JEREMIAH LESSON 27
We will begin this lesson in Jeremiah 25:1 "The word that came to
Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of
Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that [was] the first year
of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;"
We see a final warning to God's people, Judah, here. Jehoiakim
was a very evil king. The date set for this is pretty certain since it
was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar. This is the date Jeremiah spoke
to them, and not the day of the overthrow of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 25:2 "The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the
people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,"
Jeremiah was still obedient to God in proclaiming the coming
judgement. This prophecy is not just for Judah, but for Jerusalem, as
well.
Jeremiah 25:3 "From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon
king of Judah, even unto this day, that [is] the three and twentieth
year, the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto
you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened."
We remember that Jeremiah was just a youth, when he began to
prophesy the Words of the LORD to these people. He has been faithfully
doing exactly what God has told him to do for 23 years. It seems all
the warning he has given them, has not been heeded.
Jeremiah 25:4 "And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants
the prophets, rising early and sending [them]; but ye have not
hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear."
Jeremiah is reminding them, here, that God had given them ample
warning by His prophets. They did not even listen to the prophets,
much less take a warning from them.
Jeremiah 25:5 "They said, Turn ye again now every one from his
evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that
the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever:"
The message had not changed. God told them over and over to turn
from the worship of false gods, and He would bless them in the land He
had promised them. The land of promise was to be theirs and their
childrens unto all generations. The only catch was, that they must
stay loyal to God to receive the blessings.
Jeremiah 25:6 "And go not after other gods to serve them, and to
worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your
hands; and I will do you no hurt."
The first commandment God had given them, warned them not to
worship other gods. God would not permit the worship of any other god.
They had even made idols of wood and metal with their own hands, and
worshipped them. This was strictly forbidden. God is a Jealous God and
would not share His people. The thing that separated them from the
heathen people around them, was their worship of the One True God.
Jeremiah 25:7 "Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD;
that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your
own hurt."
All of the warnings, Jeremiah had brought from God, had not been
received. They even tried to kill Jeremiah for bringing them such a
message. God's wrath has come up in His face. Now, is the time for
judgement.
Jeremiah 25:8 "Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because
ye have not heard my words," Jeremiah 25:9 "Behold, I will send and
take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar
the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this
land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these
nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an
astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations."
In the verses above, God has told them why they will suffer
punishment. In this verse, He describes what some of that punishment
will be. The only reason God calls Nebuchadnezzar His servant, is
because he is obeying God's command to take the land. Babylon is an
evil land, but God is using them to punish His people.
Jeremiah 25:10 "Moreover I will take from them the voice of
mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the
voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the
candle."
The normal happenings in a town will not be anymore. Even the
light of the candle will go out. Total darkness will prevail. They
will have nothing to be happy about, when the wrath of God falls upon
them.
Jeremiah 25:11 "And this whole land shall be a desolation, [and]
an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon
seventy years."
I believe this 70 years of captivity in Babylon to be literal,
years. It appears that Daniel believed the 70 years to be literal as
well. Daniel 9:1 "In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of
the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the
Chaldeans;" Daniel 9:2 "In the first year of his reign I Daniel
understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the
LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy
years in the desolations of Jerusalem." It appears, from this, that
Daniel knew Jeremiah and had great respect toward his prophecies.
Jeremiah 25:12 "And it shall come to pass, when seventy years
are accomplished, [that] I will punish the king of Babylon, and that
nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the
Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations."
This is speaking of a time, after the 70 years, that God will
destroy Babylon. It will never be rebuilt. The perpetual desolations
speak of an eternity of rubble. This could be speaking of the rule of
Nebuchadnezzar, or of the city of Babylon in its entirety.
Jeremiah 25:13 "And I will bring upon that land all my words
which I have pronounced against it, [even] all that is written in this
book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations."
We have discussed before, that a statement made by God is going
to happen. It may not happen as quickly as we expect, but it will
happen.
Jeremiah was not speaking his own words. He was speaking the Words of
God.
Jeremiah 25:14 "For many nations and great kings shall serve
themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their
deeds, and according to the works of their own hands."
God does not overlook the actions of countries against His chosen
people. We discussed in an earlier lesson, where the Babylonians had
gone too far with their cruelty during the overthrow of Jerusalem. God
takes vengeance on those who are against His people.
Jeremiah 25:15 "For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me;
Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations,
to whom I send thee, to drink it."
This is a symbolic thing that Jeremiah is to do. Jeremiah did
warn each of them of the justice of the LORD God of Israel. The fury
of God has always been against those who are against the Israelites.
Jeremiah 25:16 "And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad,
because of the sword that I will send among them."
The sword that God sends among them is in judgement. This sword
of the Lord could be the natural elements like lightning, but it
probably is speaking of war. They drink, in the verse above, just
means they received the punishment God spoke upon them.
Jeremiah 25:17 "Then took I the cup at the LORD'S hand, and made
all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:"
This is not speaking of a literal cup, but is speaking of the
message Jeremiah brought to them and repeated over and over, until
they received it unto themselves. The nations, plural, is speaking of
all the lands around who had come against God's people.
Jeremiah 25:18 "[To wit], Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and
the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation,
an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as [it is] this day;"
Jeremiah 25:19 "Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his
princes, and all his people;" Jeremiah 25:20 "And all the mingled
people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the
land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the
remnant of Ashdod," Jeremiah 25:21 "Edom, and Moab, and the children
of Ammon," Jeremiah 25:22 "And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the
kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which [are] beyond the
sea," Jeremiah 25:23 "Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all [that are] in
the utmost corners," Jeremiah 25:24 "And all the kings of Arabia, and
all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert,"
Jeremiah 25:25 "And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam,
and all the kings of the Medes," Jeremiah 25:26 "And all the kings of
the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the
world, which [are] upon the face of the earth: and the king of
Sheshach shall drink after them."
We see the far reaching effect of the prophecy of Jeremiah in
this. All of those listed above, and in fact, the entire unsaved world
have been warned of Jeremiah of the judgement of God.
Jeremiah 25:27 "Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith
the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and
spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will
send among you." Jeremiah 25:28 "And it shall be, if they refuse to
take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them,
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink."
The warning brought to all of them, is spoken of as the cup. God
has given Jeremiah the commission to tell them all, and if they do not
take heed, to tell them again, until they do believe.
Jeremiah 25:29 "For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which
is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall
not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the
inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts."
This reaches to the time of the end, when the wrath of God will
be poured out on all the world who have not taken heed to His warning.
God destroyed His beloved Jerusalem, because of their evil. He will do
no less to all the world who follow after false gods. Those who are
faithful to God and Him alone, will be spared the wrath of God. All
who reject Him as their Saviour and Lord, will suffer the wrath of
God. Judgement begins at the house of God. Then God punishes the
others.
Jeremiah 25:30 "Therefore prophesy thou against them all these
words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter
his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his
habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread [the grapes],
against all the inhabitants of the earth."
Look, with me, at the following Scripture which is about the same
thing. Revelation 14:19 "And the angel thrust in his sickle into the
earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the
great winepress of the wrath of God." Revelation 14:20 "And the
winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the
winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand
[and] six hundred furlongs."
Jeremiah 25:31 "A noise shall come [even] to the ends of the
earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead
with all flesh; he will give them [that are] wicked to the sword,
saith the LORD." Jeremiah 25:32 "Thus saith the LORD of hosts,
Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great
whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth."
This is not just speaking of a local happening but is speaking of
worldwide judgement that comes on all the earth. Mankind has a choice
to repent and turn to God, or face the horrible happenings we are
reading about here.
Jeremiah 25:33 "And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day
from [one] end of the earth even unto the [other] end of the earth:
they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall
be dung upon the ground."
Just as we have been reading of how Jerusalem was attacked and
many died, so is this speaking of massive death. When Babylon took
Jerusalem, there was no time to bury the dead, they were left for the
vultures and the wild animals. This is speaking of the same thing on a
more massive scale. It is even on a global scale.
Jeremiah 25:34 "Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow
yourselves [in the ashes], ye principal of the flock: for the days of
your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall
fall like a pleasant vessel."
This is just speaking of all of those who have represented God
upon this earth. "Wallowing in the ashes" just shows extreme mourning
for the things happening. The shepherd is speaking of the preacher or
prophet, who has led a group of people. This howling is the same as
that in Revelation chapter 18, when Babylon the great falls. Babylon
is symbolic of all of the evil in the land. Babylon is not only a
city, but is symbolic of all evil. The terribleness on the unrepentant
people has come.
Jeremiah 25:35 "And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor
the principal of the flock to escape."
Just as Jeremiah was there in Jerusalem to see the destruction,
these shepherds will see the destruction, also.
Jeremiah 25:36 "A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an
howling of the principal of the flock, [shall be heard]: for the LORD
hath spoiled their pasture."
The ministers will not cease praying, even though the flock is
scattered with no pasture to feed in.
Jeremiah 25:37 "And the peaceable habitations are cut down
because of the fierce anger of the LORD."
The peaceable habitations would be the pastures they fed in. It
could, also, mean the church. The fierce anger of the LORD against
those who worshipped false gods is destroying everything. This heaven
and this earth will pass away.
Jeremiah 25:38 "He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for
their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and
because of his fierce anger."
"Covert", in the verse above, means lair, den, pavilion, or
tabernacle. A lion who leaves his lair is looking for something to
kill and eat. This explains the fierceness of the anger of God upon
the church, and its people who have committed spiritual adultery.
Jeremiah 27 Questions
1. What happened the first year Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon?
2. Who did Jeremiah speak to?
3. How many years had Jeremiah been prophesying?
4. Had they listened and heeded Jeremiah's prophecy?
5. What was the message God sent them, mentioned in verse 5?
6. What was the sin God was angry about?
7. What had they provoked God to anger with?
8. What does verse 9 say will happen to them?
9. What things would cease in their cities?
10. How long shall they serve Babylon?
11. Where, in Daniel, do we read the same thing?
12. What will happen to Babylon after the 70 years?
13. God recompenses nations according to what?
14. What did Jeremiah do with the cup in the LORD's hand?
15. Is this a literal cup?
16. Who are some of the nations to drink of the cup?
17. If they do not drink of the cup, what is Jeremiah to do?
18. What is another Scripture that speaks of the same thing as verse
30?
19. Who is verse 31 and 32 speaking to?
20. Why will the dead not be lamented?
21. What are the shepherds to do?
22. Who are the shepherds?
23. Why are the shepherds howling?
24. What does the word "covert" mean?
25. Who is God's fierce anger against?
Home