Jeremiah (Part 3)

Richard Belcher continues the exploration of the book of Jeremiah. He focuses on its implications for modern faith and understanding of God’s relationship with His people. The sermon is part of a series that delves into the deeper messages within Jeremiah, discussing themes of repentance, renewal, and divine judgement.

The following unedited transcript is provided by Beluga AI.

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All right, let’s get back to the lecture on Jeremiah.

We are at the place, I think, in your notes, where it talks about the coming judgment, the closing days of Judah, chapters 26 through 45, and the structure of this section is significant. There are two major blocks of material in 26 through 45: 26 through 35, and 36 through 45, framed by four passages dating from the reign of Jehoiakim. So 26:1 and 35:1 both refer to the reign of Jehoiakim.

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, in the days of Jehoiakim, then 36 one and 45 one both refer to the fourth year of Jehoiakim. The fourth year of Jehoiakim is a critical moment, if you will, in the history of Judah. As we will see, there’s also some parallelism that I may have noted in your notes between chapters 26 through 35 and 36 through 45, same emphasis in both of these sections. There’s unbelief to the prophetic word. There’s the whole issue of submission to Babylon.

We’ll come back and talk about that in relationship to the message of Jeremiah. And then there’s things dealing with the aftermath of exile. Now, if you take a look at this second part, 26 through 45, we’ve already talked about the difficult structure of the book of JEremiah, and I’ve got sort of Jehoiakim listed with the chapters that deal with him, Zedekiah listed with the chapters that deal with him. And you can see how these are spread out throughout this second major section. So it’s not chronological by any means.

What we’re going to do as we look at this section of Jeremiah is we are going to take a more chronological look, highlighting issues as we move toward the destruction of the city of Jerusalem, 587. So we’re going to pick out some key incidents during this period of time that move us closer and closer to the destruction of Jerusalem in 587.

So the first incident we want to look at is from chapter 36 of Jeremiah. This is Jehoiakim’s response, really, his rejection of the prophetic word in Jeremiah 36. It’s in the fourth year of Jehoiakim.

¹ In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: (Jeremiah 36:1, ESV)

The fourth year of Jehoiakim is a pivotal year in the history of Judah, partly because of this incident, the rejection of the prophetic word. Now, if you recall, the fourth year of Jehoiakim would be 605. That would be the fourth year of Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim was placed on the throne in 609 by Egypt, so his fourth year would be 605. 605. You have the battle of Carchemish with Babylon defeating Egypt.

And when Babylon defeats Egypt in the battle of Carchemish, the whole land of Palestine is now open for the Babylonian army. And so it is a pivotal year, even in that respect. So after Egypt is defeated, the Babylonians come into Jerusalem, and you have the first deportation. We call the first deportation. As the Babylonians come into Jerusalem, look for the key leaders, young men, to take back to Babylon to re-educate them. And so Daniel goes to Babylon in 605.

Now, the key part of chapter 36 is, as we said, the rejection of the prophetic word. You have Jeremiah writing on a scroll his prophecies at the command of the Lord, verse two.

² “Take a scroll and write on it all the words 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 today. (Jeremiah 36:2, ESV)

So Jeremiah, put on a scroll all your prophecies, the things that I have spoken to you, and have Baruch, your scribe, deliver this scroll and the message to the people. Now, why did Baruch deliver it? Well, because Jeremiah has been banned from preaching in the temple. After that temple sermon, we can’t have Jeremiah preaching anymore in the temple. So he has been banned from preaching in the temple. But Baruch takes this scroll. The people who hear this say, we need to take this to Jehoiakim, the king.

And so they bring this scroll to Jehoiakim, the king, who is there warming himself by a fire. As the scroll is read, he takes it, he cuts off portions of it and puts it into the fire. That’s what he thinks of the prophetic word from Jeremiah. Contrast that with Josiah. What did Josiah do when he heard the word of God from deuteronomy? He rent his clothes. He repented. When Jehoiakim hears the word of God from Jeremiah, he doesn’t rent his clothes. He tears up the scroll and burns it in the fire.

This is a watershed moment in the history of Judah, as now the nation moves toward unavoidable judgment because Jehoiakim, the king, has clearly rejected the prophetic word. So that is a key passage, another key text, as we jump around is chapter 24, the good and bad figs. Now, this text, Jeremiah 24, comes from 597, where it says Jeremiah 24:1. After Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had taken into exile from Jerusalem, Jeconiah, that is Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, together with the officials of Judah. Now, Jehoiakim was king until 597.

¹ After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, together with the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the metal workers, and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me this vision: behold, two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord . (Jeremiah 24:1, ESV)

So I don’t know if you can read this or not, but Jehoiakim, 609, 597. In 597, Jehoiachin is king, and Babylon comes into Jerusalem another time and sends into exile key leaders in Jerusalem. So you have another deportation. In 597, Jehoiachin is taken, and this is when Ezekiel is taken to Babylon as well. This policy of Babylon really is short-sighted because you take all the key leaders away from a nation, leave that nation in a bad situation.

Of course, part of the reason Babylon does this is they want to retrain the young men of the nation and they want to take away key leaders to sort of keep down rebellion. But really, this policy hurts the nation, Judah, obviously, and leaves behind people who are not good leaders. And so you got those kinds of people filling in the void. And in the long run, it doesn’t really help Babylon, although that was their policy. So you have this deportation. In 597, Jehoiachin is taken to Babylon. Zedekiah then becomes the last king of Judah.

And this basket of good figs and bad figs, this prophecy of good figs and bad figs comes as verse one says. When Jehoiachin was taken, Jeconiah Jehoiachin was taken into Babylon. There was this vision of the basket of two figs. One basket had very good figs, like the first. Right figs in verse two. The other basket had very bad figs, so bad they could not be eaten. So they had this basket of two figs, one basket of good figs, very good figs, the other basket of bad figs, rotten figs, they can’t be eaten.

Now, if you’re living in Jerusalem at this time and the Babylonian army has just come through and you’re still in Jerusalem, you survived this deportation. you’re probably thinking, God’s been good, the blessing of God. I was not taken to Babylon, and God’s disfavor must be on those who’ve been exiled and taken to Babylon, right?

Wrong. Jeremiah’s message is that the good figs are the ones who’ve been taken to Babylon, and the bad figs are the ones left here in Jerusalem. And the reason he says that is because the purposes of God for the future of God’s people now rests on the people who are in exile. It’s the people in exile that I will bring back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not uproot them.

⁶ I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not pluck them up. (Jeremiah 24:6, ESV)

You see the terminology that comes from the beginning of the book and the message that God gave to Jeremiah. The good figs are in Babylon. It’s those who I’ll bring back to this land and I will plant them.

And you guys are the bad figs because God’s judgment is going to hit this place. And so Jeremiah’s prophetic message here goes against the grain of what most people of that day would have thought of. They would have thought that they were the ones that were favored by God. They were left in Jerusalem. They’re in Jerusalem. They’ve got the temple and everything. But Jeremiah says, no, you’re the bad figs because you are going to experience the judgment of God. God’s judgment rests on Zedekiah. 24:8. Zedekiah will be uprooted.

He is the last remaining king of Judah. So this message goes against the grain. But it’s timely in the context of this second deportation, the good figs and the bad figs. Now, as Judah moves toward 587 and the coming destruction from Babylon, Jeremiah’s message, as you get closer and closer to 587, is basically that God’s people must submit to Babylon. Submit to Babylon. That’s his message. Now, there’s tremendous opposition to this message, as there’s been opposition to his message all throughout up to this point.

But the opposition to this message of submit to Babylon comes from false political hope in other nations. Looking to other nations as allies, maybe you’ll be able to withstand the Babylonian assault. And so in Jeremiah 27, Zedekiah, the last king, entertains envoys from Edom, Moab, and Ammon, and they are trying to plot against Babylon. In that context, Jeremiah sends a message. And some of your.

There is a textual problem at the beginning of this chapter, but I think Zedekiah is probably the right king here in this context of these leaders of the nations, Edom and Moab and Ammon Tyre coming together. The plot. Jeremiah sends a word from God. He is told by God in verse three to send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, etc. And this is his word to them: Verse six.

⁶ Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. ⁷ All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes. Then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave. ⁸ “‘”But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, declares the Lord , until I have consumed it by his hand. (Jeremiah 27:6-8, ESV)

And so basically, the message that Jeremiah sends as these guys are trying to plot against Babylon is, you’d better submit to the yoke of Babylon. That’s his message. Submit to the yoke of Babylon. But they were not hearing it, you see. They thought that through these allies, they could be delivered from the power of the Babylonian army.

False hope, false political hope. That was one thing that was keeping alive the opposition to the message. There’s also false political hope in that God would save Israel. There’s still the hope that God will come through and deliver his people. You see that especially in chapter 21 where you have an incident with King Zedekiah.

In chapter 21, he has probably rebelled against Babylon at the urging of the Egyptians. And it’s clear in chapter 21 that the city of Jerusalem is under siege. Verse four gives you that impression:

⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord , the God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. And I will bring them together into the midst of this city. (Jeremiah 21:4, ESV)

So, the city is under siege. Zedekiah wants Jeremiah to prophesy. What is he hoping for as the city of Jerusalem is under siege? Can you think of a parallel situation where the city of Jerusalem is under siege and Zedekiah is hoping that God will do something? Verse two:

² “Inquire of the Lord for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.” (Jeremiah 21:2, ESV)

Remember 701, Sennacherib and the Assyrian army have surrounded Jerusalem. Hezekiah is the king, and God does something wonderful, a wonderful deed, and the city of Jerusalem is spared. That’s what Zedekiah is hoping for. But Zedekiah is not Hezekiah. Hezekiah trusted in the Lord. Zedekiah is not trusting in the Lord.

And the word of the Lord from Jeremiah is in verse five,

⁵ I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and strong arm, in anger and in fury and in great wrath. (Jeremiah 21:5, ESV)

God says, “I am fighting against my people.” You’ve heard of the divine warrior motif in the Old Testament? God the divine warrior. Here it’s God, the divine warrior who comes in judgment and fights his own people. He is bringing Babylon as the messenger of judgment. And Jeremiah says to Zedekiah in verses eight through ten, “If you will surrender to Babylon, you will live.”

Surrender is the message. Submit to Babylon, and if you will surrender, you will live. If not, great, great harm is going to come to you and to the city of Jerusalem. Of course, Zedekiah does not listen to the message. What follows this incident in chapter 21 is a review of the kings of Judah to sort of refresh and show how the nation has come to this point. Part of the reason that Judah is on the brink of judgment and destruction relates to the kings who did not trust in God and who followed after other gods.

This section ends in chapter 23:1-8, with a denunciation of the false shepherd kings or the shepherd kings who did not follow God. But a promise is given that God himself will gather the people together and raise up a righteous branch from David’s line. And so, this is a significant passage related to verse five: I will raise up for David a righteous branch. And then, at the end of verse six: and this is the name by which you will be called the Lord our righteousness.

⁵ “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord , when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶ In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ (Jeremiah 23:5-6, ESV)

This branch that God will raise up through the Davidic line will be called the Lord our righteousness. The Lord is our righteousness. That’s a name, probably a wordplay on Zedekiah. Righteous related to the name of Zedekiah. And a true righteous branch will be raised up, not a false king like Zedekiah.

So there’s a review starting in this incident in chapter 21, a review of the monarchy to show the sinfulness of the kings and then the promise that God himself will raise up a righteous branch. Then goes on in verse nine and following to talk about the false prophets. And that’s another problem related to the false hope.

So we’ve seen there’s false political hope in the allies, and there is false hope in God delivering the city of Jerusalem like he’s done in the past. And then finally, there is false hope that comes through the false prophets and their false message. You have an example of that in chapter 28 with Hananiah the prophet. This is also during the reign of Zedekiah. And here is what Hananiah the prophet is saying.

And if you where we want to begin here, middle of verse one. Well, let me start at the beginning, verse one.

¹ In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord , in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, (Jeremiah 28:1, ESV)

So Hananiah here is speaking to Jerusalem. This is what Hananiah says: Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel. Okay.

False prophets use the name of God. I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years, I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took away from this place and carried to Babylon. That was the first deportation. In 605, when Daniel was taken, he also went into the temple and took the precious gold vessels from the temple and took them to Babylon.

Here, Hananiah says, in two years, the Lord has said he’s going to bring back these vessels that were taken to Babylon because he’s broken the yoke of Babylon. And he even gives a sign act here, doesn’t he? Takes a yoke. And that was the message of the false prophets, that God was going to break the yoke of Babylon and deliver his people. Now, apparently there were false prophets in Babylon among some of the good figs, I guess, who were prophesying the same thing.

There is something called the Babylonian Chronicle, which are records from Babylon describing events from this particular time period. And it accounts an uprising in Babylon incited by the wild promises of some of the prophets. So apparently this message that Hananiah was proclaiming in chapter 28 was also being proclaimed by false prophets in Babylon. Yahweh has broken the yoke of Babylon, and that gave false hope to the people in Babylon. And the Babylonian Chronicle records the putting to death of certain prophets for their seditious utterances.

In other words, these prophecies were seen by the Babylonians as being counterproductive and seditious. And so, some of these prophets were put to death. But it shows you the widespread nature of this false prophecy. This was part of the false hope that God’s people were putting their trust in. Yet, Jeremiah is considered by those in Jerusalem as being a traitor. He’s a traitor. Why do they think he’s a traitor? He preached surrender. Surrender to Babylon. He wrote a letter to the exiles. Chapter 29 is his letter to the exiles in Babylon.

And he tells them, and you’re familiar with this passage? Verse five.

⁵ Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. ⁶ Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. ⁷ But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. (Jeremiah 29:5-7, ESV)

You’re going to be there a while, settle down, establish families, establish yourself in Babylon, build houses. In fact, some of this terminology sort of reflects the blessings related to the Mosaic covenant. Even there in the nation of Babylon, God will bless his people. There’s a warning in verses eight and nine about not listening to the deceitfulness of the false prophets. And then verse ten mentions 70 years.

¹⁰ “For thus says the Lord : When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. (Jeremiah 29:10, ESV)

You’re going to be there a while, so seek the welfare of Babylon. Seek the welfare of the city where you’re at. Sort of a foreshadowing of being in the world, but not of the world, which is a little different than the mission of Israel in the Old Testament, which is to live in the land that God has given her and draw the nations to her. Here you’ve got Israel scattered among the nations, being in the world, but not of the world. And so, this letter to the exiles goes against what the false prophets were prophesying. It fits into Jeremiah is a traitor.

He’s telling them to seek the good of Babylon. Jeremiah was also suspected of trying to desert to the Babylonian army. This is in chapter 37. Babylon had the city of Jerusalem under siege, and they probably lifted that siege for a short time to go take care of Egypt. And of course, the people in Jerusalem saw the lifting of that siege as hopeful. As Jeremiah tried to leave the city of Jerusalem after the siege was lifted, he was arrested because they believed he was deserting to the Babylonian army. Was Jeremiah a traitor?

No, he was not pro-Babylonian. He was pro-Yahweh. And he understood that God had raised up Babylon as an instrument of God’s judgment. And once that judgment became inevitable, then to resist Babylon was to resist God. And that’s why Jeremiah tells Zedekiah to surrender, because to resist Babylon is to resist God. And at this stage of the events, it is better to surrender than it is to fight against the Babylonians. No more great miracles are coming.

Plus, after the city of Jerusalem falls and the temple is destroyed, the Babylonians gave Jeremiah the option to go to Babylon. What did he decide to do? What did he choose to do to stay in Jerusalem? Jeremiah could have gone with the good figs. He stayed with the bad figs. He stayed in Jerusalem. He was not a Babylonian sympathizer in that way. He was not a traitor. He did not leave the first opportunity he got, but he stayed in Judah and Jerusalem after the fall of Jerusalem.

So he was committed to Yahweh, he was committed to the covenant, and he proclaimed the covenant curse of judgment. In this particular situation. No, no, this is 580s. This is at 587. Yeah, this is the big event in 587. He opted to stay behind in that situation. After the fall, when Jerusalem is destroyed, the temple is gone, God’s purposes lay with the people in Babylon. Think of it that way. But he decides to stay with the people who are left after the fall of Jerusalem.

Now, the next part of your notes sort of gives confirmation that the people left in Jerusalem are really the bad figs you have in chapter 39:45, the fall of Jerusalem and its aftermath. Really the aftermath of the fall. Gedaliah is appointed governor of Judah after the fall of Jerusalem. And the conditions in the land are described very favorably in chapter 40:7-12. So after the fall of Jerusalem, Gedaliah is appointed governor, and the conditions in the land are favorable, and there is harmony between Gedaliah and Jeremiah.

So you have a fairly good situation here, as good as it can be, having just lost your capital city in the temple. But things are fairly favorable initially. After that destruction of Jerusalem, things are looking up. However, someone of the line of David, Ishmael, tries to restore the old davidic order and assassinates Gedaliah, which leads to further rejection of the house of David. You see, this is proof that at this point, the line of David, the house of David, is in no position to lead God’s people continuing judgment on the house of David.

And there’s also continuing rejection of the prophetic word. After Gedaliah is assassinated, the people come to Jeremiah, and they’re afraid of the retribution of the Babylonians against them. Because Gedaliah has been assassinated. He was appointed by Babylon as governor. Now he’s gone, he’s assassinated of what Babylon is going to do in response. And so Jeremiah, what should we do? Should we go to Egypt? And Jeremiah says to them, no, don’t go to Egypt. Chapter 42:7-11, verse 10.

¹⁰ If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you. ¹¹ Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not fear him, declares the Lord , for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. (Jeremiah 42:10-11, ESV)

Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. For I’m with you to save you, to deliver you. I’ll be merciful to you. So what do they do? They go to Egypt. They reject the prophetic word again, and they go to Egypt and they take Jeremiah with them. Continuing rejection of the prophetic word.

Even the horrible experience of 587 has not taught them anything in relationship to God and his word. And then you have, in chapter 44, continuing idolatry. So you’ve got judgment on the house of David, continuing rejection of the prophetic word and continuing idolatry in the worship of the queen of heaven. And they attribute their blessings and success to the queen of heaven and not to the Lord. So it just shows the condition of God’s people, those who were left there in the land.

And it’s these people that take Jeremiah to Egypt, and whom Jeremiah has to live with the rest of his life. You then have the book of Jeremiah ending in a historical appendix. 46-51 is judgment against the nations. Babylon especially comes into play in 46 through 51. But then in chapter 52, you have a recounting of the fall of Jerusalem. And I think it’s given here to just reinforce the message of Jeremiah as it came to pass in the fall of Jerusalem.

However, there is an incident at the end of Jeremiah 52 that may give a glimmer of hope, because at the end of chapter 52, you have Jehoiachin. Remember Jehoiachin, 597. Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon. And when we get to the book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel dates all of his prophecies according to the reign of Jehoiachin. They still looked at Jehoiachin as the legitimate king. He’s in Babylon here at the end of Jeremiah 52. He is released from prison.

Now, he doesn’t return to Judah, but he’s released from prison, and he’s allowed to eat and dine at the king’s table until he dies. Now, this is probably five hundred seventy s. Five hundred sixty s. Somewhere in that period, a glimmer of hope that God is not finished with his people. Now, you have to put that in the context of Jeremiah 22 30, which is a prophecy that basically says that none of the offspring of Jehoiachin will sit on the throne of David. It’s a very interesting prophecy.

³⁰ Thus says the Lord : “Write this man down as childless, a man who shall not succeed in his days, for none of his offspring shall succeed in sitting on the throne of David and ruling again in Judah.” (Jeremiah 22:30, ESV)

This is 22:30, and yet you have this incident of his being released from prison. It is very interesting, is it not? We’ll talk about this more in the post exilic community that no one from the house of David arises as king, or the post exilic community, perhaps in fulfillment of 22:30. However, God’s promise of raising up a descendant of David still lives on, but there is no king who arises within that post exilic situation. But Christ, as we know, does come as the king.

So all of what’s happening in the post-exilic community, as we’ll talk about that, is really preparing God’s people for the coming of the next king, who is Jesus Christ, who comes in a little bit different way than what they expected. But we’ve talked about that. All right, any comments or questions? We have a few more minutes, and I’d like to at least get into. We probably won’t finish it, but get into the small section in Jeremiah of hope and restoration, chapters 30 through 33.

This little island in the midst of all these prophecies of judgment. But there are prophecies of restoration in the book of Jeremiah 30 through 33, sometimes called the Book of Consolation. And the structure of these chapters is given there in your notes. you’ve got prophecies of hope in 30 through 31, a narrative of hope in chapter 32, and prophecies of hope again in chapter 33. So, this narrative of hope is at the center of prophecies of Hope.

The message of these chapters 30 through 33 reinforces the message of hope and restoration related to the future of the nation of Israel. And as we will see, the planting and building up emphasis will come back to the fore. Now, just to look at some things in this section before we get to the new covenant, which I doubt if we’ll get to today, but the first three verses of chapter 30 are a preface to the whole collection, where God tells Jeremiah, write down in a book all the words I have spoken to you.

For, behold, days are coming when I will restore the fortunes of my people, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it. Write it down, Jeremiah. Of course, a written record is important so that when things come to pass, the written record stands as validation. Or when those things come to pass, they validate what is written down. So this whole collection gives hope for the future.

Now, the narrative part in chapter 32 emphasizes that hope for the future and reinforces what it says at the beginning of chapter 30, that I will restore the fortunes of my people and bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers. In this narrative in chapter 32, Jeremiah is in prison. And you can guess why he’s in prison. He’s in prison for prophesying against ZeDeKiah, the last king of Judah. So Zedekiah has Jeremiah in prison. While Jeremiah is in prison, he buys or redeems a field in his hometown.

Now, why is that important? It demonstrates that God is not finished with his people and that the land will be restored after the judgment falls. If there is no hope for restoration, then why even redeem a field in the context of the closing days of Judah? There’s no need to redeem a field if there’s going to be no restoration. And so, Jeremiah 32:15 makes this connection:

¹⁵ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’ (Jeremiah 32:15, ESV)

So from prison, Jeremiah redeems this field. This narrative, chapter 32, which is sort of the central linchpin of these chapters, gives hope for God’s restoration of his people. In the prophecies of hope that surround the narrative, several themes are emphasized. Chapter 30 does have some warnings in it, but primarily its reassurance of the ultimate restoration of Israel. 30:18 the city of Jerusalem will be rebuilt. 30:21 a prince or ruler will arise. So you’ve got the city of Jerusalem mentioned specifically, and in verse 21, their prince shall be one of themselves, and their ruler shall come from their midst.

²¹ Their prince shall be one of themselves; their ruler shall come out from their midst; I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me, for who would dare of himself to approach me? declares the Lord . (Jeremiah 30:21, ESV)

A prince, a ruler is also mentioned as a part of the restoration. Chapter 31, return from exile, is sort of the beginning stages of restoration, and both Ephraim and Judah are included. So there is a hope in chapter 31 of a reunion of the nation, Ephraim representing the northern kingdom, and Judah representing the southern kingdom. You also have in chapter 31:28 the emphasis on building and planting, which focuses also on restoration. 31:2-5.

They will come back to the land, and there will be security and prosperity, which are important things, and they are related to the covenant. Blessings to plant vineyards and to live securely in the land. That’s a part of the blessings that God would pour out on his people. And the city of Jerusalem is also mentioned, Jeremiah 31:38-40, as well as a new covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-34. We’ll come back and talk about the new covenant in just a minute.

Well, probably not today, but next week, but those are all a part of these prophecies of restoration. Then chapter 33, remember 32 is a narrative. Chapter 33 has two collections of sayings, verses 1-13 and 14-26. One through 13 focuses on the city of Jerusalem. So there’s an emphasis on return to the land and the city of Jerusalem all throughout these prophecies.

And then the second part of chapter 33 focuses on the establishment of the Davidic dynasty and the Levitical priesthood. The covenant with David cannot be broken, and the covenant with Levi. Now, the covenant with Levi, there’s variety of opinion on where exactly that covenant is stated or whether it’s just assumed, but it comes back up again in the book of Malachi.

But God’s covenant with Levi, that the priests would come from that tribe, that is what is emphasized here in this restoration. The city of Jerusalem, the line of David and the covenant of Levi’s are some of the things that are highlighted in terms of restoration and return to the land.

You also then have, there’s an emphasis in these chapters, especially 33, that the Lord must bring this about. But you also have in Jeremiah 30:16, a reference again to what we saw earlier, Jeremiah 30:16.

¹⁶ In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ (Jeremiah 33:16, ESV)

Earlier in the book, it was the king who is called The Lord is our righteousness. Now it’s applied to the city of Jerusalem as The Lord is our righteousness. But restoration ultimately depends, depends on the work of God. Now that’s in a broad sense, these chapters. Now we need to come and talk specifically about this new covenant passage in chapter 31.

And I don’t know if there are two proverbs. Well, there’s one proverb that precedes this new covenant passage that we want to get into and talk about and then talk about Jeremiah’s prophecy of the new covenant. And I think in light of the time, this would be a good place, probably to pick up next week, but we need to finish up Jeremiah.

We are in the book of consolation, as it’s called, chapters 30 through 33. We talked last week about the general structure of chapters 30 through 33 with the narrative in chapter 32 sort of being the focal point where Jeremiah buys a field from or redeems a field in his hometown while he’s in prison. And this is to give hope that God is not finished with his people, even though Jerusalem is going to fall. Then we talked about, in general, the chapters around chapter 32 and those prophecies that deal with restoration.

Now, we’re sort of going to focus for a few minutes this morning on the prophecy related to the new covenant. So if you have your bibles, you could turn to Jeremiah 31. And there’s something just before the new covenant passage that we want to comment on, and then we’ll come to the passage that deals with the new covenant itself. So Jeremiah 31:27 says,

²⁷ “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord , when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. (Jeremiah 31:27, ESV)

This goes back to the original commission of Jeremiah, where God says, your prophetic message will be to destroy, to tear down, but also to build up and to plant, to sow. And so you have a reflection here.

²⁸ And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the Lord . (Jeremiah 31:28, ESV)

This is the positive side. This is the planting side. This is the restoration side. And it goes on to say in verse 28, it shall come to pass, that as I’ve watched over them, to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant.

¹⁰ See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:10, ESV)

Those are the two aspects of his commission, declares the Lord. Okay. Now, verse 29. In those days, they shall no longer say. And here follows a proverb. The proverb is this: the fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.

²⁹ In those days they shall no longer say: “‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ (Jeremiah 31:29, ESV)

Now think about that proverb a second.

² “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? (Ezekiel 18:2, ESV)

What does that proverb mean? The fathers have eaten sour grapes. The children’s teeth are set on edge. The children proverb means the children are suffering because of the sins of the fathers.

The fathers are the ones that ate the sour grapes, and it’s the children whose teeth are set on edge. They are experiencing the effects of the fathers who ate the sour grapes. And now the children are suffering the consequences.

Their teeth are set on edge. They are the ones that are experiencing the sourness, if you will, of the grapes that the fathers have eaten. So this proverb means that the children were suffering for the sins of the fathers. It may have been an excuse offered for why this judgment has come. It’s our fathers.

It’s their sin. That’s why this judgment has come. And so, in that context, Jeremiah gives the correction to this proverb in verse 30. So if you eat sour grapes, you are going to experience the effect of that.

³⁰ But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge. (Jeremiah 31:30, ESV)

Now, there are two emphases in the Old Testament. Both of these emphases are important; both are true. Sometimes you have to balance them out. There is in the Old Testament what we will call a collective or corporate. I think I use the term collective in your notes, responsibility. That’s true in scripture. It’s, as we will see, related to the covenant.

But there is also, in the Old Testament, individual responsibility emphasized as well. Both of those are true. Both of those are actually related to the covenant. On the corporate side, covenants are made with individuals who are representatives of their descendants. So there is that corporate nature where your covenant representative makes decisions on your behalf. Adam is a good example.

Because of his decision, Adam and Eve’s decision to eat of the fruit, we have experienced the consequences. He experienced the consequences, and we have experienced the consequences of that decision. In the Old Testament, sometimes the actions of the head of the family affect what happens to the family. Achan in Joshua, who took from the goods that were devoted to God, devoted to destruction. And he and his family paid the price, not just Achan, but his family as well. God makes covenants with representatives, and then that is the corporate aspect.

That has implications then for the descendants of those representatives. However, there is also in the Old Testament individual responsibility stressed, although in the Old Testament the emphasis is many times much more on the corporate angle. But there is individual responsibility stressed. Adam sinned and that affected us. But we individually are held responsible for our sins. We can’t just blame Adam because we do commit sins. Cain in Genesis 4 was held responsible for his killing of Abel. And so there is individual responsibility. The covenant was made with Abraham.

Yes, but each descendant, each patriarch had to come to the place individually where they affirmed and agreed to the terms of the covenant. They had to make that covenant their own. And in Jacob, it took a process where he came to accept the God of the covenant. So both of these are important: corporate responsibility or collective responsibility and individual responsibility. In Jeremiah’s day, they were overemphasizing collective responsibility. It’s not our fault. It’s the fault of our fathers. Jeremiah sort of brings the pendulum back to the middle.

Yes, even Jeremiah himself talks about the kings and their role in bringing judgment. But he also says you have to take responsibility as well. It’s not just the leaders, but it was the people themselves who also had to take responsibility for their, for their sins. It’s always a challenge to keep this balance. In the Old Testament, I would say the emphasis is more on corporate responsibility, but individual responsibility is there. When we come to the New Testament, the emphasis does shift a little bit to individual responsibility with the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

But the corporate angle is still there because covenant always deals with both corporate responsibility and individual responsibility. And part of our challenge is to keep the balance. Liberals usually are balanced or overbalanced on the corporate side. It’s not your fault, you know, it’s your education or your upbringing or your parents, or we tend to be. Church on the evangelical side of things tends to be way, way over on the individual side. And we don’t think corporately, we don’t think of relationship to the church and the implications of that corporately.

And so it’s a matter of keeping the proper balance of these two important concepts. And in Jeremiah’s day, they were way balanced over on the corporate side, overbalanced on that side. It’s not our fault. It’s our fathers who sinned. So Jeremiah is trying to bring him back to the other side of the ledger and telling them, no, you need to take responsibility. You will die for your own sin. You can’t just blame it on the fathers and think you’re going to get cleared of this. So I think that’s what’s going on in Jeremiah.

There’s a passage in Ezekiel that deals with some of the same issues. And these concepts are here right before Jeremiah’s statement then about the new covenant. So let’s come to look at, unless you have any questions on, on what we just went over, let’s come to look at the new covenant. Why don’t we again have this passage read? BJ, are you up to, you don’t have a cold or anything? you’re all right. All right. Chapter 31, 31 through 34. If you don’t mind reading those verses for us.

³¹ “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord , when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³² not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord . ³³ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord : I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴ And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord ,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord . For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34, ESV)

Okay, thank you. There was a handout that you gave related to the covenant that you just anybody else. Let’s start with this handout.

Let me explain this handout. We’re not going to spend a lot of time explaining covenant. We sort of do that in Genesis of Joshua. But each of the covenants, the major covenants in the Old Testament, have important concepts that are emphasized in those covenants. And so, you have the Abrahamic covenant at the left hand of your handout. The promises to Abraham that include land, “I’ll make you a great nation, and you will be a blessing to all the people.” Those are sort of the heart of the Abrahamic covenant.

And then you got a line, you run that line through the new covenant of JERemIah, and you have on the other side of that line coming down toward the right hand side. In fact, I have this in an OverHead. So you follow the line here through the new covenant. You come down here on this side, and there are promises in JerEmIah related to land, there are promises in JeREmIah related to nation. But then you ultimately come to the New TEsTAmENt and you see how the New Testament handles the land as Israel’s inheritance.

Abraham is heir of the world now, not just the land, and we don’t have time to expound on that here. And the nation of Israel, the concepts used in relationship to the nation of Israel, the holy nation, royal priesthood, that’s used now in the New Testament in reference to the church, 1 Peter 2:9. So you got these concepts in the Old Testament, the Abrahamic covenant. You run them through the coming of Christ and you see how they come out on the other side.

If you go to the Davidic Covenant, the major concepts in the Davidic Covenant are kingship and temple. And so, you run that through sort of the New Covenant. And Ezekiel 37 has similar terminology, emphasis related to the king as well, the land and the law. And then you come to the New Testament and you see what the New Testament says about kingship. Of course, it’s related to Jesus Christ and his resurrection and exaltation. And then you see what the New Testament says about temple.

Of course, Christ is the one who tabernacles among us, and we beheld his glory. And so, the church corporate and the church individual, because we have the Holy Spirit, is identified as a temple. So that’s sort of what this handout does.

Now we come to the Mosaic covenant, and at the heart of the Mosaic covenant is Israel becoming a nation, a theocracy. The land idea is there. And if you read Old Palmer Robertson’s book, he has a great chapter on the, what is it called, the organic relationship among the Old Testament covenants.

So that the Mosaic Covenant builds on, picks up concepts related to the Abrahamic Covenant. It’s not that you have the Abrahamic Covenant and then you never hear about those concepts anymore. They build on each other. And so you have in the Mosaic Covenant things that are there in the Abrahamic Covenant. But the key idea in the Mosaic Covenant is the law, the giving of the law to God’s people, to a redeemed people. And you’ll notice on your handout there is a little squiggly line here or a broken line in relationship to the new covenant.

Because in Jeremiah 31, the new covenant is contrasted to the Mosaic covenant, not like the covenant that I made with your fathers. So if we compare the Mosaic covenant and a new covenant, and you see what Jeremiah says in the new covenant, he says these things: It’s not like that covenant I made with your fathers. That’s at the heart of covenant terminology. I will be your God, you shall be my people.

No longer shall each one teach his neighbor, for they shall all know me. That’s what Jeremiah says. I will forgive their iniquity. Those are the things that are mentioned here in the new covenant. Very interesting. All of those things were a part of the Mosaic covenant and were to be a part of the Mosaic covenant. In other words, the intent of the Mosaic covenant was that it was to be a covenant of the heart. Deuteronomy emphasizes this. Write it on your hearts, circumcise your hearts.

¹⁶ Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. (Deuteronomy 10:16, ESV)

See, that was the intent of the Mosaic covenant. It was to be a covenant of the heart. It’s not far off. It’s near within you. And if you look at these other things that Jeremiah says in the new covenant, they too, you can find in the Mosaic covenant, I will be your God, you will be my people. Exodus 6:7. Right before the great deliverance from Egypt, to know God, they shall know me. That’s what the Mosaic covenant is all about. Deuteronomy 4:35, that Israel would know God to be forgiven of sin. That’s the whole point of Leviticus 4 and 5.

These things were to be a part of the Mosaic covenant. So why does Jeremiah now come and talk about a new covenant where these things will be a reality? What is it about the Mosaic covenant that did not bring about these things that were to be a part of God’s relationship with his people? Well, just a couple of things I would mention here. Part of the purpose of the Mosaic covenant was to show our inability to keep the law.

There’s that second use of the law to show us our need, to show us that we can’t keep the law. Why did Israel go into exile? Why did Israel lose the land? Because of her disobedience. And I think there is a principle of works built into the Mosaic covenant, just like the covenant with Adam, that shows us our need and ultimately drives us to God’s solution of that need.

So that’s a part of the purpose of the Mosaic Covenant: to show us that we can’t keep the law and to show us our need of a savior. Plus, the whole Mosaic Covenant was preparatory, looking forward to the fulfillment that would one day come. It’s a shadow. You see the terminology related to the Tabernacle in Hebrews 8. The Tabernacle is a copy, an earthly copy of a heavenly reality. It’s a shadow; it’s a copy. It brings the heavenly reality of God’s throne room presence to God’s people.

Yes, but you know, Jesus never ministered in that earthly tabernacle. Now, he went to the temple and participated in some of the feasts, but he never served in that earthly tabernacle. It was a copy. He serves in the heavenly reality. And that reality came down to earth in him, God’s presence with his people. And that’s why his priesthood is of a different order, because he serves in the heavenly temple, the very throne room of God. And all of the Old Testament can be seen in this light.

It is a copy, a shadow, pointing us forward to the fulfillment that will come in Jesus Christ. And the mosaic covenant takes on that characteristic. The full reality is not here yet. And so that explains partly why these things that were to be a part of the mosaic covenant were not ultimately fulfilled in the mosaic covenant. And the effectiveness of the mosaic covenant ultimately relates to the mediator of the covenant, Moses. Now Moses was a great man in God’s redemptive program.

He foundational for the rest of the Old Testament, as we’ve seen, but he’s not the reality. And Hebrew compares Moses to Christ. Christ is the son and Christ is the mediator of the new covenant. Christ fulfills the mosaic covenant. Christ brings the reality of what the mosaic covenant meant to bring into the life of God’s people. Christ brings that reality into existence in a full way.

Now, we don’t receive the fullness of that until he comes again, but he came to establish the kingdom of God and the powers of the age to come. Now, these are a part of our life and the outpouring of the Spirit so that we now have the power to keep the covenant. Now, I do believe we’ll talk about this in Joel, that the Spirit was operative in the old covenant. There was regeneration, justification by faith, Genesis 15:6, sanctification.

But there is something dynamic and powerful that takes place at Pentecost that was not there in the old covenant. We’ll talk about that in the book of Joel. And so now, the promises of the new covenant, because the reality in Christ has come, are fulfilled in a provisional way. Now, you have to take the promises of the new covenant and relate them to the whole first coming, second coming scenario that we’ve talked about in this class.

The fullness of the reality of what the new covenant talks about is not yet here, but the reality is here. And so the law is written on our hearts. We still got the old nature, though, you see? So there’s this battle that takes place between the flesh and the Spirit. But we have the power, because of the Spirit of God in our hearts. We have the power to win that battle if we will trust. Sometimes the old nature gets the best of us and we sin, but the law is now written on our hearts.

There is an immediate relationship with God through Christ. We don’t approach God through some earthly symbol. We approach God through the reality of Jesus Christ, who ministers in the heavenly throne room. This immediate relationship now with God through Christ, so that there is an anointing of the Spirit that the New Testament talks about, that teaches us so that we know God. And this is emphasized in 1 John 2:20. The author says,

²⁰ But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. ²¹ I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. (1 John 2:20-21, ESV)

You know the truth now because of the Spirit at work. This anointing you have from God, this immediate relationship you have with God through Jesus Christ. You know the truth. Now. This doesn’t mean that we don’t need teachers, because 2 John 2:9 says, some don’t continue into teaching and we can always grow in our knowledge of the truth. But we have this relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

The outpouring of the spirit, all the things, these things are very significant that bring about the reality of what the Mosaic Covenant was, just a shadow pointing forward to what would come. And there is forgiveness of sins. Now, I would say that in the Old Covenant, the Old Testament believers who brought their sacrifices in faith received forgiveness as Christ was portrayed symbolically in those sacrifices. But that sin was not completely removed until Christ died on the cross.

But the sacrifices did their job in the Old Testament, allowing God’s people to come into the presence of a holy God. But those sins were not completely taken away until the sacrifice, Jesus Christ, came. So, the way I would talk about the new covenant and the Mosaic covenant, I don’t see a dichotomy between the two. Some element of discontinuity perhaps, but there’s an expansion of blessing; the roots of the new covenant are there in the old covenant.

But the old covenant is preparatory, shadowy, looking forward to the reality of the coming of the mediator, Jesus Christ. And there’s much unity between the old covenant and new covenant, the people of God, the law, some aspect of unity connected to the law, so that the old covenant concepts may have to be adjusted, but their meaning is the same. Tabernacle Temple, the Tabernacle temple in the Old Testament compared to the New Testament.

You’ve got to make some adjustments, but the meaning is still the same, and it’s a full fullness of the reality because of the coming of the mediator Jesus Christ. So of course, that’s the million dollar question. How do you relate the new covenant to the old covenant? We can’t answer all those questions, but this is sort of the way I would approach the question. So when you look at your handout and you see this broken line that sort of reflects on Jeremiah’s comment, it’s not going to be like the covenant.

And then he talks about these things that we’ve already talked about, and you can come down here to see how Christ is the one who is the fulfillment of the new covenant.

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