Jeremiah - Lesson 29

• Chapters 1-24 Review:

  • The LORD called Jeremiah as a prophet to the nations during the last five kings of Judah.

  • The LORD’s warning to His people is to stop worshipping false gods or He will judge them by destruction and exile using a nation from the North, Babylon.

    • The judgment will include the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem.

    • The people are to repent from their evil ways; the leaders are specifically called out for their rejection of the LORD’s covenant and the shedding of innocent blood; the false prophets are called out for misleading the people to believe the LORD would not bring judgment on them.

  • Jeremiah is reviled by the leaders and the people of Judah, but the LORD will protect him.

  • The LORD promises there will not be a complete destruction of His people, as He will provide a Messiah and will bring His people back into the Promised Land in a future time, never to be removed.

    • The words of the LORD are always fulfilled as He is sovereign over His creation.

• Chapter 24 The good figs, the Jews, go into exile and in the future they represent Jews, their descendants, who will be brought back to the land and come to know the Messiah. The bad figs, the Jews who refused to leave, rebel and die in Judah and everywhere they try to hide. 

• Chapter 25 The LORD speaks to Jeremiah in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar; the first siege takes place on Jerusalem. The seventy-year exile is prophesied. The nations the LORD used to bring judgment of His people will also be judged.

• Chapter 26 The LORD speaks at the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, warning Judah to repent or suffer the same fate as Shiloh, because of the hypocrisy of the people. The priest and prophets seek to have Jeremiah put to death.

• Chapters 27 & 28 Jeremiah wears a yoke to demonstrate how the people should submit to Nebuchadnezzar’s rule and not rebel; this is a message to all the surrounding kingdoms through their ambassadors. Any nation who rebels will suffer punishment. All kings are to ignore all the false prophets who bring a counter message to this outcome; several false prophets are called out.

Jer. 29:1 Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
Jer. 29:2 (This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.)
Jer. 29:3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying,
Jer. 29:4 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,
Jer. 29:5 ‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce.
Jer. 29:6 ‘Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease.
Jer. 29:7 ‘Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’
Jer. 29:8 “For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream.
Jer. 29:9 ‘For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares the LORD.

• Verse 1 The words of this chapter are identified as being sent in the form of a letter.

  • The letter was from the prophet Jeremiah.

  • The letter originated in Jerusalem, to be delivered to the elders, priests, prophets and people living in exile in Babylon.

• Verse 2 The timing of the letter is after the second exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

  • The second exile is when Jehoconiah, known as Jehoiachin, was brought into exile after reigning as king of Judah for three months. 2 Kings 24:8, 11-12, 15-16.

2Kings 24:8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem;

2Kings 24:11 And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it.
2Kings 24:12 Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his captains and his officials. So the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign.

2Kings 24:15 So he led Jehoiachin away into exile to Babylon; also the king’s mother and the king’s wives and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
2Kings 24:16 All the men of valor, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all strong and fit for war, and these the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon.

• Verse 11 This takes place during a siege.

  • Verse 15-16 Describe those taken to Babylon.

• Jer. 29:3 Jeremiah’s letter is hand delivered by Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah.

2Kings 22:8 Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan who read it.

• Jer. 29:3 These men were the sons of those who had faithfully served King Josiah. Elasah is the son of a scribe and Gemariah is son of the high priest.

  • These men are sent by King Zedekiah to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar.

  • The purpose of Zedekiah sending these men to Nebuchadnezzar is not revealed.

  • Jeremiah used their trip to Babylon to carry this letter to the exiles in Babylon.

• Verse 4 The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel has a message for all the exiles He has sent to Babylon.

  • Verse 5 The exiles are to build houses and plant gardens preparing for a long stay in Babylon.

  • Verse 6 They are to marry and have children, as well as seek spouses for their children with a focus on them having children; the goal is for the Jews to continue to multiply as they have always done.

    • The wives would be Jewish wives as these would have followed the law and the intent of the LORD was for His people to remain a distinctive people from other nations.

  • Verse 7 The Jews are to seek to be a blessing in the cities where the LORD has planted them.

    • They are to pray for that city.

    • This has been practiced throughout the Jewish exile as they pray for the rulers where they find themselves living, during their Sabbaths and annual festivals.

  • When that city thrives then the Jews living in that city will also thrive.

• Verse 8 The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, also sends a warning to the people; they are not to listen to the prophets and diviners, especially those who seek wisdom from their dreams.

  • Those who bring a message of coming back home quickly are appealing to the fleshly desire of the exiles and would be more readily accepted.

  • Many of those who brought false teaching and false prophesy to the people, while they were still in Judah, are bringing that to the exiles in Babylon.

• Verse 9 These men are all to be ignored as they have not been sent from the LORD.

  • The message these men brought while they were still in Jerusalem and Judah about how the LORD would not allow Babylon to take them captive are now changing the messages to how the exile won’t last long.

  • If what a prophet spoke to the people does not come to pass it is proven they are a false prophet and should never be listened to again.

    • Any prophecy that speaks against the purpose of the exile and the need for repentance from the people and a sabbath rest of the land is a lie.

Jer. 29:10 “For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.
Jer. 29:11 ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
Jer. 29:12 ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
Jer. 29:13 ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jer. 29:14 ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

• Verse 10 The LORD says there is a seventy year time needed to be completed for Babylon.

  • This was prophesied by Jeremiah to the people years before Jer. 25:1, 11-12.

Jer. 25:1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah…

Jer. 25:11 ‘This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
Jer. 25:12 ‘Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the LORD, ‘for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation.

• Jer. 29:10 The message from the LORD has not changed.

  • When the seventy years have been completed then the LORD will visit them.

  • The LORD says here the seventy years need to be completed for Babylon.

    • When Jeremiah gave his earlier prophecy, he clearly stated the king of Babylon and that nation will be punished for their iniquity at the end of seventy years.

  • The LORD ‘visiting them’, is when the LORD will fulfill His word to them by bringing them back to Jerusalem and Judah.

  • The LORD used the seventy years for two things as prophesied; first was to give the Promised Land the sabbath rests the people had not given it, and second was the time needed before the LORD intended to deal with the iniquity of Babylon.

• Verse 11 The LORD comforts His people by reassuring them He already knows the plans He has for them in the future.

  • His plans are not calamity but for their welfare, to give them a future and hope.

  • This future and hope have not been experienced by His people Israel yet.

• Verse 12 In this future time His people will call upon Him and come and pray to Him and He will hear them.

  • This can only happen when there has been a change of heart towards the LORD and a deeply felt humility and repentance.

  • There was confusion about when these condition would happen to the nation from the beginning. This confusion over time was misunderstood by Daniel the prophet.

  • Daniel did understand the heart the LORD was looking for.

    • This is demonstrated when Daniel prayed Dan. 9:1-6

Dan. 9:1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans —
Dan. 9:2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.
Dan. 9:3 So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.
Dan. 9:4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,
Dan. 9:5 we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.
Dan. 9:6 “Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land.

• Jer. 29:13 Daniel knew what the LORD desired as expressed by Jeremiah, that His people will find Him when they search for Him with all their heart.

• Verse 14 The LORD promises His people will find Him.

  • When they find Him then He will restore their fortunes and gather them back to the place He had driven them from, Jerusalem and Judah; from all the places He sent them into exile.

  • This promise is is expressed with the LORD’s heart for His people given back in Deut. 30:1-6

Deut. 30:1 “So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you,
Deut. 30:2 and you return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons,
Deut. 30:3 then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you.
Deut. 30:4 “If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back.
Deut. 30:5 “The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.
Deut. 30:6 “Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.

• There will more on this topic of timing in the next few chapters of Jeremiah.

Jer. 29:15 “Because you have said, ‘The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon’ —
Jer. 29:16 for thus says the LORD concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile —
Jer. 29:17 thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the sword, famine and pestilence, and I will make them like split-open figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness.
Jer. 29:18 ‘I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with pestilence; and I will make them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and a horror and a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them,
Jer. 29:19 because they have not listened to My words,’ declares the LORD, ‘which I sent to them again and again by My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,’ declares the LORD.
Jer. 29:20 “You, therefore, hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

• Verse 15 The LORD’s people have turned to prophets claiming to be from the LORD among His people in Babylon.

  • The LORD is aware of everything that happens in His creation, and in this instance, He has communicated to Jeremiah what is happening in Babylon.

  • The details of what all these different prophets are speaking is not given.

• Verse 16 The LORD focuses His people to what He has to say to them, not on all the false things the prophets in Babylon are saying.

  • The words the LORD speaks will be about the king who sits on the throne of David and about the people who dwell in this city.

  • The city is Jerusalem as that is where their brothers who did not go into exile with them remain.

    • The letter does not name the king or the city as this letter is sent into a foreign land, and should it be seized, there should not be words that could be mistaken to indicate any rebellion towards Babylon or King Nebuchadnezzar.

    • It may be inferred the false prophets were pointing to the fact that there still was a king sitting on the throne of David and the city of Jerusalem was still standing; these realities could mean those who say the king would be removed and the city of Jerusalem destroyed should not be listened to.

• Verse 17 The LORD of hosts continues to prophesy about what He is going to bring on the people who remain in Jerusalem, bringing sword, famine and pestilence.

  • The final chapter has not been written on what is going to unfold for the king that sits on the throne of David, for the people who have remained in Jerusalem and Judah, as well as for the city of Jerusalem and the temple.

    • The king and the people who rebel will be like an open rotten fig which is of no value to anyone.

    • The use of the imagery of the rotten fig harkens back to Jeremiah’s prophecy regarding the good and bad figs with a focus on the bad figs.

Jer. 24:8 ‘But like the bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness — indeed, thus says the LORD — so I will abandon Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land and the ones who dwell in the land of Egypt.
Jer. 24:9 ‘I will make them a terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth, as a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse in all places where I will scatter them.

• The king and officials who would not submit to Babylonian rule were the bad figs.

  • Verse 18 The LORD repeats He is going to pursue them with sword, famine and pestilence.

  • Additionally the LORD says He will make them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

  • They will be a curse, horror, hissing and reproach in the nations the LORD sent them.

    • This was covered in greater detail in the lesson in Jeremiah chapter twenty-four.

    • In summary: when the final siege succeeds over Jerusalem and the leaders are mostly eliminated, Nebuchadnezzar set up a man to be governor over those who remained in Judah. This governor tried to get the remnant of the Jews to work with the Chaldeans, but was murdered by Jews who refused to submit to any rule over them.

2Kings 25:25 But it came about in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck Gedaliah down so that he died along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.

• In this way the bad figs began to demonstrate this ability to bring terror and reproach on the kingdoms of the earth.

  • It would be simple to deduce that not all the ways in which this could be demonstrated are recorded in the scriptures or captured in documented history.

  • This defiance and bringing of terror is because they did not listen to what the LORD had spoken to them through the prophets He sent to them.

• Jer. 29:19 The reason the LORD dealt with those who remained was because they did not listening to His words.

  • The LORD sent His words through His prophets again and again.

  • The LORD now includes the people sitting in exile as being those who did not listen to Him declaring, ‘but you did not listen.’

• Verse 20 The LORD highlights this point by identifying clearly, He is speaking to those exiled from Jerusalem residing in Babylon.

  • The LORD is saying this people living in exile are there because they did not listen to the word of the LORD before they were taken into exile, but now they have the opportunity to listen to His words.

Jer. 29:21 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you falsely in My name, ‘Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will slay them before your eyes.
Jer. 29:22 ‘Because of them a curse will be used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, “May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,
Jer. 29:23 because they have acted foolishly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken words in My name falsely, which I did not command them; and I am He who knows and am a witness,” declares the LORD.’”

• Verse 21 The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel begins by identifying those who are among them and are continuing to prophesy falsely and declare they are speaking for Him, claiming the words are in His name.

  • There are two men called out by name, Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah.

  • The LORD says they will be delivered by Him to Nebuchadnezzar, and ‘he will slay them before your eyes.’

    • The words these false prophets were speaking were rebelling against Nebuchadnezzar as well as the LORD.

    • Any rebellion would have been dealt with immediately and severely.

• Verse 22 The effects of their public execution will result in a phrase that will be used as a curse by the Jewish exiles on someone, indicating the desire to have the LORD do to them like Zedekiah and Ahab.

  • The end of the verse says these men were roasted in the fire by the king of Babylon.

  • This method of public burning is described in Dan. 3:6, 20-22.

Dan. 3:6 “But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.”

Dan. 3:20 He commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire.
Dan. 3:21 Then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.
Dan. 3:22 For this reason, because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.

• Jer. 29:23 The reason the LORD brought such a gruesome and public rebuke on these men was because they acted foolishly in Israel.

  • These men committed adultery with their neighbor’s wives.

  • These men were false prophets.

  • The LORD declares He is the witness to these events.

Jer. 29:24 To Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying,
Jer. 29:25 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying,
Jer. 29:26 “The LORD has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the overseer in the house of the LORD over every madman who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and in the iron collar,
Jer. 29:27 now then, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who prophesies to you?
Jer. 29:28 “For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘The exile will be long; build houses and live in them and plant gardens and eat their produce.’”’”

• Verse 24 Next the LORD has Jeremiah send a letter to deal with Shemaiah the Nehelamite.

• Verse 25 The words to Shemaiah the Nehelamite are from the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel.

  • The LORD says Shemaiah sent letters in his name to the people who stayed in Jerusalem, to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priest.

  • The letter from Shemaiah to Zephaniah has been shared with Jeremiah.

• Verse 26 Shemaiah tells Zephaniah the LORD has declared him (Zephaniah) to be priest instead of Jehoiada.

  • The position would be the overseer in the house of the LORD.

  • He is to oversee those who prophesy in the house of the LORD, specifically those he describes as madmen.

  • Zephaniah should decide of the prophets who will be put in the stocks and in the iron collar.

  • Shemaiah desires to used false words to exert control over the events transpiring in Jerusalem.

• Verse 27 Shemaiah asks why Zephaniah has not spoken out against Jeremiah of Anathoth, who speaks to the exiles.

• Verse 28 Shemaiah addresses the specific prophesy from Jeremiah to the exiles concerning the long length of time the exile are to plan to be in Babylon, indicated by telling them to build houses and gardens because they are going to be there a long time.

Jer. 29:29 Zephaniah the priest read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet.
Jer. 29:30 Then came the word of the LORD to Jeremiah, saying,
Jer. 29:31 “Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite, “Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has made you trust in a lie,”
Jer. 29:32 therefore thus says the LORD, “Behold, I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants; he will not have anyone living among this people, and he will not see the good that I am about to do to My people,” declares the LORD, “because he has preached rebellion against the LORD.”’”

• Verse 29 Zephaniah the priest reads the letter sent by Shemaiah to Jeremiah.

  • Verse 30 After Jeremiah heard what Shemaiah wrote, the word of the LORD came to him.

  • Verse 31 The LORD tells Jeremiah he is to tell those exiles in Babylon what is prophesied for Shemaiah, because of what he has falsely prophesied to them.

    • The LORD also addressing the fact He had not sent Shemaiah as a prophet to them.

    • The LORD declares that Shemaiah has been successful in convincing the exiles in Babylon to believe and trust in his lie.

• Verse 32 The punishment for these sins committed by Shemaiah will be for him and his descendants.

  • First, Shemaiah’s family will not continue on as part of the nation of Israel.

  • Secondly, this destruction will happen quickly; he will not have the benefit of seeing what good the LORD is going to do for His people.

    • This is a direct result of his prophesying rebellion against the LORD.

    • The LORD takes lies spoken to His people very seriously.

  • There are often questions believers have today regarding knowing what to believe about God and how to discern false teaching and false teachers.

  • Jesus gave an example to follow when being accused by the spiritual leaders in His day.

John 10:24 The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
John 10:25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me.
John 10:26 “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.
John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
John 10:28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
John 10:29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”

• Verse 25 Jesus declares He had clearly spoken the truth to them.

  • Secondly, He said, ‘the works I do in My Father’s name, testify of Me.’

    • The truthful words of Jesus were matched by His works that could only be accomplished through the power of the Father.

    • These works had been attested to from the prophecies revealed about Him in the OT scriptures.

    • The people chose to ignore the words and the signs.

  • There were people who did know what the scriptures spoke about the Messiah.

John 7:31 But many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “When the Christ comes, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?”
John 7:32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize Him.

• The first line of defense is to know the word of God.

  • Secondly, the works should match the words.

Matt. 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
Matt. 7:16 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?

• Bring everything in prayer before God.

Phil. 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Phil. 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

• The focus of every teaching should be to bring glory to the Father, seeking to do the will of the Father. This was the heart of Jesus. Luke 22:41-42

Luke 22:41 And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray,
Luke 22:42 saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”

• In summary: if one desires avoid the pitfall of false teaching and false teachers, he must dedicate himself to know what the word of God says.

  • They must be willing to watch for the fruit demonstrated in the life of a teacher.

  • Praying for the discernment of God is a healthy request in the endeavor to separate truth from false teaching.

    • The teacher should always be focusing on drawing everyone to glorifying God by submitting themselves to the Will of God.