Book of Jeremiah - Part 19

And good evening again once again, and we are at Jeremiah 33. It's where we want to begin tonight. Do we have any question or comment before we begin Jeremiah 33? Once again, we remind you that Jeremiah is not in chronological order, and also it is highly repetitive. But once again, we could ask people where such-and-such verse is, and here's one of the, through repetition, through learning, through hearing it over and over. I used to have students to write an essay at the beginning of the school term, and the essay was, is learning remembering, or is remembering learning? So you might want to think about that one. I think they go hand in glove.

You may have stored it somewhere. They say every bit of your stream of conscious awareness is stored in the, what psychologists call the subconscious, and the, of course, the great challenges then to dig it out of the subconscious, and to come to fore, and then more often you review it the more apt you'll be able to retrieve it. So we need to review very often many of the things in the Word of God. Like the Apostle Peter writes that, I will not be negligent to remind you of those things though you once knew them. So in Jeremiah 33 in verse 1, Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the second time. Of course, there are many times in which the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah. Way back when we first started this study, I sent you a handout on every place that said, and the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah. Hopefully you have reviewed that. While he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying, This says thus says the Eternal, the Maker thereof, the Lord that formed it. A bit of controversy there among the commentators with regard to what it refers to. It undoubtedly, as we read the context of this chapter, refers to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is God's city. It is eventually going to be the capital of the world. It's the spiritual capital of the world. Why is it so highly contested now? Because even now people recognize that Jerusalem is so very vital, and it is in the geographic center of the earth, some say. So the Jews, the Moslems, and the Christians are among three of the groups that really struggle over control of Jerusalem. And all of the nations have an eye on Jerusalem as we read about in several verses in the Bible. So God formed it, Jerusalem, to establish it. Jerusalem, the Lord is His, the Eternal is His name. Call unto me and I will answer you. So pray to God, show you great and mighty things which you know not. I wonder how many times we call on God to give us understanding and discernment. Are we really discerning the times in which we live, and to realize the times that we live, the seriousness of the times that we live in? It doesn't mean that we can't have fun and joke and do all kinds of things like that, but on the other hand to realize the seriousness of the times in which we live.

And it says here, call on me and I will show you things to come. One of the things it says in John 6.13, that God will show you when the Holy Spirit comes, that the Holy Spirit will show you things to come. The Bible often is said to be history written in advance, and the estimate of the Bible being what part of it is prophecy anywhere from 33 to 50 percent, or maybe even more, is prophetic. And do we ask God to show us, to give us the gifts, and to study the Word of God and dig into it, and not just depend on someone spoon-feeding us the Word of God. The way you come to really understand the scriptures through your personal digging into it. Yes, the ministry, the church can serve as a guide to help, but really, you have to develop that love affair for the truth, and you have to call on God and ask Him to help you and to give that understanding to you. So God admonishes Jeremiah, Thus says the Lord the Maker thereof, Call unto me, verse 3, and I will answer you. Now verse 4, For thus says the Lord God, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by the mounts, the horsemen, by the soldiers, and by the sword, they come to fight, and the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, they have come, but it is to fill you with the dead bodies of men, whom I have slain and might anger. Why did he slay them? Because of their sins. They refuse to listen to, they refuse to give heed to the prophets, but came to rising up early and speaking to them late, day after day, 24-7, as it were, 365 days. I have slain in mine anger and in my fury, for not all whose wickedness I have hid, which shall hear, shall say praise. Well, I skipped a line there.

The fury for all those, and for whose wickedness I have hid your face from this city. So God eventually hides his face from the city, and sometimes he may do that with a church, he may do that with an individual, he may do that with a nation, he may do that with a world, as it were, just hands off. You want to do it your way, then do it your way. I will not answer, I will not hear until you turn to me with your whole heart. He speaks of that in Hosea chapter 5. If you'll turn there, Hosea is the first of the minor prophets. It's right after Daniel.

Hiding his face from you, and he does that from time to time, when the sins are mounted so high that he will not hear, and he will not answer. And because of their sins, as it says in Hosea 2.1, Say you unto your brethren Ami, and to your sisters Ruhama, plead unto your mother, for she is not my wife, and neither am I her husband. Let her therefore put away her hoardums out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts, lest I strip her. So God gave Israel a bill of divorcement, and he hid his face from them.

Verse 6, Behold, I will bring health and cure, and I will cure them, and reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. And suddenly there is this shift from the punishment to the restoration. And oftentimes you see this in prophecy. It's a very abrupt transition and shift. And there have been other chapters in which we have talked about the the restoration. And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return. That is, they will come from captivity back into the land to return, and will build them as at the first.

So God is going to build Jerusalem as at the first, and that has far more implications than you might just reading that sentence. You wouldn't grasp all of what that means, but one of the big questions we continually hear is, why is God going to restore the sacrificial system in the millennium?

Evidently it is to remind people of the fact that it is only through the sacrifice and blood of Jesus Christ that they can be and have been redeemed. If you turn to Isaiah 1, and we'll begin in verse 24, we'll get a glimpse of what it's going to be. What I'm talking about here, what is the societal structure going to be like in the world tomorrow in the millennium?

We look at the societal structure in the western world today, and basically you go to the nations and they will have their department stores, their grocery stores, their big box stores, on and on it goes, the chain restaurants, and it's pretty much the same. They'll have the mass transportation, they'll have the automobiles. Most of the people are living in cities. The food is shipped into the cities and put in storage and then displayed into the grocery stores and so on, and so it is with the dry goods as well.

The societal structure in the millennium is going to return to basically the way God intended at the beginning when he first began working with Israel. Not a lot of people seem to grasp that or understand it. I don't know if they're going to be cell phones and that kind of thing as it is now, but let's just read here what God says he's going to do at the beginning of the millennium. Verse 24 of Isaiah 1, therefore says the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the mighty one of Israel, I will ease me of mine adversaries and a binge me of mine enemies.

Of course, at the Battle of Armageddon, the nations are going to fight against God. And I will turn my hand upon you. I will purge away your dross and take away all your tin, the dross that comes out when it's put into the smelting furnace, and the heat causes the bad stuff to come away and leave the pure.

And I will restore your judges as at the first and your counselors as at the beginning afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. One of the great things you're hearing today also is the crime in the cities. Fifty shootings in Chicago this past week, five dead, the increase in crime in Chicago, in New York City, in Portland, Oregon, in Los Angeles, in New Orleans, in Miami, anywhere you want to go, especially in the large cities.

But Jerusalem is going to be the capital city. It's going to be the faithful city. Zion, which is another name for Jerusalem, shall be redeemed, bought back with judgment and her converts with righteousness. What is God's great goal? To bring all peoples of the earth, all kindreds, tongues, nations into a relationship with Him to become a part of the Israel of God regardless of their ethnic or national origin. And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together and they that forsake the Lord will be consumed.

They won't be this. I read where one of these people in New York City that had attacked, I think it was either an old man or a policeman, had been arrested 50 times and was back on the street. The transgressors shall be consumed. Verse 29, for they shall be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, and you shall be confounded for the gardens that you have chosen, those places, the sinful places of pleasure.

For you shall be as an oak whose leaf fades and is a garden that has no water, and the strong shall be as a toe, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together and none shall quench it. Yes, a new societal structure is going to come about. And God revealed this, and He put it into practice to some degree under the terms of the Old Covenant.

Remember, it says in Hebrews 10 that finding fault with them, not with the covenant, but finding fault with them, He established a new covenant in the spiritual sense. What we're going to find in the millennium is there's going to be order, there's going to be structure. God is not going to put up with the foolishness and the crime and chaos and disorder that we're seeing today on the streets of America, and for that matter all over the world, it's going to be orderly, and God and the saints are going to rule over it, and there will be physical people also there, but they will be ordered correctly.

Verse 8, similar to what I just read from Isaiah chapter 1, and I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me, and I will pardon all their iniquities. Iniquities means lawlessness, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me, and it shall be to me a name of joy.

You know there in the chapter 11 of Revelation, talking about Jerusalem, it calls Jerusalem of the end times Sodom and Gomorrah. Perhaps you know that Tel Aviv, which was the capital of Israel before Trump changed it to Jerusalem, that Tel Aviv is one of the great sin cities of the world, sort of the Las Vegas of the Middle East, where the homosexuals parade and have their annual parade.

So Jerusalem is going to be called. It's going to be a joy to God, a praise and an honor before me, and the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I will do under them. Remember in Zachariah chapter 8, the last verse, where it says, and the people from the nations of all languages will grab hold of the skirt and say, show me your God, for I hear that he is with you. It will take some time for God to restore through Christ and the saints and those converted ones who live over into the millennium to restore order back to the world, which shall hear all the good that I will do unto them, and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness, for all the prosperity, all the prosperity that I procure unto it. Right now, the peoples of the world are suffering in many ways, and the COVID virus has hastened this because so many of the producing systems of the world have shut down during the virus, and there is eventually coming more and more scarcity in some of the areas, and especially with the fact that, once again, the virus is stalking the nations of the world. Thus says the Eternal again, there shall be heard in this place, which you say shall be desolate without a man, without beasts, even in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate without man. Without inhabitant, without beast. That's the way you're prophesying it to be, and it it did come to pass, but there's going to be restoration. Verse 11, the voice of joy, the voice of gladness, the voice of the variety, and the voice of the variety, and the voice of them that say, praise the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good for his mercy and doers forever. And we're familiar, and we've seen that him, his mercy, never fails, and his mercy endures forever. And of them that shall bring sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. Praise is counted as a sacrifice unto God. So when you sing in church, or when you sing to yourself, when you pray and you praise God, it is counted as a sacrifice. The fruit of your lips, God counts as a sacrifice, for I will cause and return the captivity of the land as at the first. In other words, I'm going to restore it as at the first, the way I intended it to be, to an identic kind of state of existence. It's not going to happen immediately, but over the course of time. Thus says the eternal hosts again in this place, which is desolate without man, without beast, and in all the cities. Thereof shall be an habitation of shepherds, causing their flocks to lie down. Obviously, agriculture is going to exist in the millennium. What do we eat? We eat the produce of the farmers, of the ranchers, of those who are involved in gardening and horticulture, and on and on it goes. We eat of the fruit of the land, and the land is going to flow, figuratively, once again with milk and honey. In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the vale, in the cities of the south, in the cities of Benjamin, in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah shall the flocks pass again, under the hands of him that tells him, says, thus says the Lord. So you want to know, to a large degree, the economy is going to be based on agriculture. I'm sure there will be technology and that kind of thing, and at least reasonably sure that their technology will exist, but it's not going to be, he says, I'm going to restore it the way it was at first, and it wasn't at first the way it is now.

Behold, the days come, says the Lord, that I will perform that good thing, which I promise unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will our conscience call the branch of righteousness to grow up unto David, and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. I think we have identified the branch two or three times. Let's identify the branch. Once again, you should be able to turn to these verses especially because Jesus Christ is referred to in the Old Testament as the branch.

We want to look at the prophecy in Isaiah chapter 11. Isaiah 11 is a Messianic chapter of prophecy. In Isaiah 11 and 1, and there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of its roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge, and the fear of the Eternal, and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord, and shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears. So what is he going to look at? He's going to look at the heart. He's going to look at what's inside. He knows what is inside. So we cannot fool God with anything that we do. God knows it all. No matter what we put on or what we parade as, God knows our heart. He knows our very being. Now you look at Zechariah chapter 3. It tells you some of the things in prophecy that the branch is going to do. One of the things that the branch is going to do, Zechariah 3, is he is going to build the tabernacle of God, the church of God.

Look at Zechariah 3. I'm not sure what I said, but it's Zechariah 3 in verse 8. We're breaking in on the thought where Joshua is telling his prophecies directed toward the end time and restoration. In this case, here now, Joshua the high priest, you're in your fellows that sit before you, for they are men of sign. Mophath is the Hebrew word for wonder. They're men of sign. They're symbolic of that which is to come. Remember that Zechariah and Haggai were sent to the people of Judah to rebuild the Second Temple, and they were symbolic of that which was to come.

For behold, I will bring forth my servant the branch. What is my servant the branch going to do? Now look at Zechariah 6 in verse 12, and we will see what my servant the branch is going to do. Zechariah 6 in verse 12. And speak unto him, saying thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold, the man whose name is the branch, and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. Of course, we'll turn to Matthew 16, 18 in just a moment. We'll see that none other than Jesus Christ says, I will build my church. Even he shall build. This is Zechariah 6, 13. And he shall build the temple. He shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory, shall sit and rule upon his throne. See the...

The government will be church and state. They will be unified. They will not be at war against each other. And he shall be a priest upon his throne, and the council of peace shall be between them both. Then we look at Matthew. Jesus Christ comes to the disciples in Matthew 16, and he asks the question, Who do men say that I am? And some offered different answers. And Peter finally answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus says, flesh and blood have not revealed it unto you, Simon Peter, but my Father, who is in heaven. In verse 18, and turn to Luke instead of Matthew. In Matthew 16, 18, And I say unto you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock, Peter means the word there in Greek is Petros, little rock, and upon this rock, Peter of big rock, I will build my church and the gates of Hades, the grave, shall not prevail against it. So Jesus Christ, the branch, builds the Church of God. And there is nothing that is going to stop the Church of God. The question for each one of us is, will I be a part of that church? Will I be able to hear what Jesus says to the faithful in Luke when he says, well done, a good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over a few things, now enter into the joy of the kingdom? Or what he says in another place in Luke, it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. But you know, it also says, when the Son of Man returns, will he find the faith upon the earth? And more and more, you look at the happenings of the day and you realize how precious it is to be a part of the faithful few. So once again, we read 16, Jeremiah 33, 16. In those days shall Judah be saved, in Jerusalem shall dwell safely, and this is the name whereby she shall be called the Lord our righteousness. There's another name. You see here, this name is connected with what the branch, the branch, she shall be called Yahweh's Sidkenu.

It is the name of Jesus Christ.

Who is this that builds the church in Matthew 16, 18? Who is it in Matthew, I'm not in Zechariah 3, 8. Who is in Zechariah 6, 12, 13? It is the branch. He shall build the temple of the Lord. And the city is going to be called Yahweh our righteousness. Yahweh our righteousness. No, we've already talked about this because in another place, it is also called that same name, yet being Jerusalem. So we turn back to Jeremiah 23 in verse 6. Please turn to Jeremiah 23 in verse 6. In Jeremiah 23, 6, we'll see something very similar. In his days, Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, and his name, and this is his name, whereby he shall be called Vah Yahweh our righteousness. Notice it's very similar to what we've just read in verse 5. This is Jeremiah 23, 5. Brethren, you need to really get this to remember this, that the name of God is in Jesus Christ. That is, Yahweh is in Jesus Christ. We'll see that from the scripture more and more, and I'll show it to you in another place in just a moment. But if you remember the sermon I gave, the angel of God's presence, we showed that in great detail. In Jeremiah 23, 5, Behold, the days come, says the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch. A king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. Very similar to Isaiah 11. There's no question it is Jesus Christ. In his days, Judah shall be saved. In his name whereby he shall be called, the Yahweh, our righteousness. The same thing is in Jeremiah 33, 16. I can't overemphasize the importance of these verses. You know, when it comes to talking about the Church of God, you look at something I mentioned recently with regard to God and Christ. They work in unison. They have perfect harmony. Look at Romans 16. In Romans 16, in Romans 16, 16, that I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the nations, to the ethnos, to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God that the offering up of the nations might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. I have, therefore, wherever I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God. Then he says through mighty signs and wonderings that he has been able to take this gospel to the churches, and in this, the expression is used in this chapter. My doesn't fall on it at this moment, but churches of Christ. So there's one place in the New Testament where the church is called the churches of Christ. Most places is called the church of God. We call it the church of God, but it's also the church of Christ. The church of God, and God is over Christ, and we come to God through Christ, as Paul makes it clear right here. Continuing now in Jeremiah. Now notice what this says. Verse 17, for thus says, Lord David shall never want a man to set upon his throne of the house of Israel. Who is that man? Who is the ultimate fulfillment of that man who will set upon the throne of David? Well, we should know that, and we should know it very clearly. It is Jesus Christ. Look at Isaiah chapter 9, and this great prophecy beginning in verse 6. Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. The increase of his government and peace there shall be no end upon the throne of David.

We read right over that. Why? Because in one place in the New Testament it says that David is going to rule over the house of Israel. But there's someone ruling over David, and that is Jesus Christ. All power is given unto Jesus Christ. There is only one being over Jesus Christ, and that is made clear in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, and that is God the Father.

On the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to order it, to establish it with judgment, with justice, from hence more even forever, the zeal of the eternal host will perform it. So we have no question that that's what it's going to be. Now we look at Luke 1.32. Look at Luke 1.32.

We should be excited about these things. We should be so excited that it's like the seams on our buttons that I shared are about to break forth. In Luke chapter 1 and verse 32, we see this pretty much repeated when the angel appears here, and notice what it says.

Let's read into it verse 30. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, Mary, the mother of Jesus, for you have found favor that is grace, carous in the sight of God, and behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the son of the highest, and the Lord God shall give unto him what the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Of course, David, the man David will have a role in it, but Jesus Christ will be over him. Now look at Acts chapter 2. I hope we come to understand this so very clearly in Acts chapter 2 verse 29. Acts 2 verse 29. Man and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us, and to this day. You know, John 3 13 says, No man has ascended into heaven except the Son of man who came from heaven. So many, almost every radio, television, preacher, other kind of preacher you hear will talk about, as soon as you die, your soul, which you don't have, goes immediately to heaven or hell. Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, which we just read, that of the fruit of his loins, not David himself, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. He, seeing this before, spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul, his life essence, was not left in the grave in Hades, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus, as God, raised up whereof your all witnesses.

Therefore, being by the right hand of God, exalted, having received of the Father, the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has shed forth this which you now see and hear, for David is not ascended into the heavens. He couldn't send the Holy Spirit, but he said in himself, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit you on my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this same Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ. Brother, how beautiful is the Bible, the truth of the Bible that is woven together so clearly.

Now we come to this next verse, which we spoke of at the first of the class here today, which seems a bit enigmatic at times, or ironic, enigmatic at times. For thus says the Lord David shall never want, we read that one, 18, neither shall the priests the Levites. So the Levitical priesthood is restored. What a man before me to offer burnt offerings and to kindle meat offerings and to do sacrifice continually.

When God said, I am going to restore things as at the first, he meant what he said. Now some people may be disappointed at that. Who would be disappointed at that? Peace, transquility, prosperity, all the wonderful things that we talk about, we think about, the family ties are renewed, the community ties are renewed, and it just goes on and on and on with the blessings that come during the millennium. And then who would want to go back to where we are now? See, God knows what is best, and he knows where people will be the happiest. Of course, hopefully we're going to be spirit beings in the kingdom, in the spiritual kingdom of God. Remember, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. I think we tend to forget that one as well. So neither shall the priests of Levi's want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle me to offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. And the word of the Lord came unto me, Jeremiah, saying, Now what God is going to do now is he's going to, in essence, swear by himself and by the things that you see in nature, that his promise is faithful. It is true. It is sure. Verse 20, Thus says the Eternal, If you break my covenant of the day and my covenant of the night, you think the sun's going to rise in the morning? You bet your bottom dollar it's going to rise in the morning, and the sun sets going to set tomorrow night. And if there should not be day and night in their season, you know, the earth rotates on its actions. It slanted some 23-point something degrees from the sun, and it rotates and it revolves. So sometimes it is pointed away from the earth, but sometimes it's pointed toward the earth. Right now, we are pointed toward the we are pointed toward the sun. Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a sun to rain upon the throne and with the Levites and the priests, my ministers. If those two promises are not true, then day and night are not true.

As a host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand or the sea measured. And boy, listen to this. So will I multiply the seed of David my servant and the Levites that minister unto me. That's going to be quite a number of people. Just like you can't number the host of heaven or the sand of the sea, how many millions, even billions, maybe even more, I probably will be more, in the kingdom of God. Moreover, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah saying, Consider you not what this people have spoken, saying, the two families which the Lord hath chosen, that is Israel and Judah, he hath even cast them off. And thus they have despised my people. That's back to the contrast of what they've done, and that they should be no more a nation before me. Thus says the Lord, if my covenant not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinance of heaven and earth, then will I cast away the seed of Jacob and David my servant, so that I will not take any of the seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

So once again, that promise that God is going to keep his word, and that the seed of Jacob and David are going to be the rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for I will cause their captivity to return. That means they're not going to go into captivity again, and to have mercy on them. The beauty of the word of the God of God is unbelievable. Now chapter 34.

Chapter 34, God commands Jeremiah to tell Zedekiah that the city is given under the hands of the Babylonians, and they're going to burn it with fire. This particular chapter was written and spoken before the chapter 32 and 33, and it is somewhat repetitive, but we can... there's a lot that we can glean from this. Just as a matter of interest, you might want to look at this. You could go to 2 Kings chapter 24, and you'll see that Zedekiah was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar to be the final king of Israel. You know, when they came back to build the Restoration Temple, a prince of Judah, the Rebbebel, was named the governor, but Zedekiah was the last king. Also, you should keep in mind... look at Matthew 1 in verse 11.

Matthew 1 verse 11. We'll read into it.

Matthew starts off with the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Verse 1, the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. So Matthew goes back to Abraham. Abraham again, Isaac, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and so on. And notice it skips to Judah, to the kingly line, not to the physical line. It goes to the spiritual line. Remember in Genesis the prophecy that the scepter shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh come. There's no mention of any others except those who direct descendants from Judah's line. And in the line of Pharise, verse 3, and Judah's began. And Pharise began, and so on. Now we come to verse 11. And Josiah began, Jek and I, and really that word is, Jehoah has, as Kim, Chin, Zed, and Josiah began, that Jehoah has and his brethren, and his brethren were Chin, or Kim and Chin, Jehoah Chin, but about the time they were carried away to Babylon. And after that they were brought to Babylon, and Jehoah has beget Zarebabel. And it was under the hands of Zarebabel that they returned to Judah and the Restoration Temple was built. So it's interesting that this last king of Israel, even though he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, he reigned for 11 years, was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar. And you read that also in 2 Kings chapter 24. So here we are, Jeremiah 34.

The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the peoples fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, go and speak to Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and tell him, Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will give this city unto the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn him with fire. And so he did. And you shall not escape out of his hand, but you shall surely be taken and be delivered into his hand, and your eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon. And if you go to that chapter I mentioned in 2 Kings, you'll also note that the king Nebuchadnezzar put out Zedekiah's eyes. Yeah, they did speak mouth to mouth, and yeah, he did see the king, but then his eyes were put out. And he shall speak with you mouth to mouth, and you shall go to Babylon. Remember, Zedekiah tried to lead a rebellion and tell the people that, Oh, Jeremiah's not telling you the truth. You're not going to go to Babylon. Well, here he's told, Yeah, you're going to go to Babylon. You're going to see the king, and you're going to speak with him. Yet hear the word of the Lord, who was Zedekiah king of Judah, that says the Lord of you, you shall not die by the sword, or you shall die in peace and with burnings of your fathers, the former king which were before you, so shall they burn odors for you, and they will lament you, saying, Ah, Lord, for I have pronounced the word, says the Lord. Now, this verse is not a lot of controversy about this verse, because Zedekiah died in Babylon, and would they do the typical burnings of the odors and the incense for Zedekiah in Babylon, and another thing that in a few incidences in which the king was really bad, they did not burn the incense or the sweet-smelling odors, which are symbolic. Those are symbolic of the prayers of the saints in Revelation 8. So, there's a lot of dispute about this verse. The only thing that I know to do is that, take it the way it is written. Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words unto Zedekiah, king of Judah, in Jerusalem. When the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were against Lachish and against Azekah, for these defense cities remained of the cities of Judah. Only those defense cities remained, but yet the people were basically gone. This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the Lord. After that, the king of King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem to proclaim liberty unto them. I say that we're about out of time, so I am going to... You can read the rest of this chapter, but what I'm going to do is tell you what this is about.

When Nebuchadnezzar came in and he leveled the cities and took so many of the people captive, that then Zedekiah decided to let all the household servants and other servants go and give them liberty. And then he made a covenant with them, and then he changed his mind and brought them back into servitude. And then God really took him to task for breaking his word. And that's what the rest of this chapter is about.

So he let all of the house servants go and the slaves, and then he changed his mind. And then God tells how displeased he was at that. God reminds them of his economic system. Verse 14, at the end of seven years, let you go every man his brother, even those who had sold themselves into captivity to play into slavery, to pay off a debt.

And Hebrew, which has been sold unto you, and when he has served you six years, you should let him go, free from you, but your father's heart cannot unto me neither incline the ear. So we will pick it up right there at the end of verse 14 next time.