Jeremiah - Lesson 39-40

• Chapters 1-23 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.

• Chapters 24-29 Review:

  • Good figs are used to represent the Jews who go into exile and will ultimately be those who become the Jews brought back into the land at a future time. The bad figs represent those who rebel against the judgment the LORD has brought on them through Nebuchadnezzar to last for seventy years.

  • Hypocrisy and false teaching and prophecy plague the LORD’s people justifying the LORD’s judgment on them.

    • Jeremiah continues to experience persecution for bringing the LORD’s truth to His people (like planning to stay for a long time in Babylon) and calling out false prophets. Some of the false prophets are dealt with immediately.

• Chapters 30-33 Review:

  • These chapters are often referred to as the Book of Consolation as they are filled with promises for the LORD’s people.

  • Promises of the LORD’s people being regathered and brought back to a specific land as a nation to live in safety with hearts of flesh and not stone, served by priests, ruled by a king and living in prosperity. All of this is possible because Jesus their Messiah has redeemed them and will be their King.

• Chapter 34 The Jewish leaders make a public covenant and release their Hebrew servants but then renege profaning the LORD’s name; the LORD brings back the Chaldeans to Jerusalem in judgment.

• Chapters 35 & 36 Review:

  • The obedience of the Rechabites to the words of their father is contrasted to the disobedience of the LORD’s people to His repeated words.

  • Jeremiah’s scroll is burned by King Jehoiakim.

  • The LORD is not fooled by a fast called by His people.

• Chapters 37 & 38 Review:

  • Jeremiah is arrested and imprisoned, finally ending up in a cistern destined for death; he is rescued by a servant of the king.

  • Zedekiah seeks a new word from the LORD, not wishing to believe what he had already been told that he needs to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar or he, his family, Jerusalem and the people will be destroyed.

Jer. 39:1 Now when Jerusalem was captured in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it;
Jer. 39:2 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the city wall was breached.
Jer. 39:3 Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came in and sat down at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.
Jer. 39:4 When Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, they fled and went out of the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the gate between the two walls; and he went out toward the Arabah.
Jer. 39:5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and they seized him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him.
Jer. 39:6 Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes at Riblah; the king of Babylon also slew all the nobles of Judah.
Jer. 39:7 He then blinded Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in fetters of bronze to bring him to Babylon.

• Verses 1-2 Jerusalem is captured in the ninth year of Zedekiah when Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to it; but the city wall was not breached until the eleventh year of Zedekiah.

  • The city is considered ‘captured’ by the Babylonian army, also known as the Chaldeans, when no one can enter or leave the city.

  • This was the condition of the city as long as the Chaldeans remained in control outside the walls of the city.

    • There was a reprieve for Jerusalem when the Chaldeans left to deal with the advancing Egyptian army.

    • The Chaldeans had returned and Jeremiah now describes what happens as the city walls are breached.

• Verse 3 Once a section of the walls is broken through all the Babylonian officials come and they sit at the Middle Gate.

  • This becomes the headquarters to carry out what is to happen in Jerusalem: who goes into exile who is put to death, what is to be extracted from the city, how the destruction of the city is to be carried out.

    • This fulfills what the LORD spoke to Jeremiah Jer. 1:14-15.

Jer. 1:14 Then the LORD said to me, “Out of the north the evil will break forth on all the inhabitants of the land.
Jer. 1:15 “For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares the LORD; “and they will come and they will set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the cities of Judah.

• Jer. 39:4 Zedekiah and all the men of war see the Babylonian officials in the Middle Gate and decide to escape the city under the cover of night going through the king’s garden using a gate between the two walls.

  • They head toward the Arabah.

  • Their direction of flight indicates they were headed towards the Jordan river to crossover into Ammonite territory; these were their allies. They were not heading towards Egypt.   

• Verse 5 The Chaldeans pursue them to the plains of Jericho about fifteen miles from Jerusalem. That indicates the men almost succeed in moving across the Jordan which appears to have been their goal.

  • The Chaldeans, however, capture them and then bring them to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah.

  • Riblah appears to be the headquarters of Nebuchadnezzar as he directs the armies against those who rebel against his authority. This is about two hundred miles from Jerusalem.

  • Zedekiah is found guilty before King Nebuchadnezzar.

• Verse 6 As punishment for Zedekiah’s rebellion, Nebuchadnezzar has all of Zedekiah’s sons killed before him while he is watching.

  • Nebuchadnezzar then has all the nobles of Judah killed; these were the men who stood in opposition to Nebuchadnezzar’s rule.

    • They rebelled against the authority of Babylon and had turned to others in support of that rebellion.

    • These men had not surrendered when the Chaldeans had besieged Jerusalem, as others had.

• Verse 7 Nebuchadnezzar has Zedekiah blinded and then had him put in bronze fetters to be taken to Babylon.

  • The mocking Zedekiah had feared the most was nothing compared to what actually transpired for Zedekiah.

  • This blinding of a captured leader is not unique as this also happened to Samson.

Judg. 16:20 She said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.
Judg. 16:21 Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison.

Jer. 39:8 The Chaldeans also burned with fire the king’s palace and the houses of the people, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
Jer. 39:9 As for the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had gone over to him and the rest of the people who remained, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard carried them into exile in Babylon.
Jer. 39:10 But some of the poorest people who had nothing, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard left behind in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at that time.

• Verse 8 The Chaldeans burned with fire the king’s palace and all the houses in the city.

  • They then tore down the walls of Jerusalem, a city that would not return to rebellion.

• Verse 9 The rebels who had stayed in Jerusalem, and those who had surrendered before the Chaldeans breached the walls of Jerusalem, as well as the rest of the people who remained; Nebuzaradan took them all in exile to Babylon.

• Verse 10 Nebuzaradan left the poorest people in the land and gave them vineyards and fields. These were the people who had nothing under the reign of Zedekiah and they will most likely feel wealthy now.

Jer. 39:11 Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, saying,
Jer. 39:12 “Take him and look after him, and do nothing harmful to him, but rather deal with him just as he tells you.”
Jer. 39:13 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard sent word, along with Nebushazban the Rab-saris, and Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the leading officers of the king of Babylon;
Jer. 39:14 they even sent and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guardhouse and entrusted him to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he stayed among the people.

• Verses 11-12 Nebuchadnezzar ordered Nebuzardan, the captain of the bodyguard, to specifically look after Jeremiah and to be sure nothing harmed him.

  • Nebuzaradan is to speak with Jeremiah and do what Jeremiah tells him.

  • There are those who wonder how Nebuchadnezzar would know Jeremiah was a prophet.

    • The scriptures revealed that Daniel was led to Babylon in the third year of King Jehoiakim and was educated three years before entering the service of Nebuchadnezzar.

  • Jeremiah had been a prophet in Judah for twenty-one years when Daniel was carried away into exile. (18 years under Josiah and 3 year under Jehoiakim) There is a pretty good chance Nebuchadnezzar heard of Jeremiah from a trusted source.

  • Jeremiah had also written to the exiles in Babylon giving them instructions to submit to Nebuchadnezzar so there was confirmation of revealing the word of the LORD to his people.

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. 39:13-14 The captain of the bodyguard sent this message to all the leading officers of Babylon.

  • These men rescued Jeremiah from the court of the guardhouse.

  • They deliver Jeremiah to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan to take him home.

    • This is the man Nebuchadnezzar chose to govern those Jews who were left in Judah.

2Kings 25:22 Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them.

Jer. 39:15  Now the word of the LORD had come to Jeremiah while he was confined in the court of the guardhouse, saying,
Jer. 39:16 “Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to bring My words on this city for disaster and not for prosperity; and they will take place before you on that day.
Jer. 39:17 “But I will deliver you on that day,” declares the LORD, “and you will not be given into the hand of the men whom you dread.
Jer. 39:18 “For I will certainly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own life as booty, because you have trusted in Me,” declares the LORD.’”

• Verse 15 This verse begins by indicating that the event to be described predated what had just been revealed. The word of the LORD had come to Jeremiah while he was confined in the court of the guardhouse.

• Verse 16 Jeremiah was to speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian who had saved Jeremiah from certain death in the cistern.

  • The LORD tells Jeremiah to identify Him as the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel.

  • The disaster the LORD had revealed through Jeremiah was about to unfold before him.

  • He would watch things unfold with his own eyes.

• Verse 17 When these events take place Ebed-melech is told he will be delivered by the LORD.

  • He will not be handed over to the men he feared.

  • This might be the Chaldeans but it may well include the officers in Jerusalem who he defied when he rescued Jeremiah from the cistern.

  • The same men that Zedekiah seemed to fear.

• Verse 18 The LORD promises to save Ebed-melech’s life from the coming judgment of the sword that will fall on many in Jerusalem, because he trusted the LORD.

  • Ebed-melech demonstrated what it looked like to fear God more than men.

  • The LORD demonstrated what it can look like to rescue those men who fear Him.

Jer. 40:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard had released him from Ramah, when he had taken him bound in chains among all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon.
Jer. 40:2 Now the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, “The LORD your God promised this calamity against this place;
Jer. 40:3 and the LORD has brought it on and done just as He promised. Because you people sinned against the LORD and did not listen to His voice, therefore this thing has happened to you.
Jer. 40:4 “But now, behold, I am freeing you today from the chains which are on your hands. If you would prefer to come with me to Babylon, come along, and I will look after you; but if you would prefer not to come with me to Babylon, never mind. Look, the whole land is before you; go wherever it seems good and right for you to go.”
Jer. 40:5 As Jeremiah was still not going back, he said, “Go on back then to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people; or else go anywhere it seems right for you to go.” So the captain of the bodyguard gave him a ration and a gift and let him go.
Jer. 40:6 Then Jeremiah went to Mizpah to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.

• Verse 1 Here it is revealed that Jeremiah was bound in chains with the other exiles from Jerusalem and Judah and taken to Ramah, about five miles north of Jerusalem, a staging location before being taken to Babylon in exile.

  • It seems Jeremiah had been rescued from the court of the guardhouse in Jerusalem and then he had been bought with all the other survivors to Ramah bound in chains.

  • Jeremiah is freed in Ramah by Nebuzaradan, captain of the bodyguard.

• Verses 2-3 Nebuzaradan tells Jeremiah he understands the LORD promised this calamity against Judah and He has fulfilled His promises; because of the sin of His people against Him and they did not listen to Him.

  • Nebuzaradan is familiar with what Jeremiah had prophesied.

• Verse 4 Nebuzaradan gives Jeremiah the freedom to come with him to Babylon and be provided for or to choose for himself where he would like to go.

• Verse 5 When Jeremiah chooses not to go to Babylon Nebuzaradan suggests he should go to be with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan; as he was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar over those who were staying in Judah.

  • Nebuzaradan repeats that Jeremiah is free to go anywhere that seemed right to him.

  • It is clear Nebuzaradan knew Jeremiah was a true prophet of the LORD.

  • Nebuzardan gives Jeremiah a ration and a gift to provide for him before he releases him.

    • The Babylonian leaders treat Jeremiah better than the leadership of his own people had.

• Verse 6 Jeremiah follows Nebuzaradan’s advice and goes to Mizpah and stays with Gedaliah and the other people left in the land.

  • Jeremiah had already been told by the LORD what was to happen to those people that stayed in the land.

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.
Jer. 24:10 ‘I will send the sword, the famine and the pestilence upon them until they are destroyed from the land which I gave to them and their forefathers.’”

• The LORD’s people would be destroyed from the land.

  • Jeremiah still chooses to be with those who stay in the land just as he had done in the beginning when he chose to stay in Jerusalem and not go to Babylon.

Jer. 40:7 Now all the commanders of the forces that were in the field, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam over the land and that he had put him in charge of the men, women and children, those of the poorest of the land who had not been exiled to Babylon.
Jer. 40:8 So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, both they and their men.
Jer. 40:9 Then Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore to them and to their men, saying, “Do not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans; stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, that it may go well with you.
Jer. 40:10 “Now as for me, behold, I am going to stay at Mizpah to stand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, gather in wine and summer fruit and oil and put them in your storage vessels, and live in your cities that you have taken over.”
Jer. 40:11 Likewise, also all the Jews who were in Moab and among the sons of Ammon and in Edom and who were in all the other countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant for Judah, and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan.
Jer. 40:12 Then all the Jews returned from all the places to which they had been driven away and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered in wine and summer fruit in great abundance.

• Verse 7 The word of the king of Babylon appointing Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam over all those Jews who had not been exiled to Babylon was told to all the commanders and their men who were in the field.

  • These men were spread throughout the land and had not been killed or taken in exile to Babylon.

• Verse 8 All the commanders of the field come to Gedaliah at Mizpah.

  • There are others who come as well:

    • Ishmael the son of Nethaniah

    • Johanan and Jonathan, the sons of Kareah

    • Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth

    • The sons of Ephai the Netophathite

    • Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite

  • All these commanders as well as the men who follow them come to Gedaliah at Mizpah.

• Verse 9 Gedaliah swears to them things will go well for them if they will stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon.

• Verse 10 Gedaliah says he is going to stay in Mizpah and be the representative of the people to the Chaldean delegations sent to the land of Judah.

  • Gedaliah says the leaders and men can work the land, store their harvests and live in the cities they controlled at that time.

• Verses 11-12 All the Jews who had escaped to other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant for Judah and appointed over them Gedaliah; and they returned to work the land with great success.

Jer. 40:13 Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah
Jer. 40:14 and said to him, “Are you well aware that Baalis the king of the sons of Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them.
Jer. 40:15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, “Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and not a man will know! Why should he take your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered and the remnant of Judah would perish?”
Jer. 40:16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael.”

• Verse 13 Next it is revealed that Johanan the son of Karesh and all the commanders of the forces that were in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah.

• Verse 14 These commanders ask Gedaliah if he is aware that there is a plot to take his life by Baalis the king of the sons of Ammon.

  • This king had already sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to kill Gedaliah.

  • Gedaliah says he does not believe this to be true.

• Verse 15 After this, Johanan the son of Karesh comes to Gedaliah privately telling him he is willing to kill Ishmael and no one will know about it.

  • Johanan says he fears if Gedaliah is killed then the Jews who have come to him will be scattered and there will no longer be a remnant of Jews in the land.

• Verse 16 Gedaliah again refuses to believe this threat is real and tells Johanan not to kill Ishmael.

  • It appears Gedaliah sincerely believed it was the LORD’s provision for there to be a remnant of Jews in the land. Gedaliah wanted to be honorable in his dealings with others.

  • The motivation for Baalis, the king of the sons of Ammon wanting Gedaliah dead is not given here. There are many who propose differing reasons for this action.

  • Jeremiah had already brought a word from the LORD regarding what the neighboring nations, including the sons of Ammon, should do in regards to submitting to the king of Babylon in Jeremiah 27:1-7.

Jer. 27:1 In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying —
Jer. 27:2 thus says the LORD to me — “Make for yourself bonds and yokes and put them on your neck,
Jer. 27:3 and send word to the king of Edom, to the king of Moab, to the king of the sons of Ammon, to the king of Tyre and to the king of Sidon by the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah.
Jer. 27:4 “Command them to go to their masters, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, thus you shall say to your masters,
Jer. 27:5 “I have made the earth, the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will give it to the one who is pleasing in My sight.
Jer. 27:6 “Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and I have given him also the wild animals of the field to serve him.
Jer. 27:7 “All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings will make him their servant.

• The kings were told through the emissaries that the LORD had given all their lands over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and they were to serve him.

Jer. 27:8 “It will be, that the nation or the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine and with pestilence,” declares the LORD, “until I have destroyed it by his hand.
Jer. 27:9 “But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers or your sorcerers who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’
Jer. 27:10 “For they prophesy a lie to you in order to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out and you will perish.
Jer. 27:11 “But the nation which will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let remain on its land,” declares the LORD, “and they will till it and dwell in it.”’”

• The kings were warned they would be punished with sword, famine and pestilence until they were destroyed if they did not submit; and could remain in their land if they did submit.

  • These kings were also told to ignore any prophet, diviner, dreamer, soothsayer or sorcerer that contradicted what the LORD had spoken.

  • The LORD is sovereign over all the earth and His will shall prevail.

  • This was true in Jeremiah’s time and true throughout the whole of history.

    • Zedekiah was already spiritually blind; now his physical condition demonstrates blindness outwardly.

    • Zedekiah was afraid of mocking by his own people; this seemed to inflame his pride.

    • Zedekiah made a truly cowardly choice to run away from Jerusalem when it was too late.

  • He passed up the opportunity to walk outside and surrender when it would have been the obedient thing to do, based on Jeremiah’s words of warning to him.

• If you have not listened to the voice of the LORD before today, now be submitted to his word with a true understanding of your sin that separates you from Him and His holiness. Rom. 6:20-23.

Rom. 6:20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
Rom. 6:21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.
Rom. 6:22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
Rom. 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.       

• If you do know Jesus as your Savior what has He called you to do as your LORD?

• If the LORD is giving you insight who are you sharing that with?

Luke 8:16 “Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.
Luke 8:17 “For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.
Luke 8:18 “So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”