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.
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(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.’”
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