Judah's Sceptre and Joseph's Birthright #15
Vindication of Promise to Jeremiah
JUDAH'S SCEPTRE AND JOSEPH'S BIRTHRIGHT #15
by Allen (1917)
Before we can gather up even the first link in the chain of
history as regards the "building and planting" which Jeremiah
must accomplish, we must take a glance at some of the facts
concerning the prophet's own history.
We have already noticed that when the Lord was instructing
Jeremiah in the work which he was to do, he said to him,
regarding those that should oppose or fight against him, "Be not
afraid of their faces, for I am with thee to deliver thee."
But Jeremiah seems not to have met with any special opposition
until during the reign of Jehoiakim. This was at a time when the
Lord commanded him to go into the court of the temple and speak
to the people as they gathered from all the cities of Judah to
worship; at the same time he told him to speak all the words
which he, the Lord, had commanded him, and to "diminish not
a word."
He was true to God, and faithfully delivered the Divine
message. The message itself was full of mercy, and accompanied
with a proviso that if every man would turn from his evil way
then the Lord would avert the impending calamities which hung
over the nation as judgments in consequence of their numerous
and manifold sins. But it only resulted in the prophets, the priests,
and the people gathering themselves into an excited, surging and
howling mob, which made a prisoner of Jeremiah, saying unto him,
"Thou shalt surely die."
Later, when the princes of Judah heard these things, they came
up to the temple, and in order that they might hear and judge for
themselves, Jeremiah was permitted to speak again.
This he did, still faithfully giving the unwelcome message of
the Lord. In conclusion, he said: "The Lord sent me to prophesy
against this house (the temple) and against this city all the words
that ye have heard. Therefore now amend your ways and doings
and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent
him of all the evil that he hath pronounced against you. As for me,
behold, I am in your hand; do with me as seemeth good unto you.
But know ye for a certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely
bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon
the inhabitants thereof; for of a truth, the Lord hath sent me unto
you to speak all these words in your ears." The princes were evidently
touched somewhat by this appeal, and the people with them; for after
this, both princes and people stood against the prophets and the priests,
and said, "This man is not worthy to die." So a division arose among
them, which resulted in Jeremiah's being spared for the time and set
at liberty. But he continued his earnest expostulations with the people
because of their sins, and continued just as before his startling
annunciations concerning the impending ruin of temple, city and
nation.
These truths were so unwelcome and painful for the people to
hear, that other prophets soon began to appear who uttered
contrary predictions, no doubt for the sake of the popularity
which they should acquire among the people by prophesying the
return of peace and prosperity. Hananiah was the name of one of
these false prophets. On one occasion he broke a small wooden
yoke which Jeremiah wore upon his neck, which had been put there
as an object lesson by Divine direction. When this false prophet
broke that yoke, he told the people that the Lord said that the
yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, which was not only upon the neck of
Judah, but upon all nations, should be broken within two years.
But the Lord spoke to Hananiah, through his true prophet,
Jeremiah, and told him that, because he had made the people trust
in a lie, he should die that same year. And the record reads, "So
Hananiah, the prophet, died the same year in the seventh month."
Shemeniah was another of those lying prophets who was dealt with
in a manner which condemned him and exonerated Jeremiah. But
still Jeremiah's enemies, the priests, false prophets, and certain elders,
were not at rest, but continued their persecutions until the result was
that Jeremiah was thrown into prison. With his liberty thus restricted
he could not publicly deliver his messages, so he called Baruch,
the scribe, to his assistance, and he wrote as Jeremiah dictated.
This matter was inscribed upon a roll of parchment, with the view
of having it read to the people in some public and frequented part
of the city.
The favorable opportunity occurred on the occasion of a
great festival, which was a feasting day, and which brought the
inhabitants of the land from all parts of Judea together at
Jerusalem. On the day of the festival Baruch took the roll and
stationed himself at the entry of the new gate of the temple,
and, calling upon the people to hear him, began to read. A great
concourse of people soon gathered around him who listened,
apparently with honest attention.
But one of the by-standers, Michaiah, went down into the
city to the king's palace, and reported to the king's scribes and
princes, who were assembled in the council chamber, that Baruch
had gathered the people together in one of the courts of the
temple, and that he was reading to them a discourse on prophecy
which had been written by Jeremiah. He also told them all he
himself had heard, as Baruch read the book in the hearing of the
people.
This aroused such an interest and anxiety among them that
they immediately sent Jehudi, an attendant at the palace, to tell
Baruch to come to them and bring the roll with him. As soon as he
arrived, they asked him to read what he had written. He did so,
and they were evidently much impressed, for the Scripture
statement is, "When they had heard all the words they were afraid,
both one and the other."
Their fear must have been great, because they felt a
conviction that these words were from the Lord, and that these
predictions would surely come to pass. This very fear created in
them a tender regard for both Baruch and Jeremiah, for they told
him that they would be obliged to report the matter to the king;
but they advised Baruch, saying: "Go hide thee; thou and
Jeremiah, and let no man know where ye be."
When the matter was reported to the king, the subject matter
of the book so angered him that when he had read only three or
four leaves, he took out his pen-knife and cut the entire roll to
pieces and threw it in the fire, and then ordered his officers to
"take Baruch, the scribe, and Jeremiah, the prophet; but the Lord
hid them." (Jer.36:26.)
Strange, isn't it, that they should have Jeremiah in prison,
and yet, when they come to look for him he cannot be found?
But then, we believe that when the Lord does a thing it is well done.
One thing we do know about this, that the Lord took him out of
prison to hide him, and that when he again appeared among men,
they did not imprison him on the old charge, for the Scripture saith:
"Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people; for they
had not put him in prison."
Meanwhile, King Jehoiakim had received his promised burial,
that of "an ass, drawn and cast outside the gates of Jerusalem,"
"and his dead body," as Jeremiah says, was "cast out in the day
to the heat, and in the night to the frost."
The next time in which we find Jeremiah a prisoner is during
the reign of Zedekiah, who, as we have before mentioned, was the
prophet's own grandson. At this time Jeremiah's enemies
represented to the King that the predictions which were uttered
by the prophet were so gloomy and terrible that they depressed
and discouraged the hearts of the people to such an extent that
they were weakened in their power to resist, and that accordingly
he must be regarded as a public enemy. So persistently were these
claims urged that finally the King gave Jeremiah into the hands
of his enemies and told them that they might do with him as they
pleased.
There was a dungeon in the prison, to which there was no
access except from above. The bottom was wet and miry and
covered with filth and slime. It was the custom to let prisoners
down into its gloomy depths and leave them there to starve.
Into this filthy dungeon Jeremiah was cast and was left to die
of misery and hunger. But God brought Jeremiah into this world
to accomplish a work, for the accomplishment of which he himself
had pledged his reputation as God; consequently he could not
afford to let that man die then and there.
So the Lord began to trouble Zedekiah. His heart smote him,
his fears confronted him, and he trembled with misgivings lest he
had delivered a true prophet of God into the hands of those who,
he knew, would surely put him to death. So he inquired what had
been done with the prisoner, and learned that he had been
practically buried alive. Then, with fear-tortured haste, he
commanded an officer to take thirty men and get Jeremiah out
of that horrible pit "before he die."
When they went to the dungeon and opened the mouth of it
they found that he had sunk deep into the mire. They threw down
some old clothes, which he was to fold and place under his arms
and about those parts of his body where the ropes were to pass,
and where the greatest weight would come in pulling him out of
the mire and up out of that dismal pit.
After that Jeremiah had the freedom of the court of the prison,
and the King secretly sought him and begged him to reveal
the truth concerning his own fate and that of the kingdom of
Judah. Jeremiah did this faithfully, and the King found out all
that he sought to know; which proved to be much more than he
cared to learn, especially concerning his own fate.
While Jeremiah was shut up in the court of that prison the
word of the Lord came to him for the last time concerning the
destruction of the city. At the same time the promise concerning
the preservation of his own life was given, and was as follows:
"But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the Lord, and thou
shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art
afraid. For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall
by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey (booty or prize)
upon thee." (Jer. 39:17,18.)
Jeremiah remained shut up in that prison until the Babylonish
forces captured the city, broke down the walls, burned the Royal
palaces and the houses of the people, thus making the inside of
those prison walls the only place of safety in all that city.
Now, it is a remarkable fact, one well worthy of God and
certainly one most worthy of note, that the Lord had promised not
only that the prophet should be delivered from his enemies among
his own people, but also that the enemies of his people should
treat him well, and that amidst it all his life should be spared.
It is also a remarkable fact that, in view of all this, we read:
"Now Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, gave charge concerning
Jeremiah to Nebuzar-adan, the captain of the guard, saying, "Take
him and look well to him, but do him no harm, but do unto him
even as he shall say unto thee." (Jer. 39:11,12,)
The effect of this command from the conquering king was so
wonderful in its results, and the result was so absolutely
essential in order that Jeremiah might be free to finish his
Divinely-appointed task, that we are moved to give this result
just as it is recorded in the Word of God:
"And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said unto him ...
Behold I loose thee this day from the chains that were upon thy
hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon,
come 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, thither go. So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and
a reward (money) and let him go."
Query: Where did he go and why?
..........
To be continued
No comments:
Post a Comment