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The Book of Jeremiah
The Inescapable Edge of the Word of the Lord
Jeremiah 36: Word on Fire
Jeremiah 36 Word on Fire
ADDED TO THEM:
Many of the chapters in this second half of Jeremiah, are not as much about giving a new word from the Lord, as much as giving the responses to the Word of the Lord, and the consequences that follow.
At the end of our chapter (verse 32), we’ll read:
Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim had burned in the fire.
And many similar words were added to them.
What we have here in chapter 36
are the words added to them.
We have the various responses to the Word.
We have the indifference of those
who chose not to respond,
as well as those who simply stood by
thinking that they could remain neutral.
We have the faithful response of those
who took the Word to heart,
who listened intently,
and then shared it with others.
And we have the hostility of one
who thought he could so easily dispose of the Word
by burning it in the fire.
As we read in several places in the New Testament: Whatever was written in former days
— that being the whole of the Old Testament —
was written for our instructions,
on whom the end of the ages has come.
My question for each of us,
those on whom the end of the ages have come,
what’s your response look like?
Before you answer that too quickly,
we’d do well to dig into these responses.
READ: (Jeremiah 36:1-8)
ILLUSTRATION:
Many roads were closed due to flooding
across several states earlier this week.
I believe Kentucky got hit the worst.
In some of these areas, signs were put up.
Bridge out due to flooding.
What’s the purpose of the sign?
It’s to warn you!
There’s a flood ahead.
Your current path isn’t safe.
Turn around so that
the flood doesn’t sweep you away.
The words the Lord has Jeremiah write
are just that — a bridge out sign.
The flood of God’s wrath
threatens to sweep you away.
But you don’t h{ave to drown.
You can turn around.
There’s still time.
INTENT OF GOD’S WORD
Notice the intent of God’s Word in verse 3.
It may be that the house of Judah will hear
all the disaster that I intend to do to them,
so that every one may turn from his evil way,
and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.
And like the Lord,
his prophet shares the Word with the same intent.
Verse 7.
It may be that their plea for mercy
will come before the Lord,
and that every one will turn from his evil way…
Now, it’s clear that the words are indeed
words of judgment.
But they aren’t given for the purpose of judgment. They are given as a warning
so that the people might turn.
REPENTANCE REQUIRED
The fact that God calls us to repent,
rather than immediately enacting judgment,
shows something of God’s heart.
Our God longs to forgive.
He wants to forgive.
He’s willing to forgive.
He’s waiting to forgive.
But… forgiveness
cannot take place
apart from repentance.
Forgiveness requires repentance.
GOAL OF RECONCILATION
But do we understand why?
Well. What’s the point of forgiveness?
Reconciliation. Reconciliation of what?
Reconciliation of a relationship.
Okay. So what’s the point of repentance?
The exact same thing. Reconciling a relationship.
It’s impossible to restore any relationship
where both sides of this equation,
haven’t taken place.
Yet… out of an overflow of grace and mercy,
the gospel message,
the offer of forgiveness
which stands behind all the warnings,
is extended first.
It’s here in out text.
The Lord offers forgiveness
to everyone who turns,
to everyone who repents.
The purpose of these words of warning
is not to bring the people crushing news
that leaves them in despair
but to crush their hearts and pride
that they might repent
and receive forgiveness.
WORDS ON THE SCROLL
Now let me be clear.
The dominant message on this scroll
that Jeremiah will dictate to Baruch,
is one of judgment and warning
The bridge is out! Turn around!
There’s a flood of judgment up ahead.
But it’s important that we don’t lose sight
of the purpose behind these words.
The message is intended to excite fear,
that leads to repentance,
that grants forgiveness,
that the people might be spared
the flood of judgment,
and be reconciled to God.
ALL THE WORDS
Verse 2.
The Lord commands Jeremiah to record
ALL THE WORDS.
Let me say that again. ALL THE WORDS.
that the Lord has spoken against Israel and Judah
from the day the Lord first spoke to him until now.
That is just over 20 years of ministry.
It includes all of chapters 1-20,
plus chapters 25 and 26.
and the bulk of chapters 46-49.
Now, listen. Just to read chapters 1-20 out loud
takes a good hour and a half.
And as I already noted,
these were predominantly words of judgment.
This phrase, ALL THE WORDS,
is used 11 times in our passage,
plus 5 times in which it’s implied,
each time referring to
writing, reading, hearing, or reporting,
the Word of God as recorded on this scroll.
20 some chapters!
NOT THE PROPHET’S
Verse 4.
Baruch writes at the dictation of Jeremiah
ALL THE WORDS!
not a mere selection
not a paraphrase
not the prophet’s views or commentary
but all the words the Lord had spoken to Jeremiah
over his thus far 20 year ministry.
Why?
Because Baruch’s nor Jeremiah’s
cleverly devised articulation
won’t save anyone.
Why?
Well, for one, God doesn’t share His glory.
And if it takes their eloquence or skill
to save people,
then guess who gets the glory?
Only the double-edge, soul-piercing Word of God
exposes the heart.
His Word alone can save.
Jeremiah and Baruch’s hope was not in their gifting
but in the power of God’s Word
to bring sinners to repentance.
This isn’t Jeremiah’s words
so much as it’s God’s Word.
Since Jeremiah is banned from the house of the Lord
—verse 6—
Jeremiah orders Baruch to go
and read from the scroll
which you have written from my mouth
the words of the Lord
in the ears of the people
in the house of the Lord
on a day of fasting.
And Baruch does all that Jeremiah ordered him.
About a year later, the people proclaim a fast,
and Baruch reads this rather large scroll.
OUTWARD ZEAL, INNER INDIFFERENCE
VERSES 9-10 (read 9-10)
Here you have a people that exalted
the external acts of piety,
flocking to the house of the Lord,
going through religious rituals,
But had little interest in God’s proclaimed Word.
They had outward zeal
but inwardly, they were indifferent.
All the people in Jerusalem and Judah who came
supposedly before the Lord
before the Lord’s house
were unaffected by Baruch’s reading…
all … but … one
a man named Micaiah
FAITHFUL RECEIVING OF GOD’S WORD
VERSES 11-12 (read 11-12)
Where most were indifferent to Baruch’s reading,
Micaiah demonstrates what a faithful response
to God’s Word looks like.
HEARING – FEARING - SHARING
HEARING
First, Micaiah hears the Word.
Notice in verse 11.
Micaiah heard ALL THE WORDS
I don’t often quote others,
but here’s what Philip Ryken,
President of Wheaten College,
had to say regarding these verses.
“Micaiah demonstrates the proper receiving of the Word of God. First comes the hearing of the Word… He listened to God’s Word in its entirety. He did not doze off in the middle of the reading… or leave before Baruch was finished. Micaiah listened to Jeremiah’s prophecies from beginning to end.”
And because Micaiah listened to the Word,
he was moved by the Word
to share the word
He immediately went to his father Gemariah
and the officials who were with him.
But Micaiah also had to listen intently to the Word
in order to fully and faithfully share it.
Which he did!
SHARING
Verse 13.
And Micaiah told them ALL THE WORDS
that he had heard,
when Baruch read the scroll
in the hearing of the people.
This was not a popular message.
As we have seen throughout our study in Jeremiah,
kings, priests, and prophets
have sought to silence this message.
Speak to us pleasant things!
Don’t speak to us about this Holy One of Israel!
And that is no less true today.
As we saw in 2 Timothy just a few weeks ago:
A time is coming when people
will accumulate teachers
to suit their own passions.
Why would Micaiah want to relay this message?
The same reason Jeremiah and Baruch did.
He believed the Word.
He saw the peril.
Now, he must warn others.
The bridge is out!
And honestly, what better place to begin
than with one’s own family.
That’s where Micaiah began.
Now, that doesn’t mean they’ll listen.
But I’ll tell you what won’t happen.
They will never respond to a message they never hear.
And there’s only one way to ensure that they do.
You tell them.
And tell them before it’s too late.
The faithful receiving of God’s Word
makes one an evangelist.
RETURN VOID?
Now, I mentioned,
out of all the people who were in earshot of Baruch
reading from the scroll earlier that morning,
it seemed the vast majority showed no concern.
(I believe that’s implied in the text,
and throughout the Book of Jeremiah.)
Does this mean that God’s Word had returned void?
Not at all!
God’s Word never promises to save every individual.
But consider this.
Because Jeremiah and Baruch put their lives
and reputations on the line,
If but a single person is moved to repentance
—saving repentance—
—repentance that leads to life—
then it was worth it… eternally worth it…
whatever the cost.
And now Micaiah is sharing with others…
his dad and the other officials.
What’s their response?
Verses 14-18 (read 14-18)
GOOD BEREANS
Micaiah passed along the message
as it was passed on to him.
And now, some were moved like good Bereans
to look closer at the message,
get back to the source.
Is the message authentic?
Tell us, Baruch. How did you write all these words?
Notice.
It’s not enough to accept the Word secondhand.
They have Baruch sit down and read
[guess what?]
ALL THE WORDS.
And they listened … to ALL THE WORDS.
And they were moved with fear.
We must report ALL THESE WORDS to the king.
But… verse 19.
Before we report to this king
Baruch, you and Jeremiah need to hide.
Why?
Because we know not everyone
is going to be receptive
to this word!
But just the opposite.
There will be those who are hostile,
those who will want to silence this word.
In fact, knowing this
we better seek to preserve this word.
So, we’ll put it in safe keeping
before we take the news to the king.
Verses 20.
So they went into the court to the king,
having put the scroll in the chamber
of Elishama the secretary,
and they reported ALL THE WORDS to the king.
EXPOSITION
Whatever these officials reported—notice—
it was sufficient for the inspired author to say:
They reported ALL THE WORDS.
I hope you understand,
that’s what we seek to do up here.
It’s what we call: expository preaching.
We seek to report ALL THE WORDS of the text.
Now, I know, it’s not very popular,
not when you consider
just how many churches there are
and what’s often proclaimed from the pulpits.
I’m very capable of standing up here,
and share a few brief nuggets of life application,
and then we could all move on
in our own merry way.
But that is not the preaching found in Scripture.
What application
could possibly be transformative
if we circumvent the text
by skipping over the exegesis, the exposition,
or to make is simpler,
the explanation of the text.
To do so, fails to do justice to God’s Word,
And it rids God’s Word of its power.
Why?
Because to do such isn’t to share God’s Word
but mine!
My task, is to proclaim this Word in such a way
that it can rightly be said,
I reported ALL THE WORDS.
Because my words have no power whatsoever.
God’s Word alone is able to save.
And only to the degree
I faithfully share His Word,
do I have any standing up here.
My job is to be a faithful messenger.
Verse 21.
Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary.
And Jehudi read it to the king,
and all the officials who stood beside the king.
Now, it seems King Jehoiakim
is following the same response as the officials
who received the Word from Micaiah.
He hears the word as relayed through the officials.
And he immediately sends for the source file,
the written scroll.
But the king has other plans.
THE EDITS
Verses 22-23 (Read 22-23)
Rather than receive God’s Word as authoritative,
the king has some edits he would like to make.
As Jehudi reads,
Jehoiakim performs his own,
uninspired edits to God’s Word,
redacting and cutting as he sees fit,
removing the portions he doesn’t like,
leaving none of it, as far as he’s concerned,
as authoritative for him
or the people he was to shepherd.
How many, like Jehoiakim,
take upon themselves the same task
of editing God’s Word?
Now most won’t show their hostility
as crudely and guilelessly as Jehoiakim.
Most won’t be found burning the scroll in a firepot.
Some exact their edits with a scholars knife,
some by interpreting the Word to fit their fancy,
some by ripping the Word from its context,
some by avoiding certain portions as irrelevant,
some by promoting traditions and teachings
of men as equal in authority,
some by raising suspicions concerning the source.
Each of these edits are no less an attack
against God’s infallible Word
than the serpent who asked, “Did God really say?”
Each of these edits seek to diminish its authority,
calling into question whether God’s Word,
as passed down and delivered
once and all to the saints
can or should be trusted.
Anytime one seeks to explain away
any part of God’s Revelation,
it’s no different than Jehoiakim
Taking a knife to God’s Word
and casting it into the fire.
Why does this matter?
Because this is the only Word that can save.
It’s the only Word that can bring about repentance,
so that people might receive forgiveness.
Lord, you have exalted above all things,
your name and your Word.
Yes, much of this Book is hard,
It shares hard things that aren’t pleasant
to our fallen ears.
But this Word, the whole counsel of this Word,
is given with the intent of sparing people
from the coming flood of judgment.
[New Covenant Difference]
PLEADING
Verse 24-26 (Read 24-26)
While Jehudi and the king’s servants
sought to remain neutral
—and let’s be clear, there’s no such thing
as neutrality towards God’s Word—
A few faithful men
three to be precise
urged the king not to do such a blasphemous act
not to burn the scroll
that contained the Word of the Lord.
But their plea fell on deaf ears.
Loved ones, I don’t have to tell you,
but many of our pleas will fall on deaf ears.
While we plead with others,
O please don’t disregard God’s Word like this!
Heaven and Hell hang in the balance!
This Word is intended to save you!
Remember, their response
isn’t up to you. It isn’t up to me.
O let them hear your constant pleas.
Let them see you tears.
But it’s the Lord who softens hearts.
It’s the Lord who grants repentance.
So pray! Pray that the Lord would do just that!
Rather than being moved to fear,
rather than heeding the warning,
THE BRIDGE IS OUT and turning around,
rather than tearing his garments,
Jehoiakim tears down the sign,
and sets it on fire.
And then he seeks to arrest those
who would put up such a sign,
a sign intended to save lives.
But the Lord hid Baruch and Jeremiah.
And the same Lord
who preserves His faithful messengers
preserves His Word.
NAÏVE
Verses 26-31 (Read 26-31)
The world thinks us Christians naïve
to believe this book, to believe its Author,
to submit to the authority of God’s Word.
But what’s naïve are those like Jehoiakim
who think they can escape this living and active
razor sharp Word of the Lord
by slicing it up and casting into the fire,
as if this Word is somehow bound
to the scroll it’s penned on.
What’s naïve is that millennia after millennia
of trying to escape the authorityof God’s Word
—going all the way back to the Garden—
the authority of God’s Word still stands!
What’s naïve is that our society,
after 2000 years of trying
and coming up short time and again
continues to try to discredit this Book.
They enlist their brightest minds
with the largest budgets.
But they can’t quench
the purifying fire of the Word of the Lord.
Jehoiakim can set it on fire, and watch it burn.
But what he can’t do is quench it.
Jehoiakim's efforts to burn God's Word were futile,
because God's Word is fire.
NO LEGACY FOR JEHOIAKIM
Because Jehoiakim sought to cut off this Word
from the people’s hearing,
any hope of legacy will be cut off from him.
He will have none to sit on the throne of David.
For our New Testament reading,
I strongly considered either
Luke’s or Matthew’s genealogy.
Instead,
I’ll leave you to read through them on your own.
But I bet you can guess who isn’t there.
Jehoiakim. He’s not in either of them.
He’s been completely passed over.
He sought to erase God’s Word
So, he was erased
from the greatest genealogical record ever.
Jehoiakim was left without a legacy.
THE LEGACY OF SHAPHAN
But there’s another man who is mentioned
a few times in our text,
who, while he’s not an active participant
in this particular account,
his offspring are.
His name is Shaphan.
It was in the chamber of Gemariah,
the son of Shaphan,
that Baruch read this famous scroll.
It was Micaiah, the grandson of Shaphan (verse 11),
who listened intently to Baruch’s reading
of the scroll,
who afterwards,
went to share the news with his father, Gemariah.
Gemariah, Shaphan’s son, was one of the officials
who was moved with fear at the reading of the scroll,
who insisted on reporting ALL THESE WORDS
to the king,
who also pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll.
Whereas Jehoiakim tore up the scroll
rather than tearing his clothes,
Gemariah likely recalled the time
when the king in his father’s day
had an entirely different response.
King Josiah had sent Shaphan
to the house of the Lord.
And while Shaphan was there,
Hilkiah the high priest told him,
I have found the Book of the Law
in the house of the Lord.
And you know what Shaphan did?
He read it.
And after reading it, he reported it to the king.
And Shaphan read it before the king.
And upon hearing the words of the Book of the Law,
Shaphan witnessed a king who tore his clothes.
Shaphan’s legacy goes beyond
his son and grandson mentioned here.
A few years earlier
(you can read about it in chapter 26)
It was Shaphan’s son, Ahikam,
who saved Jeremiah from being put to death
when he gave his famous temple sermon.
A few years later, Shaphan’s son, Elasah,
would carry Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles in Babylon.
And after Jerusalem falls to Babylon,
another one of Shaphan’s grandsons, Gedaliah,
would rescue Jeremiah, take him into his house,
and eventually become governor
over the Jewish remnant.
YOUR LEGACY
What kind of legacy do you want to leave?
You know what led to Shaphan’s legacy?
It was his response to God’s Word.
O the world has its own idea
of what makes for a legacy.
But all of those legacies will one day be forgotten.
But a legacy like Shaphan’s
will be remembered for eternity.
Unlike Jehoiakim, Shaphan’s legacy continues.
O his name isn’t found in Jesus’ genealogical record,
at least not his physical or biological record.
It’s found in a far more important document:
The Book of Life of the Lamb Who Was Slain.
That legacy can be yours.
If you respond to this Word like Shaphan did,
If you instill this Word in your kids and grandkids
like Shaphan did.
JESUS DIDN’T TEAR HIS CLOTHES
Unlike King Josiah, Jesus didn’t tear his clothes.
But it wasn’t because he wasn’t grieved
over the judgment His people faced.
Rather, as our Great High Priest,
He was forbidden to tear his clothes.
So, he allowed his flesh to be torn open instead.
For so long, we had failed to heed
the Bridge Out! sign.
And get this.
The bridge was out
because we had burned the bridge.
We had burned our relationship with our Maker.
Rather than heed the sign, mankind has treated God’s warnings the same way Jehoiakim treated the scroll.
The flood of God’s judgment was all but certain.
Out of sheer mercy,
God laid down a New Bridge,
a wooden cross that spanned across the entire flood of God’s judgment.
0 to cross this bridge still requires no less repentance.
You see, the flood of God’s wrath had surrounded us.
But Jesus laid down His life as a bridge
that not only provides a way home,
but as a bridge laid down at such a cost
so as to display the immense love of God
and His desire for reconciliation.
Jesus came as the Word made flesh.
The Word that kings and priests, governors and the people sought to silence by destroying Him,
cutting Him off from the land of the living.
But just as God’s Word isn’t bound,
Neither was this Word bound to mere flesh and bone.
For He is the eternal Word.
Death could never hold Him.
This Word, whose eyes are like flames of fire,
seeing into the deepest recesses of every soul,
This Word is fire, and it cannot be quenched!
This Word that the Lord so faithfully preserves
it will preserve you…
… but only if you respond to it faithfully,
like the faithful men we read about today.
Will you be like Micaiah and Gemariah
who intently listened to all the words,
who responded with reverence to all the words,
who were moved to share all the words,
who pleaded with others concerning all the words?
Because ALL THESE WORDS are the Word of God.
ADDED TO THEM:
Many of the chapters in this second half of Jeremiah, are not as much about giving a new word from the Lord, as much as giving the responses to the Word of the Lord, and the consequences that follow.
At the end of our chapter (verse 32), we’ll read:
Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim had burned in the fire.
And many similar words were added to them.
What we have here in chapter 36
are the words added to them.
We have the various responses to the Word.
We have the indifference of those
who chose not to respond,
as well as those who simply stood by
thinking that they could remain neutral.
We have the faithful response of those
who took the Word to heart,
who listened intently,
and then shared it with others.
And we have the hostility of one
who thought he could so easily dispose of the Word
by burning it in the fire.
As we read in several places in the New Testament: Whatever was written in former days
— that being the whole of the Old Testament —
was written for our instructions,
on whom the end of the ages has come.
My question for each of us,
those on whom the end of the ages have come,
what’s your response look like?
Before you answer that too quickly,
we’d do well to dig into these responses.
READ: (Jeremiah 36:1-8)
ILLUSTRATION:
Many roads were closed due to flooding
across several states earlier this week.
I believe Kentucky got hit the worst.
In some of these areas, signs were put up.
Bridge out due to flooding.
What’s the purpose of the sign?
It’s to warn you!
There’s a flood ahead.
Your current path isn’t safe.
Turn around so that
the flood doesn’t sweep you away.
The words the Lord has Jeremiah write
are just that — a bridge out sign.
The flood of God’s wrath
threatens to sweep you away.
But you don’t h{ave to drown.
You can turn around.
There’s still time.
INTENT OF GOD’S WORD
Notice the intent of God’s Word in verse 3.
It may be that the house of Judah will hear
all the disaster that I intend to do to them,
so that every one may turn from his evil way,
and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.
And like the Lord,
his prophet shares the Word with the same intent.
Verse 7.
It may be that their plea for mercy
will come before the Lord,
and that every one will turn from his evil way…
Now, it’s clear that the words are indeed
words of judgment.
But they aren’t given for the purpose of judgment. They are given as a warning
so that the people might turn.
REPENTANCE REQUIRED
The fact that God calls us to repent,
rather than immediately enacting judgment,
shows something of God’s heart.
Our God longs to forgive.
He wants to forgive.
He’s willing to forgive.
He’s waiting to forgive.
But… forgiveness
cannot take place
apart from repentance.
Forgiveness requires repentance.
GOAL OF RECONCILATION
But do we understand why?
Well. What’s the point of forgiveness?
Reconciliation. Reconciliation of what?
Reconciliation of a relationship.
Okay. So what’s the point of repentance?
The exact same thing. Reconciling a relationship.
It’s impossible to restore any relationship
where both sides of this equation,
haven’t taken place.
Yet… out of an overflow of grace and mercy,
the gospel message,
the offer of forgiveness
which stands behind all the warnings,
is extended first.
It’s here in out text.
The Lord offers forgiveness
to everyone who turns,
to everyone who repents.
The purpose of these words of warning
is not to bring the people crushing news
that leaves them in despair
but to crush their hearts and pride
that they might repent
and receive forgiveness.
WORDS ON THE SCROLL
Now let me be clear.
The dominant message on this scroll
that Jeremiah will dictate to Baruch,
is one of judgment and warning
The bridge is out! Turn around!
There’s a flood of judgment up ahead.
But it’s important that we don’t lose sight
of the purpose behind these words.
The message is intended to excite fear,
that leads to repentance,
that grants forgiveness,
that the people might be spared
the flood of judgment,
and be reconciled to God.
ALL THE WORDS
Verse 2.
The Lord commands Jeremiah to record
ALL THE WORDS.
Let me say that again. ALL THE WORDS.
that the Lord has spoken against Israel and Judah
from the day the Lord first spoke to him until now.
That is just over 20 years of ministry.
It includes all of chapters 1-20,
plus chapters 25 and 26.
and the bulk of chapters 46-49.
Now, listen. Just to read chapters 1-20 out loud
takes a good hour and a half.
And as I already noted,
these were predominantly words of judgment.
This phrase, ALL THE WORDS,
is used 11 times in our passage,
plus 5 times in which it’s implied,
each time referring to
writing, reading, hearing, or reporting,
the Word of God as recorded on this scroll.
20 some chapters!
NOT THE PROPHET’S
Verse 4.
Baruch writes at the dictation of Jeremiah
ALL THE WORDS!
not a mere selection
not a paraphrase
not the prophet’s views or commentary
but all the words the Lord had spoken to Jeremiah
over his thus far 20 year ministry.
Why?
Because Baruch’s nor Jeremiah’s
cleverly devised articulation
won’t save anyone.
Why?
Well, for one, God doesn’t share His glory.
And if it takes their eloquence or skill
to save people,
then guess who gets the glory?
Only the double-edge, soul-piercing Word of God
exposes the heart.
His Word alone can save.
Jeremiah and Baruch’s hope was not in their gifting
but in the power of God’s Word
to bring sinners to repentance.
This isn’t Jeremiah’s words
so much as it’s God’s Word.
Since Jeremiah is banned from the house of the Lord
—verse 6—
Jeremiah orders Baruch to go
and read from the scroll
which you have written from my mouth
the words of the Lord
in the ears of the people
in the house of the Lord
on a day of fasting.
And Baruch does all that Jeremiah ordered him.
About a year later, the people proclaim a fast,
and Baruch reads this rather large scroll.
OUTWARD ZEAL, INNER INDIFFERENCE
VERSES 9-10 (read 9-10)
Here you have a people that exalted
the external acts of piety,
flocking to the house of the Lord,
going through religious rituals,
But had little interest in God’s proclaimed Word.
They had outward zeal
but inwardly, they were indifferent.
All the people in Jerusalem and Judah who came
supposedly before the Lord
before the Lord’s house
were unaffected by Baruch’s reading…
all … but … one
a man named Micaiah
FAITHFUL RECEIVING OF GOD’S WORD
VERSES 11-12 (read 11-12)
Where most were indifferent to Baruch’s reading,
Micaiah demonstrates what a faithful response
to God’s Word looks like.
HEARING – FEARING - SHARING
HEARING
First, Micaiah hears the Word.
Notice in verse 11.
Micaiah heard ALL THE WORDS
I don’t often quote others,
but here’s what Philip Ryken,
President of Wheaten College,
had to say regarding these verses.
“Micaiah demonstrates the proper receiving of the Word of God. First comes the hearing of the Word… He listened to God’s Word in its entirety. He did not doze off in the middle of the reading… or leave before Baruch was finished. Micaiah listened to Jeremiah’s prophecies from beginning to end.”
And because Micaiah listened to the Word,
he was moved by the Word
to share the word
He immediately went to his father Gemariah
and the officials who were with him.
But Micaiah also had to listen intently to the Word
in order to fully and faithfully share it.
Which he did!
SHARING
Verse 13.
And Micaiah told them ALL THE WORDS
that he had heard,
when Baruch read the scroll
in the hearing of the people.
This was not a popular message.
As we have seen throughout our study in Jeremiah,
kings, priests, and prophets
have sought to silence this message.
Speak to us pleasant things!
Don’t speak to us about this Holy One of Israel!
And that is no less true today.
As we saw in 2 Timothy just a few weeks ago:
A time is coming when people
will accumulate teachers
to suit their own passions.
Why would Micaiah want to relay this message?
The same reason Jeremiah and Baruch did.
He believed the Word.
He saw the peril.
Now, he must warn others.
The bridge is out!
And honestly, what better place to begin
than with one’s own family.
That’s where Micaiah began.
Now, that doesn’t mean they’ll listen.
But I’ll tell you what won’t happen.
They will never respond to a message they never hear.
And there’s only one way to ensure that they do.
You tell them.
And tell them before it’s too late.
The faithful receiving of God’s Word
makes one an evangelist.
RETURN VOID?
Now, I mentioned,
out of all the people who were in earshot of Baruch
reading from the scroll earlier that morning,
it seemed the vast majority showed no concern.
(I believe that’s implied in the text,
and throughout the Book of Jeremiah.)
Does this mean that God’s Word had returned void?
Not at all!
God’s Word never promises to save every individual.
But consider this.
Because Jeremiah and Baruch put their lives
and reputations on the line,
If but a single person is moved to repentance
—saving repentance—
—repentance that leads to life—
then it was worth it… eternally worth it…
whatever the cost.
And now Micaiah is sharing with others…
his dad and the other officials.
What’s their response?
Verses 14-18 (read 14-18)
GOOD BEREANS
Micaiah passed along the message
as it was passed on to him.
And now, some were moved like good Bereans
to look closer at the message,
get back to the source.
Is the message authentic?
Tell us, Baruch. How did you write all these words?
Notice.
It’s not enough to accept the Word secondhand.
They have Baruch sit down and read
[guess what?]
ALL THE WORDS.
And they listened … to ALL THE WORDS.
And they were moved with fear.
We must report ALL THESE WORDS to the king.
But… verse 19.
Before we report to this king
Baruch, you and Jeremiah need to hide.
Why?
Because we know not everyone
is going to be receptive
to this word!
But just the opposite.
There will be those who are hostile,
those who will want to silence this word.
In fact, knowing this
we better seek to preserve this word.
So, we’ll put it in safe keeping
before we take the news to the king.
Verses 20.
So they went into the court to the king,
having put the scroll in the chamber
of Elishama the secretary,
and they reported ALL THE WORDS to the king.
EXPOSITION
Whatever these officials reported—notice—
it was sufficient for the inspired author to say:
They reported ALL THE WORDS.
I hope you understand,
that’s what we seek to do up here.
It’s what we call: expository preaching.
We seek to report ALL THE WORDS of the text.
Now, I know, it’s not very popular,
not when you consider
just how many churches there are
and what’s often proclaimed from the pulpits.
I’m very capable of standing up here,
and share a few brief nuggets of life application,
and then we could all move on
in our own merry way.
But that is not the preaching found in Scripture.
What application
could possibly be transformative
if we circumvent the text
by skipping over the exegesis, the exposition,
or to make is simpler,
the explanation of the text.
To do so, fails to do justice to God’s Word,
And it rids God’s Word of its power.
Why?
Because to do such isn’t to share God’s Word
but mine!
My task, is to proclaim this Word in such a way
that it can rightly be said,
I reported ALL THE WORDS.
Because my words have no power whatsoever.
God’s Word alone is able to save.
And only to the degree
I faithfully share His Word,
do I have any standing up here.
My job is to be a faithful messenger.
Verse 21.
Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary.
And Jehudi read it to the king,
and all the officials who stood beside the king.
Now, it seems King Jehoiakim
is following the same response as the officials
who received the Word from Micaiah.
He hears the word as relayed through the officials.
And he immediately sends for the source file,
the written scroll.
But the king has other plans.
THE EDITS
Verses 22-23 (Read 22-23)
Rather than receive God’s Word as authoritative,
the king has some edits he would like to make.
As Jehudi reads,
Jehoiakim performs his own,
uninspired edits to God’s Word,
redacting and cutting as he sees fit,
removing the portions he doesn’t like,
leaving none of it, as far as he’s concerned,
as authoritative for him
or the people he was to shepherd.
How many, like Jehoiakim,
take upon themselves the same task
of editing God’s Word?
Now most won’t show their hostility
as crudely and guilelessly as Jehoiakim.
Most won’t be found burning the scroll in a firepot.
Some exact their edits with a scholars knife,
some by interpreting the Word to fit their fancy,
some by ripping the Word from its context,
some by avoiding certain portions as irrelevant,
some by promoting traditions and teachings
of men as equal in authority,
some by raising suspicions concerning the source.
Each of these edits are no less an attack
against God’s infallible Word
than the serpent who asked, “Did God really say?”
Each of these edits seek to diminish its authority,
calling into question whether God’s Word,
as passed down and delivered
once and all to the saints
can or should be trusted.
Anytime one seeks to explain away
any part of God’s Revelation,
it’s no different than Jehoiakim
Taking a knife to God’s Word
and casting it into the fire.
Why does this matter?
Because this is the only Word that can save.
It’s the only Word that can bring about repentance,
so that people might receive forgiveness.
Lord, you have exalted above all things,
your name and your Word.
Yes, much of this Book is hard,
It shares hard things that aren’t pleasant
to our fallen ears.
But this Word, the whole counsel of this Word,
is given with the intent of sparing people
from the coming flood of judgment.
[New Covenant Difference]
PLEADING
Verse 24-26 (Read 24-26)
While Jehudi and the king’s servants
sought to remain neutral
—and let’s be clear, there’s no such thing
as neutrality towards God’s Word—
A few faithful men
three to be precise
urged the king not to do such a blasphemous act
not to burn the scroll
that contained the Word of the Lord.
But their plea fell on deaf ears.
Loved ones, I don’t have to tell you,
but many of our pleas will fall on deaf ears.
While we plead with others,
O please don’t disregard God’s Word like this!
Heaven and Hell hang in the balance!
This Word is intended to save you!
Remember, their response
isn’t up to you. It isn’t up to me.
O let them hear your constant pleas.
Let them see you tears.
But it’s the Lord who softens hearts.
It’s the Lord who grants repentance.
So pray! Pray that the Lord would do just that!
Rather than being moved to fear,
rather than heeding the warning,
THE BRIDGE IS OUT and turning around,
rather than tearing his garments,
Jehoiakim tears down the sign,
and sets it on fire.
And then he seeks to arrest those
who would put up such a sign,
a sign intended to save lives.
But the Lord hid Baruch and Jeremiah.
And the same Lord
who preserves His faithful messengers
preserves His Word.
NAÏVE
Verses 26-31 (Read 26-31)
The world thinks us Christians naïve
to believe this book, to believe its Author,
to submit to the authority of God’s Word.
But what’s naïve are those like Jehoiakim
who think they can escape this living and active
razor sharp Word of the Lord
by slicing it up and casting into the fire,
as if this Word is somehow bound
to the scroll it’s penned on.
What’s naïve is that millennia after millennia
of trying to escape the authorityof God’s Word
—going all the way back to the Garden—
the authority of God’s Word still stands!
What’s naïve is that our society,
after 2000 years of trying
and coming up short time and again
continues to try to discredit this Book.
They enlist their brightest minds
with the largest budgets.
But they can’t quench
the purifying fire of the Word of the Lord.
Jehoiakim can set it on fire, and watch it burn.
But what he can’t do is quench it.
Jehoiakim's efforts to burn God's Word were futile,
because God's Word is fire.
NO LEGACY FOR JEHOIAKIM
Because Jehoiakim sought to cut off this Word
from the people’s hearing,
any hope of legacy will be cut off from him.
He will have none to sit on the throne of David.
For our New Testament reading,
I strongly considered either
Luke’s or Matthew’s genealogy.
Instead,
I’ll leave you to read through them on your own.
But I bet you can guess who isn’t there.
Jehoiakim. He’s not in either of them.
He’s been completely passed over.
He sought to erase God’s Word
So, he was erased
from the greatest genealogical record ever.
Jehoiakim was left without a legacy.
THE LEGACY OF SHAPHAN
But there’s another man who is mentioned
a few times in our text,
who, while he’s not an active participant
in this particular account,
his offspring are.
His name is Shaphan.
It was in the chamber of Gemariah,
the son of Shaphan,
that Baruch read this famous scroll.
It was Micaiah, the grandson of Shaphan (verse 11),
who listened intently to Baruch’s reading
of the scroll,
who afterwards,
went to share the news with his father, Gemariah.
Gemariah, Shaphan’s son, was one of the officials
who was moved with fear at the reading of the scroll,
who insisted on reporting ALL THESE WORDS
to the king,
who also pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll.
Whereas Jehoiakim tore up the scroll
rather than tearing his clothes,
Gemariah likely recalled the time
when the king in his father’s day
had an entirely different response.
King Josiah had sent Shaphan
to the house of the Lord.
And while Shaphan was there,
Hilkiah the high priest told him,
I have found the Book of the Law
in the house of the Lord.
And you know what Shaphan did?
He read it.
And after reading it, he reported it to the king.
And Shaphan read it before the king.
And upon hearing the words of the Book of the Law,
Shaphan witnessed a king who tore his clothes.
Shaphan’s legacy goes beyond
his son and grandson mentioned here.
A few years earlier
(you can read about it in chapter 26)
It was Shaphan’s son, Ahikam,
who saved Jeremiah from being put to death
when he gave his famous temple sermon.
A few years later, Shaphan’s son, Elasah,
would carry Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles in Babylon.
And after Jerusalem falls to Babylon,
another one of Shaphan’s grandsons, Gedaliah,
would rescue Jeremiah, take him into his house,
and eventually become governor
over the Jewish remnant.
YOUR LEGACY
What kind of legacy do you want to leave?
You know what led to Shaphan’s legacy?
It was his response to God’s Word.
O the world has its own idea
of what makes for a legacy.
But all of those legacies will one day be forgotten.
But a legacy like Shaphan’s
will be remembered for eternity.
Unlike Jehoiakim, Shaphan’s legacy continues.
O his name isn’t found in Jesus’ genealogical record,
at least not his physical or biological record.
It’s found in a far more important document:
The Book of Life of the Lamb Who Was Slain.
That legacy can be yours.
If you respond to this Word like Shaphan did,
If you instill this Word in your kids and grandkids
like Shaphan did.
JESUS DIDN’T TEAR HIS CLOTHES
Unlike King Josiah, Jesus didn’t tear his clothes.
But it wasn’t because he wasn’t grieved
over the judgment His people faced.
Rather, as our Great High Priest,
He was forbidden to tear his clothes.
So, he allowed his flesh to be torn open instead.
For so long, we had failed to heed
the Bridge Out! sign.
And get this.
The bridge was out
because we had burned the bridge.
We had burned our relationship with our Maker.
Rather than heed the sign, mankind has treated God’s warnings the same way Jehoiakim treated the scroll.
The flood of God’s judgment was all but certain.
Out of sheer mercy,
God laid down a New Bridge,
a wooden cross that spanned across the entire flood of God’s judgment.
0 to cross this bridge still requires no less repentance.
You see, the flood of God’s wrath had surrounded us.
But Jesus laid down His life as a bridge
that not only provides a way home,
but as a bridge laid down at such a cost
so as to display the immense love of God
and His desire for reconciliation.
Jesus came as the Word made flesh.
The Word that kings and priests, governors and the people sought to silence by destroying Him,
cutting Him off from the land of the living.
But just as God’s Word isn’t bound,
Neither was this Word bound to mere flesh and bone.
For He is the eternal Word.
Death could never hold Him.
This Word, whose eyes are like flames of fire,
seeing into the deepest recesses of every soul,
This Word is fire, and it cannot be quenched!
This Word that the Lord so faithfully preserves
it will preserve you…
… but only if you respond to it faithfully,
like the faithful men we read about today.
Will you be like Micaiah and Gemariah
who intently listened to all the words,
who responded with reverence to all the words,
who were moved to share all the words,
who pleaded with others concerning all the words?
Because ALL THESE WORDS are the Word of God.
Jeremiah 35:1-19 Covenant Breakers, Covenant Keepers, part 2
Jeremiah 35:1-19 Covenant Breakers, Covenant Keepers, part 2
INTRODUCTION:
Pop Quiz – How many of you, before I mentioned them last week, are in anyway familiar with the Rechabites? (You don’t have to answer out loud or raise your hand. Just answer this for yourself.) How many of you could give a brief summary of the Rechabites? Well, regardless of how you did on our little pop quiz this morning, my hope is that before lunch today, you’ll know a lot more than you do now concerning the Rechabites and why this little account matters for us. And maybe you can share this little pop quiz with someone else.
Many of us have been out of school for a while, but remember those days, just an ordinary day like any other, or so you thought. You get to class, take your seat, and then the announcement. Today we’ll be taking a test. And terror fills every fiber of your being.
Chase came home the other day sharing about his pop quiz. Open book. One question. Pass or fail. You either knew the answer, or you didn’t. No 50% or 90%. You either passed or you failed.
The Rechabites are about to walk into a pop quiz. They are about to be tested. And here’s the test. “Whose voice will you obey?”
We’re in Jeremiah 35, and we’re looking at Covenant Breakers, Covenant Keepers. Which one will you be?
READ: (Jeremiah 35:1-2)
Our text mentions nothing of a test. Likely due to the suspenseful nature of the narrative. And because, we’re not really told what pass or fail looks like until the end.
Other passages, the narrator informs the reader upfront- Genesis 22
Sometimes God informs His people and their leader upfront – Exodus 16
Sometimes, no one is told or even realizes it’s a test until it’s too late – Genesis 2-3
But each test is pass/fail – no in between
God’s Prerogative:
- This raises the question, “Is it right for God to test?” Many would suggest, NO. Of course, they likely aren’t believers.
- The question is not whether God has the right, but:
- “Why does God test?”
If God know all things, including the thoughts and intentions of the heart, He obviously doesn’t need to test, does He?
God never tests for His benefit.
So then, why does God test, if not for His benefit, for His knowledge?
He does so for ours.
God tests us so that we might know what’s in our heart.
Test Versus Tempt:
- But we do need to clarify the difference between testing and tempting, because they are often the same word, even though we translate the two with different English words.
James 1 makes clear that God tempts no one, and that `God Himself cannot be tempted. Rather, each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
But God does test!
What’s the difference?
Tempting is attempting to entice someone to do something contrary to God’s revealed will. As such, tempting is aimed to make one fall.
Testing is to expose or evaluate whether someone will act in line with or contrary to God’s revealed will.
Testing exposes the heart
Hence our series – The Inescapable Edge…
God’s Word searches - and is inescapable
And that’s a good thing!
APPLICATION
It’s important that we aren’t fooling ourselves into thinking we are obeying the voice of God if we’re not.
Because only then can we turn and repent and receive the forgiveness and healing we need.
So God doesn’t casually set the stage
He doesn’t make the setting and conditions more favorable for us to pass the exam
That does no one any favors
Nor does God grade on a curve
God sets the stage in a way to expose the truth of what’s in here, in our hearts!
So He has Jeremiah do just ee. Jeremiah sets the stage large scale!
Verses 3-5 (read)
Now we don’t speak Hebrew (Exodus class)
But for the Israelite reader, and certainly the Rechabites, the meaning of these names would not be lost on them.
Verse 3 – the names of the Rechabite family are:
Jaazaniah – which means Yahweh hears
Son of Habazziniah – Yahweh delights
Well, we’re about to find out
Verse 4 – So Jeremiah leads them to one of the inner chambers
Listen to these names:
The chamber of the sons of Graciousness,
The son of May the Lord Be Magnified
Near the chamber of The Lord Works
The son of Shallum – or Peace
And the pressure continues to build in verse 5:
Jeremiah sets before them pitchers or bowls of wine
That word “pitchers,” shows up a total of 14 times, in 3 places
Here in our text
Also used in Exodus, in the design of the Menorah or Lampstandin the Tabernacle.
It describes the cups of the individual lamps –
The lamps were to give light in front of the lampstand.
Well, obviously. I mean that’s the point of a lamp, right?
But what was in front of the lampstand? The showbread.
12 loaves representing the 12 tribes of Israel.
In other words, it’s a portrait of God’s light shining on His people
The third place this word is used is in Genesis 44
For Joseph’s cup which he placed in Benjamin’s sack
What was the purpose of the cup?
To test his brothers
So the idea of testing and exposing is meant to be clear in our reading of this passage.
The test will expose like a lamp shining into the human soul just who the Rechabites will choose to obey.
One last thing to ratchet up the pressure of this test
Jeremiah is not some random guy off the street offering them a drink.
He is the Lord’s prophet
And he doesn’t merely offer them a drink of wine
This is an imperative
The Lord’s prophet has commanded them: Drink wine!
But, verse 6, the Rechabites answer: (Read 6-10)
Sorry, Jeremiah. We’re going to obey our father Jonadab.
4 prohibitions
Drink no wine
Build no houses
Sow no seed
Plant no vineyards
Instead
Live in tents all your days
Why?
So you may live long in the land where you sojourn
And they have done just that – observing all the commands of their father.
But verse 11. (Read)
The word “fear” isn’t actually in the text.
Rather: Come let us go from the face of the army of the Chaldeans and from the face of the army of the Syrians. So, we’re living in Jerusalem.
What’s likely going on, is God’s sovereign hand, through threat of the Babylonian army, moving the Rechabites into Jerusalem for the purpose of this test, and it’s illustration for the people of Jerusalem.
Suspense:
And now the suspense!
Did they pass?
Because the text is meant to be deliberately suspenseful
Let’s see
Verse 12. (Read 12-14)
Lesser to Greater:
It’s an argument from the lesser to the greater
The Rechabites have kept their father’s command
But this people – the people of Jerusalem and Judah – have not obeyed me! They haven’t obeyed the Lord!
Verse 15. (Read 15-16)
Notice. The Lord hasn’t simply given His people a command
He has sent to them again and again, prophet after prophet
Notice also. The Lord isn’t calling them to some sort of difficult stringent lifestyle of asceticism and abstinence from God’s good gifts.
He’s given them wine to drink
Houses to dwell in
He’s brought them into a land of milk and honey
With fields to sow
Vineyards to plant
God’s continued warning, verse 15, has been:
Turn from evil
Make good your deeds
Don’t walk after other gods
These commands are not too difficult for you!
Notice also the promise:
Then you shall dwell in the land!
Does that sound familiar?
That’s the assurance Jonadab gave to his family.
If they obeyed him, they’d live long in the land!
The Rechabites have heeded their father’s command
Taking that promise, that assurance to heart
Yet this people, says the Lord, has not obeyed Me.
Therefore, verse 17. (Read 17)
The Lord is going to respond to their lack of obedience by keeping His Word.
Bringing all the judgements He has declared.
Which ultimately will be exile.
A removal from the this good land
And away from the Lord’s presence.
Why?
Because I have spoken, declares the Lord, and they have not listened.
I called to them and they have not answered
This people have shown themselves not to be God’s people.
How? Because God’s people hear His voice and listen.
That isn’t just true in the New Testament when Jesus says:
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
That should have been true of Israel!
That should have been true of Adam and Eve in the Garden.
That should be true of you and me!
Throughout Scripture, that is the expectation.
Those who truly belong to the Lord
Hear His voice
Listen to His voice
Heed His voice
And follow His commands
And this people has not!
But what of the Rechabites?
What’s the verdict?
They heeded their father, Jonadab’s voice.
They kept his commands.
What about heeding the Lord?
Verse 18. (Read 18-19)
COVENANT:
Passing the Test:
The Rechabites passed the test! Do you know why?
Because in obeying their father Jonadab, they were obeying the command of God.
The 5th Commandment to be precise.
But countless other exhortations throughout God’s Word are also built off that command.
What’s the 5th Commandment?
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
I hope you caught that promise.
That’s the same promise the Lord said the people would receive
if they would just repent and listen to His voice.
And it’s the same promise Jonadab assured his family of. Do these things:
No wine, houses, fields, or vineyards
But live in tents
So that you may live long in the land.
Even in the New Testament, we’re told, this is the first command with a promise!
Ephesians 6:1 – Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor you father and mother (for this is the first command with a promise.)
While our culture seeks to belittle this command
And the religious leaders of Jesus’ day merely gave lip service
The Rechabites sought to honor the Lord by honoring their father Jonadab
Now, let’s be clear – this command isn’t an unconditional command to obey one’s parents without exception.
Obviously, if your parents instruct you to sin, you have to decline to obey.
But that doesn’t excuse you from honoring your father or mother.
Jonadab wasn’t commanding his children and their future generations to sin or disobey the voice of the Lord in any way.
In fact, if we look briefly at who Jonadab is
We’ll likely understand better, the reason behind his commands
Pop Quiz – Do you know who Jonadab is?
Jonadab is by no means a major figure.
But he does show up for a major event.
Jehu:
Hopefully, you’re at least familiar with Jehu, who is a major figure.
Jehu was anointed king of Israel during the days of Elisha the prophet
Jehu assassinated the wicked kings of Israel and Judah
He executed Jezabel, Ahab’s wife, who led Israel into Baal worship
He slaughtered all the descendants of Ahab.
But what Jehu is most noted for is wiping out Baal worship from Israel
You can read about it in 2 Kings 10.
Jehu devised this scheme to slaughter all the prophets of Baal
Inviting them to a great sacrifice at the house of Baal
To supposedly honor Baal,
He stationed 80 men outside, saying:
The man who allows any of those whom I give into your hands to escape shall forfeit his life.
Now guess who Jehu invited to this spectacle?
You got it. Jonadab.
Jehu took Jonadab up in his chariot saying,
Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.
And when the time came for the slaughter, who entered with Jehu?
Jonadab.
Why do I share this background information?
How can this possibly help us better understand Jonadab’s strange list of commands for his family? Well, think about it.
Israel, the Northern Kingdom, had strayed far from the Lord.
The land was filled with idol worship.
Jehu is the closest the Northern Kingdom would get to having what might possibly be considered a good king.
Israel had broken the covenant at every level.
Jonadab rightly discerned that for any of God’s people to dwell in this apostate land, they would necessarily be sojourners.
This was not the place to put down permanent roots.
As the Book of Hebrews says:
They greeted God’s promises from afar, acknowledging that they were but strangers and exiles on the earth.
They were seeking and awaiting another homeland
A better country. A heavenly kingdom.
As such, God is not ashamed to be called their God,
For He has prepared for them a city.
Jonadab commanded his family,
Verse 7. Dwell in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.
LIFE:
Because the Rechabites have obeyed the voice of their father, look at the promise the Lord gives to them in verse 19.
Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never lack a man to stand before me.
Literally: shall not have a man cut off to stand before Me all the days.
That’s covenant language
Just to refresh, covenants are cut
To fail to keep the covenant is to be cut off from the covenant
But the Rechabites have kept the covenant
Therefore, they shall not be cut off from before the Lord.
This leads me to raise one final point: What is life? What does life consist of?
Well, let’s start with what it’s not. Verse 6.
Life is not found in wine, houses, sowing seed, or having vineyards.
Nor is it somehow hindered by living in tents
That’s the list of commands Jonadab gave his descendants.
But we can look at that same list in this way:
Life is not found in wine – or we might say pleasure
It’s not found in houses – or we might say shelter and comfort
Not in sowing seed – occupation
Acquiring vineyards – security
(And as a side note, that’s what King Ahab did! He acquired Naboth’s vineyard – He was obsessed over it! So his wife Jezabel had Naboth framed and killed so her husband could have his vineyard for a vegetable garden.)
And life’s not hindered by living in tents – meaning, you’ll have a hard time accumulating much in the way of property or possessions.
So, just to lay it out more clearly:
Life’s not found in physical pleasure, comfort and shelter, our occupations, our security, or our possessions.
But if we’re honest, we all wrestle with these things,
pursue these things, dwell on these things, worry over these things.
Also, society puts pressure on us to want and to have these things.
And get this. None of them are bad
They’re all good gifts from God
But none of them are what makes for a good life
None of them are what life is, at least not defined biblically
Jesus had an interaction with a rich young ruler.
This guy wanted to know what he needed to do to have eternal life.
Jesus’ replies: If you would enter life… enter life! Keep the commands.
So the young man asks, which ones.
And Jesus ticks them off:
Don’t murder; Don’t commit adultery; Don’t steal
Don’t bear false witness ; Honor your father and mother
And love your neighbor
And the young man replies: All these I have kept.
And then he asks the most astounding question:
What do I still lack?
He externally kept this list of commands, at least in his own eyes.
But he knew something was missing.
So, Jesus says, sell it all, give to the poor, then follow me.
In other words, what you’re missing is me.
Isn’t that how Jesus defines life in John 17:3
This is eternal life:
To know the one true God, even Jesus Christ who was sent.
But the young man went away sorrowful,
Why? Because he sought life in all the wrong places.
He sought it in his possessions
As such, he didn’t listen to the voice of Jesus
Instead, he listened to his lustful flesh
He listened to the cadence of the world – more, more, more
And he listened to the deceit of the devil,
The suggestion that God withholds good things
But the only thing God withholds are those things that get in the way of our fellowship with Him – because He is our life
Whose standards are you seeking to live by?
The Pharisees of this world who suggest you have to uphold their traditions, yet failed to keep the command of God to honor their father and mother.
What about the culture?
Do you feel you need to abide by society’s standards?
A certain size house? A certain income?
A certain standard of cleanliness?
(that’s what the Pharisees argued for)
A certain mode of transportation? A certain retirement plan?
A certain occupation?
The Rechabites were everything but the social norm.
The Rechabites may have failed to live up to society’s standards.
But they were unwavering in their commitment to obedience.
We might say, that where the people of Israel and Judah were stubbornly disobedient, the Rechabites were stubbornly obedient.
Promise for Obedience?
So what was the promise for their obedience?
If you get nothing else, I hope you get this.
Verse 19. A man not cut off to stand before me.
The promise is that God would preserve them so that they will forever have a man to stand before the Lord.
This has great theological significance, but to keep it simple:
The blessing and promise is that of worship!
It’s the promise given to the Levites, to stand before the Lord and minister to Him and to bless His name forever.
If we’re honest, our flesh isn’t all that enthused over such a promise.
We think of the 4 living creatures – Holy, Holy, Holy
And many would say, please don’t let heaven be like that!
But if you feel that way, it’s likely because you have failed to see, or have had a lapse in seeing God’s glory.
I mean, King David said he’d be content just to be a doorkeeper
Why? Just to get a regular glimpse of God’s immediate manifest glory!
And that’s what every true believer longs for
O for now we see it through a glass darkly
But soon, we’ll stand face to face with unveiled, undiminished glory
And it’s this hope that sustains us to press on
That sustains us to live as Rechabites
Meaning living as covenant keepers
Obeying the voice of the Lord
CONCLUSION
You and I are saved only because Jesus passed the test at every level –
Jesus didn’t seek life in the physical pleasures, comforts, and securities that we often seek.
If you recall, our Lord had no place to lay his head.
During his ministry he let go of having a permanent dwelling here
Why? Because, like the Rechabites, he knew he was but a sojourner.
The seed Jesus sowed was the Word
The fieldshe sowed in were human hearts
At the Last Supper, he vowed to abstain from the fruit of the vine until he drinks with you and me anew in the Kingdom.
Jesus also perfectly demonstrated what it means to keep the 5th Command.
Not only did Jesus honor his earthy parents
submitting to them as a child
He also, sought above all things to honor his Father in heaven.
And we see that most clearly when he is about to go to the cross
Speaking with his disciples, at the end of John 14, he says,
I do what the Father has commanded so that the world may know that I love the Father.
Now that is honor!
That’s our Lord. And His command is: Follow Me.
Our Test:
You and I are in the process of completing our test.
And get this. It’s an open book test.
The answers aren’t hidden from you.
It’s all right here.
It’s also a pass or fail test.
No in between. No grading on a curve.
No, “well my good outweighs my bad.”
And here’s the thing about this test.
You and I never know for sure just when we’ll have to hand our papers in
But when that time comes, they’ll be no delay in the grading process
We’ll find out very quickly whether we passed or not
The test will come down tothis:
Whose voice do you listen to?
Jesus’ sheep hear his voice
So, they follow him
Keeping his commands
And the commands of His Father
Of course, it’s tough to obey the voice of someone if you don’t know what that someone has said.
But guess what? He wrote it all down!
Are you one of His Sheep?
Do you listen to His voice?
Are you a covenant keeper or a covenant breaker?
True faith, saving faith, listens to Him. It’s that simple.
Those who fail, will fail, not because the test is somehow hard, but because their hearts are.
Those who pass, will pass because the Lord graciously softened your heart, giving you a new heart, into which He Himself poured His very own Spirit, enabling you to indeed heed His voice, obey His commands, and thus keep His covenant.
Jeremiah 34:1-22 Covenant Breakers, Covenant Keepers, part 1
Jeremiah 34:1-22 Covenant Breakers, Covenant Keepers, part 1
INTRODUCTION:
As we move back into Jeremiah, it’s important to note that we aren’t moving away from our January theme on the Word of God. If nothing else, we’re moving deeper into specific facets of this Word.
A friend expressed to me recently how they really enjoy our conversations over the Word of God, but that when I start talking about certain books such as Jeremiah and Leviticus they tend to lose interest. I’m not sure this individual noticed the disconnect, but I hope you as a congregation does, because the Book of Jeremiah is the Word of God.
It’s one thing as a church for us to talk about the Bible and how we love the Bible, believe the Bible, heed the Bible. But if you recall from 2 Timothy 4, the Scriptures that Timothy was exhorted to preach were the Old Testament Scriptures. Because that’s what Timothy had!
Loved ones, I hope you understand. We need the whole of God’s Word to come to bear on our lives for us to mature in Christ. We need the razor-sharp edge of the Word of the Lord to prune us—to prune that which is diseased so that we might bear fruit in Christ.
Today, we begin looking at Covenant Breakers and Covenant Keepers. As for Covenant Breakers, we have the example of Zedekiah and the people of Judah. Next week, we’ll look at Covenant Keepers and the example of the Rechabites.
To give a brief overview of our passage, King Zedekiah has made a covenant, along with the people of Jerusalem, to set their fellow Hebrew slaves free. But after setting them free, the people turned around and took back their slaves. No surprise, the Lord has a word concerning those who are Covenant Breakers.
We’ll be looking at 3 main themes this morning:
I. The Issue of Slavery
II. True and False Repentance
III. Covenant Faithfulness
READ (Jeremiah 34)
EMANCIPATION:
In 1619, a group of about 350 kidnapped Africans from Angola, were marched to the West-African slave-trading port of Luanda and forced aboard the Portuguese ship, the San Juan Bautista.
20 or so of these kidnapped Africans eventually landed on the shores of colonial Virginia, where they were sold by privateers in exchange for provisions. While not the first people to be sold into slavery in the New World, this date marks the first known sale of kidnapped human beings in what would become the United States mainland.
244 years later, on January 1, 1863, the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that all persons held as slaves shall now and henceforward be free… and commended to faithfully labor for reasonable wages.
In our passage, King Zedekiah declares his own Emancipation Proclamation. In verses 8-10, we read that Zedekiah made a covenant with the people, to make a proclamation of liberty, that everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, so that no one should enslave his fellow Jew. And the people obeyed and entered into this covenant to no longer enslave their fellow Hebrew.
SLAVERY LAWS:
Now, it’s important to note that the type of slavery that existed here in the States was expressly forbidden in Scripture. You can read about the slavery laws in books like Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy.
In Exodus 21, immediately following the Ten Commandments, God lays out His laws concerning slavery. This shows the extremely high priority this issue is to God. I mean, it’s at the very front end of the giving of the Law! Verse 16 of Exodus 21 expressly states that whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death. Forced subjugation of innocent civilians is strictly prohibited!
With that said, the law made allowances for slavery. Criminals and prisoners of war could be subjected to servitude, but we can discuss that another time. What concerns us for our passage today: if someone owed a debt he couldn’t pay, or if he simply fell on hard times, he could sell himself to work off that debt and receive basic provisions.
But there was a limit to their servitude. After 6 years, the slave must be set free. In the 7th year, he was to go free for nothing. That’s it! Debt paid!
We see that in verse 14 of our text. At the end of seven years each of you must set free your fellow Hebrew who has been sold to you and has served you six years.
In Leviticus 25 we read that slaves were to be treated as hired workers. They are not to be ruled over ruthlessly.
Deuteronomy 15 further states that when you set your Hebrew slave free—whether man or woman—they shall not be sent away empty handed but be generously provided for.
In fact, let me read this to you from Deuteronomy 15, beginning at verse 13. When you let him go—that is your Hebrew slave—you shall not let him go empty-handed. You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you.
What’s the basis for these slavery laws? Verse 13. I myself made a covenant with your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
The basis for freeing others is because God Himself freed you!
APPLICATION:
And the same is true for us. Jesus has released us from our slavery to sin by paying off the full penalty of our debt. We have not only been set free but liberally provided for. As such, we release others from their debts to us because our Lord has released us from ours. That’s part of what it means for us to be conformed to Christ’s likeness.
But rather than reflecting the grace and kindness God showed them, obeying God by releasing their fellow brothers from both bondage and debt… end of verse 14—your fathers did not listen.
REPENTANCE:
Along with the issue of slavery, we also have the issue of true versus false repentance.
FORD ESCORT:
As a teen, I was known for what we might call “heavy-foot-syndrome.” I’m not sure if it was due to calcium deposits or too much protein in my diet. What I do know, is that it seemed only to affect my right foot, and that, only when driving. So, after countless warnings and more than a few speeding tickets, I managed to lose my license, not once, but twice before I turned 18, after receiving my second reckless driving ticket, this time for doing 86 in a 55.
So, my dad kindly traded me my 5-speed Volkswagen Jetta—which I had paid $3800 for back in the 90s—and in exchange, he gave me his $500 4-speed, Ford Escort. Let me just say that the Escort may have been a small step up from those cars the Flintstones drove.
In addition to the fine, the judge required me to pay for and complete a driver’s improvement class in order to have my license reinstated. So, 3 months later, I was back on the road; this time in my clunker, and my foot was still every bit as heavy, even if the Escort couldn’t quite do 86… downhill… even if I pushed it.
Now listen. I went through the motions of repentance. I paid the fine. I paid for the class. I completed the class. I acknowledged what was expected of me. I promised to change. But I did so, only so I could have my license restored. And Once the consequence was behind me, I immediately return to my old habits.
Can any of you relate?
JUDGMENT PRONOUNCED
That’s similar to what Zedekiah and the people of Judah did. The Lord has warned His people again and again concerning their oppression and injustice—both of which were an outflow of their idolatry. Oppression and injustice are always the result of idolatry. When we fail to worship anything other than the God whose image we are fashioned after, we will naturally be inclined to mistreat God’s image-bearers in order to serve our idols.
After countless warnings, the Judge has not only handed down His verdict, the judgment is knocking on the gates. Verses 1-2. The Lord is giving Zedekiah and the entire city into the hand of the king of Babylon. And the Lord follows that up in verse 3 with the certainty of this judgment. You shall not escape! You shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face. And you shall be taken to Babylon.
But… even in light of this judgment, the Lord offers a message of hope—a word of consolation—that even this judgment doesn’t have to be the end.
Yes, Zedekiah, your license to reign over Judah has been revoked. But even though the Volkswagen Jetta has been taken away, you can at least finish out your days in a Ford Escort.
Verse 4 and 5. Yet hear the word of the Lord, Zedekiah… You shall not die by the sword, but you shall die in peace and with honor, just as the former kings who were before you. And what’s more Zedekiah, you have my word on this matter. For I the Lord have spoken.
In other words, Zedekiah, you have my word on this.
But Zedekiah is aware, and I hope your are too, that both God’s judgments and His promises—His words of assurance and His words of warning—hinge on repentance.
CONTINGENCY:
I know it’s been a while, but back in Jeremiah 18, we were reminded that there’s an understood contingency tied to God’s declarations. Listen to this from Jeremiah 18:7.
If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended for it.
And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, if that nation does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good I had intended for it.
Now, therefore, … men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, … Behold, I am shaping disaster against you, and devising a plan against you. Return, every one form his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.
That’s what repentance is; it’s turning around. Zedekiah, I’ve given you my word on this, that you will die in peace and with honor. But understand, you can forfeit with good I intend for you.
PARK EXAMPLE:
Think of it like this. I can tell my girls I’m taking them to the park later today. They get excited and ask, “Really!?” And I reply absolutely. You have my word. But as we’re getting ready to go to the park, they start fighting and misbehaving. Guess what. We’re not going to the park. Now let me ask. Did I lie when I said I would take them, and even more so confirmed that they had my word on the matter? No! They forfeited the promise.
Now of course, I’m not omniscient like God is. God knows those who will forfeit His promises and those who will not. That doesn’t make God unfaithful. It makes those who forfeit the promises unfaithful. Just as the warnings are meant to lead us to reform our lives to God’s ways, so also, the promises are to encourage us to reform our lives and continue to order our lives likewise.
God has no problem relenting from this good He has declared to Zedekiah,
if Zedekiah forfeits God’s good plans for him by continuing in his wickedness. And spoiler alert. Far from peace and honor, Scripture records that when Zedekiah was carted off to Babylon, he indeed saw the king face to face, and he watched his sons slaughtered before his eyes. Then Nebuchadnezzar gouge out his eyes, and we’re told that he died in prison.
APPLICATION:
Loved ones, we have glorious promises given to us in the gospel. But those promise are conditioned to those who are in Christ, those who are genuinely in Christ, meaning that they have repented and have submitted their lives to the lordship of Christ.
These promises will not come to pass for those who get their license reinstated and continue to speed off into their former ways and former worldviews.
IMMEDIATE SITUATION:
Verses 6 and 7 give the immediate situation. Jeremiah spoke all these words to Zedekiah when Jerusalem was but one of three fortified cities of Judah that remained. The rest had fallen. And now, Babylon is knocking on the door with God’s promised judgment.
It’s with this backdrop, when judgment seems certain, that Zedekiah and the people of Jerusalem repent by releasing their fellow Hebrew slaves. And guess what? That was a good thing! And it was good in the sight of the Lord.
Verse 15. You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before ME in the house that is called by MY name.
But sadly, their repentance didn’t last long. Verse 16. But then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves, whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them back into subjection to be your slaves.
APPLICATION:
Have you ever noticed that when one’s life is threatened, when death comes near, that people suddenly develop a deeper awareness of their sin—whether or not they’d actually call it that? It’s a reminder of the truth that we all inwardly know—the fact that we will all give an account to our Creator.
As the saying goes, there are no atheists in foxholes. In life and death circumstances, even the ungodly often seek to earn some sort of favor before God, sometimes in doing what they believe to be a good deed, at other times pledging undying devotion to God if He will just deliver them from this situation. But sadly, as soon as the threat is removed—at the first sign of relief—they turn back. They repent of their repentance.
THREAT REMOVED
In verse 21 we learn that the king of Babylon had withdrawn. Later, in chapter 37, we find out that it was due to an opposing threat from Egypt.
Zedekiah and company repented while death was knocking on their door, but as soon as the king of Babylon withdraws his army, the people went back on their word, showing that their repentance wasn’t grounded in the fear of the Lord but in the circumstances that threatened them.
Their repentance is what we might call a false repentance versus a genuine repentance, a worldly repentance versus a godly repentance. Or to put it in biblical terms (borrowing from 2 Corinthians 7), their repentance was not a repentance that leads to life and salvation, but to death. They went through the motions of repentance, but there was no change of heart.
TRUE VERSUS FALSE REPENTANCE:
What are some of the differences between true and false repentance?
1) False repentance is mostly concerned with consequences, and specifically adverse consequences to oneself. So, when the threat of judgment looms, we’ll reform our ways in order to avoid any adverse consequences for ourselves. That’s what Zedekiah and the people of Jerusalem did. They went through the motions of repentance hoping to avert God’s justice.
2) False repentance excuses oneself for his or her actions. Love ones, this is why we’re so quick to return to our former ways once the threat that led to our repentance is removed. We’ll justify our views and our actions. And when we do, we show that the only thing we’re sorry for is the fact that we got caught and it may cost us.
Do you know why false repentance doesn’t last long? Because there’s no change of heart. If you find yourself returning to the same sins again and again, that’s because inside, you continue to justify your actions. You haven’t repented in here—in your heart and in your mind. You aren’t fully convinced that your actions were wrong, or at least not as not bad enough to land you in hell for an eternity, and certainly not bad enough for Jesus to have to pay for them on a gruesome bloody cross.
The issue is that you haven’t found yourself in agreement with God. Rather, you’re still seeking to play God. You’re still seeking to determining what’s good and evil rather than submitting to God’s declaration as to what’s pleasing in His sight and what’s abhorrent.
And because you have failed to see God’s Law, His commands, His ways as beautiful and glorious, you quickly return to old habits and patterns.
But listen loved ones—in Christ—you don’t live there anymore! Quit speeding off down that same old dead-end street thinking you’ll find joy there, fulfillment there, satisfying your fleshly desires there. God alone can satisfy. Why? Because that’s how He has designed you.
When we continue running back to the same sin, we show that there is little to no heart repentance—no true change of mind.
The people took back their slaves because in their heart, they didn’t truly believe slavery was necessarily all that bad, so long as they weren’t the ones enslaved, and they were the ones who benefitted from the labor.
Ultimately, they refused to recognize their sin for what it was: sin.
3) False repentance calculates the situation. The same heart that excuses itself for its actions, calculates the situation, asking how little must I do to avert or lessen the judgment, and how might I repent in such a way that it actually benefits my unchanged desires.
Do you not think that Zedekiah calculated the possible benefits of freeing the slaves? You know, freeing these slave just might encourage them to join the war effort. And hey, guess what! With the siege going on, we can’t exactly access our crops. By setting them free, we’ll have less mouths we’re responsible to feed. They can figure out how to feed themselves.
But that same calculating heart that set the slaves free, is the same calculating heart that subjects them to slavery once again. It’s one thing to proclaim liberty, to announce emancipation, but if the slaves go from freedom right back into forced servitude, what kind of emancipation is that!
Zedekiah might have proclaimed freedom. But now the threat from Babylon has been dismissed. And guess what? The dishes are piling up. Clothes need washed. Wood needs chopped. Who else is going to do all this work?
One of the reasons we return to our former sins, is because we calculate. We weigh the supposed benefit of temporary gains and worldly pleasures with the possibility or even likelihood that, you know, I can always repent later. And that my friends, if that’s you, it’s a very dangerous place to be.
You know why I don’t do what many refer to as altar calls. First, I’m not convinced they’re biblical. Two, their focus, for the most part, tends to be on outward repentance, often leading to a false sense of security.
I get nothing out of seeing people walk an aisle. You know why? Because God never calls anyone to walk an aisle, or raise a hand, or say a sinners prayer. Loved ones, those things don’t save you.
Rather, my desire is for your heart to be torn in two over your sin, and for it to bear the scars of love from where God Himself has sewn it back together making it altogether new. As Joel 2:13 says, rend your hearts and not your garments.If your heart is torn, the world will notice. You don’t have to do anything to parade it around; it will be obvious. But what’s far more important, is that the God who searches hearts, will see it.
If you think you’re safe living in sin, telling yourself you’ll have the opportunity to repent later, let me enlighten you with some hard facts. … You might… and you might not. It is possible, you may find yourself on your deathbed one day, and in that moment, if you haven’t already, genuinely repent. The thief on the cross did.
But realized, the thief on the cross didn’t go through some outward ritual. On the cross, he saw justice and mercy meet. 1) He recognized that he was getting the justice he very well deserved. He didn’t excuse his actions. 2) He looked at the sinless man on the middle cross, who, rather than being concern for his own fate, prayed, Father, forgive them! 3) He accepted the offer of forgiveness for which Jesus prayed and the promise that he would be with Jesus in paradise.
O he didn’t have all his theology worked out just right. But what he did was repent… not with some outward show… but in here… from the heart.
But if you refuse to repent now, what makes you so confident your heart will be moved to repent later. Today is the day of salvation!
4) False repentance has no concern that their actions and attitudes dishonored the Lord. Going through the motions of repentance, whether that be raising a hand, saying a prayer, getting baptized, partaking of the Lord’s Supper… gain you no favor before God. Rather, if you’re heart isn’t transformed, and you continue living in rebellion to God and His Law, these outward displays only serve to further profane God’s name.
How many churches, how many professing Christians bring dishonor on God’s name because they claim to be God’s people, but fail to reflect Him. They have no true desire to reflect Him.
The people made a covenant to set the slaves free, and they did so before the Lord in the house that is called by His name. Verse 16. But you turned around and took back your slaves, and in doing so, you profaned my name.
True repentance cares most about honoring the Lord who makes forgiveness even possible, and that at the highest possible price, not to the sinner, but to the Lord Himself, through his death on the cross.
COVENANT FAITHFULNESS
Along with the absence of genuine repentance, there’s the issue of covenant faithfulness, or lack thereof. God’s laws concerning slavery fell under the covenant stipulations given to Israel at Mt. Sinai.
One thing that is absolutely clear concerning God’s covenant is that it’s conditioned by obedience. As Silas read for us from Exodus 19, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
You will be my people if you obey me… if you keep my covenant.
Now, don’t confuse the requirement for obedience as somehow making this a covenant of works. God freed the people from bondage first, before any covenant faithfulness on their part. But with freedom, comes the responsibility to live free.
Here’s the thing with not keeping God’s covenant, not obeying His voice. It leaves one as a slave to something or someone else. They might as well still be in bondage in Egypt, because their physical location isn’t what makes one free.
The fact that they had failed to release their fellow Hebrews after 6 years was one of many ways they had been unfaithful to God’s covenant. And it was a sure sign that they themselves were still slaves to sin.
CUT OFF:
There’s also the issue of being cut off from the covenant. Through out the Law, we read numerous times that the person who breaks certain covenant stipulations shall be cut off from his people… which is another way of saying, cut off from the people of God… and more specifically, cut of from God’s covenant people, those who are to receive the covenant promises.
Many time the ultimate form of being cut off was death.
CUT COVENANTS:
Now Covenants in the Bible—and we’ve covered this before—aren’t simply made; they’re cut. The literal phrase is the Lord cut a covenant, or as we read in verse 8 and verse 15, Zedekiah and the people cut a covenant. The Hebrew word is כָּרַת (karath), meaning to cut.
As such, there is often a sacrifice of sorts involved. We see this most explicitly in Genesis 15 with God’s covenant with Abraham to multiply his descendants and give them the land. Abraham asks, how shall I know. And the Lord has him bring a 3-year-old heifer, a goat, a ram, as well as a turtle dove and a pigeon. And Abraham cuts the innocent animals in half.
To ratify the covenant, the covenant parties would walk between the divided carcasses as a way of expressing that if I fail to keep my end of the covenant, may I be like these slaughtered beasts.
Throughout the Old Testament you’ve probably run across the phrase, May the Lord do so to me and more also if (dot dot dot). That’s covenant language. Sometimes that phrase is spoken by covenant breakers like King Saul. Sometimes that phrase is spoken by covenant keepers like Ruth.
Not only was Zedekiah and the people of Jerusalem in danger of being cut off from the Lord’s covenant; they have also proven they aren’t even faithful to their own covenants that they initiate, such as the covenant they made to free their fellow Hebrews.
LIBERTY TO THE SWORD:
What’s God’s word to such covenant breakers? He will return to them the same liberty they gave to their fellow Hebrews.
Verse 17. Therefore, thus says the Lord: You have not obeyed me by proclaiming liberty to your brothers… behold, I proclaim to you liberty to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine…
I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. And the men who transgressed my covenant, and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they cut before me, I will make them like the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts…
How? Verse 20. By giving them into the hand of their enemies and those who seek their lives. Nebuchadnezzar may have withdrawn, but I will bring him back.
Covenant breakers, those who are unfaithful to the Lord’s covenant will find themselves cut off from His covenant people, His covenant blessings, His covenant protections. Why? Not because the Lord is somehow unfaithful, but because He is faithful.
CONCLUSION:
So, how do we wrap this up?
Our God is an emancipating God. He liberates us from the harshest of all taskmasters, our sin. And He releases us from our debt of sin so as not to become slaves again. How? Because He Himself paid that debt in full on the cross.
Our God is a relenting God. (That’s simply another word for repent.) God doesn’t sin and He doesn’t err. But God repents in the sense that He relents from bringing disaster; He turns back His fierce wrath. And He does so ultimately because He poured it out in full upon His Son in our place.
And our God is a covenant keeping God. He satisfies every covenant stipulation including paying the penalty for our breaking the covenant. On the cross, Jesus became like the slaughtered calf that was cut in two. In fact, Jesus satisfied the terms of the Old Covenant with the very blood of the New.
You and I, we enter this New Covenant only through the curtain of Jesus’ severed flesh, but also only with genuine repentance, a repentance that turns from going our way and going His—a repentance that forgives others their debts as we have been forgiven ours—a repentance that keeps the New Covenant commands such as Jesus commanded us to … love one another as I have loved you.
Will you be a covenant breaker or a covenant keeper?
Our Lord kept the covenant by being broken. If you want to keep the covenant, you’ll be broken in here, in your heart, allowing Him to put you back together.
GRACE BIBLE CHURCH
255 Franklin Rd, Lebanon, TN 37087
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