Andrew Bramhill - Class 4: Prophecies and Promises

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:00

   Thank you, Brother Peter. Good morning, brothers and sisters. We're gradually working our way through the story of Jeremiah. You've been very patient with me as we work our way through these pages. Just to remind you, yesterday we got to the point where Babylon had come and besieged the city of Jerusalem. There was some kind of shallow response from the people who suddenly had a fit of religious fervor.

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   However, Egypt came north and for a brief period managed to ease the siege that was sitting on Jerusalem. And of course, we saw how shallow the repentance of the people was. Because as soon as the siege was lifted, they quickly returned to their former ways. The Egyptians, of course, were not successful. There was a temporary relief whilst the Babylonians were pushed back.

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   But it wasn't an enduring thing. However, there was this brief period, we're not quite sure how long it was, where the siege was lifted. And you just get a sense that that was a moment of great relief to the people. Imagine being shut in the city. Imagine supplies running low. Imagine not knowing what the outcome would be, but this enemy surrounding your city.

4. 1:27

   And all of a sudden, that's removed. And you can now move freely again. You can now travel out into the country. You can now find food. You can now do normal things again. And that's the position that the people were in, temporarily. Coming to Jeremiah 37, please.

5. 1:51

   It was in this chapter where we saw that the Egyptians temporarily broke the siege. It was in verse 5, wasn't it? Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt. When the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem. So this siege is temporarily lifted. Notice, however, that straight at this point, then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah that sent you unto me to inquire of me, Behold, Pharaoh's army which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land, and the Chaldeans shall come again.

6. 2:34

   So Jeremiah has got to reiterate this overarching theme that he's been pushing on for all these years. The Chaldeans are coming. The Babylonians are coming. You might think the Egyptians have brought you some temporary relief, but be aware the Chaldeans are coming back. The Babylonians will be taking this city. So he delivers this message, this same message, this same unpalatable message, and you can imagine there's lots of opportunity for unbelievers to respond and say, We don't believe you, Jeremiah.

7. 3:12

   So many times they've had a near miss. Here was another near miss. Babylonians at the door, and now they're not. The Egyptians have saved them. And it's just reassuring to us, brothers and sisters, isn't it? How many close calls have we had where we thought, Oh, this might be the time when Christ is coming.

8. 3:33

   This might be the time when the Lord is going to intervene. Just because that moment has been and gone, do not think the Lord has not got this long-term plan, gradually working out its purpose here on earth. And one day it will be the real thing, and we can be persuaded and convinced of that.

9. 3:55

   As you read down chapter 37, you see that Jeremiah himself takes the opportunity to move out of the city. In verse 11, it came to pass that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army. Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin.

10. 4:22

    And of course, Benjamin was the area where his home was. That's where Anathoth was. Here he was going home, returning back to his roots, as it were. For a long time, he's not been able to do this. But now he can. And there are a number of reasons why he might be doing that.

11. 4:42

    Plenty of people might have been replenishing the city. He might have been part of that. Some have said, well, maybe he was trying to escape. And that might be so, but that's not the indication from Scripture. If we conclude this sentence that we started reading, we see that he went out to separate himself in the midst of the people.

12. 5:04

    The revised version says he went out to receive his portion there. As if he's going to collect his inheritance or going back to his own lands in Anathoth, the family lands that belonged to him. I don't think this is receiving the land that was offered to him by Hananeel. And we'll look at that in a little while.

13. 5:29

    Maybe he was just going back to his own inheritance in the land of Anathoth. But of course, he was never to make it outside the city gates. He only makes it to the gates, doesn't he? Because in verse 13, when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Erija, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah.

14. 5:56

    Do you remember Hananiah? He was the false prophet. He said, two years time, the captivity will be over, the king will be back. And he gave that prophecy in the fifth month. And by the seventh month, after a challenge from Jeremiah, he was dead. You remember that? We looked at that yesterday. Here, his grandson is on the gate.

15. 6:17

    And his grandson intervenes. And takes hold of Jeremiah and accuses him falsely. In the accusation at the end of verse 13, you're leaving here because you have fallen away to the Chaldeans. And it would be easy to amass lots of evidence, wouldn't it? Here is Jeremiah saying, the Chaldeans are coming, you need to fall in, you need to submit to the Chaldeans, you need to go with them into captivity, there's a 70 year period that's been determined, you just need to fall into line with this.

16. 6:48

    He was speaking Babylonian propaganda. He was carrying the Babylonian message. Maybe the people were looking for someone who would say, no, no, it's not going to happen. No, we can defend ourselves. No, we must stand firm. But that wasn't the message that Jeremiah had. So when he speaks his message, and we didn't read the summary of it from verse 7 to verse 10, but if you just look at the conclusion of that, he's got this prophecy, the end of verse 10, that the city will be burnt with fire.

17. 7:21

    That was Jeremiah's message, that unless the people repent, the Babylonians would come and the city would be burnt with fire. So he's arrested here as a traitor. Of course, Ereger has other motives. He wants to get equal with the man who was such an opponent of his grandfather. And Jeremiah is arrested and accused of falling out to the Babylonians in verse 13.

18. 7:51

    And he's brought in verse 14 to princes. And we've come across groups of princes, haven't we, as Jeremiah's life has progressed. These are pretty unworthy at this stage. These are a base group of individuals. And in verse 14, no, sorry, verse 15, they flog him and they throw him into the prison which happened to be in the house of Jonathan the scribe at this particular time.

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    And we conclude that Jeremiah was left to die. This would be the end of Jeremiah, beaten up, placed in the prison house, and he would be left to die. So whilst the city is enjoying this brief period of freedom, Jeremiah will not. He's arrested and put under cruel circumstances where he will suffer.

20. 8:46

    It wasn't long, of course, before Jerusalem was besieged again. And Zedekiah came to him in chapter 38 to find out what was going on. If you look at verse 18 of chapter 37, Moreover, Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, What have I offended thee or against thy servants or against this people that ye have put me in prison?

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    Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you nor against this land? Therefore, here now, I pray thee, O Lord my king, let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe lest I die there.

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    Difficult moment for Jeremiah, isn't it? Zedekiah is sending through and saying, What's your message now? Now that the seed has been broken, Jeremiah says, No, these armies are coming back. This message from God has not changed. Why are you treating me what he wants you to? That is what he wants you to.

23. 10:01

    This message will not change. The termination of tenacity is to be applauded in the way he responds to the king. But the king who privately seems to value this comment of Jeremiah and makes sure that Jeremiah is treated a little more favourably and lifts him out of the prison and puts him in the court of the prison and sees that he is given a portion of bread out of the baker street in verse 21.

24. 10:31

    So a portion of daily bread is given to this man so that he will not die. Don't send me back to that dungeon or I will die there.

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    The picture of a portion of daily bread is a rich one, isn't it? Through scripture, brothers and sisters, and the prayer that we ask for our daily bread. Throughout page after page after page of our scriptures we find evidence of the Lord providing just what the people need. Whether it was manna in the wilderness where the tenth part of an ephah was given, whether it was a widow in Zarephath and the crews never emptied and there was always a handful of grain.

26. 11:18

    All these things are evidence of God who provides. He doesn't go about making people abundantly rich so that they're overwhelmed by material things, but he is giving sufficient for these people. And here now, Jeremiah just receiving what he needs to sustain him in his daily living. when the enemies of Jeremiah hear that he's now being treated better as we slip into chapter 38, they are really cross about this.

27. 11:55

    They don't want him to be receiving this daily bread. As far as they're concerned, he can die and his message can die with him. So in chapter 38, verse 3, thus saith the Lord, Jeremiah with his constant message, this city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it.

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    Therefore the prince has said unto the king, we beseech thee, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city and the hands of all the people in speaking such words unto them. So here is an accusation, a false accusation, that the things he was saying was weakening those who were appointed to defend the city.

29. 12:42

    Of course he wasn't doing that. Jeremiah's message, actually if they could just see through it, was a way to life. They needed to fall in with the king of Babylon, they needed to go into captivity, that was what was decreed, and then there would be hope at the end of that period. And Zedekiah in verse 5 is such a disappointing individual, isn't he?

30. 13:04

    He is king of this land. He has power. He is in control. And in verse 5 the king says, Behold, he is in your hand, for the king is not he that can do anything against you. What a weak-willed individual he was. So he's been privately, quietly, talking to Jeremiah to find out what's going to happen.

31. 13:29

    enemies of Jeremiah don't like it, and they come to Zedekiah, and he just hands him over. It's very pilot-like, isn't it? We might see some of this tomorrow when we consider Jeremiah and the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is Zedekiah, who might have wanted to protect Jeremiah, might have wanted to look after him because he's interested in what Jeremiah has to say, but when it comes to showing his true colours, well, Jeremiah is handed over, and this individual will not do anything to protect him.

32. 14:04

    And the treatment now, you know well, brothers and sisters, is very bleak, isn't it? Now taken away, now placed in the dungeon of Malkijah, he's lowered down, it's a pit full of mire and mud, and he sinks down in it, and he would certainly die there. There's no doubt about it, he was put in this pit in order that he could die.

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    And it's lovely, isn't it, that Ebed-Melek, the Ethiopian eunuch, who is going to intervene here and rescue Jeremiah and persuade the king to pull him out of the dungeon, which of course is done, and again, a portion of bread is found in the court of the prison house, and Jeremiah was rescued after many days.

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    We know that Jeremiah was a man of his scriptures, we know that Deuteronomy particularly came out strongly in the things he had to say, we know that he was a man of God's word, and it's interesting to think of the scriptures that might have sustained him in such a bleak moment. Psalm 40, don't lose Jeremiah, but Psalm 40 is one such psalm, which might just have been a source of comfort to him as he suffered such terrible things.

35. 15:39

    Psalm 40, which is of David, verse 1, I waited patiently for the Lord, he inclined unto me, and heard my cry, he brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings, and he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God, many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord, blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

36. 16:14

    Jeremiah, this wonderful man of truth, who changed not his message, and trusted in the Lord, I wonder if psalms like this were uppermost in his mind, when he was seeking to place his trust on the Lord as best he could. Back in chapter 38 of Jeremiah, then please, as he's pulled out of this difficult dungeon, Zedekiah the king again wants a message.

37. 16:48

    Verse 14 of chapter 38, Zedekiah the king took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the Lord, so a private place, maybe nothing was happening in the house of the Lord these days, maybe that was such a forsaken place that the nation had become so godless that Zedekiah could be confident he'd have peace and quiet there, there'd be no one else in that room because no one was going up to worship.

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    And Jeremiah again, verse 15, said unto Zedekiah, if I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put to death and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me? Doesn't matter what I say, Zedekiah, I've told you time and time again, it does not matter, I cannot say it in any different way, you might put me to death, you will not listen, but the message is not changing.

39. 17:46

    And we wonder, don't we, why Zedekiah might not listen. We wonder why it would be that a king of Israel who's been given information about saving his people, who's been given clear guidance as to what to do to obtain life, we wonder why it is that he is refusing to listen. Interesting question, of course, because that's just where we are today, isn't it?

40. 18:13

    Here we are, we have a message of life, a message of hope, a message of truth. The people might not like to hear it, they might have preferences for other things rather than what the gospel dictates is required, and yet, we have the way of life. Why won't people listen? Well, in Zedekiah's case, it's very clear, isn't it?

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    Verse 19 tells us why he would not listen, and it was all down to pride. Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that have fallen away to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me. So he's worried that when he's taken into captivity, he will be placed alongside the Jews who have already gone into captivity, and they would mock him.

42. 19:11

    And he refused to listen to Jeremiah's message because of that personal fear of being mocked. Now, I might be being a little hard on Zedekiah here because this word mocking isn't just about making fun. It's not like playground taunts that children might get at school. This is something more serious. You can look back, Saul, for example, was worried when he was seeking his armor-bearer to kill him, that the Philistines would take him and abuse him.

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    That wasn't just playground taunts. That was something far more serious. But it was his personal concern that stopped him saving the people, which is a very disappointing position for a king, isn't it? So Jerusalem was besieged for these 18 months. Conditions became horrid, all sorts of stories of people having to eat all kinds of things, and indeed fellow humans and killing children and all sorts of dreadful things, and the Babylonians surrounded the city and besieged it.

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    Jeremiah, locked in prison, is now going to receive a visit from a relative. Let's go back to chapter 32, please. This is a relative from Anathoth. Jeremiah knows that this visit is about to happen. Hanamiel is about to come, and Jeremiah has been told that he's about to come in verse 6. So Jeremiah is expecting this visit from Hanamiel, the son of Shalom.

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    And of course Hanamiel is coming saying, I've got land in Anathoth, I don't want it anymore, Jeremiah, you have the right of redemption, would you like to buy it? That's the offer that's put on the table there for Jeremiah. It's interesting to think that through from a human perspective. Hanamiel, who presumably is besieged in the city with everybody else, he's offering something to Jeremiah for money, which is absolutely worthless.

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    It's land that's currently occupied by Babylonians. Even if it wasn't occupied by Babylonians, Jeremiah can't do anything with it because he's in prison, so he can't own it or benefit from it. It's at a time, it's being offered at a time when land is of no value. What people needed was food. That's what they needed, and the only way they could have food was cash to buy these things, and of course prices were soaring away.

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    So here is a man who's wanting to turn useless land into cash in order that he can buy this expensive food. So it's all very self-centered on Hanamiel's side, isn't it? And yet the land is offered to Jeremiah.

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    Bookmark, please, in 32, but come back to Leviticus 25. I don't know whether Jeremiah would have this in mind when the land was offered to him to redeem.

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    But the law says, Leviticus 25 verse 25, If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother hath sold. And here is the redemption being offered to Jeremiah, and I wonder whether this law is being applied by Jeremiah at this time.

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    Whether it was or not, Jeremiah has no hesitation at all in saying, yes, I will complete this transaction. And that's not because he wanted the land, that's not because he was trying to build his estate in Anathos, but because he was absolutely convinced of the promise, which was, Israel would come back and occupy this land once more.

51. 23:28

    And it's there in Jeremiah 32 and verse 15. But thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land. Jeremiah absolutely convinced that he would be able to take this inheritance. So the deed is prepared, it's signed in duplicate with witnesses, and it's placed in this earthen jar, as you know, in order that it can be protected and preserved.

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    This treasure in earthen vessels that the Apostle Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 4, which we won't look at. And maybe somewhere in the land of Israel, even as we're standing here today, this earthen ware jar is there with Jeremiah's deed, and at some point he'll be able to inherit the land that has been promised to him.

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    It's another picture, isn't it, of a man who can see beyond his current difficulty to the inheritance that's promised. If we can have our vision at that kind of level, brothers and sisters, it does not matter what circumstances come our way. If we can just raise our sights and our vision to the inheritance that lies ahead, then that will make for a better outcome.

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    it was finally in July 586 BC that Jerusalem was taken. If you look at 2 Kings 25, please, where we have the account of the final taking of Jerusalem, we see that Zedekiah never really complied, did he? in fact, he makes an effort to flee and get away. If you look at 2 Kings 25 and at verse 5, you see that he escaped out and he was down onto the plains of Jericho when he was overtaken by the Babylonians.

55. 25:33

    And the Babylonians took him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, which is interesting. Nebuchadnezzar had come against this land, land, but he was a man now who was receiving truth from Daniel and others. And it's as if he's been to Jerusalem before. This time, it's as if he can't come that far and witness the destruction of Jerusalem.

56. 26:02

    So he stays well back at Riblah. He will not go all the way to Jerusalem. Zedekiah, however, is going to be taken in the plains of Jordan, the very place where the kingdom of Israel began, where they crossed over Jordan and began to populate the land in the days of Joshua. This is where the kingdom ends.

57. 26:21

    And we remember how Zedekiah was blinded, having seen his sons killed and is taken away. Once Jerusalem was taken, the sacking of Jerusalem was a very destructive event. We get bits of details in lamentations that we're not particularly going to look at. It seems that for a month the whole place was subject to random attack and random destruction.

58. 26:53

    And then Nebuzaradan arrived, the high officer of Babylon. And at that stage the destruction just became organized and systematic. It didn't stop, but they had a military approach to it as they worked their way through Jerusalem. And Jeremiah had been promising that the city would be burned. And indeed in verse 9 of 2 Kings 25 that's exactly what they did.

59. 27:20

    He burnt the house of the Lord, the king's house, and all the house of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire. And archaeologists have on earth confirmation that the house of God was burnt at that time. Jeremiah, of course, whilst this final invasion was taking place and Jerusalem was being broken up, Jeremiah was rescued, wasn't he?

60. 27:46

    There was an evacuation of these people who were moved out and taken off into captivity, but Nebuchadnezzar Aden comes across Jeremiah as part of the captives. Come with me to chapter 40 of Jeremiah, please, would you? Because there's this most remarkable conversation between Nebuchadnezzar Aden, who's leading the charge for Babylon, and Jeremiah.

61. 28:15

    And in verse 2 of Jeremiah 40, the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said unto him, The Lord thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place. This is a Babylonian general speaking to a Jewish prophet saying, this is what the Lord God has pronounced. And he's brought it, verse 3, and done according as he hath said, because ye have sinned against the Lord and have not obeyed his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you.

62. 28:44

    And Jeremiah is going to say, I know that, I've been saying that to these people for years, and they won't listen. And here's a Babylonian general saying it. And we just wonder then, where's he got this from? Where's Nebuchadnezzar learned this? And we're just getting a little hint of an influence that's grown in Babylon with Daniel and his friends.

63. 29:07

    Daniel, remember, promoted to the most senior position in the land. All those 127 rulers, and there were three principal ones, and Daniel was leader of the three principal ones. And it could well be that when Nebuchadnezzar was undergoing his seven years of living like a beast out in the field, isn't it remarkable that it's still a time of order and the nation of Babylon runs properly.

64. 29:34

    And that could well be because Daniel was in charge. He was a civil servant, if you like, rather than a ruler, but he was ruling that country. He was in charge so that when Nebuchadnezzar is recovered of his illness, Daniel can say, come back, take over the throne, you are still emperor of this nation.

65. 29:53

    And Daniel's influence, and maybe the influence of Ezekiel and all those others who've gone into captivity, have spread the word of truth. So when this Nebuchadnezzar meets Jeremiah, how did he know to look for Jeremiah? How did they know that he was an important man? It must have come from other captives. And Nebuchadnezzar here is delighted to have come across Jeremiah.

66. 30:16

    And gives him a choice, doesn't he? Verse 4, Now behold, I loose thee this day from the chains that were upon thine hand. If it seem good unto thee, come with me to Babylon, and I will look well unto thee, but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, forbear, behold, all the land is before thee, whither it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go.

67. 30:37

    And Jeremiah is just given the choice. Do you want to come to Babylon? Do you want to stay in Jerusalem? Do you want to live in the land somewhere else? Up to you, Jeremiah. This is his moment of release. And we might have thought that Jeremiah would go to Babylon. That was the message he's been preaching.

68. 30:55

    He's been saying, submit, go to Babylon, and here's his opportunity to do it. And he must have known that it would have been an easy way to go. The exiles were there, they were settled, there were good people in Babylon, the word of God was being promoted, they were settling down, they were living a life of reasonable comfort, to the extent that a lot of them didn't want to come back, of course, when the returns began.

69. 31:27

    Jeremiah doesn't do that. He says, no, I'm going back to Jerusalem. It may be that he can still save people. That was his intention. And you know how things work out. Gedaliah is then going to be appointed as governor over the land, ruling on behalf of Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. Babylon. He encouraged the people to serve Babylon.

70. 31:52

    That's in verse 9 of chapter 40. And in verse 10, you get the impression that there's just a short time of peace here. They're going out, they're gathering harvests, the final destruction has taken place, and under Gedaliah, there's just this moment where all seems to be going okay. Land will be allocated to peasants.

71. 32:14

    Jeremiah might have been able briefly to enjoy rural life. Possibly. But then it's all thrown into turmoil, isn't it, when Gedaliah is slain, and Johanan is concerned that he might be held responsible. So in the end, they decide that they would flee to Egypt to get out of the way. We're into chapter 42 now, and the story ends, doesn't it, with Jeremiah being forcibly taken to Egypt.

72. 32:45

    And again, even in this circumstance, he's offering an option to the people. Verse 10 of chapter 40 is, sorry, chapter 42. Verse 10, if you will then still abide in this land, then will I build you up. It's no good running away, this is the will of the Lord. You need to not be running away.

73. 33:09

    So you can stay and serve the king of Babylon and be safe, or verse 13, you can go down to Egypt. verse 13 to 16, set out the difficult life they would have, and the punishment that would come, and the ultimate end, which would be death. So Jeremiah tells them, you've got these options, stay and be safe, or leave and suffer disaster.

74. 33:34

    It doesn't sound like much of a choice, does it, brothers and sisters? It's got this ring of Deuteronomy, hasn't it? See, I set before you this day life and good, or death and evil. Doesn't sound like much of a choice. Moses has to say, therefore choose life. You know, just in case you weren't sure which to choose, therefore choose life.

75. 33:57

    You know, and Jeremiah is doing just the same thing, you can either stay put, or you can go and be destroyed. Therefore stay put. You know, he spells it out as clearly as he can. But the saddest part is, everyone chooses this, don't they? Oh, no, we don't want life and good, we want death and evil.

76. 34:12

    We want to go down into Egypt. And human nature repeats itself time and time and time again. And we can feel like that with our preaching, can't we? Here we are saying to people, we've got the information, we've got the words which are able to make us wise unto salvation. Why, why, why would you not listen?

77. 34:30

    Actually, we're okay with what we've got, thank you. And we'll enjoy these other things. So Jeremiah is taken away into Egypt and his story ends, his life story as far as we know it ends there. A couple of other little things.

78. 34:48

    I put one of these up at the beginning of the week. One of these chiastic structures may or may not work for the whole of the book. book. I just put up that slide for you there to see how there is an overarching structure to the book. We've talked about the way in which it's organized.

79. 35:09

    If that structure is a legitimate one and it works in one of these chiastic ways, then the concentration, the bit where the book wants us to focus, is this message of future hope, which we get in these four chapters in the middle of the book, where we're going to read about the new covenant that's being offered.

80. 35:35

    I'm sorry I've not managed my time particularly well through this week. I've got to the point where the title of our classes barely bears any resemblance to the material I've given to you. I do apologize for that. Let's just look for a moment or two, though, at these wonderful chapters and remind ourselves of this great promise and prophecy that's contained in this section.

81. 36:01

    You'll just notice in chapter 30 that Jeremiah is told here, verse 2, to write this in a book. This is going to be written in a book, please, this new covenant. It's so important. Let's make sure it's written down. So under inspiration, Jeremiah is now going to sit and write all these words that have been spoken.

82. 36:23

    And why is he going to write it, verse 3? Because the Lord is looking beyond the captivity. He's looking beyond the destruction. He's looking beyond this real low point in Judas history to something far better. I've got something in store here, and I want this recording because I want my people to know about it.

83. 36:44

    So says Almighty God. So it begins with Jacob's trouble, but the overarching message is that Jacob will be saved out of it. Verse 7 of chapter 34, Alas, for that day is great, so that none is like it. It is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.

84. 37:03

    This is now going to be overridden with hope and encouragement that God has things in control, even though it's a bleak period. And it's interesting that God is helping these people, even though they're past helping. If you look at verse 12, for example, they have a bruise or a hurt which is incurable, and a wound which is grievous.

85. 37:28

    There's none to plead their cause. There's none to provide medicine. There's none to do any binding up. All those who loved you, well, they've forgotten you and they've forsaken you. And indeed, you are wounded with the wound of an enemy. But, says the Lord, I can see that there is none to help, so I am going to provide someone to help.

86. 37:49

    And the prophecy of the individual who will come and intervene and provide this source of recovery will be one who comes from their midst. And instead of serving a king of Babylon, they will serve the Lord their God and David their king. Verses 8 and 9. If you look down at verse 21, it says in the King James Version, their nobles shall be of themselves and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them.

87. 38:24

    Nobles is better translated as prince. So it's not a plural word, it's a singular word. Their prince, their ruler, will come out of the midst of them. And they haven't had that for a long time. Yes, they've had their own king sitting on the throne, but it's been a king imposed by a king of the north in Babylon.

88. 38:49

    Or it's been a king imposed by a king of the south in Egypt. And here is Jeremiah saying, no, this will be a king who will come out of our own midst. He will be one who will rule over us. So it's a little bit like Deuteronomy 18, isn't it? This prophet who will come out of the midst of his brethren.

89. 39:08

    All these echoes with Deuteronomy. Here is a man who will come from the midst of them, and I will cause him to draw near. It says in verse 21. And causing him to draw near is language of priesthood, isn't it? You remember that? So it was a priest's job to draw near to Almighty God and to represent the people.

90. 39:36

    If you wanted to have a look in Numbers 16, verse 5, when Cora, Dathan, and Abiram were challenging Moses, this was the language that was being used. We'll have a look, says Moses, and we'll see who the Lord allows to draw near in this priestly way. So whilst it's not absolutely clear, as soon as we start scratching the surface here, this individual who is going to be raised up from amongst his brethren and will rule over his people, is going to be a king because he's ruling, but is also going to undertake these priestly duties because the Lord is going to allow him to draw near.

91. 40:15

    So this lovely picture of the Almighty raising up the Lord Jesus Christ, who can do this role for his people, something no one has been able to do before. And of course, through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, this restitution will be complete. In verse 22, ye shall be my people, I will be your God.

92. 40:36

    That's where the Almighty has wanted to get to, right from Sinai. And the ultimate, the outcome will be that through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, this is what will happen. In chapter 31, we have this lovely section about men being given, God's people being given a new heart, a new covenant from verse 31 onwards.

93. 41:02

    And verse 33, but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts. I will be their God, they shall be my people, and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord, Lord, for they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord.

94. 41:29

    So, this is a powerful picture, isn't it, of the Word of God that is changing the hearts of these men and women. And we ought to be playing our part in that at the moment. It's relatively easy to examine the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ and try and do them, but it can become a mechanical thing.

95. 41:57

    Forgive me for saying this, brothers and sisters, but we've lifted the laws of the Old Testament, which we know we're all mechanical and legalistic, and we've replaced them with our own, if we're not careful, because now being saved means, well, you go to the breaking of bread on Sunday, and you do your daily readings, and you say your prayers, and you do this, and we've got a whole load of new mechanical things that we have to do.

96. 42:20

    And please, I'm not saying we shouldn't be doing those things. Of course we should. But, has it changed our hearts? Has it made us into different people? Or are we just individuals who are going through the motions, rather like scribes and Pharisees who just go through the motions? Here, the conclusion of the matter is that they know the Lord.

97. 42:41

    Do you remember Josiah's motivation? He wanted to do the commandments of the Lord so that he might know God. And these people have got to a stage where, not just because their heart has been magically changed in some way, but through the influence of the word, and the application of it, they are becoming changed people, and they get to the stage where they say, ah, now I see what the Lord is all about.

98. 43:04

    Now I'm getting to know him. And we can only do that, brothers and sisters, when we lift the commandments from the printed page and put them into practice because we want to know him. It speaks beautifully of sins forgiven, and you'll notice there's no mention here of sacrifice because the sacrifice has been provided by this individual.

99. 43:26

    No mention here, sorry, no more remembrance of sins in verse 34. And the sign of the sun and the moon and the stars, we pick that up in Luke 21, don't we? The symbol of Israel as a nation, that's where our focus needs to be in these last days because that's the confirmation that the Lord's covenant is working out with his people.

100. 43:54

     Eventually, the city of Jerusalem is to be rebuilt in verse 38. And then there's this lovely little picture of an occupied Israel, sorry, a land of Israel occupied by returned Jews, a regathered Israel. If you look in chapter 32, verse 37.

101. 44:24

     Behold, I will gather them out of all countries with it. I have driven them in mine anger and in my fury and in my great wrath. And I will bring them again unto this place and I will cause them to dwell safely. They should be my people. I will be their God and I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me forever for the good of them and for their children after them.

102. 44:45

     And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts and they shall not depart from me. Verse 43. And fields shall be bought in this land whereof you say it is desolate without man or beast.

103. 45:04

     It is given into the hands of Chaldeans. Men shall buy fields for money and subscribe evidences and seal them and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin and in the places about Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah. I wonder what Jeremiah thought when he was writing this in his book because he's done just this, hasn't he?

104. 45:24

     He's sealed his deed for the land in Anathoth. He's got his inheritance lined up and now here is the almighty saying, confirming to him, you will receive that inheritance. And brothers and sisters, it's still being fulfilled as I know you're working through with brother Dave. It's still being fulfilled before our very eyes.

105. 45:42

     The sign of the returned Israel, the regathered Israel is the most wonderful sign that we have today. And I'm really pleased brother Dave's doing that because it's important for us that we remember how important this is and that we pass it on to the next generation who have only ever known a time when Israel was in the land.

106. 46:03

     It's kind of the norm now, isn't it? They forget how special it is and we can forget how special it is. So we need to remember that God's people Israel are this great sign. We'll leave it there brothers and sisters. We've got one last session which will take us a little bit more into the character of Jeremiah and the things that happened to him as they point forward to the work of our Savior, even the Lord Jesus.