Give me that old-time religion (Jeremiah 35)

  Truth and Consequences: 

A study in the prophecy of Jeremiah

Chapter 35

By Bob Mendelsohn

Given 26 August 2022

 

Lesson Thirty-five:   Give me that old time religion

 

INTRODUCTION

You might have seen the list of excuses that floats around companies and workstations that is designed to help you to stop making excuses and get to work. Some of them are funny; but really all of them are spot on target. Let me name four of them:

Excuse #1: “I didn’t know” or “I wasn’t told.” 

Excuse #2: “We’ve always done it that way.” (Corollary is “we’ve never done it that way before”)

Excuse #3: “It’s not our responsibility; that’s another department” 

Excuse #4: “I didn’t know you wanted it done now.”

 

No matter what people say, you and I both know none of these excuses holds water. We might try to skirt our responsibilities, but the reality is, if there’s work to do, and it’s in our personal or even our corporate capability to make it happen, then we should do so.  The corollary to #2 is what I’m thinking today about Jeremiah 35. 

“we’ve never done it that way before”

Here we see a group of people named the Rechabites whose original ancestor Rechab lived about 300 years before this incident. And as we see in this reading, they continue his instructions especially about not drinking, and thus the dinner and drinks invitation to the Temple will be met with sanity and refusal rather than what would have been the case in chapter 34. 

Remember, last week we saw that chapter and its people do the ridiculous thing of keeping Hebrew slaves and not releasing them as would be both socially sensible, biblically required, and physically helpful to the slaves themselves. The contrast couldn’t be clearer. Chapter 34: how not to behave. Chapter 35: how to behave.

And I’m titling this episode, “Give me that old-time religion” to remind me and you that if a religion is old, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Now, to be fair, old isn’t always right either, but what we have to learn is that what matters is who is talking, and what he’s asking, and then get on with it—without excuses!

Let’s dig into our chapter today and see what it has to say to us as 21^st century people.

Verse one. The source of this interaction is the word of God. Please don’t tire of this. Don’t weary yourself in figuring out how to sort things out on your own. IF you are a believer, you have an avenue, a channel, a connection with God that means he can speak with you and to you. He can advise you well. He WANTS to advise you well and to lead you to make the world a better place. Not because you are so clever or wise, although both of those are great traits to seek. But because he, the All-wise, can and will speak with you. We’ve seen it before and again in chapter 35 we see this. 32 times in this little chapter of 19 verses the words DAVAR (meaning word or speak), AMAR (meaning say), and SHEMA (meaning hear and/or obey) are used. You don’t have to be very clever yourself to sort out what the emphasis is in this chapter. Listen to what God has already said, and say, “Yes, sir.” That’s pretty much it. 

But let’s continue with the whole chapter in line-by-line study as is our custom. 

Verse 2, Jeremiah is told to go to the house of the Rechabites, meaning the family of, or the leader of the clan of the Rechabites. Who were these folks? For that we need to revisit two passages in the OT, 1 Chronicles chapter 2, and 2 Kings chapter 10. 

^{1 Chr. 2: 55} The families of scribes who lived at Jabez were the Tirathites, the Shimeathites and the Sucathites. Those are the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.

Rechab, if this is the same one, and we have no reason to doubt that it’s the same, is a Kenite. 

But the point Jeremiah makes is not the head of the family, Rechab, but rather the family of the Rechabites. For that we need to visit 2 Kings chapters 9 and 10. There we meet Jehu who was the son of Jehosophat, and was anointed king by some of the school of the prophet Elisha (2 King 9.6) and was charged to decimate the house of Ahab and Jezebel. He was violent and thorough. In 2 Kings 9, Jehu assassinates Joram, then he assassinates Ahaziah, and gets rid of Jezebel. There is a storm of destruction and ruin, almost at every turn. Chapter 10 begins with Jehu killing relatives of the dead, and then he encounters Rechab beginning at verse 15. 

2Kings 10:15   Now when Jehu had departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, give me your hand.” And he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot. ¹⁶ He said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD.” So ¹he made him ride in his chariot. ¹⁷ When he came to Samaria, ^ahe ¹killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke to Elijah.”

What might you have been feeling if you were Jehonadab, the son of Rechab? This guy who brought you into the front seat of his Uber of Death is still carrying a sword and you …probably are not. You have listened to your father and his words of non-violence, and really separation from the madness of the City-folks. He wanted the Rechabites not to build houses, but to stay in tents. They were not to sow seed, meaning not to run a farming industry, and not to plant vineyards. They were to remain mobile, not fixed. And not to drink wine. Business as usual—not for the Rechabites. 

The Rechabites were to live long in the land, and as evidenced in Jeremiah’s time, they had lived, so far, 300 years! Without homes and without providing for themselves, they were trusting the Lord. 

Now before you get all taken with their spirituality, the point of Jeremiah’s telling us about this episode, if I read it right, is to point to the contrast and not the mechanics of their life in God. Contrast chapters 35 and 34, not chapter 35 and your life. God may want you to live as a hermit, or a mobile mendicant and ambassador, but everyone is not called to be everything. What we are called to be is obedient and observant and people who spend time with the Lord of life, not necessarily as beggars. 

When we meet these Rechabites, they are invited to a party of some celebration at the Temple.  Verse 4. The details are clear. This is a magnificent room with celebrity figures as name plates and visible ceremony. Have you ever been invited to a fancy-shmancy venue and you actually have to worry about getting a new suit, polishing your new shoes, perhaps a haircut? The ball is not ordinary life. The intimidation factor of going to Buckingham Palace or the White House, even the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires… this is substantial and could be overwhelming to landsmen, people of the land. Think of the 1960s sitcom the Beverly Hillbillies and the Clampetts coming to Beverly Hills for the first time. Or Cinderella approaching the ball that night. 

Then in verse 5, Jeremiah places pitchers full of wine and tells them to drink up! Already they are out of their comfort zone, and now this prophet, or at least this person of some significance, is inviting them to a banquet and firstly, to imbibe on the delicacies. These are people who for 300 years haven’t tasted the liquor of the day. Verse 6, they say, “Our fathers didn’t and they commanded us not to drink.” And in verse 7 they repeat the further commandments which came with a promise to live on we are better defined as ‘sojourners.’ BTW, sojourn is the Hebrew word “Gur” meaning stranger, and like the Kenites before them, not Jews, but they had taken on Jewish ways and names and probably were like unto converts. Barnes says, 

“Wine is the symbol of a settled life, because the vine requires time for its growth and care in its cultivation, while the preparation of the wine itself requires buildings, and it then has to be stored up before it is ready for use. The drink of nomads consists of the milk of their herds.”

Verse 8, they say, that’s our commitment and our history, and it’s our future with our wives and kids, too. Verse 9, no houses, verse 10, in a positive way, we dwell in tents. So making us come to this banqueting table in this illustrious venue, well, sir, it’s not for us. That’s not the us we want to be. 

Verse 11, Nebuchadnezzar came and unsettled the countryside and we had to move into town. That’s bad enough. That’s against our protocols, but that’s the line in the sand for us. We’re done with breaking our grandfather’s rules. 

God bless these folks. BTW, Rechab is the Hebrew word for ride or mount, and makes good sense since they were nomads. Oh, and the modern Hebrew word for the train is רכבת רכבת

This takes me on a journey with the sojourners. This is a word of action and mobility, being on the move. Rakevet. They are not to be stationary. But again, don’t miss this, it’s not about being aliens, although you can read that as prescriptive for the people of God. This is not about not drinking, although if that’s what you hear from heaven, so be it. 

No the point is the contrast with the people 17 years later in chapter 34 who disregard what God has said and enslave fellow Jewish people. 

Look at verse 12 and following. 

Verse 13, God tells Jeremiah to tell the Judeans and especially the Jerusalem folks to compare and contrast their lives with those of the Rechabites. Verse 14, their fathers gave commands and the children obeyed.  But I’ve spoken to you with this idiom

הַשְׁכֵּ֣ם וְדַבֵּ֔ר

 

That’s unusual. It means “rising early and speaking” and probably is well translated as “again and again.” Sometimes it’s translated ‘persistently.’ The point is you have heard and heard again and continually, AND YET, you missed it. 

Verse 15, same thing, Hashkaim, and you disregarded the prophets. You didn’t even incline, much more, you didn’t observe. 

Compare verse 16, the Rechabites did; you didn’t. 

Then, the final sentence in verse 17, I’m bringing judgment; no escape; it’s coming because I tried and tried, and you refused.

I had a serious conversation 18 months ago with a Jewish man…in KC….4 epiphanies, and yet he wanted one more… Who deserves more?

Verse 18 and 19, God’s plan for the Rechabites was a good plan. The obedience to their father was noted and to be rewarded.  The word ‘always’ may be confusing, but it doesn’t mean forever, into 2022 and beyond. It means for a very long time, 

 

CONCLUSION

God is calling each of us to know him and to walk with him, today and throughout our days. Have you received Yeshua as your messiah and Lord? He is risen from the dead! Have you renounced your sin, your idolatry, your forsaking God and given him First Place in your life? If not, please, do so now, just now, as we pray together. Use your own words, if you want, but yield, surrender, to the Lord of life. 

 

PRAYER

Then please write us (admin@jewsforjesus.org.au) to tell us what you have just done, and we will send you literature and encourage you. You are part of our family; we love and appreciate you. And we want you to enjoy the presence of the Lord who calls, who knows, who blesses and builds us up. 

We hope to see you again next week as we study chapter 34. Until then, Shabbat shalom!

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barnes, Albert, Commentary on the Old Testament. (Published by many, from 1880 on)

Henry, Matthew, Commentary.

Keown, Gerald, Scalise, Pamela, Smothers, Thomas, Word Biblical Commentary. Book of Jeremiah (Part 2).  1995. 

McConnville, Gordon, Jeremiah, New Bible Commentary. 

Wright, Christopher, The Message of Jeremiah, The Bible Speaks Today. Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014.

 

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ACTUAL TEXT

Jer. 35:1   The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of ^aJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, ² “Go to the house of the ^aRechabites and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the ^bchambers, and give them wine to drink.” ³ Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites, ⁴ and I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the ^aman of God, which was near the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, ^bthe doorkeeper. ⁵ Then I set before the ¹men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine and cups; and I said to them, “^aDrink wine!” ⁶ But they said, “We will not drink wine, for ^aJonadab the son of ^bRechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall ^cnot drink wine, you or your sons, forever. ⁷ ‘You shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed and you shall not plant a vineyard or own one; but in ^atents you shall dwell all your days, that you may live ^bmany days in the land where you ^csojourn.’ ⁸ “We have ^aobeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons or our daughters, ⁹ nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; and we ^ado not have vineyard or field or seed. ¹⁰ “We have only ^adwelt in tents, and have obeyed and have done according to all that ^bJonadab our father commanded us. ¹¹ “But when ^aNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come and let us ^bgo to Jerusalem before the army of the Chaldeans and before the army of the Arameans.’ So we have dwelt in Jerusalem.”

Jer. 35:12   Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, ¹³ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Go and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “^aWill you not receive instruction by listening to My words?” declares the LORD. ¹⁴ “The ^awords of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are observed. So they do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. But I have spoken to you ^1bagain and again; yet you have ^cnot listened to Me. ¹⁵ “Also I have sent to you all My ^aservants the prophets, sending them ¹again and again, saying: ‘^bTurn now every man from his evil way and amend your deeds, and ^cdo not go after other gods to worship them. Then you will ^ddwell in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers; but you have not ^einclined your ear or listened to Me. ¹⁶ ‘Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have ^aobserved the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.’”’ ¹⁷ “Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, ^aI am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I ^bspoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.’”

 

Jer. 35:18   Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have ^aobeyed the command of Jonadab your father, kept all his commands and done according to all that he commanded you; ¹⁹ therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Jonadab the son of Rechab ^ashall not lack a man to ^bstand before Me ¹always.”’”

Be sure, God is speaking (Jeremiah 34)

Truth and Consequences: 

A study in the prophecy of Jeremiah

Chapter 34

By Bob Mendelsohn

Given 19 August 2022

 

Lesson Thirty-four:   Be sure, God is speaking 

 

INTRODUCTION

Some words have snuck into our daily vocabulary when no one seemed to notice. And then, by convention and ordinary custom, we are all consigned to use them. I listened to an audio book this week by one of my favourite authors, Jeffrey Archer. He didn’t read the book, but he wrote it. And the characters were perfect in their speech and in their speeches. No one speaks the Queen’s English as well as QCs at the Old Bailey in an Archer crime-solving novel. 

I guess while I was pondering both the characters and their language, I thought of more word concepts, like the idea of colloquialism. That led me to words like jargon and slang and such, and I guess I had too much time on my hands this week, but that will come clear as we read the text today. 

You see, in chapter 34 of the prophet Jeremiah, God speaks. Again. And his iterations and reiterations should have caused King Zedekiah to repent, to lead the Jewish people to repent, to follow what God was saying, to the letter. No matter what convention said, or what his being on a power trip meant in that day. God speaks, and we listen, and we follow the plan. That’s how the Kingdom really works. Or in this case, how the Kingdom doesn’t work. 

I have some friends who end a meeting they attend with “It works if you work it.” I suggested they add a tag line, “It doesn’t work if you don’t work it.” They liked that. That’s what I read in this chapter and honestly, in this whole prophecy of Jeremiah. Let’s listen to God’s word, whether colloquial, jargon, slang, or eternal, and let’s do what he says. It works if you follow him, you know?

The setting is 587 BCE, as the marauding armies of Nebuchadnezzar are invading from Babylon along with all their previously conquered foes. Did you ever play the board game RISK? In that game, you start attacking neighbouring countries with a certain number of armies you already own. When you conquer a territory, their armies are now yours. That’s what I imagined as I read this opening. “Nebuchadnezzar, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion and all the peoples were fighting against Jerusalem.” (verse 1) Not much hope for the Jewish people. A steamrolling conquest took place and I would say, the war was almost over before it began. 

So in verse 2, God tells Jeremiah to go to the king and inform him, in case his watchmen on the walls were asleep or Zedekiah had missed the previous messages already delivered, yes, one more time, go to the king and let him know that he has a final chance to make this right. Verse 2, the Babylonians will come and wipe out and burn Jerusalem and in verse 3, you will not escape, you will see him personally, eye to eye and mouth to mouth and you will go to his country. Captured. Get it? 

He says, 

תָּפֹ֣שׂ תִּתָּפֵ֔שׂ

The repeated verb is capture, meaning you will certainly be captured. In capture you will be captured. No escape. 

By the way, a colloquial phrase slips in. The English is face to face, but the Hebrew is 

וּפִ֛יהוּ אֶת־פִּ֥יךָ

That is, mouth to mouth. I thought of boxers who stand jaw to jaw and chest to chest in the run up and promotion of their boxing match. It’s part of the mechanism of advertising for that sport, and Jeremiah seems to use that colloquialism. 

In chapter 39 we will see that confrontation as we have already told you, and it won’t be a pretty sight. 

The promise of God’s word is that Zedekiah will go to the dark side, that is, to Babylon. 

Then a twist seems to pop in, in verse 4. 

Remember what God had told Zedekiah about how to respond to this attack? It was in chapter 27, and the yoke Jeremiah carried to the king, indicated that the king should simply submit to the conquerors and go to Babylon in peace. As a result, the city would be spared, probably meaning the Temple itself and maybe even houses, but Zedekiah was reluctant to follow this advice. Shame. 

So here in verses 4 and 5 we hear a reminder of that promise. But there’s no ‘if…then’ and has led many to miss this. Verse 4 says the king will die in peace. But I hear it as a colloquial expression. If you do what I tell you, you will live long in the foreign land. And I guess, the inverse is true as well, if you don’t do what I tell you, you won’t live long in the foreign land. And sure enough, as we will read in chapter 39, it doesn’t go well for the last king of Judah. No spices for him; no lament for him. 

4 times in this chapter the word Sh’ma is used and usually doesn’t only mean to listen or to hear; rather to obey. Then 10 times in either verb or noun form in this chapter alone, the word DAVAR is used, meaning the Word, like The Word of God. But get this, 11 times the word AMAR is used meaning to speak or say. Please don’t miss it, the idea of covenant which again is highlighted in this and the next chapter is based on relationships between the Lord and his people. It requires listening to God’s word, and what he has to say matters more than the ideas of men. I am more and more struck by the usage of this conversational aim of Jeremiah. He declares; yes, I get that. And he proclaims the Words of the Lord. OK. But it’s more than all that. It’s about the tender words of the Lord. In this chapter it has to do with slaves and freedom. In the next chapter it’s about the Rechabites and their keeping a family tradition that’s very old. They heard the words of their parents and they kept them. (See 35.8) No matter what. That’s part of covenant as well. 

I guess for me my takeaway in chapter 34 is that no matter the end result which might come my way, if I hear a conversation, be it colloquial or jargon or even slang, and it’s from heaven, I want to comply. We in these last days are learning from any and every source except the Almighty. Our ears have to be attuned to the One above, and then we get to obey him. 

Verses 6 and 7 tells us the setting. Jeremiah again approaches the king. The assault has begun in Jerusalem. I hear the appeal of Jeremiah. His jeremiad nature is showing. He is weepy. He is passionate. He cares for the king. 

Verses 8 and following showcase one example of many, no doubt, of the failures of the king to follow Torah and to bring freedom to his people. The irony is apparent as the people have only one way to escape and that’s to submit to the conquerors. For that, they must be free to choose to lay down their arms and go with the Babylonians. What’s ridiculous is the image of landowners and slaves, all the while both in danger of conquest, and the landowners are dominating the slaves. It feels like the upper class on the Titanic demanding their tea be served precisely at 4 pm. It feels like the Southern plantation owners in the US Civil War expecting the slaves to bring in the cotton while Sherman is marching to the Sea, burning every farm en route from Atlanta to Savanna. 

In this battle with the armies of Babylon, playing the part of the armies on the Risk board in full steam ahead motion, the members who are to-be-conquered are pretending that everything is just fine, thank you. Oblivious to reality, or dismissive and hopeful that the prophet is wrong. Which of course, he is not. 

Yeshua said much about the last days as well. Some believe that this ending will never come. Yeshua will not return. Nothing will be different than it ever has been. I honestly don’t believe those folks. The world is ending; the world as we know it is moving in a direction from which it cannot return. 

Listen to how Yeshua said what would happen, from Luke chapter 17:

²⁶ “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: ²⁷ they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. ²⁸ “It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; ²⁹ but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. ³⁰ “It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. ³¹ “On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back. ³² “Remember Lot’s wife. ³³ “Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”

There are those who imagine yesterday and today and tomorrow will always be here. But real problems will come; real events will mark endings as well as beginnings. Wars will continue with or without provocation. And the weapons of our warfare are increasing in power and destruction. Natural disasters will continue to increase. But the unbelievers in the story will eat and drink, which isn’t about fasting or dining. It’s about normal, even settled, living. They will go on about their lives as if nothing will ever change. They need not look up to heaven. They don’t have to worry. They have their superannuation settled; they know whom they will marry and they have the lives of their children all sorted. Life goes on. She’ll be right, mate. 

Yeshua says more in that chapter in Luke. “³⁴ “I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. ³⁵ “There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left.”

Drastic wake up calls will be made, and only those who are tuned in to the words of God will hear them. 

Noah, Lot, last days… all are on the edge of destruction. 

The irony of the keeping of slaves rather than obeying the Words of Torah (Lev 25.9-10) highlights the everything-will-be-just-fine thinking of the elite. And what Yeshua clearly wants us to learn in both Jeremiah and in Luke 17 is that everything is NOT just fine. That’s rather odd, isn’t it, after the last four weeks, the study of the Book of Consolation as it’s often titled. (Chapters 30-33) But here we have to learn how to read the Bible more clearly. Every book is not a simple progression from cradle to grave, from darkness to light, from sadness to victorious gladness. There are ups and downs in each book of the Bible, so it seems, and Jeremiah is certainly no different. Yes, there will be consolation, we learned, but not for the people of 586 BCE. It will be another 70 years before that consolation actually takes place. 

And what do we hear here? A reminder of the breaking of covenant. Now, before you miss it, think again of chapter 31. God uses Jeremiah to teach the people that although we broke the covenant which he made with us in Egypt (really at Sinai), that he would make a new covenant with us. That was enacted and made possible in Yeshua, the messiah. 

When Jeremiah indicts the people for covenant breaking, they should have remembered that a new one is on its way. Yes, they should feel badly. The animal was cut in half and all Israel, alive in the loins of our father Abraham, made covenant with the Almighty. But now, we have broken it. Remember, if you break one law it’s as if you have broken the entire Law. (James 2.10)

So here we end the story today with some notes of sadness and ruin. We missed the mark. We failed. There is therefore now, no hope. Our destiny is in conquest, not we conquering, but being conquered. We have no more armies on the Risk board. 

Colloquial terms like our dead bodies being food for the birds don’t sit well with our people, ever. But I’m wondering if you and I had been there, hearing Jeremiah’s words, what would we have done? Yes, the captivity was coming and it was doubly sure. But would we have released our slaves? Would we have laid down our sword and shield? Would we have gone willingly to Babylon and saved the people of God for the future? 

Today’s choices are different of course. We are not living in Israel and living with armies ready to conquer us. And if either of those statements were true of us, the simple if, then hypothesis would not be able to be applied to our situation. 

But what IS our situation is that the world is going mad, ugliness defines how we mistreat others. We expect and demand and deserve and push others down that we might advance and get up. No one wins in those situations. 

Yeshua taught us that the world would end, and it won’t be business as usual when it does. We must keep our ears to his word; we have to listen as he speaks and honestly, as others speak. Zedekiah missed it; don’t you miss it. Hear the word of the Lord. Comply with what he says, and you will have a life of peace. Now and forevermore.  

----------------- 

(There are several different styles of informal speech, including colloquialisms, slang, and jargon. While colloquial expressions are used by people within a geographic region, slang and jargon are specific to certain groups.

·       1. Slang words are unique expressions created by a specific culture or social group that often gain traction and become widely used. Slang can be new words, a shortened or modified word, or words that take on a meaning other than their original definition. Some examples of slang terms are “hip,” which means trendy, and “throw shade,” which is to lob an insult at someone.

·       2. Jargon refers to technical lingo—words and expressions created within a specific profession or trade. Jargon is most often used in formal writing. For example, the word “affidavit” is a term specific to the legal profession, also known as legalese. “Bull market” is investment banking jargon.

·       3. If slang and jargon are used in language regularly outside of their subgroups, they can become colloquialisms)

 

CONCLUSION

God is calling each of us to know him and to walk with him, today and throughout our days. Have you received Yeshua as your messiah and Lord? He is risen from the dead! Have you renounced your sin, your idolatry, your forsaking God and given him First Place in your life? If not, please, do so now, just now, as we pray together. Use your own words, if you want, but yield, surrender, to the Lord of life. 

 

PRAYER

Then please write us (admin@jewsforjesus.org.au) to tell us what you have just done, and we will send you literature and encourage you. You are part of our family; we love and appreciate you. And we want you to enjoy the presence of the Lord who calls, who knows, who blesses and builds us up. 

We hope to see you again next week as we study chapter 34. Until then, Shabbat shalom!

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barnes, Albert, Commentary on the Old Testament. (Published by many, from 1880 on)

Henry, Matthew, Commentary.

Keown, Gerald, Scalise, Pamela, Smothers, Thomas, Word Biblical Commentary. Book of Jeremiah (Part 2).  1995. 

McConnville, Gordon, Jeremiah, New Bible Commentary. 

Wright, Christopher, The Message of Jeremiah, The Bible Speaks Today. Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014.

 

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ACTUAL TEXT

er. 34:1   The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when ^aNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, with ^ball the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem and against all its cities, saying, ² “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘^aGo and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him: “Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, ^bI am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and ^che will burn it with fire. ³ ‘^aYou will not escape from his hand, for you will surely be captured and delivered into his hand; and you will ^bsee the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you ¹face to face, and you will go to Babylon.’”’ ⁴ “Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the LORD concerning you, ‘You will not die by the sword. ⁵ ‘You will die in peace; and as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will ^aburn spices for you; and ^bthey will lament for you, “Alas, lord!”’ For I have spoken the word,” declares the LORD.

 

Jer. 34:6   Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke ^aall these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem ⁷ when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the remaining cities of Judah, that is, ^aLachish and ^bAzekah, for they alone remained as ^cfortified cities among the cities of Judah.

 

Jer. 34:8   The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD after King Zedekiah had ^amade a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to ^bproclaim ¹release to them: ⁹ that each man should set free his male servant and each man his female servant, a ^aHebrew man or a Hebrew woman; so that ^bno one should keep them, a Jew his brother, in bondage. ¹⁰ And all the ^aofficials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each man should set free his male servant and each man his female servant, so that no one should keep them any longer in bondage; they obeyed, and set them free. ¹¹ But afterward they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection for male servants and for female servants.

 

Jer. 34:12   Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, ¹³ “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘I ^amade a covenant with your forefathers in the day that I ^bbrought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, saying, ¹⁴ “^aAt the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who ¹has been sold to you and has served you six years, you shall send him out free from you; but your forefathers ^bdid not obey Me or incline their ear to Me. ¹⁵ “Although recently you had turned and ^adone what is right in My sight, each man proclaiming ¹release to his neighbor, and you had ^bmade a covenant before Me ^cin the house which is called by My name. ¹⁶ “Yet you ^aturned and ^bprofaned My name, and each man ¹took back his male servant and each man his female servant whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your male servants and female servants.”’

 

Jer. 34:17   “Therefore thus says the LORD, ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming ¹release each man to his brother and each man to his neighbor. Behold, I am proclaiming a ¹release to you,’ declares the LORD, ‘to the sword, to the pestilence and to the famine; and I will make you a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. ¹⁸ ‘I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not fulfilled the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts — ¹⁹ the officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the court officers and the priests and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf — ²⁰ I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. And their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. ²¹ ‘^aZedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon which has ^bgone away from you. ²² ‘Behold, I am going to command,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring them back to this city; and they will fight against it and ^atake it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’”

 

The king of love my shepherd is (A study in Jeremiah 33)

 Truth and Consequences:    

A study in the prophecy of Jeremiah

Chapter 33

By Bob Mendelsohn

Given 12 August 2022

 

Lesson Thirty-three: The King of love my shepherd is

 

INTRODUCTION

  Springtime is a time of great hope and beauty; the winter’s chills and snow and ice are melting and the sun is lingering longer. For many, this is their favourite season. It won’t be long as summer’s heat will soon be on us, and the buds on the bushes and trees will soon be blossoming. Sheep have plenty of good grass to eat, and Bondi Beach is booming again with tumbling children and splashing surfers. The world will be wonderful for many; the promise of spring and thus summer was in us last week. We had temps in the 20s and the sun shone relentlessly. I thought winter was over; winter was not complete as this week has evidenced. 

Why am I giving you this meteorological report? That you and I might think thoughts of the promise of sunshine when the sun is not shining. We need to think of promises of warmth when baby, it’s cold outside. Promises are not to be held onto when they are fulfilled; you have to hold onto promises when they are oh, so far, far away.

That said, in today’s chapter, we hear a repeat of many of the promises God made to the Judeans in chapters 30 and 31, with a new promise about King David and about Levites. Stay tuned to hear what God will say, and remember, it’s not when they are fulfilled that you ponder them. 

Let’s hear what God is saying to us in this messed up and darkening world from chapter 33 of Jeremiah. 

Verse 1 tells us the timeline of this chapter, the same as last chapter. Jeremiah is still in prison, again, like house arrest, and in this whole chapter we don’t hear anything about his prayers or his response at all. It’s all “THUS SAYS GOD” and as such is a litany of God’s thoughts, not those of the prophet. 

Verse 2, God self-introduces as is his custom, as the God who created the world, and everything in it. And that would include Babylonians and Judeans and even Kiwis. 

Verse 3, call to me, and I will answer you. It’s particular. It’s personal. God is inviting us to listen and to pray and his promise is immediate. I will answer you, he says. Can you take comfort in that promise? Today? Are you currently asking God to accomplish something? He promises to hear us. Do you believe that?

What will he tell us, great and mighty things we don’t already know. Awesome, we will have wisdom granted. We will be alerted to his plans for our neighbours and our children. Things we do not know. Like the timing of his provision. Like the times he will answer in the affirmative and times in the negative. 

Verse 4, second time, “Thus says the Lord.” And what’s the subject of this word? The houses where we live and the houses of the leadership. The defences are broken down and the enemy will enter to ruin. God says that he is open to listen to us. There are walls around the city-- they are down; there are walls around God. They are also down, but open to us! It’s a brilliant image.

Verse 5, God has hidden himself, due to our sinfulness. Our ra’ah. Listen hell may well be defined as the ultimate isolation and loneliness, far not only from the madding crowd, but also far from the Living God. If heaven is relationship and fellowship and belonging, then hell is lack of relationship and loneness and not belonging. 

Verse 6 HINEY, Behold, don’t miss this. ‘Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth. God will heal, three times in this one verse, healing is coming. Yes, admit you are sick and go to the doctor of life (God) so that your healing comes. No one gets well without such an admission. 

Arucha means ‘health’ and it comes from the root ERECH, like in Erech Apayim, long or slow to anger, and I’m glad God is perhaps slow to bring healing, but it will surely come. Also I cannot get away from the last word. Truth. Telling the truth about God. About you. About your relationship or lack of one. This promise is worth writing on a post, or on a post it, or on your wall in bright colours… God will reveal an abundance of peace and truth. 

Verse 7, we’ve seen this phrase before several times…

וַהֲשִֽׁבֹתִי֙ אֶת־שְׁב֣וּת

I will restore the fortunes. Restore the captivity (that is, to erase the captivity) Not in a permanent or conclusive way, but reset factory settings, take us back to where we were before we fell. Before we were tainted by idolatry in Judah and before we were taken into captivity. 

Verse 8, God says he will both make us pure (Taher) and forgive us (Salach) for both our sins and our transgressions. Look, so many of us use different words either to soften the reality of our sin or to excuse it, but 

“The three most familiar Hebrew terms for sin occur in this verse. The verbs ‏חטא‎, “sin” (twice), and ‏פשׁע‎, “rebel,” take singular and plural forms of the noun ‏עון, “iniquity,” as their objects (cf Hos 12:9). Every indictment in the book of Jeremiah contributes to the description of Israel’s and Judah’s iniquity.”

 

And don’t miss this object word “LI” in the text. 

מִכָּל־עֲוֹנָ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֣ר חָֽטְאוּ־לִ֑י

You sinned li, that is, against me. God takes our sins against people and against nature and against our families and against ourselves… he takes those sins personally and says you sin against me. That’s why fixing problems people-to-people is useful in social circumstances, but it doesn’t fix our lives. Only in repairing our relationship with God, in atonement, in blood-for-blood atonement, is our relationship fixable. Our lives are restored if we get right with God, and it won’t be good until then. 

“It will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for them, and they will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.’” (verse 9)

What is the ‘it’? It’s Jerusalem. That tells me that this is a prediction that will not take place until at least 70 years hence. And what are the three characteristics that define that new city? Joy, praise, and glory. Remember those from Jer. 13.11 and from Deuteronomy 26.19, God will fulfil his promises to make Jerusalem glorious, but not from military victories. Rather, this is from God being good to the peoples of the earth. Good is used twice in this sentence. God’s goodness leads people to repentance. God’s goodness leads us to thankfulness. 

Verse 10, Another “Thus says the Lord.” Third time. And through verse 11, the misfortunes of lack and of famine will be replaced with merriment and restoration. And the standard “Hodu” is sung, and is probably inserted by later authors to remind the people (“Sing God’s thanks as usual here.”)

Verses 12-13, there are five images of sheep and shepherds and if you think that’s about pastoral situations you are very close to right. It’s about the leadership of the ‘sheep of his pasture” namely the people of Israel and the kings. God will make those relationships back to ‘as in the beginning’ before the current kings had ruined things.

The verb ‘count’ surprised me, but when I think of the Lost items parables of Luke 15, that’s the only way the shepherd would know if there were 99 + 1. Only in counting his sheep did the shepherd know the flock. John 10 is where the apostle listed his “Jesus is the Good Shepherd” speech. And there we see that Jesus ‘knows his sheep’ and they ‘hear his voice and follow him.’ I identify with this notion. God made me one of his sheep and he loves and cares for me as a shepherd. The king of love, my shepherd is. No one “can take us out of his hand.”

Verse 14 introduces the promise he already gave us in chapter 23. The righteous branch, this one who is coming, will execute justice and that sounds royal and like a good king rather than the ones we’ve recently had to lead us. He will lead us to good, to holiness and purity. And in verse 15, another direct quote from the earlier chapter, the one who is born to us is named “Jehovah our righteousness.” Whoever this one is, he’s not only the rep of God; he IS God and that’s a massive surprise, eh?

Then verses 16 and 17, another Thus says the Lord (#4) the double surprise that only makes sense in terms of Yeshua, the greater Son of David. We read that there will never be a time without a Davidic king and without priests to perform sacrifices. This clearly is not fulfilled and we have an enigma.

Listen how Barnes solves this: “Read literally, these verses promise the permanent restoration of the Davidic throne and (of the Levitical priesthood. As a matter of fact Zedekiah was the last king of David’s line, and the Levitical priest-hood has long passed away. Both these changes Jeremiah himself foretold (Jeremiah 22:30; 3:16). In what way then is this apparent contradiction (compare Isaiah 66:20–23; Ezekiel 40–48) to be explained? The solution is probably as follows. It was necessary that the Bible should be intelligible to the people at the time when it was written, and in some degree to the writer. The Davidic kingship and the Levitical priest-hood were symbols, which represented to the Jew all that was most dear to his heart in the state of things under which he lived. Their restoration was the restoration of his national and spiritual life. Neither was so restored as to exist permanently. But that was given instead, of which both were types, the Church, whose Head is the true prophet, priest and King.”

Christopher Wright comments about Horizon 2 and 3. He says something similar to Barnes. “The NT affirms that the eternal nature of both the throne of David and the Leviti al priesthood was taken up and fulfilled by Jesus Christ. The angel declared the former (Luke 1.32-33) and Hebrews declares the latter (Heb. 8-10)”

This makes sense and we addressed it last week with the whole David restoration. It won’t be David himself, but the Greater Son of David who will make this happen and the priesthood of the Levites and their work in the Temple will terminate in 70 CE, BUT the Great High Priest Yeshua will take their place in substitution. 

Verse 20, Thus says the Lord, again. #5 in this chapter alone. If it’s possible that the sun and moon stop shining, then my covenant is breakable, BUT IT IS NOT. This will not happen as sure as I’m the Creator and SUSTAINER. Again the promises of God to Abraham and David are now reiterated and God will make this happen, for HIS NAME’s sake and in Yeshua they are fulfilled. 

Verse 24-26, people’s sins are apparent, AND YET, there it is…the interrupting grace of Almighty God. But I will ^crestore their ³fortunes and will have ^dmercy on them

God does this. Then. And in 70 years. And in Yeshua and in our lives. 

אָשׁוּב אֶת־שְׁבוּתָ֖ם וְרִחַמְתִּֽים

God, full of mercy and compassion. The Good Shepherd. Restoring the lost son to the Father, saving the 100^th sheep and bringing him back to himself. God doesn’t want any of us lost. He wants us restored. And he will do it. 

Have you encountered him yourself? Have you been born again?

 

CONCLUSION

God is calling each of us to know him and to walk with him, today and throughout our days. Have you received Yeshua as your messiah and Lord? He is risen from the dead! Have you renounced your sin, your idolatry, your forsaking God and given him First Place in your life? If not, please, do so now, just now, as we pray together. Use your own words, if you want, but yield, surrender, to the Lord of life. 

 

PRAYER

Then please write us (admin@jewsforjesus.org.au) to tell us what you have just done, and we will send you literature and encourage you. You are part of our family; we love and appreciate you. And we want you to enjoy the presence of the Lord who calls, who knows, who blesses and builds us up. 

We hope to see you again next week as we study chapter 34. Until then, Shabbat shalom!

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barnes, Albert, Commentary on the Old Testament. (Published by many, from 1880 on)

Henry, Matthew, Commentary.

Keown, Gerald, Scalise, Pamela, Smothers, Thomas, Word Biblical Commentary. Book of Jeremiah (Part 2).  1995. 

McConnville, Gordon, Jeremiah, New Bible Commentary. 

Wright, Christopher, The Message of Jeremiah, The Bible Speaks Today. Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014.

 

For other links:

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The videos, especially the Bible teachings are always free. However, if you are enjoying and learning from them, and would like to share in the costs $ of putting them together, to donate use this link:  https://www.jewsforjesus.org.au/giving 

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ACTUAL TEXT

Restoration Promised

 

Jer. 33:1   Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still confined in the court of the guard, saying, ² “Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it, the LORD is His name, ³ ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ ⁴ “For thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah which are broken down to make a defence against the siege ramps and against the sword, ⁵ ‘While they are coming to fight with the Chaldeans and to fill them with the corpses of men whom I have slain in My anger and in My wrath, and I have hidden My face from this city because of all their wickedness: ⁶ ‘Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth. ⁷ ‘I will restore the ¹fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel and will rebuild them as they were at first. ⁸ ‘I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have transgressed against Me. ⁹ ‘It will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for them, and they will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.’

 

Jer. 33:10   “Thus says the LORD, ‘Yet again there will be heard in this place, of which you say, “It is a waste, without man and without beast,” that is, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, ¹¹  the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, 

            “Give thanks to the LORD of hosts, 

            For the LORD is good, 

            For His lovingkindness is everlasting”; 

            and of those who bring a thank offering into the house of the LORD. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,’ says the LORD.

 

Jer. 33:12   “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘There will again be in this place which is waste, without man or beast, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds who rest their flocks. ¹³ ‘In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who numbers them,’ says the LORD.

 

The Davidic Kingdom

 

Jer. 33:14   ‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfil the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ¹⁵ ‘In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. ¹⁶ ‘In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the LORD is our righteousness.’ ¹⁷ “For thus says the LORD, ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; ¹⁸ and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to prepare sacrifices continually.’”

 

Jer. 33:19   The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁰ “Thus says the LORD, ‘If you can break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night will not be at their appointed time, ²¹ then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers. ²² ‘As the host of heaven cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.’”

 

Jer. 33:23   And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁴ “Have you not observed what this people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the LORD chose, He has rejected them’? Thus they despise My people, no longer are they as a nation ¹in their sight. ²⁵ “Thus says the LORD, ‘If My covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established, ²⁶ then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.’”