Jeremiah: Profile of Courage Chapters 25-33 “God’s Law on the Heart”

Jeremiah:Jeremiah:Profile of CourageProfile of Courage

Chapters 25-33Chapters 25-33

““God’s Law on the Heart”God’s Law on the Heart”

Jeremiah - Spring 2013 Week Topic

Mar 6 Dark Prophecies: Introduction and Jeremiah 1-6

Mar 13 Dark Prophecies: Jeremiah 1-6 continued

Mar 20 False Worship: Jeremiah 7-10

Mar 27 Broken Promises, Shattered Pride: Jeremiah 11-15

Apr 3 Sin Carved on the Heart: Jeremiah 16-17

Apr 10 The Potter, Pot, and Fire: Jeremiah 18-20

Apr 17 A Scattered Flock: Jeremiah 21-24

Apr 24 God’s Law on the Heart: Jeremiah 25-33

May 1 Broken Covenants: Jeremiah 34-35

May 8 God’s Indestructible Word: Jeremiah 36-38

May 15 Judgment and Justice: Jeremiah 39-45

May 22 God’s Justice Among Nations: Jeremiah 46-52

May 29 Summary of Jeremiah

Today’s Objectives• Review last weeks lesson, including historical

setting• Examine Jeremiah’s prophecy of seventy

years of exile • See how Jeremiah handled confrontation with

a false prophet• Learn the characteristics of the new covenant• Appreciate the necessity of change for

spiritual growth

Review of Chapters 21-24

• Review last weeks lesson, including historical setting

• Understand the errors of Judah’s false prophets and what God thought about them

• Consider how you can spot a false prophet

• Learn about the Messianic prophecy found in Jeremiah

• Sense God’s sadness when His people are led away from Him

Date of Chapters 25-33• Chapter 25: 605-604 B.C.

– “Fourth year of Jehoiakim…”

• Chapter 26: 607-606 B.C.– “Early in the reign of Jehoiakim…”

• Chapter 27-31: 596-595 B.C. – “Early in the reign of Zedekiah…”– “In the fifth month of the same year…”

• Chapter 32-33: 587 B.C.– “…in the 10th year of Zedekiah…”– “The army of the king of Babylon was besieging

Jerusalem…”

Last Five Kings of JudahName Father Reign (B.C.) What happened?

Josiah Ammon 640-608 Killed at Megiddo

Jehoahaz Josiah (4) 608 Pharaoh Necho II carried him into exile

Jehoiakim Josiah (2) 608-597 Rebelled against Babylon and killed

Jehoiachin Jehoiakim 597 Exiled to Babylon

Zedekiah Josiah (3) 597-586 Sons killed, blinded, then exiled to Babylon

Nebuchadnezzar's Attacks on Jerusalem

Date Extent Result

605 B.C. Quick strike Sons of noble families deported for civil service (including Daniel)

597 B.C. Major Attack King Jehoiachin deposed; leading families and skilled workers deported (Ezekiel included)

588-586 B.C. Total Destruction City and temple destroyed; King Zedekiah blinded; all but the poor deported

Key People• Jeremiah

– Served the last five kings of Judah

– Confidant of King Josiah (639-608 B.C.), King Jehoiakim (608-597 B.C.), and King Zedekiah (597-586 B.C.)

– Member of a priestly family and was from Anathoth

– May have descended from Abiathar, a distrusted priest

– Fled to Egypt with Beruch upon destruction of Jerusalem

• King Josiah – “Great Reform” (2 Ki 22-23, particularly 2 Ki 23:3)– 639-609 B.C.

– Foremost among all the kings for unswerving loyalty to God

– Rebuilding of the temple

– Discovery of the law of Moses (Book of Deuteronomy)

Key People• King Jehoiakim

– King of Judah, 608-597 B.C., corrupt and wicked

– Carried off in first Babylonian captivity (2 Ch 36:6)

• Nebuchadnezzar– Babylonian King from 605-652 B.C.

– Military commander that defeated Egypt in 605 B.C.

– Conquered Judah and destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C.

• King Zedekiah– Gained the throne at age 21

– Last king of Judah

– Sent into exile

– Blinded, and his sons killed

Judah’s Just Desserts (25:1-14)

• Babylonian’s defeat Egyptians at Carchemish – 605 B.C.– Laid siege to Jerusalem– King Jehoiakim became a vassal– Young nobles of Jerusalem carried off end of 605 B.C.

• Jeremiah was a prophet of God for 23 years (vs. 3)

• Other prophets during Jeremiah ministry had been killed– The prophets called upon people to repent (vss. 4-6)– “The prophets” refer to Uriah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk

• What was the result?– People of Judah refused to listen (vs. 7)– God threatens Judah and the surrounding nations at the

hands of the Babylonians and their allies (vss. 8-9)– Disappearance of peaceful, civilized life from Judah and

surrounding nations (vss. 10-11)

• What does 70 years mean? (vs. 11)– A complete generation?– The exile began in 605 B.C. and ended in 536 B.C.?– The final destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. and the

rebuilding of the temple by Zerubbabel in 516 B.C.?• Babylon would face judgment as well (vss. 12-14)

Judah’s Just Desserts (25:1-14)

• Ch 25:15-38– Others that would feel the wrath of God– Compared the coming judgment to a fierce storm

• Ch 26– Historical context for the prophecies found in Ch 7-10– Jeremiah jailed when predict Jerusalem would fall like

Shiloh– Jeremiah compared to Micah who made similar

predictions

• Ch 27– Yoke of Babylon on Judah and neighboring peoples

Jeremiah 25:15-27:22 In Brief

• Hananiah’s prophecy (vss. 3-4)– Predicted that God would break the yoke of Babylonian

dominance– Return of sacred temple furnishings– 10,000 Judahites would return

• What was Jeremiah’s reaction?– Amen! (vs. 6)– However, any prophet who makes such a claim should be

suspect until proven right (vss. 7-9)

• What does Hananiah do?– Breaks the yoke and uses imagery (vss 10-11)

Wishful Thinking (28:1-17)

• What did God say?– Wooden yoke would be replaced by a yoke of

iron (vss. 12-13)

– Placed by the King of Babylon

– Forced surrender to a dominant power

– Hananiah dies because of his sin (vss. 15-17)

Wishful Thinking (28:1-17)

• Ch 29– Shift of theme from judgment for sin to future

restoration– Urging of the exiles to settle down in Babylon, prosper

• Ch 30 through 31:30– “Book of Consolation” Ch 30-32– Message of hope contrasting with message of judgment– Better future with a reunited Israel– God would break the yoke of the oppressors– Future was still conditional

Jeremiah 29:1-31:30 In Brief

• God will make a new covenant with the His people (vs. 31)– Old covenant continuously broken by the people despite

God’s faithfulness– New covenant would have to address this problem– Compensate for our inability to live up to God’s

standards

• God’s description– New covenant would be internal, not external– New covenant was a relationship, old was a legal

document– Old covenant written on tablets, new covenant on the

human heart

A New Covenant (31:31-40)

• God reveals the new covenant to Jeremiah– People would directly know him (vs. 34)– Jeremiah’s role as a prophet would be obsolete, nobody

needing someone to exhort them to know God– Forgiveness of and remember sins no more – Hearts require cleansing as a result of God’s grace so

they could be changed

• Israel had a certain future (vss. 35-40)– Physical rebuilding of the city– Never again uprooted– Coming messianic age

A New Covenant (31:31-40)

Restoration Viewpoint

• Old versus the new covenant

• Two separate covenants between God and His people

• Old covenant nullified when Jesus died to establish the new covenant between all people of faith and God

• Old covenant provided for our example (Rom 15:4) and as a means of pointing us to Jesus Christ and His new covenant (Gal 3:24-25)

• Written during the 18 month siege of Jerusalem (587-586 B.C.)

• Jeremiah had been imprisoned of trying to desert to the Babylonians

• Eventually confined to the courtyard of the guard in the palace of the king

• King Zedekiah complains of prophecies, leaving him no choice

• God instructs Jeremiah to buy property in Anathoth

• Continue message of hope

Jeremiah 32-33 In Brief

Review

• Reviewed last weeks lesson, including historical setting

• Examined Jeremiah’s prophecy of seventy years of exile

• Saw how Jeremiah handled confrontation with a false prophet

• Learned the characteristics of the new covenant• Appreciated the necessity of change for spiritual

growth• Next week: Chapters 34-35, “Broken Covenants”