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ប្រតិចារិក
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The scripture reading this morning, which relates to our study that we'll come to in a moment in Jeremiah, is in Daniel. It's in chapter five of the book of Daniel, if you'd like to follow along. I'm going to start in the middle of the chapter at verse 13. This is that account, well-known account of the handwriting on the wall. and how Daniel interprets that handwriting and pronounces God's judgment then upon Babylon. And so we're going to be hearing a lot more about Babylon in our study of Jeremiah. Daniel chapter five, beginning at verse 13. Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, you are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. I've heard of you that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the matter. But I've heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now, if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you should be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.' Then Daniel answered and said before the king, let your gifts be for yourself, give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. O king, The Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive. Whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. When his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne and his glory was taken from him. He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox. and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. And you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this. But you've lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you've praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know. But the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored. Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed, many, many tekel and parson. This is the interpretation of the matter, many. God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end. Tekel, you've been weighed in the balances and found wanting. Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Then Belshazzar gave the command and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck and a proclamation was made about him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. That very night, Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed and Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about 62 years old. of Babylon. Daniel enjoyed being the third ruler in the kingdom for, what, a few minutes? And that was it, and God's judgment came upon him. That is a very sobering and encouraging passage of scripture for us all as we see God is sovereign among the nations. Well, let's come back then again to, once again, to the book of Jeremiah as we continue on through it in our study. And as we pray, as we begin looking into God's word, there's a couple more prayer requests that we can remember. We were asked to remember to pray for Lynn. She's actually an online member of our church. And she's had a hard time of it with having to break away from some evil people and family and has done well and been courageous, but she needs a job and she has a good job interview Monday and she asked us to pray that that would go well. And then we wanna continue to pray for Boyd, that he'd come back to health and be able to be with us. And remember Joanne in the Midwest, who's been our friend for a long time. And she continues to struggle with a lot of pretty serious health issues. And so we wanna remember her as well. So let's pray. Father, we do ask your blessing upon us and the, work of your spirit in us as we look into your word. We pray that we would be enabled to understand your word and apply it as you would have us to apply it to our lives. And that our faith would be strengthened and we'd be encouraged by it and better enabled to take the Bible and read it and understand it correctly. And Father, we do pray for these people. We ask that you would bless Lynn as she goes for that job interview Monday, that you might grant her a favor there and she'd be able to have that job and have the financial pressures taken off of her. We ask, Father, that you would be with Boyd, watch over him, that you'd bring him back to health. he'd feel better and be able to come and join us again. And so we commit him to you. And then we pray for Joanne as well, that you would bless her, provide for her, and that you would strengthen her and heal her. And we pray all of these things in Christ's name, amen. Well, here we are. We want to look at. a big section of Jeremiah. It's Jeremiah chapters 45 to 51. Obviously, there's no way we're going to be able to, we're going to handle those things in detail, but what we're gonna plan to do is just kind of quickly summarize the first few chapters, make a few comments, in fact, on the first chapter, which is the shortest one, only five verses. There's some important lessons there for us, and then kind of draw it all together as we look at chapters 50 and 51 and we'll still be looking at those two chapters next week then as well. This is good stuff. This is gonna give us a really, a chance to really grow in our understanding of God's plan of redemption from Genesis to Revelation and to be better equipped to properly interpret and understand scripture. Let's take a look at, first of all, in chapter 45. Here's a man that you don't hear much about him, you know, you don't hear about Saint Barak or, you know, who was Barak. Well, listen to chapter 45 here. The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Barak, the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah. Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Barak, you said, woe is me. For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain. I'm weary with my groaning and I find no rest. Thus you shall say to him, the Lord commands Jeremiah, say this to Barak. Thus says the Lord, behold, what I have built, I'm breaking down and what I have planted, I'm plucking up. That is the whole land. And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. For behold, I'm bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the Lord, but I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go. Well, here is Barak. has this one particular chapter, this word from the Lord through Jeremiah given specifically to him. And apparently the Lord thinks Barak was worth speaking to here, that he honors him here and directs him and encourages him. Barak, we've come across Barak before. In our study of Jeremiah, he was Jeremiah's companion, and specifically, he was Jeremiah's scribe. You remember when that wicked king would take Jeremiah's scroll, and they'd read a page, and he'd throw it in the fire, burn it up, and so forth. And when the whole thing was burned up, and he was all proud that he had done away with God's word, it was, well, Jeremiah dictated the, prophecies, the book again, and it was Barak that wrote them down and made the other, a second scroll. Here's another account of his faithfulness. We ran across him in chapter 36. In the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord. Take a scroll and write on it all the words, and it would be Barak that does the writing, that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah and all the nations from the day I spoke to you from the days of Josiah until now. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, so that everyone may turn from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin. Then Jeremiah called Barak the son of Neriah, And Barak wrote on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord that he had spoken to him. And by the way, it's very probable that the book of Jeremiah that we have in our Bibles is that, that Barak wrote down. And Jeremiah ordered Barak saying, I'm banned from going to the house of the Lord. So you are to go. And on a day of fasting and the hearing of all the people in the Lord's house, you shall read the words of the Lord from the scroll that you've written at my dictation. You shall read them also in the hearing of all the men of Judah who come out of their cities. It may be that their plea for mercy will come before the Lord and that everyone will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that the Lord has pronounced against his people. And Barak, the son of Neriah, did all that Jeremiah the prophet ordered him about reading from the scroll the words of the Lord in the Lord's house. In the fifth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the Lord. Then in the hearing of all the people, Barak, read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gamaria, the son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper court at the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house. Here's Barak and he is called, he's faithful, he does it. He is Jeremiah's right-hand man, he's his scribe, that's not a popular position to hold. And then to go to the temple and be the one to preach this scroll to the people, words that They didn't want to hear. Well, that's a mark of a faithful man. And so here we have Barak living in evil days, being faithful to the Lord. God's judgment is about to fall down on this evil nation that he lives in. So what happens to the true remnant? What happens to the true, genuine people of God in such a time, and God's words to Barak answer those questions. First of all, notice the Lord knows Barak. He not only knows Barak, he knows what Barak is thinking, okay? Now that's like a, okay, yeah, we know that, we know the Lord knows everything, but nevertheless, you see here that here's Barak being faithful, and he's kind of downcast. Woe is me, and the Lord is telling him through Jeremiah, Barak, let me tell you what, I heard you say this, I know you're thinking this, woe is me, the Lord has added sorrow to my pain, I'm weary with my groaning and I find no rest. Maybe this was one of these situations where Barak was feeling that way, and the Lord comes along and says, let me just, tell you what you're thinking. Let me just put into words what you are feeling. And that's what he did. That's a very validating and important thing. The Lord knows. He knows us. And then he gives this counsel to Barak. Actually, this little chapter here is a pretty good digest of a model for genuine counseling, right? First, you gotta have the ability to hear what the person is saying, even sense what they're feeling, help them see it, right? You have to care about them. And then you give them God's word about it. And thus you shall say to him, The Lord tells Jeremiah, thus says the Lord, behold, what I've built, I'm breaking down. I built Judah, I built Jerusalem, and now I'm breaking it down. What I planted, I'm plucking up, that is the whole land. Now look at this. And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. For behold, I'm bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the Lord. but I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go. Now, that is, as we're gonna see these Old Testament prophets and words like this, like in this case, they're addressed, God's word addressed to Barak, but it's also addressed to a much broader audience. audience of God's people, us, all right? But this is the Lord's way of telling Barak this, 1 John 2. When he says, you seek great things for yourself, Barak, you know, Are you looking to life in Judah to be your reward? Seek them not. 1 John 2, do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that's in the world, the desires of the flesh, desires of the eyes and pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world. and the world is passing away. Barak, Judah is passing away along with his desires but whoever does the will of God abides forever. So here's this crucial lesson. Do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, I'm bringing disaster upon all flesh. So don't be a fool, right? Don't seek your treasure here in this world. Don't try to make your life meaningful as ultimately meaningful. in terms of what happens in this world, because it's all coming down, right? The world is passing away along with its desires. You remember the account of the rich fool? I will say to my soul, soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, be merry, but God said to him, fool, This night, your soul, that's what happened to Belshazzar, right? This night, your soul is required of you, and the things you've prepared, whose will they be? So is the one who lays up treasure for himself here in this world, and not rich toward God. So this is what the Lord is saying to Barak to encourage him. Barak, I'm bringing the Babylonians against Judah. They're gonna wipe out Judah, but, Barak, Because you are mine, I will save you out of it. I'm going to preserve you because the Lord is sovereign, nothing's out of his control. He knows every one of his flock and not one will perish, you see. That's a great verse, isn't it? That first part of verse five. Do you seek great things for yourself? Stop it, right? Do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. There's nothing wrong with seeking to use your life for the Lord wisely. In fact, we better be doing that, but you know what this means. It's like, are you seeking to be great in this world? Are you seeking great things for yourself in terms of this present world? Don't do that. Don't set the goal of your life and existence on a love for the world because it's coming down. Now, you see this error that the Lord's warning Barak against, seeking great things for self, you see this in much of what is called claiming to be Christianity today, right? Much of what, think about this. Many local churches and pastors and professing Christians are seeking great things for themselves here in this present world. I had a really nice note from a lady, I think I sent it to some of you, from a lady last week who's been following our sermons and blogs and Bible studies and so forth, and she wanted to thank us, but she said, you know, I live in the South, a big city in the South, And down there, down here where she lives, she said, literally on virtually every corner, there's these big brick buildings with white colonnade. You know, you've seen them if you've been down in those areas everywhere. And she said, She said, you know, she'd been in one of them for a long time. She says, I can't take it anymore. I can't take it. And I don't know where to go. I might have to move away. I don't know. And look, where are God's people? Where are they? And she said, it's just the whole thing is corrupt. And I know that she's not exaggerating. I know that. It looks like we've got the same problem here, but I suppose in some ways it's more incipient in the South there, because it is amazing. You will look, and you look at those buildings, and what, at least what I'm impressed with, and I think that you would be too, is that this is the product of people who are in Christ's name, claiming that they're doing this for Christ, who are in fact seeking great things for themselves. That's what they're doing. And so all the people, they're training people that, well, that's what you do. You come to church to seek great things for yourself. And if that place doesn't deliver, well, then you're gonna go somewhere else. And this is all evil. It's worldly. It's fleshly. And the whole thing is gonna be going up in flames. So it's easy to get discouraged. Well, one of the reasons a Christian can get discouraged is if you're not wise about this, you're trying to find your fulfillment, your great things in that which is false. And you're gonna come up empty every time. Don't do that. Recognize, okay, yeah, we see the evil in the world and in the church. But it's all going to, it's all coming down. But if you belong to Christ, Christ knows you and he will preserve you and you won't perish. Now that's chapter 45, God's blessing and counsel of Barak. The rest of this section, chapters, 46 to 51, leading up to chapters 50 and 51, are about God's judgment upon the nations and specifically, and it'll spend, most of the time is spent on Babylon, God's judgment of Babylon. It is vital that we understand Babylon if we're going to understand the Bible. Okay, it's extremely important. So in these chapters, 46 to 51, you've got God's judgment pronounced upon Egypt, the Philistines, and you note these are all enemies of Israel, the Philistines, Moab, Ammon, Edom, Damascus or Syria, Kedar and Hazor, Elam, and Babylon. Now, how do we approach chapters of scripture like this? Okay, God's gonna, he pronounces his judgment on Egypt and the Philistines and so on, all right? And historically, most of that probably happened through the Babylonian invasions and so forth into the area. But how do we look at those chapters? How do we deal with, Scripture, how do they, are they important to us at all? Is it just a history book about prophecies that have already been fulfilled? Jeremiah pronounces God's judgment on Egypt and so forth, and God brought that judgment upon Egypt there, it's done. And we get some lessons from that, but, and certainly those kinds of things are true. We do see that God's word was fulfilled and he did bring judgment upon these nations. And as we just read in Daniel chapter five, he brought judgment on Babylon, right? That very night, you know, Belshazzar was killed and Darius the Mede took over. But, you begin to see some interesting hints here, that these passages like this are far more than just about what God did in the past through Jeremiah's prophecy. You see some odd things, such as he has the most to say about Babylon. In fact, There are two long chapters, 110 verses, and we're gonna read them all, all right? We're gonna read them here and note some things as we go through. Why does God spend so much time here pronouncing his judgment upon Babylon? Well, if you look, as we'll see in other parts of the Bible, we find out that there's a reason. Babylon is far more than the historic Babylon that was destroyed in Daniel's day. So let's do this. Follow along, Jeremiah chapter 50 and 51. The word that the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet. Declare among the nations and proclaim. Set up a banner and proclaim. Conceal it not and say, Babylon is taken. Bel, that's their chief deity, Bel is put to shame. And another one, Merodach is dismayed. Her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed. For out of the north a nation has come up against her, which shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it. Both man and beast shall flee away." Now, I've boldfaced a few sections as we go through this, and you'll see why I want you to take special note of those, and we'll come back to them. The note is that in these sections, you see some curious things. that indicate to us that this judgment pronounced on Babylon is more than just the judgment upon the historic Babylon, okay? Verse four, in those days and in that time, declares the Lord, the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come, and they shall seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with faces turned toward it saying, Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten. My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they've gone. They've forgotten their fold. All who found them have devoured them, and their enemies have said, we're not guilty. They've sinned against the Lord. their habitation of righteousness, the Lord, the hope of their fathers. Flee from the midst of Babylon and go out of the land of the Chaldeans. I should have boldfaced that too, okay? Watch for this theme of fleeing from Babylon. Flee from the midst of Babylon and go out of the land of the Chaldeans and be as male goats before the flock. For behold, "'I'm stirring up and bringing against Babylon "'a gathering of great nations from the north country. "'They shall array themselves against her. "'From there she shall be taken. "'Their arrows are like a skilled warrior "'who does not return empty-handed. "'Chaldea shall be plundered. "'All who plunder her shall be sated,' declares the Lord." Though you rejoice, though you exult, O plunderers of my heritage, though you frolic like a heifer in the pasture and neigh like stallions, your mother shall be utterly ashamed, and she who bore you shall be disgraced. Behold, she shall be the last of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert. Because of the wrath of the Lord, She shall not be inhabited, but shall be in utter desolation. Everyone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled and hiss because of all her wounds. Set yourselves in array against Babylon all around. All you who bend the bow, shoot at her. Spare no arrows for she has sinned against the Lord. Raise a shout against her all around, she has surrendered. Her bulwarks have fallen, her walls are thrown down, for this is the vengeance of the Lord. Take vengeance on her, do to her as she has done. Cut off from Babylon the sower and the one who handles the sickle in the time of harvest. Because of the sword of the oppressor, everyone shall turn to his own people and everyone shall flee to his own land. Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions. First, the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has gnawed his bones. Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, behold, I'm bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, as I punished the king of Assyria. I will restore Israel to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and Abation, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead. Now look at verse 20. In those days, and in that time, declares the Lord, iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none. And sin in Judah, and none shall be found. For I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant. Go up against the land of Merithaim and against the inhabitants of Pekin. Kill and devour them to destruction, declares the Lord, and do all that I've commanded you. The noise of battle is in the land and great destruction. How the hammer of the whole earth is cut down and broken. How Babylon has become a horror among the nations. I set a snare for you and you were taken, O Babylon, and you did not know it. You were found and caught because you opposed the Lord. The Lord has opened his armory and brought out the weapons of his wrath, for the Lord God of hosts has a work to do in the land of the Chaldeans. Come against her from every quarter, open her granaries, pile her up like heaps of grain, and devote her to destruction. Let nothing be left of her. Kill all her bulls, let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them! For their day has come, the time of their punishment. A voice, they flee and escape from the land of Babylon to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for his temple. Summon archers against Babylon. All those who bend the bow and camp around her, let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds. due to her according to all that she's done, for she has proudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. Therefore, her young men shall fall in her squares and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, declares the Lord. Behold, I am against you, O proud one, declares the Lord God of hosts, for your day has come, the time when I will punish you. The proud one shall stumble and fall, with none to raise him up, and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it will devour all that is around him. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast. They refuse to let them go. Their redeemer is strong. The Lord of hosts is his name. He will surely plead their cause that he may give rest to the earth but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon. A sword against the Chaldeans, declares the Lord, and against the inhabitants of Babylon, and against her officials and her wise men. A sword against the diviners, that they may become fools. A sword against her warriors, that they may be destroyed. a sword against her horses and against her chariots and against all the foreign troops in her midst that they may become women, a sword against all her treasures that they may be plundered, a drought against her waters that they may be dried up, for it is a land of images, and they are mad over idols. Therefore, wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon, and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people nor be inhabited for all generations. As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord, so no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her. Behold, a people comes from the north, a mighty nation, and many kings are stirring from the farthest parts of the earth. They lay hold of bow and spear. They are cruel and have no mercy. The sound of them is like the roaring of the sea. They ride on horses, arrayed as a man for battle against you, O daughter of Babylon." The king of Babylon heard the report of them, and his hands fell helpless. Anguish seized him, pain as of a woman in labor. Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me? Therefore, hear the plan that the Lord has made against Babylon and the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans. Surely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away. Surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. At the sound of the capture of Babylon, the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations. Chapter 51. Thus says the Lord, behold, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon, against the inhabitants of Lebchamai. And I will send to Babylon winnowers, They shall winnow her. They shall empty her land when they come against her from every side on the day of trouble. Let not the archer bend his bow and let him not stand in his armor. Spare not her young men. Devote to destruction all her army. They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans and wounded in her streets. For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the Lord of hosts, but the hand of the Chaldeans is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel. Flee from the midst of Babylon, let everyone save his life. Be not cut off in her punishment, for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance, the repayment he is rendering her. Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord's hand, making all the earth drunken, and the nations drank of her wine, therefore the nations went mad. Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken. Wail for her, take balm for her pain. Perhaps she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she was not healed. Forsake her and let us each go to his own country. For her judgment has reached up to heaven and has been lifted up even to the skies. The Lord has brought about our vindication. Come, let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God. Sharpen the arrows, take up the shields. The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it. For that is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance for his temple. set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up watchmen, prepare the ambushes, for the Lord has both planned and done what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon. O you who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come. the threat of your life is cut. The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself, surely I will fill you with men as many as locusts and they shall raise the shout of victory over you. It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. When he utters his voice, there's a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses. Every man is stupid and without knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there's no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of delusion. at the time of their punishment they shall perish. Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance. The Lord of hosts is his name. You are my hammer and weapon of war. With you I break nations in pieces, with you I destroy kingdoms, with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider, with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer, and with you I break in pieces man and woman. With you, I break in pieces the old man and the youth. With you, I break in pieces the young man and the young woman. With you, I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock. With you, I break in pieces the farmer and his team. With you, I break in pieces governors and commanders. I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil they have done in Zion, declares the Lord. Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, declares the Lord, which destroys the whole earth. I will stretch out my hand against you and roll you down from the crags and make you a burnt mountain. No stone shall be taken from you for a corner and no stone for a foundation, but you shall be a perpetual waste, declares the Lord. Set up a standard on the earth. Blow the trumpet among the nations. Prepare the nations for war against her. Summon against her the kingdoms, Ararat, Meneb, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a marshal against her. Bring up horses like bristling locusts. Prepare the nations for war against her. The kings of the Medes with their governors and deputies in every land under their dominion. The land trembles and writhes in pain for the Lord's purpose against Babylon's stand to make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitant. The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting. They remain in their strongholds. Their strength has failed, and they've become women. Her dwellings are on fire. Her bars are broken. One runner runs to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every side. The fords have been seized. The marshes are burned with fire, and the soldiers are in panic. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, the daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time when it is trodden, yet a little while and the time of her harvest will come. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has devoured me. He's crushed me. He's made me an empty vessel. He has swallowed me like a monster. He's filled his stomach with my delicacies. He has rinsed me out. The violence done to me and to my kinsmen be upon Babylon, let the inhabitant of Zion say. My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, let Jerusalem say. Therefore, thus says the Lord, behold, I will plead your cause and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry, and Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, the haunt of jackals, a horror and a hissing without inhabitant. They shall roar together like lions. They shall growl like lion's cubs. While they're inflamed, I will prepare them a feast and make them drunk that they may become merry, then sleep a perpetual sleep and not wait, declares the Lord. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and male goats. How Babylon is taken, the praise of the whole earth seized. How Babylon has become a horror among the nations. The sea has come up on Babylon. She's covered with its tumultuous waves. Her cities have become a horror, a land of drought and desert, a land in which no one dwells and through which no son of man passes. And I will punish Bel in Babylon and take out of his mouth what he has swallowed. The nation shall no longer flow to him. The wall of Babylon has fallen. Go out of the midst of her, my people. Let everyone save his life from the fierce anger of the Lord. Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful at the report heard in the land. When a report comes in one year, and afterward a report in another year, and violence is in the land, and ruler is against ruler, therefore behold, the days are coming when I will punish the images of Babylon. Her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. Then the heavens and the earth and all that's in them shall sing for joy over Babylon, for the destroyer shall come against them out of the north, declares the Lord. Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel, just as for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth. You who have escaped from the sword, go. Do not stand still. Remember the Lord from far away and let Jerusalem come into your mind. We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach. Dishonor has covered our face, for foreigners have come into the holy places of the Lord's house. Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will execute judgment upon her images, and through all her land the wounded shall groan. Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify her strong height, yet destroyers would come from me against her, declares the Lord. A voice, a cry from Babylon, the noise of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans. For the Lord is laying Babylon waste and stilling her mighty voice. Their waves roar like many waters. The noise of their voices raise for a destroyer has come upon her, upon Babylon. Her warriors are taken, their bows are broken in pieces, for the Lord is a God of recompense. He will surely repay. I will make drunk her officials and her wise men, her governors, her commanders, and her warriors. They shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake, declares the king, whose name is the Lord of Hosts. Thus says the Lord of Hosts, The broad wall of Babylon shall be leveled to the ground, and her high gates shall be burned with fire, the people's labor for nothing, and the nations weary themselves only for fire." The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Sariah, the son of Neriah, the son of Mashea, when he went with Zedekiah, king of Judah, to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign, Sariah was the quartermaster. Jeremiah wrote in a book all the disaster that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written concerning Babylon. And Jeremiah said to Sariah, when you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words and say, Oh Lord, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off so that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be desolate forever. When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates and say, thus shall Babylon sink to rise no more because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her. and they shall become exhausted, thus far are the words of Jeremiah." And there it was. And that was the message that he tied the stone to when they were taken captive over to Babylon and read it and threw it in the middle of the Euphrates River to show that God was bringing Babylon down. So what is this all about? Here is God's announcement of judgment upon Babylon in great detail and at great length. Well, we'll just make some brief observations here and then we'll have to look into them more closely next time. First of all, we know, because we've read the end of the book, We know that the book of Revelation, in the book of Revelation, lo and behold, Babylon comes up again. And a lot of phrases that are used here in Jeremiah 50 and 51 about the historic Babylon are quoted again. in Revelation 18, only there we realize that Babylon then, and therefore a lot of these prophecies that we just read are directed for a Babylon that is much more than just the historic Babylon that went down in the days of Daniel. And we see indications of this all through, as I mentioned, as we were reading those, So for instance, in early on in chapter 50, in verse five, we see this language here about in those days and in that time declares the Lord, the people of Israel and the people of Judah, right? Even that phrase, the people of Israel and Judah, Israel and Judah, we've seen that before, I'll show it to you in a moment in Hebrews, that we know by now When we see it, especially in Jeremiah, that phrase cropping up, Israel and Judah, that the prophecy has more than just the historic Jewish nation, all right, it has more in mind. But in those days and in that time declares the Lord, the people of Israel, people of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come, they shall seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with faces turned toward it saying, come, Let us join ourselves to the Lord. Have you ever seen a time like that? You didn't see that genuine repentance by the nation, even under Ezra and Nehemiah when they were brought back from the captivity. And you know, if you just read on, In the Old Testament, you find out what? After they came back under Ezra and Nehemiah, rebuilt the temple, rebuilt Jerusalem, what? Really quickly, they're off into sin again. Here they go. But in this case, here we've got this time. There's gonna be a time of genuine repentance by the people of Israel, people of Judah. Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord. Get this, in an everlasting covenant, that will never be forgotten. Right there, now we should know enough by now to know that this is talking about the new covenant. That's, this is new covenant language that Jeremiah is, there's only one everlasting covenant that will never be broken, right? It's the covenant in Christ established by Christ. And so here it is, you've got the historic judgment coming upon historic Babylon, but this prophecy is also an even primarily looking toward the day when Christ comes again and affects final judgment on the Babylon. which we know from Revelation 18 is what? It's the world. It's the kingdom of Satan. It's the kingdom of darkness. It's this present world that we are not to love. So largely these prophecies are pointing us toward the time when God is going to ultimately and finally wipe out this evil world system and Satan, who is the God of this world, and we'll never see them again. This is his final judgment. Why? Because just as the historic Babylon oppressed God's people, Israel and Judah, so Satan's kingdom of Babylon has been oppressing God's people all through the centuries, all right? Again, here in chapter 50, verses 19 to 20, I will restore Israel to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and in Bashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim in Gilead. In those days, that's another new covenant phrase in Jeremiah. In those days, and in that time, declares the Lord. Check this out. Iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none. And sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant. That's describing God's elect. That's describing his people in Christ. When is there gonna be a time? Has there ever been a time historically when you could go look in among Israel and Judah and, you know, I'm looking for sin and I just can't find any, right? It's never happened. And you can't find it because it has never happened. This is a time and this language is talking about God's elect. That's what Israel and Judah ultimately then means. And then you see this worldwide language. In chapter 50, verse 34, their Redeemer is strong. The Lord of hosts is his name. He will surely plead their cause that he may give rest to the earth. You see, and you'll see that kind of a phrase coming up in these chapters. It's to the earth, it's to the nations everywhere. In fact, the next one, verse 46, at the sound of the capture of Babylon, the earth shall tremble. and her cry shall be heard among the nations." Right? This is a worldwide judgment. And then, and this is a vitally important theme that we wanna definitely look into more detail next time. In verses five and six, Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the Lord of hosts, but the land of the Chaldeans is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel. Now look, flee from the midst of Babylon and let everyone save his life. Be not cut off in her punishment, and again, in chapter 51, verse 45. Go out of the midst of her, my people. Let everyone save his life from the fierce anger of the Lord. Those are all themes that are quoted again in the New Testament and applied then to the church. So here's the themes. A day will come when Israel and Judah will genuinely repent and seek the Lord. And that's New Covenant language. And we know that Israel and Judah there is the church. Secondly, there will be an everlasting covenant established between them and the Lord. That is the new covenant in Christ. In those days, there's going to be a restoration of God's people in such a way that they will be sinless and they will be forgiven. And in the meantime, we are commanded to come out of Babylon. Don't linger like Lot's wife did, right? Get out of the midst of her, my people. So these are new covenant promises. I'll let you read the rest there. I put a quote from Jeremiah 31 there for you. And if you compare it to Hebrews 8, 9, and 10, you will find out that sure enough, when the Lord is talking here in these prophecies in Jeremiah about the house of Israel and the house of Judah and making a new covenant with them and sin being finally and fully taken care of, Babylon being, sure enough, it's talking about the new covenant in Christ and the blessings that he himself then brings to us. But let me leave you with this to think about. So here we have this promise of Christ's coming judgment, final judgment of the worldwide Babylon, the world system, the world kingdom, the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of Satan. And Christ is gonna come and he's gonna wipe that kingdom and everybody in it out once and for all and judge them for their oppression then of his people. And in the meantime then, as Christians, we are told to be certain that we are in the way. Do you remember in the book of Acts that one of the earliest terms for Christians was the way. the way, and of course Christ says he's the way, the truth, and the life. But there's more involved in that term, the way. It's used in the Old Testament as a road of redemption. It is that road that you follow when you come out of Babylon, come out of her midst. And the point is that as a Christian, We have been redeemed, we are justified before the Lord, but as long as we are living in this present world, we are still living in Babylon. And it is to be our constant daily ongoing work in following the Lord, to be certain we are on that road, on the way, and that we are continually coming out from the midst of Babylon. coming out. We reject Babylon's philosophies. We reject Babylon's gods. This is an ongoing, and as long as we are in this present world and in these present bodies, we need to be coming out of the midst of Babylon, in other words, as one commentator put it, I think he said, you know, to a degree, we as Christians are still in exile. We're still in exile in Babylon. Our full exodus and redemption won't occur until the day when Christ comes, Babylon is destroyed, and we are We are out of there fully and completely and resurrected bodies and in the new heavens and in the new earth. And so there's the challenge. Don't love the world or the things in the world. It's Babylon. It's going down with everybody who loves it. Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues. Father, we thank you for these encouraging and warning words from Scripture. We pray that you would enable us to believe them, take them to heart, to examine ourselves and see in what ways we need to come out of the midst of Babylon. What ways are we still lingering in this world, in our thought processes and in our values? And we pray, Father, that you would show us the way clearly. We would follow Christ and come out of this wicked place. And we pray this all in Christ's name, amen.
42 - Blessing For Baruch, Curse for Babylon
ស៊េរី The Book of Jeremiah
God rewards His faithful people and reminds us not to love this world. He has decreed that this world system, Satan's kingdom, Babylon, is going down.
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