The Book of Jeremiah - Part 2

We'll be changed from this mortal, corruptible human body into a glorious, radiant spirit being born into the family of God at the resurrection. And then the Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty, where the nations of the world are gathered together at Armageddon to fight against Jesus Christ and the returning saints. We could ask the question, which of these views, the historical, the dualistic, or the futuristic view, is most important? To me, they're all three important and very relevant. You have the handout. The Bible is joined together by allegory, the story of people, things, happenings, which is a hidden or symbolic meaning. The allegory can be true or it can be contrived. And so the story in Galatians 4, 22 of about Abraham and marrying and having a child by Hagar and the son being born, Ishmael, which was not a faith. So you have that handout. I'm going to go ahead with the study. So I would ask you, you can look at that handout five ways in which the Bible is joined together, unity of the Bible. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10, 4, considering the historical record of Israel, he said that the fulfillment of this shows the veracity and unity of the Bible. That is, the things that are recorded in the Old Testament are there for our admonition and for our learning. Remember in 2 Timothy 3 verses 16 and 17, if you'll turn there, you know, when the church first began on the day of Pentecost, that was all they had. All they had was the Old Testament. And then Peter, James, John, and others began to write letters to the church. We're looking now at 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16. All scriptures given by inspiration of God is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished, unto all good work. So the early Christians, all they had was the Old Testament. And as we're going to see, that Jeremiah was one of the very few prophets that spoke of the New Covenant and spoke of circumcision of the heart, and we'll see that just a bit later. So the examples or lessons from the events surrounding the events in the Old Testament are there to encourage us to be faithful because God is sure, God who is promised and cannot lie.

The Bible should be studied first and foremost from the point of view. How does this apply to me? How do these scriptures apply to me personally? You should ask yourself, what is the central message? What is the central message? In other words, what is the point that the writer is trying to convey? And it really is God trying to convey it through the writer and through perhaps the spokesman, the Bible teacher, the preacher, whomever it might be. And you should ask, how does this apply to me? And thirdly, you should ask, can I apply the message in my life? And I just wonder, I mentioned this from time to time in sermons of, do we really make any changes based on hearing God's Word on the Sabbath or at any other time? For many people in the past, and I think a lot of people were attracted to the church because of prophecy, because at one time in the 50s, 60s, and into the 70s, and up even to the early 80s, the worldwide church of God was known for prophecy. Let me give you a personal experience here. In, it was 1982 or 83, I was the academic dean here in Big Sandy, and I got an invitation. We were seeking accreditation, but we were not a candidate much less accredited at that point. But anyhow, I got an invitation to attend a ceremony at Liberty University in Virginia, in which Jerry Falwell's college, Liberty University, was going from college status to university status, and we accepted the invitation, and we went. Why didn't I? And there was quite the ceremony. Various U.S. senators spoke. I remember John Warner speaking, then Jerry Falwell himself spoke, and then after that, those who were in academic regalia walked out. I had chosen not to do that, but one day I walked up the hall a few, oh, I'd say 50 feet or more, and we are standing face to face with Jerry Falwell. And he said, hello, he was very friendly, we shook hands and chatted a moment. He said, well, where are you guys? Where are you from? And I said, we're from Ambassador College. He said, oh, Herbert Armstrong! He has done a great work with prophecy, making a lot of contributions to the ministry, something like that. So, at one time, we were really known for and had that kind of identity. Not to say that, I'm just telling you that what happened there. And for some people, the prophecy thing was the big thing, and then when a lot of that did not come to pass as thought at the time period, a lot of people folded their tent and went their way. But that doesn't mean that the Word of God is not true, and those things are not going to come to pass. But see, that pool with regard to that is somewhat gone, and now we have hundreds and hundreds of people and hundreds and hundreds of preachers and internet sites and all of that who are telling all kind of falsehoods with regard to prophecy. So, let's continue.

Tonight, we're going to examine some of Jeremiah's prophecies, and first of all, we're going to do a brief overview of his life, and this will be somewhat repetitive in that some of this will come out when we begin the verse-by-verse exposition of his life. But to just get an overview, Jeremiah prophesied for 40 years. He basically began publicly prophesying when he was 21 years old. Maybe he might have been something maybe as early as being a little younger, but probably around 21 years old in the 13th year, as we'll read from Jeremiah chapter one, that he began to prophesy during the 13th year of Josiah. And Josiah became king when he was eight years old, and so Josiah would have been 21. And I don't know for sure how old Jeremiah would have been, but quite young. As we'll see, he pleaded with God at first and said, I'm just a boy. Jeremiah saw the destruction of Jerusalem. When Nebuchadnezzar sent his troops in and a wave of troops over a period of years, they sacked Jerusalem and burned the temple. And during his prophecy, he suffered all kinds of abuse being cast into a pit, being put in prison, and he became a pariah and outcast among the people. And after the prophecies fell on deaf ears, he wrote the book of Lamentations. We said we'd seldom. I don't know when I have turned to the book of Lamentations in a sermon. I bet it's been years, and I bet for most ministers it's been years, or maybe never. If you haven't read the book of Lamentations, maybe you would want to to read it. It is Jeremiah's lament over the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Jeremiah was the son of the high priest, Hilkiah, and he was from Antitoth. And Antitoth is a suburb, you might say, of Jerusalem two or three miles north of Jerusalem. And as we've already said, he began prophesying in the 13th year of King Josiah's reign. So, Josiah would have been 21 years old. The prophet Zephaniah and the prophetess Hilda were contemporaries with Jeremiah. Now, you have heard of Zephaniah, and I wonder if you have heard of Hilda. There are three main prophetesses mentioned in the Old Testament. Can you name them? They are Miriam, who was a prophetess, there were Deborah, who was a judge of Israel and a prophetess, and Hilda. So, I think we should go to 2 Chronicles, 1 Chronicles 29 and verse 1. Let's read a little bit here about Hilda. You might be surprised about the influence that she had because she was a contemporary with Jeremiah.

There's another, the other main prophetess. There are four prophetesses that are named, according to what I did in the Bible online search, Miriam, Deborah, Hilda, and Anna. You remember Anna was in the temple area, a widow of some four-score years, and yearning for, looking for, praying, and fasting for the appearance of the Messiah. In 1 Chronicles, I want to say this is probably, I really, I got 1 Chronicles, but I think it's 2. 2 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles 29. 1 Chronicles is too early for Josiah. 2 Chronicles 29, and this is Hezekiah. How did I make that? No, I see what I did with regard to this. I want 2 Chronicles 34. I was lying down.

See, I'm not even using my glasses tonight to improve the eyesight quite a bit. So in 2 Chronicles 34, verse 1, Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem for 31 years. He did that which was right in the side of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right nor to the left. In other words, he walked the straight and narrow for the eighth year of his reign while he was yet young. See, he was 16. He began to seek after the God of David his father, and in the 12th year, he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places and the groves, the carved images, and the molten images. Israel just couldn't give up the golden calf.

And they broke down the altars of Balaam in his presence, and the images that were on high above them. He cut down the groves and the carved images and the molten images. He broke the in pieces and made dust of them and shrewd it upon the graze of them that had sacrificed unto them. It goes on talking about the deeds of Josiah, and there came a decision. Look at verse 8. In the 18th year of his reign when he had purged the land in the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah and Manasiah the governor of the city, and Judah, not Judah, but I better put on my glasses.

The son of Joah has the recorder to repair the house of the Lord his God. So Josiah did what his grandfather had done, Hezekiah. See, it's amazing. Hezekiah had done restoration of temple worship. Then when Hezekiah died, his oldest son Manasseh, who was the most wicked king that Judah, Israel, ever had, led them away. Though on his deathbed, Manasseh repented. Then Manasseh's son succeeded him, Ammon, and Ammon was assassinated by his own household, and that's how Josiah became king at the age of eight. He was the son of Ammon, who was assassinated.

And so they are restoring the temple, and they talk about the various builders.

Then we pick it up again in verse 19. It came to pass when the king had heard the words of the law that he ran his clothes, almost the same thing that Hezekiah had done. And the king commanded Hezekiah and Ahaiacham, the son of Shaphan and Abdon, the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asiah, his servant of the king, saying, Go inquire of the Lord for me and for them that are left in Israel, and in Judah concerning the words of the book that is found for great Israel of the Lord that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord to do after all that is written in this book. And Hezekiah is a high priest, and they that the king had appointed went to Haldah, the prophetess, the wife of Shalom, the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasra, keeper of the wardrobe. Now, she dwelt in Jerusalem in the surrounding area, that word college. I think the old King James, the only word, only translation has the word college, which means the secondary area, the surrounding area, and they spoke to her to that effect. And she answered them, Thus says the Lord God, Tell you the man that sent you. Behold, thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, upon the inhabitants thereof, even the curses that are written in the book, which they have read before the king of Judah. And she goes on prophesying, and she says, But Josiah will be spared of this. And of course, Josiah died an untimely death, because he went to battle and led a battle against Pharaoh and was killed in that battle, but he was not taken into captivity. Jeremiah was a very young man when the spirit of prophecy came upon him, and he was fearful at first to accept such a responsibility, saying, I'm still a boy. But God said to him, Say not, I am a boy, for you shall go to all that I shall send you, whatever I command you, you shall speak, and be not afraid. Jeremiah not only warned Judah, but he also prophesied of the restoration of Israel and Judah, prophesied of the coming Messiah and the new covenant. Behold, the days come concerning the new covenant.

So we want to start now. We will get to what Jeremiah prophesied of the new covenant and also of circumcision, the heart probably in the next study. But now we want to start our verse-by-verse exposition of Jeremiah. We get a little bit of an overview there of he was on the scene for 40 years. He suffered tremendously. Jeremiah was one of the few people that had there are three people who lived in the flesh in which the Holy Spirit was in them from birth. They are Jeremiah, John the Baptist, and Jesus Christ. So now we are at Jeremiah chapter 1 and verse 1. Now hopefully we're keeping in mind the things we said with regard to fulfillment, the historical fulfillment, the duality fulfillment, and the historical fulfillment. The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, the priest. Remember, Hilkiah was the high priest, so Jeremiah is the son of high priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. Now, Anathoth was not necessarily the most desired land. It was close to Jerusalem, but it was in Benjamin. Remember that the southern kingdom consisted of two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah, the son of Ammon, king of Judah, in the 13th year of his reign. So to review once again, Hezekiah reigned from 715 to roughly 680-something, I believe. And then he was succeeded by Manasseh, who reigned quite a long time, some 50 years, and then Ammon, who reigned part of two years. And then Josiah came on the scene at the age of eight. So in the 13th year of the reign of Josiah, which means that Josiah would be 21 years old, it came also in the days of Jeholachim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the 11th year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month. Now, if you look at the list of the kings of Israel, some people—I made a little mnemonic device to remember that after Josiah, there were four kings of Israel, and most of them reigned as some of them only three months. There was Jehoah Has, and there was Jehoachim, and there was Jehoachin, and there was Zedekiah. And so Has, Kim, Chinn, Zed—that's how you remember those four last kings of Judah. Once again, Has, Hasakiah, and then Jehoachim, Jehoachin, and Zedekiah—Has, Kim, Chinn, Zed. So there were four kings after the reign of Josiah, but when Jeremiah came on the scene, it was in the time of Jehoachim, and Jehoah Has had already disappeared from the scene. So Jehoachim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, to the end of the 11th year of Zedekiah. See, Zedekiah reigned for 11 years, and Zedekiah tried to fool the Babylonians and pretend that he was going to go along with them, and yet at the end rebel. And so he was eventually taken captive, and they did bad things to him. So Zedekiah was the last king of Judah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and to the carrying away of Jerusalem, captive in the fifth month. Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Behold, I formed you. Before I formed you in the belly, I knew you, and before you came forth out of the womb, I sanctified you. In other words, I set you apart, and he had the Holy Spirit from birth, and I ordained you a prophet under the nations before he was born. Now notice that a prophet to the nations, though he primarily prophesied in Judah, and the direct prophecy was to Judah to a large degree, but it also included the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord God, behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child.

And so exactly what age he was, I don't know for sure, very young, somewhere late teens or early twenties, but the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child, for you shall go to all that I shall send you, and whatsoever I command you, you shall speak. Now just consider this if you... Now one of the things about reading about prophecy and prophets and leaders, put yourself in the shoes of Jeremiah, that here God is speaking to you, and you are just a young person, and you're trying to sort it out. Is this really God speaking to me? What am I going to do? But he was reassured time after time by God. Ezekiel was warned in the same way with regard to this, don't be afraid like this next verse, be not afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you, says the eternal. You know, there's a time coming when that time is, we talk about duality of prophecy, in which you should be brought by before kings and governors and dignitaries, and you shall be questions, and you will have to give a testimony, and those who give the testimony truly will be spared, and those who recant, I hate to think what might think of them, but there's a time coming in which those who are alive at that time will face a similar kind of situation, and you remember that the scriptures say in Matthew 24, that you shall be hated of all nations. So in James, James 4 says that if the love of the world is in you, the love of God is not in you.

And I am paraphrasing, of course, but that is the essence of what is said. So the time comes in which those who do not believe are greatly challenged by those who speak for God. And here we have an example of one who did Jeremiah. Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. Remember what it says in Luke, they shall bring you before the kings, and so on. Think not what you shall say, because I will give you the words to speak, so that you cannot even be rebutted, and not be able to rebut what you have to say. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms to root out, to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. More over the words of the Lord came into me saying, Jeremiah, what do you see? And I said, I see the rod of an almond tree.

Well, an almond tree blooms out of season. Almond trees have been known to bloom in January, whereas normally an almond tree would bloom, or most trees would bloom in the springtime. And so, Jeremiah was called, as Paul said about himself, he might say, out of season. Then said the Lord unto me, you have seen well, for I will hasten my word to perform it. In other words, I'm going to be with you, even though it may not be the season, I'm going to be with you. And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, what do you see? And I said, I see a seething plot, and the face thereof is toward the north. And that, of course, implies the direction from which the enemy would come. The enemy being Babylon to the north, which is modern-day Iraq. Of course, Baghdad is the capital of Iraq. I think Baghdad, in some language, maybe I... maybe it's Arabic, it has something to do with the house of God. You know, Saddam Hussein was trying to restore the Babylon to the glory that it had in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, so all the nations would look toward Babylon, but he was taken out in the war against him. Then the Lord said unto me, out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land, for I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, said the Lord, and they shall come, and they shall set everyone his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah. So a great besieging of the cities of Judah, and they had allies with them, and I will utter my judgments against them, touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worship the works of their hands. And of course, when you look at duality, this kind of judgment is eventually going to come upon the nations and all nations. Look at Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah 31 is the chapter that also has a part about the the New Covenant.

Jeremiah 31 at that time says the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. Thus says the Lord, the people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness, even Israel, when I went to cause them to rest. And so this chapter has a lot to do with the nations being restored back into the land. But before they are restored back into the land, God is going to plead with all flesh and ask them to return to him. And Jeremiah also spoke of that, of them pleading for them to repent and to turn to God, especially Judah.

Now we're back at chapter 30. The Word of it came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, write you all the words that have spoken in a book. For the days come says the Lord that I will bring back again the captivity of my people Israel, and return them to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. Once again, speaking of restoration of Israel. Now look at verse 7. The last for the day is great, so that none is lucky. It is even the time of Jacob's trouble. Now it goes to the time in which the great tribulation after the abomination of desolation is placed. It shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord of hosts, that I will break the yoke from off your neck, and his yoke from off your neck, and will burst your bonds, and strangers will no more serve themselves of you. So those chapters give you the assurance of God's restoration, but he pleads with all flesh, and all flesh will have a warning. Of course, there will be warnings from many sides. There will be the the two witnesses. There will be the three angels' messages, and hopefully there will be warnings from us in our day. So let's go back to chapter one and continue. Verse 16, chapter 116, and I will utter my judgments against him, touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and to burn incense unto other gods, and worship the works of their own hands. You therefore gird up your loins and arise, and speak unto them all that I command you. Be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound you before them. In other words, you can't be afraid. If you show up and you're afraid, and you show it, then God is going to let it be known that you are afraid. So you have to be bold. You have to stand your ground. You have to do what God has called you to do. Now, where would you find a place in which God tells us to gird up our loins? When Paul writes to Timothy, he writes to him about girding up your loins. Let's see. I don't have this in my notes. I probably can remember. I think it's 1 Timothy.

Let's look at 1 Timothy now, in which we are admonished to gird up our loins.

In 1 Timothy chapter 1, I believe it is.

Oh, my eye doesn't fall on it right now. It talks about girding up your loins. 1 Peter 1 13. Oh, it's 1 Peter?

1 Peter 1 13. Wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the divine favor that is grace, that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1 14. So when Jeremiah is told the same thing to gird up your loins, don't show any fear. Show them that you're not afraid, as obedient children not fashioning yourselves according to the former lust in your ignorance. So when you're gird up your loins, it means girding up your whole being. Back to verse 18 now in Jeremiah. For behold, I have made you this day a defense city in an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah. Remember, Jeremiah was on the scene during the reign of five kings, Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoakim, Jehoachin, and Zedekiah. I challenge you to say all five of those real fast. Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoakim, Jehoachin, and Zedekiah. That's a good tongue twister for those of you who are practicing your speech.

And they shall fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you. And what verse do you think of in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, when you read this verse? Quickly, somebody tell me. What verse do you think of?

Notice what it says. For I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you. You might think of three or four verses, but I think immediately of Romans 8.31. If God be for you, who can be against you? Or you go to Hebrews 13, I think it's verse 5, says, I will never leave you, I will never forsake you. Or you go to Matthew 11, cast all your care on him, my burden is light, my yoke is easy. And verse Peter, where it says that cast all your care on him, for he cares for you. Continuing chapter 2, moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, thus says the Lord, I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your espousals, when you went after me in the wilderness and a land that was not sown. Of course, if you read Ezekiel 16, it shows you the condition that Israel was in when God, in essence, found them in the wilderness, cleaned them up, and made him theirs. I'm not going to turn to Ezekiel 16 and read that, but you would want to put that in your notes and read Ezekiel 16 that shows you the condition that Israel was in when God found them in the wilderness and they began to seek him. They were in the condition, the analogy in Ezekiel 16 is that they were like a newborn, had when a newborn is born and has not been cleaned up.

Israel was holiness unto the Lord and the first fruits of his increase. All that devour him shall offend, shall evil come upon them, says the Lord. Hear you the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the familes of the house of Israel. Now, when you read that, you're talking about all 12 tribes. Hear you the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob. Jacob is, this is a parallelism which the prophets often use. Jacob is oftentimes used as a synonym for all 12 tribes because Jacob was the father of the 12 tribes. The 12 sons who became the 12 tribes, and then the 12 tribes who became the nation of Israel. So, house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord, What iniquity have your fathers found in me that they're gone far from me and have walked after vanity, that which is temporary does not last, is corruptible, and passes away, that have become vain?

Neither said they, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through and where no man dwelt. So, what he's doing is admonishing them to look back at their history of what all that God has brought them through. And we might do that in our lives. And in recent times, that's one of the things that I have been doing. I've been going back even to my boyhood, childhood, in which if God, if it weren't for the grace of God, some of the things that maybe I thought that I did, if God had not been with me and protecting me during those times, who knows what might have happened? And all through the years, we can look at the hand of God in our eye, in our past, and be comforted by what he has done in the past. And that's what Jeremiah is admonishing Israel to do. Look, I found you. You were like a newborn. I cleaned you up. I delivered you into the promised land. Look at all the things that were done. The priest said not, verse 7, I brought you into a plentiful country to eat the fruit thereof, all the way to the promised land, and the goodness thereof. But when you entered, you defile my land, and my heritage became an abomination. You made my heritage an abomination. The priest said not, where is the Lord? And they that handle the law knew me not. The pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal. You remember going all the way back to the days of Elijah and the showdown of the prophets of Baal that was in the days of Elijah, recorded back in the Kings, and walked after the things that do not profit. And so remember that there was a restoration for a short period of time under Hezekiah. Then Manasseh came on the scene. Evil. Ammon came on the scene. Now Josiah does a restoration. So basically, both Israel and Judah walked in the way of idolatry and spiritual harlotry. And the reason that God delivered them was, of course, God's promise was at stake, that He would bring them into the land, that He would send a Messiah and everything that God had promised. Wherefore will I yet plead with you, says the Eternal? And with your children's children will I plead, or pass over the isles of Kitim? Kitim is thought to be the modern-day Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean, and see and send a Kidar and consider diligently and see if there be such a thing. In other words, look back and see if there's ever been a nation that had a God that did the things that I have done for you.

If you can show me that nation, bring it forth, is in essence what is being said. Verse 11, Has a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. No, on the U.S. currency it says, in God we trust. And when Congress meets in session, both the House and the Senate, they are, the Chaplains, says a pre-prepared prayer that the rest of the land cannot pray in public and cannot beseech God. And today, when anyone mentions the name of God, they're immediately become a prey of the liberal progressives, for lack of a better term.

Oh, you heavens, be astonished, oh, you heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid. Be very desolate, says the Lord. For my people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters. You know, Jesus Christ said in John 7 on that last great day of the Feast, the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles, when the hell, the water ceremony, out of my belly shall flow rivers of living water. And the living water symbolizes the Spirit of God, and hewn them out cisterns, in contrast broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

They can't even hold physical water, much less spiritual. And hewn them out cisterns. Verse 14, is Israel a servant? Is he a home-born slave? Why is he spoiled? The young lions roared upon him and yelled, and they made his land waste, his cities are burned without inhabitant. And the children of Nap and Tophanes have broken the crown of your head.

Speaking of Egypt, have you not procured this unto yourself, in that you have forsaken the Lord your God, when he led by the way? And now what have you to do in the way of Egypt to drink the waters of Sihor? Or what have you to do in the way of Assyria? See, this prophecy is to all 12 tribes. Assyria took the northern ten tribes astray. Verse 19, your own wickedness shall correct you, and your backsliding shall reprove you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that you have forsaken the Lord your God.

And then my fear is not in you, says the Lord God of hosts. And see, that is what has happened to us, to the nation. Has it happened to us, the people of God, and the Church of God, those with the Spirit of God? See, the proper fear and reverence of God is to understand that He created you, and that He created you for the great transcendental purpose of being born into the family and the kingdom of God.

And that He has the power to give you life eternal, and He has the power to end your life, to destroy your soul, your life essence, your life potential, and get a head of fire, which is the second death. Verse 20, for of old time, I have broken your yoke and burst your bands, and you said, I will not transgress. In other words, there were several times in the history of Israel, in the history of the time of the Judges, and in the times even of Israel and Judah, that He delivered them.

And they would come back and say, oh, we're going to do right this time. We're going to repent. Went upon every high hill and under every green tree, you wandered, playing harlot, and you went back to that. Yet I had planted you a noble vine, holy a right seed. How then are you turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me? When God looks down at our nation today, in the nations of the world, what does He think? And recently, I gave a sermon, and I don't know how long ago it's been, but in recent times, what does God think of me?

Just think about that. What does God think of me? Right now. For though you wash you with nitra and make you much and take you much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before me, says the eternal God. Of course, you can't wash off wickedness through soap and water. It is through the help and the Spirit of God through repentance. How can you say, I am not deleted? I have not gone after Balaam. See the way in the valley. Know what you have done.

You are a swift dramatary. Dramatary is a word for camel, transversing her ways. A wild donkey used to the wilderness that sniffed up the wind at her pleasure. In her occasion, who can turn her away? So when the donkey is in season, of course, the jacks go after her and nothing can turn them back. And that's the way the nation is right now. It's the way that Israel and Judah were at that time. It's the way the U.S. is now. All they that seek her will not weary themselves in her month.

They shall find her. Withhold your foot from being unshod and your throat from thirst. But you said, there is no hope, no, for I have loved strangers and after them will I go. As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed. But you know today, no one is ashamed. No one is ashamed of what they do. Shame is a word that is parted from the land.

That their kings are princes and their priests and their prophets. Saying to a stock, you aren't my father. In other words, to an idol, to something made out of wood, hay, stubble, stone. That's what a stock is, an idol. You aren't my father and to a stone, you have brought me forth. For they have turned their back unto me and not their face. But in the time of their trouble, they will say, arise and save us. Now see, there is coming a time, and Hosea addresses this time, and maybe we should go there. We're going to finish this chapter and then we'll be through tonight. But let's go to Hosea.

Hosea chapter 4.

Maybe it's 5. Yeah, I want 5. Hosea chapter 4.

Very similar to what we're reading in Jeremiah. Hosea 5 verse 10. Hosea 5 verse 10. The princes of Judah, the leaders of Judah, were like them that removed the bound. Therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water. Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment because he willingly walked after vanity. The commandment is not a correct translation in the old King James. Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and you know what a moth does? It eats up into the house of Judah as rottenness. When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah saw his womb, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian and sent to King Jacob, to King Jerim. Yet could he not heal you nor cure you of your womb. For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion and a young lion to the house of Judah. I even I will tear and go away. I will take away and none shall rescue him. So there comes a time, and that's the time that came for Judah in the days of Jeremiah. And Jeremiah, do you know what Jeremiah was basically prophesying? I haven't yet said that tonight. What God eventually told Jeremiah to do was to tell them to willingly surrender to the Babylonians, do what they said to do, don't fight it. Because God said, I have had it. I'm bringing my judgment upon them. But they fought it to the end, and they didn't listen to Jeremiah. They accused him of being a traitor because he said you should submit to the Babylonians because God has sent them on you. We'll see that as we go along. So here says, I will take away and none shall rescue him. So there comes a point of time in which God says, I'm going to turn my back on you. You have had it. But then, like in verse 15, I will go and return to my place till they acknowledge their offense and seek my face in their affliction. They will seek me early. And apparently that's talking about the Great Tribulation because you read in Revelation chapter see before the trumpet plays report out. It's chapter five that you see those standing the great multitude which no man could number. And the writer says, who are these, my Lord? And he says, these are they that came out of great tribulation.

In their affliction they will seek me early should be no chapter break. They will be saying, come and let us return unto the Lord, for he at torn he will heal us. He is smitten he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us and in the third day who will raise us up and we shall live in his sight. So there comes a time in which God says, look, I'm leaving you to your own devices. And it seems that the U.S. is on the border of that. Of course, there are still voices in the land that cry out. Now we go back to verse 28. We'll pick it up again in Jeremiah 2. We'll go to the end of the chapter. Where are your gods that you have made? Let them arise if they can save you in the time of your trouble. For according to the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah.

Wherefore will you plead with me? You all have transgressed against me, says the Lord. In vain have I smitten your children. They receive no correction. Your own sword hath devoured your prophets like a destroying lion. Remember what Jesus Christ said in Matthew 23, where he said, I said to you, prophets, and you killed every one of them. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I gather you together, even as a hen gathers her chicks together and puts them under her wings, but you would not?

In vain have I smitten your children. Verse 31, O generation, see you the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel, a land of darkness? Wherefore, say, my people, we are lords, we will come no more unto you. Can a maid forget her ornaments or bry her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number. Why trim you your way to seek love? Therefore, have you also taught the wicked ones your ways? And of course, evil and wickedness abounds them as being taught throughout the land. And the LGBTQ agenda will be enforced and taught in public schools and in daycare centers throughout the land, unabashedly and with no bounds.

Also in your skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor, innocent. I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these. In other words, it's easy to see. Yet you said, because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with you, because you say I have not sinned. What gaddish you about so much to change your way? You also shall be ashamed of Egypt as you were ashamed of Assyria. Remember this as to the Twelve Tribes. Yes, you shall go forth from him and your hands up on your head. For the Lord hath rejected your competences, and you shall not prosper in them. So we have the first two chapters in which Jeremiah begins to take the nations to task, reminding them of what God has done for them in the future, I mean in the past. And why would they forget them for years on end and come to this sad state? You remember we read from Hosea that there does come a time in which God says, I've had it, and you can go your own way. And in their affliction it says in Hosea, they shall seek me early. Okay, that is our study for this evening. We will announce when the next study will be, and we will pick up with chapter 3. I mean this book of Jeremiah is so rich in so many different things. I think we shall be astounded, and you can see the unity of the Bible and how the things that Jeremiah faced are basically the same things that we in the nation are facing today. Okay, good evening, everyone! Thank you for joining us today. Thank you for attending. We'll see you next time.