the script in the exact place of the author’s choosing so that the story comes together for the perfect climax—every piece in perfect position.

The difference between Nebuchadnezzar’s sending the people into exile and God’s sending is that of a character in a Novel and the author of the script. And in case you have noticed, we call this book, “Scripture.”

Now, we can quickly find ourselves questioning God’s goodness, if He is truly sovereign over the events of history, such as sending Nebuchadnezzar as a judgment and as a chastisement. Doesn’t that make God the author of evil? But such a question fails to recognize that God’s intentions are always for good. Such is not always the case with the characters of the script.

A perfect example of this is the account of Joseph being sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers. Joseph rightly comes to the conclusion, speaking to his brothers long after their ill treatment of him, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” God meant Joseph’s being sold as a slave for good. God had one intention; the brothers had another. 

Joseph will even say of his brother’s selling him into slavery, that it was not you who sent me here, but God sent me ahead of you to preserve life.

God sent the exiles into a foreign land, yes due to their disobedience, but God’s intentions for doing so was for good—their good—in order to preserve life—to preserve a remnant.

Now, if you recall Jeremiah’s commission in chapter 1, verses 9 and 10, God puts His words in Jeremiah’s mouth, saying, “See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

Jeremiah’s commission was one of uprooting and overthrowing nations—nations which included his own people of Judah and the city called by God’s name—Jerusalem. And that’s exactly what has taken place. Nations and kingdoms have been destroyed and overthrown. Cities lie desolate, and more desolation is on the way. 

But this breaking down and uprooting was for good. Just as when the Lord sent Joseph to Egypt. But now that phase 1 of breaking down and uprooting is in its final phase, it’s time for the next phase to begin—the phase of building and planting.

So, after providing the context of the letter, the very first words to the exiles is a word of commission, verse 5. Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.

God calls the exiles to build and plant… not in Jerusalem, but in the land of their exile. Why? Well for one, it’s going to be a while. In fact, it’s going to be a lifetime for most. In verse 10, we’re told that their exile will be seventy years.

Now, a lot of theologians seek to demonstrate how the dates given in the prophetic literature are so scientifically precise, arguing for specific dates that just happen to land at the number we’re looking for, down to the very day. I’m just going to say, a lot of that math is quite fuzzy. 

The point of the seventy years is not meant so much as to be precise, but rather, there’s a theological thrust involved. The number 70 carries a fullness of time. And when the 70 years of physical exile is over, understand, there’s still 70 weeks of years to follow. We get that from Daniel, but I’m not going there right now.

My point is, our sin and rebellion places us in exile—exile for a lifetime. On this side of the cross, believers are called elect exiles. And our exile will last until the Lord calls us home. For most of us, that will be approximately 70 years—shorter for some, longer for others, but nevertheless, one’s lifetime. And, while I plan to cover it later in the passage, just in case I forget, our time of exile is not punitive but a season of discipline to train us up in righteousness. 

Anyway, the people are called to build, plant, marry, and increase. This is Israel going down to Egypt 2.0. Just as when the Lord, via a famine, sent Israel to Egypt in order to grow them into a nation for the time of the Exodus, so now, God’s people had been sent to Babylon that they might increase, as they awaited a New Exodus.

But this really takes us back to Genesis 1 and 2 and the original creation mandate of being fruitful and multiplying, and Adam’s commission to work and keep the garden in which he was placed. But the context of Jeremiah is reversed. Adam was to work and keep the land of paradise. Here, God’s people are to work and keep the land of exile, which tells us, this isn’t going to be easy.

If your view of exile here in Babylon is one of ease and comfort, you’re either not truly living in exile, but have found your citizenship in Babylon, at home in the world—OR—you’re not living out the commission to which God has called you—seeking the welfare of Babylon.

Now notice these verbs in verses 5 and 6: build, dwell, plant, eat, take wives, give wives, have children, increase, do not decrease. These verbs represent growth, production, fruitfulness. This is not a portrait of stagnation, just getting by, killing time. The Christian life isn’t a time for passivity, nor is it a call to make the best of the situation. That’s not what’s going on here.

This isn’t a time for binge watching Halmark or Pureflix. It’s not a time to shut down and hide away in our houses. We are called to actively contribute to society. We’re not called to some Air B&B get away, nor a patio garden of grow bags, but to build and plant, plow and sow, working and keeping the land of our exile until our 70 years, or whatever your lifetime may be, is over, and you’re called to your eternal home.

O how many Christians live out their exile in a state of depression. Woe is me! And I get it. Mankind has brought exile upon himself. We have brought exile upon ourselves. 

But God has a plan for His elect exiles. And that plan is restorative in nature. But restoration isn’t going to happen with you and I remaining in a state of disobedience, refusing to jump in and participate in God’s commission for us. So long as you remain in a posture of disobedience, you have no reason to hope in God’s restoration, because you are flat out rejecting His restoration. 

In fact, your posture shows that you have no desire for the kind of restoration God offers, a restoration of a right relationship with Him. Instead, you show the only restoration you care about is that which you feel you’ve been cheated out of by being placed in this exile to begin with. You want your kingdom restored. You don’t truly desire being restored to God’s.

And if that’s where you find yourself today, God’s call for you is to come to Christ. The call for you is to humble yourself before God and receive the mercy He’s provided in His Son. The call for you is to be restored to God, that your affections might be reordered to align with His.

Now get this. We are called to build and plant and marry in Babylon—the city of our exile. Yet so many of us—myself included—have dreams of that home far outside the city! Get me as far away from people and their mess and brokenness as possible. But that’s not what God has called us to. That’s not why God planted you where He has. 

As believers, we can err on one of two extremes. One is making our home here in Babylon as if it’s our forever home. But Babylon is destined for destruction, as we’ve seen in previous chapters. Babylon isn’t home for the elect exile. We’re simply resident aliens. This is temporary… a long temporary… but nevertheless, temporary. 

We passed by a monstrosity of a house being built on our way home yesterday. And I’m not about to suggest what size home you and I should have as believers. You’ll have to work through that yourself. But I can’t help but wonder if such was a home being built by resident aliens who know their time here is short, or if their hearts are set on staying in Babylon. 

And just so you know, before you think I’m passing judgment on people I don’t even know, my heart struggles with becoming too attached to Babylon also. I can quickly lose sight of the fact that I’m a resident alien. And I’m just guessing that many of you are a lot like me.

But we can also err on the other extreme of living in exile with our bags packed! Did you forget? When you’re finally called home, you’re not taking anything with you. Unpack those bags because they’re staying here.

Notice, the text says build houses to live in. Plant gardens to eat from. Marry and raise kids. There’s no storing up of material treasure in these verses. There is a simplicity to the resident alien’s life in Babylon. 

Not only will you be taking nothing with you, but don’t expect the call home to be tomorrow. Yes, it’s coming. And believers should have their eyes fixed on eternity—gazing upon the hope and promise of heaven often. But our eyes are also called to look upon the brokenness and the needs of the here and now. Which takes us to verse 7: Seeking the shalom or the welfare of the city in which you’ve been planted. 

We’re going to cover this next week, but for now, understand the ultimate reason for our exile is to seek the welfare of Babylon. Countless millions are destined for destruction apart from some intervention. And God has sovereignly planted you in Babylon—in Middle TN—as a witness of God’s grace and mercy to those around you. And if you simply live out your exile tucked away, living on the furthest outskirts of the city, you won’t have much of a witness to offer.

You see, God sent His Son, not to build his forever home here—at least not yet. Nor did Jesus come with bags packed waiting to get the hell out of Babylon. Jesus came to endure the hell of Babylon, the hell Babylon is destined for, in order that those in Babylon might be saved from hell. 

Jesus didn’t dwell on the outskirts of creation. He moved in close, right in the midst of our brokenness. Indeed, Jesus came to build, laying the foundation for a new temple, a new home for God to dwell with His people. Jesus came to plant a new garden, far surpassing that of Eden, for us to enjoy nothing less than the fruit of heaven, the Tree of Life itself—to enjoy Christ!

Jesus came to take a Bride, who would in turn bear offspring for the kingdom, not of Babylon, but of Heaven—multiplying His church until it fills the earth as the waters cover the sea—all to the glory of God.

PRAY

Jeremiah 27:1-22 The Appointed Yoke of the Lord's Discipline  

I invite you to turn with me to Jeremiah 27. We’re continuing our series: The Uncompromising Word of the Lord. Follow along as I read from Jeremiah 27 beginning at verse 1.

(Read- Jeremiah 27:1-22)

WW2’S UNLIKELY ALLIANCES

This past Thursday marked the 80th anniversary of D Day and the invasion of Normandy, France, one of the most decisive battles of World War 2. On June 6th, 1944, the Allied forces of the U.K., the U.S., and Canada, along with troops from Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Poland, launched the largest amphibious invasion in military history. 

But this victory was made possible due to another unlikely alliance between the U.K. and U.S. with that of Russia’s Soviet Union under the regime of Josef Stalin. President Roosevelt recognized that Nazi Germany, and not the Soviet Union, posed the greatest threat to world peace at the time. So, after Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease Act to supply Stalin’s Soviet Union with military supplies and other goods essential to winning the war on the Eastern front.

By the end of June 1944, the United States had provided the Soviets with more than 11,000 planes, over 6,000 tanks, and 300,000 trucks and other military vehicles. In addition to combat vehicles, the Soviets received some 350 locomotives, 1,640 railroad cars, and close to half million tons of rails, axles, and wheels, all for the improvement of the railways feeding the Red armies on the Eastern Front. Miles of field telephone wire, thousands of telephones, and many thousands of tons of explosives, machine tools, and other supplies, not to mention some 3,000,000 tons of food helped equip this unlikely ally to not only stay Hitler’s assault, but to push back the Nazi front. 

This weakening of Hitler’s forces allowed for a decisive victory in Normandy and eventually the end of a war. But such an outcome would have been doubtful without the alliance of nations so opposed to one another. 

Their only common bond was that of a common enemy. As such, these alliances were very short lived, and with the end of one war, came decades of what would be known as The Cold War.

A COMMON ENEMY

Few things bring people and nations together like a common enemy. That’s exactly what’s taking place here in Jeremiah 27 with the visiting envoys in verse 3. The ambassadors of these surrounding nations came to Jerusalem, not to discuss the weather or exchange recipes, but to ally themselves against Nebuchadnezzar and the growing Babylonian threat.

But this Babylonian threat is quite different from that of Nazi Germany. The conquest of Nebuchadnezzar has been guaranteed by God Himself. Look at verse 1. (Read 1-7.)

FUTILE ALLIANCES

These alliances will prove futile. Whatever numbers these nations might amass to fend off Babylon will only add to their own losses. Align themselves as they may against their common enemy, they will ultimately fail because what’s needed is not alignment against a common enemy but an alignment with God.

This is why every earthly treaty will prove to be short-lived, whether such are military in nature or otherwise. We can make pacts for “climate change” but ultimately that’s an example of forming an alliance against a common enemy, rather than seeking an alignment with God.

You see, the problem with saying, “I align myself with the democratic or republican party,” is that it’s entirely backwards. As believers, we align ourselves with God. Period. And only then, to the degree the common goals of an entity align with that of God’s, can we support that entity’s goals. But that also means, to whatever degree that entity or party doesn’t align itself with God and His uncompromising Word, we must, if we are to remain faithful, distance ourselves from that entity’s stance, which means, for those of you who have bought wholesale into one party or another, the Christian has no home in either party. Take care of the alliances you make. For you may find yourself aligned against God.

THE LORD’S SOVEREIGN CHOICE

The Sovereign Lord gives the nations to whomever He chooses. And He has chosen to give them to Nebuchadnezzar… for a time. 

Now, there is nothing in Nebuchadnezzar that makes him worthy of reigning over the nations. In fact, if there even is a qualification that Nebuchadnezzar has making him suitable for this assignment, it’s his ruthlessness, not his righteousness. The fact that Nebuchadnezzar is such a ruthless and cruel king, tends to raise the question of God’s sovereign choice and righteousness. But there are a couple of things we need to understand regarding God’s sovereign decision.

First, verse 5, It is by God’s great power and outstretched arm that He has made the earth and all that is in it… including you and me! And as such, everything belongs completely to Him. And because it all belongs to God, He has the right to do whatever He deems appropriate with that which is His. 

We have no place to question God’s decisions. Rather, we have a duty to understand, to the best that our finite minds are able, why the Lord has ordained this or that… realizing, that we’re not always given a reason, nor are we owed one. 

Therefore, so far as we are biblically able, we need to mine the unfathomable depths of the wisdom of God’s Word. And while it might not be as readily noticeable in this particular chapter, the whole of Jeremiah makes clear that these nations are coming under the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar as a form a discipline due to their idolatry. All nations are in rebellion against God, not just Zedekiah’s Judah and exiled Israel. All nations have sought to make a name for themselves. And that goes back all the way to Genesis 11 and the tower of Babel. 

DIVINE PATIENCE AND JUSTICE

So, if the nations have been in such rebellion against God, why is God just now doing something about it? Why has He let these nations walk in rebellion for so long?

Well, as we covered last week, God’s uncompromising nature stems from His immutability. And wrapped up in God’s immutability is His perfect patience. God’s perfect patience doesn’t waver any more than His perfect justice. The two are never at odds. God is patient not desiring that any would perish. But to suggest that God is just now doing something would be highly inaccurate. God has been working out His plan for the redemption of the nations long before the nations even fell. 

Realize, God doesn’t operate according to our timetable. His plan is perfect, and it is perfectly good. And His plan may indeed involve setting up unrighteous and ruthless rulers, whether kings or prime ministers, or presidents, as a yoke of discipline.

Now, God doesn’t owe anyone a warning. God could skip His yoke of discipline designed to show the nations the horrors of continuing in rebellion. God could simply take every nation and every individual who has ever rebelled against His sovereign reign and cast them into the abyss… …But who’d remain! 

So, in His great mercy and patience, God appoints the king of His choosing as a rod of discipline for the nations. In the case of our text here, it’s Nebuchadnezzar. But the same is true throughout all of history. 

Whatever takes place come November, understand that God is going to put in office whomever He deems most appropriate according to His sovereign all-wise plan. And it is doubtful that the one appointed to office will be so due to any righteousness in himself, but rather the reverse.

But get this. Even the appointment of a tyrant king such as Nebuchadnezzar was for the good of God’s faithful. We can trust that whatever happens with this government or any other government, it will be for the good of God’s people, even should every government on the planet become increasingly hostile to His Church, which Scripture affirms will indeed happen. But such discipline will be for the purification of Jesus’ Bride, preparing her for her Groom.

THE UNPOPULAR MESSAGE OF DEFEAT

Now, last week we saw just how unpopular it must have been to serve as the Lord’s prophet. And now, here comes Jeremiah wearing this yoke upon his neck, proclaiming defeat before the battle even begins. And no one wants to be assured of their guaranteed loss before they come onto the field or take their seat across from their opponent. 

I had the pleasure of playing Josiah in a game of Othello Wednesday after watching his wife, Krissy, crush another member of our congregation who will remain nameless. Krissy was kind enough to inform me, as I agreed to play her husband, “I taught Josiah had to play, and now he sometimes beats me!” Well, I knew I had lost before placing the first piece. But loss is really an understatement. I was slaughtered.

Jeremiah was sent to warn the nations, through their ambassadors, that they’d be wise to surrender now. Otherwise, they’re going to get slaughtered. Verse 8. (Read 8-11.)

THE OPTIONS

The consequence of refusing to heed God’s Word of warning is utter disaster—sword, famine, pestilence, and exile. But exile is only for those fortunate to survive the first 3 woes. Those who submit to God’s chosen king and serve him, however, they have the opportunity of remaining in their own land, working and keeping it. You don’t need to be destroyed or carted off. You only need to surrender. 

That’s what repentance looks like at this stage of the game. The yoke of discipline is coming like it or not. So, don’t listen to those who claim to have had some vision or a divine word from God that suggests otherwise. Their message that everything’s going to be alright will ultimately lead to your removal from the land, and likely a permanent removal at that.

THE YOKE OF BABYLON

But what does submission to the yoke of this unrighteous king look like? Well, Silas read from Romans 13 for us at the beginning of service. Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. 

Why? Because those authorities have been instituted by none other than God! You want to grumble over election results? The people might have voted, but God is the One who appoints those in office—every office, in every locale—without exception. You want to take it up with someone, you take it up with Him. And do so on your knees as you pray those appointments to govern justly.

Rather than grumble, the call for us as believers is to do good. Then we’ll have no reason to fear the sword of those whom God has appointed. 

SUBMISSION DOES NOT MEAN:

Now, we need to address what submitting to the yoke of God’s appointed officials does not mean. It does not mean that we fall in line with their ideology or morality. It does not mean that we heed their godless decrees. But it does mean, when we are called to stand against their dictates that we readily accept whatever consequence their rod may bring. 

The perfect example of this is Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They refused to obey not just any king’s decree, but that of Nebuchadnezzar, the king God has commanded the nations to submit to. Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image, and anyone who refused to bow down to it was to be thrown into the fiery furnace. These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refused to bow. But get this, they understood the consequence of refusing the kings command, and entrusted themselves to the sovereign care of their God.

O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.

If we do what is good and upright in God’s eyes, we need not fear the rod of any earthly authority. Our deliverance is guaranteed. Jesus purchased that for us. And those earthly authorities will, in turn, give account too. Verse 7. Babylon’s own time will come.

UNWITTING SERVANTS

You see, even the world super-power, Babylon, unwittingly serves the sovereign Lord and His plan. And when God is finished with this chosen vessel of His discipline, this vessel will be disposed of accordingly. 

It’s a reminder that all are God’s servants whether willing or not. Not in the same way, of course. But when You’re the sovereign Lord who rules heaven and earth, even Satan ultimately serves God’s sovereign purpose, despite how much the evil one may seek to thwart it.

For any who may find this reality a bit concerning, let me console you by saying, this is a good thing. I mean, think about it. What’s the alternative? That God is somehow at the mercy of the enemy? Not even close!

You face trials like Job, the author of Job wants you to know that God was sovereign over the activity of Satan and that Satan’s attacks could only go so far. But more importantly, they were for Job’s good. Like Babylon, Satan will soon be called to account and permanently removed.

TO ZEDEKIAH

Moving on to verse 12. (Read 12-15). With Zedekiah, the message is the same. Verse 12, serve God’s appointed king and live. Verse 13, why will you perish? Verse 14, Don’t listen to false prophets. Verse 15, the Lord hasn’t sent them. 

Israel and Judah have faired no better than the nations around them despite having access to far greater revelation. But God’s special revelation, in and of itself, has benefited them not.

Paul makes this point in Romans 3. What advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God… But the Jews proved themselves to be every bit as unfaithful as the nations.
  So Paul continues. Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks are under sin. None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Thus, there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile. Both are called to repent and surrender to God’s chosen king.

Zedekiah, don’t think that because you are among God’s chosen people that you are somehow exempt from obeying His Word.

TO THE PRIESTS AND THE PEOPLE

And by the way, you temple priests and the rest of you people, says Jeremiah, I have a message for you as well, because, while your king, Zedekiah, may refuse to heed my warning and bring disaster on himself and this nation, each of you will be individually responsible for whether you heed God’s uncompromising Word of warning and repent.

Verse 16. (Read 16-18.)

You need not perish. Do you hear the refrain? You don’t need to come under the sword. Surrender to the yoke of my chosen king and you will live!

Don’t listen to the prophets who say the sacred vessels shall soon be returned. If they are truly prophets, instead of prophesying false hope, why aren’t they interceding on the city’s behalf. Why aren’t they pleading with the Lord for the vessels that remain, that they might not be carted off.

O how easy it is to set our hopes on sacred items rather than holiness. It’s so much easier to strive for a righteousness based on ritual, than to pursue the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. O how easy it is to offer up the prescribed sacrifice on whatever day. But it takes faith and humiliation to drop to your knees and cry out, pleading with the Lord on behalf of His holy vessels. And I’m not at all referring to the pillars and stands in the temple, but to the holy vessels of God’s people. 

But false prophets aren’t going to offer up true intercession, but instead, continue to promote false hope, speaking pleasant things rather than calling the people to repent, because to call people to repent is unpopular!

So, verses 19-22. (Read 19-22.)

The remaining vessels will soon be carted off to Babylon and remain there until the day the Lord visits them. Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.

Exile is not the end. At least, not for everyone. A hope and a promise are coming. It’s merely hinted at here, but we’ll soon enter some of the most glorious chapters of Jeremiah. 

BABEL AND BABYLON

Thinking through this passage as it fits the bigger narrative of Scripture as a whole, it’s fitting that the yoke of discipline that comes upon the nations of the world is none other than Babylon. Now, in the Hebrew, it’s simply the word Babel. Yes, the same Babel as Genesis 11 where the people built a tower to the heavens in the plains of Shinar in order to make a name for themselves.

Well, not much has changed since the nations were scattered. Every nation without exception seeks to promote its own glory, making a name for themselves. 

Now, Babel and Babylon book end the Old and New Testaments for a reason. Babel and Babylon are nothing less than the city of man, mankind seeking to make a name for themselves. The Babylon recorded in Revelation isn’t any specific city; it’s all of them. And it’s rightly referred to as the Great Prostitute because of her idolatry.

Babylon represents the city of man and his pursuit of his own glory. As such, mankind has been in subjugation to his own ruthless quest that will forever fall short. No amount of conquest will ever suffice. 

So long as the cities of man continue in their idolatry, defying the creation mandate to promote God’s righteous rule on the earth, then those cities will find themselves in subjugation to Babylon. In other words, so long as man pursues the likes of Babel, seeking any agenda other than that of God’s, then mankind will find himself enslaved to the mess he has made on this fallen earth. 

Mankind has ruthlessly rebelled; mankind will be subjected to ruthless rulers. This is the appointed yoke of the Lord’s discipline. And this yoke will remain until the Lord overthrows Babylon completely and all the nations of the earth become as Sodom and Gomorrah with the smoke of their judgment ascending as a burnt offering.

Everyone shall submit to the yoke of the Lord’s discipline. And everyone will indeed submit to God’s appointed King. The question is whether you submit willingly.

For those who submit to God’s appointed king, will be as holy vessels carried into exile. But exile won’t have the last word. The Lord will soon visit them. The Lord himself will bring them out of exile and restore them to His holy sanctuary.

You see, in His mercy, God didn’t appoint Nebuchadnezzar as the final king to reign over all the earth, nor as the final yoke of justice. God sent His Son, who, rather than a tyrant king, is gentle and meek. Rather than riding on a war horse armed for battle, Jesus announced his kingship by humbly riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, completely unarmed, offering terms of peace. 

Rather than a harsh yoke of subjugation, Jesus’ yoke is easy and light. 

The Medes and Persians will soon displace Babylon as the next superpower, followed by Greece, and then Rome. But these superpowers were short-lived, at least in light of eternity. The might of the United States and Russian too will one day vanish.

Whose yoke will you find yourself under? The yoke of Babylon, the fallen cities of man. Or the loving yoke of Christ.

Submit to God’s appointed King, king Jesus, and live. Take his yoke upon you. For his yoke is easy, and his burden is light.

-Pray-

Jeremiah 26:1-24The Uncompromising Word of the Lord: The Lord’s Uncompromising Servant  

INTRODUCTION:

I invite you to turn with me to The Book of Jeremiah chapter 26. After a brief six-month detour, we’re resuming our study in this longest book of the Bible. And so, due to its length, we’ll jump right in. Please follow along as I read from Jeremiah chapter 26, beginning at verse 1.

(Read Jeremiah 26:1-24)

Many of you are likely familiar with the story of the atheist and the bear. 

An atheist was walking through the woods when he happened upon a 7-foot grizzly. Running for his life, the atheist soon tripped and found the bear towering over him with teeth bared and razor-sharp claws drawn. With what he expected to be his final breath, the atheist cried out, “God, help me!”

Suddenly, time paused. And there came a voice from heaven. “You have rejected My authority to the point of even denying My existence. And now, when the jaws of death are at your throat, you’re finally ready to submit to my authority and become a Christian?”

“Well, not exactly,” replied the atheist as he quickly pondered the situation, “But perhaps you could make the bear a Christian!”

With that, time resumed. And the giant grizzly dropped to its knees, folded its front paws in a posture of prayer, and in a low deep growl of a voice, the bear spoke, “Lord, for this meal I’m about to receive, thank You.”

UNCOMPROMISING VERSUS PRIDE

I use this somewhat silly illustration because some would likely commend the atheist in his uncompromising commitment to his godless worldview. But most are wise enough to recognize that an uncompromising commitment to a worldview one knows to be a lie has nothing to do with compromise, but everything to do with pride—a refusal to admit error even to the point of severe consequences, and sometimes not just consequences to oneself but to others as well.

Our passage today, and indeed the remainder of the Book of Jeremiah has us looking at the uncompromising nature of God and His Word, and that of the foolish pride of man that refuses to bend to that reality.

IMMUTABILITY

You see, behind God’s uncompromising nature is God’s unchangeableness, what theologians refer to as His immutability. God cannot change who He is. 

Sure, some scoffers will argue, “Why must we be the ones to bend and compromise. Is your God too proud to compromise? I thought the willingness and ability to compromise was supposed to be a virtue.”

Well, first, compromise has to do with opinions and preferences, not truth. And God is ultimate reality. He is true in all His ways. For God to compromise would make Him untrue. It would make God less than God which cannot happen.

Still, our pride insists that if there’s ever to be peace between us and God, God must be the One who compromises because we sure aren’t going to. In fact, the thing our flesh detest most about God is His immutability. Why? Because it automatically puts our desire to call all the shots, our desire for unbridled autonomy, in opposition to God Himself. And we despise those in opposition towards us. It makes us enemies! That’s what an enemy is.

We’ll work through this great dilemma as our series unfolds. Today, we’ll simply look at what God’s uncompromising nature does and does not mean.

GOD’S WORD: UNCOMPROMISING and UNCHANGING

For starters, since God is uncompromising, then so is His Word. God’s Word is unchanging. All flesh will perish like grass, but the Word of the Lord… endures forever. Or as Jesus says, Heaven and earth will pass away, but … my words will not pass away. 

From the very beginning, even before the Fall, God’s Word was, Trust Me. Heed My voice and you will live in My blessing. That blessing, which we covered over the past several weeks is communion… fellowship… Sabbath rest with our Creator. BUT! Fail to trust Me, disregard My Word, and you will surely die, being exiled from My very presence. 

That was the Word before the Fall, and that’s the same Word post-Fall. O it takes various expressions based on where we find ourselves in history. But the meaning is the same. For example, on this side of the Fall, God’s Word is expressed in His calling us to repentance. But realize, it’s the same uncompromising Word that calls us to trust the Lord. Heed His voice and live OR continue in rebellion and perish. 

CONTINGENCY

But don’t take uncompromising to mean that there’s not an aspect of contingency in certain expressions God’s Word, specifically God’s words of promise and His words of warning. Which is where we find ourselves in Jeremiah 26. Look again at verse 1. (Read 1-3)

Notice the contingency in verse 3. It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds. 

Perhaps you’re out there, and your heart has been hardened to the commands of God because they interfere with how you feel things ought to be or ought to have been. Let me just say, the one in error is you. God’s Word is given right now that you might listen and return to Him.

FULL COUNSEL

Also, notice what the Lord requires of Jeremiah. Verse 2. Speak all the words that I command you to speak. Do not hold back a single word. Why? Because it’s God’s full counsel that is designed to sway hearts.

So many are out there, whether in pulpits or in the breakroom, whether on your neighbor’s front lawn or online, who think they are sharing the gospel when they never get beyond the most palatable aspects of the gospel. And if your version of the gospel isn’t both bitter and sweet, offensive and hope-filled, you haven’t shared the gospel, because the gospel is indeed bitter and offensive to most! Why? Because they refuse to repent! But for those God has awakened by His Spirit, the gospel is the sweetest most hope-filled message that there is.

WE DON’T CHOOSE THE MESSAGE

Don’t you determine what part of the gospel is appropriate. Share the full message, the whole counsel of God, as Paul says. Don’t hold back a Word! Because it’s the entirety of the message that’s meant to bring about repentance.

Jeremiah, don’t just go out there to the temple and nicely request that the people try a bit harder, do a bit better. You know, live up to your potential! God has big plans for YOU! O how many “Christian” messages take that form! 

But that’s not at all the gospel. That’s not the message we’re sent to proclaim. We’re to call people out of darkness, from where they’ve been walking in a lie. We’re to call them from the destruction they’re marching to and plead with them to turn to God for refuge, that they might find life in Him! 

WORD OF WARNING

Our good news has a word of warning to it. The gospel is only good news because it speaks into our dreadful situation. Warn them how severe the consequences will be for those who refuse to repent. That’s what Jesus did. Unless you repent, you will likewise perish. It will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Sodom and Gomorrah than for those who refuse this only hope of salvation we have to offer.

HELL?

And yet, there are people who try to explain away the concept of Hell. Well, you know, it’s just a metaphor. Lake of fire, Eternal punishment. They’re just hyperbole, you know, an exaggeration.

Well, that may be so, but if Jesus felt the need to express the horrific judgments coming upon the ungodly with such illustrative language, why on earth would you seek to downplay it? Those horrors are meant to wake people from their drunken stupor! And you want to lull them off to sleep with some lullaby that suggests hell won’t be that bad. Are you kidding me! 

A half gospel saves no one because it fails to move people to genuine repentance!

So, what’s the message? Verse 4 (Read 4-6)

Repent or perish; that’s the message. Which implies, if you repent, you won’t perish.

Now I understand, Jeremiah is preaching to the people of Jerusalem. But we’d be gravely mistaken to think that this message doesn’t apply to Lebanon TN or the United States. We’ll get to the nations at the end of the book. They all face judgment for the same reason Jerusalem does, forsaking Almighty God. Israel simply serves as an example of just how fallen the world is. Because if those to whom God has directly revealed Himself refuse to repent, how likely are those from whom God has hidden Himself going to avoid judgment. 

Now this particular message Jeremiah is given to preach is in abbreviated form. You can find the whole message in chapters 7-10. Yes, four long chapters. And we covered them in a single message last year if you want to look it up online. The fact that we’re just given a summary of the message here clues us as the reader that the point of chapter 26 is not so much the Word Jeremiah was given but the people’s response to it. 

So, just how is God’s message received? Verse 7. (Read 7-9)

ENRAGED

Led by the religious elite, the priests and prophets, all the people became enraged, calling for Jeremiah’s death.

Why the hostility? It’s not as if Jeremiah has come proclaiming something new, something they hadn’t heard before. In fact, Jeremiah’s really proclaiming what the message has always been since the Fall. Jeremiah is preaching what every human heart instinctively knows to be true regardless of how much we might try to suppress it, that the Righteous Judge will call every deed to account. That’s pretty much Jeremiah’s word to them.  Be warned and repent.

And it’s that Word, the uncompromising Word of God that increases hostility from the rebellious, because they know that God can’t be bent or molded into our liking or preferences.

ANTICIPATE HOSTILITY

When God’s uncompromising Word is proclaimed uncompromisingly, we should anticipate the response of either repentance (hopefully) or hostility. Now that hostility might seek to show itself as indifference, but there’s no true neutral response to God’s Word. So, it shouldn’t surprise us that Jeremiah was met with such hostility. “You shall die. Because you spoke against this city.”

ALLEGIANCES

I hope you realize this calls for a right balance or a nuanced understanding of Christian patriotism. Our allegiance as believers is not first and foremost to any earthly nation or city. Our citizenship is in heaven. We await a city with foundations, the new creation that Sherif preached on last week. [We’ll look at seeking the welfare of the cities of our sojourn in weeks to come when we get to chapter 29.]

For now, understand that Judah is about to go into exile—at least those fortunate enough to survive sword, famine, and plague. Why? Because their allegiances were misaligned. And as such, they failed to benefit their city, their nation, or anyone else. Their unchecked patriotism for worldly nations and cities will ultimately lead to the destruction of those nations and cities.

Jeremiah spoke against the city in hopes of sparing it! Do you get that? Jeremiah didn’t pick this party’s side or that party’s side. He chose God’s side, speaking out against the corruption of the whole system. None have innocent hands.

HOSTILE TOWARDS GOD’S SERVANTS

And when you take your stand on the side of God, proclaiming God’s truth, those hostile towards God will undoubtedly be hostile toward His servants… that is, if those servants are faithful. Not only will people show hostility towards you. They will seek to gather others to their cause in order to silence you. Just like they tried with Jeremiah. Verse 10. (Read 10-11)

CANCELED

Hey! Let’s cancel Jeremiah! Did you hear what he said about this place, how he confronted us, how he questioned our morality! 

Just in the past few weeks, critics were calling for a pro football player, Harrison Butker, to be canceled, to be removed from the NFL because he gave a commencement speech on catholic values at a catholic college. And if you stand on your Christian values, people are going to try to cancel you. 

This month especially, you’re going to come face-to-face with opposition to your Christian faith, hostility to God’s design for sexuality. We are called to be gentle, loving, and kind in our responses, but don’t mistake those for compromising the truth of God’s Word. Love people enough to speak the truth to them. They’ll argue, well I was born this way. Will you tell them, there’s a reason Jesus says that we all must be born again.

So, the moment of decision. The leaders have risen against you, threatening the ultimate form of canceling… DEATH! Now’s the time to recant and save any bit of your reputation or possible future. Fall in line with the mainstream. Make sure you’re on the right side of history. OR, stand firm in faith.

So, what does Jeremiah do? Verse 12. (Read 12-15)

UNCOMPROMISING SERVANT

The uncompromising servant of the Lord doubles down on his word. Why? Because it’s not his word; it’s God’s. Yet this God is merciful. Repent and the Lord will relent. But understand this. There are no other alternatives. Repent or Judgment. There’s no compromise in God’s Word. And no compromise from God’s servant.

This house and city face utter destruction. And what’s more, any harm you bring upon me, Jeremiah says, will further your guilt. But so be it, verse 14, I’m in your hands. Do as seems good to you. But be warned.

FEAR OF THE LORD

You see, Jeremiah feared the Lord. So, he had no need to fear the threats of men. What could they do? Take his life? That doesn’t remotely compare to his having to give account to his Creator for his faithfulness or lack thereof. What about you?

I think of how often we seek to defend ourselves. I’m not speaking of defending others, but that of defending oneself. We’ll carry in the name of self-defense. But you’ll find no such self-defense from God’s faithful servant, nor from our Lord Jesus. Instead, we find them entrusting themselves to God’s providential care rather than taking matters into their own hand. And God may, in His providence, either deliver from physical harm or not.

Verse 16 (Read 16-19)

A REMNANT

As lost as the nation had become, God preserved a somewhat faithful remnant—a remnant that, to some degree, has retained the truth of Israel’s history. The Word of the Lord had not yet fully vanished from Israel.

And what we see, is that God delivers Jeremiah by the hand of a few sensible and discerning individuals. Remember Micah? He prophesied against this place as well. But Hezekiah, rather than putting him to death, entreated the favor of the Lord! 

Do you see the stark contrast between the two groups? You rebuked us, so we’re going to cancel you, versus weighing the words of warning, the accusation, to see if there’s any truth to it, and then entreating the favor of the Lord accordingly. One heart is motivated by a proper fear of the Lord, the other, in unrelenting pride, seeks to silence any opposition to its set ways.

RELIGIOUS PROFESSIONALS?

Notice also, that the preservation of God’s Word is not to be left in the hands of a few religious professionals. It wasn’t the prophets or priests who spoke up in Jeremiah’s defense. I hope you understand your role as members in both the church universal as well as the local church. We’re all called to guard the truth of the gospel.

URIAH

But we’re not quite finished. We need to understand the purpose of these last few verses and the account of the prophet Uriah. Verse 20. (Read 20-24)

Why is this account of Uriah here? A few things. 

1) It shows the ruthlessness of king Jehoiakim. We are to see the great danger Jeremiah was in for prophesying such messages. Jeremiah wasn’t looking at empty threats, but down the barrel of a loaded and cocked rifle.

2) It shows us that physical deliverance is not guaranteed. The Lord will continue to keep us in His service as long as He sees fit. But understand, Jeremiah’s being spared death at this time was by no means the easier road. He will endure great grief and suffering over the next several years of ministry.

3) The account of Uriah shows the courage and faith required to be the Lord’s messenger, the great faith it took for Jeremiah not to compromise. Your years aren’t guaranteed, but it takes us back to the question, who will you fear when you’re threatened in some way, whether real or perceived. But I might offend my unbelieving neighbor. They might think poorly of me. My coworker might go around slandering me to my peers, calling for me to be canceled.
Will you stand fast or compromise?

4) It’s not just our proclamation of God’s Word that must be uncompromising. Our lives must be uncompromising as well. Otherwise, our witness to others will be compromised. Uriah’s witness was compromised due to the fact that his fear of man trumped his fear of the Lord. The text says, He was afraid and fled!

Now, I want to be careful here. There’s nothing biblically wrong with fleeing imminent danger. In fact, that’s what the call of the gospel is—to flee imminent danger—flee the wrath that is to come and flee to the outstretched arms of Jesus. But notice, this account is meant to contrast Uriah’s cowardice with Jeremiah’s faithful resolve. 

GOD’S SOVEREIGN HAND

Matthew Henry writes, “Uriah was faithful in delivering his message, but faulty in leaving his work. And the Lord was pleased to permit him to lose his life, while Jeremiah was protected in danger. (Now catch this.) Those are safest who most simply trust in the Lord, whatever their outward circumstances may be, and that since the Lord has all men’s hearts in His hands, He encourages us to trust Him in the way of duty.”

So, I guess it comes down to this, whether you truly trust God as sovereign and that He does indeed have all the hearts of men and women in His sovereign hand. Or do you believe that God is at the mercy of the free decisions of men and women? Unless you believe in God’s absolute sovereignty, you’ll likely compromise, because you believe that God is only so able to defend you.

But if you know that your every breath is in God’s hands, that the number of your days depends not on what mere men might do to you, that the One who numbers the hairs on your head—some easier to number than others—and that even should you be put to death by the sword, not a hair on your head shall ultimately perish, you can stand bold and secure on God’s Word. And you’ll find yourself far less likely to compromise in both Life or Word. 

PREPARING FOR THE BATTLEFIELD

O there’ll be lapses of faith along the way. But that’s why we remind ourselves of these truths now, applying God’s uncompromising Word around the strategy board now, so that when we’re on the battlefield we’ll be prepared and able to recall our only line of defense, which is not fleeing from worldly fears, but fleeing to the refuge of God Himself.

NOT SENT?

Now, I’m going to venture to say that the real reason Uriah failed to entrust himself to God’s sovereign care is because Uriah was never sent by God. Notice verse 20. It says, Uriah prophesied in the name of the Lord. Well, many false prophets were doing just that! (We’ll come to that next week.) Here’s Uriah. Catch this. He’s prophesying against Jerusalem in words like those of Jeremiah.

At first glance, we might recognize Uriah as one of the Lord’s prophets, but it’s likely that the opposite is actually the case. You see, Jeremiah has gained some notoriety for his outspokenness. And many seek to garner fame at all costs. There’s only so much recognition one can gain in going along with the crowd. But this Jeremiah, while many despise him and want to cancel him, even to the point of threatening him with death, well, they haven’t yet. And his popularity continues to grow.

COMPROMISED CHURCH

Don’t think that this sort of thing doesn’t happen in the church, those who seek to proclaim merely the most controversial aspects of God’s Word, solely because of the attention it brings them. We have it here in our community. And it fills the virtual cloud. 

But one can proclaim the words of the gospel without proclaiming the gospel, because the gospel is not a message of condemnation, but a desperate plea for people to be spared. Remember, Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him. If your message lacks the fruit of the Spirit, it’s not God’s message! Period! 

There’s a mood, a demeanor among certain groups of “Christians” that are not remotely Christ-like. They do not reflect the Jesus of Scripture because they don’t have a heart for lost people, but only themselves and their self-perceived piety. They’ve made the gospel primarily about promoting themselves. 

LIKE CHRIST

But Jesus wept over the destruction of Jerusalem. Do you find yourself weeping over Lebanon, Mount Juliet, Gladeville, Hartsville, Watertown, or wherever the Lord has planted you?

Yes, Jesus spoke against the city. But he did so because of His love for the city, for its people. 

And because he had spoken against the city, they exiled him, leading him outside the gates in order to permanently cancel him, to set him up as an example of the shame that shall come upon anyone else who might speak against this city and its ways. 

But do realize that those who sought to cancel Jesus, didn’t have the last word. With the resurrection Jesus was vindicated! And if you persevere to the end, holding to God’s uncompromising Word, those who seek to cancel you for your uncompromising faith in Christ won’t have the last word either. The Lord shall deliver every one of His faithful servants, vindicating us before every one of our enemies.

Decide this day who you will serve… so that you find yourself tomorrow… an uncompromising servant of the Lord.