Weekly Recap #34 - Jeremiah 31-52

We finished up the book of Jeremiah this week!

WHEW!!!  

Am I the only one who sometimes gets a bit lost in a lot of the Old Testament scripture....especially when it's so repetitive?!?  I enjoy reading the accounts of things that happen....but so much of the predictions for each area was the exact same thing....and all they had to do was "turn from their evil ways"....and God would have forgiven them and all would have been well....but NO....they refused so the tragedy that Jeremiah prophesied came true!!!

Okay...let's go....cause I have about 7 pages of notes to try to condense!!!

This verse reminded me of what happened....eventually....after I lost my precious Daddy.  It was quite some time before it happened, but God did restore my joy!!!

Jeremiah 31:13b

I will turn their mourning into joy.  I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing.

This one reminds me of my fave...Jeremiah 29:11...

Jeremiah 31:17a

"There is hope for your future," says the Lord.

We serve the same God today....

Jeremiah 31:33b

"I will put my instructions deep within them and I will write them on their hearts.  I will be their  God and they will be my people."

   In Chapter 36, the Lord instructed Jeremiah to write down all His messages against Israel, Judah, and the other nations....every single message up to the present.  At the time, Jeremiah was a prisoner, so he dictated to Baruch, a scribe, and Baruch wrote them on a scroll.  Jeremiah instructed Baruch to go to the Temple on the next day of fasting and read the messages from the Lord.  Baruch read the words to the people and then was called to read again to the Temple officials in private.  King Jehoiakim sent one of his officials to get the scroll from the Temple and read it to him.  Each time that 3, or 4 columns were read, the king took a knife and cut off that section of the scroll and threw it into the fire - section by section - until the whole scroll was burned up.  Neither the king, nor his attendants, showed any signs of fear, or repentance, at what they heard.  The king then sent for Jeremiah and Baruch, but the Lord had hidden them.  The Lord instructed Jeremiah to get another scroll and write the same messages on it and to tell the king that the Lord said he would have no heirs to sit on the throne of David and his dead body would be thrown out to lie unburied.

Jeremiah was put in a dungeon because of his prophesies...then in the palace prison...then he was placed in a cistern where he sank down into the thick mud at the bottom.  An Ethiopian came to Jeremiah's rescue and he was pulled from the cistern before he died.  He was then returned to the courtyard of the guard....but remained a prisoner.

The Babylonians invaded Jerusalem.  King Zedekiah was captured and made to watch as his sons and all the nobles of Judah were slaughtered.  Then they gouged out the king's eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.  Some of the poorest people were left in Jerusalem to tend vineyards and fields but the rest were carried away to Babylon. 

King Nebucanezzar, the king of Babylon, made sure that Jeremiah wasn't hurt....probably  because Jeremiah had tried to persuade King Zedekiah to surrender to Babylon.  Once Jerusalem was seized by Babylon, Jeremiah was released from his chains by the captain of the guard and given the option to go with him to Babylon, or remain in Judah.  Jeremiah chose to stay, so he was given food and money and let go.  He returned to Gedaliah, who had been appointed governor of Judah by the king of Babylon.

The leaders of some Judean guerrilla bands, including Ishmael, met with Gedaliah to find out what his plans were.  Gedaliah assured them that the Babylonians meant them no harm if they would serve them, then they would prosper....but....Ishmael plotted to kill Gedaliah...but he refused to heed the warning when an informant even offered to kill Ishmael.

Ishmael took 10 men with him to meet with Gedaliah.  While they were eating together, Ishmael and his men drew their swords and killed Gedaliah and all the Judeans and Babylonian soldiers who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah.  It was a common practice that no evil deed should be done while eating at a host's table.

The next day, 80 men went to the Temple of the Lord to worship and were met by Ishmael who was weeping.  He told them to come and see what had happened to Gedaliah.  As soon as they were inside the town, Ishmael and his men killed all but 10 of them and threw their bodes into a cistern.  The other 10 talked Ishmael into letting them go by promising to bring him a supply of food.  When Johanan and other guerrilla leaders heard of all that Ishmael had done, they took all their men and set out to stop him.  Ishmael and 8 of his men escaped.  All the guerrilla leaders went to Jeremiah asking him to pray to the Lord for them, showing them what to do and where to go.  Ten days later, Jeremiah gave them the Lord's message that if the people would stay in the lad and not fear the king of Babylon any longer, He would save and rescue them from his power.  If they refused and instead fled to Egypt, war and famine would follow them and they would die there.  The men accused Jeremiah of lying - so they went to Egypt, taking the captives, including Jeremiah, with them.  The Lord warned them that they would be destroyed by the king Nebucanezzar of Babylon.

In Chapter 44, Jeremiah tells the people of the Lord's judgment concerning their worship of idols....but the people responded....
44:16 - "we will not listen to your messages from the Lord!"
44:17a - "we will do whatever we want."

This verse spoke to me....because sometimes....believe it or not....I can get in a tizzy....thinking about the "what ifs"....
Jeremiah 51:46a
Bu do not panic; don't be afraid when you hear the first rumor of approaching forces.  For rumors will keep coming year by year.

Chapter 51 was the end of Jeremiah's messages.

Chapter 52 was the final chapter in the book of Jeremiah.  It is a recount of the final month of Jerusalem's existence.  The chapter emphasizes Jeremiah's integrity as a true prophet of our Almighty God and restates everything that Jeremiah had prophesied regarding the destruction of Jerusalem!!!

WOW...that was a lot to say, huh?!?
If any of you are reading along, too...and you have anything to add concerning the prophet Jeremiah....please feel free to leave me a comment!!!

Hope each of you have a blessed weekend!!!

In His Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!