2. Key Text:
“He defended
the cause of the
poor and needy,
and so all went
well. Is that not
what it means to
know me?”
Jeremiah 22:16
3. Famed Russian
writer Fyodor Dos-
toevsky spent four
years in a Siberian
prison in the 1800s
for subversive po-
litical activities.
Later, writing about
his experiences, he
talked about some
of his fellow prisoners’ utter lack of remorse for their terrible
behavior. “In the course of several years, I never saw a sign of
repentance among these people; not a trace of despondent
brooding over their crimes, and the majority of them inwardly
considered themselves absolutely in the right.”—Joseph Frank,
Dostoevsky, The Years of Ordeal, 1850–1859 (Princeton, N.J.:
Princeton University Press, 1990), p. 95.
4. Dostoevsky could have been talking about, with the exception of
Josiah, the five kings who ruled Judah during the ministry of
Jeremiah. One after another, these men seemed totally
unrepentant for their actions, even as it became clearer and clearer
that their actions were bringing the calamities that the Lord,
through Jeremiah, had warned would come.
It had never been God’s intention to give Israel a king; by the end of
this week’s lesson, we will better understand why. We’ll
understand, too, the severe pressure that poor Jeremiah faced
during much of his unappreciated ministry.
5. Josiah
(640-609)
• The last
good king of
Judah.
Jehoahaz
(609)
• He was
deported to
Egypt.
Jehoiakim
(609-598)
• First
deportation
to Babylon
[Daniel].
Jehoiachin
(598-597)
• Second
deportation
to Babylon
[Ezekiel].
Zedekiah
(597-586)
• Jerusalem is
destroyed.
(All dates BC)
Jeremiah was called as a prophet in the 13th year of Josiah’s
reign (627 BC), so he could support Josiah’s religious
reformation. After Josiah’s death, Jeremiah tried to make the
last four kings of Judah leave their evil ways. Nevertheless, his
efforts were in vain and Jerusalem couldn’t be saved from being
destroyed.
6. JOSIAH “Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned
thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the sight
of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not
turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” (2 Chronicles 34:1-2)
At8
He was
crowned.
His father
and
grandfather
were
idolatrous
kings.
At16
He began
seeking
God.
At20
He stopped
idolatry
throughout
Israel and
Judah.
At21
Jeremiah
began
prophesying
. He was a
little
younger
than Josiah.
At26
He cleansed
the temple.
He read the
Law and
made a
covenant
with God.
First phase of
reformation:
abandoning
sin.
2 Chronicles
34:3-7.
Second phase of
reformation: a
covenant with God;
keeping the law and
following the teachings
from in Bible.
2 Chronicles 34:31.
7. JEHOAHAZ “Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of
Josiah, and made him king in his father’s place in Jerusalem.
Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king,
and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.” (2 Chronicles 36:1-2)
Josiah died in a battle while he was
fighting Pharaoh Necho II. His son
Shallum (Jehoahaz) reigned after
him.
Three months after his campaign
against Babylon, Pharaoh Necho
brought Jehoahaz to Egypt and
crowned Jehoiakim—who
supported Egypt. Pharaoh Necho
was trying to stop Babylon that
way.
God used Jeremiah to announce
that Jehoahaz would never return
from Egypt (Jeremiah 22:11-12).
8. JEHOIAKIM “Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became
king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His
mother’s name was Zebudah the daughter of Pedaiah of
Rumah. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according
to all that his fathers had done.” (2 Kings 23:36-37)
Pharaoh Necho lost the battle of
Carchemish against
Nebuchadnezzar. Then,
Jehoiakim had to surrender to
Babylon in 605 BC.
Two grave sins blotted his reign:
1. Idolatry and rejecting God (Jeremiah 22:20-21).
2. Social injustice: “Woe to him who builds his
house by unrighteousness and his chambers by
injustice, who uses his neighbor’s service
without wages and gives him nothing for his
work.” (Jeremiah 22:13).
Those two sins often come together. Therefore,
God invites us through the Bible to do good to
those around us and to treat everyone with
fairness.
9. JEHOIACHIN “‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim,
king of Judah, were the signet on My right hand, yet I would pluck
you off.’” (Jeremiah 22:24)
Jehoiachin (also known as Coniah and Jeconiah) reigned
for about three months.
The main leaders and craftsmen were deported because
he resisted Nebuchadnezzar. He and his family died as
prisoners in Babylon.
God had a message of hope for his people in those hard
times. That’s our message, too:
“For I know the thoughts that I
think toward you, says the Lord,
thoughts of peace and not of evil,
to give you a future and a hope.”
(Jeremiah 29:11).
After some time, God’s grace was
shown in Jehoiachin. Evil-
Merodach—king of Babylon—
delivered him and gave him a
place at court (Jeremiah 52:31-34).
10. Zedekiah “Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he
reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the
Lord his God, and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the
prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord.” (2 Chronicles 36:11-12)
Zedekiah and the people chose
to do “all the detestable
practices of the nations” (2
Chronicles 36:14 NIV). They
didn’t surrender their hearts to
God, and they didn’t repent of
their sins.
They systematically rejected Jeremiah’s
message (Jeremiah 38:17). Finally,
Jerusalem and the temple were
destroyed.
We are called to preach an unpopular
message, just like Jeremiah was. We must
encourage the world to stop “all the
detestable practices” and to repent of
their sins.
11. THE REMNANT “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the
countries where I have driven them and will bring them back
to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in
number.” (Jeremiah 23:3)
Many nations have disappeared and have been forgotten. Israel was going that way, but
God didn’t abandon His people.
He kept a faithful remnant.
Jesus is coming again to bring His people to the
everlasting New Jerusalem. Let’s listen and obey
His prophets.
A remnant would return to Jerusalem to meet
God again after all those years of apostasy.
God is gathering a faithful remnant today, after
many centuries of apostasy. We are called to
come back to the biblical roots of faith. We are
called to preach the last repentance message.
12. The Lord, though, had other plans, and in the verses above (and in
many others) He gave them the hope that all was not lost but that a
remnant would return and through them the promises would be
fulfilled. That is, amid all the warnings of doom and destruction,
the prophets also gave the people their only hope.
13. JEREMIAH
DANIEL
EZEKIEL
“The dark years of
destruction and death
marking the end of
the kingdom of Judah
would have brought
despair to
the stoutest heart had
it not been for the encouragements
in the prophetic utterances of God’s
messengers. Through Jeremiah in Jerusalem, through
Daniel in the court of Babylon, through Ezekiel on the
banks of the Chebar, the Lord in mercy made clear His
eternal purpose and gave assurance of His willingness to fulfill to His
chosen people the promises recorded in the writings of Moses. That
which He had said He would do for those who should prove true to
Him, He would surely bring to pass. ‘The word of God . . . liveth and
abideth forever.’ 1 Peter 1:23.”—EGW, Prophets and Kings, p. 464.
14. “In his testimonies to the church, Jeremiah
constantly referred to the teachings of the
book of the law that had been so greatly
honored and exalted during Josiah’s reign. He
emphasized anew the importance of
maintaining a covenant relationship with the
all-merciful and compassionate Being who
upon the heights of Sinai had spoken the
precepts of the Decalogue. Jeremiah’s words
of warning and entreaty reached every part
of the kingdom, and all had opportunity to
know the will of God concerning the nation.”
E.G.W. (Prophets and Kings, cp. 35, pg. 422)
Read the next quote carefully.
How could you put it into practice?
