Jeremiah 22:11-23

Hey, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This morning we are at Jeremiah chapter 22, 11 through 23. We got two kings that Jeremiah is talking to. They're sons of Josiah, and he's got some stuff to say to them. So let's have some coffee, pray, and we'll get into God's word.
Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for what a blessing it is that we get to read your word. We thank you for the joy of your salvation. And Father, we pray that as we read your word this morning, that your Holy Spirit would indeed instruct us. We know that you lead us into truth. You have left us with your word. And so, Father, we pray that we would both read and understand what we read.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right, Jeremiah chapter 22, beginning at verse 11. Here we go. For thus says the Lord concerning Shalom, the son of Josiah. By the way, Shalom is another name for Jehoahaz. All right, so Jehoahaz, the son of Judah, Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah, his father, who went from this place. He shall not return here anymore, but he shall die in the place where they have led him captive and shall see this land no more.
Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness and his chambers by injustice, who uses his neighbor's service without wages and gives him nothing for his work, who says, I will build myself a wide house with spacious chambers and cut out windows for it, paneling it with cedar and painting it with vermilion. Shall you reign because you enclose yourself with cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy. Then it was well. Was not this knowing me, says the Lord? Yet your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness, for shedding innocent blood and practicing oppression and violence. Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, They shall not lament for him, saying, Alas, my brother! or, Alas, my sister! They shall not lament for him, saying, Alas, my master! or, Alas, his glory!
He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey, dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem. Go up to Lebanon and cry out, and lift up your voice in Bashan. Cry from Abram, for all your lovers are destroyed. I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you said, I will not hear. This has been your matter from your youth, that you did not obey my voice. The wind shall eat up all your rulers and your lovers shall go into captivity. Surely then you will be ashamed and humiliated for all your wickedness. Oh, inhabitant of Lebanon, making your nest in the cedars, how gracious will you be when pangs come upon you like the pangs of a woman in labor. Well, we need to ask ourselves three questions. A, what's this about? B, what's the best verse to summarize this? And C, what are we called to do? So what is this about?
Well, Jeremiah is going to speak to two kings. He's going to speak to Jeconiah as well as to Jehoiakim. Sorry, Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim. The two kings of Josiah. Josiah was that king who had wonderful religious and political reform and these are his descendants and he's saying to them, right, what you've done is wrong. And so notice the prophecies that he gives, right, in verses 13 through 17.
He says, you act like a king. But you're a king because of unrighteousness, right? You panel your houses with cedar, right? With luxurious wood imported from Lebanon, right? You've made for yourself palaces, but you've done it through unrighteousness. You hired people to come do it, but you didn't give them their wages. You act like you're this princely prince, but it's all a fraud. Because you don't actually love justice and righteousness, mercy and truth. You haven't loved the Lord, you've loved yourself.
Gilded. Right? Do you know what gilding is? Right? So something gilded is... Actually, maybe you can see the Bible. Let's see. How can I do this? Right here. So Nathan's Bible right there. Nathan's Bible has gilt edges, right? So Daniel the other day was like, Dad, is that gold on Nathan's Bible? Is it worth a lot of money? I was like, the Bible, it's just a Bible, but it's not actual gold on there. It's just made to look like gold. And so gilding is right whether it's real gold or something that looks like gold and it's just very very thin It's it's put on on top of something to make it look like it's pure gold And this is a gilded kingdom It's this Jehoahaz's kingdom is not one that's pure gold, but it's just looks fancy, but it's actually not of much value eternally And then Jehoah has, Jehoiakim, sorry, Jehoiakim in the second part, 18 through 22.
Man, this guy, God says, you're not even gonna be remembered. You're gonna have the burial of a donkey. So much immorality, so much unrighteousness, so much lack of devotion to God and to people. He says, you're gonna be destroyed, for all your lovers are destroyed. I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you said, I will not hear. This is pride. He says, you've always been this way. This has been your manner from your youth that you did not obey my voice. So he says, you're going to go into captivity and you're going to die there. Nobody's going to care. Nobody's going to mourn, nobody's going to be grief-stricken. So this is what he's got to say to these two different kings, these sons of Josiah, right? But what's the best verse to summarize this? B, what's the best verse? In my Bible, I have verse 15 and 16 underlined. Verse 15 and 16.
Shall you reign because you enclose yourself with cedar? Did not your father eat and drink? By the way, that's Josiah. Did not Josiah eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy. Then it was well. was not this knowing me, says Jehovah.
I think that's where we get to see calling. What are we called to do? What is true religion? Caring for the orphan, the widow in their distress. Are we wanting to see in our day and age a kingdom that's actually established in righteousness, in justice, mercy, and humility. Not in self-aggrandizing, shallow shows of power and grandeur, but in actually dwelling with God.
And Jesus said, if you abide in me, you'll bear much good fruit. We long to see in our day and age those who lead us abiding in Christ and bearing fruit that looks like Christ, not looks like the strong men of our imagination or the heroes of our past, but those who look like Christ.
Maybe there's even this phrase that goes around like, well, I'm not voting in a preacher. I'm voting in a president. Right. And so they're going, how about somebody who actually going to bless the nation by being a courageous man of the Lord, principled. And this is not speaking to our current president or the past president or whatever. Right. I'm speaking in general here. Right. So please don't turn me off. Just feel like I got listened to too much CNN or, Oh, he listens to too much Fox news. No, I'm talking about in principle here. Right.
In general, Do we see those who are wanting to be like Christ? It starts with us in our hearts. It starts with us raising our boys, raising our girls, raising our children, and even with us wanting to be like Christ. That's how we get to that place that we want and it starts with the reform in my heart and my family. It starts with us wanting those things that God tells us and then seeking the good of the nation.
Not a veneer, not a thin veneer or a gild that just makes it look like this is getting better, but true substance. Because somebody's clinging on to Christ. Now we don't put our trust in earthly princes, right? They're always going to let us down. But Josiah lets us down at some points. He's not a perfect image of Christ. He's a type of Christ, but he's not a perfect image of him.
He gives us hope of the coming Messiah, the hope of the King of Judah, who would come in and sit on his throne forever, of the throne of King David. And so, even though we want these things, we don't put our hope in somehow the perfection of this actually happening. That's what we strive for until the coming of Christ Jesus, and we see it first happen in our homes and in the church. And we pray that statesmen would come up, that good citizens would come up, those who are pursuing what Christ loves, because they abide in Him. Let's go ahead and pray.
God, we pray, and I don't just pray for people out there, but for my own heart, Lord, that you would teach me and other fathers and husbands to abide in you, that we might be strong in the Lord, that we might indeed lead our families with godly wisdom, principled, imitating Christ, not a Jesus of our own imagination, but that we would look at who you tell us we ought to be with the divine imperatives, with those commands that we see in the New Testament, those things we're to put off and things we're to put on, the works of righteousness that you have prepared for us to do.
And we pray, Lord, that we would actually do them. And God, we pray that you would turn the hearts of the fathers unto their children. Pray for myself, Lord, God, please let fathers pour into their sons or into their children to teach them the wonderful ways of your kingdom. Lord, we pray that you would please even work in the hearts of our leaders in this country, whether they be judges locally or nationally, Father, whether they're senators or state lawmakers, Lord, whether they are the president, the vice president, or our governors, Lord, we pray that you would please let us have the true gold. Lord, we pray that we would see the day in which Jesus Christ would be proclaimed King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We pray for our lawmakers, our judges, those appointed over us, that they might know Jesus Christ truly and walk in His ways.
But Father, no matter what they are doing in the state capitol, in the town hall building, or in Washington, D.C., we pray that we would walk before You, that we would love You, that we would not abandon Your ways. to follow the own dictates of our hearts. Help us, God, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen. Oh, may God bless you. May you walk in the joy and peace of Jesus. May you remain, abide in Jesus Christ, and bear much good fruit. I'll see you next time. Bye.