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Jeremiah 34-36
Jeremiah 34
1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying,
Right away, this chapter seems a bit different. We aren't told the exact year of when this happened. We'll have to assume it's in about 587. We had been getting an exact year, like "the tenth year of Zedekiah", but not here. Also, this verse appears to be a bit longer than most of the other verses so far in Jeremiah. In fact, this run on sentence lasts for a while.
2 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:
Still no period.
3 And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.
Before the period, there are 14 commas, 3 semicolons, and 1 colon. That's a whole lot of punctuation. The word Babylon is used 4 times. That's a long run on sentence. Additionally, a word for God is used 5 times including I.
5 But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD.
That's nice of God to let Zedekiah die in peace.
God tells Jeremiah to tell the people (sorry, I'm summarizing 3 verses here with those 7 words):
9 That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother.
Let your Hebrew servants go free.
The people heard, and did it, oddly. They actually listened to something Jeremiah said.
11 But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.
But then the people took back their slaves. Similar to Egypt, you can go... nah, come back.
14 At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear. (Deuteronomy 15:12)
16 But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom he had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.
Did God give the people one last chance? This was after the Sabbath one last chance. Also after the Jeremiah don't go intervening time.
17 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.
God is like the good fairy, and Judah is like little bunny foo foo.
20 I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth.
Although little bunny foo foo was only turned into a goon, not killed and having their dead bodies eaten by birds.
Jeremiah 35
1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,
Jehoiakim became king in 609. So this chapter has gone back about 20 years or so from the previous one.
11 But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem.
Ok, Nebuchadnezzar became king in 605, and started his assault, so we are around the 605 year.
2 Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.
Who are the Rechabites? They were a group who were the descendants of Rechab. Rechab had a son Jonadab (Jehonadab) who demanded that his family live in tents and drink no wine. He was a Kenite. They were basically nomads, like Bedouin. You can think of them as the Amish.
So basically, Jeremiah was told to take the Rechabites into the temple and make them drink wine.
6 But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever:
7 Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers.
Ok, that's all well and good... except that they started doing that during Jehu's time. Jehu became king of Israel (north) in 841. It's now about 605, so these people have been living in tents and not drinking wine for over 200 years.
11 But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem.
So they left their tent city, and moved into the safety of the town of Jerusalem.
13 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the LORD.
14 The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father's commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me.
God was pissed at his people because they wouldn't worship him. When he saw this family of people who did what their grandfather said "don't drink wine; live in tents" and they actually did it, God was even more pissed.
16 Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them; but this people hath not hearkened unto me:
17 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered.
God was mad, because he's a god, and not just a man; who's passing orders.
18 And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you:
19 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.
Which is why the Rechabites are such a powerful group today... oh wait.
Jeremiah 36
1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
We've got an exact year again, 605 or so.
2 Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day.
Write everything that Jeremiah has been saying. So Jeremiah got himself a scribe named Baruch. Baruch was a scribe and friend of Jeremiah. He was an aristocrat and a brother of the chamberlain of King Zedekiah. So Baruch's family was pretty well off, like Jeremiah's family was. Although Jeremiah's family was very influential in the temple, Baruch's was probably more status related. Baruch is listed as a prophet by some groups.
3 It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.
Wait a second... did God just say "it may be". Doesn't that imply that he doesn't know the future? Or once again, did he turn off his ability to see the future.
4 Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book.
Jeremiah spoke, Baruch transcribed.
5 And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up; I cannot go into the house of the LORD:
So, Jeremiah, sent his buddy (and possibly cousin) to go read the words, because Jeremiah was told he couldn't go back to the cout.
Baruch went to the temple and read the words, some people heard him, and took him away and asked where he got those words, they actually believed them.
16 Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they were afraid both one and other, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words.
19 Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; and let no man know where ye be.
These people knew that Jeremiah and Baruch were influential and that they didn't have the ability to punish them, but the king could do that, so they recommended they go hide.
20 And they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king.
Well, the king didn't like it.
23 And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.
The king burned the rolls, book burning then was considered taboo.Then the king ordered Jeremiah and Baruch to be captured/killed. God told Jeremiah the king burned the book, so they wrote it again, this time with some more prophecy in it.
29 And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast?
Then God promised to remove Jehoiakim from the throne.
So what have we learned today?
1. Jeremiah was fond of run-on sentences, at least he was in chapter 34.
2. If you listen to your parents more than you listen to God, he'll get pissed.
3. Wealth and influence got OJ Simpson off, it also allowed Jeremiah and Baruch to say things that would have gotten other people stoned on the spot.
YIC
V
Jeremiah 34
1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying,
Right away, this chapter seems a bit different. We aren't told the exact year of when this happened. We'll have to assume it's in about 587. We had been getting an exact year, like "the tenth year of Zedekiah", but not here. Also, this verse appears to be a bit longer than most of the other verses so far in Jeremiah. In fact, this run on sentence lasts for a while.
2 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:
Still no period.
3 And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.
Before the period, there are 14 commas, 3 semicolons, and 1 colon. That's a whole lot of punctuation. The word Babylon is used 4 times. That's a long run on sentence. Additionally, a word for God is used 5 times including I.
5 But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD.
That's nice of God to let Zedekiah die in peace.
God tells Jeremiah to tell the people (sorry, I'm summarizing 3 verses here with those 7 words):
9 That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother.
Let your Hebrew servants go free.
The people heard, and did it, oddly. They actually listened to something Jeremiah said.
11 But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.
But then the people took back their slaves. Similar to Egypt, you can go... nah, come back.
14 At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear. (Deuteronomy 15:12)
16 But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom he had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.
Did God give the people one last chance? This was after the Sabbath one last chance. Also after the Jeremiah don't go intervening time.
17 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.
God is like the good fairy, and Judah is like little bunny foo foo.
20 I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth.
Although little bunny foo foo was only turned into a goon, not killed and having their dead bodies eaten by birds.
Jeremiah 35
1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,
Jehoiakim became king in 609. So this chapter has gone back about 20 years or so from the previous one.
11 But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem.
Ok, Nebuchadnezzar became king in 605, and started his assault, so we are around the 605 year.
2 Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.
Who are the Rechabites? They were a group who were the descendants of Rechab. Rechab had a son Jonadab (Jehonadab) who demanded that his family live in tents and drink no wine. He was a Kenite. They were basically nomads, like Bedouin. You can think of them as the Amish.
So basically, Jeremiah was told to take the Rechabites into the temple and make them drink wine.
6 But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever:
7 Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers.
Ok, that's all well and good... except that they started doing that during Jehu's time. Jehu became king of Israel (north) in 841. It's now about 605, so these people have been living in tents and not drinking wine for over 200 years.
11 But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem.
So they left their tent city, and moved into the safety of the town of Jerusalem.
13 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the LORD.
14 The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father's commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me.
God was pissed at his people because they wouldn't worship him. When he saw this family of people who did what their grandfather said "don't drink wine; live in tents" and they actually did it, God was even more pissed.
16 Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them; but this people hath not hearkened unto me:
17 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered.
God was mad, because he's a god, and not just a man; who's passing orders.
18 And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you:
19 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.
Which is why the Rechabites are such a powerful group today... oh wait.
Jeremiah 36
1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
We've got an exact year again, 605 or so.
2 Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day.
Write everything that Jeremiah has been saying. So Jeremiah got himself a scribe named Baruch. Baruch was a scribe and friend of Jeremiah. He was an aristocrat and a brother of the chamberlain of King Zedekiah. So Baruch's family was pretty well off, like Jeremiah's family was. Although Jeremiah's family was very influential in the temple, Baruch's was probably more status related. Baruch is listed as a prophet by some groups.
3 It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.
Wait a second... did God just say "it may be". Doesn't that imply that he doesn't know the future? Or once again, did he turn off his ability to see the future.
4 Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book.
Jeremiah spoke, Baruch transcribed.
5 And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up; I cannot go into the house of the LORD:
So, Jeremiah, sent his buddy (and possibly cousin) to go read the words, because Jeremiah was told he couldn't go back to the cout.
Baruch went to the temple and read the words, some people heard him, and took him away and asked where he got those words, they actually believed them.
16 Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they were afraid both one and other, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words.
19 Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; and let no man know where ye be.
These people knew that Jeremiah and Baruch were influential and that they didn't have the ability to punish them, but the king could do that, so they recommended they go hide.
20 And they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king.
Well, the king didn't like it.
23 And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.
The king burned the rolls, book burning then was considered taboo.Then the king ordered Jeremiah and Baruch to be captured/killed. God told Jeremiah the king burned the book, so they wrote it again, this time with some more prophecy in it.
29 And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast?
Then God promised to remove Jehoiakim from the throne.
So what have we learned today?
1. Jeremiah was fond of run-on sentences, at least he was in chapter 34.
2. If you listen to your parents more than you listen to God, he'll get pissed.
3. Wealth and influence got OJ Simpson off, it also allowed Jeremiah and Baruch to say things that would have gotten other people stoned on the spot.
YIC
V