Current Sermon Series

---

     Definite Atonement: The Saving Efficacy of Christ’s Death (Ephesians 5:25-27) 

INTRODUCTION: https://youtu.be/Wdf3ikssdVk 

It all starts with election. God’s sovereign decree … His plan … His choosing. But God's decree of election actually includes not only who He would save … but how He would effectively save them.

Last week, we began walking through the Doctrines of Grace, commonly known as Calvinism or TULIP.
And for those of you who might not be as familiar, I probably went way too fast on some of these.
So, as a refresher, TULIP stands for:
T-total depravity, U-unconditional election, L-limited atonement,
I-irresistible grace, P-perseverance of the saints.

This week we’re on the “L” – limited atonement.
But as mentioned last week, the terms in TULIP are prone to misunderstanding and distortion.

So, I prefer the terms on the right: Pervasive Depravity, Sovereign Election, Definite Atonement, Effectual Grace, Preservation of the Saints
It doesn’t sound as nice as TULIP, but the nuance is helpful. 

AFFIRMING TULIP

Now, while I don’t prefer TULIP, let me be clear, if understood in their original intent, I affirm all of them, including this “L” which is where most people get hung up. Many will happily affirm the other four points. But if there’s a place people are going to exit the train, it’s here … with the idea that the infinite value of Jesus’ Atonement for sin could somehow be limited. 

EVERYONE LIMITS ATONEMENT

But here’s the thing. Unless you’re a universalist, meaning you believe every human being will be saved without exception, that everybody is going to heaven regardless of what they believe, regardless of how good or evil they might have been, everybody believes in limited atonement. Every evangelical limits the atonement of Christ in some way. The question is whether they seek to limit Christ’s death to its effectiveness or its intent. 

The Arminian position limits the effectiveness of Christ’s death to actually save in that it merely provides an opportunity of salvation for all, but actually secures salvation for no one. 

The Calvinist sees the atonement as limited in its intent but not limited in its effectiveness. In other words, Jesus’ death on the cross actually accomplishes the salvation of the elect for whom He died.

If I lost you. Don’t worry. We’ll be coming back to this train station again, so that if you are one of those who have hopped off, by the end, hopefully you’ll be more inclined to hop back on.

DORDRECHT AND GOUDA

Last week, we began with Sovereign Election. Today, we’re looking at Definite Atonement. And I know. Some of you are thinking, "That’s not the order at all." (Haley – slide.) But it was the order that those who defended these doctrines used at the Synod of Dort. 

And I know, Dort’s such a weird name. Well, that’s not the half of it. Dort is short for Dordrecht. Thank you, whoever shortened that. But at least it wasn’t Gouda, where the Remonstrance — the opponents of Reformed theology — held their gathering to debate these issues. The whole thing seems a bit cheesy to me. But I guess all man-centered theology is. There’s nothing Gouda about it.

ELECTION AS THE FOUNTAINHEAD

The order here is important. Sovereign Election is the fountainhead. God chooses a people in Christ to be holy and blameless before Him. The idea here is not simply image bearers but perfected image bearers … perfected in Christ. That was the plan from the beginning.  But the second logical step is, how?

Now, when I say, “second,” I’m not at all detaching the First Main Point from the Second. These go hand in hand as part of a unified single plan and decision in the mind of God. But it’s a little difficult to begin with Definite Atonement if there’s no one for whom Jesus was to die. You see the connection. 

GLORY OF GLORIES

At the same time, we shouldn’t think of God’s electing a people, apart from how. He intended to make them holy and blameless. Jesus was always at the center of God’s plan of redemption. 

And this second point – The Saving Efficacy of Christ’s Death – is the most amazing of all five doctrines. Of course, the other five serve to underpin just how amazing this doctrine is. But let me assure you, this is the glory of glories.

READ: (Ephesians 5:25-27)
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

AT EASE

Now to set you, husbands, at ease … this morning … this isn’t a message particular to how we as husbands are to love our wives. We can address that another time. What I want to focus on is Jesus’ love for the church … a love which he acted upon by laying down his life … specifically for her as for a Bride.

GARDEN

At the center of salvation is union … union with Christ. Union is marriage talk that goes all the way back to Genesis 2 and the Garden. It’s helpful if we recognize Adam as a type of “son of God.” I get that from Luke 3:38.

One of the things the historical account of the first man and woman is intended to convey is that it is God, the Father, who gives the woman to the man as a gift. And a beautiful gift at that.

But while Adam delighted in the woman, he certainly didn’t seek to win her in any way. Rather, he took God’s gift of her for granted and let another suitor creep in and defile her by robbing her affection from the One who gave her life.

HOSEA

Jesus, the true Son, won’t just be given a Bride. He himself will be sent to secure her affections by paying for her redemption … or to borrow from Hosea, redeeming her from her waywardness. 

Hosea 2:19. And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and justice, in steadfast love and mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord. 

(Remember, to know, often when used in Scripture, carries an intimacy in the meaning. So, when the Lord speaks of betrothal, we are to hear the intimate connotations in the words, and you shall know the Lord.)

GOD LOVES EVERYONE THE SAME?

Now, I recall years ago, early in my walk, I was in a class where it was taught that God loves everyone the same. And I questioned whether that is truly the case. Not that God doesn’t have a beneficent will toward all His image bearers, but that there is a special love that God has, that Jesus has for His Bride that he does not have for others. 

Well, it sent the class into an uproar. What an outrageous thing to say. That God has a special love for some that He doesn’t have for others. And I used this text as what I thought and still think to be the prime example.

ISSUE FOR HUSBANDS

Husbands are called to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Now, if Jesus loves everyone the same, then we as husbands have some serious issues to work through. And I assure you, our wives aren’t going to be okay with us trying to work this out practically. 

As a husband and follower of Christ, I’m to have a general love, a beneficent love for all women. But I have a special love for my Bride that will necessarily work itself out differently.

If a husband goes out and shows the same love to other women as he does his Bride, we call that adultery. And Jesus Christ is no adulterer. I hope you see how important it is that we get these doctrines right, which is why we’re taking time to look at each one specifically. 

THEOLOGICAL GROUNDINGS

You see how absurd our theological understandings can become when we stop grounding our doctrine in Scripture. 

Yet today, this is the common understanding within much of the church. Certainly, on the surface, it sounds more godly to say that Jesus loves everyone the same. But the first question we need to ask ourselves: “Is it biblical?” And I assure you, if it’s not biblical, it’s definitely not more godly. 

These ideas arise from men and women who seek to be more righteous than God, but it’s simply a righteousness in their own eyes. And if we’re not careful, it will taint how we read the Bible, if people are even reading their Bibles.

TO SANCTIFY HER

Verse 26. Jesus loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her … that is, make her holy. Or verse 27. So that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 

Do you see how this ties into what we looked at last week in chapter 1, verse 4. God elected a people in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. Christ died for the church that she might be holy and without blemish.

Sovereign Election and Definite Atonement go hand in hand. We were elected, chosen in Christ to be holy, not because we were holy. Christ loved and gave himself up for the church that he might sanctify her, make her holy. He didn’t die for her because she was holy, any more than God elected a people because they were holy. 

INDISCRIMINATE BRIDEGROOM?

Now consider a husband choosing a wife. It’s not that the Bridegroom stretches out his arms and calls out, “whoever would be my Bride, come.” Now, certainly, that’s the offer of salvation. The offer is completely indiscriminate to all. 

But get this. The offer of salvation is not the entirety of salvation, nor is it the whole of what Jesus came to do. He also came to secure a Bride.

MARRY ME

When I asked Jenny to marry me after a month of dating, it wasn’t an indiscriminate offer to any who would be willing to marry me. I set my affections upon her. I wanted her. I chose her. And … she initially refused … to give me an answer either way … for a full seven days.

Now, I didn’t simply throw in the towel and seek another bride. I pursued her. I wanted her. I wanted to win her affections. (Now, there’s more to that story … but not less.)

PURPOSE OF MARRIAGE

When speaking of the marriage union, we know that from the beginning, all the way back in Genesis 2, that the purpose of marriage was to point to something more glorious than the physical reality of marriage between a man and his wife. 

We know that’s the case because it’s right here in Ephesians 5. Verse 31. Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and Paul says, I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

Jesus came to offer salvation to whosoever. But it’s equally true that he came to redeem his Bride … a particular Bride. And he determined to win her affections, not merely offer her a possible hand in marriage, and then move on to the next, should she not accept.

HOUSEKEEPING

At this point, it's helpful if we do a little theological housekeeping, in seeing what exactly is being expressed by this idea of limited or definite atonement, and what is not.

For that, I want to summarize Dort’s articles on this 2nd main point. 

SUMMARY OF ARTICLES

Article 1: The Punishment Which God's Justice Requires

God’s justice requires that the sins we’ve committed against God’s infinite majesty must be punished accordingly.

The first thing we must note, and this is where Dort begins, is what justice actually is. One reason for so much pushback against the Doctrines of Grace is that we have exalted mercy to the thing that’s required and demanded rather than justice, which is deemed to be optional. 

This backwards view of justice and mercy is so prevalent in our society, and if we’re not careful, it can taint our theology.

But here’s the first thing we need to grasp if we are to understand this doctrine of atonement. God could have chosen to save absolutely no one, and He would have been perfectly just and righteous in doing so. 

And yet, our fallen flesh finds such a God to be abhorrent, as if He owes us — His creatures He created for His purposes, for His glory — as if He owes us mercy. Mercy is optional. Justice is absolutely necessary.

Article 2: The Satisfaction Made by Christ

While justice demands our sins be punished, in His mercy, of His own free choosing, God chose to save some by satisfying justice's demands in His own Son, who was made to be sin and a curse for us, in our place, that he might give satisfaction for us.

Article 3: The Infinite Value of Christ's Death

The death of God’s Son is of infinite value and worth, more than sufficient to atone for the sins of the whole world. I hope you got that. It’s not that Jesus’ sacrifice is in any way deficient. His death is more than sufficient for the sins of the whole world … even if those sins and the number of sinners were to be multiplied exponentially. 

The question concerning the limited nature of the atonement is not due to any insufficiency in Christ and His sacrifice.

Article 4: Reasons for This Infinite Value

Dort makes clear that this infinite value and worth of Christ’s satisfaction for sin is wrapped up in both his being a true and perfectly holy man and in his being the only begotten Son of God, of the same eternal and infinite essence with the Father and the Spirit. Jesus had to be both truly God and truly man.

Another reason Christ’s death is of infinite value in atoning for sin is that his death was accompanied by the full experience of God’s anger and cursewhich we by our sins had fully deserved. 

Jesus received no less penalty because he was righteous or because he was God’s only Son. In order to sufficiently pay for our sins, Jesus had to suffer the fullness of his Father’s wrath that we deserve.

Article 5: The Mandate to Proclaim the Gospel to All

Note that Dort wants to make clear that the limited or particular nature of the atonement does not negate the mandate to proclaim the gospel to all without differentiation or discrimination, to all nations and people to whom God in his good pleasure sends the gospel.

Article 6: Unbelief as Man's Responsibility

That many are called through gospel proclamation and do not repent or believe is not because Christ’s sacrifice was in any way deficient or insufficient, but because the individuals themselves are at fault.

Article 7: Faith as God's Gift

But all who genuinely believe and thus saved receive this favor from God’s grace alone ­— which he owes no one — given to them in Christ from eternity.

Article 8: The Saving Effectiveness of Christ's Death

Now for the meat. And these next two were our Tenets of the Gospel this morning. The question addressed here is not regarding the atoning sufficiency of Jesus’ death, but God’s intention. 

It was God’s will, His intention, that Christ’s sacrifice should effectively redeem from every people, tribe, nation, and language, all those and only those who were chosen from eternity to salvation and given to him by the Father. Justifying faith, like all other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, was acquired by Jesus’ death.

In other words, Jesus’ sacrifice didn’t merely provide a possibility of salvation; it ensured the salvation of those chosen before the foundation of the world. 

Article 9: The Fulfillment of God's Plan

Lastly, article 9, grounds this plan in God’s eternal love … not for every individual, but for His chosen ones, whom though chosen in eternity, are gathered into one, all in their own time, that they might steadfastly love, persistently worship — both here and in all eternity — praises her Savior who laid down his life as a bridegroom for a bride.

In other words, this doctrine of definite atonement, in that Jesus doesn’t merely secure the possibility of atonement for an undetermined people but definitely secures actual atonement for the elect — His Bride — should lead to doxology. 

SUSPICION OF GOD’S CHARACTER

What it should not do is lead to suspicion of God’s character (as if to suggest that God could be more righteous or more merciful than He already perfectly is). 

ANGST

It shouldn’t lead to angst, causing you to worry whether you’re one of the elect or not. The “whosoever” is not negated by this doctrine but upheld. If you genuinely repent and believe, then this should be a glorious anchor for your soul, that Christ’s death not only paid for your sins, he secured your entire redemption, including your faith, your good works, and your perseverance. 

HOSTILITY

And it certainly shouldn’t cause hostility … at least not among believers. O many of the Jews grumbled and refused to believe. But Jesus made clear, John 10:26, that such was because they were not among his sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 

You want to know if you’re among Christ’s sheep. It’s simple. Do you listen to his voice? Do you follow him? If so, you can be confident that he laid down his life for you.

UNIVERSAL TEXTS

But someone might respond: What about all those texts that say Jesus died for all? Well, there are certainly many that seem to express not only the universal offer of salvation but also that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world.

TENSION REMAINS

So, does this doctrine of definite atonement contradict these Scriptures? Well, to circle back to a point I tried to make in passing last week, this is where we want to affirm all that the Bible says, without removing tension for tension’s sake. So, when Scripture says, in 1 John 2:2, that Jesus is the propitiation — or atoning sacrifice — for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world, we better affirm that, right alongside the texts that say Jesus laid down his life for the sheep. Even if we can’t work out all the details, we must affirm both and understand that there is no contradiction between these.

NO THEOLOGICAL CONTRADICTIONS

But I would ask, exegetically, what is meant by each text? Is Jesus an atoning sacrifice for both in the same way? Is that a necessary conclusion? Many will pit James and Paul against each other concerning whether we are justified by faith alone or by faith plus works. We’re not going to work that out this morning, but if you know the context, you know that James and Paul are not contradicting each other. They are both addressing different issues.

1 JOHN 2:2

So, we'd better be slow in quickly negating one Scripture for another. Does 1 John 2:2, in its use of the whole world, mean every individual without exception? It might. But it might also mean that John is writing to a particular group or community, or even to multiple churches. Stating that Jesus is the propitiation, the atoning sacrifice not just for our sins, that is, the recipients of his letter, but also for the sins of the whole world, could just as easily entail that John is referring to the elect, not only near but far. 

This certainly coincides with Acts 2:39. The promise of all the benefits of salvation is for you and for your children and for all who are far off. All who are far off could just as easily carry the same universalism. But Peter immediately qualifies the "you, and your children, and all who are far off" with this statement: everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.

So, it’s not a stretch to read 1 John 2:2 in that same sense.

2 PETER 3:9

Let’s look at one more. 2 Peter 3:9. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Now, this could simply be expressing God’s beneficent will to all of mankind, every individual without exception. And I have no problem with that translation. But that’s not necessarily what the text is saying. Rather, God is patient with whom? To you, to those Peter is writing to, not wishing any should perish. Any of whom? Well, exegetically, based on the context, the nearest antecedent is — you — those Peter is writing to. Not wishing any of you should perish, but that all … all of who? … all of you should reach repentance.

UNIVERSAL OFFER, SPECIFIC INTENT

So, while there is a universal offer of the gospel, I’m not convinced that there’s a text that in any way contradicts that Jesus came and laid down his life as a Bridegroom for his Bride (Ephesians 5), as a Shepherd for his sheep (John 10), as a Master for his friends (John 15), to save his people from their sins (Matthew 1), and we could go on. 

Here’s what it comes down to: Christ saves a specific particular people who had no claim on his love, his mercy, his grace, but were equally deserving of God’s just wrath. They come to faith, not because they manufactured such in themselves, but because it was a gift purchased by the same precious blood that covers their sin. 

If you’ve responded favorably to the gospel, praise God! Don’t pat yourself on the back. (O, the services I’ve attended that have been so man-centered and self-congratulating.) Every good thing, including faith, is a gift bought by Jesus’ blood.

OFFICES OF CHRIST

Jesus purchased more than the opportunity for you to be saved. He purchased the elect — the fullness of them. Let’s not separate Christ as sacrifice from his role as our Great High Priest who mediates a better covenant, the Prophet who washes us with the water of His Word, and the King who is sovereign over even the hearts of men and women.

If Moses’ intercession (or King David's or Abraham’s) can turn God’s temporal wrath away, how much more can the eternal Son turn away God’s eternal wrath?

But one might ask: Why not all? We'd best ask: Why any?

GOD MOST GLORIFIED

God is not most glorified in simply making salvation a possibility, but in actually achieving and securing salvation for his elect. To reduce the atonement to merely providing a way is to 1) gut God’s glory to truly save, and 2) to steal a slice of that glory for those who of themselves made use of God’s merely provided means. 

But get this. We don’t praise God for providing us with an opportunity. We praise him for truly rescuing and redeeming. 

BELITTLING THE TRINITY

In fact, I would argue that God is not glorified when the Son of God’s death is reduced to a mere opportunity. That belittles the work and person of Christ. 

And it’s helpful to see that the whole Godhead is involved. To reduce salvation to merely potential or hypothetical actually belittles the entire Godhead.

INTERCESSION

Turn to Romans 8.

Romans 8:27. The Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Do you think that it’s even remotely possible that the Holy Spirit’s intercession isn’t entirely effectual?

What about the Son’s intercession? Romans 8:34. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died — more than that, who was raised — who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Can you imagine the Father hearing the Son’s prayers for the elect, and the Father saying, “No.”

And just who is the Son interceding for? Verse 33. God’s elect. You see, between the Spirit’s perfect intercession according to the will of God in verse 27 and the Son’s perfect intercession in verse 34, we have the Father’s expressed will. Verse 32. He who did not spare His own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 

What are all things? Every aspect of our salvation, from beginning to end. And just to be clear, who is the “all” that the Father gave His Son for? Verse 31, those whom God is for. Well, who’s that? Verse 30. Those He predestined — chosen.

ONE ACCORD

Do you see the challenge here? The entire Trinity is of one accord, working to the same end. The Son intercedes according to the Father’s will, and the Spirit intercedes according to the Father’s and the Son’s will. 

And you know what the Father’s will was? It was to crush the Son. Isaiah 53. It was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief. He shall make many righteous because he shall bear their iniquities. He bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors. 

TO THE UTTERMOST

For Jesus to die as a substitution for all necessarily entails salvation for all. Otherwise, if not all are saved, then we have a contradiction. Why? Because Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant, the new covenant. He is the Great High Priest who doesn’t simply make salvation a possibility. Hebrews 7:25 says, He is able (or better, He is mighty) to save to the uttermost those who come near to God through him.

LIMITING THE EFFECTIVENESS

Limiting the atonement’s effectiveness by making it extend indiscriminately to all in the same way makes the atonement, at best, a hypothetical possibility, in that some might be saved, or worse, if left to us to finish the work by our own mustered faith, none might be saved.

God forbid that Jesus’ infinite payment could hypothetically secure nothing at all — that the sinless eternal Son would step down from His glorious abode where he dwelt in perfect unstained bliss with His Father and enter our sin-drenched world to die a gruesome death on a tree which He Himself fashioned at the hands of those He created — and effectively secure nothing.

God forbid that the Father would send His only Son into that and effectively accomplish salvation for no one but merely present such rebels with the potential to be saved.

God forbid that the Spirit would lead the Son into all temptation and suffer knowing that it could possibly secure salvation for no one at all. 

Listen, while they’d never own such as their position, that’s what’s at stake. And that is precisely what Dort rejected — the idea that God the Father appointed His Son to death on the cross without a fixed and definite plan to save anyone by name. Because the conclusion of such man-centered theology, where the human will is the decisive factor, is that it was therefore possible that all, or even none, might be saved.

DOOR OF OPPORTUNITY?

Jesus isn’t merely a door of opportunity through which sheep and goats alike might enter. Jesus is the door of the sheep. But he is also the shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep, not for the goats. And he goes out and finds and brings back every last one so that not a single sheep from his flock is missing. 

NO KEEP OUT SIGN

This doesn’t negate the free offer of salvation to all. Whosoever — arms fully extended for all who will come — and no one who truly desires to come will ever be held back by God’s hand. Sinners, of their own volition, keep themselves back. So rather than any suggestion that God stiff-arms people from coming, it’s man who stiff-arms God. No, Thank You!

EFFECASIOUSLY DRAWN

But many do come. And those who come do so because the cross didn’t merely open a door but efficaciously drew us up and through that door — overwhelming us by the infinitely precious blood that was smeared upon the post and lintel — that provided refuge from the destruction we of ourselves had earned. O, what mercy and grace. O what a Savior.

He died as King for His people. He was the head that bore a crown of thorns for the redemption of His body. He bore the curse of Adam, coming as the last Adam for a new humanity. And yes, He came as a Husband who paid for our adulteries, the adulteries of the faithless Bride to restore her purity. 

MARRIAGE

The story of history begins with marriage. And it ends with marriage. How foundational. Jesus’ atonement for the sins of His Bride, washing her in His blood, makes her a new, pure virgin Bride. Because the Atonement does more than simply pay for sins. It makes her a new creation, where the two can truly be naked and unashamed, not naked in a physical sense, but naked in that theirs nothing to hide, because all her sin has been covered. Now, true and perfect intimacy, union, indeed communion can take place.

CONCLUSION

As much as some push against the idea of limited atonement, there’s really no such thing as unlimited atonement. On the premise that some do indeed eternally perish, we are stuck with one of two alternatives: Either Jesus’ atonement is limited in its effectiveness, meaning Jesus didn’t actually purchase a Bride, so much as He made it hypothetically possible for her to have her sins forgiven, and then we can discuss marriage. Or the atonement is limited in its intention, in that Jesus died to actually redeem His Bride, which he does. We know he does, because we have the end of the story.

   Sovereign Election: The Loving Choice of a Personal God (Ephesians 1:3-14)  

https://youtu.be/WHNatOxNKfI

INTRODUCTION: Ephesians 1:3-14

Okay. We’re starting a new series on the doctrines of grace.
Why this series? What happened to Romans?

Initially planned on one message to coincide with Reformation Day. But that’s a lot to squeeze in a single message … even a long one … and would likely leave far more questions than answers.

Also, with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, last year we didn’t exactly do a Christmas series. So, I didn’t want to get through the first half of chapter 1 of Romans and stop.

Besides, what better Thanksgiving series than praise and thanks for the doctrines that sit at the core of our salvation.

So, as of now, we’re planning to begin Romans the first of January. And what we cover in this short series is going to come up everywhere in Romans. This will allow us to trace these 5 major doctrines ahead of time, so that when we get to Romans, we can focus more on the specific text and not have to cover these doctrines in as much detail, but in summary form.

Now, there’s a chance that more than a few of us in here have struggled with these doctrines we’re about to cover, and some of you might have a few hangups or misunderstandings even now. My hope is to clear up some confusion as to what these doctrines entail and what they don’t. It’s also to challenge us, challenge our hearts, as we are all still in need of greater sanctification — me probably more than most. Lastly, these doctrines are intended as an encouragement for the church. 

In fact, I would argue, these doctrines of grace strike at the heart of the gospel, that salvation is from God from first to last.

These messages will be slightly different from our normal exposition of the text. Although we will look directly at the text, we will really be focusing on the doctrines themselves.

READ: Ephesians 1:3-14

SOVEREIGN ELECTION

This morning, we’re specifically looking at the doctrine of sovereign election or predestination, or by its more familiar name due to the acronym TULIP, unconditional election. 

Why start here? 

TULIP

Well, TULIP (hence the slide for this series), for those of you who might not be familiar, stands for: Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints. 

While the acronym TULIP is helpful as a memory device, it didn’t come about until the 20thcentury, with the earliest known use in 1913, but it wasn’t popularized until the 1960s. I prefer other titles for each of these doctrines, because the ones in TULIP are prone to mischaracterizations and distortions. The titles I prefer, which you’ll find in Wednesday’s upcoming bulletin for our Reformation Celebration are:
Pervasive Depravity
Sovereign Election
Definite Atonement
Effectual Grace
and Preservation of the Saints.

But that doesn’t make for a very memorable acronym. In fact, I can’t even pronounce it: PSDEP. An extra vowel would be nice. 

ORDER IN TIME

Nevertheless, this order — whether TULIP or PSDEP — depravity, election, atonement, grace, and preservation, it captures the order of salvation in time. In fact, I would argue, these doctrines of grace are one of the best ways to define the gospel.

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO TULIP

In our fallen state, mankind had become so pervasively depraved, corrupt in all his ways that he wanted nothing to do with the God who created him. 

Yet God, in His mercy, sovereignly elected to save a specific people for Himself due to nothing found in the individuals themselves, but according to His own sovereign choice.

He saved them, not merely by offering a potential payment for the sins so that we might become redeemable, but  by actually redeeming His elect, atoning for our sin with the infinitely precious blood of His only Son, Jesus Christ. 

Because no one would ever choose this Holy God, God triumphs over our resisting hearts by His effectual grace, by setting before us something infinitely more desirable than the fleeting pleasures of sin, the glories of His grace to us in Jesus Christ.

But a salvation that only gets us part of the way is not much of a salvation, especially because so long as we reside in our fallen flesh, we would never reach the end. Therefore, God doesn’t just provide the means for our salvation, or get us going on the road to salvation, He saves His people completely, from beginning to end by preserving and sustaining us every step of the way.

Anything less, doesn’t make for much of a gospel. We remove anyone of these elements, we have merely an offer of salvation that is either unnecessary or worse, unobtainable, which is no gospel at all.

But glance down to verse 11. This mercy isn’t merely unobtainable; it has been obtained for us in Christ. How? In our having been predestined.

CALVINISM

Now, these Doctrines of Grace, also known as Calvinism, although I don’t overly use that term, while they are some of the most beautiful doctrines in all of Scripture, they are not cherished by all. If there’s any doctrine that people associate with Calvinism, it’s this doctrine of predestination, which is simply divine election.

PREDESTINATION

There are few doctrines and themes as unpopular among unbelievers and professing Christians both as that of predestination. But we’ve got to address it. It’s in the Bible. We just saw it in verse 11. And it’s in verse 5. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons. That adoption is one of many aspects of our salvation. In other words, God’s predestining some as sons, means God has predestined some for salvation.

Now, the Greek word simply means “to determine beforehand” or “predetermine.” Determine before what? Well, if we back up a verse to verse 4, it says God predetermined before the foundation of the world. 

Now, what was happening before the foundation of the world? Not us. We weren’t happening. We were doing nothing either good or bad. We were doing nothing at all. And yet, even then, God predetermined to choose us in Christ. It’s very important to realize that the word doesn’t mean post-determined. It’s not post-destination. But that’s what opponents will argue. It’s only after God foresees one’s response to the gospel that He determines anything regarding them. That’s not what the text says. But we’ll get to that.

REJECTION

Many reject these doctrines. And in large measure, that’s due primarily to two things:
1) a misunderstanding or caricature view of the doctrines
2) a rejection of God’s sovereignty in exchange for human autonomy.

Now, some will ague against these doctrines of grace, and in particularly, this doctrine of election, as a theodicy, that is, seeking to defend God, and in particularly His goodness. Because if God chooses some, and not others, based solely from His divine prerogative as God and not based on anything in the individual, then that makes God a moral monster. The argument is that for God to be good, He must offer the exact same grace to all and leave it up to the free choices of men and women to receive that grace. 

But here’s the dilemma. No one, not one person in all of history would receive God’s grace on that basis. In other words, if God left it up to man, no one would be saved.

MY EXPERIENCE

Now, like baptism, I have revisited this issue often, especially early on as a believer. And honestly, it was the hardest doctrine for me to come to terms with. O how my prideful flesh despised this doctrine. 

But thankfully, the Lord humbled me to submit, not to my own finite rationalization and wisdom, or even the best philosophical arguments of men, but to His inerrant Word.

SCRIPTURE VERSUS PHILOSOPHY

You see, everyone who is educated on this issue knows that Scripture is on the side of the Calvinist. The theme of God’s absolute sovereignty and His divine providence pervades all of Scripture. It’s difficult to find a chapter where if it’s not explicitly expressed, it’s at least assumed. 

Only through philosophical reasoning, not that Arminians (we’ll get to that) don’t have their proof texts — but only through philosophical reasoning can opponents reach the conclusion that man’s will trumps God’s sovereignty. It is impossible to glean that from Scripture alone. And as Sherif has so helpfully taught, even this morning, our authority isn’t in the finite fallible interpretations of men, but in Scripture alone.

Yes, man has a will, and that will is not forced on him. But understand, it is God who sovereignly gives man over to his fallen will, permitting man to continue in his fallen ways. And in His immense kindness and mercy, it is this same sovereign God who restrains our corruption, and even better, renews our very hearts and our ways. 

Now, you don’t have to agree with these doctrines necessarily to be saved. None of us are saved by our doctrine and having it all figured out. Praise the Lord. But I assure you, if you are saved, you are saved solely by God’s sovereign grace alone. The only thing you and I bring to the table is our own sin.

CANONS OF DORT

So, why start here? Why start with sovereign election and not total or pervasive depravity?

Well, for one, we just came out of a two-year long series in Jeremiah, if you haven’t picked up on the fact that humanity is depraved, either I have utterly failed you over these past two years, or you’ve been sleeping during service! But don’t worry. We’ll get there!

But more importantly, we start here because this is where the Canons of Dort start. And they do so for a reason.

To give you a brief background, all of our creeds and confessions have come about primarily to address and ward off errors and heresies that have arisen within the church. And we see that example in Scripture itself. 

Many of the epistles were originally written for the same reason, because some error or heresy had arisen within the church. Unless you are circumcised, you cannot be save. That’s a heresy that’s addressed in the letters of Paul. 

What about Jesus’ humanity? Many were teaching that Jesus wasn’t truly man. Well, we have some letters that address that. In fact, so strong were the condemnation of these heresies that John, in his second epistle, says that anyone who brings such a heresy denying that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, don’t even receive such a person into your house or give him any greeting for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.

Well, the Canons of Dort are no different. They didn’t seek to lay out TULIP or give us the Five Points of Calvinism. 

ARMINIUS

What happened is that a student of Calvin’s successor, named Jacob Arminius came to question some of the teachings of Calvin and reformed theology, and specifically Article 16 of the Belgic Confession on the doctrine of election. 

Let me read this article of the reformed confession that Arminius so disagreed with:
 We believe that — all Adam’s descendants having thus fallen into perdition and ruin by the sin of the first man — God showed himself to be as he is: merciful and just.
 He is merciful in withdrawing and saving from this ruin those whom he, in his eternal and unchangeable counsel, has elected and chosen in Jesus Christ our Lord by his pure goodness, without any consideration of their works.
 He is just in leaving others in their ruin and fall into which they plunged themselves. 

JUSTICE AND GRACE

Now, notice something about the way this is stated. God never unjustly condemns the ungodly. Rather, He leaves them in their ruin and fall (now listen) into which they plunged themselves. We call that justice.

But notice, those chosen were worthy of the same condemnation, but in His own eternal and unchangeable counsel, God chose to save some. They did absolutely nothing to merit this salvation. It was a free gift of God. We call that grace.

What’s amazing is not that God left some in their own ruin and misery. What’s amazing is that He chose to save any! To get that wrong is to get grace wrong.

FIVE POINTS OF DISAGREEMENT

Well, Arminius and his followers, the Arminians (see the connection), rejected this sovereign election and they set forth 5 points, five articles of their rejection, which begin … you guessed it … with election. The other four build off this main disagreement, where they suggested that God doesn’t elect particular persons but specifically those who will believe and persevere. In other words, election is not based on God’s choice but on man’s belief and perseverance. I hope you see how vast the gulf is between these two positions.

In other words, the only thing they suggest predestined is meant to convey is what might happen in history not due to any sovereign choice on God’s part, but that God simply makes salvation possible. You know what this proposes don’t you. Man is the ultimate determiners, the sovereign of his own destiny. But do you realize what you’re claiming at that point? That the reason you’re in here this morning worshiping Jesus, and not out there sleeping in or doing whatever else is because you were somehow wiser or more worthy. There was something about you, that they lacked. Talk about promoting pride.

CHOSEN TO BE

But we see the exact opposite in our text. For example, verse 4. He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. The text doesn’t say God chose us because He foresaw that you would be holy and blameless. It says that God’s calling, God’s choosing is what brings about our holiness and blamelessness, not that our holiness brings about God’s choice. 

The only reason why we have the five points of Calvinism is because they are a response to those who rejected God’s Sovereign Election. 

So the Canons of Dort also begin with Election. 

ELECTION AT THE CENTER

Which brings us, again to the question: Why start here? When covering the Doctrines of Grace, why begin with Election? Why did Dort begin with Election?

Well, in part, as a response, yes. But more importantly, election is the central issue. It’s here at election, that God’s absolute sovereignty over all things, including the hearts and wills of men, is set forth and shown forth ­— and it excites praise in the hearts of those who have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). And it arouses hostility in all fallen flesh that is bent inward on itself. 

THE FIRST SIN

In fact, that’s the very first sin. It’s always helpful to go back to the Garden to understand what happened, what took place. You do realize what happened in the Garden. The Fall was a rejection of God’s sovereignty, and specifically God’s sovereign choice to set one tree among all the others as off limits.

When the Serpent deceived the woman, it was an undermining of God’s sovereignty. 

When the woman ate, it was a declaration that she’d be the sovereign of her own life, determining good and evil for herself. 

And when Adam accepted the fruit from his wife’s hand, he decided he could determine what voices were authoritative in his life — he could listen to the voice of the Sovereign Lord or the voice of his wife. He chose to listen to the creature rather than the Creator, a creature who was just like him, created … created to display the glory of God.

REJECTING GOD’S SOVEREIGN CHOICE

In other words, there’s a sense in which all three of these creatures, the Serpent, the woman, and the man rejected God’s sovereign choice as KING to declare this one tree off limits — this tree of the knowledge of good and evil — this one tree that served to express just who was the ultimate sovereign of this Garden. 

And by partaking of the fruit they were instructed not to partake of, they declared that God is not worthy to choose. We reject God’s sovereign choice — we reject God’s sovereign decree. What a monster and oppressor to rule over us in such a way. We’ll choose. We’ll be the ultimate decision makers in our life. And that’s the dispassion, the disease, the depravity that had infected all of humanity.

AFTER SIN

And yet, even after such rejection … grace abounded. Adam and Eve didn’t die that day. They were clothed. Their sin was covered. It’s a portrait of atonement, which literally means covering. O it was an insufficient covering to reconcile them to the one they had betrayed and rejected. But it was a picture of a better atonement to come. 

But what took place in that Garden, that depravity now pervades every son and daughter of Adam. God’s sovereign right to chose is the one thing our sin nature hates more than everything else. 

BEGININNG OF A PLAN

There’s another reason why we start with election. Not only does it get to the heart of the issue, not only is it the central doctrine that fallen man has rejected for millennia, it is also the beginning of God’s plan of salvation.

While TULIP traces the order of salvation in time, the Canons of Dort trace the logical order of salvation. Election – Atonement – Depravity – Grace – Perseverance.

BEFORE CREATION

This takes us back, not to the Garden, but before creation. It takes us back to God’s eternal plan and purpose to create a people as His own treasured possession and for Him to be theirs. God’s eternal decree of election is a decree of love. 

Look at Ephesians 1:3-6 again. (Now, before I read these verses, it’s helpful to know that verses 3-14 are one long sentence for that apostle Paul. I’m often accused of long sentences. And in my academic papers, my average sentence is upwards of 30 words. Now, before I began writing anything academically, I had been reading my Bible for almost 7 years. I really believe part of my writing style comes from spending a lot of time in the Apostle Paul. I know, some of you are thinking, you should have spent more time with John! I’m trying! Well, this single sentence of Paul is over 200 words in the Greek!)

Verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him (WHEN?) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. Many translations begin a new sentence with “in love.” And that’s a perfectly good translation. But what’s important to grasp is that there is no break. 

Backing up to verse 4, let me try and capture the flow. Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him, in love, having predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

IN LOVE

Now, that little phrase “in love” can go either at the end of verse 4, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love — in that the perfection of believers consists in love, in love towards God. You want to know what holiness and blamelessness looks like, it’s the one who loves the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Every good work will flow from that and that alone. This is Calvin’s preferred placement of the phrase. 

At the same time, Calvin, along with others, recognize that it could also go just as well with the beginning of verse 5 — that it was “in love” that God predestined us for adoption as sons. 

A GOD WHO IS PERSONAL

Now, while God is absolutely sovereign and has the right and prerogative to do as He sees fit with that which is His, meaning all of creation, including us, it’s important to note that God is not some impersonal deity. 

Remember, this God Himself is a community, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But more than that! While God works all things according to the counsel of His will (verse 11), we must remember that this God also stoops and reaches His hands into the dust and into the womb forming and fashioning humanity in His likeness, breathing his own very breath into humanity’s nostrils. 

He numbers the hairs on our head, and writes down every day he has formed for us in His book. He knows our every need before we even think to ask. 

Do you still think the doctrine of election is impersonal and cold? This personal Creator gives us life and being. He is the only entity that can satisfy our soul. He is the source of full joy and lasting pleasure. 

Therefore, this God stands in opposition to any who would hinder the ultimate good of his creatures, causing them to stumble. And defamation of His name and distortion of His decrees is the ultimate hinderance and cause of stumbling because it blinds the heart from seeing the truth of that which is most precious. 

None of these things would matter to an impersonal God.

ETERNAL ROOTS OF LOVE

So, while God has predestined some who were once enemies of God to love Him, God himself also elects, chooses, predestines us for adoption in love to be brought into this family as sons and daughters — children of God.

And when did this love begin? Well, verse 4, before the foundation of the world. Election has eternal roots.

In fact, there’s a word that comes up that is helpful for this conversation, and that’s the word “foreknow” or “foreknew.” Romans 8:29. And those He foreknew He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. 

Foreknew means to know beforehand. But in what sense? Does it mean that God looked down the corridors of time and saw what would happen? While God does know the end from the beginning, that’s not the meaning of this word, especially in this context. 

This is why I prefer more literal word-for-word translations because they help you understand how the same words are used elsewhere. The word know shows up very early in Scripture. It is used concerning the intimacy between a husband and a wife. Adam knew Eve. 

Perhaps even more helpful is Amos 3:2. Speaking of Israel, the Lord says, You only have I known of all the families of the earth. Now does that mean God was ignorant of the other families and nations which He created? Not at all. But there was an intimacy, and affection in His knowledge of Israel.

So what does foreknew mean in the biblical sense? It means God set His affections on His people beforehand.

TO THE PRAISE OF THE GLORY OF HIS GRACE

This divine election has its roots in eternity past in God’s loving eternal decree, and its goal, its end, is the praise of the glory of His grace. The counsel of God’s own will is the beginning. The praise of His glory is the end.

Notice 3 times, this phrase, to the praise of His glory. First in verse 6. To the praise of His glorious grace, or better, to the praise of the glory of His grace. Then we have a shorter version in verse 12 and 14 which simply read, to the praise of His glory. 

Now I don’t believe grace is intended to be excluded, but rather Paul is writing in a sort of short hand. He doesn’t need to spell out the entire phrase each time he brings it up. The reader knows exactly what the praise is for. It’s for the glory of God’s grace. It’s all grace. None of it earned or merited. And therefore God alone receives the glory.

THE END

Verse 4. The glory of God is the final end of our sanctification. Verse 5. The glory of God is the final end of our adoption. Verse 6. The glory of God is the final end of all the blessings we enjoy in Christ. Verse7. The glory of God is the final end of our redemption and forgiveness of sins. Verse 11. The glory of God is the final end of our obtaining an inheritance, which is none other than Christ. And the glory of God is the final end of our being sealed by the Holy Spirit. 

The glory of God is the final end of the gospel, why the Spirit enlightened the eyes of our hearts to hear and believe the gospel. (Verse 13 and 17).

PRAISE

Now, notice, however, that it doesn’t simply say to the glory of God, but to the praise of His glory. Why does that matter? Well, of course, God is worthy of our praise. But get this. He doesn’t need our praise. Our praise does nothing for Him. It’s for us. Praise is one of God’s good gifts to the worshiper. Because only in praise is our joy complete. And this loving God delights in our ultimate joy. 

As C. S. Lewis so helpfully points out: praise is the consummation of joy. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.

Of course God delights in our praise, because its only in our praise of Him for the glory of His grace that our joy reaches its consummation.

UNFAIR

The only reason I can think of as to why anyone would read their Bibles and then reject this doctrine that is so plainly spelled out in Ephesians, and John’s gospel, and the rest of Scripture, is either, 1) they have loved ones who are far from Christ or they themselves are far from Christ, and they know it. And this doctrine smacks hard. Because it’s much easier to accuse this doctrine as unfair …

That God must be unfair if this is the case, because we’d rather see God as impotent to save than in His divine judgment passing over certain people leaving them in their sins. Because when God determines to save someone, there is no thwarting His plan. (Job 42:2). 

And that’s Job after enduring such suffering, questioning God’s purposes to the point that he feels he needs to argue his case before the Judge of all the earth, even while he recognizes God’s sovereign hand is ultimately behind his suffering. 

What’s behind this concern, and I get it, follows a reasoning that neither the Canons of Dort or any or our Reformed Confessions expresses, nor does Scripture, and that is in predestining some for salvation, then God must also be predestining some specifically for hell. 

This is where careful nuance is important, with Dort took very seriously, because this is where most hangups take place. God never chooses a particular people to condemnation in the way He chooses people to salvation. He chooses to save some rather than rescuing none. 

THIEVES OF GLORY

The other reason many tend to reject predestination is to rob some of the glory, some of the praise that is due God alone. We so often have way too high a view of man, and too low a view of God.

FATALISM

Now, let’s avoid a couple of errors. This doctrine doesn’t teach fatalism. If this doctrine causes you to respond, “well, I guess it doesn’t matter how I live then, everything’s already determined. I might as well live it up and not concern myself with any of it.” 

If that’s you, let me warn you that such a response will only prove yourself not to be among the elect. Working through John Bunyan’s Grace Abounding for the Chief of Sinners, that was Bunyan’s initial reaction. I’m already condemned. God’s chosen those He will. If I’m condemned already, it might as well not be for a few small trivial sins. 

HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY

Listen, the doctrine of election is not a rejection of human responsibility. Human responsibility is not at odds with God’s sovereignty. And just because in your finite mind you can’t work it out, don’t think God hasn’t.   

We're going to look at that closely when we get to the doctrine of human depravity. But for now, understand. God's stiff arms no one out of his Kingdom. God's stiff arms, no one from coming to him. In fact, He does just the reverse. He stretched out his arms … on a gnarly piece of splintery wood, inviting anyone who would ... to come. Whosoever.

The sad reality is that unless God does something in our dead hearts, no one will. So, in His abundant mercy, He efficaciously draws some. But never think for a moment that God coerces fallen man against his will. God compels no one to continue in their sin.

PASS BY

The Canons of Dort capture this well. God doesn’t force sin upon man, He leaves them in it by passing them by, on the basis of His entirely free, most just, irreproachable, and unchangeable good pleasure. He chooses to leave them in the misery of their sin, which by their own fault, they have plunged themselves into. 

Or think about it like this. God elects some to salvation on the basis of His eternal grace. He condemns others on the basis of the works they have done in the body. In other words, there’s an asymmetry built into the doctrine of election. God predestines some to mercy. Others He simply leaves under judgment.

WHY NOT SAVE ALL

We recoil at this, because we fail to see grace as just that, grace. But God owes us sinners nothing but condemnation. He certainly doesn’t owe us mercy. Rather than being appalled that God doesn’t choose to save everyone, though He certainly could, we should be in awe and praise that He should choose to save any at all, and all the more so when this salvation involved the death of His own Son to make such redemption even possible. And I do mean that exactly that, that the death of the Son of God was absolutely necessary to save the likes of any of us. (But that’s next week.)

EMPOWERMENT

So, the doctrine of election, rather than one of fatalism, is a doctrine of empowerment. 2 Peter, chapter 1. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence … Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election.

We’ll confirm one or the other. Either we’ll confirm our rejection of God’s grace and sovereignty, or we’ll confirm our election, that God graciously chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. In both God will be glorified. But listen loved ones. Only one will benefit you and me.

CHRIST

One last point before we wrap up. Our election should never be considered apart from Christ. God’s sovereign election was never contemplated apart from the person and work of Christ. God’s Son stands in the middle of each of these Doctrines of Grace. We see this plainly in our text:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
He has blessed us in Christ … with every spiritual blessing
In love he predestined us for adoptions to himself as sons through Jesus Christ
We have redemption and forgiveness through the blood of Christ
He lavishes upon us the riches of his grace only in our union with Christ
made known the mystery of his will which was set forth in Christ
unites all things in Christ
we obtain an inheritance in Christ

Our hope in Christ is to be to the praise of His glory
 

SALVATION BEGINS

So, why begin with election? Because it’s where salvation begins. It’s where our salvation began.

Salvation began in eternity past, in the personal all-wise counsel of the Sovereign Lord who chose us in Christ …
 and He chose to purchase us definitively by securing oru redemption at the highest possible price, the blood of His Son …
 And He chose to exalt us from the lowest possible place, the depths of our depravity where we were utterly helpless, indeed, we were dead in our trespasses and sin…
 So, he chose to save us who could not in anyway save ourselves, which required a supernatural work, a supernatural call, making us who were dead, alive through grace…
 And what God has chosen and determined to do, He will see to it that it is indeed accomplished.

He who began a good work in you will most certainly bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

This is where every person who has been or will ever be saved, it’s where their salvation began … in the eternal will of the Triune God — the Father choosing and predestinating, the Son redeeming and securing, and the Spirit sealing and guaranteeing … our salvation … all to the praise of the glory of His grace. 

In fact, I would argue, that’s the main point … the ultimate end of each of the five Doctrines of Grace: the praise of the glory of His grace given to us in Christ. We still have much more to cover … Let us pray.

https://youtu.be/WHNatOxNKfI

   Through the Waters: The Relationship between Baptism and Faith (Galatians 3:26-29) 

(The case for a covenantal view of believer's baptism)

MEANING OF BAPTISM

Last week we looked at how the fundamental meaning of baptism is that of one’s union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. We saw that clearly in Romans 6:3-4. All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

In other words, baptism is meant to convey one’s dying with Christ, or we might say, dying to self, and in turn living to Christ.

COMMUNICATES MORE

Baptism, however, communicates something more than this dying to self and living to Christ, as important as that is. It is meant to communicate something of the glory and worth of Christ. 

So, while baptism is first a spiritual act — a work that God Himself does in us — regenerating us to see the worth and beauty of Christ in the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:6), one’s participation in the physical act of water baptism is a proclamation of the grace wrought in the new believer, (this infant in Christ as it were) and his or her commitment to die with Christ in order to walk in Him. Colossians 2:6, Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.

What greater exaltation of Christ can a believer make? Only one. Living out the truth of what this physical act of baptism represents.

This morning, we’re going to look at the relationship between baptism and faith which is vital to this proclamation.

GOAL OF THIS CONVERSATION

Now, I’ve come back to this topic for a deep dive many times over. And the Lord’s been kind every time I revisit these major doctrines in which there are competing views among the faithful. He has never allowed that study and meditation to come up fruitless. 

Each time, whether it’s the End Times, or Spiritual Gifts, or the Doctrines of Grace, or Baptism, in that time of study and reflection, the Lord reveals to me areas in my walk where I still need to grow, causing me to lean in more and more to His grace. But He also, each time, allows me to see Christ a bit more vividly than I saw Him before.

That, loved ones, regardless of whether I persuade you to agree with me or not, is my goal.

1) That we’d see we all still have much to learn and need to grow in humility. 

2) That we’d see an increasing need for God’s grace and new morning mercies.

3) That you’d see Jesus a bit more vividly — more glorious than you’ve seen Him to date — and that such would forever increase as you study His Word.

READ: Galatians 3:26-29

For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male an female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

PROBLEM

Now, having gone over the covenant view of infant baptism again and again, and in my opinion, it’s not only their strongest argument, but the only argument. Infant baptism stands or falls based on how one understands the continuity and discontinuity between the Testaments.

And let me say, there is a lot of merit to the Presbyterian argument for infant baptism. But as attractive as it is, I have one major hang up that I haven’t been able to get past … that is, the New Testament.

Now, that might sound over simplified, but I haven’t been able to get past this idea that every baptism recorded in the New Testament, that we’re given any detail about, is always in response to a message, receiving the good news through faith. 

Even the household baptisms demonstrate that the entire household believed the message and rejoiced with the covenant head, with the exception of Lydia’s account which is silent on the issue, likely due to narrative compression. Why? Because the pattern of faith had been established.

Besides, there’s not a single example of an infant being baptized in the New Testament. Now, my Presbyterian friends will say that’s an argument from silence, but it’s a loud silence, in which, based on the covenantal view, they will argue the burden of proof is on the credobaptists, those who argue for the baptism of believers only. So, we’re pretty much at a stalemate, right? Perhaps.

COVENANTAL VIEW

Now, I would caution anyone from being prematurely dismissive of the covenantal view on baptism, that the children of believers should receive baptism as the sign of the New Covenant, in the same way children of believers received the sign of the covenant in the Old Testament. Let’s not throw this Presbyterian covenantal understanding of baptism out with the baptismal waters as if it’s not worthy of our consideration. Besides,  I’m going to argue for a covenantal view of baptism myself, but with an important nuance. 

And honestly, if we didn’t have such a gifted teacher in Sherif, on the paedo side, I would not have dug as deeply into this issue as I have. So, thank you, Sherif, for your research, your teaching, and the resources you have shared.

AFFIRMING INFANT BAPTISM

Now, I mentioned last week how every paedobaptist also affirms believer’s baptism. But there’s also a sense in which I affirm, and every credobaptist should affirm … infant baptism. The question is, which infants? Who are the infants? Are you ready? Every newborn infant in Christ should bear the sign of the reality that has taken place within them upon receiving new birth. In other words, every new believer, every newborn infant in Christ, should be baptized upon their hearing the gospel and being born again.

GENESIS 17

Before we move to our text in Galatians, let’s back up to Genesis 17, which is sort of the fulcrum point in the Old Testament in the case for infant baptism. Jeremy already read the first 14 verses, so I’m just going to summarize the text. 

Genesis 17. Abraham is called to walk blameless before God that He may make His covenant with Abraham. Then the promises are reiterated to Abraham, and the Lord establishes His covenant with Abraham and his offspring … throughout their generations. 

Verse 11 is the sign of the covenant: circumcision. Who is to receive the covenant sign? Abraham himself, as well as every male who is eight days old, whether born in his house or bought with his money from any foreigner who is not of his offspring.

Verse 13. So shall my covenant be in your flesh. Now this is likely speaking of marking Abraham’s flesh in two ways. 1) Abraham’s own physical flesh, as well as his descendants bearing their own physical mark. 2) It’s equally important to see Abraham’s descendants as his very own flesh. By their being circumcised, Abraham’s flesh bears the mark of promise until the promised Offspring comes. Hold on to that, because we’ll see that in Galatians.)

CONSISTENCY?

Now, for some silly consistency. If we are to apply the covenant sign of circumcision to baptism, as most paedobaptists do, what would a consistent application of this look like … of course, allowing for the explicit discontinuities that both sexes now receive the sign of baptism.
1) All infants would be baptized on the 8th day. That's important and I affirm that everyone should be baptized on the day of new creation, on the day of their new creation when God recreates them in Christ. That’s what the 8th day represents, and that's when everybody should be baptized.
2) Offspring would not apply only to immediate descendants, but to all who are in the line of descent from a believer, both those far off and those near. Which means grandchildren and great-grandchildren are to receive the sign regardless of their parents’ faith.
3) There is no age of accountability that suggests that one is now required to respond in faith to be baptized. Merely being descendants of a believer qualifies one to receive the sign. If the head of the household responds in faith, the entire household is required to be baptized regardless of age or faith, including unbelieving spouses, as well as unbelieving children.
4) Slaves and live-in servants would also be required to be baptized regardless of faith and age.

BORN IN YOUR HOUSE

Now, we often think of household as a nuclear family. But such was far from the case in ancient times. We can use Abraham as a prime example. Genesis 14:14. When Abram sets out to rescue his nephew Lot, he leads forth an army of 318 men who were … guess what? Born in his house. Furthermore, not a single one of them were Abraham’s offspring. He was still childless!

This is certainly in view when the Lord gives the covenant sign of circumcision to Abraham, commanding him to circumcise every male who is eight days old, whether born in your house or bought with your money.

Now a question: Do we believe the New Testament promotes forced baptisms, such as slaveholders baptizing their slaves apart from a confession of faith?

Now it’s true there have been accounts of forced baptisms in church history, but few would ever condone such a practice. 

I’ve laid out this somewhat silly example, not to set up any kind of strawman, but to point out that there’s a lot more discontinuity between circumcision and baptism than we sometime admit. 

GALATIANS 3

Which brings us to Galatians 3 and the Offspring of Abraham. To offer a summary statement for Paul’s argument in Galatians 3: We are incorporated into Christ and His promises through faith alone. Let’s trace the argument.

First, verse 1. Through the preaching of the gospel, Jesus was graphicly portrayed as being crucified. 

Verse 2. It was upon hearing with faith that they received the seal of the Spirit.

Verse 6. Paul connects their hearing with faith to that of Abraham’s faith, who believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.

Verses 7-8. Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham … the man of faith.

Move down to verse 16. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring (singular) … who is Christ. In other words, by fulfilling His promise to Jesus, God has been faithful to His covenant with Abraham. If we fail to grasp this, we fail to grasp the WHO of the New Covenant. Jesus is the heir of all the promises. And only in Christ, only in our union with Christ by being baptized into Him, immersed or plunged into Him to the degree that we are united with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection, do we partake of the promises.

So, Paul continues this argument. Verse 19. The law was added because of transgression… and it was given until the offspring should come. Which offspring? The one to whom the promises had been made. Again, the focus is on a single offspring, Jesus Christ, to whom all the promises of the covenants fall.

But verse 22 incorporates others into this promise with Christ. The promise is given also to those who believe. How? Through faith in Jesus Christ.

Verse 26. Because in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. How? Because as many as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 

In our baptism into Christ, we are so united with Christ that we are said to have put Christ on. And in our union with Christ, we receive the blessings of Christ, verse 28, regardless of our former background. 

Finally, verse 29. In Christ, we are Abraham’s offspring, the singular heir — and yet we are many — heirs according to promise. In our union with Christ, we too receive the promises, the inheritance that is Christ’s.

ROMANS

Now, this idea is not just in Galatians. It’s a major topic in Romans, which sits at the heart of the gospel. We receive the fullness of salvation not by works but through faith. In Romans 4:16, Paul argues that the promise depends on faith that it may rest on grace, not works, and thus be guaranteed to all of Abraham’s offspring. Who are Abraham’s offspring? Those who share the faith of Abraham, who is father of us all, including those of faith from among the gentiles. Us!

Romans 8, the Holy Spirit bears witness to this adoption, our being children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. That glorification is shorthand to express our receiving all the promises of Christ. But did you catch the whole, “provided we suffer with him.” What’s that all about. 

Well, as we looked at last week, which Paul argued 2 chapters earlier, in Romans 6: All who have been baptized into Christ were baptized into his death. I’m not going to rehash last week’s message. But if you don’t die with Christ, if you aren’t crucified with Christ, dying to your old self, you will see none of the inheritance, because it’s proof that you aren’t truly in Christ. 

EPHESIANS

What about Ephesians? Ephesians 1:13-14. In [Christ], you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it! 

When does this happen? When one hears and believes … responds with faith. Now, it’s true, water baptism is not mentioned in those verses, but this verse has everything to do with baptism. This is the spiritual reality of baptism. And Paul will tie the one Spirit and the one baptism together in chapter 4.

SPIRIT AND WATER

If we had time, we could walk through the Old Testament like we did last week and show how often the Spirit and the waters, and in particularly the waters of baptism coincide. They are both present at Creation and at the Red Sea. 

EZEKIEL 36

We’ll look at one more. Ezekiel 36:25-27. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 

Now, many credobaptists wouldn’t affirm Ezekiel 36 as a type of baptism, but it most certainly is. We can get hung up over the mode and do a disservice the richness of God’s Word. Where immersion portrays death, burial, and resurrection, sprinkling and pouring portray new life being poured into the once dead sinner. 

JOHN 3

Which takes us to John 3, which Steve read. Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. This refers, not so much to the physical act of water baptism, but all the portraits of baptism that show up in the Old Testament, especially Ezekiel 36. But neither is water baptism, or what we might call Christian baptism absent. The physical act of water baptism is meant to convey this Spiritual reality. Here, Jesus Himself, ties being born again, born from above to the spiritual reality of baptism. In other words, the new birth is a product of the spiritual reality of baptism, that is portrayed by the water and by the Spirit, just as the water and the Spirit were present at Jesus’ baptism.

BAPTISM AND CIRCUMCISION

A fundamental argument for infant baptism is that baptism replaces circumcision. Therefore, we need to apply baptism in continuity with Old Testament prescriptions. Now, if Paul thought baptism replaced circumcision in an outright sense, he most certainly would have drawn attention to this in his letter to the Galatians as he confronted the Judaizers who insisted on the need to be circumcised in order to be saved. And the same would have been the case at the Jerusalem council in Acts 15 where they dealt with the same issue. 

The whole problem could have been solved right there and then by saying something to the effect: Listen guys. You’re hung up on circumcision. But baptism is the new circumcision. Baptism has replaced circumcision.
But we never see that anywhere in the New Testament.

To read a one for one replacement misses the point. Baptism and circumcision are certainly related and point to a similar need. But to define baptism by circumcision is to interpret Scripture backwards. That’s akin to building a new physical temple and offering the prescribed sacrifices once again. 

Yes, we read the Old Testament context into the New in order to understand just what the New Testament accomplishes and how the magnificent story of redemption unfolds. But it’s not so much that the old defines the New as it is the New fulfills or rather fills up the fullness of the Old. 

COLOSSIANS 2

Nevertheless, we do want to look at how circumcision points to baptism. And Paul has related these in Colossians 2. I’m going to begin at verse 6, but verses 11-12 are where we’re going. 

Verse 6. Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. Notice, Paul is referring to those who have received Christ, not those who might possibly one day grow into receiving Christ. How does one receive Christ? Through faith. 

Then Paul addresses what walking in Christ looks like, being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. The opposite of this is being taken captive by worldly philosophies and human traditions. In other words, dying with Christ means we walk a new in faith to God, and die to the old philosophies and traditions of the world.

Verse 11. In him also, you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 

Now to argue from Colossians 2 that baptism replaces circumcision requires us to at least recognize that if this is so, it is the spiritual dimension that is replaced. 

LIMITS OF THE PHYSICAL

Physical baptism in water is unable to perform the spiritual circumcision of the heart that we in our fallen condition so desperately need. Both the circumcision and the baptism here are expressly spiritual in nature. 

Moreover, baptism, as all New Testament counterparts do, goes further than circumcision. Where circumcision is a mere putting off, baptism is a putting on. Where circumcision is a cutting off or we might say, a dying, baptism is a dying and a rising. 

Furthermore, when is this said to have taken place? And this is perhaps most foundational to our discussion.
1) God Himself accomplishes this. It’s a circumcision made without hands.
2) The conduit for receiving this is faith. 

Now my paedobaptist friends love to quote Colossians 2, verse 11 and the first half of verse 12. But often, as with other passages, they steer away from the second half of verse 12, with faith. We saw this relationship between baptism and faith in Galatians, and Romans, and Ephesians and now here in Colossians.

ACTS 2:39-41

In fact, it’s really hard to find a passage in the New Testament where faith is absent from the baptism discussion … and not someone else’s faith, but those who are baptized. 

For example, Acts 2:39, is an often-cited text for infant baptism. For the promise is for you and for your children. And my Presbyterian friends will often stop there as if they’ve done any kind of justice to the text. First of all, the promise isn’t baptism, it’s salvation and the gift of the Spirit. Second, the promise is for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. 

To be consistent in our hermeneutic, if we’re saying it requires us to baptize infants, then we are required to baptize all those who are far off. But both of these are qualified with the phrase, everyone who the Lord God calls to himself. The promise is for our children … for many of them … but not for all our children without exception, any more than the promise is for all those who are far off without exception. It’s for those the Lord calls to Himself. 

And how does one know the Lord has called them? They respond in faith. 

In fact, we see this 2 verses later in verse 41. Who is baptized and added to the church? Those who favorably received Peter’s word. In other words, they responded in faith. Following this precedent, our children and thosefar off are baptized and added to the church when they favorably receive the message of the gospel.

LIGON DUNCAN

Now, a great Presbyterian minister and theologian, Ligon Duncan, whom I have been so helped by in his teaching and preaching, he summarizes the infant baptism argument like this: “In the Old Testament, God made promises to believers and their children and gave a sign of those promises that was to be given to believers and their children… In the New Testament, He reiterated those same promises to believers and their children. Therefore, the signs of those promises should be given to believers and their children.”

Now, I think that captures the essence of the paedobaptist argument quite well. Sherif? That’s pretty good, right? Not only that, I think it’s very persuasive. And those of us who hold to believer’s baptism only, need to be slow in dismissing the point Duncan makes. 

NEWNESS OF THE NEW

I’m going to nuance his argument in just a minute. But before I do, it’s important that we recognize something extraordinarily different about the New Covenant in comparison to the preceding covenants. That word “new” matters. Now, we need to take care not to overstate this newness in a way that makes it somehow detached from the previous covenants that the new fulfills. But we best not diminish the categorical and qualitative differences either. 

PHYSICAL FULFILLMENT

Each of the Old Covenants had a somewhat immediate and physical fulfillment of the covenant promise. Abraham begat Isaac. David begat Solomon who sat on his throne. Israel became a nation and settled in the promised land of Canaan. And to drive the point home, Joshua claims that all of God’s promises had been kept. Not a word of those promises had fallen or failed.

SPIRITUAL IN NATURE

But even with these somewhat immediate and physical fulfillments, there was also an expectation of greater fulfillment to come. The New Covenant, while certainly enjoying and awaiting many physical aspects, in large part is spiritual in nature.

Now, it’s true that the promises God made to Abraham, He passed down through Isaac and Jacob, and similarly those promises to David through Solomon, and the promises to Israel and their descendants. 

At the same time, Jesus is the heir and fulfillment of each of these. He is the promised offspring of Abraham, as we saw in Galatians 3. Jesus is the true Son of David who sits on the throne. And Jesus is the true Israel. Every promise to Israel is satisfied in and only in Jesus the true Israel. And I believe almost every covenant theologian would agree with this assessment so far. 

COVENANT HEADS

And because of that, I would nuance Duncan’s quote by explicitly stating those covenant heads. Why? Well, it’s not true entirely true that the sign was administered to children of believers, unless we trace that believer to the covenant heads. The faith of a Hebrew child’s parents had no bearing the child’s right to circumcision; it was the child being born into the family of Abraham. And we can make a similar argument for God’s covenant with Israel and with David.

So, I would nuance Duncan’s quote as follows:

In the Old Testament, God made promises, not simply to believers but, to Abraham and his offspring and gave a sign of those promises that was to be given to Abraham and his offspring. 

Who are Abraham’s offspring? Well, Galatians 3, Paul makes clear, the promised offspring was Jesus. And those of faith, who bear the family resemblance of faith are also Abraham’s offspring. 

So, who is the sign of the promise given to in the New Covenant? The true offspring, the true children of Abraham. When are they brought into the family? Upon hearing with faith. Those of faith, upon hearing with faith, receive the Spirit of adoption and become the true sons of Abraham, the spiritual offspring of Abraham. 

PHYSICAL VERSUS SPIRITUAL

In other words, in the Old Testament the sign of the covenant—circumcision—was given to Abraham’s physical descendants. In the New Testament, with the coming of Christ, the sign of the covenant—baptism—is given to Abraham’s spiritual descendants. 

I mean, you do realize that circumcision was a visible mark (hopefully it was often kept undercover, but it was visible and physical nonetheless), hence this sign was given to physical offspring. Baptism, however, while water baptism is a physical act, there is no physical mark; it’s a spiritual mark. Why? Because those who receive it are members of a spiritual household, a spiritual family.

This is what we see in Galatians 3 and Colossians 2 and Romans 6, and throughout the New Testament. It is the spiritual sons of Abraham who are to receive the spiritual sign. 

When are they to receive the sign? As soon as they are born into the family, through faith, and not before.

You want to argue for infant baptism, this is it. Those just starting out in their walk in Christ, who receive Christ like a little child. That’s the point Jesus makes in Luke 18:17. Those who are to enter the kingdom of God must receive it like a little child.

In fact, in Luke 10, after the 72 return from preaching the good news — the 72 representing a New Table of Nations — Jesus rejoices, praising his Father. “Father, I thank you that you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and have revealed them instead to LITTLE CHILDREN for such was your gracious will. 

Now, in speaking of little children, is Jesus referring to short people? No. He’s speaking of babes in the faith, those with child-like faith regardless of physical age.

This does justice to the covenantal view of the family, as it is the spiritual family of Abraham who are to wear the spiritual sign, the covenant sign. It also does justice to the New Testament’s emphasis in relating baptism to faith.

MOSES AND THE RED SEA

Okay, Josh, you dealt with Abraham as a covenant head, but what about Moses. You know, 1 Corinthians 10, all of Israel was baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. I’m quite certain, with over 600,000 people, some of those mammas would have been carrying little ones.

I agree. But the same principle applies. Who was baptized in the Sea? Physical Israel, with whom most of them God was not pleased. But the New Testament is pretty clear, as we just saw in Galatians, likewise in Romans, and many other New Testament texts, there is a stark difference between physical Israel and True Israel, just as there is a difference between physical Jerusalem and heavenly Jerusalem, or the physical offspring of Abraham and the spiritual offspring of Abraham. 

In the New Covenant, all True Israel, regardless of age, are to be baptized. But the question is when does one become a member of True Israel? When is one grafted into the Olive Tree? When does one become a branch one the True Vine? When one is grafted into Christ through faith. As soon as faith becomes a reality, they are to be baptized. 

FOLLOWING THE CLOUD OR FOLLOWING THE CROSS

Israel was baptized into Moses, and all received the sign of such. And they followed Moses and the cloud, but in location only. And such was insufficient to save. Most never made it to the promised land. 

But those baptized into Jesus follow Jesus. Now, we can’t very much follow Jesus in location, unless you go to Jerusalem and take one of those tours: Walk Where Jesus Walked. But even then, that’s not following Jesus. No. We follow Jesus spiritually. We follow Jesus with our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We follow His ways. Taking up our cross as He took up His. 

Are you following the cloud or following the cross? Are you going through the motions of baptism or bearing the reality? 

Well, one way any one of us can answer that is: Are you following Jesus now?

Now, if you’ve become like a little child, responding in faith to the message of the gospel, so that you trustingly take up your cross and follow Jesus, then hold fast that confession. Which takes us to Hebrews 10.

HEBREWS 10

In Hebrews 10, believers are exhorted to hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. That’s Hebrews 10:23. But the author of Hebrews ties this to one’s baptism experience. Now, most of our translations unfortunately placed a period between verse 22 and 23. If anything, the period should come halfway through verse 22. But to avoid getting to technical in the grammar, the argument goes like this:

Therefore brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus … (verse 22)let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. (STOP. Notice the assurance of faith. Next sentence. Halfway through 22.) Having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water (that’s portraying one’s confession made when they were baptized) let us hold fast this confession of hope. 

In other words, baptism serves as one’s confession when they believed on the Lord Jesus. Remember your confession of faith … and remember it by remembering your baptism, unless you just went down into the water all willy-nilly, whether giving into peer pressure or because others were doing it, or because it might gain you some standing with your parents.

But your baptism cannot be your confession of faith if you were unresponsive in the act. 

REMEMBER YOUR BAPTISM

Now, Martin Luther makes a big deal about remembering one’s baptism. I think this is helpful. Luther says, “We must regard baptism and put it to use in such a way that we may draw strength and comfort from it when our sins or conscience oppress us and say: ‘But I am baptized! And if I have been baptized, I have the promise that I shall be saved and have eternal life, both soul and body’”

Now, how do we apply that to countless millions who have gotten wet as a baby as a supposed sign of baptism and yet want absolutely nothing to do with Christ or His church? As helpful as Luther’s words are, they have no appeal except for those who are of the faith, those who have been baptized in to Christ, who have union with Christ. But the Bible is clear on at least this: There is no union with Christ apart from the conduit of faith. 

Also of importance: It’s much easier to remember your baptism if one is actually able to remember it. It’s difficult to apply Hebrews 10 or Luther’s quote to infants who have no knowledge or recollection of any such baptism. 

ONE’S TESTIMONY OF GOD’S WORK

While spiritual baptism is a work of God alone, submitting oneself to the waters of baptism is the called for response. Repent and be baptized. 

To baptize those unable to submit to such themselves robs them of the testimony in which they themselves proclaim that they have died with Christ — that Jesus is Lord, Lord of all nations, Lord of all creation, indeed, Lord of this new creation He has wrought in me. 

A BAPTISM TO REMEMBER

While recalling our baptism is a helpful reminder of the confession we have made, the baptism we need to remember is the one Jesus endured for us … which, in response to his Father’s will, he submitted himself to. Not my will, Father, but your will be done.

The cup Jesus drinks and the baptism he undergoes is one and the same. 

Our Lord, in his human nature, responded to his Father’s will with child-like faith, submitting himself, entrusting himself to his Father’s loving care. And in doing so, Micah 7:19, he has cast all our sin into the depths of the sea. How? Because in giving himself over to this baptism, which was nothing less than the cross, Jesus bore the flood waters of God’s wrath in our place. That’s how our sin has been dealt with. But that payment is your only in receiving the fullness of what baptism entails by faith. Your faithful response matters.

And just as in the Lord’s Supper we remember and proclaim Christ’s death, when we recall our baptism and when we submit ourselves to baptism, we remember and proclaim our Lord’s death and our confession of faith that we have died with Him.

But we proclaim more than that … that our old self is buried with Christ. 

And we proclaim more than that … we proclaim Jesus’ resurrection, and that in dying with Christ, we will also rise with Him.

https://youtu.be/4_TAmh-YBRA

  Romans 6:3-4 - Through the Waters: The Meaning of Baptism

INTRODUCTION:

Through the waters: the meaning of baptism. Today, our focus will be on the spiritual reality, next week, the physical sign.

TECHNICAL TERMS

Before we even begin, we need to get into the weeds a bit. Or rather, keeping with the theme of baptism, we need to immerse ourselves into some technical terms. Why? Because they will come up a lot over the next couple weeks, and I will likely use and refer to them without further explanation, and if you don’t know them, you’ll have no clue what I’m referring to. 

The first what we call credobaptism or believer’s baptism. It is the practice of baptizing those who are said to believe. Credo means believe. Credobaptists are those who understand the data of the New Testament as baptizing only those presumed to have believed, that is those who have responded positively to the message given, specifically the message of the gospel. 

The second term is paedobaptism which is the baptism of children, including infants. Now, it’s important to note that Paedobaptists also believe in baptizing those who believe. In other words, they too believe in credobaptism. But they believe that such baptism doesn’t end with the believer but also extends to his or her children. As such, Paedobaptists practice baptizing believers and their children.

CREDO PERSPECTIVE

Now, I’m going to approach this from a credobaptist perspective. But I want you to know on the front end, I am very sympathetic to the paedobaptist or infant-baptist view. Why? Because I believe our Presbyterian brethren have much to consider that is helpful for the church.

As mentioned, all paedobaptists affirm credobaptism as well. That doesn’t tend to be the case with credobaptists. But, as a teaser, as a credobaptist, I also believe in paedobaptism … but not in the way paedobaptists do. I’ll let you ponder that for now. But we won’t get to that in detail until next week when we get to the physical sign and the who of baptism.

UNITY

Next, it must be stated that baptism is not a doctrine that should divide. In fact, almost every place the apostle Paul brings up the topic of baptism, unity is at the very least inferred. Writing to the church in Ephesus, Paul tells the church to be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And then he lists the following as an expression of our unity: There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call — one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

SIGN OVER REALITY

My concern is that the greatest amount of tension and conflict takes place over our tendency to exalt the sign over the reality. Both sides are guilty of this. Today, my focus is going to be on the reality, or specifically, the spiritual reality of baptism, which matters significantly more than the physical sign administered to any individual regardless of mode, or age, or profession of faith.

HIDDEN TO FIND

As I’ve been considering this topic over the past several weeks, I’ve pondered, why this is a point of debate? Why isn’t the New Testament clearer on this issue? God wasn’t unaware of the issues that would arise throughout church history over whether or not to baptize babies. He could have very simply addressed it directly, and the matter would have been laid to rest, at least by Bible-believing Christians (as if there’s another kind of Christian.)

Well, for our family reading last night, we were in Psalm 111. And in verse 2, the psalmist records: Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them. I believe the NIV reads, pondered by all who delight in them. Or to offer you Chloe’s version, the NIRV, The Lord has done great things. All who take delight in those things think deeply about them.

It’s not that the Lord longs to hide things from us so that we can’t find them. Rather, He hides things, in a sense, so that we seek, and ponder, and meditate, and wonder. We don’t tend to do that with didactic precepts that are plainly stated. O because of our sin nature we need those. But I don’t think too many people pondered you shall not murder and you shall not commit adultery all that much until Jesus’ sermon on the mount. 

If the New Testament simply said: this is how you baptize: you take the little child, on their 8th day, and you put them in a little fountain, and you take 3 tablespoons of water, and you sprinkle it over her head, each tablespoon in the name of the Triune God, then not only would we be having this discussion, we wouldn’t take the time to ponder baptism as we have for the past 2 millennia. And yes, baptism has been pondered and pondered over. 

HISTORICAL RECORD

And the historical record of the church shows the church’s understanding of baptism to be quite varied over the centuries. Anyone who suggests that church history has been clear on infant baptism either hasn’t studied church history on this issue, or they are being intellectually dishonest. The history and view of baptism has been very complex, and it lends itself to the credobaptists argument just as much as it does for paedobaptists.

JOY IN DISCOVERY

But because the Bible never comes right out and stresses in detail the practice of baptism, the church has had to wrestle with this in a way that I believe brings greater glory to God and greater joy for the believer as we meditate on the whole of His Word.

Just think of the increase of joy the woman who lost one of her ten coins enjoyed after sweeping her entire house trying to find it — searching every nook and cranny, uncovering this, looking under that. And when she finally found it, o the joy. So overwhelming was the joy, she called her neighbors and relatives. I found my lost coin. Such celebration would have never taken place if the coin remained in plain sight. I believe the same is true with our study, our pondering, our thinking deeply over the issue of baptism. 

For today’s message, I want to begin with the reality of baptism, that is, what the sign and shadows were always intended to point to. Which takes us to our text for this morning: Romans 6:3-4. We’ll read the first 4 verses of Romans 6.

READ: Romans 6:1-4

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 

MOST FUNDAMENTAL MEANING

What is the meaning of baptism? I would argue, and I believe most reformed theologians would agree, the most fundamental meaning of baptism is union with Christ, specifically, union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection.

Every other concept or meaning or effect or blessing of baptism is grounded in this. Whether cleansing from sin, forgiveness of sin, salvation from sin, purification, new birth, new creation, public proclamation, and even identifying with Christ, each of these entail some form of death, burial, and resurrection. 

J. I. PACKER

J. I. Packer, who by the way is a paedobaptist, is helpful.

“Christian baptism … is a sign from God that signifies inward cleansing and remission of sins, Spirit-wrought regeneration and new life, and the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit as God’s seal testifying and guaranteeing that one will be kept safe in Christ forever. 

Baptism carries these meanings because first and fundamentally it signifies union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection; and this union with Christ is the source of every element in our salvation.

Receiving the sign in faith assures the person baptized that God’s gift of new life in Christ is freely given to them.”

DYING TO THE OLD

In baptism, one is presumed to have died to the old … to such an extent that the old is buried and is no more. And in turn, what is raised is something altogether new that wasn’t before.

Now, before we go further, let’s trace the major portraits of baptism in the Old Testament. And just so you know, baptism need not involve water at all. In fact, Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire. But to help us see the picture of baptism more readily, Scripture regularly uses water to portray this theological concept.

WATER OPTIONAL

First, creation. The first portrait of baptism given to us is in Genesis 1, the creation account, which Peter portrays as a type of baptism, connecting it with the Flood, which he explicitly ties to baptism. 2 Peter 3:5. The heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the Word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word, the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 

There are 3 different types of baptism in those two verses: the creation account, the Flood, and final judgment. Creation was baptized through water. But the final baptism will be that of fire. In other words, water is unnecessary. Nevertheless, it more readily helps convey to us the idea.

CREATION

What I want to focus on briefly is that of creation. Genesis 1:1-2. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit was hovering over the face of the waters. 

Now, I mentioned that every idea of baptism entails some form of death, burial, and resurrection. Well, where do we get death and burial from in the creation account? Creation didn’t die! You’re right. It was already dead. It was non-existent. It was an empty void. And it was raised up out of a watery grave to receive life. 

God didn’t need to form the earth out of water. But He did. And one of the reasons He did so was to give us a portrait of baptism and the new creation to come. New Creation was brought through the chaotic waters of death and life. 

NOAH AND THE FLOOD

So, when we move to Noah and the Flood, we see another portrait of baptism also leading to new creation, but this baptism is a much needed baptism due to sin. Because sin had multiplied on the earth, God washed the earth clean in the flood waters of judgment. There was death, burial, and resurrection. Who enjoyed resurrection? Noah and those with him on the ark, eight in all, were raised above the flood waters of judgment. They found refuge from the flood of God’s judgment in a wooden vessel, the ark.

Now, in a sense, they too died. They died to the old world which was buried in the water. All they knew, their former lives were gone. 

The Haley’s mentioned just yesterday, after our workday, how they lost everything in a flood. Their former lives were in a very real sense gone. They had to start over. If anyone can relate to the Flood narrative, they can. Well, that’s the picture here with Noah and his family.

Noah and his family were supposed to have died to the former creation. That was also their death. But as we quickly see, water isn’t sufficient for one to die to their former life. Sin immediately picks back up where it left off.

BAPTISM OF MOSES

If the Flood portrayed baptism, which according to the New Testament, it does, then Moses being placed in the Nile as a baby, also portrays baptism. Here, you go, a clear example of infant baptism, and that at the faith of his mother! (Just a teaser for all of you. Which we won’t get to until next week.) 

Scripture expects us to see the link between Moses and Noah by using an fairly uncommon word, תֵּבָה , which shows up only in these two narratives. We translate it ark in the Flood narrative and basket in Moses’ infancy narrative. 

The Nile was the place of death where the Hebrew baby boys were to be cast so that they’d drown at the edict of a ruthless ruler. Moses, like Isaac on Mount Moriah, died that day. And just as Scripture records Abraham receiving his son back from the dead (Heb 11:19), Moses’ mother receives her son back from the dead, as he is lifted up out of the watery grave of the Nile, kept safe by the little wooden basket of the ark. 

EXODUS THROUGH THE RED SEA

Then we have Israel and the Exodus, specifically, their going through the waters of the Red Sea. Like Noah and the Flood, we know that Israel’s passage through the Red Sea is intended as a type of baptism. How? Because the New Testament explicitly refers to it as such.

There’s a further connection that I believe we should see, which links these plotlines together, and that’s the number 8. In the Flood, eight persons were saved to the New Creation. The Hebrew boys were circumcised on the eighth day, which is the day of New Creation. Well, it’s in Moses’ eightieth year, eight decades after his own baptism, that he leads the people of Israel through theirs, so that they might enjoy New Creation Life.

While Pharaoh and his army died in the Red Sea, Israel was brought safely through the waters. There forerunner, Moses, who experienced his own baptism eighty years earlier, would lead his brothers through theirs. Moses’ wooden staff would be lifted up as he leads his people through the watery grave out the other side.

But Israel’s going through the waters was to be a sort of death for them. They were supposed to have died to Egypt. With their old lives buried in those waters, they were to come out onto dry land to not only partake in a new creation; they were to be a new creation. The problem was, Israel didn’t actually die to Egypt. They were as bitter about their new lives following the Lord as the waters they first came to for drink. They proved that they needed yet a greater baptism. And it’s not accidental that Exodus 15:25 ties the bitter waters to the wood that heals, which I believe links baptism to the cross.

NEW GENERATION CROSSES THE JORDAN

Israel’s hearts kept turning back to Egypt, longing for the old rather than fixing their sights with gratitude on the new. Hence, that entire first generation of Israel that came out of Egypt, with the exception of two, were swallowed up by God’s judgment in the wilderness and were buried there, never to enter the promised land. Which brings us to the crossing of the Jordan River. 

When the new generation crosses the Jordan, just like the first generation, they were to die to their old life. They were now entering something new, they were entering the Lord’s promise. So new, the manna they had fed on for the past 40 years ceased and was no more. They’d enjoy even a new diet. 

Now, how did Israel cross the raging Jordan, which we are told was at flood stage (reminding us of Noah and the flood). Only by the priests entering the waters first. The priests, carrying a wooden box overlaid with gold, the ark of the covenant, bearing it on their shoulders by long wooden poles also overlaid with gold, first stepped into the raging stream, and immediately, the waters rose up in a heap to allow the Israelites to cross safely through to the promised land.

We looked at Jonah last week, and we’ve been in Jeremiah, so we won’t look at the portraits of baptisms in the prophets today. But they are worth tracing out as well. I’m focusing on the most obvious portraits involving water because they are not only the easiest to see, but because the also clearly illustrate the picture of death, burial, and resurrection. But as a reminder, water isn’t necessary to convey the reality.

NAAMAN'S BAPTISM

I want to look at one more portrait of baptism in the Old Testament, and that is the account of Naaman, the Syrian commander, in 2 Kings 5. I want us to look at Naaman specifically because the Septuagint uses the word βαπτίζω , which is where we get the word baptism, or to baptize from, to describe Naaman’s washing himself clean of his leprosy in the Jordan.

Now, Chase already read this passage for us, but just to remind us, a little Israelite girl was carried off in one of the Syrian raids, and she was placed in the service of Naaman’s wife. On finding out about her master’s leprosy, she says to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” 

Well, Naaman, bearing a letter from his king, takes ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing, and asks to be cured of his leprosy.

Elisha, through a messenger, tells Naaman to Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean. Now, Naaman is furious. The prophet never came out and welcomed him or pronounced healing over him, but instead tells him to go wash, as if Naaman hadn’t washed many times before, and in much cleaner waters than the filthy Jordan. But his servants urged him saying, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash and be clean’?”

Verse 14. So, Naaman went down and dipped or baptized himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

I mentioned that every portrait of baptism carries the idea of death, burial, and resurrection. But here Naaman is simply cleansed. There’s no death, burial, and resurrection in this account. Or is there? Well, we might consider the disease of leprosy as not only something unclean, but like our sin, it’s something dead. In other words, leprosy, like all diseases, is the opposite of life and health. At the very least, Naaman’s dead skin died and was buried in the Jordan, and his skin was restored or resurrected to new life. 

NAAMAN'S TRANSFORMATION

But that is far from the death, burial, and resurrection that matters most in this picture. Rather, what happens to the leprosy is a portrait of what happens to Naaman himself.

The once hostile pagan military commander, who with all the money he carried with him, couldn’t purchase healing, he carried ten changes of clothes but couldn’t clothe his flesh with new skin, returns to the man of God and proclaims, Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel. 

The Naaman who scoffed at being baptized in the filthy Jordan is not the same Naaman who rose up out of those waters. The former Naaman had died and was buried. And a new Naaman now lived. Such was the transformation that Naaman requests two mule loads of earth so that he might take a piece of Israel with him in order to offer burnt offerings and sacrifices to the God of Israel alone. In other words, those two mule loads of dirt are a piece of the promised land, a piece of new creation, upon which Naaman will worship the God who healed him … and that freely. Elisha wouldn’t accept a gift from Naaman. Naaman had left his former idols behind in those waters. They were dead to him. Now, he was able to walk in newness of life.

Naaman’s theology wasn’t fully developed just yet. He was but a newborn babe through faith. But it’s undeniable that there was a start to him knowing and communing with the one true God.

REALITY MORE SIGNIFICANT THAN THE SIGN

And that is the very meaning of baptism. That’s what takes place in everyone who receives the reality of baptism … not everyone who goes through the motions of getting wet. The realities of baptism matter infinitely more than the sign or symbol. The former is nothing less than salvation itself — from death to life. The latter, the sign, doesn’t save, nor does it transact salvation. But let’s not discount it too much. The sign is intended to communicate the reality.

TRANSLITERATE VERSUS TRANSLATE

When we come to the New Testament, one of the reasons for so much divide over the issue of baptism, I believe, is because we have chosen to transliterate the word βαπτίζω and βάπτισμα instead of translating the terms. As we just read from 2 Kings 5:14, our English translations read, So, Naaman went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan. There, we translated the term to dip. Not even the King James reads that Naaman baptized himself in the Jordan.

But as soon as we turn the page to the New Testament, we no longer read dip, immerse, plunge, except for one time, it’s translated as wash. Now, I think transliterating rather than translating was the right step. Why? Because the meaning of a word comes from the context, and baptism is used very much as a technical term in Scripture. Still, it’s helpful and important to read Matthew 28 as being immersed or plunged into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

But not every use of the term baptize, especially not in the Old Testament, mean to immerse in the sense of fully submerging something. Regardless of what side of the baptism debate you fall on, it’s not okay to set up straw men. That helps no one. When we do that, we are seeking simply to win an argument, rather than win someone to the truth. And you don’t win someone to the truth by promoting a lie. The goal is for all of us to come to the knowledge of the truth, which will never happen by distorting the evidence.

DOWN INTO THE WATER

Nevertheless, it does appear that the baptisms in the New Testament, when we’re given any sort of detail concerning how they took place, were that of going down into the water and coming back up. Of course, coming back up is important. 

When John the Baptist comes on the scene baptizing people with water for repentance, and later Jesus’ disciples begin baptizing people, they weren’t drowning folks. And yet, the picture of drowning might be helpful. Why? Because the one who goes down into the waters is meant to have died. That person isn’t supposed to come up. What comes up is supposed to be something new … someone new … at least if the repentance was real.

Baptism is meant to be, not merely a picture of washing, but a washing away of that which is dead, that which needs to die. The cleansing we need requires more than soap and water could ever scrub away. It requires death. 

Which is why the baptism pictures we looked at in the Old Testament communicated something of death. But not only death, but also new life. And that’s what true repentance resembles.

ARE WE TO CONTINUE IN SIN

So, when in Romans 6, Paul raises the question, Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? The answer is obvious, No! You’ve died with Christ. Your old self is no more. He’s been buried with Christ. You live a new life now … a new life in Christ. That is what the reality is to be. 

Many had received the sign of baptism. Many people had gone down into the waters and come back up. But from reading Paul’s epistles, there were many who hadn’t died with Christ. There was nothing new about them. They supposedly bore the sign, but the spiritual reality was absent.

Now, we often like to compare circumcision to baptism, and rightfully so. But Paul makes a point that physical circumcision is only of value for one who keeps the law, showing themselves to bear the reality of what the sign pointed to. The physical sign merely pointed to a greater reality that had to take place. What mattered was not whether one was physically circumcised or not. What mattered is whether they were circumcised of heart. 

Romans 2:28. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

BY THE SPIRIT

True baptism is by the Spirit, not by the letter of the law going through some formal practice of getting wet, regardless the amount of water used or the words pronounced over the individual.

This takes us back to why not a lot of detailed precepts regarding baptism: because we tend to do things by the letter, focusing so much on the outward and the physical that we miss the reality.

Physical baptism, whether as a child or an adult, matters not, if the spiritual reality of baptism is absent. If you haven’t died with Christ, your old self buried, then you simply got wet. There is no new resurrection life without the dying. And yet, we will try and find anyway possible to have the promise of resurrection without the dying that must take place. Listen. If you don’t die, what are you hoping for God to raise?

DIE DAILY, DIE DECISIVELY

Jesus is quite clear about this. Luke 9:23. If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Follow Jesus where? In his death and resurrection. But did you catch that the dying we are called to is a daily dying.

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. Let the old self die, and you will save your life, not that you save your life, but in letting your old self die, you are dying with Christ. And when you die with Christ, and your old self is buried with Christ, you — a new you to be sure — will also be raised with Christ. That should be obvious now. And it will be perfected when the last of your old self is actually in the grave.

This taking up of one’s cross, is no less a picture of baptism than going under the water. How do we know? Because Jesus, referring to his baptism, was referring to the cross. And Paul himself makes this point. Romans 6:5. For if we have been united with Christ in a death like his [this is Paul continuing his discussion on being baptized into Christ’s death], we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 

Now, here is the taking up one’s cross. Verse 6. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

This is what baptism represents. The one who dies to self by being united with Christ in his death and burial, will also be raised to new life, as a new creation. 

BAPTISM OF CHRIST

In fact, each of the Old Testament portraits of baptism point to Christ’s work accomplished in his own baptism — the cross — or specifically, those things Paul refers to as being of first importance.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. 

CREATION

So, first, creation. Just as creation came out of an empty formless void, an empty tomb as it were, Jesus was buried and left the empty tomb behind to be raised in a new glorified body. His former body that was in the likeness of our sinful flesh was put away. He’s now forever risen in a glorified physical body.

In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul draws attention to our union with Christ making us a new creation. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come.

FLOOD

The Flood. Noah and his family were spared judgment, brought through judgment by finding refuge in the wooden vessel of the ark, the blueprint of which was provided by God Himself. The cross is the blueprint for our salvation. And we find our refuge, our salvation from judgment hidden behind the wooden cross of Christ, indeed hidden within Christ himself.

MOSES

Similarly, Moses’ salvation from a ruthless ruler in a wooden basket.

But just as Moses was himself baptized in the Nile before he could lead his people out of bondage through their own baptism in the waters of the Sea, Jesus must first endure his own baptism before he can deliver us from bondage. 

And as Moses lifted the wooden staff in order for the flood waters of judgment to part from before the people that they might pass through the waters, Jesus is lifted up on a wooden cross in order for us to pass through the waters of judgment.

JORDAN

Crossing the Jordan. Like the priests bearing the wooden ark on wooden posts first had to step into the raging stream of the Jordan in order for the people to cross over into the promised land, Jesus our great High Priest who is himself the true mercy seat of the ark had to first step into the stream of God’s wrath in order for us to pass over to the promised land. But Jesus doesn’t bear the ark on poles overlaid with gold, but with the bare splintery wood upon his back.

NAAMAN

And last, Naaman’s cleansing. We are healed of our disease of the flesh, our sin nature, only by Jesus being immersed into our sin saturated condition. 

This is one of the reasons why the sinless Son of God was baptized in the Jordan. Where everyone else needed to be washed of their sin in a baptism of repentance, Jesus had no sin from which to repent. Instead, Jesus went down into the waters not merely to identify with his people but to take their sins upon himself … and thus carry them to the cross.

CONCLUSION

So, let’s wrap up. Here’s where the rubber meets the road. Carmen, a new idiom for you — the point at which the truth of baptism is put to a practical test.

As I’ve tried to hammer home, the fundamental meaning of baptism is union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. 

PUBLIC DECLARATION

Well, the sign of baptism is intended to point to this reality. In other words, water baptism is a going public, a public profession meant to communicate something. This public profession is far more profound than asking Jesus into your heart (which you won’t find in Scripture). No, this public profession is meant to convey that one has died with Christ. I have died to my old self. The old Josh has been buried. And I have been regenerated as a new person. I have risen out of those waters of judgment to live my life, no longer for my self but through Christ, and to Christ, and for Christ. My life is no longer my own. 

HE MUST INCREASE

In other words, I have decided to follow Jesus, as beautiful as those words might sound, come up way short of what baptism is meant to express. 

No. my baptism and your baptism are meant to convey the same reality we find on the lips of John the Baptist, the one who had the unique privilege of baptizing the one sinless man who baptizes us with His very Spirit. He must increase; I must decrease.

He must increase … increase in my life, increase in every aspect until it is obvious to all, including God above, that it is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me.

I must decrease … by dying to myself more and more each day.

The question is: Can a newborn babe convey this reality? We’ll answer that next week. 

https://youtu.be/dlpTvzxgNJ8

   Jeremiah 52:1-34 Transfer of Kingship 

READ JEREMIAH 52:1-34

INTRODUCTION:

I mentioned last week that chapters 50 and 51 were something like a finale for the Book of Jeremiah. There are few endings more climatic than the ending we’re given in Jeremiah 51.

Jeremiah 51:63. When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, and say, “Thus shall Babylon sink to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her.

We know that this serves as an ending, because we’re told, Thus far are the words of Jeremiah. 

And yet, here we are in chapter 52. Now, most theologians, and I believe rightly so, don’t attribute chapter 52 to Jeremiah. That doesn’t make this chapter any less inspired Scripture. But the final editor of this work, some suggest Baruch, Jeremiah’s amanuensis, wanted to make sure we didn’t confuse the Word the came through Jeremiah the prophet with this epilogue.

What’s more, this chapter is nearly identical to that of the end of 2 Kings beginning at 2 Kings 24:18 to the end, giving further credence for our accepting this as the infallible Word of God.

So, what’s the point of this epilogue? Well, as we discussed over the last 3 weeks looking at Babylon’s future and the promised return from exile, all of that is future — a lifetime away. Jeremiah 52 brings us back to the current reality of the time and space in which the exiles lived. 

It’s one thing to be mesmerized by the fireworks, or to get caught up in the final act of an opera. But when it’s all over, you make your way to the car, and all that excitement is muted by the smell of the parking garage, horns honking, drivers cutting one another off, as the slow painful exit brings us back to present-day reality. 

Except here, in chapter 52, it isn’t a line of smelly cars, but a line of smelly captives, jostled along the way on their long slow march to Babylon. 

In other words, reality comes back into focus rather quickly. See, we look forward to the overthrow of Babylon; we look forward to the final day of vindication and salvation; but that day isn’t just yet. We still reside, for the time being, under the domains of Nebuchadnezzars and Evil-Merodachs. 

Jeremiah 52 brings us back to the historical reality of the Fall of Jerusalem, which in a sense, should bring us all back to the historical reality of the Fall of mankind. This is where you and I currently dwell. O it’s not where our citizenship is, and it’s not our promised future. But we best not lose sight of this present reality.

Hence Jeremiah 52.

I. THE FAILURE OF JERUSALEM’S FINAL KING:

Where most of Jeremiah is written in prophetic prose and poetry, here we have what seems little more than an emotionless historical accounting — a matter-of-fact-ness of what took place, absent any expression of the emotion that filled so much of Jeremiah. If you want the emotional accounting of these events, turn the page to Lamentations. How lonely sits the city that was full of people! 

Here in verse 1, the historian gives us Zedekiah’s age when he began to reign: 21; how long he reigned: 11 years; and the name of his mother in order to let us know that he was the full brother of King Jehoahaz son of Josiah, and half-brother of Jehoiakim son of Josiah. 

In one sentence we have the verdict on Zedekiah’s life: He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord according to all the Jehoiakim had done. Zedekiah’s life is compared to his half-brother who reigned a mere 3 months.

At the end of your days, your life will be summed up by a single sentence too. Either “Well done good and faithful servant,” or “And so-and-so did evil in the sight of the Lord.”

And again, matter-of-factly, because of the Lord’s anger, it came to the point that He cast them out of His presence. 

Where chapters 50 and 51 were the promised vindication of God’s people, chapter 52 is the vindication of God and His prophet. The people had been warned time and again. Now God would make good on His word of warning.

The Lord is indeed slow to anger. But it would be a mistake to assume that God will never exhaust His wrath and carry out much needed justice. It’s a reminder and a warning not to presume on the riches and kindness and forbearance and patience of God, for such kindness is meant to lead you to repentance, not to leave you in rebellion.

REBELLION:

But for those who rebel against God, we really shouldn’t be surprised that rebellion marks other aspects of their life. Second half of verse 3. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. Unfaithfulness towards God leads to unfaithfulness in general. Here, such unfaithfulness is expressed against the king who set Zedekiah on the throne. 

Zedekiah owed his position, his throne to the king of Babylon. Zedekiah unfaithfulness to Nebuchadnezzar, however, is merely a portrait of our unfaithfulness to God that we could trace all the way back to the Garden. We don’t often think of Adam as a king, but I think it’s pretty clear that Adam had a kingly role in the Garden. But Adam’s kingship was not outside the rule of the King who set him on that throne. 

In the same way Zedekiah rebelled against the king who set him on the throne, Adam rebelled against the Great King and thus lost his seat. And the same was true of us. 

Our rebellion had forfeited our dominion, because what the world needs are righteous vice-regents, righteous princes, righteous rulers who image and reflect the likeness of God’s righteous rule because they submit to his rule. What the world doesn’t need is a bunch of usurpers who commit treason, rebelling against the One True King.

You see, Zedekiah’s failure is a picture of Israel’s failure, which is a picture of Adam’s failure in the Garden, which is no less a picture of our failure to be faithful to the work and service the Lord created us for when He fashioned us in His likeness.

And because of such, Zedekiah and Jerusalem shall fall like the rest of mankind, to face the terror of a foreign king. 

II. THE FEAR OF A FOREIGN KING:

What follows, from verse 4 to the final paragraph, is the historians recording of Nebuchadnezzar’s methodical removal of everything of value — through siege, seizing and sentencing, scorching and shattering, stripping bare, snuffing out, and subjecting to servitude all but a few of those deemed undesirable.

a. Siege:

Verses 4-6. Eighteen months of siege and all its agony are reduced to three short verses. Verse 6 simply tells us that the famine was so severe due to the siege that there was no food for the people of the land. 

Other passages express just how horrific this siege was. Lamentations offers a poetic retelling of the famine. All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength… The tongue of the nursing infant sticks to the roof of its mouth for thirst; the children beg for food, but no one gives to them… We get our bread at the peril of our lives because of the sword in the wilderness. 

Here, the historian simply records how long the siege was and when the food ran out. 

One day, God’s patient forbearance will come to an end. Once the full number of the redeemed are accounted for, the kingdom of this world will experience a siege like no other, a famine, not merely of food, but of all the goodness of God — mankind’s true sustenance. 

Hell will be nothing less than a comprehensive famine where the souls who wanted nothing to do with God will find themselves starved for eternity for the least little ray of light from His radiant face. 

b. Seized and Sentenced:

The Babylonian siege didn’t last forever. Verse 7. A breach was eventually made in the city, and all the men of war fled and went out of from the city by night by way of the gate between the two walls by the king’s garden. Zedekiah and his army abandoned ship, abandoned their post, just as Adam abandoned his position to keep and work the Garden. 

Adam quit his assigned position in the Garden before he was removed from the Garden. He feared for himself, so he failed to sacrifice himself for Eve. 

Zedekiah refused to heed the Word of Lord and surrender to Babylon because he feared what might happen to him in Babylon. But he also refused to stay to the end to defend the city for the same reason. Zedekiah and his fighting men put themselves first, rather than those they were to defend. 

And just as Adam was caught hiding behind fig leaves, and sentence was passed on him, so Zedekiah will be caught and sentence passed. But unlike Adam’s sentencing, Zedekiah’s sentence won’t be pronounced by a merciful king, but a fearful foreign king. 

What was Zedekiah’s sentence? Verse 10. Those he loved, his very sons were slaughtered before his eyes. As well as his all of his officials, those to whom he entrusted a stewardship of the kingdom.

You know what it will take to save such a corrupt race? Jesus Christ will receive the sentence you and I deserve. 

The Father will watch His only Son slaughtered before His eyes. And the Lord Jesus will watch those to whom he entrusted a stewardship of the kingdom — many of them will be slaughtered before his eyes. 

Think of Stephen in Acts 7. Remember just before Stephen was stoned to death, he saw the heavens opened and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Jesus has endured more than simply his own death. He’s also watched countless martyrs who have been put to death simply because they followed Him. 

c. Scorched and Shattered:

Now that Zedekiah has been sentenced and removed from the throne —verse 12 — our text makes clear who it is who now reigns over Jerusalem and Judah. We went from dating the events according to the reign of the kings of Judah to dating the events according to the reign of the kings of Babylon.

And this king isn’t interested in rebuilding Jerusalem as much as tearing it down. Nebuzaradan enters Jerusalem, burns the house of the Lord, and the king’s palace, and all the great houses in the city. And his army breaks down the entire wall that encircled Jerusalem. 

d. Stripped:

But it’s not enough to ruin the city. It needs to be stripped — stripped of its population and stripped of its articles of value. 

POPULATION:

First, the population. Verses 15. Those left in the city, from the poorest of contributors to the most skilled artisans are carried away captive. But, verse 16, some of the poorest are left to be vinedressers and plowmen. (We’ll return to this at the end.)

[*** Gardeners and Soil Breakers ***]

ARTICLES AND VESSELS:

Now the stripping of the articles and vessels. Verse 17 begins the long accounting of the precious metals … specifically, that which was taken from the house of the Lord. Once again in the matter-of-fact language, the historian recounts in painful detail the plundering of the temple. 

Much of the bronze is broken due to its sheer size in order for it to be carted off. The bronze was beyond weight (verse 20). And verse 19. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. 

As beautiful as the temple was, there was nothing beautiful about a people who rejected their God. The destruction and plundering of the temple, the palace, and the city simply made them look the part … resembling the reality of the people who dwelt there.

Jeremiah prophesied about the removal of these items in chapter 27:21. Thus says the Lord … concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: They shall be carried to Babylon. 

Now, Hananiah accused Jeremiah of being a false prophet and declared that no other items would be removed, and the items previously taken would be returned within two years. 

Why is this painful careful accounting important? It not only vindicates Jeremiah from being deemed a false prophet, it also prepares the reader for the rest of Jeremiah’s prophecy. 27:22. 

These items — the vessels of the Lord’s house — that would be carried away to Babylon would eventually be restored to their place. Not within two years as Hananiah prophesied. But in a lifetime … 70 years … when the Lord would visit them. The careful accounting of what goes into exile prepares the way for all to be accounted for when it’s restored.

*** You and I aren’t precious metals. In the King of Kings eyes, we’re more precious than any metal, even though we are fashion from ordinary clay. What makes us precious is the treasure we hold. 

1) Being fashioned in the likeness of God. 2) His Spirit has taken up residence within us … that is, if you are in Christ. Our restoration to the Lord’s house in the New Jerusalem awaits. But understand … it’s a lifetime away, but only a lifetime away. 

Some of us are closer to that restoration than others. You are gold that has been refined … prepared for the Lord’s temple. Your exile is almost over, and you will soon be returned to the house of the Lord.

e. Snuffed:

Having plundered the precious vessels of the temple, those who seemed pillars in Jerusalem will receive no such valuation. Where Zedekiah and his officials were sentenced and slaughtered, Nebuzaradan will seek to snuff out any hopes for a rebellion. These leading men will suffer a similar judgment as their king they followed. They likewise will be brought before the king of Babylon and put to death at Riblah. 

How might we apply this? Everyone will receive a similar sentence as that of the king they follow. Those who follow the Prince of the Power of the Air, the Lord of Lies, the deceiving Serpent, will share his fate. They will be cast into the lake of fire to be tormented day and night forever and ever.

But those who follow King Jesus, being crucified with Him, dying with Him now!!! will also be raised with Him to enjoy eternal resurrected life with Him. 

f. Subjected:

Finally, verses 28-30, we have the numbers of those carried away captive. While these numbers are very specific, they don’t accord with any other records we have in Scripture. At the time of Jehoiachin’s surrender, Nebuchadnezzar carried 10,000 into exile. The numbers here are significantly smaller.

Two ways we might reconcile this: 1) the numbers reflect heads of households or adult fighting men. 2) this could be a particular accounting of 3 specific occasions in which exiles were carried off. 

At the very least, we should notice that the number taken into exile represented a mere remnant. When we consider that there were some 1,300,000 men who drew the sword at the end of King David’s reign, those fortunate enough to go into exile rather than meet the sword were but an extremely small remnant … but this remnant, taken into exile, would be regarded by the Lord as good figs, whom the Lord would set His eyes on for good and bring them back.

The land was ruined. Everything of value was either ravaged or removed. Such is merely the effects of sin.

On our way back from our little family retreat, we made a detour through a portion of Clarksville that was, to put it kindly, run down. It wasn’t the slums of Haiti. Still, there was nothing lovely or beautiful about it. And I mentioned to Jenny on our drive. This is the effects of sin in the world. We won’t see the likes of this in heaven or the New Creation. 

But, I continued, we’re heading back to Mount Juliet, a suburb filled with some really nice homes, and of course you have Providence Marketplace with all its glitz and wares. It certainly looks like a major upgrade to the area of Clarksville we drove through. And you know what? That too is the effects of sin in the world. Both are due to the effects of sin. 

So, she turned to me and shared her application from her morning reading which just so happened to be from Mark 7. Some of the effects of sin are outward and obvious, like the Syrophoenician’s daughter who had an unclean spirit. But we also have those who appear righteous on the outside, like the Pharisees, who made sure to wash their hands. They merely possessed an outward obedience to certain aspects of the Law.

You see, what happens to Jerusalem is due to sin. But Babylon, where the exiles were headed, while it will be filled with lavished abundance, that too is due to the effects of sin. To our fallen flesh, Babylon is where many of us would choose to live … not in the rundown portion of Clarksville … and definitely not in war-torn Jerusalem after the siege and everything is burned to the ground and broken.

We need to take care how we think through these things, because we can easily fall into the temptation of believing that when things seem to be going well, we have food to eat, beautiful ornate structures standing, a thriving population, obviously we as individuals or as a society must be doing something right. 

There was a time that description fit Jerusalem. In Solomon’s day, the city was at its height. But it wasn’t because they were somehow rewarded for their righteousness. God was immensely patient until it came to the point where in His anger, the Lord cast His people from His presence. 

You see, the greatest blessing in the world is to be in God’s presence! Not in Clarksville, or Mount Juliet, or Babylon, or even Jerusalem. Jerusalem was only the place to be so long as God’s presence was there. 

Dwelling in God’s presence was the greatest blessing. Which meant, being cast from God’s presence is the greatest curse. And that’s precisely what hell is. O it’s described in many ways. But ultimately, it’s being cast away from any presence of God.

And that’s what Jesus endured to restore us to Him. Jesus endured a moment when he was, cast from the Father’s presence. That was the greatest pain of the cross … not the nails or the gasping for breath, but bearing the ultimate penalty for sin, separation from God, separated from His Father. The Eternal Triune Godhead was severed for a moment in history. That was the cost!

III. THE FAVOR OF A FOREIGN KING:

Thankfully, not all of our exile is under the Nebuchadnezzars of this fallen world. In His kindness, God has also appointed Ewil-Merodachs.

In the four short verses that close out the Book of Jeremiah, we see the favor of a foreign king who releases Jehoiachin from prison, seats him above every other king, gives him a seat at the king’s table, and provides for his needs. 

Jeremiah’s ministry has been filled with warning upon warning. Nebuchadnezzar was the Lord making good on His word. But this final scene of Jehoichin’s release is also the Lord making good on His word. His mercy truly does endure forever … even when things are at their bleakest. 

a. Freed:

After 37 years in prison, Jehoiachin is released from prison. Recall that Jehoiachin only reigned 3 months before surrendering himself to Nebuchadnezzar. 

One commentator highlighted not only the disproportion between 3 months and 37 years, but the injustice of such a system. But that’s to equate one’s prison sentence with the amount of time one spent carrying out the crime. That’s like suggesting that the murderer who takes one second to pull the trigger should be sentenced based on the length of time it took to pull the trigger. 

Adam’s rebellion in the Garden took but a moment, but his exile was the rest of his life, likely some 900 plus years. One sin against the Almighty is sufficient grounds to sentence any of us to an eternity in hell. 

Now, it’s true that the punishment must fit the crime, but the crime isn’t based as much on duration as it is damage and harm.

Here’s the thing. We can grumble over the sentence served, making for a bitter release. Or we can be thankful for the release. I’m pretty confident that Jehoichin, after 37 years, was thankful to be released.

[TIMEOUT CORNER — At our house, have what we call the timeout corner in our kitchen. It’s a tiny cove that leads to the garage. Unless you’re on that side of the kitchen, it’s completely hidden from view. We have used it as a timeout corner ever since Cheyenne was little, so close to nineteen years. Every so often, and I believe it has happened to all of our kids with perhaps Cheyenne being the one exception … she’ll let me know if I’m wrong … that … well, I put them in timeout … and I forget they’re in timeout. 

Now, here’s the thing. When they’re in timeout, there’s a peace that the rest of the house enjoys for a few minutes. I mean, no one else wants to join whoever’s in timeout. I get caught up in that peace and return to whatever I was working on. 

And someone will ask, “Did you forget about so-and-so.” Now, rarely is that individual thankful to come out of timeout. Often, they will be cold and bitter, so that while they might have been released, they’re now imprisoned by bitterness. They can’t enjoy their freedom.

Now, I’m not letting myself off the hook. It’s not okay for me to forget. And I’ve had to make a lot of apologies.]

But here’s the thing. Jehoiachin could have grumbled over the length of his stay in prison. Or he could enjoy the freedom he’s been mercifully granted. Many will grumble and scoff at the idea of hell. I sinned for a lifetime, and God’s going to punish me for eternity. That’s not … fair. 

You see, we fail to recognize mercy and grace for what it is. Our sin nature is so self-focused, we feel we are entitled to infinite chances with the smallest of consequences. 

We often think of the prophets, especially that of Jeremiah, as delivering nothing but bad news … all judgment and no hope. But such is far from the case. Judgment actually is good news! Why? Because it shows God to be just. Nothing could be worse news than for the Judge of all the earth to be unjust. 

Yet the reason judgment is often received as bad news is because of our sin. We are law breakers. Thus, the bad news isn’t so much God’s righteous judgment as it is our treason against the King of the Universe. The bad news isn’t that God’s righteous but that we’re unrighteous. 

And yet, there’s better news than God being just. God is merciful in such a way that His justice isn’t compromised. And that, loved ones, is the gospel. 

b. Fixed:

Like Jehoiachin, we have been released from our sentence of condemnation. But more than that, we are seated above all other rulers who dwell in Babylon, all the rulers of this world. 

How? Because, Colossians 3, we are seated with Christ, who is seated at the right hand of God. Oh, the fullness of that reality is in the future … or we might say, it’s already but not yet. But our King has released us and has stationed us above all earthly rulers.

c. Fellowship:

More than that, we are invited to dine at the King’s table … regularly. Now, it’s true, we are awaiting the marriage supper of the Lamb. But listen loved ones. In just a moment we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper together. We dine with the King now. The table is a picture of fellowship. The Lord’s Supper portrays many things, not the least of which is true fellowship … or communion … with the Lord of all nations.

d.  Furnished:

And lastly, our King furnishes us with a daily allowance. Give us this day our daily bread. That’s part of it. But it’s more. He supplies us with everything we need to carry out our mission and glorify Him. He provides us not just with physical bread for bodily nourishment, but with the Bread of Life, Himself, for our spiritual nourishment. He feeds us with His Word and fills us with a portion of His Spirit. 

IV. THE FORETASTE OF A FUTURE KING:

Now, we started to drift back into that grand finale excitement, looking off into the future again. But the final words brings us back to the parking garage, but to present day, historical reality.

Jehoiachin enjoyed these acts of grace, verse 34, until the day of his death, as long as he lived. Jehoiachin died. As promising as this picture is, Jehoiachin still died. Death still reigned. 

The good news is that the line of David has not been completely cut off. But reality is that the promised One is yet to come. Jehoiachin’s release was but a foretaste, a foreshadowing of a King to come. The Lord won’t leave His people in exile forever … under foreign kings and kingdoms forever. The King is coming. He has come. And He will come again. 

Just as the Fall of Jerusalem attested to the truthfulness of God’s words of judgment, Jehoiachin’s release attests to the truthfulness of God’s promise of future grace. 

King Jesus reigns even now, as Lord of all Nations. We await the fullness of that reality … in and out of the parking garages of Babylon. 

As I mention often, we need to keep our gaze fixed on Jesus. But that doesn’t mean continuously gazing up in heaven. If you recall, Acts 1, the disciples were admonished for staring up in heaven. Why? Because there’s work to do here. 

But that admonishment didn’t mean not to gaze on the Lord Jesus. Rather, I believe, it was a call to live out the earthly ministry of Jesus. Which means, we gaze upon the Christ who descended from His throne in heaven to the filth of our sin, the filth of our sin filled parking garages, in order to bear our sin and make a way for us to enter into something far more glorious than can be expressed in words and visions — His glorious presence for all eternity.

While we still dwell in exile in Babylon, we’ve been freed from our bondage to sin. It’s time to remove those old prison garments and enjoy the seat King Jesus has provided us at His table, and to use His gracious daily provision of grace to finish the work to which we were called.

Which takes us back to verse 16. We’ll end with this. The king left some of the poorest to be vinedressers and plowmen. King Jesus has left us, those who were poor in spirit, to be just that, vinedressers and plowmen — or we might say, gardeners and soil breakers.

Like Adam, we’re still called to work and keep the Garden. But in this sin-hardened world, it will take no less than breaking up the hardened fallow ground that surrounds unbelieving hearts. That’s what the gospel did for our hearts. And that’s the work we’re called to participate in, by proclaiming and living out that good news of the gospel, inviting other prisoners to sin, to surrender and serve our King, the Lord of all nations. 

https://youtu.be/XvwHJwmMrPg

   Jeremiah 51:34-64 Swallowed and Spewed: Awaiting Our Final Exodus 

INTRODUCTION:

This isn’t the end of the Book of Jeremiah. But it is the end of the words of Jeremiah. So what we have here in this second half of chapter 51 is a finale of sorts. 

Next week, chapter 52, will be more like pulling out of the parking lot, reflecting on where the people of Judah are at this point in history at the end of Jeremiah’s days. But the prophecy of 50 and 51 points to days that are coming. 

Understanding this as a finale, I believe is helpful, because it corresponds well with the finale of Scripture, the Book of Revelation, which in its entirety is the great finale of redemption history. 

So what is the theme of this finale in Jeremiah 51? I would argue that it’s awaiting the promise and hope of a greater Exodus. That’s how the Jews in Babylon were to read this. But how are we to read this passage. Well, in light of God’s whole plan of redemption, we should read it very similarly to how the exiles would have. It’s a call for God’s people to patiently endure their exile in Babylon while they await the hope and promise of our final Exodus. 

Hence the message title: Swallowed and Spewed, Awaiting Our Final Exodus.

READ: Jeremiah 51:34-64

I. SWALLOWED AND SPEWED:

Swallowed and spewed is perhaps a strange title for a message … and a message point … unless, of course, we’re referring to Jonah chapter 2. But we’re not in Jonah; we’re in Jeremiah. 

But I assure you that our first 11 verses are quite reminiscent of Jonah, which I hope will become clear. 

[I’m going to skip the pronoun variant in verse 34.]

I had Josiah read Jonah 2 to help you see Jonah in our text. So perhaps some of you might have seen it yourself before I brought it up. I hope so. That’s actually one of my goals week after week, especially working through prophetic texts like Jeremiah. 

My main purpose in preaching isn’t to give you some pragmatic application, but to help you see how the text unfolds and ultimately points to Christ. The main application in every message should be that of AWE! 

So, where do I get this whole Jonah thing? Well, verse 34. Nebuchadnezzar has devoured me and swallowed me like a sea monster. Now, it’s not the word for the great fish that swallowed Jonah. But it’s certainly similar in meaning. It’s the word for the great sea creatures in Genesis 1. 

It’s also translated in Exodus as serpent, and in Job and the Psalms as sea monster or dragon. In fact, the Septuagint translates it as just that in our passage: δράκων, or dragon, same word we’ll find in Revelation 12 and 20. 

The people of Zion and Jerusalem have been swallowed up by Nebuchadnezzar, who is very much representative of the Seed of the Serpent, the Dragon, Satan. And he swallowed them up much like Jonah was swallowed up by the great fish. 

Now, if you recall, who appointed the great fish to swallow Jonah? The LORD. And who appointed Nebuchadnezzar to swallow up Judah? The LORD. (Okay. You guys are sharp!)

Why did the LORD appoint a great fish to swallow Jonah? Because he was fleeing the face of the LORD. Jonah didn’t want to listen to the voice of the LORD. Jonah rejected the LORD’s call for him to be a light to the nations, and as such, he went his own way, just like the nations.

Why did the LORD appoint Nebuchadnezzar to swallow up Judah? Because they had long been fleeing from the face of the Lord. They didn’t want to listen to the voice of the Lord. They rejected the LORD’s call for them to be a light to the nations. Instead, they sought to go their own way just like the nations. In fact, they sought to be like the nations, worshiping the same things the nations worshiped.

The great fish in Jonah was both a symbol of judgment, as well as a symbol of mercy. The great fish represented death. And yet, it was in the belly of the fish that Jonah was spared from death.

Similarly, the Red Sea, in the Exodus served as a symbol of both God’s judgment and mercy. 

The same is true of Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon. Being swallowed up by Nebuchadnezzar was a symbol of God’s justice. And for many, Nebuchadnezzar devoured them, and that was it. 

But for the remnant, they were to be preserved in the belly of Babylon. Why? Because so long as they lived in Jerusalem, they failed to acknowledge their waywardness. But in exile, many finally saw that they had been living in exile long before Babylon. 

They had been living East of Eden, long before Nebuchadnezzar marched them East to Babylon. They were living with their faces turned away from the face of the LORD long before the LORD drove them from His presence.

Still … a remnant was being preserved in Babylon until the LORD was ready for them to be disgorged … just like Jonah. 

In verse 44, we have the LORD’s promise that He Himself will take out of Babylon’s mouth that which he has swallowed. At the Lord’s appointed time, just as Jonah was removed from the belly of the fish, God’s people would be removed from the belly of Babylon. 

But my point is not so much Jonah, but what Jonah points to: which is Exodus through baptism.

Jonah’s stint in the belly of the fish was a type of baptism, just as the Exodus was a type of baptism. (In fact, the theme of baptism and Exodus run throughout the whole of Scripture. And if you keep your eyes open for them, you’ll see them in almost every book of the Bible. That’s how pervasive these themes are.)

Jonah was spewed out of the fish’s mouth onto what? Jonah 2:10. The LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land. Just as Israel came out of the midst of the Red Sea on dry ground during the Exodus. 

If we’re expecting to see a connection between Jonah and the Exodus within our passage in Jeremiah, one might suppose there’d be some allusion to the sea and dry land. Well, perhaps? How about:

Verse 36. I will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry. Or verse 43. Her cities shall become a land of drought and desert. Verse 44. Holds out even more river imagery. The nations shall no longer flow to him but dry up. Or verse 55. The Lord will still Babylon’s raging voice of many waters. 

But we could go back to the beginning of this oracle. Chapter 50, verse 12. Babylon shall become a dry land. Verse 38. Her waters shall be dried up. 

Along with Israel’s passing safely through the sea during the Exodus, the Egyptian army was also drowned in those same waters. 

The same will be the case with Babylon. Just as the Pharoah and his officials were drowned in the heart of the sea, a similar idea is conveyed regarding Babylon and her officials. 

Verse 42. The sea has come up on Babylon; she is covered with its tumultuous waves. What are the waters that cover Babylon? They are the nations rising up against Babylon, just as Babylon’s waters surged and raged over the nations. Also, verse 57. Babylon’s officials shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not awake, just as Pharaoh and his officers did. And veres 64. Babylon shall sink, to rise no more.

Also, just as Jonah rejoiced at being brought through the depths, and just as all of Israel rejoiced over God’s deliverance through the sea, they also rejoiced over the LORD judging their enemies. We have the same idea here. Verse 48. Then heaven and earth and all that is in them shall sing for joy over Babylon.

The point I’m trying to hammer home is that what’s portrayed here is the promise of Exodus, a New Exodus. And this Exodus, just like the Exodus from Egypt, is filled with baptismal imagery. 

What is baptism representative of? Well, in one sense, it represents cleansing. But that’s not the primary idea conveyed by baptism. I

n fact, in 1 Peter 3, we’re told that baptism saves, not as a removal of dirt from the body. The reference Peter refers to is that of Noah and the Flood, in which 8 persons were brought safely through the water. So, what’s the point? Those 8 persons were as good as dead just like the rest of mankind. But instead, they were brought safely through the waters to enjoy new life. And that, loved ones, is the primary picture of baptism. It’s more for sure, but not less!

Or to quote Martin Luther on baptism:
In his work titled THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY OF CHURCH, Luter writes:

While it is indeed correct to say that baptism is a washing from sins, that expression is too weak and mild to bring out the full significance of baptism, which is rather a symbol of death and resurrection. For this reason I would have the candidates for baptism completely immersed in the water, as the word says and as the sacrament signifies. Not that I deem this necessary, but in order to give to so perfect and complete a thing a perfect and complete sign; as was doubtless instituted by Christ. 

The sinner does not so much need to be washed as he needs to die, in order to be wholly renewed and made another creature, and to be conformed to the death and resurrection of Christ, with Whom, through baptism, he dies and rises again. 

Baptism is a portrait of death and resurrection. That’s the primary picture in the account of Noah and the Flood. That’s the picture of Exodus. Walled in by Pharaoh’s army and the sea, the Israelites were as good as dead. And their life before the Exodus wasn’t much better. But the LORD led them between those formidable walls of death and brought them through death, out to experience new life with Him.

That’s also what happened to Jonah. Running from God, he was dead to God, or so he attempted to be. Then cast into the raging sea was no less than certain death. And yet, Jonah was walled in by the belly of the fish until the LORD had the fish vomit Jonah out to experience resurrection life.

And that’s what God’s people in exile were now facing. What they needed was life from the dead. But they were in exile in Babylon precisely because they were very much dead to God, and instead they had been living for dead idols. 

But with a new Exodus comes the promise of renewed life. 

And along with the promise of new life, comes the promise of destroying the enemy, thus removing the threat of death. Verse 36, the LORD would contend for His people and take vengeance upon Babylon for her. He would dry up Babylon’s sea and make her fountain dry in order to bring about a new Exodus, an Exodus in which, just like the days of Moses, Israel would be saved, and her enemies would be drowned. Verse 42. The sea shall come up over Babylon, and she shall be covered with its tumultuous waves.

In fact, verse 44, the legendary walls of Babylon shall fall like Jericho. 

II. APPROACHING EXODUS WITH PATIENT ENDURANCE:

But this coming Exodus is not yet. For now, God’s people are preserved within those mighty walls, just as the Lord preserved Jonah within the walls of the great fish, Noah and his family within the walls of the Ark, and Israel within the walls of the sea. 

Hence, point 2. Approaching Exodus with patient endurance. Or, how we are to live during our time in Babylon.

Verse 45. Go out of the midst of her, my people! Let everyone save his life from the fierce anger of the Lord! 

Now, this prophecy is given near the beginning of Judah’s exile. If we understand verse 59 correctly, we are only 4 years into Zedekiah’s reign in Judah, in which 4 years earlier, Nebuchadnezzar would have taken Jehoiakim, and 3 months later his son, Jehoiachin, into exile. So, there’s still over 60 years of exile to go. 

So, obviously, the command to go out of her midst is in one sense future. In other words, verse 50, be prepared to leave. You who have escaped the sword, go, do not stand still! Do not sit idly by. 

Just as Israel was to be prepared for the Exodus with their cloak tucked in and sandals on their feet, the exiles in Babylon were to live prepared for their departure. 

But I don’t think it’s a stretch to read this also as a call to spiritual fleeing. Especially as applied to the exiles, and even more so, us who are also exiles in Babylon. We can’t so much flee physically. Our fleeing is a spiritual fleeing of the things of Babylon. It’s a fleeing of affections. And as this prophecy is given to the exiles during Jeremiah’s day, that application would have been the same. 

Flee the lures of Babylon now! And be prepared when your day of Exodus comes, because if you’re not, you’ll miss it and be swept away in her flood of judgment. Or to reverse the order, the only way you and I will be prepared to flee physically when the day of our Exodus comes, is by our affections fleeing Babylon now. 

If you find yourself clinging to Babylon, you’ll be like Lot’s wife, who though she moved toward salvation, though she wanted to escape judgment, she clung to Sodom, looking back at what she was loosing instead of ahead to what she would gain. 

That’s not saving faith! That’s merely a hope to avoid hell. But there’s no true change of affections. Or as we discussed Wednesday during our class on Exodus 15, salvation is not merely being saved from something; it’s also being saved to something, namely saved to God. So, the second half of verse 50. Remember the Lord from far away and let Jerusalem come into your mind.

The Lord is our salvation. He is the promise we flee to. So, remove your gaze from the wares and enticements of Babylon and gaze upon the pearl of great price, a treasure that infinitely surpasses everything Babylon has to offer combined. 

This is precisely why I aim to make the dominant climax of each message that of gazing upon the beauty and perfections of Christ. Because until you see Him as the great reward of salvation, you will continue to cling to Babylon. Because heaven is only heaven, not because it’s an escape from judgment, but because Jesus is there. 

Verse 46. Let not your heart faint and be not fearful at the report heard in the land, one report comes this year, another the next, reports of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler.

Take courage. Salvation will come, and vindication will come. Though it seems delayed, wait for it. This same word given to the Babylonian exiles in Jeremiah’s day is given to us from our Lord Jesus. Matthew 24. See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name saying, “I am the Christ,” suggesting that the Exodus and final salvation have come! But they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes… All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. 

In other words, don’t be discouraged. Don’t let Babylon be your fear. But as recorded in 1 Peter and Isaiah 8, let the Lord be your fear. In fact, the whole of 1 Peter is how we are to live with patient endurance in Babylon until our Exodus comes. 

And Peter bookends his letter with that very idea, beginning by addressing his letter to the elect exiles of the Dispersion, and closing with, she who is in Babylon greets you. Sure, Babylon was likely code for Rome in Peter’s day. But it was more than that. 

Babylon stands for the entire fallen kingdom of man. Which is why we’ve read from Revelation 16, 17, and 18 over these past 3 weeks while looking at Babylon in Jeremiah. Much of those chapters in Revelation are direct allusions to Jeremiah 50 and 51. 

Babylon will certainly be overthrown. But that day is future. And she will outlast many. While, Babylon cannot be healed (which we looked at last week), she does have great staying power, which makes it possible for those who hear this word to fall into one of two temptations. 1) growing comfortable in Babylon. Or 2) giving up hope. 

Most of us will finish our days with Babylon still seeming to thrive. Our day will likely come before the Lord’s return to lead His people through the Great Final Exodus. But in a sense, that final breath is your exodus, in part, at least. That’s the race you and I are called to finish. 

And when the final day comes, those who have finished the race ahead of that day, will come as a great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12 and 1 Thes 4) with the Lord as He leads the rest of the elect out of Babylon, and Babylon is overthrown once and for all.

On that day, verse 48, heaven and earth will rejoice. Can you picture yourself rejoicing with multitude of saints and angels over Babylon’s overthrow. Because that’s Revelation 19. Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute (Babylon), who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and God has avenged on her the blood of his servants… Hallelujah! The smoke of her goes up forever and ever!

Now, if you’re clinging to Babylon, not only are you not looking forward to that day, you won’t be among the multitude praising God for his righteous judgments. You’ll be among those mourning over Babylon like those Chase read about in Revelation 18.

You see, verse 49, Babylon must fall. Why? Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel, just as for Babylon all the slain of the earth have fallen. 

Those who hold lightly to justice, fail to recognize the necessity of justice. Now get this. Justice is never taking vengeance into one’s own hands. God has not given us the authority as individuals to execute personal justice. We are however to execute justice as a society. 

Christians should have a strong stance on what justice looks like, because the Bible makes clear what justice looks like. Justice is not at odds with mercy and forgiveness. 

Take, for example, Charlie Kirk’s shooter. Charlie’s wife can, and as a believer who has herself received forgiveness from the Lord, she is called to forgive her husband’s murderer. But Erika Kirk’s beautiful and sincere gesture forgiveness doesn’t remove the state’s obligation to carry out justice. 

Even should the shooter repent and come to Christ, the state’s obligation to carry out justice stands. In fact, you know what true repentance looks like? It’s a genuine confession of the wrong one has done and willfully accepting the consequences those actions deserve. What forgiveness does, is remove the hostility between the one forgiven and the one who forgives.

In Christ, we will all, if the Lord tarries, face the temporal consequence for sin, the physical death of our fallen bodies. That consequence hasn’t been lifted. Why? Because while our sin is first and foremost against the eternal God, our sin is also, although to a significantly lesser degree, against finite man … our neighbors. 

The eternal judgment for our rebellion against God, however, has not only been lifted. He has brought us into His family to enjoy intimate fellowship with Him forever. How? Because, in forgiving us our sins, the hostility between us and God has been removed. That’s what forgiveness accomplishes. And we enjoy that even now, even though the temporal consequences of sin remain in tact.

[Sorry. I’m getting off track. But I feel it’s important that we understand the necessity of justice. Otherwise, we can’t understand the countless passages on God’s just wrath, thus gutting the gospel of any significant meaning. And there have been many skewed versions of the gospel that do injustice to the true gospel. 

The gospel Jesus died for was not a removal of justice; it was taking upon Himself the penalty justice demanded for our sin against God. Moving on.]

So, verse 50. Remember the Lord from far away, and let Jerusalem come into your mind, is the motivation for our patient endurance. We are not just saved from eternal judgment, we are saved to Christ himself and to his kingdom. Only by fixing your eyes on Him and the promise of His kingdom, will you and I be able to endure Babylon. 

I’ve used that word, “endure,” several times now. I know that’s not a popular idea in a culture overrun with the prosperity gospel, even when that prosperity gospel seeks to be a bit more subtle. But this is the call of the believer in Babylon: patient endurance. Don’t be fooled by church signs that try to sell you on a false gospel, saying “Stop enduring life; start enjoying life.” 

The Christian life is both! It’s rigorous, Christ-suffering endurance, and it’s inexpressible joy. Jesus is clear that it’s the one who endures to the end who will be saved. To live is Christ. To die is gain. Not the one who just has a rosy ole time in Babylon with no trials and tribulations to endure. In this world you will have tribulation. You and I are called to endure through that. But how? But take heart, says Jesus, for I have overcome the world. Don’t let prosperity preachers cheapen the work of Christ, who for the joy set before him … he did what? He endured the cross!

Listen. The one’s who have thrown in the towel on enduring, and just accept the joy, are the ones who have bought into the lie of Babylon. Because, verse 51, God’s elect will face persecution, shame, reproach, dishonor. Those who belong to Christ will endure the reproach of Christ with Him, going outside the camp, outside the walls of Babylon, outside the walls of apostate Jerusalem with Christ, and die with Christ, that we might live with Him. 

You won’t find that proclaimed in a prosperity church. But I’ll tell you what you will find: a packed building of souls who think they can have a little Babylon and a little heaven too. Don’t be led astray. Flee Babylon. Come out of her my people, lest you partake of her sins.

For, verse 52. The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will execute judgment upon her images.

And 53. Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify her strong height, yet destroyers would come from me against her, declares the Lord. 

This is nothing less than God’s judgment on false religion and those led astray to such. Idols and images have shown up throughout our chapter. But notice, in 53, the greatest idol is that of human arrogance or pride. The towering height of the city of man, however, will be leveled. 

Recall the great tower of Babel in Genesis 11. (Babylon and Babel, same word.) Mankind thinks so much of his accomplishments. He takes such pride in his ability, rather than praising the goodness and greatness of his Creator. 

O but how puny are the accomplishments of man. O they are so huge in our eyes, and thus we boat. Yet, how insignificant in the eyes of the One who fashioned creation out of absolutely nothing. 

That tower that reached the heights of heaven was so imposing, so impressive, such a marvelous achievement … that the Lord had to descend in order to see what all the fuss was about. That’s Scripture’s way of mocking man’s ridiculous pride. 

Yet one man did accomplish more than all of humanity combined. The Lord Jesus Chrst. He descended from the highest heights of heaven to the lowest depths of the grave in order to save our prideful race. And from those lowest depths, he rose to the highest heights, not just to heaven but to the THRONE! King of kings forever. Lord of all nations!

If you want to be in awe of the accomplishments of man, be in awe of what the God-man, Jesus, accomplished—He who was truly man more than any other, because he lived out the purpose of man by imaging God perfectly. That’s what it means to be truly human. But instead, the rest of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Yes, we’ve built towers and cities to the heavens, but far short of God’s glory, because we sought to make a name for ourselves, instead of spreading His fame.

In fact, the only thing man has truly reached heaven with is his sin. As we read in Revelation 18 concerning Babylon: for her sins are heaped as high as heaven. Thus, verse 58. Babylon’s broad legendary wall will be leveled. For the peoples and nations have wearied themselves only for fire. And all of man’s idols and accomplishments will b burned up with Babylon’s judgment.

III. BABYLON WILL SINK TO RISE NO MORE:

But Babylon’s days are numbered. Babylon will sink to rise no more. Long before the first exiles would return to Jerusalem, verse 60, Jeremiah had written in a book all the disaster that should come upon Babylon… And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these word, and say, “O Lord, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off, so that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be desolate forever.” Then when you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, and say, “Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her.”

Thus are the words of Jeremiah.

If you think about it, that is pretty powerful ending to Jeremiah, a finale for sure. Now, I know. We have one more chapter to go. But Jeremiah doesn’t. His work is finished. 

While chronologically speaking, these were not Jeremiah’s last words, they are place here as the Lord’s final Word given through Jeremiah. And that final word is pretty much this to the exiles: Babylon’s day is coming … and so is the promised hope of the Exodus. 

While that promise and hope was true for the faithful of Jeremiah’s day, although it likely looked much different than they imagined, the imagery we’re given in Revelation 18 is even more dramatic. 

Revelation 18:20. Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her! 

Then … a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more.

This overthrow of Babylon is not just an overthrow of buildings and structures and statues and infrastructure. It’s the overthrow of the city, and a city is its people. Remove the people, there is no city. 

This is the fulfillment of our Lord’s word concerning all who cause any of his little ones to stumble. It would be better for them to have a great millstone hung around his neck and thrown into the sea. 

Babylon has caused countless souls, young and old, to stumble and fall. Because of such, Babylon herself will fall. Babylon will sink to rise no more. But the elect, the faithful who come out of her, will partake of the great Exodus.

IV. CONCLUSION:

As often mentioned, the Exodus was the greatest event of the Old, but it pointed to the greatest event to come: the FINAL EXODUS. Jeremiah has already made that as clear as possible by telling his readers precisely that on two separate occasions: chapters 16 and 23. 

Let’s go with chapter 23, the LORD promises to raise up a Righteous Branch for David, who undoubtedly is the Messiah. And then we read these words: Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, “As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,” but, “As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.” Then they shall dwell in their own land.

All the promises of God find their fulfillment tied to this greater Exodus that Jesus Himself will bring about. But in order to bring about this greater Exodus, Jesus will have to endure His own Exodus. 

In Luke 9:30, on the mount of transfiguration, we find Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. That word, departure. It’s the word Exodus. [We get the word Exodus from the Greek, the Septuagint. Same word in Luke 9.] 

This Exodus is identical with the baptism Jesus says he must be baptized with a few chapters later in Luke 12.

What was Jesus’ baptism? His Exodus? It was the cross. Jesus is in every way the greater Jonah. When speaking of his Exodus and Baptism, this is what he was referring to.

Now let’s read verse 34 on the lips of Christ, keeping in mind that Nebuchadnezzar is the Seed of the Serpent and Babylon the City of Fallen Man, which would certainly include Rome and its authorities, and also apostate religious leaders in Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 34. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has devoured me;
The serpent and his seed and all their schemes were marshalled against the Son of God in an effort to devour him.

But this destroying mountain and hammer of Babylon was nothing more than a tool in the Father’s hand.
He has crushed me;
It was the will of the Father to crush him. He was wounded for our transgression, crushed for our iniquities, upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace.

made me an empty vessel;
The clay vessel of Jesus’ earthly body was poured out as a drink offering, his blood shed, the River of Living Waters side pierced and emptied on the dry thirsty ground.

He has swallowed me like a sea monster, a dragon;
The great serpent thought he had victory over the Son of God. But Jesus was swallowed up by death in order that he might conquer and swallow up death forever.

He has filled his stomach with my delights, or literally, with my Eden, yes, the same Eden—the Garden Mount—where God first dwelt with His people;
Where Nebuchadnezzar carted off all the treasures of the temple and the king’s palace to Babylon, the authorities of the world sought to rob the world of its greatest treasure — seeking to claim the inheritance of Eden, the Lord’s vineyard, for themselves.

And he has rinsed me out.
In what way might we say the sinless Son of Man was cleansed? On his body, Jesus took all the sins of man upon Himself, bearing the full penalty of sins filth. And he carried them to the grave, paid in full, never to come before the Father again.

But that wasn’t the end. Just as Jonah was spewed out of the belly of the fish on the third day, so Christ rose triumphant from the belly of Sheol on the third day, completing His baptism and Exodus.

Only in our union with Christ, united with Him in His baptism, will we enjoy His Exodus out of Babylon into His glorious Kingdom that will never end.

But here, you have to be prepared to be swallowed and spewed as you await that glorious day.

https://youtu.be/MEjA5WD8X84

    Jeremiah 51:1-33  Babylon: The Lord’s Vindication for His People, His Temple, and His Holy City

INTRODUCTION:

So, I asked Sherif last Sunday if he’d be willing to read the whole of chapter 51 immediately before the message. Being the longest chapter in this longest book of the Bible, it would likely take about 15 minutes to read aloud. So, Sherif replies to me: I think reading Jeremiah 51 before the sermon is a great idea … But, one thought … it might be worth splitting the chapter in two parts. 

So, you have Sherif to thank, that we’re not taking Jeremiah 51 as a single message. We’ll only look at the first 33 verses this morning.

DISCERNING STRUCTURE

One of the difficulties with so much of Jeremiah is in trying to discern its structure. And some passages are certainly easier than others. But for the most part, commentators are all over the place in trying to outline this text. Read 20 commentators, you’ll get 20 different outlines, if they even attempt to outline Jeremiah beyond the chapter divisions!

And to be honest with you, I have a tough time beginning the work of putting any kind of message together until I can discern some sort of structure. Otherwise, I’m just offering you insights regarding individual verses, but failing to discern the flow of the passage. 

Now, many of you are gifted at getting the main point of whatever passage you read. You look out at the woods and see the forest as a whole. Me, I’m a bit more inclined to gaze upon the different trees. So, I have to stare at the text, and stare at the text before I begin to understand the main point of the passage. And even then, I’m often unsure of myself. 

Well, we need those who see the forest and those who know the individual trees. So hopefully by having a few different teachers here, you’re getting a good mix of both.

Back to the structure. Why I broke our text where I did is because there’s somewhat of a loose chiastic structure. Our passage begins and ends (verse 2 and 33) with winnowing and threshing. In the center of our passage, we have the Sovereign Lord contrasted with the idols of the nations. On both sides of the middle, we have “setting up a standard” (verse 14 and 27), marshalling an army like locusts (verse 14 and 27), exaltation of Zion (verse 10 and 24), the Lord’s sending and preparing (verse 2 and 28), Babylon as a gold cup and a destroying mountain (verse 7 and 25). And there are a few less obvious ones as well. 

Now, Hebrew parallelism takes many forms just as our poems and songs have different rhyme schemes. 

Finally, after gazing long enough, (and it’s in your outline), I landed on the theme of the Lord’s vindication. The Lord’s vindication for His people, the Lord’s vindication for His temple, and the Lord’s vindication for His Holy City. Hopefully, you’ll see it too, as we work our way through.

READ (Jeremiah 51:1-10)

I. VINDICATION FOR THE LORD’S PEOPLE: (v. 1-10)

We could look at the details of the military action called for and taken against Babylon, but ultimately, we want to get to the reasons behind such action, behind such judgment. One reason for Babylon’s judgment, verse 5, is to remind Israel and Judah that they have not been forsaken. 

NOT WIDOWED

The word forsaken in verse 5 is actually the word widowed. 

Now, that may be a strange word for Jeremiah to use. After all, God isn’t dead. God is immortal. He can’t die. 

It’s true that the basic idea of widowhood is a woman who is bereaved of her husband because of death. And that is the primary usage of this term. But in its most general sense, it can simply refer to one who has lost her husband. As far as Israel and Judah are concerned, their relationship with the Lord was one of bereavement. 

Marriage is one of the more intimate expressions used to describe God’s relationship with Israel. We see this throughout the Old Testament. But it’s even here in Jeremiah. In fact, immediately after Jeremiah’s call, the first word to Jeremiah was to proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem (2:2), I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.

And in the promise of the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31, the Lord makes clear that the New Covenant will not be like the covenant He made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 

But now, it seemed as if they were dead to the Lord, and that He was dead to them.

Lamentations starts off: How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow she has become, she who was great among the nations!

To those in exile, God was as good as dead. Or so it seemed. But this prophecy of Babylon’s destruction was a proclamation from the Lord’s prophet to His people, that, though it may for now seem otherwise, they have not been forsaken. 

But the land of the Chaldeans is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.

Now, what’s ironic about this, is that the land of Israel and Judah were full of guilt against the Lord. That’s why they are in Babylon! But the one’s guilt will be removed, not because they aren’t guilty, but because, as we looked at in the previous chapter (50:20), the Lord will pardon those left as a remnant.

FLEE BABYLON

But Babylon has not been pardoned. Hence, the Lord’s judgment against her, and (verse 6) the call to “Flee Babylon!” Let every one save his life and not be cut off in her punishment, for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance. He will repay her as she deserves.

Who is the call to flee given to? The remnant in exile to be sure. Back in chapter 29, the exiles were called to put down roots in Babylon, build houses and plant gardens, and seek the welfare of the city of their exile. It’s very possible that many had grown comfortable in in Babylon. Hence the urgent call to flee!

But I would argue that this call to flee applied to more than just the ethnic Jews who were in exile. Not to bring up Exodus week after week, but perhaps by doing so, you see how central the Exodus is to the Bible’s overarching storyline. Was it just the descendants of Jacob who participated in the Exodus out of Egypt? No. Others yoked themselves to the people of Israel, and not just a few, but a mixed multitude also went up with them! 

So, who is called to flee Babylon? Anyone who would hope to save his or her life! And that call is still valid today. As discussed last week, the theological concept which is Babylon continues from the beginning to the end of redemption history. Revelation 18, (as king Silas read for us earlier) referring to Babylon, a voice from heaven cries out: Come out of her my people, lest you take part in her sins!. 

That’s the first half of the call of the gospel. Flee Babylon. Flee the city of man destined for destruction. Flee certain judgment! Of course, we are guilty, so the second half of the gospel is where we are to flee to. Flee to Christ. That was our prayer of confession this morning. Flee to Christ, where sin has been paid for in full. 

GOLDEN CUP

Sadly, many won’t heed the warning to flee, because they have grown comfortable in Babylon. We see that to be the case with professing believers all the time in our day. It would have been no different back then. How? 

Verse 7. Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD’s hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad. 

Earlier in Jeremiah, Babylon was a cup of God’s wrath. But here, the description of this cup has a different nuance. Same cup. Same judgment that fills this cup. Same Lord who is sovereign over this cup. But rather than primarily referring to that of bloodshed and the sword, as in chapter 25, here, the cup is described as being gold. Rather than being drunk from the wine of bloodshed, which would have been the case of those who met the sword, the exiles fortunate enough to be spared the sword would instead become drunk on Babylon’s luxuries. Hence, the description of the cup being gold. 

God’s cup of wrath didn’t end with the sword. He also executes judgment by giving people over to their desires. [The nations, on drinking her wine became mad, or literally gloried, praised, celebrated.]

We can see this to be the sense, as we see the concept carried over into Revelation 18. [You should be able to see how much overlap there is between Jeremiah 51 and Revelation 18.] 

Revelation 18:3. For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living. Sexual immorality in this case is likely refers to more than simply sexual promiscuity. Rather, it likely refers to spiritual adultery, which would include every kind of idolatry, including sexual sin. 

But here’s an important question. If Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord’s hand, then how is Babylon responsible for making the nations drunk? Hold that thought. We’ll return to it.

NO HEALING

Babylon may have been a gold cup in the Lord’s hand, but (verse 8) from the Lord’s hand, this cup will fall and be broken. For Babylon, the cup of the Lord’s judgment, is upheld as such, only so long as the Lord sovereignly upholds her. And when she is broken, she will be broken beyond healing. 

So, wail for her. Take balm for her pain; perhaps she may be healed. 

Verse 9. We would have healed Babylon, but she was not healed. Forsake her, and let us go each to his own country, for her judgment has reached up to heaven and has been lifted up even to the skies.

The reason Babylon was broken beyond healing is because her judgment reached as high as heaven. That’s how far her fall was.

Recall, there is no word Babylon in the Old Testament. It’s Babel. Just as mankind built a city with its tower to the heavens in order to make a name for herself, here Babylon has done the same. The state of fallen man has not changed. There is no greater sin than seeking to exalt oneself above or on par with God. But that’s exactly what mankind has sought to do over and over again. That’s what all sin is. It’s telling God, “You know, I’ll decide good and evil for myself. I will determine what’s right and wrong. I’ll be the god of my own life.” And the idols we fashion, proves the point. We want little gods who answer to us, but to whom we give no accounting. 

What sort of healing could there possibly be for such a state? The City of Man cannot be healed.

Of course, some tried to heal Babylon. Many are still trying to heal Babylon. We pass laws all the time trying to heal Babylon. Perhaps it’s healthcare laws, gun control laws, laws that make it more convenient to live in Babylon, such as abortion on demand. Every society, every culture may seek different means, but it’s an attempt to heal Babylon … their Babylon … so that Babylon will look like them. Just over a week ago, a young man sought to heal his view of Babylon by silencing someone who spoke against his worldview. 

Listen loved ones. Babylon cannot be healed. Our mission is not to heal Babylon. Yes, we are to seek the welfare of the city of our exile by doing good to is, but we can’t heal her disease. We can’t save her from the destruction that is coming. 

But what we can do, is point those in Babylon to a place where they can find healing. You see, our mission is to bring those who were once drunk on the wine of Babylon and point them to another kingdom and its King. 

DECLARE HIS WORKS

In judging Babylon (verse 10), the Lord will vindicate his people. But not without purpose. The redeemed will live to tell about their vindication — the mighty works of the Lord — in Zion, the City of God. 

The Lord’s justice brings about vindication for His people. God’s justice testifies that sin hasn’t been overlooked, neither His own people’s sin, nor the sin of their enemies. Praise God that our sin was dealt with on the cross. And for anyone willing to flee the lures of Babylon, they can find their sins dealt with in full on that same cross.

II. VINDICATION FOR THE LORD’S TEMPLE: (v. 11-23)

Second vindication: vindication for the Lord’s temple. 

Verse 11. (Read verses 11-12.)

The Lord’s purpose for Babylon is to destroy it. Why? To vindicate His temple. 

Why the different vindications? First the Lord’s people. Now His temple? Well the people point to the people. God’s a personal God. The temple points to His worship. Israel and Judah, and indeed, the whole earth had exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images. They had chosen to worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator. 

Babel, Babylon, the City of Man, is representative of all the idolatry of the earth. So, verse 13, you who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut. The poetry here uses a weaving metaphor, where Babylon is likened to a cubit, or a measure of cloth from the loom being cut off from the rest. 

Those waters by which the treasures of the nations flowed into Babylon will dry up (v. 43).

LOCUSTS

Verse 14. The Lord of hosts has sworn by Himself; Surely I will fill you with men, as many as locusts, and they shall raise the shout of victory over you.

Locusts are often used in Scripture to portray the Lord’s armies of judgment. We see that here and in verse 27. They describe the Babylonian army in chapter 46, the Midianites in Judges 6 and 7, and the army arrayed against Nineveh in Nahum 3. We also see similar armies in the 5th and 6th seals of Revelation 9. So, something to chew on, not like John the Baptist who ate the locusts, but I fairly convinced that the locusts in Joel just might be an army as well, and not simply a bunch of bugs. Ultimately, the picture in Joel works either way. 

As mentioned before, the Lord doesn’t just swear by Himself concerning His blessing but also concerning His judgments. And He does so, because upholding His holiness matters. It matters for us! It matters for all of creation. Scripture doesn’t seek to defend or argue for God’s existence; it seeks to defend His glory and proclaim His holiness. For it’s only in Him who is Himself life, that we have any life at all.

DEAD AND LIVING GODS

So, verse 15. (Read 15-19)

Unlike the idols of the nations, those gods fashioned according to man’s fancies, God is the Creator of all that is. Look at the contrasts laid out in these few short verses. 

The Lord made the earth by His power, but the idols of man are a work of delusion, unable to make anything. The Lord established the world by His wisdom and by his understanding stretched out the heavens, but the idols and those who make them are stupid and without knowledge. 

The Lord utters his voice and shakes the waters and the wind, but the idols of man have no breath in them. The Lord is eternal and of infinite worth, but the idols are worthless. The Lord is immortal, but the idols are dead. 

Verse 19. Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob. There’s just no comparison. And yet, the whole world exchanged the immortal God for such worthless delusions. That was us! We had exchanged God, the fountain of Living Waters for broken cisterns we had hewed out for ourselves. 

And get this. God could have rightly left us in our idolatry. But He chose not to. Instead, He chose to defend His glory and proclaim His holiness so that we would no longer worship worthless dead things. That’s how important this is. Because when you worship what’s dead, you are dead. 

BREAKING IDOLATRY

Or as Greg Beale says, “We become what we worship.” Whatever it is you and I revere, that will we resemble. Which is why, Sunay after Sunday, my ultimate goal up here is to point us to gaze upon Jesus, to see His beauty that we might become more and more like Him, who is life itself. 

Now, these verses, 15-19 already showed up earlier in Jeremiah. You can find them verbatim in chapter 10, where the Lord describes the futility of idolatry in greater detail. 

Let me read this from Jeremiah 10:3-5. The practices of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down, and a craftsman works it with an axe. They decorate it with silver and gold; and they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field; they cannot speak. They have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good. 

Do you see just how ridiculous our idols are? Let me ask. What can such a god do? What god can save such a deluded people when it takes nails to hold him in place! 

You know what God has done to break our idolatry? I’ll tell you what He did. He became like a worthless idol, nailed to a block of wood.

O but Jesus wasn’t nailed to the cross unwillingly. It was part of His perfect plan. You see, He is the Sovereign Lord, sovereign over the plans and schemes of man … not the other way ‘round. 

You see, the people sought to fashion gods to do their bidding, but it’s actually God who fashions men to do His! Babylon, was nothing more than a hammer, a battle axe, in the hand of the Lord.

Verse 20. (Read 20-23).

SOVEREIGN JUSTICE

Now, if Babylon is the Lord’s hammer and weapon of war, if Babylon is the golden cup in the Lord’s hand, how can the Lord judge Babylon for her actions? How is Babylon responsible for making the nations drunk? How can Babylon be held responsible for crushing the nation?

Well, as much as I would love to take an entire message and address that point alone, let me at least say this. 

Scripture declares God’s absolute sovereignty over all things including the hearts and wills of man. Nothing is outside of God’s providence. 

ASSYRIA AND JOSEPH

Now, I had Eli read from Isaiah 10 for us earlier (you may want to turn there) because I think it’s the closest parallel to our verses here and sheds light on our understanding of how God can be absolutely sovereign and still hold man responsible.

Similar to Babylon, Assyria was the rod of the Lord’s anger. The Lord raised up and purposed the Assyrians to bring judgment upon the nations, and in particular, the Northern kingdom of Israel to punish her for her idolatry. And Assyria did just that. Assyria crushed the Northern kingdom and carted them off into exile. So, surely, Assyria did God’s will right? Well, yes and no. The physically carried out God’s purposes. But their will wasn’t to do God’s will. Their intention was not God’s intention. 

Isaiah 10:7 points out this very thing. Assyria’s intent was not to carry out God’s wrath but her own. Assyria boasted of her power. And we even read, that when Assyria comes to Judah, she proves that her intent was not to carry out God’s purpose. In Isaiah 36, Assyria boasts, “Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?”

So, (back to Isaiah 10:15) shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it? As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!”

God’s purposes and Babylon’s purposes were not at all the same. Babylon will not be judged for doing the Lord’s will. Babylon will be judged for doing her will. And her will, although it accomplished the Lord’s, was at the same time in opposition to the Lord.

Another quick simple image to demonstrate this. Though Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, accomplishing God’s purpose in sending Joseph to Egypt ahead of them, Joseph can rightly say to his brothers, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” The exact same event with the exact same outcome, one party meant evil, the other meant good. 

Because of their idolatry, Babylon had crushed the nations as God’s war hammer. Now, the Lord would crush Babylon for her idolatry.

III. VINDICATION FOR THE LORD’S CITY: (v. 24-33)

Last section, Vindication for the Lord’s City, or mount Zion.

Verse 24. (Read 24-26)

The Lord’s judgment upon Babylon is not just to vindicate His people, or His temple, but to vindicate the very city in which the Lord Himself would dwell with His people and set up His temple.

DESTROYING MOUNTAIN

The irony of verse 25 is that Babylon is described as a destroying mountain. But there weren’t any mountains in Babylon. (Though the Zagros Mountains lay to the East,) Babylon, or Babel, we read all the way back in Genesis 10, was first built by Nimrod in the plain of Shinar. 

So why is Babylon referred to as a destroying mountain? Babylon had exalted herself in eminence, high above all the kingdoms of the earth. And she did so, by destroying those kingdoms and cities, including Jerusalem, or Zion. Chapter 52 will recount Jerusalem’s destruction and how horrific it was.

In destroying this destroying mountain, the Lord will vindicate Zion. 

Now, as a reminder, we need to think of Zion two-fold, just as we consider Babylon in that sense. Zion not only refers to earthly Jerusalem but the heavenly city of God. But Zion is also referred to as the Mountain of God. Similar to Eden, which also was a sort of mountain temple, where God was to dwell with His people, so too is Zion. 

Babylon’s destruction will be so complete (verse 26), no stone will be able to be taken from her for a cornerstone, or even for her foundation. 

Verse 27. (Read 27-28)

CONSECRATE

The Lord is summoning the nations to war against Babyon. But this is no ordinary task. In fact, it’s a holy task. The call to prepare the nations for war is really a summons to consecrate, set apart, make holy those nations for the task at hand. It’s the Hebrew word קָדַשׁ, or qadash, to make holy. The nations summoned to war against Babylon are indeed summoned to a holy task because God’s justice is holy.

Verse 29. (Read 29-30) 

Babylon’s reign of terror shall cease, for Babylon itself shall cease. And when her downfall comes, it will be too late to flee. All options for escape shall be cut off. 

Verse 31. (Read 31-32)

Runners will carry the devastating news to the king of Babylon, that the certainty of Babylon’s defeat has come.

WINNOWED AND THRESHED

Last verse. Verse 33. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time when it is trodden, yet a little while, and the time for her harvest will come. 

The threshing and winnowing imagery bookend our passage. We glossed over the first couple verses. But verse 2 began with the Lord sending winnowers upon Babylon to winnow her, and empty her land. 

The winnowing process involved crushing the harvest of grain, often under cart, hoof, or foot. Once it’s crushed, one would toss it in the air with a winnowing fork, allowing the wind to carry the worthless part of the wheat away, separating the grain or the seed from the useless chaff or straw.

How much seed was ultimately found in Babylon? Well, you and I came out. All those who heeded the warning to flee Babylon would be as seed, useful to the Master. But the rest would be carried away like chaff by the wind of God’s judgment. 

IV. CONCLUSION:

So, how do we wrap this up? God’s judgment upon Babylon is a holy calling, and those enlisted to execute His judgment upon Babylon have been consecrated for such.

EXECUTOR OF JUSTICE 

But realize, Jesus is the ultimate executor of justice. Jesus is the One who will execute final judgment on Babylon and the entire City of Fallen Man. He is the true consecrated One. Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty!

There’s a sense in which the Holy One came and executed judgment for Babylon’s sin … all of it … on the cross. Jesus took Babylon’s full judgment upon Himself, in order to first offer terms of peace for those in Babylon. 

But for those who reject His terms, they will pay for their own sin. They will be trodden under foot — crushed by His own bruised heel — as a final fulfilling of Genesis 3:15, in which the Serpent’s head and all his seed will be crushed. 

Babylon would be crushed by the One who is the Cornerstone and foundation of Zion.

And in Christ, all His saints, His holy ones, will also judge the nations. Do you not know that we will judge angels, and nations, and the seed of the serpent? That will be part of our vindication. As Romans 16:20 says, the God of peace will soon crush Satan, not under His feet, but under your feet. (But we’ll look at that next week.)

HE LIVES

For now, citizens of heavenly Zion, know that you have not been forsaken or widowed by your God. 

Where Babylon boasted, in Revelation 18:7, “I sit as queen; I am no widow; and mourning I will never see.” She is in for a horrific reality check. 

But for the Bride of Christ, though she experiences times of mourning and loss now, she will indeed sit as queen. Soon her days of mourning will be over, and she will be fully reunited with her King, who is not dead, who has not forsaken us, but lives and reigns as Lord of all nations.

https://youtu.be/mKQ7VNZxcL0

  Jeremiah 50:1-46  Babylon: Salvation through Judgment

INTRODUCTION:

Today, we begin to work through the two longest chapters in this longest book, chapters 50 and 51.

Excepting Israel and Judah, these 2 chapters are the longest sustained judgment oracle against any of the nations, longer than the rest of the nation oracleswe looked at over the past few weeks combined. 

But what I hope you’ll notice is that these chapters aren’t solely about Babylon. They are also God’s elect, His remnant, and about the Lord Himself. 

READ: [Jeremiah 50:1-46]

I. BABYLON THROUGHOUT REDEMPTION HISTORY: 

Before digging into our text, we need to understand Babylon as revealed in redemption history. 

Babylon has been around since the earliest chapters of Genesis shortly after the Flood. In fact, the word our Bibles translate as Babylon is actually the word Babel. Think … tower of Babel. 

But we also see that the prophecies concerning Babylon, at least in part, are still future. We see that in the Book of Revelation, part of which Josiah read for us at the end of chapter 16. God still has plans to remember Babylon the Great, and to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath.

So, Babylon continues today, even if the physical city in the Middle East no longer exists.

Babylon is representative of the City of Fallen Prideful Man, which means we need to understand these chapters with this greater reality in view. 

This is also true of Zion, which we read about in verse 5. Zion is synonymous with Jerusalem, but not merely earthly Jerusalem but heavenly Jerusalem. 

Both Babylon and Zion begin Scripturally as literal-historical cities. But they are developed into contrasting symbols of a greater reality. (Which I would argue is how we are to understand all of Scripture.)

Babylon is the civilization of the world that does not know — or more precisely, rejects the Lord’s reign and has set up other gods in God’s place. 

Zion is the civilization that is coming, a civilization that fully knows and submits to the Lord’s reign. 

AUGUSTINE:
Agustine is helpful.
 At present, believers are exiled from our city. We’re away from it on pilgrimage, and that the reason for our exile is sin. But there is a free gift which ensure our return to our homeland, and that is the forgiveness of sins, whereby through God’s grace we are justified.
 While the centuries roll on to their end, there are two cities intermingled as to physical presence, but distinct in heart. One is called Jerusalem (or Zion), and its goal is eternal peace; the other is Babylon, whose ambition is to enjoy a peace that is only temporal.

So, keeping Babylon and Zion in mind, both historically and typologically, we move to the Destruction / Judgment on the Enemy.

II. DESTRUCTION OF THE ENEMY:

Verse 1. The word that the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet:

God’s agent of judgment now becomes God’s object of judgment. 

Now, if you recall, the King of Babylon and his officers showed kindness to Jeremiah. But that kindness didn’t release Jeremiah from his duty as the Lord’s prophet. It didn’t exempt Jeremiah from proclaiming the harsh ruin that is to come upon Babylon. 

Matthew Henry is helpful here. “If our friends are God’s enemies, we dare not speak peace to them.” 

We must be kind, patient, and gentle with those who continue to take their stand against the Sovereign of the Universe. But kindness and gentleness does not mean we refrain from speaking the truth, regardless of the consequences that may follow. 

And we have witnessed this week the consequences of speaking the truth boldly in Babylon. 

Many in Babylon will treat us kindly, and many won’t. But neither kindness or violence should silence us as mouthpieces of truth. We must be mouthpieces of the gospel which includes not only the promise of hope to those who repent and believe, but a strong word of warning  and judgment against Babylon and all it stands for.

Furthermore, the Babylon condemned in these chapters is the same Babylon whose yoke the nations were to accept. Jeremiah 27

But also, in chapter 29, the exiles were commanded to seek Babylon’s welfare.

Here, the time of judgment has come, at least in part, to the Babylon along the Euphrates. But for the greater reality to which Babylon points, the fullness of this judgment is still future and awaits the Lord’s appointed time. 

As we sojourn in Babylon, understand, the command to seek Babylon’s welfare is not rescinded. There’s no call for revolution for God’s people. God will send His armies upon Babylon … armies, like Babylon, that will also give an account.

Verse 2. The nations once destroyed by Babylon are now called to set up banners and proclaim Babylon and its idols defeat. Judgment comes upon, not just nations and peoples, but also upon their idols.

Babylon itself, who doled out such harshness upon the nations will receive in kind the identical fate. 

We see this in verse 15. Take vengeance on her and do to her as she has done. This is what we call justice. Repaying in like measure. 

But here’s an important note: and my family is working our way through Romans right now. Romans 12 reminds us. Beloved, never avenge yourselves but leave it to the wrath of God. 

There’s a difference between taking personal vengeance for oneself, and that of God’s appointed authorities carrying out justice. That’s what’s in view here.

Verse 7. The enemies of God’s people sought to excuse themselves by saying: “We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the Lord, their habitation of righteousness, the hope of their fathers.” 

While it is true that God’s people have sinned against Him, sin never excuses sin. Yes, there is the place of the state to carry out justice. There’s a place for nations to defend themselves. But we do not, as individuals, personally carry out the Lord’s judgment on speck bearers when we have our own beams of timber in our eyes. 

God’s people had sinned against Him. And He disciplines those who are His. But the nations are wrong in thinking they are carrying out the Lord’s justice. Why? Because God’s justice is not their intention. (We’ll look at that in detail next week.) 

The nations will be held to account for their actions. Why? Verse 14. Because their devouring of God’s people is nothing less than sinning against the Lord himself. How? Verse 11. They plundered the Lord’s heritage. Not only that, they rejoiced over doing so. 

Hence, the Lord is an avenging God. It’s not that the Lord here is avenging Himself, although He is the only One who rightly and righteously is able to do so. But here, the Lord is avenging His scattered and devoured flock. 

Verses 16 and 17. Israel has been hunted like sheep, driven away by lions. First, the king of Assyria devoured him, and now, Nebuchadnezzar has gnawed his bones. Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, just as I punished the king of Assyria. 

For the Lord, as His people’s Kinsman Redeemer, this is personal.
 As such, the Lord is setting Himself against Babylon and devoting all her cities to destruction. Verse 21, lists two such cities. Merathaim and Pekod. Ironically, both of these are names of real places, whose names also sound like Hebrew words. Merathaim sounds like Hebrew for double bitterness or double rebellion, and Pekod sounds like the Hebrew word for punishment. 

But the irony continues throughout the chapter. Verse 23. The hammer that crushed the nations will itself be broken. Babylon, who inspired terror among the nations will now become a horror itself.

Back in chapter 16, Babylon was described as fishers and hunters who would catch and hunt the wayward on every mountain and hill. But now, verse 24, the fierce hunter will be snared; the great fisherman will be caught.

Verse 25. Where Babylon once served as God’s agent and weapon of wrath, now the Lord’s armory will be unloaded on Babylon. This nation that once besieged nations, will now be besieged and surrounded. 

Babylon’s pride is also highlighted for us.
Verse 29. She has proudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 

Verse 31. Behold, I am against you, O proud one, declares the Lord God of hosts, for your day has come, the time when I will punish you. 

Verse 32. The proud one shall stumble and fall, with noe to raise him up, and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it will devour all that is around him.

And just in case the judgment against Babylon hasn’t seemed comprehensive enough, verses 35-40, the sword of judgment will cut off EVERYTHING in devastating reversal.

Wisemen become fools / Warriors — slain
Troops — women. (Politically incorrect for our current culture, but I’ll let you wrestle with that. O how far we have strayed.) / Treasures — plunder / Waters — dried up / Idols shown to be madness. The dwelling of man shall become a dwelling of desert beasts.

And if that wasn’t sufficient, Babylon shall become like Sodom and Gomorrah, the paradigm of God’s judgment.

Finally, verses 44-46 are the same judgment pronounce against Edom in the previous chapter, a punishment doled out by none other than Babylon. But here it is repurposed specifically for Babylon. Her judgment shall not just be heard as far as the Red Sea, but her cry shall be heard among all the nations.

III. THE REDEEMER AND THE REDEEMED:

While the dominate theme in these chapters is that of God’s retribution and judgment, this oracle is as much about God’s people as it is about Babylon. The salvation of God’s people coincides with Babylon’s judgment. 

NEW EXODUS

Verse 33. The people of Israel and Judah had long been oppressed. All who took them captive have held them fast, refusing to let them go.

Now, this should cause all of us in here to think, Exodus! Pharaoh refused to let God’s people go. The Exodus, I would argue, is the biggest event of the Old Testament. But it was always intended to prepare and point God’s people to a future Exodus, a greater Exodus. 

God’s people were in captivity, in exile in Babylon, due to their sin. But the duration of their discipline wasn’t to last forever. It was to be 70 years, a lifetime. And at the end of that age, they would be called to flee Babylon as part of a New Exodus back home to the promised land of Zion. 

But remember. We need to think about this two-fold. There is a physical return from Babylon and the nations. But what’s ultimately in play is the Exodus that Jesus Christ, the Strong Redeemer, brings about.

KINSMAN REDEEMER

So, verse 34. Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is His name. He will surely plead their cause, that He may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.

The word Redeemeris the word גָּאַל “ga'al” one who redeems. This is where we get, Kinsman Redeemer. The closest relative of a family had the right and responsibility to rescue family members from poverty, slavery, and their enemies. While we might be most familiar with its use in Ruth (22 times), this term has everything to do with the Exodus. This is Exodus language, in which the Lord promises to redeem His people from the Egyptians with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.

Here, God is redeeming His people through a New Exodus.

GIFT OF REPENTANCE

Verse 4-5. (Read verses 4-5)

Now, the words, “In those days,” is almost always a pointer to the Messianic age to come. One thing that clues us into this is the idea of the everlasting covenant. This is nothing less than the New Covenant expressly stated in chapter 31. 

The covenant promise here, as Calvin recognizes, can be nothing other than Christ’s spiritual kingdom. Hence, the words, “In those days and in that time,” which is a version of “the latter days.”

Now, notice what’s taking place here in verses 4 and 5. This is nothing less than repentance. 

True repentance will display itself in seeking the Lord God through weeping and tears. Consider the Tax Collector in Luke’s gospel. 

He stood far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” 

We don’t earn forgiveness with our tears and contrition. But those who truly receive forgiveness will indeed know the tears and contrition of sinning against such a good and gracious God who loved us so much, He spared not His own Son to redeem us.

Here, their tears flow, not from worldly sorrow, but godly sorrow. But repentance is more than tears and contrition. Repentance is also a turning away from Babylon and turning to the Lord, seeking Zion.

You see, exile, in part, was giving the people over to themselves. They sought to live and worship like the nations, like Babylon, so they were given over to slavery in Babylon. True repentance is turning away from Babylon and all it exalts and worships. 

It is possible to weep over sin’s bondage without sorrow for our rebellion against God and without fleeing the idols of Babylon. But that sort of sorrow is not repentance. That’s worldly sorrow. 

In verse 5, the people are said to bind themselves to God in everlasting the covenant. Repentance returns and binds oneself to God in covenant. 

But remember. The issue was that Israel rejected and forfeited the covenant. As such, most were cut-off from the covenant. The problem with the Old Covenant was its insufficiency to deal with our greatest problem: sin. God’s people need a covenant we can’t break. In fact, this is why verse 34’s Strong Redeemer matters immensely. 

We desperately need the Lord Himself to redeem us in such a way that this covenant doesn’t depend on us. Because if it depends on us, it’s really difficult to see how this could be an everlasting covenant. 

We need an everlasting covenant in which both sides of the covenant are upheld by the One who is Everlasting, which is exactly what Jesus accomplished, why he became truly man. The God-man upheld the covenant. And in our union with Him, our upholding of the covenant is found in Him, and in Him alone.

This covenant will require nothing less than a STRONG REDEEMER … a strong redeemer who will protect us from being led astray by bad shepherds. 

Verse 6. My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to mountain they have gone. They have forgotten their fold.

Verse 7. And all who found them have devoured them.

All we like sheep had gone astray. That was us. Yes, we are responsible for our own wanderings. But it’s also important to recognize that we didn’t wander on our own. We followed bad shepherds. Just like Eve listened to the deceptive voice of the Serpent. 

Listen. Who you and I listen to matters. There are a lot of voices out there, that want to lead you to this or that mountain, to worship on this or that hill. Make this the thing you pursue, the thing you cherish, the thing you desire, the thing you can’t do without, the thing you worship. 

You want that kind of body and physique. Come to this mountain. You … o you want status. Follow me to this mountain. You want comfort. You want income. You want sex. You want escape. You want to be entertained. You want a little bit of everything. We have just the mountain for you. 

O the promises the world’s shepherds make. And how few realize, their goal is not to be your friend. Their goal is to devour you. That’s what all idolatry leads to. Idols want, and they take, and they demand just a little more, until you are consumed by them. Maybe you wouldn’t classify your idols as an addiction. I get it. 

Listen. (Romans 6:16) whatever you offer to yourselves to as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey … either of sin which leads to death, or of righteousness that leads to life.

2 Peter 2:19. These shepherds promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption.

The idols of the nations and those who promote such ARE NOT YOUR FRIEND. They are out to devour you. They care nothing for you, but only what they can get from you. And they’ll consume you if you continue to hang with them. Flee Babylon! Stop flirting with Babylon and flee, taking no part in her sins.

But our STRONG REDEEMER is also our GOOD SHEPHERD. 

Verse 19. I will restore Israel to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and in Bashan, and his desire will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead. 

Our good shepherd leads us to verdant pastures in which our desires will be satisfied. We don’t have time to go deeper here, though I would like to. Let me summarize like this: when you repent and return to the Lord, seeking Him with tears (verse 4), binding yourself to His covenant (verse 5) you will find the desire of your soul, for you will find Him. 

Christ is not just the Good Shepherd, He’s also our sweet pasture on whom we feed. O taste and see that the Lord is good.

Verse 20. In those days, and in that time, (again, the messianic age), iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.

I want us to notice the connection between seeking and finding the Lord (in verse 4) and sin being sought and not found (here in verse 20). Even with a diligent search, their sin won’t be found. Why? Because the Lord will pardon. 

Now, listen. None deserve pardon. Pardon is never owed. It is a gift of grace. That’s what makes it so incredible. But when grace becomes expected, when pardon is demanded and the lack of such attacked, then we have a confused and distorted view of grace. And there’s no longer anything amazing about it. 

Our society has come to expect grace for criminals as if it’s owed to them by the state. And those who demand justice are treated as criminals. But the state’s responsibility is to carry out justice. The state doesn’t have the authority to extend grace unless the wrong was committed against the state. 

Only the individual wronged, the one who was sinned against, has the ability to truly pardon. 

When we get this wrong, then the word’s Amazing Grace fall flat. Babylon doesn’t know this grace. The world doesn’t know this grace. And unless we are honest about what grace is and isn’t, they’ll never know. 

Now, what’s amazing is that the whole book of Jeremiah, not to mention the rest of the prophets, and the whole of Scripture for that matter, is packed with the guilt of Israel. You want to find Israel’s guilt. Look here! And yet, we’re told, for those pardoned, looking for their guilt would be a vain search.

The same is true for all those in Christ. You want to see humanities sins enumerated. Open this Book! The Bible holds nothing back. But in this same Book, for those who trust Christ as their Strong Redeemer, their mighty sin bearer, it can truly be said, a diligent search was made, but our sin was nowhere to be found. All that remains of our sin is a shadow … an empty cross to which it was once nailed and forever dealt with. 

Nations and adversaries will seek to attack and accuse. And it’s true. We were guilty. 

But back to verse 34. Our guilty verdict fell on Christ, who now sits, work of atonement finished, at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf. Who shall bring any charges against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died — more than that, who was raised — who is at the right hand of God interceding for us.

Or as Chase read from Micah 7:
Rejoice not over me, o my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.
I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment — not against but — for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication. 

Our Lord can plead our case for us, because our sin was ultimately against Him, and He has pardoned us by paying the guilty verdict with His own blood in our place. 

By such, He redeemed us. setting us free from slavery in Babylon. In our poverty, we were powerless to help ourselves. But our Redeemer is strong. And He has silenced the enemy.

O we haven’t enjoyed the fullness of this just yet, but it’s coming. And when it comes, the whole creation will finally enjoy its Sabbath Rest.

In this world, we are weak. Our adversaries are much stronger than we are. And they are violent and ruthless. 

But we can serve our Lord — in Babylon — without fear, because we know our Redeemer is strong. He will bring perfect and comprehensive justice to Babylon. But He will also — though we are guilty ourselves — plead our cause … in Christ.

CONCLUSION:

Let’s wrap this up.

As believers, we currently dwell in Babylon. And our duration here in Babylon, is a mere 70 years, a lifetime, however long that may be for each of us.

And yet, we are called to flee this city of destruction and return to Zion. We can only do this by recognizing that Babylon and Zion are not so much physical destinations as they are spiritual. 

To truly love Zion, we must, in a very real sense, hate Babylon and all it stands for.  We will only flee Babylon and return to Zion when we are fully convinced that Babylon has no future. 

You see, the citizens of Zion come out of the citizens of Babylon. We, at one time, had bought into the lie of Babylon and sought to make this our forever home. 

You know how the hammer of Babylon that crushed the nations was ultimately crushed. It was crushed on the cross. Jesus is God’s agent of judgment. But instead of coming to condemn the nations, he came to be crushed in place of the nations. Whereas Babylon inspired terror and would herself be made a horror among the nations, Jesus restores the fear of the Lord by becoming horror on the cross. That was my sin up there. See how horrific it was! That was your sin nailed … bleeding … gasping for breath!

But now, in Christ, it’s nowhere to be found. Just a shadow of where it once hung. Now an empty cross.

https://youtu.be/vjswyjw-8ik

   Damascus,  Kedar, Elam: Unsettled, Unsecured, Unseated (Jeremiah 49:23-39)

INTRODUCTION:

Last 3 oracles before Babylon, that of Damascus, Kedar, and Elam.

Lesser known nations, cities, regions.

We’ll approach these last 3 oracles, seeking to understand

1) Their biblical background and why they’re included, particularly their relationship to God’s elect.

2) Their idolatry: specifically what they’ve placed their hope and trust in

3) The judgment pronounced again them

4) The warning and application they have for us

We begin with the most well known of these final three groups, that of Damascus. 

STAND

(Read 23-27)

DAMASCUS:

Damascus chiefly refers to the kingdom of Syria. It’s long been a major city in Syria, or your Bible might regularly use the term Aram. (That likely helps avoid the mix up between Syria and Assyria. But then we likely run the mix up between the Arameans, the people of Syria, and that of Arminians who aren’t associated with any geographical region.) I believe the term Aram is more helpful, and I’ll discuss why in a minute. 

Along with Damascus we have the cities of Hamath and Arpad, also of the kingdom of Syria. Now these people weren’t always united. You can read about that in 2 Samuel 8 in the days of King David.

But after Solomon’s straying from the Lord, the Lord raised up adversaries against Solomon. One such adversary was that of Rezon, who loathed Israel and reigned over Syria. Syria or Aram remained a hostile force against Israel and Judah until the Lord used Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, as a hired razor against them in the days of King Ahaz where we find the famous Isaiah text on Immanuel.

Despite their being shaved, that was not the end of the Syria. It merely served to subdue them for a time. Hence, the oracle here in Jeremiah. 

More than one commentator has stated that the Arameans, or Syrians, did not affect Judah directly. So, it makes it difficult to account for the inclusion of an oracle in Jeremiah directed to a people who did not greatly concern Judah. But that is to overlook Judah and Israel’s past. If you read the account of Israel’s kings, you will see that the Arameans had long been a hostile neighbor to God’s elect.

Like all of these nations we have been looking at, the Lord is raising up the Chaldeans as His hammer of justice / judgment against them. And the dominant reason for this particular selection of nations is due to their hostility against the people of God.

Now, we could dig deeper and claim that the judgment is due to their idolatry, and that is also true. But each of these nations are singled out because each one has a past soiled with conflict against God’s elect. Certainly, their idolatry stood behind such conflicts. But I’m convinced we’re expected to recall these past conflicts as one of the grounds for their judgment. 

Now, that doesn’t diminish their hostility toward God. Rather, their hostility toward God, naturally overflows into hostility towards God’s people. 

Still, as has been the case with each preceding nation, God’s judgment homes in on these nations’ idolatry displayed in different ways. Sometimes the judgment oracles mention specific gods the people worshiped. Other times, the oracles aim at the very thing the nations have placed their trust in, which is every bit as much an idol as any statue of wood, stone, or metal. 

Because wherever you place your hope or your trust, that my friend is an idol, because an idol is anything and everything that takes its place before or beside the one true and living God. That’s the first commandment. Whether the affections of the heart, one’s greatest treasure, one’s provision or sustenance, or even one’s security. Anything you or I set up in place of God is an idol. 

EXPLANATION:

Let’s try to understand what’s going on in the passage. Verse 23, Hamath and Arpad have heard bad news, and they are unsettled by this news, so much so that fear seizes them, they are troubled like a sea that cannot be stilled or quieted. 

The world’s largest cruise ship, the Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas, made it’s debut last Sunday. This behemoth has 20 decks and eight neighborhoods with seven pools. And it accommodates 5,000 passengers. I hope everyone likes their neighbors!

Regardless of how big the boat is, beneath that boat, the sea is always moving. No sea is truly still. Perhaps if you’re on a giant luxury cruise ship, you might not notice the waves all that much. But when you walk off that big boat, you’ll notice the difference once you step foot on still quiet solid earth. 

Verse 24. We’re told that Damascus, turned to flee but are paralyzed by the news; panic seized her; anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her as of a woman in labor.

Which helps us understand verse 25. How is the famous city not forsaken? The idea here is that the people clung to the city. Despite their being unsettled by the bad news, even turning to flee, in their fear, they refused to escape from the city of destruction. Despite the warnings, people still cling to what is most precious to them. In this case, it was the city of praise, which the prophet even refers to as the city of my joy. 

That may sound like a strange word from the prophet regarding the city. But remember, God finds no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Just as the Lord Himself wailed over Moab in chapter 48, here Damascus is called a city of my joy. 

Verse 26, Therefore, her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed. And the Lord Himself will kindle a fire in the famed wall of Damascus, devouring the strongholds of Ben-Hadad.

ARAM:
Now, the ESV uses the term Syria throughout Scripture. The Hebrew term is actually Aram or אֲרָם. Why do I take time to bring this up? Because Aram comes from the word,  אַרְמוֹן Armon, which is in our text. It’s used here in verse 27. It’s the word, strongholds, or your translation might read, fortresses, citadels, or fortified towers. 

The people of Aram trusted in their Armons, their strongholds. Similarly, Hamath comes from the word walls,  חוֹמָה, homah. They were famed for their walled cities. No surprise, Hamath trusted in their homah, their walls.

The judgment the Lord is bringing on the people of Aram is against, not just their deities, but those things that stood right at the center of what they trusted in, their famed fortifications. 

UNSETTLED:

A couple applications for us:

First, the Arameans were unsettled by the bad news of coming judgment. The problem in our current cultural climate is that most aren’t all that unsettled by the bad news of God’s coming judgment. Perhaps, part of the reason for that is because the world doesn’t actually hear the bad news, at least not in any serious sense in which the coming judgment is imminent. 

What’s more, how much of our Christian witness in the way we live our lives truly conveys we believe God’s judgment is coming? Our lives often look very much like the rest of the world—eat, drink, and be merry! Stop enduring life and start enjoying it! Life is better in flip flops! 

But until our neighbors, our families, our communities, the nations are unsettled by the bad news, they won’t truly embrace the good news we have to share. 

Loved ones, the gospel must include the unsettling news of warning before we can proclaim the good news of peace. There is no good news except that which pierces the bad news. That’s what makes the news good! But the gospel today has been relegated to a mere addition to an already content future. 

Much of the world, like Damascus, has long been settled and at ease in its relationship before God.

We might recall the Ninevites when Jonah came preaching, Forty days and Ninevah will be overthrown! The king of Ninevah was so unsettled, he arose from his throne, removed his royal robe, covered himself in sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 

But we see no such repentance from Damascus. They’re unsettled. But in their unsettling they retreat to those futile things in which they had placed their hope ­— their walled citadels.

It was the very walls the people placed their strong hope in, that the apostle Paul showed his weakness of humility. If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness… At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands. 

Where the people sought refuge in their strong city, Paul sought his refuge outside of the stronghold, in the arms of the One who went outside the city to stretch out His mighty arms on the cross.

Being unsettled by the coming judgment is only the first step. The question is where you’ll take up refuge after being unsettled. 

In fear and trembling, the Arameans fled to their strong towers, which were nothing more than the fabrications of man. Don’t find your refuge with them. Instead, find your refuge in Christ. Psalm 18:10. The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe. 

Find your refuge in Him, and you’ll no longer be unsettled like the sea, but instead, you’ll find yourself at peace on a sea of glass, alongside the rest of the saints — a sea as still as dry ground, stilled by the One whom the wind and waves obey.

That’s the portrait in Revelation 15 which Matt read. And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sand the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:

Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.

KEDAR:

Where Damascus, Hamath, and Arpad trusted in their famed walls, we now move to a nation without walls, but instead dwelt in tents—Kedar. 

(Read 28-33)

Kedar, we find from Genesis 25, is the second born son of Ishmael, the firstborn son of Abraham through Hagar.

No specific crime is laid out concerning the people of Kedar. But that’s to forget Kedar’s ancestry and what the Lord Himself says concerning Ishmael. Genesis 16:12. He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.

It's important to recognize that most of the Bible’s narrative is compressed. We’re not given every detail of every event. We’re given the theologically significant highlights of history. But we can accept that when the Lord prophesies that Ishmael’s descendants will dwell in hostility towards his kinsmen, then that was likely the case with the Kedarenes.

The people of Kedar appear to have lived a nomadic lifestyle. We can glean that from other portions of Scripture such as Isaiah and Ezekiel. But there’s also enough information in our text here in Jeremiah for us to see that was the case. Verse 29, speaks of Kedar’s tents. Verse 31 further speaks of a nation that dwells without gates or bars and dwells alone. 

Similar to the patriarchs, the people of Kedar appear to have been shepherds who moved from place to place with the flocks. 

What about Hazor? (Verse 28.) Hazor is the word for village or courtyard. Rightly named, Hazor was a nation of mobile villages, which is why it’s been difficult for Bible scholars to pinpoint its exact location. But perhaps that’s part of the point. 

Certainly, those in Jeremiah’s day would have known, at least the vicinity. But now, there’s hardly a trace. 

The judgment upon Kedar and Hazor is that their tents and their flocks shall become plunder, and the people themselves will be scattered (verse 32.) The irony is that they already lived a scattered lifestyle. And yet, their camp would become desolate, a haunt for jackals, where no man shall sojourn or dwell.

Judgment will come upon both the famed Damascus and those of little account like Kedar and Hazor. Judgment penetrates the big cities with their fortified walls and strongholds. But judgment also penetrates desert places and peoples. 

But you know what? So does the gospel! The gospel penetrates strongholds as well as the most remote deserts.

The word Kedar comes from the word blackened or darkened. 

In Isaiah 60, we’re given a picture of the coming kingdom. Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you. And nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Do you know who is mentioned in this passage? Kedar! All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you. Now, I’m convinced this refers to more than just flocks of physical lambs that baa baa, because verse 2 makes clear that nations shall come to your light.

How fitting that light comes to Kedar, the very ones whose name means darkness. That was us!

UNSECURED:

Where the security of Damascus was in its walls, security of the Kedarenes was in their nomadic carefree lifestyle. Not every fortification requires gates, at least not physical gates. Sometimes, we’re just that sure or ourselves. Other times, we think we really have nothing to lose. You see, it’s possible to believe one has reached rock bottom. I think of the so-called homeless population throughout our country. They are certainly homeless by our standards. But in a sense, many of them are living nomadic lifestyles as many throughout history have done. 

There’s a type of security sometimes found in not having any major possessions — no house to lose, no address that can be taken from me. I simply live day to day, wherever the wind might take me. I know many of us can’t relate. But listen, there are many who can. And I believe that’s part of the reason why these nomads are recorded here. 

God will bring all to account. Whether your home is enclosed by bricks or curtains, one isn’t more righteous than another. What matters is how one lives faithfully before the face of God. 

(Matthew 25.) Jesus tells a parable about a man going on a journey, and he called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one. When he called each one to account, they weren’t judged based on how much they started with, but on whether they were faithful stewards of what they had been given. 

When the servant who only receive one talent came forward, he had nothing to show but his master’s talent which he did nothing of value with. The servant sought to excuse himself. Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours. But how did the master respond? He took the talent from the servant and gave it to the one who already had ten.

The point wasn’t about how much any of them had! The master didn’t look on the poor more favorably or the wealthy more favorably. He looked upon their faithfulness. And here’s how Jesus wraps up the parable. For to everyone who has, has what? I think what’s implied is FAITH, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And that poor servant was cast into outer darkness. 

It's possible for one to believe he’s reached the point he has nothing left to lose. That’s not faith! Not even close. Because God has given you more than physical possessions to steward. 

Judgment answers the mindset that I have nothing left to lose. Any loss one may have had throughout their supposedly vain life, is nothing compared to the loss they will face at judgment.

Listen loved ones, you can be somewhere or nowhere, with and address or without, no one is insulated — or in this illustration — isolated from God’s judgment. 

But neither is anyone so isolated that the good news of the gospel can’t reach them. O someone needs to carry the news to them. But no one is too far from God’s electing grace. It reached you, didn’t it?

Whether walled cities and gated communities, or desert lands and homeless camps, judgment is coming to all. Even the nothing one possesses will be plundered. Everyone needs the same unsettling before they are truly uprooted and unsettled. Everyone needs to be unsettled so that they might settle themselves on the Solid Rock of Christ. 

For those who build their houses on Christ, meaning building your life on Christ, it won’t matter if your home is walled with brick, or if it’s curtains flapping through the storm. Why? Because this is only the place of your sojourn. Your true home is the New Jerusalem. 

Psalm 147, which Samuel read. Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! For he strengthens the bars of your gates … He makes peace within your borders.

After giving the incredible measurements and makeup of the walls and gates, Revelation 21 records how the nations will bring their glory in and the gates will never be shut. And yet nothing unclean will ever enter.

Now what security are those magnificent walls if the gates are never shut? Because our security isn’t found in the structure. 

The only gate or door that ultimately matters is the gate of Christ. You know the wise and foolish virgins. The wise came prepared with oil for their lamps, but the foolish came unprepared. At the end of the age, those unprepared found themselves shut outside, with the door closed and barred. But the same was true for those who were prepared. They were shut in, secured within the wedding hall to, so that they might forever feast with the Bridegroom. (Matthew 25.)

The kingdom of heaven requires no physical bars. Why? Because a great chasm has been placed between everything unclean, those who placed their trust in walls or isolation, and those who placed their trust in Christ. Jesus’ being nailed to the crossbar in our place is the only security we need.

ELAM:

Last nation. Elam. (Read 34-38.)

Where Damascus and Kedar were at least somewhat close to Israel and Judah, Elam is a bit more remote. Elam is somewhat associated with Persia, whether there is an exact one for one correlation or various degrees of overlap throughout history. The capital of Elam was that of Susa (Daniel 8:2) which we also know as the capital of Persia.

Like the people of Kedar, many commentators bring up the concern as to why judgment is pronounced against this people who have no recorded direct encounter with Israel or Judah. Calvin himself raises this point. He hesitates to classify Elam with the Persians because they “were remote from the Jews and the Jews never received any injury from that people. There was therefore no reason why the Prophet should denounce punishment upon them.”

But I think what even Calvin is missing is that of early history of the Elamites. 

We first come across Elam in Genesis 10, as the first of the sons of Shem. Elam comes up again in the account of Abram’s rescue of Lot, when Chedorlaomer, king of Edom, allied himself with three other kings and defeated the opposing army of five kings, which included the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. If you recall, Lot was dwelling where? Lot had moved his tent as far as Sodom. 

Well, during this battle, Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, including Abram’s nephew, Lot. 

When Abram hears about it, he took his 318 trained men, who were born in his house, and pursued them, defeated Chedorlaomer, and brought back all the possessions, including Lot.

What’s the point I’m trying to make? It matters not when the transgression against God’s chosen has taken place — whether after Israel and Judah had become a nation — or in Esau’s case, before they were a people, and it was just two brothers — or in Elam’s case and the descendants of Abram were still in his loins. 

God does not have a short memory. The time between your sin doesn’t lessen the transgression. Which is why, the day and time to repent is always today, not after some lapse of time when you think the severity or memory of your sin has somehow diminished.

The first pronouncement against Elam is that of breaking Elam’s bow, the mainstay(or source) of their might. The Elamites were obviously well known for their archery. We read that in other places as well. Their trust wasn’t in walled cities, but neither was their trust in isolation. Their trust was in their military power. We best take care not to think our security rests in the War Department of the United States. If God can slay a sword wielding giant with a boy and a sling, he can just as easily bring down the most powerful superpower in history with the smallest of nations with the least artillery. 

Some trust in chariots, some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. I hope that’s where your trust lies. 

Elam may have trusted in their bow and how far they could scatter their arrows, but the Lord would scatter them like the wind, to the point that there would be no nation in which those driven out of Elam shall not come.

The Lord will remove their king and officials and set His throne in Elam.

Now, we must take care how we understand these words. It’s always important for us to consider how we do hermeneutics. Verse 38. I will set my throne in Elam. Is that literal? Well, it depends on what one means by literal. 

Throne is a literary device — a metonymy for God’s reign. But the picture isn’t that of a physical chair. I bring this up because the same idea is used regarding the throne of David being reestablished in Jerusalem. That is fulfilled in Christ’s reign over all the earth, which includes Jerusalem and Elam. 

God is said to erect His throne when He reigns, or more precisely, when He manifests His reign, and in particularly, when He executes His righteous judgment among the nations. In one sense, God’s throne is figuratively set up in Elam, when he pronounces and executes judgment over Elam. But it is also true that God Himself is setting up His throne over all the nations. 

UNSEATED:

Elam sought to maintain its kingdom, retain its throne, through military might. But they are about to be unseated. 

How often we seek to maintain our own puny kingdoms, retain our own puny thrones? But recall the king of Ninevah. Upon being unsettled by the bad news, forty days and Ninevah is overthrown, he got up from his throne and removed his royal robe. There’s a sense in which the king of Ninevah recognized that there was a King over him, and that any throne he might sit upon, answers to a higher throne. 

Listen loved ones. It’s better that you and I are unseated now, that we climb down off our thrones now, and recognize that there’s another to whom the throne rightly belongs. Otherwise, we will be unseated on the day of judgment. 

RESTORATION:

Verse 39. But in the latter days, I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the Lord.

I haven’t made a big deal concerning the translation of this phrase the last few times it has come up. I covered it several times when we looked at the New Covenant in chapters 30-33. But it’s time to refresh our memories. The phrase, I will restore the fortunes is, I don’t believe, a good translation. The most literal reading would be I will turn back their captivity. Yes, that carries a sense of restoration. But the point is judgment has sent these nations into exile and captivity. 

The promise here is that the Elamites would not be captives forever. This is the same promise given to Israel and Judah, and many of the other nations. Not simply, I will restore their fortunes. 

For one, the restoration of their previous fortunes is a downgrade from what the promise actually entails. What none of us ultimately need is a restoration of any fortunes we’ve possessed here. What everyone needs is the turning back of their captivity.

The nations have long lived as captives to sin and idolatry. Giving them into the hands of their enemies only placed them in a captivity that resembled the captivity they had long chosen to live under. The promised hope is turning back that captivity. And the timing for this promise is the latter days or the last days. When are the last days? Well, I’m convinced that the New Testament places the last days beginning with the coming of Jesus … not his second coming, but his first.

There are many places we can look in the New Testament to see this, but let’s end with Acts 2. Peter speaking at Pentecost, concerning the events that had taken place that day, says, this is exactly what the prophet Joel had spoken about, that in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pout out my Spirit on all flesh … 

Now there were at that time, dwelling in Jerusalem, Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And on that day, they heard the good news proclaimed, each in his own language, among which, in Acts 2:9, are listed the Elamites. And some three thousand souls were added to the church that day. The restoration that begins with the conversion of the Jews who were once scattered among the nations will in turn spread to those very nations from which the exiles returned.

CONCLUSION:

Damascus trusted in its fame; Kedar trusted in its remoteness and its lack of gates and bars; Elam trusted in its bow, each one to be unsettled, unsecured, and unseated.

Our God has posted His fame, not on a wall, but on a cross for all to see the incredible lengths he was willing to go to both save the nations and defend His glory.

Our God removed every door, every gate that we had erected between us and Him, those gates we have so often barred shut. And in their place, He has erected a single gate, Jesus Christ. For now, the bar on that door has been nailed wide open. But the day is coming when it will be shut forever. 

Likewise, reaching back to the promise to Noah, the Lord has turned His bow away from the nations and aimed it up at Himself instead, piercing His very own Son with the arrows of judgment we alone deserve. 

While these judgment oracles against the nations are severe, don’t think it’s because God doesn’t love the nations. He’s proven otherwise. But we have to see the judgment the nations rightly deserve in order to grasp just how wide and deep His love is. 

O that we would find ourselves unsettled by the warnings, unsecured from any worldly hope, and unseated from our pathetic thrones that we might be settled, secured, and seated in Christ.

https://youtu.be/Ajm1i8_NlOY

   Edom: The Futile Fortifications of Human Pride (Jeremiah 49:7-22)

INTRODUCTION:

READ (Jeremiah 49:7-22)

WHO ARE THE EDOMITES:

So, who are the Edomites? 

If you recall, the Moabites and Ammonites were cousins of the Israelites, and their judgment was in part due to their failure to show brotherly love to their close relatives. 

Edom shares the closest of all relationships with Israel. They are the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother. The term Edom comes from Genesis 25, which Steve read for us, when Esau sold his birthright to his younger brother for a bowl of red stew. Edom means “red.” Edom also evokes Esau’s red color when he came out of the womb. 

It’s at this point in the Bible’s narrative, that we see the origin of the Hebrew term for mankind in Genesis 1. Edom and Adam are both variations of the word “adom” which means red. The only difference is the vowel markings. Mankind was named such because God fashioned man out of the earth’s red clay.

As we consider the relationship between Edom and Adam, we are reminded of the close relationship that all of mankind shares. All of us have been fashioned out of the same red clay. All of us can trace our heritage back to Adam. We all have a relational responsibility towards one another to varying degrees. 

Whereas Edom shared the closest of all relationships with Israel, Edom was also the most hardened towards his brother. 

The rivalry between these two sibling nations began as early as the womb: Jacob grasping Esau’s heel, followed by grasping for Esau’s birthright, and finally grasping Esau’s blessing. 

It’s not that Esau’s bitterness towards Jacob was without cause. But that by no means makes it excusable either.

This sibling rivalry between Edom and Israel persisted for centuries. It’s not so much that Edom sought to gain or take what belonged to Israel. Rather, Edom despised Israel, just as Esau despised his brother, Jacob. 

The prophet Amos reminds us of the ongoing hostility between Edom and Israel. For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and cast off all pity, and his anger tore continually, and he kept his wrath forever.

Psalm 137 tells us that when Jerusalem fell to Babylon, the Edomites cheered on the Babylonians saying, “Lay it bare. Lay it bare, down to its foundations!”

Lastly, the entirety of the Book of Obadiah is chiefly a prophecy against Edom. 

What’s the charge against Edom?
Obadiah 10. Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob… because you stood aloof on the day strangers carried off his wealth. When foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. 

FUTILE FORTIFICATIONS:

While this hostility and bitterness towards Israel isn’t mentioned in Jeremiah’s prophecy against Edom, it certainly rests in the background. What is mentioned here is the settled pride that stood behind Esau’s bitterness and hostility.

We’re going to look at the different ways Edom’s pride displayed itself, and the futile ways Edom sought to fortify its pride.

WISDOM:

The first fortification listed is that of wisdom.

Verses 7-8: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Is wisdom no more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished?
Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Dedan! For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time when I visit him.

There’s a sense in which the Edomites were praised for their wisdom. You may recall one of Job’s three friends who sought to comfort Job with his “great” wisdom—Eliphaz the Temanite—or Eliphaz from Teman. Eliphaz was Esau’s firstborn. Now whether this is the same Eliphaz in Job or a later descendant, I don’t know. But at the very least, our text points us to Teman. Of course, we know Eliphaz’s counsel was not as wise as Eliphaz imagined it to be. What we can say about Job’s three friends is that they did indeed speak many wise and true sayings. Where they were misguided was in their application. 

Edom and Eliphaz both show the futility of wisdom when that wisdom stands outside of communion with the God of wisdom. If we pay attention to Eliphaz’s speeches in Job, you’ll notice that Eliphaz’s knowledge of the ways of God, as true as they might be, are very impersonal. They lack any measure of intimacy, which likely accounts for his poor advice. 

In a similar sense, Edom grew up in the same household that Jacob did. They both shared the same father and mother. They both shared in the covenant sign of circumcision. But it’s Jacob who enjoys a relationship with the Lord, not Esau.

Without letting Jacob off the hook for his misdeeds, we need to, at the very least acknowledge that for Esau to sell his birthright for a bowl of red stew was an extremely unwise act. In fact, listen to Esau’s logic. 

Genesis 25:29. Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted! Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright right now.” Now, here’s Esau’s logic in selling his birthright. Verse 32. Esau said, I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?

Now, I believe Esau spoke as we might when we say, “I’m starving to death.” I don’t think any of us read the text so literally as to think this young man was really going to die if he didn’t eat something right then.

Hebrews 12 offers us insight on the foolishness of Esau’s rash decision. See to it … that no one is unholy or godless like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. Scripture doesn’t simply call Esau’s action foolish, but godless! 

Esau lacked any communion with God. As such, all his so-called wisdom, all his intelligence and reasoning amounted to nothing more than foolishness.

Such is true of all worldly wisdom. And that goes for many in the church, and all those who have access to this book, and perhaps even know the words of this book. To know the words of God, and the works of God, only brings about wisdom when one communes with God in Christ through the Holy Spirit, seeking to live in His holy presence.

APPLICATION:

What sort of wisdom do you most often find yourself trusting in? I have several Christian friends who regularly back up their habits and practices by quoting secular psychologists and philosophers.

Now, listen. All truth is God’s truth. Yet, 1 Corinthians 1 makes clear that the wisdom of the world is futile. God will Himself destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning He will thwart. There’s but one wise place of refuge—the cross, which the world sees as folly. O to the world, all this crucified Savior stuff seems weak and foolish. But for those whose eyes have been opened, for those who know this Savior and have come to Him, not only for refuge but to commune in His presence, Jesus Christ is indeed the wisdom of God.

The Edomites proved their lack of genuine wisdom because they held bitterness and hostility towards God’s people. And to stand against God’s saints in anyway is indeed unwise. It’s equally unwise to think that the Lord of all nations won’t call such deeds to account.

Because wisdom is misused, God, in an act of judgment, removes it, to where it can rightly be questioned, “Is there no more wisdom in Teman? Has all their counsel and wisdom vanished?”

So, verse 8, Flee, O you inhabitants of Dedan, turn back, dwell in the depths!

No doubt a warning likely not to be heeded by most. Yet, perhaps there’s a bit of sarcasm in many of these verses, because this warning to flee also calls them to dwell further into their strongholds, in the depths, thus further settling in on their pride—thinking that in their wisdom—in their choice secret hiding places—they just might be safe.

SECRET HIDING PLACES:

Verses 9-11. If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings? If thieves came by night, would they not pillage only enough for themselves?
But I have stripped Esau bare; I have uncovered his hiding places, and he is not able to conceal himself. His children are destroyed, and his brothers, and his neighbors; and he is no more. 

Now we can all picture this image Jeremiah paints for us. We’re not growing grapes in our backyard. But we do have quite a few tomato plants, among other things. When we harvest the tomatoes, we don’t seek to pick them all. We pick the ones that are ripe for harvesting. Some aren’t ready yet. Others, well, the birds and the bugs have decided to take a nibble or two out of, so we leave those on the vine. And then we have the cherry tomatoes which are much closer in size to that of grapes, and likely about as prolific. Even when we try to pick all the ripe ones, we’re going to miss quite a few, simply because there are so many.

And what about the thieves. We have yet to experience a thief breaking into our house, but I have had one lift some items off my work trailer while I’ve was in Home Depot. Now, I have many items that are quite easy to grab off my work truck and trailer. But most of them aren’t worth securing, and others are just too heavy for anyone to simply lift without drawing unnecessary attention to themselves. But this one time, I did have a couple tool boxes with about $1200 dollars’ worth of parts, that the average person would have absolutely no use for. But the thief didn’t take time to inspect what it was he was taking. He simply grabbed what he could quickly, leaving many items behind.

When the Lord sends the Babylonians upon Esau, they will leave nothing to glean. They will plunder even that which is concealed. For it is the Lord Himself who strips Esau bare. No fig leaves or grape leaves will be sufficient to hide behind. Any hiding place will be futile. Such will be the devastation that he enumerates those who will be destroyed in the coming judgment: his children, his brothers, his neighbors, and he is no more.

Perhaps, the only measure of grace in this entire passage is that of verse 11. Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive; and let your widows trust in me. 

While perhaps a measure of grace, I’m inclined to agree with Calvin, that this certainly isn’t intended as a comfort for the Edomites, rather just the opposite. Should there be any survivors at all, you will have none to care for them other than me, your enemy.

APPLICATION:
What secret hiding place do you find yourself most often trusting in? Some hide behind their wealth, some behind their poverty. Some hide within the crowd.  Some try to live out of view hoping they won’t be noticed. There’s no place outside of God’s view—not in the city, not in the desert. 

There’s no place where sin can hide. The only safe place is to bring it into the light before the Lord of Light so that it can be judged NOW!!! Let it be nailed to the cross now! If you confess your sins, he is faithful and just to forgive you your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. But that’s not true for any of those things you think you might conceal from the all-knowing omnipresent God.

When the day of judgment comes, when the Lord of all nations comes to bring his recompense upon the whole earth… 

The Lord Jesus will indeed come as a thief to plunder the earth, but He won’t do so because He’s in some kind of need. He will uncover every nook and cranny, rolling up the sky like a scroll, removing the mountains and hills from their foundations. There will be no place to hide. And He will pick the earth clean.

When Jesus comes in judgment, he won’t be gathering grapes because He’s hungry. He’ll harvest the earth because it’s fully ripe for judgment. He’s allowed time for the grapes of sin to ferment. But the time is coming when the sins of the Amorites and the Edomites and all the nations of the earth will be completely filled up. And when the Lord Jesus comes to harvest the earth, he won’t leave gleanings. All who deserve judgment will be gathered into the winepress of the wrath of God. 

MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE:

And there will be no miscarriage of justice. The Judge of all the earth won’t fail to come to a just conclusion. Everyone without exception will be called to account. No one gets a pass from drinking from God’s cup.

Verse 12. For thus says the Lord: “If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, will you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink. 

The failure to carry out justice consistently across the board is quite common among any government or polity. We need look no further than our own. Some crimes are charged while others aren’t. Two people commit the same crime but receive two different sentences. Sometimes one person gets off with the warning while another doesn’t. 

But God doesn’t govern as the world governs. God may be patient with all. But justice will most certainly be meted out in fullest measure. 

The point here is that it’s unreasonable to think that the saints would be dealt with more severely than strangers to the covenant who had entirely cast aside the yoke. God’s people are being disciplined in just measure because they have failed to keep the covenant. But the nations had spurned God for ages! (Acts 17.)

In one sense, these verses are to keep God’s faithful from total despondency in thinking they have been utterly rejected, by assuring them of God’s consistency in judgment, that the nations, such as Edom, would by no means receive a milder judgment. 

The judgment oracles against nations like Edom are, at least in part, intended to serve as a consolation to the faithful. 

I remember, as a newer believer, hearing more than one pastor say that there’s but one time in all of Scripture that God makes a declaration so certain that He swore by Himself, and that’s Genesis 22 and God’s promise to Abraham, when he did not withhold from God his only son Isaac.

Genesis 22:16. By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven…

This is why it’s important that we are always striving to be good Bereans and seeing if what someone says is not only actually in the text, but accords with the whole of God’s Word. Proof texts are not enough. 

Obviously, those who promote Genesis 22 as the only place God swears by His name, have no clue that Jeremiah 49:13 is in the Bible. 

Verse 13. For I have sworn by myself (exact same Hebrew wording as in Genesis 22), declares the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.

Hebrews 6, referring to God’s promise to Abraham, tells us that the reason God swears by himself is because God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise, the unchangeable character of his purpose. As such he swore by an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement and hold fast to the hope set before us, having this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.

Now, if our salvation and refuge in Christ is placed on such a sure and steadfast foundation that God swore by himself, what do you suppose the surety of God’s judgment is for those who reject Christ. God has sworn by Himself to both uphold His promises and His justice. The world should tremble at such a thought.

APPLICATION:

Here's the thing. There’s really only one person who legitimately did not deserve to drink the cup, and that is Christ himself, the only truly sinless man to walk the earth. But rather than letting the cup pass over him, Jesus prayed, Father, not my will but yours be done, and he drained the cup of God’s wrath to the dregs. 

Because of how much the prosperity gospel and charismatic movement has bled over into so much of the church, even the most faithful believers and congregations think that because they are in Christ, they get a pass on suffering. But such is far from what the New Testament teaches. Rather, in Christ, we don’t escape suffering. We escape condemnation.

God’s wrath, our judgment has been dealt with on the cross. We still drink from cup of Christ’s sufferings, but instead of it being filled with the wrath of God, Jesus himself has emptied it. Instead, we suffer the reproach and condemnation of the world. 

Think of it this way. In our union with Christ, we are called to suffer with Him. But what does that suffering look like?
Everyone will either, in Christ, willing suffer the wrath of the world now during this age, or instead, face the infinitely greater wrath of God that is to come.

If God be so severe in His justice concerning sin that He did not spare His own Son from suffering the wrath our sin deserved, what will become of the wicked, those nations and people who reject the grace of God? They shall by no means be exempted from the cup but shall most certainly drink.

Verse 14. I have heard a message from the Lord, and an envoy has been sent among the nations: “Gather yourselves together and come against her, and rise up for battle!”

The Lord has the power to perform whatever He proclaims by His servant. He can rouse, draw, arm, and lead to war any He so chooses. And He can do so by a single word. Here, He is summoning the Babylonians against Edom.

For now, the cup coming on the Edomites and the rest of the nations is that of the army of the Chaldeans. But they are but a shadow of the cup yet to come. 

SELF-EXALTATION:

Last futile fortification, that of self-exaltation.

Edom is very much a parable of the irony of human pride. Hence the lexical ties between Edom and Adam. Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of stew and thus despised his birthright. Rather than repenting, he despised it!

Now, while Jacob and Esau were set apart even before birth, that never negates the fact that Esau contributed to his own curse. The Lord did indeed bless Jacob and Israel despite themselves. That’s grace!

But Esau, like the rest of humanity, is never cursed undeservingly. There’s only one person who was cursed undeservingly, and that’s Jesus Christ, who willingly took the curse the rest of us deserve. 

Esau, upon the death of his father, Isaac, moved out of the promised land of Canaan to a land (Genesis 36:6-8 tells us was) “away from the face” of his brother Jacob. With Esau’s birthright sold, and Isaac’s blessing going to Jacob, there wasn’t much left for Esau in Canaan, or so in his pride he must have thought. So, there’s likely some shame and bitterness that leads Esau to move away from the presence of his brother and settle in Mount Seir. 

In this move, we need to recognize both the providence of God, as well as Esau’s own doing. There’s that balance of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. Verse 15 focuses on the former.

Verse 15. For behold, I have made you. (The ESV reads, “I will make you” but it’s the perfect tense.) I have made you small among the nations, despised among mankind. 

This was not just something God was going to do in the future. Such had long taken place. Which is what makes verse 16 so amazing. Despite Esau’s smallness, he still managed to exalt himself in his own eyes.

Verse 16. The horror you inspired has deceived you, and the pride of your heart, you who live in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill. Though you make your nests as high as the eagle’s, I will bring you down from there declares the Lord.

Mount Seir was a far cry from the abundance of the promised land. It was a rough and rugged land. It certainly wasn’t anything to boast in. 

Calvin describes Edom’s pride as that of one from among the lowest of ranks yet exalting himself above the most noble. “What have you Idumeans, that you are so proud? What do you possess? What is your glory? For God has humbled you!”

Verse 16 is loaded with imagery that well portrays the proud human heart—hardness, dwelling in the clefts of the rocks—lofty, holding to the height of the hill—exalted, nesting as high as the eagles. And as the proud often do, they sought to inspire terror in others. 

But what makes this passage so fitting regarding Esau and Edom is the word Jeremiah has chosen for “pride.”
The pride of your heart. The word pride here in verse 16 is the noun form of the verb used to describe the very stew for which Esau sold his birthright. 

It first shows up in Genesis 25:29, where Jacob was cooking stew. It’s literally the word “to boil.” But it’s most often used to describe human pride. 

What at first begins in a pot and is brought to a rolling boil becomes an image for the human heart’s arrogance and self-confidence that boils up and overflows.

When Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of boiled stew, he arrogantly proclaimed, ”What good is my birthright!”

He decided that he knew better than God’s natural design and order of things. So, from then on, Esau despised his birthright and harbored bitterness toward Jacob, which is nothing other than an expression of pride. All bitterness is pride!

APPLICATION:

“So, what if I forfeited or spoiled some of God’s good gift because I wasn’t patient enough to wait, or because I wanted to eat from the tree that was off limits. You know, I’m not so sure it was such a good gift anyway!”

Isn’t that how we often behave over such losses. It seethes within. And rather than repenting, we simply express frustration, and perhaps even tears. That’s how Hebrews 12 describes Esau’s response. He sold his birthright for a single meal. Afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no opportunity to repent, even though he sought it with tears.

There’s no guarantee you’ll have the opportunity to repent tomorrow. Perhaps you’re here and there’s something you’ve been holding unto, some bitterness or regret that you refuse to let go of. You have hardened your own cold fortress for it in the rocky crags, high up out of anyone’s reach. Listen, if that’s you, don’t allow your pride to deceive and enslave you. So long as you seek to barricade any part of your life, whether it’s something you’re dealing with now, or something from the past, you’re not all that different from the Edomites. 

Perhaps it’s not your nearest relative like Jacob to Esau. But there are those, like Esau, you cheer on disaster for. 

Jesus makes clear, if you refuse to forgive, then neither are you forgiven. The future for the Edomites, verses 17-18, would be that of horror. Those who pass by will be horrified. Just as when God brought judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah, when the Lord over throws Edom, no son of man shall sojourn in her.

[Everyone’s reaction as they passed by the cross and saw the horror our sin deserves…]

THE LION AND THE SHEPHERD:

Final point. The Lion and the Shepherd. 

Verse 19.  Behold, like a lion coming up from the thickets of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly rush against Edom. And who is the chosen one I will appoint to this?. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me? Verse 20. Therefore, hear the plan that the LORD has made against Edom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of Teman: Even the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away. Surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate.

In one sense, the lion coming up from the Jordan is that of the Chaldeans. They are the one’s bringing God’s immediate judgment upon Edom. 

The Edomites thought themselves unassailable. In their pride they thought themselves safe from judgment. But God’s chosen one will rush upon them without warning and drag even the least of the flock away. 

The Edomites are described in this picture as sheep (v. 20). Whether by a Lion who rushes upon the sheep and drags them away, or a shepherd who rules over the sheep, all will answer to Him.

For who is like me? What shepherd can stand before me?

Now, these phrases may sound somewhat obvious and trite, where we might think, certainly even the most hardened sinners acknowledge this, the truth is mankind’s pride is so great, even though the whole world knows this to be true, most of the world refuses to concede to God that which justly belongs to Him. How do we know that? Because when the promise of salvation is offered or the warning of judgment is declared, most are barely if at all moved.

When judgment comes, verse 21, at the sound of their fall the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard as far as the Red Sea. All the earth will tremble and know the fear of the Lord on that day, when Jesus comes in His glory. Tremble now, that you might be saved.

One last metaphor, verse 22. Behold, one shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart of a woman in her birth pains.

Here, God’s agent of judgment is described as an eagle, that will swoop down and spread His Wings over them. It's a portrait of extending his dominion over Edom, indeed, all the earth.

The birth pains are coming. The whole creation has been groaning in the pains of childbirth until now, awaiting the time when God deals decisively with the pride of man. And when He does, it will be prideful man who endures such pains.

CONCLUSION:

With the possible exception of verse 11, we’re not really given much hope of restoration for that of Edom. Rather, just the opposite. We’re given hope concerning Egypt, the Philistines, Moab, the Ammonites, and later on the Elamites. But there’s not any explicit word of hope mentioned concerning the Edomites and the sons of Esau. 

Each of these nations were enemies of God. Edom was no more an enemy of God than the rest of the nations. All of the nations we have covered deserved the same judgment. Yet, some receive a promise of hope. Some do not. 

As we read in Malachi and Romans, Jacob I loved but Esau I hated. It’s not that Jacob was intrinsically more righteous than Esau. They were set apart before birth. But both were sinners. Both deserved God’s condemnation. One was set apart for a special measure of mercy, and one was not.

When we consider Jesus at his crucifixion. The two thieves crucified on either side of him, both were getting what they deserved. Both hurled insults at God, even while He hung on the cross between them paying for the sins of the world. But only one received the grace of conviction that moved him to repentance. Only one received the promise of restoration. But only one. 

To quote J. C. Ryle: One was saved, that none might despair; yet only one, that none might presume.

God’s judgment upon Edom is a reminder for us not to presume on the riches and kindness of God…

Jesus is the Lion who lays his life down as a lamb. But he is also the shepherd who not only leads and cares for his sheep. He rules the nations with an iron rod.

Do not presume on his kindness. Let go of any pride that keeps you from falling on the mercies of Christ.
Stop fortifying those walls and let love in …

https://youtu.be/SeW9Uylhx6c

   Jeremiah 49:1-6 Ammon: Sons and Heirs 

INTRODUCTION:

We need to remind ourselves of a few themes that are taking place in all these judgment oracles. 

1) Of course, God is the Lord of all nations, hence our series title. And being the Lord of all nations, God will bring every nation to justice. Every nation will ultimately give an account to Him.

2) But another theme is that of vindication for God’s people. God has made glorious promises to His people. And those promises hold true regardless of the actions and intentions of the nations that may seem to or seek to disrupt those promises, whether intentionally or unintentionally. So, God’s pronounced judgment upon those who seek to thwart His plan is a reminder that God has not forgotten His promises. The nations will give an account, not just to God in a general sense, but for their actions and dispositions towards God’s people.

3) Finally, God’s plan of redemption includes these very nations upon whom God’s judgment falls. God is both the Judge of all nations, as well as the Savior of all nations.

This morning, the particular nation we’re looking at is the Ammonites. But as we consider each nation, it’s a reminder that all the peoples of the earth bear some resemblance to these nations. As such, each of these judgment oracles apply in various ways to all nations at all times throughout history. Let’s not think that because here in 21st century U.S.A. we don’t bow down before statues of stone or offer up sacrifices before these statues of stone that our nation is all that different from the Ammonites. Because as I hope to demonstrate, we are very much in the same boat, under the same judgment as these nations. And thus, we are in need of the same grace and mercy.

READ: Jeremiah 49:1-6

I. WHO ARE THE AMMONITES:

Ammonites are distant cousins of the Jews. They stem from Lot’s younger daughter. Like Moab, the Ammonites origin arose from Lot’s daughters getting their father drunk and then lying with him.

Genesis 19:36-38. Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi. He is the father of the sons of Ammonites to this day.

Moab means “from father.” In a similar sense, the father of the Ammonites, Ben-Ammi, his name means “son of my people.” Where most offspring are a result of two families coming together, Ammon comes solely from a single immediate family, a single people. In fact, the ESV does a bit of disservice in rendering the term Ammonites because they are most often referred to as the sons of Ammon as a reminder of their familial heritage. (105 out of 123 times according to my counting.)

This relationship to Lot is important, as it makes the Ammonites relatives of Abraham and his offspring. (Next week, we’ll look at the closest of all the relatives to Israel, that of Esau.)

But like many families, the offspring of Abraham and the offspring of Lot had their own feuds. If you recall from last week, when Israel came out of Egypt, they had to pass through the outskirts of the land of the Moabites and Ammonites on their way to Canaan, and the Lord commanded Israel (you can read about it in Deuteronomy 2:19) not to harass or contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot for a possession. In fact, if we continued in Deuteronomy, we would read how the Lord gave the Ammonites the land for a possession by destroying the Rephaim before them, so that the sons of Ammon might dispossess them and settle in their place.

But where Israel was commanded to show kindness to the Moabites and Ammonites out of regard for Lot, neither Moab nor Ammon showed any kindness to Israel. So that we read in Deuteronomy 23, No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord, even to the tenth generation, because they did not meet you with bread or water on the way, when you came out of Egypt… You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days, forever.

The bulk of the Ammonites’ history with Israel is that of conflict. For one, God raised up the Ammonites, like He did the Philistines and the Moabites, as a discipline for His people. But in mercy, God would also raise up a deliverer for His people - not always a noble deliverer, but a deliverer nonetheless. Notable deliverers God raised up for His people are Jeptha in Judges 11, King Saul in 1 Samuel 11, and King David in 2 Samuel 10, 11, and 12.

II. DISPOSSESSED:

Perhaps the greatest conflict between the Ammonites and the people of Israel was over that of land, which is the first charge laid against the Ammonites in our passage. 

Verse 1. Thus says the Lord: “Has Israel not sons? Has he no heir? Why then has Milcom(or your translation might read, Molech) dispossessed Gad, and his people settled in its cities?

When Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, took the first wave of the Northern Kingdom into exile, which included the tribes around Galilee and the Transjordan, that is, the tribes on the Eastern side of the Jordan River, that would have included the tribe of Gad. [After Tiglath-Pileser, his son and successor Shalmaneser took the rest of the Northern Kingdom into exile.]

If you recall, Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh chose not to cross over the Jordan for their inheritance but chose to accept their inheritance on the far side of the Jordan, neighboring the Moabites, and you guessed it, the Ammonites, inviting generations of difficulty upon themselves. Well, as soon as the people were carted off into exile, it didn’t take long for the neighboring nations to move in and occupy the land. That’s what’s going on in verse 1.

While the Ammonites may not be responsible for Israel’s exile, they are certainly guilty of stepping in and taking possession of the land God had given to Israel. 

But someone might say, “finders keepers, losers weepers.”
That doesn’t work when we’re talking about that which God has given as a gift. The people may well have been removed from the land, but God’s Word still stands. Remember, we sang this for our discipleship camp. The Word of the Lord stands forever. 

Has Israel no sons? No heirs? Yes, Israel has sons and heirs. They are in timeout in exile right now because of disobedience. But their time of discipline won’t continue forever. God’s promise still stands. And this applies to all the land. God’s Word to give the land to His people has not been repealed. 

Now a word of caution in how we are to understand this, because many tie the land promises to a literal plot of dirt and no further. And they apply the heirs of these promises explicitly to ethnic descendants. 

I would argue that is a misreading of what Scripture teaches throughout both testaments. But we’ll have to return to this at bullet point 5, when we look at just who the true heirs truly are. 

For now, the land was to be passed down in perpetuity to the sons, the offspring of Israel, because the God of all nations has given it them. To seek to take what God has given to another is to invite judgment on oneself. Which is exactly what the Ammonites had done. 

Hence, verse 2. Therefore, behold, the days are coming declares the Lord, when I will cause the battle cry to be heard against Rabbah of the Ammonites; it shall become a desolate mound, and its villages shall be burned with fire; then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him, declares the Lord.

God’s people will one day reclaim the land in full and dispossess every nation and people who had sought to take what God had generously given to another. 

III. RIVAL KINGS:

Verse 3. “Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste! Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth, lament, and run to and fro among the hedges! For Milcom shall go into exile with his priests and officials.

Let’s get technical for a minute. Your translation, for both verse 1 and verse 3, either has the word Milcom, Malcam, Molech, or, if you have King James Version,“their king.” 

Milcom or Molech was the name of the god of the Ammonites. That’s who they worshipped. Both of these versions of the god of the Ammonites come from the Hebrew term MeLeK מֶלֶךְ, which means king. Now, we can hear this fairly clearly between the terms Molech and Melek. They both sound the same with the exception of the vows. The name Molech simply means one who reigns.

But what’s with this word Milcom or better Malcam. Well, without trying to go into a lot of details of how the Hebrew language works … just as we have suffixes and prefixes in the English language, so does Greek and Hebrew and most languages. But with Hebrew, their suffixes are most often that of pronouns. So, Milcom literally means “their king.” 

In fact, we read the exact same spelling of this word in regard to that of King David, in Jeremiah 30:9 (which I believe is one of the verses Sherif would have brought up to you in class either last week or the week before regarding Jesus as the David who is to come). But they shall serve David, their king, whom I will raise up for them. 

We have the same thing in Hosea 3:5 concerning the future restoration of God’s people. In fact, let me read verses 4 and 5 of Hosea chapter 3, speaking of Israel’s exile. For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. Afterward, the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, (and here it is) and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to His goodness in the latter days. 

The word we have here in Jeremiah 49, verses 1 and 3, is the exact same word as used for David, their king. The word literally means, their king. 

Now why does this matter. Well, most likely what we have going on here is a dual meaning. In one sense, in verse 1, it was their king, the king of the Ammonites who led the Ammonites to take possession of the land that belonged to Gad, when Gad went into exile. 

But it is also true that it’s the people who worship the deity Molech who sought to claim land not their own. And they did so because of the who and what they worshiped. Which is why our text plainly reads, Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad, and his people settled in its cities?

[SUMMARIZE – Jephthah or Nahash?]

The Ammonites, like all the nations of the world, were serving a counterfeit god as their king. As such, they held no regard for the one true God or His people. They showed no gratitude for God’s kindness in giving Lot an inheritance. Their idolatry left them always longing for more. That was their king.

And to serve this king came at the highest of costs to the individual, his family, his community, indeed the world. You see, the deity, Molech was very much associated with child sacrifice, where those who worshiped Molech would literally pass their sons and daughters through fire. 

And sadly, even the people of Israel and Judah picked up this practice as they sought to be like the nations around them. You can read about it in Jeremiah 32:35. They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

Ben Hinnom is the Hebrew equivalent of the term Jesus uses for hell­—Gehenna. When people serve counterfeit gods and counterfeit kings, they are sacrificing the children, their families, their communities to the fires of hell. 

Don’t believe for a moment that you and I are somehow immune to this—that this doesn’t apply to us. Our idols might not be fashioned out of stone. But whatever is king in your life, that is very much your god, whether materialism, your health, cultural approval, personal autonomy, and so on. And millions upon millions of people every day are laying their children on the altar of some counterfeit god they believe will grant them the happiness and fulfillment they lack. 

And don’t think that many who fill pews aren’t doing this very thing. Listen, people of God had often been tempted to be like and worship like the nations. That’s how Israel’s idolatry is often defined. In short, we call that covetousness.

Zephaniah 1:5 hits hard this syncretism of those who think they can serve more than one king, two masters, rival gods. Those who bow down on the roofs to the host of the heavens, those who bow down and swear to the Lord, and yet swear by Milcom.

Jesus makes very clear that no one can serve two masters. for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. In Matthew 6:24 he uses the idol of wealth as an example. But it’s true across the board. 

It might be material possession, or it might be physical health. I’ve spoken to a man recently, a professing believer, and he claims that the biggest issue the world is facing is that of physical health. “Forget about the whole trans issue or illegal immigration,” he said. That’s no big deal. We need to eat a biblical diet, you know, like the one in Leviticus. 

Our conversation ended pretty abruptly when I replied, “I’m pretty sure that the Bible says our biggest issue is sin, not our physical health.” 

Listen, if your health is your god, then the God of the Bible isn’t. If your income, your occupation, your lifestyle is your lord, then Jesus Christ isn’t. It’s that plain and simple. 

Now, let me make clear. The Lord of all nations has no true rivals. 

Isaiah 45. I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; … from the rising of the sun to its setting, there is none besides me… I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord who does all these things… There is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior.

Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return; “To me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear allegiance.”

Do you know whom the New Testament ascribes this passage to? Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, ascribes this entire passage, and I would argue this entire section of Isaiah, to Jesus Christ. There is no god besides Him. There is no other Savior. At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear allegiance. 

And yet, for a time, Acts 17, (I have to keep bringing it up as we discuss the nations), God has allowed the nations to go their own way. But now He commands all people everywhere to repent. To repent of what? Their counterfeit gods, their counterfeit kings, their counterfeit saviors.

For those of you who do any sort of landscaping around your house, we have those plants and flowers that we call annuals. We have to keep planting them every year. But we also like to plant what we call perennials. You plant them once, and they’ll grow and sprout each year. Sure, they die out at the end of their season, but give them time, and they sprout right back up again next season.

Molech embodies the perennial, the persistent recurring temptation humanity has to enthrone rival kings alongside or in place of the True King. And the cost of enthroning such rival kings invites hell upon, not just ourselves, but for everyone in our sphere of influence.

What and who we worship and serve matters. And how we worship matters. Remember, that was Israel’s sin. They wanted to be like and worship like the nations. And how often the church seeks to do the same. We look out at the world, how the world tends to worship, and we say, hey, this might attract the world into our churches. Well, the warning is to do such things is to sacrifice our sons and daughters to the same fires of hell the world sacrifices their sons and daughters to. 

IV. BOASTING IN WAGON TRACKS:

Moving on. The Lord addresses Ammon’s greed in seeking to dispossess the sons of Israel. He addresses their idolatry, their king, Milcom, shall go into exile along with those who worship him. Now, the Lord addresses Ammon’s pride. 

Verse 4. Why do you boast of your valleys, O faithless daughter, who trusted in her treasures, saying, “Who will come against me?” 

Whether mountain heights in the clefts o the rocks on the highest of hills, such as the nation of Edom, which we will look at next week, or situated in the lowest valleys, humanity’s problem remains the same: pride. Pride is not tied to one’s physical heights. We’ll gladly boast in our own little ant hill, so long as we can find just one other person who’s ant hill is just a bit lower than ours. 

In fact, we’ll even boast that our own pathetic life is worthy of greater lament than our neighbors. One-upmanship shows up everywhere! “You think you have it bad … well, I’ll tell you!”

What’s ironic here is that the Ammonites were boasting in the Lord’s wagon tracks. I love the way the ESV portrays Psalm 65 which Silas read for us. 

(Psalm 65:9-11) You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.

The word the ESV translates wagon tracks carries this idea of a clearly marked path worn smooth by a cart or a wagon regularly drawn over it. It captures the immensity of God, that the valleys of the earth are nothing more than where the wheels of God’s wagon had passed over.

You’ve driven your car or truck through the mud before. You know the ruts it leaves behind. Well, that may be a valley to an ant, but it’s so insignificant compared to valleys that are miles wide, with hills and mountains hedging it in that are 100s if not 1000s of feet high. That’s what we’re talking about here. It doesn’t take much rain to flood a tire rut. But when God waters His wagon tracks, they overflow with an abundance.

The Ammonites didn’t carve out the valleys. They certainly weren’t the ones who caused the valleys to flow with abundance. All of this was an overflow of the Lord’s common grace to humanity. 

And yet, how often we boast in the rich provisions God has so graciously given us but fail to boast in the God who carved out the valleys and waters them.

Perhaps the wagon tracks you boast in doesn’t come from some harvest in your backyard. Maybe you go out and work and bring home an income that purchases the daily sustenance you and your family needs. Remember, it’s the Lord who grants the power and ability you have to get wealth. (That’s Deuteronomy 8:18.) One of the reasons the Lord fed Israel for 40 years in the wilderness was to remind them that He was their every provision and sustenance. Yes, it’s good that you go out and work, or stay home and work. The location isn’t the issue. But any provisions we receive or accumulate, we aren’t the ultimate providers. 

Ammon boasted in their provisions, and (the second half of verse 4) they boasted in their treasures, or better, her treasuries or storehouses, saying “who will come against me?” The idea here is that Ammon not only had regular provisions coming in, they had enough provisions stored up that they could buy off her enemies. But all their provision would provide absolutely no security when the Lord’s judgment came.

Verse 5. Behold, I will bring terror upon you, declares the Lord God of hoses, from all who are around you, and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him, with none to gather the fugitives. 

Listen, whatever abundance it is that you might trust in, God can dry up in an instance. You have a good income; it could be gone tomorrow. I don’t care if you’re Elon Musk. The United States feels it rests secure because of the abundance it enjoys in those great fertile plains between the Rockies and the Appalachians. Listen. Those fertile plains are nothing more than God’s wagon tracks—God’s kind and gracious provision. And the Lord who provides us with such abundance can dry all of it up in a season if He so chooses. Don’t boast in wagon tracks.

Far more importantly, our abundance and our savings, will provide absolutely no security when God’s judgment comes. 

Jesus tells the parable of the rich man who built bigger barns and thought himself secure in life to where he could relax, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him (Luke 12:20), “You fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”

Well, I’ll tell you whose they’ll be. All the wealth of the nations, all the abundance that so much of the world, like the Ammonites, have boasted in, the overflowing storehouses and wagon tracks that so many have placed their trust in, all of it will go to the true heirs. 

V. TRUE HEIRS:

Who are the true heirs of verse 1? I’d argue that they are the true sons of verse 1. Well, thanks Josh, that’s truly helpful.

New Testament takes pains. Seeds planted throughout the Old.
The people of God are not ultimately defined ethnically.

Exodus­—a mixed multitude yoked themselves.
(Didn’t finish chapter 12, but the same law applies to both the native and the sojourner.)

First. Does Israel have no sons? Israel has long awaited the coming Son. The coming heir. The whole of Scripture has awaited the coming offspring ever since Genesis 3:15. Abraham has awaited the coming offspring, the promised Son. Isaac anticipated the coming Son. Jacob, and David, they’ve all awaited to coming heir. 

Who’s the heir? Hebrews 1. Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things.

Jesus came as the long-awaited heir. 

Parable of the Tenants. (Perhaps the most significant of all Jesus’ parables.) The vineyard owner sends his son. What do the tenants say? This is the heir. Come let us kill him and have his inheritance. In other words, these tenants are no different than the Ammonites who sought to dispossess Israel. Well, guess who the tenants of Jesus’s parable are? Israel. (Isaiah 5 and Song of Songs.) Jesus is speaking the parable against the religious leaders of Israel, against the Jews.

And we could trace out dozen upon dozens of texts that demonstrate Jesus to be True Israel, the long-awaited Son, the heir of all the promises of Scripture. 

But here’s the beauty. The promises don’t end with Jesus. They flow through Jesus to all who are united to Him as their Savior and Lord, or in light of our passage, King.

Those in Christ, are sealed with and filled with the Spirit of Christ, and are rightfully called sons and heirs along with Christ.

Romans 8:14-17. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, (and here it is, verse 17), and if children, heirs—heirs of God and fellow hears with Christ, provided that we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

But here’s the thing. Only the saints, regardless of their ethnicity, will inherit the kingdom of God. The unrighteous, 1 Corinthians 6:9, will not inherit the kingdom. But just what is the kingdom. Well among other things, it is the new creation, where we will dwell and reign with the King. 

But Scripture is quite clear, this inheritance won’t go to the proud. It won’t go to those who boast in their valleys or their treasures or any of the Lord’s gracious provisions as if they somehow had a hand in acquiring and attaining such. Jesus says, Blessed are the meek, not the proud, for the meek, they shall inherit the earth. 

Not a plot of dirt located on this or that side of the Jordan river, but the entire creation that flows with the delights of the River of Life, Jesus Himself, who brings healing to the nations.

And this includes the Ammonites. Last verse. Verse 6.
But afterward, I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the Lord. 

This word of redemption concerning the Ammonites is the exact same promise of redemption God has offered to the Moabites and later in this chapter to the Elamites, and in other places to Egypt and the Philistines, and others. But most importantly, this is the exact same promise God gives to Israel and Judah in the Book of Jeremiah. In fact, this promise of redemption with this same wording “I will restore your fortunes,” is given 9 times to God’s chosen people from chapter 29-33.

God’s plan is and always has been to redeem the nations, including the Ammonites. But this redemption doesn’t include every individual ethnic descendant of Ammon, no more than it included every ethnic descendant of Israel. 

Like the Moabites, the Ammonites will fall of the pages of Scripture—not even mentioned in the NT. In fact the last mention is from Justyn Martyr in the 2nd-century.

VI. COST OF REDEMPTION:

So, what does this restoration of the Ammonites look like? Well, the same as it did for the Moabites … and the same as it did for the Israelites and the Jews. Their restoration, regardless of ethnicity, is found in and only in the True Israel, who is Christ, and their being united to Him in faith. 

Back up to verse 2. Rabbah shall become a heap of rubble. Rabbah means great (by the way). 

The Day is coming when all Rabbah’s of the world, all the cities great and small, shall become a heap and consumed by fire. And the earth and all its domains, its kingdom, and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven (Daniel 7:27) shall be handed over to the people of the saints of the Most High. 

His Kingdom, speaking of King Jesus, who is the Most High, shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

Who are the saints of the Most High. All those who yoke themselves to Christ as their True King.

All rival kings will be crushed. No more Molechs. No more sacrificing sons and daughters to the fires of hell to satisfy our idols. 

God will allow all of creation to see the horror and abhorrence of this practice by sending His own Son and allowing the peoples of the earth to, in a sense, sacrifice His Son to their idols: their desire for power, for autonomy, indeed, their desire to dispossess the true heir, seeking to take what rightfully belongs to Him.

And it’s through that sacrifice, Jesus being given over to the fires of hell, as it were, that the Ammonites and the nations can be restored and enjoy this inheritance in Christ. 

There’s hope for Ammon. There’s hope for the people of Lebanon and Tennessee and Egypt and wherever you’re from. But that hope is found in only one place… the True Heir, the True Son, who, on the cross, endured hell in our place.

[Nahash (serpent) – king of the Ammonites (1 Sam 11)

In Christ, God has made us heirs of eternal life, and no one can cause us to be dispossessed of our inheritance! Not even the king of the Ammonites—the prince of this fallen world—Nahash.]

PRAY

https://youtu.be/k-KvCRD3_xQ

   Jeremiah 48:1-47 – Concerning Moab: War, Wages, Wine, Weeping, and a Word of Hope

Introduction:

Moab seems to have taken pride of place in these war oracles against the nations here in Jeremiah’s finale, with the exception of Babylon, who is the Lord’s chosen agent of destruction upon these nations, who will serve as the grand finale to these judgment oracles. 

Moab is given even more real estate than Egypt. And just so you know, this is not a section in Jeremiah where you want first place.

I use “pride of place” deliberately, because, as we will see, the sin Moab will be judged for is that of pride. 

Due to the size of this chapter, we won’t look at every verse in any kind of detail. Instead, we’re going to look at some of the major themes found throughout this chapter (bulletin): War, Wages, Wine, Weeping, and end with a Word of Hope. 

In these 47 verses, there are over 2 dozen unique place names associated with Moab for her destruction, and most of these are not the easiest to pronounce. So, if you feel, after I stumble through them, that you could have done better, let me know. I have an assignment for you next Sunday!

READ: Jeremiah 48

I. Who are the Moabites?

Who are the Moabites? Like the Philistines, it’s important for us to understand just who the Moabites are before we seek to engage our text. Otherwise, this foreign text will be even more foreign, and we won’t be able to do any justice to understanding what the Lord intends for us to grasp.

First and most significantly, the Moabites are close relatives of Israel. They are the offspring of Abraham’s nephew, Lot. As a kindness to Abraham, the Lord spared Lot when He overthrew Sodom. Lot lived outside of the small city of Zoar, in the hills, afraid to live near any civilization after what he just witnessed with Sodom. So, his firstborn daughter concocted a plan to make their father drunk and lie with him in order to preserve offspring for their father. 

Moab means from father. (The younger sister followed suit, and we’ll look at the Ammonites next week.)

The next significant time we come across the Moabites is in Numbers 22-24 after Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. When it finally came time for Israel to enter the promised land, they camped in the plains of Moab along the way. Balak, king of Moab, hires Balaam (you know Balaam, he’s the one the donkey speaks to) to pronounce a curse on Israel, that he might be able to defeat the mighty horde. For I know, says Balak, that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed. But Balaam is unable to curse the people whom God has blessed. 

Now, we find out after the fact, in Deuteronomy, that Israel was commanded on the front end not to harass Moab or contend with them. For,the Lord said, I will not give you any of their land because I have given it to the people of Lot for a possession.

And yet, despite the kindness and mercy shown to Moab, the people of Moab meet the Israelites with unkindness. So, we’re told in Deuteronomy 23 that no Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord, even to the tenth generation, because they did not meet you with bread and water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired Balaam to curse you.

Later, Moab will prove a stumbling block even for wise King Solomon, who yokes himself to many foreign women.

1 Kings 11:7-8. Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab … and so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrifices to their gods.

II. War:

This is a background of who the Moabites are. Now for our text. To summarize, the King of all nations is bringing His war to Moab - or upon Moab.

Verse 1. Concerning Moab: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:

" Woe to Nebo, for it is ladd waste! Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken; the fortress is put to shame and broken down; the renown of Moak is no more.

Madmen, (the name of a place-not a lunatic, although magnifying oneself against the Lord and against His people is certainly an insane venture), shall be brought to silence; the sword shall pursue you.

Verses 3 and 4 continue with destruction. In verse 7, even their god Chemosh shall be taken into exile along with his priests and officials. Verse 8. The destroyer shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape; the valley shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the Lord has spoken.

Are you beginning to get the point? When the King of the nations enlists an army, the success of that army is certain. Scripture even spurs on this army (v. 10). Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.

The army enlisted for these judgment oracles is that of Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans.

Babylon will swoop in like a bird of prey (v. 40) that takes Moab’s cities and disheartens its defenders (v. 41). 

Verse 9. If Moab only had wings, she could fly away for refuge. Verse 6. Moab is warned to, Flee! Save yourselves. Verse 28. Leave the cites, and dwell in the rock.

But verse 44. The few who manage to flee the terror of God’s judgment shall fall into the pit, and he who manages to climb out of the pit, shall be caught in the snare. For I will bring these all these things upon Moab, the year of their punishment, declares the Lord. 

Catalog of cities

I mentioned that there are more than 2 dozen Moabite cities listed in this chapter. By naming the many cities, it shows that the whole land was doomed to ruin, that no corner of it would be exempt from the Lord’s judgment. And just to hammer that point home the comprehensive nature of this judgment, verse 24, after a long list of cities, the prophet adds: all the cities of the land of Moab far and near.

Application: Listen, we begin with WAR and God’s judgment brought upon the land, because this warning isn’t just a warning for Moab; it’s a warning for all of us.
No city will be left untouched by God’s final judgment. Because He is the God of all nations, He is also the God of every city and township, even those who think they might avoid such by living off the grid. There is but one place to flee in order to save yourself … there is but one city of refuge, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our City of Refuge, just as He is also the Judge of All Nations.

III. Wages:

Why was this disaster coming upon Moab? Because it’s the WAGES of sin.

What are some of the sins of Moab? Well, every single one of them fall under the category of pride. Moab trusted in his own strength and the work of his hands, and he derided God and His people. 

Verse 7. They trusted in their works and treasures.

In the second half of verse 7, their idol, Chemosh is named.

In verse 14, they boasted in their might.

Verse 29. A slew of terms is used to describe Moab’s self-exalted status: very proud, loftiness, pride, arrogance, haughtiness of heart, insolence, his false boasts and false deeds.

Twice, verse 26 and 42, Scripture specifically state how Moab had magnified himself against the Lord.

How did Moab magnify himself against the Lord? Well, it’s not so much that the Moabites openly boasted that they were somehow equal or superior to God. But through their idolatry and their derision of God’s people, they were indeed proclaiming just that.

First, all idolatry is a means of magnifying oneself against the Lord of all the earth. How? Because the creator is always greater than the created. And Chemosh, the god of the Moabites, is a created god … a created god they chose to worship rather than worshiping the uncreated Living God who created them! 

And worshipping Chemosh came at a high price. 

In 2 Kings 3, (3:26-27), you can read about a time when Moab was at war with Israel, Judah, and Edom. 

When the king of Moab saw that the war was going against him … he took his oldest son who was to reign in his place and offered him for a burnt offering on the wall. And there came great wrath against Israel. And they withdrew from him and returned to their own land.

Moab will receive such a heavy punishment because there is nothing less intolerable than for men to take the glory due to God alone and transfer it to their own inventions, offering up the most grotesque sacrifices imaginable. We’ll look at this more closely next week.

For now, verse 13, Moab shall be made ashamed of their idol, Chemosh. In fact, verse 7, Chemosh and his priests shall go into exile. For, verse 46, the people of Chemosh shall be taken into captivity. And what can a dead god do to save them! Absolutely nothing!

The second way Moab magnified itself against the Lord, verse 27, was that he held Israel in derision, mockery, ridicule, scorn. Whenever Moab spoke of God’s people, he wagged his head.

To mock God’s people is to mock God Himself. What makes Moab’s sin so lamentable is that Moab should have shown brotherly affection for Israel, just as Israel had done for Moab. Remember, God had spared Moab when the people of Israel entered into the land of Canaan. The Israelites passed through the borders of Moab without doing them any harm, because it was God’s purpose to preserve them for a time, out of His regard for Lot.

Israel didn’t seek to take from Moab. The Lord had given Lot an inheritance in the people of Moab. Yet, Moab had never proved to show any sort of kindness to God’s chosen people … with one exception. Ruth. Ruth was a portrait of what a Moabite should have looked like. She was a portrait of what a true Israelite should be like. 

Application: Listen, the whole world holds God’s people in derision. O not all of them to your face, but if they truly believed what we believe they’d yoke themselves to us, they’d be like Ruth, and our God would be their God. Instead, to them this whole following a crucified man who’s been raised from the dead, all that is foolishness to them. 

Don’t think so? They’ll take a simple symbol such as a fish that many Christians will fix to the back of the car, and they’ll put legs on it with the word, “Darwin,” inside it.

Don’t think they don’t have a sort of love for the Bible. They love to rewrite their own narratives by borrowing from this Book, and they’ll ridicule its message. 

But the wages of such pride and scorn will be returned upon them. Verse 39. The Moabs of this world will turn their backs in shame. They will become a derision and a horror to all who are around them.

Because of Moab’s great pride, verse 18, he will be brought low to sit on the parched ground. 

IV. Wine:

Moab thought of themselves safe from God’s hand of judgment. Moab had become complacent … settled like well-aged wine.

Verse 11. Moab has been at ease from his youth and has settled on his dregs; he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into exile; so his taste remains in him, and his scent has not changed.

Because of God’s kindness to Lot, things haven’t been all that bad for the Moabites. Just as Lot’s lineage was preserved through wine (Genesis 19), here Jeremiah compares Moab, Lot’s firstborn, as undisturbed wine, left to settle upon its dregs — or its preserves. The word dregscomes from the term to keep. Moab has been long kept. Perhaps too long. 

Wine often improved by being allowed to rest upon its sediment. So long as the wine is undisturbed it retains its flavor and strength, which it would otherwise lose by being poured from one vessel to another. 

The Moabites have long enjoyed the advantage of living in their own country ever since they became a people. Though surrounded by many strong nations, Moab’s relative tranquility allowed him to grow strong and prosper. Moab, for the most part, has been left undisturbed, allowing Moab to become proud. 

Moab had very much become settled in his ways … in his sins, his luxury, his idolatry, his pride. Because Moab had not been emptied from vessel to vessel, Moab has retained his strength, his same old taste, his same old scent. 

But that time was coming to an end. Verse 12. Therefore, behold, the days are coming declares the Lord, when I shall send upon Moab pourers who will pour him, and empty his vessels and break his jars. 

The word pourers and pour, are both the same word. It often means to tilt, or tip, or bend over. When used of liquid it carries the idea of lowering the top of a vessel in order to empty it. 

Well, verse 18, the glory of Moab—his lofty pride—is about to be lowered. The prideful boasts of Moab will be brought low, and Moab will be emptied into exile and shattered. Moab had been drunk on his pride, verse 26, now the Lord would make him drunk. 

Application: Why are we doing these chapters? They’re in the Bible, first of all. And they have a message we better listen to. 

See, I had two very different conversations this week with two men who are in their 70s. One explained to me how he and his wife stopped going to church decades ago, sometime in their early 20s. But about 4 years ago, they had a few friends pass within months of each other. He said, he couldn’t shake the idea that it could have been him. He said it was a wake up call he desperately needed. 

He and his wife were just going about their lives, settled into whatever their routine was, whatever worldview was guiding them, and the Lord took their vessel, and emptied out that settled worldview that sat undisturbed for decades. Listen, that was an act of God’s grace!

Another fellow mentioned how he and his wife attended the same church for decades. How they both sang in the choir for years. And later in life they sang from the pews. But one Sunday, he and his wife looked at each other, and neither one was singing. So, you know what they did, they skipped the following Sunday, which became 2 weeks, then 3 weeks, and he hasn’t been back since. 

Occasionally, they’d watch some TV preacher, and here’s his conclusion. There are two messages. One is that of God’s judgment and the need to be saved. The other is enjoying your best life now, in which he named Joel Osteen. He said he can’t do the first message. He’s turned off by the idea of judgment. And the second message is unnecessary. If I’m supposed to be living my best life now, why would I waste it listening to Osteen or spending time in church.

He lost his wife 4 years ago. It hasn’t all been roses. But for the most part, looking at his lifestyle, his comforts, listening to him share his story, he’s pretty much well-aged wine. He’s settled. And unless something comes along to lower him, he’ll continue in his settled pride that passes judgment on God’s message.

Listen, complacency can happen both in and outside the church. You can sing the songs and go through the so-called motions of worship. But until you are emptied of you and your idols, your future is as bleak as the Moabites. And here’s the scariest part of all. God might just chose to give you up to your settled ways. That’s Romans 1.

Are you a Moabite?

How do you know if you’re like the Moabites? Well, let me ask, has your life been transformed by God’s message, the message of the gospel. When you read God’s Word, when God’s Word is taught, is it changing you? Or do you still hold the same old views you’ve held for decades? Because you are either striving to be conformed to the image of Christ, or you’re just old wine, settled in your ways. And with each passing year, you just become more settled, and your pride becomes stronger. There’s no true change of taste; no fresh aroma of Christ in your life. 

You see, the world is full of Moabites. Things haven’t been all that bad for them. O there have been setbacks here and there, but nothing to really stir them up, nothing that has lowered them, tilted them over and poured them out to where there was nothing left to fall back on, leaving them empty and desperate. 

They’ve never experienced that sort of emptying. Their lives are full of pursuits and distractions, but no wake up call to rouse them from their drunken slumber from being settled on their dregs.

If that’s you, my prayer for you isn’t additional comfort. At least not while you’re in such a state. My prayer for you is that God would bring you to the end of yourself, that He would empty you so you have nothing to fall back on but Him. Why? So that you would cry out to Him for mercy, so that He might fill you with New Wine.

Moab is a portrait of those who have never seen their own emptiness, and their desperate need for the grace of God, their need to be emptied of sin and self-righteousness.

New Vessels

Not only is there a need for new wine, but new vessels. That’s why Samuel read from Luke 5 for us. 

Israel was no different than the Moabites. Israel’s religious leaders had become settled in their man-made traditions. The new wine Jesus was bringing couldn’t be poured into their traditions. New wine must go into new wine skins, otherwise the new wine will bursts the wineskins, spilling the wine and destroying the skins. 

The problem was that those who had settled on the old wine had grown accustomed to the old and had no taste for the new. The new wine Jesus brings can’t simply be poured into our old vessels. We can’t simply be poured out and refilled. Our old vessels must be broken and made new. That’s what the Spirit does. He makes us a new vessel that we might contain the fresh new wine of the New Covenant.

Jeremiah has taken us from warfare to wine, from an infantry invading the land to intoxication brought upon the people of Moab, from pursued to poured out, from inebriated to emptied. 

V. Weeping:

This wine imagery is scattered throughout this chapter. But this wine is also mixed with tears … but not just any tears, the tears of the Lord Himself … the Lord’s weeping over Moab.

Verses 31-33. Therefore I wail for Moab; I cry out for all Moab; for the men of Kir-hareseth I mourn. More than for Jazer I weep for you, O vine of Sibmah! Your branches passed over the sea, reached to the Sea of Jazer; on your summer fruits and your grapes the destroyer has fallen. Gladness and joy have been taken away from the fruitful land of Moab; I have made the wine cease from the winepresses; no one treads them with shouts of joy; the shouting is not the shout of joy.

The Lord is the One who emptied Moab and broke Moab, bringing about this utter destruction of Moab. But the Lord is also the one who plays the flute of mourning at Moab’s funeral. 

Verse 36. Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for Kir-hareseth. 

Who weeps over the destruction of their enemies? God does. The Lord agonizes over the lost. 

The Lord of all nations weeps over the very nations He judges. I take no pleasure, declares the Lord, in the death of the wicked.

In Matthew 23, at the end of Jesus’ ministry, he pronounces woes upon the religious leaders. But he also weeps over Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!

Jesus’ Agonizing Prayer

Consider the agony with which Jesus prayed in the garden. Luke records that an angel strengthened him so he could continue agonizing in such prayer, which he did to such a degree that his sweat was like large drops of blood. 

Matthew records how Jesus fell on his face and prayed.

Now here's the thing. We know the prayer that Jesus agonized over. My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. 

What was Jesus agonizing over? The high cost it would take to 1) glorifying his Father, and 2) to save those he was about to die for. 

Jesus is pouring out his soul in agonizing prayer because of the immeasurable cost it will take to save some... to save you ... to save me... to save the Moabites... and even the nations. Jesus is praying that he will finish the work and not be deterred. Why? Because he cares about the souls of the lost- He weeps not only our Lazarus, not only over Jerusalem, but over the nations, and that included Moab.

And the Father answers every prayer of His son. 

VI. Word of Hope:

Which takes us to our last point, a Word of Hope. Last verse. Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the latter days, declares the Lord. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.

Even before a word was on physical lips of Jesus agonizing in prayer - the Father knew-and that is why He can restore Moab-verse 47. In fact, we see the fruit of the Sons' prayer both before and after the cross. 

Don't discount the story of Ruth. For the most part, after exile, Moab falls off the pages of Scripture. So, how is verse 47 fulfilled. It’s fulfilled the same way all of Scripture is fulfilled; it’s fulfilled in Christ.

The law clearly stated that no Moabite was ever to enter the assembly of God's people. And when you read the story of Ruth, Naomi’s family, like the rest of Israel during the time of the Judges, was doing what was right in their own eyes. They had left the promised land. Her sons had taken foreign wives, and particularly from nations that were specifically forbidden.

And yet, there’s grace! Ruth, the Moabite is redeemed and even becomes a part of Jesus’ own lineage. 

But all this salvation in the past came about because the Son of God wept in a Garden and then got up and went and finished the work. Ruth, at least in part, is the answer to the eternal Son’s prayer.

All of Moab's restoration, and the same is true for any of these nations, including Israel, and all of us Gentiles, is found in our Union with Christ, and only in our union with Christ. If you are looking to understand what prophecy fulfillment looks like … that’s your answer. Any other suggested fulfillment is nothing more than a mere shadow of the true. As Paul says, All the promises of God find their yes and Amen in Christ-and only in Christ.

Hanged in the Sun before the Lord

The Moabs of this world had long led God’s people astray. 

I mentioned how Balak hired Balaam to curse the Israelites, but the Lord turned Balaam’s curse into a blessing. 

Balaam’s failure to curse Israel, however, wasn’t the end of his attempts to make Israel stumble. Immediately after his failure to curse, (in Numbers 25), Balaam devises a plan for the Moabite women to seduce the Israelites. They invited them to the sacrificial festival of their god and the indulgent and licentious worship associated with it. 

In fact, maybe we should read the first few verses of Numbers 25:1-5. 

While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. And the Lord said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the Lord, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.”

The Lord’s anger, due to Moab’s idolatry, Israel’s idolatry, and even our idolatry—all the ways we have enticed others or have been enticed ourselves—is turned away from us only because our chief Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, was hung in the sun on the cross before the Lord to suffer our rightful penalty in our place.

MEASURE OF GRACE

From Balak and Balaam to Solomon’s foreign wives, the Moabites have led Israel to corrupt practices and grievous sin through the worship of their idols, namely Chemosh. 

Do you see why it is absolutely necessary for God to judge the nations, such as Moab?

And just to be clear, the U.S. has its own idols, promoting sin and rebellion against the Almighty.

God allows the nations to mock Him for a time. But that day is soon coming to an end. For now, God is allowing the nations to store up wrath for themselves. And the day is fast approaching when that wrath will be poured out undiluted in fullest measure … which makes any measure of grace absolutely astounding.

The winepress of God’s wrath will be horrific. You can read about it in Revelation 14. Here, Moab is just a portrait of the judgment yet to come upon the whole earth.

The Lord of all nations not only rightfully judges the nations, He is the only deity who is able and willing to restore the nations. Dead gods not only have no power to save, they have no affection to do so either. 

You see, dead gods—lifeless idols—don’t weep.

They feel nothing for the people who make them. They care nothing about their people’s destruction. They care nothing about whether their people will be restored. They don’t even care about their own honor. They feel and know absolutely nothing, displaying not only the futility of idolatry, but the ridiculous bonds with which we enslave ourselves in our worship of such things.  

The Measurement of Grace

In 2 Samuel 8, after the giving of the Davidic Covenant, we read of David’s victories, one of which was over the Moabites.

2 Samuel 8:2. And David defeated Moab and he measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. Two lines he measured to be put to death, and one full line to be spared. And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.

In mercy, King David spared some, some of the Moabites who were at war with him. In the same way, the Son of David, the Lord of all nations, spares some of us who were at war with Him.

[Can you imagine those Moabites who were spared going around boasting, "Well I CHOSE to lie down on the ground in this exact spot so that the king's measuring line would place me among the ones to be spared." How often do we tend to treat our salvation in a similar fashion, as if there was something particularly special about me or something I did that set me apart from those who failed to receive the same mercy.]

We were on the same battlefield opposing the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. We deserve death, not mercy.

And yet God, out of an overflow of His own divine compassion, has chosen to measure off some to be spared, who would receive a special salvific measure of His grace so that they might be His CHOSEN servants who would in turn bring tribute for such amazing grace.

There was nothing in those who were spared that set them apart from those put to death other than the King's own mercy and desire to spare them. David’s sparing of some, should have humbled Moab, but it had no such affect.

Loved ones, may we be humbled by this amazing measure of grace—being marked off by Christ’s measuring line of mercy that He stretched out with His own two hands on the cross.

https://youtu.be/EI6u5ZyY9OY