a sign for all

Posted on December 25, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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a sign for all

Jeremiah 44:1-30 (JDV)

Jeremiah 44:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt – at Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the land of Pathros:
Jeremiah 44:2 “This is what Yahveh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You have seen all the disaster I brought against Jerusalem and all Judah’s cities. Notice, they are a ruin today without an inhabitant in them
Jeremiah 44:3 because of the evil they committed to anger me, by going and burning incense to serve other gods that they, you, and your fathers did not know.
Jeremiah 44:4 So I sent you all my servants the prophets time and time again, saying, ‘Don’t commit this disgusting crime that I hate.’
Jeremiah 44:5 But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their evil or stop burning incense to other gods.
Jeremiah 44:6 So my fierce wrath poured out and burned in Judah’s cities and Jerusalem’s streets so that they became the desolate ruin they are today.
Jeremiah 44:7 “So now, this is what Yahveh, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Why are you doing such horrible harm to yourselves? You are cutting off man and woman, infant and nursing baby from Judah, leaving yourselves without a remainder.
Jeremiah 44:8 You are angering me by the work of your hands. You are burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to stay for a while. As a result, you will be cut off and become an example for cursing and insult among all the nations of land.
Jeremiah 44:9 Have you forgotten the crimes of your fathers, the crimes of Judah’s kings, the crimes of their wives, your own crimes, and the crimes of your wives that were committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
Jeremiah 44:10 They have not become humble to this day, and they have not feared or followed my instruction or my prescriptions that I set before you and your fathers.
Jeremiah 44:11 “Therefore, this is what Yahveh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am about to set my face against you to bring disaster, to cut off all Judah.
Jeremiah 44:12 And I will take away the remainder of Judah, those who have set their face to go to the land of Egypt to stay there. All of them will meet their end in the land of Egypt. They will fall by the sword; they will meet their end by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by the sword and by famine. Then they will become an example for cursing, scorn, and a curse, and disgrace.
Jeremiah 44:13 I will punish those living in the land of Egypt just as I punished Jerusalem by sword, famine, and plague.
Jeremiah 44:14 Then the remainder of Judah – those going to live for a while there in the land of Egypt – will have no fugitive or survivor to return to the land of Judah where they are longing to return to stay, for they will not return except for a few fugitives.”
Jeremiah 44:15 However, all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, all the women standing by – a great collection – and all the people who were living in the land of Egypt at Pathros answered Jeremiah,
Jeremiah 44:16 “As for the word you spoke to us in the name of Yahveh, we are not going to listen to you!
Jeremiah 44:17 Instead, we will do everything we promised: we will burn incense to the queen of the sky and offer drink offerings to her just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in Judah’s cities and in Jerusalem’s streets. Then we had enough food, we were well off, and we saw no disaster,
Jeremiah 44:18 but from the time we ceased to burn incense to the queen of the sky and to offer her drink offerings, we have lacked everything, and through sword and famine we have met our end.”
Jeremiah 44:19 And the women said, “When we burned incense to the queen of the sky and poured out drink offerings to her, was it apart from our husbands’ knowledge that we made sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”
Jeremiah 44:20 But Jeremiah responded to all the people – the men, women, and all the people who were answering him:
Jeremiah 44:21 “As for the incense you burned in Judah’s cities and in Jerusalem’s streets – you, your fathers, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land – did Yahveh not remember them? He brought this to mind.
Jeremiah 44:22 Yahveh can no longer bear your evil deeds and the detestable acts you have committed, so your land has become a waste, a desolation, and an example for cursing, without inhabitant, as you see today.
Jeremiah 44:23 Because you burned incense and failed Yahveh and didn’t obey Yahveh and didn’t follow his instruction, his statutes, and his testimonies, this disaster has come to you, as you see today.”
Jeremiah 44:24 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “Hear the word of Yahveh, all you people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt.
Jeremiah 44:25 This is what Yahveh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘As for you and your wives, you women have spoken with your mouths, and you men fulfilled it by your deeds, saying, “We will keep our vows that we have made to burn incense to the queen of the sky and to pour out drink offerings for her.” Go ahead, confirm your vows! Keep your vows!’
Jeremiah 44:26 “Therefore, hear the word of Yahveh, all you Judeans who live in the land of Egypt: ‘I have sworn by my great name, says Yahveh, that my name will never again be invoked by anyone of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “As the Lord Yahveh lives.”
Jeremiah 44:27 I am watching over them for disaster and not for good, and everyone from Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine until they are finished off.
Jeremiah 44:28 Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah only few in number, and the whole remainder of Judah, the ones going to the land of Egypt to stay there for a while, will know whose word stands, mine or theirs!
Jeremiah 44:29 This will be a sign to you’ – this is what Yahveh declares – ‘that I will punish you in this place, so you may know that my words of disaster concerning you will certainly come to pass.
Jeremiah 44:30 This is what Yahveh says: I am about to hand over Pharaoh Hophra, Egypt’s king, to his enemies, to those who intend to take his life, just as I handed over Judah’s King Zedekiah to Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar, who was his enemy, the one who intended to take his life.'”

a sign for all

I try to connect these daily devotionals to a theme related to the holiday they happen to be posted on, but this one will be a bit more difficult than usual.

Let me put it this way. Pharaoh’s capture would be the sign that the people of Judah who had fled to Egypt against Jeremiah’s word would be punished there. It was a sign of disaster for all.

Jesus’ birth was a sign to the believers at that time that God was ready to deliver them. His miraculous birth, which we celebrate this day, still offers hope for us all.

Lord, may my readers and their families know the hope that Jesus’ birth can bring to us all.

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escape to Egypt, or not

Posted on December 24, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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escape to Egypt, or not

Jeremiah 43:1-13 (JDV)

Jeremiah 43:1 When Jeremiah had finished speaking to all the people all the words of Yahveh their God – all these words Yahveh their God had sent him to give them –
Jeremiah 43:2 then Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and all the other presumptuous men responded to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie! Yahveh our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to stay there for a while! ‘
Jeremiah 43:3 Instead, Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Chaldeans to put us to death or to deport us to Babylon!”
Jeremiah 43:4 So Johanan son of Kareah, all the commanders of the armies, and all the people failed to obey Yahveh ‘s command to stay in the land of Judah.
Jeremiah 43:5 Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies led away the whole remainder of Judah, those who had returned to stay in the land of Judah from all the nations where they had been banished.
Jeremiah 43:6 They led away the men, women, children, king’s daughters, and everyone whom Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards, had allowed to remain with Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan. They also led the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch son of Neriah away.
Jeremiah 43:7 They went to the land of Egypt because they did not obey Yahveh. They went as far as Tahpanhes.
Jeremiah 43:8 Then the word of Yahveh came to Jeremiah at Tahpanhes:
Jeremiah 43:9 “Pick up some large stones and set them in the mortar of the brick pavement that is at the opening of Pharaoh’s palace at Tahpanhes. Do this in the sight of the Judean men
Jeremiah 43:10 and tell them, ‘This is what Yahveh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will place his throne on these stones that I have embedded, and he will erect his canopy over them.
Jeremiah 43:11 He will come and strike down the land of Egypt – those destined for death, to death; those destined for captivity, to captivity; and those destined for the sword, to the sword.
Jeremiah 43:12 I will kindle a fire in the temples of Egypt’s gods, and he will burn them and take them captive. He will clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd picks lice off his clothes, and he will leave there untouched.
Jeremiah 43:13 He will smash the sacred pillars of the sun temple in the land of Egypt and burn the temples of the Egyptian gods.'”

escape to Egypt, or not

Our Lord Jesus had to go to Egypt to escape death at the hands of Herod. His parents brought him there at God’s command. But these contemporaries of Jeremiah went to Egypt because they refused God’s command, and claimed that it was a lie.

Apparently, Joseph and Mary and Jesus prospered while in Egypt, and were able to return when Herod’s reign of terror was over. But these contemporaries of Jeremiah brought terror on themselves by going where God had warned them not to go. The Lord even told Jeremiah where Nebuchadnezzar would set up his battle throne as he conquered that land.

God has a purpose for this time, and this generation. We should seek that purpose and make our decisions on the basis of that purpose.

Lord, show us your purpose and plan for this time, and give us the courage to obey, whether your purpose is go or stay.

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if it is only your plan

Posted on December 23, 2020 by Jefferson Vann

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if it is only your plan

Jeremiah 42:1-22 (JDV)

Jeremiah 42:1 Then all the commanders of the armies, along with Johanan son of Kareah, Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, approached
Jeremiah 42:2 the prophet Jeremiah and said, “May our petition come before you; pray to Yahveh your God on our behalf, on behalf of this entire remainder (for few of us remain out of the many, as you can see with your own eyes),
Jeremiah 42:3 that Yahveh your God may tell us the way we should go and the thing we should do.”
Jeremiah 42:4 So the prophet Jeremiah said to them, “I have heard. I will now pray to Yahveh your God according to your words, and I will tell you every word that Yahveh answers you; I won’t withhold a word from you.”
Jeremiah 42:5 And they said to Jeremiah, “May Yahveh be a true and faithful witness against us if we don’t act according to every word Yahveh your God sends you to tell us.
Jeremiah 42:6 Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will obey Yahveh our God to whom we are sending you so that it may go well with us. We will certainly obey Yahveh our God!”
Jeremiah 42:7 At the end of ten days, the word of Yahveh came to Jeremiah,
Jeremiah 42:8 and he summoned Johanan son of Kareah, all the commanders of the armies who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest.
Jeremiah 42:9 He said to them, “This is what Yahveh says, the God of Israel to whom you sent me to bring your petition before him:
Jeremiah 42:10 ‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will rebuild and not demolish you, and I will plant and not uproot you, because I relent concerning the disaster that I have brought on you.
Jeremiah 42:11 Don’t be afraid of the king of Babylon whom you now fear; don’t be afraid of him’ – this is what Yahveh declares – ‘because I am with you to save you and rescue you from him.
Jeremiah 42:12 I will grant you compassion, and he will have compassion on you and allow you to return to your own soil.’
Jeremiah 42:13 “But if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ in order to disobey Yahveh your God,
Jeremiah 42:14 and if you say, ‘No, instead we’ll go to the land of Egypt where we will not see war or hear the sound of the ram’s horn or hunger for food, and we’ll live there,’
Jeremiah 42:15 then hear the word of Yahveh, remainder of Judah! This is what Yahveh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are firmly resolved to go to Egypt and stay there for a while,
Jeremiah 42:16 then the sword you fear will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine you are worried about will follow on your heels there to Egypt, and you will die there.
Jeremiah 42:17 All who resolve to go to Egypt to stay there for a while will die by the sword, famine, and plague. They will have no survivor or fugitive from the disaster I will bring on them.’
Jeremiah 42:18 “You see, this is what Yahveh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as my anger and fury were poured out on Jerusalem’s residents, so will my fury pour out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an example for cursing, scorn, execration, and disgrace, and you will never see this place again.’
Jeremiah 42:19 Yahveh has spoken concerning you, remainder of Judah: ‘Don’t go to Egypt.’ Know for certain that I have warned you today!
Jeremiah 42:20 You have gone astray at the cost of your lives because you are the ones who sent me to Yahveh your God, saying, ‘Pray to Yahveh our God on our behalf, and as for all that Yahveh our God says, tell it to us, and we’ll act accordingly.’
Jeremiah 42:21 You see, I have told you today, but you have not obeyed Yahveh your God in everything he has sent me to tell you.
Jeremiah 42:22 Now therefore, know for certain that by the sword, famine, and plague you will die in the place where you desired to go to stay for a while.”

if it is only your plan

The leaders of the re-formed alliance in Judah were trying to solidify their hold on the people, so they appealed to Jeremiah. They really were not interested in what the LORD wanted. They simply wanted religious approval of their plans.

Friend, perhaps you have thought for some time that God wanted you or your church to do something — to make some change, and you have prayed to God to open the door for that something to happen. I suggest that you consider whether your plan is really God’s plan. If it is really God’s plan then pray, obey, and make it happen. But if it is only your plan, then don’t be so quick to get God’s approval for it.

Lord, give us discernment!

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dangerous times

Posted on December 22, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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dangerous times

Jeremiah 41:1-18 (JDV)

Jeremiah 41:1 It happened in the seventh month: Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family and one of the king’s chief officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. They were eating bread together there in Mizpah,
Jeremiah 41:2 but then Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword; he killed the one the king of Babylon had appointed in the land.
Jeremiah 41:3 Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Chaldean soldiers who were there.
Jeremiah 41:4 On the day after he had killed Gedaliah, when no one knew yet,
Jeremiah 41:5 eighty men came from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria who had shaved their beards, torn their clothes, and gashed themselves, and who were carrying grain and incense offerings to bring to the temple of Yahveh.
Jeremiah 41:6 Ishmael son of Nethaniah came out of Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. When he encountered them, he said, “Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam!”
Jeremiah 41:7 But when they came into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and threw them into a cistern.
Jeremiah 41:8 However, there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Don’t kill us, because we have hidden treasure in the field – wheat, barley, oil, and honey!” So he stopped and did not kill them along with their companions.
Jeremiah 41:9 And the cistern where Ishmael had thrown all the corpses of the men he had struck down was a large one that King Asa had made in the encounter with King Baasha of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the victims.
Jeremiah 41:10 Then Ishmael took captive all the remainder of the people of Mizpah including the daughters of the king– all those who remained in Mizpah over whom Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards, had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive and set off to cross over to the Ammonites.
Jeremiah 41:11 When Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael son of Nethaniah had done,
Jeremiah 41:12 they took all their men and went to fight with Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They found him by the great pool in Gibeon.
Jeremiah 41:13 When all the people held by Ishmael saw Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the army with him, they celebrated.
Jeremiah 41:14 All the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and rejoined Johanan son of Kareah.
Jeremiah 41:15 But Ishmael son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites.
Jeremiah 41:16 Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies with him then took from Mizpah all the remainder of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after Ishmael had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam– men, soldiers, women, children, and court officials whom he brought back from Gibeon.
Jeremiah 41:17 They left, stopping in Geruth Chimham, which is near Bethlehem, in order to make their way into Egypt,
Jeremiah 41:18 away from the Chaldeans. For they feared them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.

dangerous times

Chaos ensued as the remnant in Israel attempts to stay alive in an environment where leaders conspire to destroy one another. Jeremiah has been set free to go wherever he wishes, but there is no safe place. Gedaliah was appointed as the people’s representative to Babylon, but he is soon killed, and his murderer cannot be trusted. These are dangerous times, but God is still in control.

LORD, when the dangerous times come, and no safe haven is really safe, we will trust in you.

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not cautious enough

Posted on December 21, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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not cautious enough

Jeremiah 40:13-16 (JDV)

Jeremiah 40:13 Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies in the countryside came to Gedaliah at Mizpah
Jeremiah 40:14 and warned him, “You certainly know that Baalis, king of the Ammonites, has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to cut your throat?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam would not believe them.
Jeremiah 40:15 Then Johanan son of Kareah suggested to Gedaliah in private at Mizpah, “Let me go kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah. No one will know it. Why should he cut your throat and allow all of Judah that has gathered around you to scatter and the remainder of Judah to be destroyed?”
Jeremiah 40:16 But Gedaliah son of Ahikam responded to Johanan son of Kareah, “Don’t do this! What you’re saying about Ishmael is a lie.”

not cautious enough

Gedaliah’s problem here is that he is too quick to trust Ishmael, and too quick to dismiss the negative news about him. It would not only cost Gedaliah his life, but also many others would die as well.

Lord, give us the insight we need to walk wisely, not being too quick to dismiss negative news. Help us to be cautious when we do not have all the facts.

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a harvest in an uncertain time

Posted on December 20, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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a harvest in an uncertain time

Jeremiah 40:7-12 (JDV)

Jeremiah 40:7 All the commanders of the armies that were in the countryside – they and their men – heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land. He had been put in charge of the men, women, and children from among the poorest of the land, who had not been deported to Babylon.
Jeremiah 40:8 So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The commanders included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maacathite – they and their men.
Jeremiah 40:9 Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore an oath to them and their men, assuring them, “Don’t be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.
Jeremiah 40:10 As for me, I am going to live in Mizpah to represent you before the Chaldeans who come to us. As for you, gather wine, summer fruit, and oil, place them in your storage jars, and live in the cities you have captured.”
Jeremiah 40:11 When all the Judeans in Moab and among the Ammonites and in Edom and in all the other lands also heard that the king of Babylon had left a remainder in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, over them,
Jeremiah 40:12 they all returned from all the places where they had been banished and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and harvested a great amount of wine and summer fruit.

a harvest in an uncertain time

Gedaliah’s words were wise, but it was too early to see if they would work. It took courage for the people to come back again and settle for serving Babylon and wait for God’s deliverance. But courage is one of those things that is only proven over the long haul.

In the midst of this chaos and uncertainty, God gives the people of Judah a great harvest. I have found that during the times of uncertainty in my life, there was always some unexpected blessing that showed me that God is still there, and it encouraged me to keep trusting him.

This year has been one of those times of uncertainty. We have had crises in public health, politics, racial conflict. You name it, we have experienced it this year. But God has been with us, and he has blessed us.

Lord, thank you for the signs of your blessing during times of uncertainty.

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him, I know

Posted on December 19, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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him, I know

Jeremiah 39:11- 40:6 (JDV)

Jeremiah 39:11 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gave orders, via Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards, concerning Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 39:12 “Take him and look after him. Don’t do him any harm, but do for him whatever he says.”
Jeremiah 39:13 Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards, Nebushazban the chief of staff, Nergal-sharezer the chief soothsayer, and all the captains of Babylon’s king
Jeremiah 39:14 had Jeremiah brought from the guard’s courtyard and turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he settled among his own people.
Jeremiah 39:15 Now the word of Yahveh had come to Jeremiah when he was confined in the guard’s courtyard:
Jeremiah 39:16 “Go tell Ebed-melech the Cushite, ‘This is what Yahveh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words for disaster and not for good against this city. They will take place before your eyes on that day.
Jeremiah 39:17 But I will rescue you on that day – this is what Yahveh declares – and you will not be handed over to the men you are fearing.
Jeremiah 39:18 In fact, I will certainly deliver you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in me, you will retain your life like the spoils of war. this is what Yahveh declares.'”
Jeremiah 40:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from Yahveh after Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards, released him at Ramah. When he found him, he was bound in chains with all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon.
Jeremiah 40:2 The captain of the guards took Jeremiah and said to him, “Yahveh your God decreed this disaster on this place,
Jeremiah 40:3 and Yahveh has fulfilled it. He has done just what he decreed. Because you people have failed Yahveh and have not obeyed him, this thing has happened.
Jeremiah 40:4 Now pay attention: Today I am setting you free from the chains that were on your hands. If it pleases you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will take care of you. But if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, go no farther. You see that the whole land is in front of you. Wherever it seems good and right for you to go, go there.”
Jeremiah 40:5 When Jeremiah had not yet turned to go, Nebuzaradan said to him, “Return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people or go wherever it seems right for you to go.” So the captain of the guards gave him a ration and a gift and released him.
Jeremiah 40:6 Jeremiah therefore went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah, and he stayed with him among the people who remained in the land.

him, I know

How did Jeremiah know which choice to make? Would he serve best the exiled house of Judah, or the newly appointed governor Gedaliah?

Jeremiah knew both Gedaliah’s father (2 Kings 22:12-14) and his grandfather (2 Kings 22:3-13). It may be that Jeremiah felt he would finally have a leader that respected him. Perhaps that is why he chose to stay.

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Lord, give us leaders who respect you, and your congregation.

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proven right

Posted on December 18, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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proven right

Jeremiah 39:1-10 (JDV)

Jeremiah 39:1 In the ninth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem with his entire army and besieged it.
Jeremiah 39:2 In the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, on the ninth day of the month, the city was stormed.
Jeremiah 39:3 All the Babylonian king’s commanders entered and sat at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar, Nebusarsechim the chief of staff, Nergal-sharezer the chief soothsayer, and all the rest of the Babylonian king’s commanders.
Jeremiah 39:4 When King Zedekiah of Judah and all the fighting men saw them, they ran away. They left the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the city gate between the two walls. They left along the route to the Arabah.
Jeremiah 39:5 However, the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They arrested him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon’s king, at Riblah in the land of Hamath. The king passed sentence on him there.
Jeremiah 39:6 At Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all Judah’s nobles.
Jeremiah 39:7 Then he blinded Zedekiah and put him in bronze chains to take him to Babylon.
Jeremiah 39:8 The Chaldeans next burned down the king’s palace and the people’s houses and tore down the walls of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 39:9 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, deported the rest of the people to Babylon – those who had remained in the city and those deserters who had defected to him along with the rest of the people who remained.
Jeremiah 39:10 However, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and he gave them vineyards and fields at that time.

proven right

The last thing Zedekiah would see would be the death of his sons and his nobles. Then he was blinded and taken to Babylon. Besides some poor people left to maintain the vineyards and farms, everyone else was taken away to become plunder.

Jeremiah tells this story in tears, and repeats it in a more poetic fashion in Lamentations. He had spent his life warning his people that God would not tolerate their rebellion. Now he is proven right. He is not gloating. He laments.

Lord, we want to tell the truth of your coming judgment, but plead for you to let us save some from this fate by bringing them to repentance.

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Zedekiah’s oath

Posted on December 17, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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Zedekiah’s oath

Jeremiah 38:14-28 (JDV)

Jeremiah 38:14 King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah and received him at the third entrance of Yahveh’s temple. The king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to ask you something; don’t hide anything from me.”
Jeremiah 38:15 Jeremiah replied to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, you will kill me, won’t you? Besides, if I did give you advice, you woudn’t listen to me.”
Jeremiah 38:16 King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in private, “As Yahveh lives, who has given us this throat, I will not kill you or hand you over to these men who intend to cut your throat.”
Jeremiah 38:17 Jeremiah therefore said to Zedekiah, “This is what Yahveh, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you really surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned, and you and your household will survive.
Jeremiah 38:18 But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans. They will burn it, and you yourself will not escape from them.'”
Jeremiah 38:19 But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am worried about the Judeans who have defected to the Chaldeans. They may hand me over to the Judeans to abuse me.”
Jeremiah 38:20 “They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey Yahveh in what I am telling you, so it may go well for you and your throat can stay alive.
Jeremiah 38:21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is the verdict that Yahveh has shown me:
Jeremiah 38:22 ‘All the women who remain in the palace of Judah’s king will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon and will say to you, “Your trusted friends misled you and overcame you. Your feet sank into the mire, and they deserted you.”
Jeremiah 38:23 All your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans. You yourself will not escape from them, because you will be seized by the king of Babylon and this city will burn.'”
Jeremiah 38:24 Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, “Don’t let anyone know about this conversation or you will die.
Jeremiah 38:25 The officials may hear that I have spoken with you and come and demand of you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king; don’t hide anything from us and we won’t kill you. Also, what did the king say to you?’
Jeremiah 38:26 If they do, tell them, ‘I was bringing before the king my petition that he not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.'”
Jeremiah 38:27 All the officials did come to Jeremiah, and they questioned him. He reported the exact words to them the king had commanded, and they quit speaking with him because the conversation had not been overheard.
Jeremiah 38:28 Jeremiah remained in the guard’s courtyard until the day Jerusalem was captured, and he was there when it happened.

Zedekiah’s oath

I commented on the spiritual implications of this chapter in yesterday’s post. Permit me to comment on the theological implications of verse 16 today. You see, most translations render Zedekiah’s oath as an assurance that he would protect Jeremiah’s life. That is true, but the word usually translated life in that verse is not the same word that corresponds to the adjective in the phrase “As Yahveh lives.”

Instead, the word is nefesh (נֶפֶשׁ), a word often translated “soul.” Common belief has it that the soul is a separate entity that lives inside the body, but survives it after the body’s death.

But in passages like this, where the word obviously refers to something other than an immortal soul, the translators render it “life” as if it is a synonym for chayim (חַיִּים). By so doing, they bypass the figure of speech involved in Zedekiah’s use of the word. The word nefesh is firstly a word indicating the throat. It only became a word for the life inside the body as a metaphor. As the organ for breathing, the throat became a symbol for a body with the breath still inside — a body still alive. To take someone’s throat is to kill him. Zedekiah is promising Jeremiah that he will make sure nobody kills him.

The statement makes perfect sense unless you insist that a person’s soul is immortal. If the soul is immortal, then nobody would be able to take Jeremiah’s soul, and Zedekiah would not be in a position to prevent it, so his oath would be meaningless. There are a number of passages like this, which do not make sense if the theological assumptions of traditionalists and universalists are correct. We don’t normally recognize these passages because the translators have “helped” us by hiding the original wording.

I encourage you to learn the original languages, and read the Bible for yourself. You have the right to know what is really there.

Lord, give us open eyes to see what your word really says.

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stuck in the mud

Posted on December 16, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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stuck in the mud

Jeremiah 38:1-13 (JDV)

Jeremiah 38:1 Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchijah heard the words Jeremiah was speaking to all the people:
Jeremiah 38:2 “This is what Yahveh says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live. He will keep his life like the spoils of war and will live.’
Jeremiah 38:3 This is what Yahveh says: ‘This city will most certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon’s army, and he will capture it.'”
Jeremiah 38:4 The officials then said to the king, “This man needs to die, because he is weakening the morale of the warriors who remain in this city and of all the people by speaking to them in this way. This man is not chasing the welfare of this people, but their harm.”
Jeremiah 38:5 King Zedekiah said, “Here he is; he’s in your hands since the king can’t do anything against you.”
Jeremiah 38:6 So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the guard’s courtyard, lowering Jeremiah with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.
Jeremiah 38:7 But Ebed-melech, a Cushite court official in the king’s palace, heard Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate,
Jeremiah 38:8 Ebed-melech went from the king’s palace and spoke to the king:
Jeremiah 38:9 “My lord the king, these men have been evil in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah. They have dropped him into the cistern where he will die from hunger, because there is no more bread in the city.”
Jeremiah 38:10 So the king commanded Ebed-melech, the Cushite, “Take from here thirty men under your authority and pull the prophet Jeremiah up from the cistern before he dies.”
Jeremiah 38:11 So Ebed-melech took the men under his authority and went to the king’s palace to a place below the storehouse. From there he took old rags and worn-out clothes and lowered them by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.
Jeremiah 38:12 Ebed-melech the Cushite called down to Jeremiah, “Place these old rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did this.
Jeremiah 38:13 They pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, but he stayed in the guard’s courtyard.

stuck in the mud

Two men were stuck in the mud. Jeremiah was thrown into a cistern to die because his words were too offensive for sinners to bear. Zedekiah was trapped in his own fear and stubbornness. Both needed freedom, but only one would be set free. How many times will we be caught in the trap of our own sinfulness, always coming back to the same embarrassing behaviors?

LORD, set us free from the stubborn pride that keeps us from honoring you with our lives. Deliver us by your Holy Spirit.

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