A national post-mortem is the title of the message this morning. Post-mortem is a procedure in the medical field. It simply means after death. A literal post-mortem is defined as a surgical procedure. It's performed by a specialized doctor called a pathologist. And it involves dissecting a corpse and thoroughly examining it to determine the cause, mode, and manner of someone's death. It may be done for forensic and legal purposes to try to determine if a crime was committed leading to that person's death. Or it may be done for medical educational purposes to study the effects on the body of, for example, a disease or perhaps a medical procedure that was used in an attempt to treat that disease. But the word postmortem can also be used metaphorically. Doing a metaphorical postmortem can mean to analyze something soon after it's happened or soon after it has failed. and to determine why that particular thing was a failure. For example, an election postmortem is a discussion after an election to determine why a candidate or why a party lost the election. Now, in the case of an election postmortem, it's usually everyone standing around pointing the finger at everyone else. and blaming everyone but themselves. They say there are two kinds of people that never take the blame for anything, politicians and pundits, and that's probably true. But in the title of our message for today, A National Postmortem, it's a metaphorical postmortem that I had in mind. Postmortem is an analysis or discussion of an event held soon after it has occurred especially in order to determine why it was a failure. So the question under discussion in this case is, why did the Jewish nation fail? How early in the life of that nation were the causes of its failure present and discernible? Who was to blame for those failures? Usually not just one person or party. Were those things preventable or were they just unavoidable matters of circumstances, national disasters, for example, or natural disasters? Most of the specific questions that I've just asked, I think we have answered along the way. So for this morning, I'd like us to do sort of a retrospective overview, looking back at the events of Israel's undoing before we move ahead in the coming weeks to look at the events that would occur after the exile, after the return from the captivity. If only the Jews themselves had been more introspective about what had happened to their nation, If only they had taken the time to do a more careful post-mortem, they might have been better prepared to face the challenges that lay ahead in what is often called the post-exilic period or the post-exile period, after the exile of the Jewish people. So with that brief introduction, here is the summary of today's message, which is in your bulletin. The sins that brought about the downfall of Judah and Jerusalem are the common failures of all mankind, but the Lord's intervention can bring victory from the ashes of defeat. And with that introduction, let's look to the Lord once again in prayer. Heavenly Father, once again, we look to you for guidance as we consider the passages of scripture that we'll examine today. Even though we might not go into great detail, there are some challenging verses that we would like to look at more closely and we ask that you give us understanding of them and help us to respond as we ought with humility and with purpose and determination to walk in the narrow way that you have placed us upon. So we ask your blessing now on our time together in your word, in Jesus' name, amen. So this morning I'd like us to take a look at Israel's defeat and at God's dealings with them in the aftermath. And it's an object lesson for us. It's not just history. It is a physical... That event, that series of events was a physical historical reality, but all of it had a spiritual message. I have a lot of scripture that I'd like us to read today. But we have two simple points to the message. First of all, the tragic picture of Jerusalem destroyed. And secondly, the beautiful picture of Jerusalem destroyed, or rather of Jerusalem restored. And in those headings, I'm using Jerusalem as a, I'm using it broadly to refer to the entire nation, not just the city, but the entire nation of Judah and broadly speaking, Israel as well. So let's consider first our first point, the tragic picture of Jerusalem destroyed. When the Old Testament kingdom period finally ended, first with the fall of the Northern Kingdom, that was around 722 BC, and then about 130 years later with the fall of Judah in 585 BC, it certainly seemed by all outward appearances that national Israel was dead. It seemed to have been thrown into the ash heap of history never to rise again. As an ethnic and cultural identity dwelling within definable geographic borders, the Jews would continue. They would remain in that sense for several more centuries. But as a nation ruled by their own sovereign king, it would seem that Israel and Judah were finished. But Israel, as the physical representation of the spiritual people of God, we know was no ordinary nation. Being the people from whom the Lord's anointed would come, they would be given great privileges, at least until their Messiah came. One of the key factors in the continuing life of that nation was the ministries of their national prophets. In our Bibles, As we go back to ancient times, the Bible divides the prophets into major prophets and minor prophets. Let's talk about this division for just a moment. It probably has more to do with the length of their writings, not so much the depth of their content. the minor prophets were no intellectual slouches. They tackled some of the most difficult issues, the same issues really that the major prophets tackled. Probably the biggest difference between the major and minor prophets is that while the major prophets had a, they tended to have a much longer view. They saw more of the broad sweep of human history. And the minor prophets, on the other hand, seem to focus on specific conditions in the Jewish nation at the time of their writing. That doesn't mean that they didn't look ahead to the future, too far in the future even. But I think as a general rule, we might say, and this is what the late James Montgomery Boyce said of the minor prophets, he says, they speak so directly and powerfully to present sins. That's one way to distinguish the minor prophets from the major ones. Certainly not an absolute statement, but generally true. Under this point, I'd like to look at First at one of the major prophets, Jeremiah, and then at the similar predictions of one of the minor prophets, Zephaniah, regarding the reasons for the downfall of Judah and Jerusalem. Let's take a look first at the broad prophetic view of Jeremiah. I'm not necessarily going to look at Jeremiah broadly speaking. We're just going to look at a kind of a brief passage here. But as we know, Jeremiah, he was called the weeping prophet, and he was called that because of the rejection of most of the people. And remember how he foretold, if you turn to Jeremiah chapter nine, Jeremiah foretold what the Lord would do to Israel because of people's sins. Notice in Jeremiah chapter 9 and begin reading in verse 11. I'm going to jump around a little bit. He says in Jeremiah 9 in verse 11, he says, and this is the Lord speaking, I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah desolate without an inhabitant. We know that that actually would take place not long after Jeremiah had written those words. Jump down to verse 13. And the Lord said, and here's the reason, we're getting into the postmortem, right? The Lord said, because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, nor walked according to it. But they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts, and after the bales which their fathers taught them. Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. I will scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them. Now those are pretty powerful words. I wonder what Jeremiah thought as he was writing those words down, as he was expressing those words, delivering them to the people. I wonder how the people responded when those words were delivered to them. Probably not very well. Jeremiah would live, as we know, to see that prophecy fulfilled. When the Babylonians were finished with Jerusalem, Jeremiah would be an eyewitness to the destruction, and he would write about it in a book called The Lamentations of Jeremiah. And it opens with these words. Why don't we turn there to Lamentations, the next book after Jeremiah. And notice Lamentations 1 and verse 1. How lonely sits the city that was full of people. How like a widow is she who was great among the nations. The princess among the provinces has become a slave. Jeremiah would go on in that book of Lamentations to attribute the destructive, the destruction and misery. And he would attribute it not merely to Israel's enemies. He would attribute it to the Lord himself who was acting according to his own sovereign plan. Take a look at the next chapter in Lamentations and notice beginning in verse five. He says, the Lord was like an enemy. Not the Assyrians or the Babylonians. The Lord was like an enemy. He has swallowed up Israel. He has swallowed up all her palaces. He has destroyed her strongholds and has increased mourning and lamentation in the daughter of Judah. He, the Lord, has done violence to his tabernacle as if it were a garden. He has destroyed his place of assembly. The Lord has caused the appointed feasts and Sabbath to be forgotten in Zion. In his burning indignation, he has spurned the king and the priest. The Lord has spurned his altar. He has abandoned his sanctuary. He has given up the walls of her palaces into the hand of the enemy. They've made a noise in the house of the Lord as on the day of a set feast. The Lord has purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion. He has stretched out a line. He has not withdrawn his hand from destroying. Therefore, he has caused the rampart and wall to lament. They languished together. Her gates have sunk into the ground. He, the Lord, has destroyed and broken her bars. Her king and her princes are among the nations. The law is no more and her prophets find no vision from the Lord. Why would the Lord hide his own law? Kind of interesting, you look around our own nation and you see the law of God hidden even in the churches where they are no longer preaching it. I actually drove by a church, we drove by the Tamworth Church actually, and the Ten Commandments are right up front. And I was thinking, I wonder how the inhabitants of Tamworth feel about the Ten Commandments being right there in their face. But for the most part, churches are not preaching the law of God because the law, the Lord has done this. He has allowed the people to get what they asked for. Jump down to verse 17 in chapter two. And he says, the Lord has done what he purposed. He has fulfilled his word, which he commanded in days of old. He has thrown down and has not pitied, and he has caused an enemy to rejoice over you. He has exalted the horn of your adversaries. Amazing words written by one of Israel's major prophets, Jeremiah. In his 52 chapters of the book of Jeremiah, he leaves, I think, few things unsaid. And there's a lot more darkness than light in the book or the books of Jeremiah. And I would like to go back to him later in our second point because there is light and joy in Jeremiah as well. But first, I'd like to move on to one of the minor prophets And let's just call this the immediate prophetic view of the prophet Zephaniah. Zephaniah, please turn there. We're going to be reading some portions from this book. So I've talked about the division of the prophets into major prophets and minor prophets. The minor prophets are generally divided into two main groups. The first nine of them, ending with Zephaniah, prophesied before the Babylonian captivity, and the last three of them, which would be Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, prophesied after the captivity. Other than that general division, the order of the minor prophets in our Bibles isn't necessarily chronological. Probably the last of the first group, the group of nine of those prophets who uttered their prophecies before the captivity, the last three were probably Obadiah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah, not necessarily in that perfect order. But I'd like us to consider Zephaniah in particular this morning. Zephaniah is one of those prophets that he tends not to be given the attention he deserves, I think. He's often disregarded by the scholars. And you know how I often feel about the scholars. They often consider Zephaniah somehow less important of a voice than other prophets. Again, James Montgomery Boyce, I think he's one of the good guys. He's writing this with regards to Zephaniah. He says, in the scholarly world, Zephaniah is often dismissed as dull or derivative. And then Boyce quotes a couple of scholars, quote unquote, in their opinion about Zephaniah. One of them named Ewald says, with the prophet Zephaniah, we meet for the first time a considerable diminution of prophetic originality. Meaning he's kind of a, he's just a little guy. Nothing, it's almost as if he's saying he didn't have a lot of original important things to say. Another commentator, says this about Zephaniah. He says, Zephaniah can hardly be considered great as a poet. He does not rank with Isaiah, nor even with Hosea on this particular. He has no great imaginative powers, no deep insight into the human heart is reflected in his utterances, nor any keen sensitiveness to the beauties of nature. His harp is not attuned to the finer harmonies of life like that of Jeremiah. I don't know how you feel about reading stuff like that, but my response is, who are these scholars to make such judgments about the inspired writings of scripture? We are told that all of them are profitable and they are given for our benefit. I think we'd best leave judgments like that to God, in my humble opinion. And I realize Martin Luther, remember Martin Luther said that the book of James was an epistle of straw, but I think Luther actually probably came to a higher regard for the epistle of James later in life. But anyway, the prophet Zephaniah, the opening verse of the book of Jeremiah says that he prophesied, you'll notice this in Zephaniah 1.1, he prophesied during the reign of Josiah. Now remember something significant about Josiah, he was the last good king of Judah before the fall of that great kingdom. In fact, three of his children sat on the throne and they were three of the wicked kings of Judah that really hastened the fall of that kingdom. Zephaniah lived during the reign of the king, Josiah, who was instrumental in bringing about the greatest external reforms of religion in Jewish history, and shortly before the fall of Judah. So I think This little book of only three chapters is probably worth our consideration before I move on. That's why I chose to spend a little more time, a little time in Zephaniah before we move on to the last three major prophets that lived after the captivity. Remember, it would be in the days of the sons of Josiah, all of them wicked, that Nebuchadnezzar, one of them, three of his sons and one grandson of Josiah's, It would be during their reigns that Nebuchadnezzar, the conquering king from Babylon, would come and he would bring the kingdom of Judah to its knees, ultimately into captivity. Zephaniah, speaking in the name of the Lord, saw it all coming. In Zephaniah chapter one, he would foretell the collapse of the Jewish nation. And I'm going to ask you to read these verses in chapter one. And the Lord here is announcing his intentions for Judah. He says, the word of the Lord, which came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gadaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah, the son of Ammon, king of Judah. He says, and here's the Lord speaking, I will utterly consume everything from the face of the land, says the Lord. I will consume man and beast. I will consume the birds of the heavens, the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks along with the wicked. I will cut off man from the face of the land, says the Lord. I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal, the false god, from this place. The names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan priests. Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops. Those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord, but who also swear by Milcom. Those who have turned back from following the Lord, have not sought the Lord nor inquired of him. Be silent in the presence of the Lord God, for the day of the Lord is at hand. For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice. He has invited his guests. And it shall be in the day of the Lord's sacrifice that I will punish the princes and the Lord's children and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel. In the same day, I will punish all those who leap over the threshold, who fill their master's houses with violence and deceit. And there shall be on that day, says the Lord, the sound of a mournful cry from the fish gate, a wailing from the second quarter, a loud crashing from the hills, wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down, all those who handle money are cut off, and it shall come to pass at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish the men who are settled in complacency, who say in their heart, the Lord will not do good, nor will he do evil, Therefore their goods shall become booty, their houses a desolation. They shall build houses, but not inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine. The great day of the Lord is near. It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter. The mighty men shall cry out. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers. I will bring distress upon men and they shall walk like blind men because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood shall be poured out like dust and their flesh like refuse. Not exactly mincing words, is it? He's talking about preparing a feast. What kind of a feast is it? I think it's referring to a feast of the birds of the air on the bodies that will be slain because of the sins of the people. I will search out with lamps. Every sin will be uncovered. Hard to even imagine, isn't it? But let's move on, because Zephaniah wasn't done yet. In the second chapter, he goes on to prophesy the fall of Israel's enemies. Now, isn't that interesting? He's just prophesied how Israel's enemies would be powerful and victorious over the Jews. But in the second chapter, he's going to tell us how God's judgment will fall on those enemies of Israel as well. Why is that? It was the Lord who allowed them to come in and defeat the Jews. But of course, that didn't make the enemies of God righteous. So here, he prophesies the fall of Israel's enemies. And notice how he speaks of them in the first verse as one nation. Notice this in verse one. He says, gather yourselves together. Yes, gather together, O undesirable nation. He speaks of them all, all of the enemies of God, the nations that were enemies of God, He speaks of them as one, one nation. Before the decree is issued, He says in verse 2, or the day passes like chaff before the Lord's fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger comes upon you. But before the Lord goes on to condemn these wicked nations in verse 3, Notice how he calls to repentance individuals out of these nations. So even when the Lord is ready to strike these nations with destruction, he's calling those who might be repentant out of those nations. Notice verse three. Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth. You see, the meek can dwell amongst the proud. So he's calling the meek who Jesus actually said, the meek shall inherit the earth. He's calling them out from the midst of the prideful with whom they dwell. He says, seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld his justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anchor. It may be. It's not an absolute promise. But it's an encouragement for individuals who live in a sinful and crooked and perverse generation, as we do, to not follow the sins of those around us. We're not going to be, our sins are not going to be covered if we follow others around us and simply say, well, I just did what they were doing. No, the Lord says, come out from among them and be separate. And that's what he's saying here in verse three. And then beginning in verse four, he begins to call out the enemies of God, of God's people, one by one. We can notice in this chapter, chapter two, that in verses four through six, he speaks to the coastal regions of the Philistines and the Canaanites. Notice verse four, for Gaza shall be forsaken, Ashkelon desolate, They shall drive out Ashdod at noonday and Ekron shall be uprooted. Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Cherethites. The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines. I will destroy you so that there shall be no inhabitant. And then if we jump down to verse eight, we see that he calls out the Moabites and the Ammonites. And look at verse nine. Therefore, as I live, says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be like Sodom, and the people of Ammon like Gomorrah, overrun with weeds and salt pits. And then beginning in verse 12, he calls out the Ethiopians, who would also be slain by the sword. Beginning in verse 13, he foretells the final fall of the Assyrians, the empire that had already destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel, The capital of that empire was Nineveh, and notice verse 15, what he says to Nineveh. Verse 15, this is the rejoicing city that dwelt securely, that said in her heart, I am it, and there is none beside me. Take those words in that verse and just think of the attitude of the proud. I am it, I am it, and there's none beside me. How has she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down? Everyone who passes by her shall hiss and shake his fist. Wouldn't words like these really? And here I'd like to make an application. I would say those words could describe all of us in our natural state. I am it, and there's none beside me. I am on the throne of my own life. What I desire is what really matters. That's the natural man. So I think we need to make that application. I would suggest that verse 15 is almost a standalone proclamation against the city of man in general. The city of man is the entire alliance of the ungodly who make war against God. Really, he's encompassing the entire city of man in that verse, verse 15. He's speaking specifically of Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, but he's describing it as if it represents all of the Lord's enemies combined. Interesting, I was reading Robert Hawker, commentator, really a devotional commentator, and he kind of singles out verse 15 and he writes what he calls a reflection on verse 15. Let me read what Robert Hawker says about verse 15 that we've just read. Reader, he says, behold the different aspect that this scripture holds forth, and pause in the view. May we not ask, and ask with trembling, on hearing those awful judgments of God. If the righteous scarcely are saved, if they cannot be saved but in a better righteousness than their own, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Hocker goes on to say, I've often thought of what a mystery it is that men of no religion can live so secure and die so quiet with such trembling judgments over their heads. He says they have no promise to flee to, They have no earthly comfort that is secure to them, and yet they live on regardless. The Lord's anger, the alarms of their own consciences, the prospect of death, the alarms of eternity, these are always as specters in their view when troubles come. And these things haunt them night and day. How is it that they can live in such a state? How is it that they can die in such a state, giving no thought to what comes the moment after death? Harker goes on to say this. He says, look on the other hand at God's people. The Lord is their support and he carries them through all. He says, to the Lord's people, afflictions may come, afflictions will come, but Jesus comes with them and in them, and the consciousness of an interest in him and redemption in his blood softens every evil and takes the sting out of sorrow. Yea, even death itself, isn't that true? Reader, he says, see to it that we have this interest in Jesus, and we are then prepared for every event. Though Gaza be forsaken, and Ashkelon become a desolation, though the earth be moved and mountains cast into the sea, Christ is our hope and strength, a very present help in trouble. That's chapter two. There's no sweetness and light yet, right? But let's move on, or I should say very little. But let's move on to Zephaniah chapter three. And in chapter three, in the opening verses, the prophet continues to speak of the devastation that will come against Judah and Jerusalem. And I think he still seems to be speaking more broadly than just against the Jews. I really think he's speaking to all of unredeemed humanity. Notice the first eight verses of Zephaniah chapter three, beginning in verse one. And notice, and think about this as passing well beyond the borders of Judah and Israel. He says, woe to her who is rebellious and polluted to the oppressing city. And he's referring to Jerusalem there. She has not obeyed his voice. By the way, the people that were closest to the law were the people in Jerusalem, supposedly. But he's calling Jerusalem the oppressing city. Isn't that interesting? She has not obeyed his voice. She has not received correction. She has not trusted in the Lord. She has not drawn near to her God. Her princes in her midst are roaring lions. Her judges are evening wolves that leave not a bone till morning. Her prophets are insolent. By the way, think of our own country as you read this. Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people. Her priests have polluted the sanctuary. They've done violence to the law. The Lord is righteous in her midst. He will do no unrighteousness. Every morning he brings his justice to light. He never fails. But the unjust knows no shame. They have cut off nations. Their fortresses are devastated. or I rather, have cut off nations. I've made their streets desolate, with none passing by. Their cities are destroyed. There is no one, no inhabitant. I said, surely you will fear me. You will receive instruction, so that her dwelling would not be cut off. But despite everything for which I punished her, they arose early and corrupted all their deeds. Therefore, wait for me, says the Lord, until the day that I rise up for plunder. And notice these words. My determination is to gather the nations to my assembly of kingdoms, to pour on them my indignation, all my fierce anger, all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. Now that takes the whole thing right out of Israel and the nations directly around Israel. and he's applying this very broadly, all the earth that is unrepentant and continues on in their sins without forgiveness, all of the earth will be devoured because my determination is to gather the nations and pour on them my indignation. Doesn't that sound like something you'd read in the book of Revelation at the time of the Last Judgment? So the picture of Jerusalem destroyed I believe is a picture of mankind in his natural state, self-absorbed, worshiping the idols that we have made for ourselves, ignoring not only God's warnings from heaven, but closing our ears to God's offer of mercy. That's mankind in general. But that brings us to our second point, and a lot more sweetness and light in this point, and let's call this the beautiful picture of Jerusalem restored. In this point, I'd like us to consider the same two prophets that we just looked at, only I'd like to look at them in a different light as messengers of mercy and redemption. Let's go back, first of all, to Jeremiah. Jeremiah, with all of that darkness in his book of 52 chapters, remember that Jeremiah was the prophet of the new covenant, right? The promise of the new covenant was made first by Jeremiah, at least most directly by Jeremiah. Even Jeremiah who predicted and saw so much destruction would be the prophet who would deliver most directly the promise of the new covenant. Why don't we turn there? We've read these verses many times, but I'd like to read them a little more and read a little more of the context of them in verse chapter 31, Jeremiah chapter 31. This is where the promise of the new covenant is given. And it is a promise of, of course, mostly spiritual restoration. But I'd like us to notice, as we read the verses following it, how the promise of spiritual restoration is also mixed with the language of physical restoration. Let's notice. In verse 31, he begins with a promise that's obviously spiritual because it's talking about changes in the heart. He says in verse 31, Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, speaking there of course of the old covenant, a covenant that promised them land and material prosperity for their obedience, which they were unable to follow through on. Lord continues, he says, I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord." And of course there he's talking about a supernatural act of regeneration that would cause the human heart to know God by supernatural means. And he goes on to say in that verse 34, for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin, I will remember no more. Thus says the Lord who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, who disturbs the sea and its waves roar, the Lord of hosts is his name. It's a pretty firm promise, right? The Lord who keeps all of the heavenly lights in their circuits has made that promise. And if he hasn't failed to keep those lights in their motions from the beginning, he's not going to fail to keep his promise. But when we get to verse 36, I just stopped at verse 35, when we get to verse 36, it begins to sound more like a literal restoration. And consider that Jeremiah himself had said that the captivity would be a 70-year period, meaning that Jeremiah knew the captivity would end, and Jeremiah believed that there would indeed be a literal return and a rebuilding. But can we say that the period of troubles from the end of the captivity to the coming of Christ, all of the problems that they suffered, all of the disobedience, all of the rebuking that went on during that period, can we possibly say that that would fit the description that is given here beginning in verse 36? Let's notice. By the way, after Christ came, Israel was thoroughly destroyed by the Romans and the Jews were driven out of their own homeland. Think of all that and then read beginning in verse 36 and consider that can't be what he's referring to here. All of that cannot possibly be encompassed by what we're about to read. Verse 36, he says, thus says the Lord who gives the sun for a light by day. I reread, that's verse 35. Verse 36, if those ordinances depart from before me, says the Lord, then the seed of Israel shall cease from being a nation before me forever. Thus says the Lord. If heaven above can be measured and the foundations of the earth be searched out beneath, I also will cast off the seed of Israel for all that they have done. Now obviously what he means is there is the heaven cannot be measured, the foundations of the earth cannot be searched beneath, and therefore the Lord will not cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done. For behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, verse 38, that the city shall be built for the Lord. And now he gives some very specific descriptions here, from the tower of Hanuel to the corner gate. The surveyor's line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb. Then it shall turn toward Goath, and the whole city of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron to the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy to the Lord. It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever. Now, how are we to interpret verses 36 through 38? Did Israel remain a physical nation forever after the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD? And then, in fact, a few generations later, they banished the Jews from Palestine. When verse 38 says that Jerusalem would be rebuilt for the Lord from the tower of Hananel to the corner gate and so on, all this territory shall be holy to the Lord, verse 39, and it shall not be plucked up nor thrown down anymore forever, yet we know that for over 2,000 years and to this day, in fact, Jerusalem would be governed largely by powers hostile to the Lord. What are we to make of these promises? Well, I think John Gill has it right when he says that though these verses speak of a literal fulfillment, and there was a certain level of literal restoration The Jews did come back to their homeland. They did rebuild Jerusalem. They rebuilt the walls. They rebuilt the temple. But yet, as John Gill says, the literal is a type or figure of the spiritual fulfillment to come. This prophecy, Gill says, refers to future times in the latter redemption, meaning spiritual redemption. It never was fulfilled in the Second Temple. That was the one that was crudely rebuilt in the period that we're studying. It doesn't refer to that. Gill continues, he says, and indeed, the figure of rebuilding Jerusalem seems to speak of the building of the Gospel Church, which was to continue to the end of time, for both holiness and perpetuity are ascribed to it. And I think John Gill has to be right when he says this. Now, what about verse 36? Verse 36 says that the seed of Israel will never cease from being a nation. Well, on that verse, Gil says that though the Jews remained a distinct culture and a race of people, even to the present age, to Gil's time as well as to our own, Gil says, and I'm quoting, he says this rather refers to the spiritual Israel, the holy nation and a peculiar people. Remember the epistle of Peter where he says, Christians, you are a holy nation and a peculiar people. I think we can only say the nation referred to here in verse 36 can be a spiritual nation. Gil goes on to say, Christ will have a seed to serve him as long as the sun and moon endure. His church shall continue to the end of the world. It is built on a rock and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I think Gil is right. I think it's hard to argue with his reasoning on the interpretation of those verses. So there's Jeremiah, the prophet of the new covenant. But before we close this morning, I'd like us to go back to Zephaniah, the prophet, the minor prophet, and point out that his message, like Jeremiah's, much darkness in his three short chapters, but not all of it. Actually, Zephaniah has a very joyful ending, and I'd like us to take a look at that in chapter three. beginning in verse 9, and let's refer to this as Zephaniah's message of rejoicing. beginning in verse 9, and this is immediately following those first eight verses which are an indictment of the sins of the people, the sinful attitudes of the people. And in fact, the first two chapters in their entirety were foretelling the death and destruction of those who would continue on in the path of disobedience. But when we come to verse 9, the rest of the chapter is a proclamation of mercy. spoken in terms of mercy toward Israel, but again, I would suggest that the message of redemption is much more broad than merely the Jewish nation. Let's look at this passage and tell me if you agree that this has a much broader application than just Israel and Judah. Notice, beginning in verse nine, let me, I'm sorry, I'm not open to the book. Zephaniah chapter three and verse nine. He says, for then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they may call on the name of the Lord to serve him with one accord. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering. In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds in which you transgress against me. For then I will take away from your midst those who rejoice in your pride, You shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain. I will leave in your midst a meek and humble people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel shall no more do unrighteousness and speak no lies, nor shall deceitful tongue be found in their mouth. They shall feed their flocks and lie down. No one shall make them afraid. And then he says in verse 14, Sing, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O Israel. Be glad and rejoice with all your heart. O daughter of Jerusalem, for the Lord has taken away your judgments and has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst. You shall see disaster no more. Now let's break these verses down a little bit. So here we have a proclamation of victory for, I would have to say, for spiritual Israel, to be sure. He speaks, first of all, in verse nine of purifying their language. I will restore to the peoples a pure language that they may call on the name of the Lord to serve him with one accord. Now, is he specifically talking about the Hebrew language? I would say not necessarily. I think it's more of a spiritual language, the language of true worship. a gospel language, a language of grace seasoned with salt that proceeds from the mouths and hearts of God's saints. And to whom will the Lord give this pure language? Notice, beginning in verse 10, from beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones. He's talking about Gentile lands are going to rejoice in the Lord It's a promise given to Israel, but it's a promise to the spiritual remnant of Israel from every tribe, language, and nation that would believe in God's promises. But remember, Zephaniah's prophecy was written most directly to the Jewish nation. So as he writes, he writes as if he's speaking specifically to them, notice verse 13. He says, beginning in verse 13, he says, the remnant of Israel shall no more do unrighteousness and speak no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth. They shall feed their flocks and lie down. No one shall make them afraid. Verse 15, the Lord has taken away your judgments. He's cast out your enemy. The king is in your midst. You shall see disaster no more. Verse 16, in that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem, do not fear, Zion, let not your hands be weak. The Lord your God is in your midst. The mighty one will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you with his love. He will rejoice over you with singing. I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly who are among you to whom this reproach is a burden. Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you. I will save the lame and gather those who were driven out. I will appoint them for a praise and fame in every land where they were put to shame. And then we come to verse 20. And verse 20 seems to be given specifically to give hope to those who would return from captivity in Babylon and who needed something material and physical to give them hope that God was going to be in their midst at that particular time. He says in verse 20, at that time, I will bring you back, even at the time I gather you. For I will give you fame and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I return your captives before your eyes, says the Lord. So we have this mix in here of physical and spiritual. Promises to the captives returning from Babylon to the land of their forefathers, certainly those promises are there. But far beyond that, our promises to the spiritual remnant of Israel that would continue on through the advent of Christ, that would continue through the reign of the Gentiles on the earth, even until the second coming of Christ, until the eternal state in which God's people will dwell securely with God as their shepherd among them and they shall live on the, as Revelation chapter seven says, they shall live in the green pastures and fresh waters and so on. Wonderful promises given by even the darkest of the prophets A few months ago, when I decided to take a break from this series, we read a prophecy from the book of Isaiah. I'm gonna ask you to turn to one more passage in the book of Isaiah, chapter 44. And we read a prophecy from the book of Isaiah that foretold the coming of Cyrus, the Persian king, And it was his decree that would release the Jews from captivity in Babylon to return to their ancestral homeland in Palestine. Let's read once again Isaiah's prophecy from Isaiah chapter 44, beginning in verse 24. Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer. And I'd like you to also to think about this as, again, this goes beyond just the return, the literal return of Jews from Babylon back to the land of Palestine. It really is much broader than that. Notice verse 24. Thus says the Lord your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb, I am the Lord who makes all things, who stretches out the heavens all alone, who spreads abroad the earth by myself, who frustrates the signs of the babblers, who drives diviners mad, who turns wise men backward and makes their knowledge foolishness, who confirms the word of his servant and performs the counsel of his messengers, who says to Jerusalem, you shall be inhabited, as impossible as it appeared at that moment, you shall be inhabited, and who says to the cities of Judah, you shall be built, and I will raise up her waste places, who says to the deep, be dry, and I will dry up your rivers, who says of Cyrus, he is my shepherd, he shall perform all my pleasure, saying to Jerusalem, you shall be built, and to the temple, your foundation shall be laid. Now when that promise was given through Isaiah, and by the way, we are even told that Cyrus was a heathen king who did not know the Lord, yet the Lord moved in his heart to accomplish the Lord's purposes. Think about who among the heathen nations that had witnessed the complete fall of the Jewish state, how they could have imagined that this prophecy that we've just read, how it could possibly be fulfilled. And in fact, it would be another 200 years before that prophecy would be fulfilled, but it would be fulfilled to the letter. To the letter. And we can say that with confidence of every promise that God has given. As we close this morning, when the Lord makes a promise, his word is gold. We can believe it. We can trust it. We can base our lives upon it. So my closing question this morning as we now jump in full body into the into these prophetic writings. My question is, have you received God's offer of redemption? Like the children of Israel, our sins without the Lord would be as scarlet. Our hands were covered with the innocent blood of Jesus, who died on the cross for sinners like us. But Isaiah the prophet said, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be clear and pure and white as the wind-driven snow. So my prayer this morning would be that the Lord would receive us with peace today because we've received and believed his merciful promises. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, I thank you that even in the midst of judgment, as the prophets came out and made declarations against the sinners in the land of Israel and Judah, in the city of Jerusalem, what was intended to be the holy city, yet it was full of unbelief and rebellion and a pride rather than humility. And as the prophets made their proclamations as they spoke in the name of the Lord, the word of the Lord, to the sinners in your holy place. Thank you, Father, that they also spoke peace and mercy and redemption to those who would believe your promises and who would come forth as gold because the Spirit of the Lord has worked in us and has drawn us to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. May we believe in him. May we walk in his mercy. May we follow your commandments, dear Lord, and may the blood of Christ cleanse us from all sin, and may his advocacy in heaven for us be continually made so that we might ultimately come to spend our eternity with you. Bless us in these matters, we pray, in Jesus' name, amen.