Jeremiah 37:11-21

Hey, hey, good morning. Good morning. Welcome to coffee and devotions. This morning we are at Jeremiah 37 11- 21. Uh Nathan wasn't in here last time. Last time uh the king of Egypt, Pharaoh, had come up to help Zedekiah to fight against the Chaldans. Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar was the one who made this king in Jerusalem. He had kicked Jehoachin off his throne. Anyways, there's all this background baggage. Uh, and Jeremiah said, "No, look, even if the Chaldians leave, they're still going to come back and burn the city to the ground." So, that's where we'll pick up the rest of the story here. So, let's have some coffee. We'll pray. We'll get into God's word. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for your word. And Father, we pray that as we read your word that you would help us to understand, help us to get it in its original context, understand what it meant to the people at that time, but also Lord, we pray that then you would move it, that your spirit would teach us what we're to do, how we're supposed to live. Help us, God. We pray in Jesus's name. Amen. All right. Jeremiah 37, beginning at verse 11. And so we'll just do our normal paragraph talk, paragraph talk to get at the about. So, and it happened when the army of the Chaldanss, that's Babylonians, right? The army of the Chaldanss left the siege of Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army, that Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin to claim his property there among the people. And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there, whose name was Elijah, the son of Shalomiah, the son of Haniah. And he seized Jerusalem the or Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "You are defecting to the Chaldans." >> So So right. So the army of the Jaldanss are they're leaving because of fear of Pharaoh's army. And so Jeremiah, what's he about to do? >> He goes into Benjamin to buy his land. >> Yeah. Right. He He's bought land. He did it a while back. And now he's going to go claim that land. And so he's going to go, right? He's leaving the city. And what's this dude say? This this soldier, >> you're defecting the champions. >> Yeah. Right. Well, the they're leaving, so you must be going with them. You're defecting with them. What what does the effect? >> Uh like you're turning sides. You're you're surrendering over to the Babylonians. >> Then Jeremiah said false. I am not defecting to the Galatians. But he did not listen to him. So Uriah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the princes. Therefore the princes were angry with Jeremiah. They struck him and put him in prison. the house of Jonathan the God they had made that the prison. >> All right. So what's that section about? >> They but doesn't believe him. So he throws him in jail. >> Elijah >> Elriah doesn't believe him and he takes him to the princes and what do they do? >> Don't believe. >> Well, they beat him up and throw him in prison. Right. There's a guy. He's a scribe. They make his house to jail. Right. beat the Torah out of Jeremiah. They don't believe him that he's just going to go get the land that he has bought. All right. Uh when Jeremiah entered the dungeon in the cells and Jeremiah had remained there many days, then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out, the king asked him secretly uh the king asked him secretly, sorry, in his house and said, "Is there any word from the Lord?" And Jeremiah said, "There is." Then he said, "You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon." All right. So what happens there? >> The king like calls for Jeremiah. He's like, "Okay, okay. Just tell me my good news." Uh yeah, we've got news. Still going to be captured. >> Yeah, good. >> I don't think that was that answer. >> Well, let's see. And Jeremiah said, >> verse 18, "Moreover, >> Moreover, Jeremiah said to kings Zedekiah, what offense have I committed against you that your servants or against his people that you have put me in prison? Where now are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land. Therefore, please here now, oh my lord, please let my attention be accepted before you, and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan's scribe, lest I die there. >> Right. So, how does he finish up? >> You should probably listen to me. >> Well, yeah, right. A couple things, right? You should have listened to me. Where's the prophets who said that it was going to come back? Why am I here? What's my crime? Right? That's what he's he's appealing to the king for justice, right? Please let my petition be accepted before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there. Don't put me in prison. I told you the truth where all those other lying scribe or those lying prophets. Let me go home. Don't make me die in the prison. Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah to the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread from the baker's street until all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. All right. So what's that part saying? >> He's in prison, but he's a nice prison. >> Yeah. It's like going from like the worst jail to like federal jail, right? where it's like, okay, low-level offense type thing. So, he's not going to just let him go. Interestingly, though, what does he make sure he has? >> What? >> Bread, food. >> That's That's a big deal. >> It's a big deal because the city's being besieged. They're cutting off the food supply. The Babylonians are surrounding the city and cutting off all the food, >> which means the king is permanently de factoed. If we have one piece of bread left, that goes to Jeremiah. >> Yeah. So he's actually protecting Jeremiah by keeping him in prison, which >> yeah, it's crazy. Yeah. >> Yep. >> So what do you think is is this whole section about? >> Um >> if you were to summarize it in your own words, what's the main idea? >> The Chaldans are going to the Babylonians are going to come back and unless people are worried and stressed and bad and angry and worried. >> Yeah. Yeah, I might say like uh Jeremiah is thrown in prison but gets to plead his cause with the king and somehow weirdly being in jail actually ends up saving his life. >> Yeah, >> maybe something like that. I don't know. Let's go ahead and talk about be best first to to summarize this. If you were to underline one or two verses as the best to summarize this, what would you underline? Um 18 through 20 maybe. >> Yeah. >> Yeah, I think that's what I have underlined too. Good. Let's go ahead and talk about C calling. What are we called to do? >> Um I think we're called to This is complicated. This one's going to be really complicated. Um, I think that you could put this in a few different ways, but one of the things that kind of stood out to me was that where the I think one of the things that Jeremiah is trying to like get across is it's it's not that the Babylonians are just out to hit Jerusalem, but it's God's will that they're going to like it's going to happen. The punishment's going to happen. And then more and more you try to fight against it with all three ways, it it's just going to get worse and worse and worse. So I think Jeremiah is trying over time to get a point across that's not just a political play, >> but it's definitely trying to >> Okay. So maybe you're calling what you're saying is like submitting to God's will when there's even times of judgment. >> I think that that' probably be right. >> Okay. I think as I right there there's there's a few ways that we can see ourselves in different people, right? We can see ourselves in the role of Jeremiah when we're righteous and we may even say the things that God says and people misjudge our motives even though he was going to Benjamin to claim a property that he had rightly bought. And yet they're assuming the worst of him. People may assume the worst of us when because they don't like what we have said because the Lord has said it. Uh he gets beaten and thrown in prison because of his faith. I know Christians who have been beaten and thrown in prison because of their faith. Um and yet there's also times in which somehow wickedness and cruelty actually ends up somehow working out well. can even think of Jeremiah with Zedekiah, right? And he's actually being protected. He uses his rights as a citizen to confront the king. So I think there's something there for us in application, right? We should not just roll over on our backs and say, "Oh, I'm being persecuted for Christ and just let that be like, no, he argues his case why it's unjust." That's a good thing. But we could also see ourselves like Zedekiah. It's this weird thing, isn't it? where he's not listened to the Lord. And yet he's he's got this weird thing where sometimes he'll listen to the Lord and he'll even call for Jeremiah and want to talk to him stuff, but he's kind of like half-heartedly playing with the Lord, saying he's the king of Judah, saying he's one of God's chosen people, but yet not listening to the prophet wholly. >> Babylon put him in charge. >> Yeah. He's a vassal king of Nebuchadnezzar. And then he tried to rebel against >> And then he tries to rebel. He tries a politic. Yeah. He tries to get Egypt to come and help them fight against the Chaldans. And the Chaudians fled, but now they're back. Yeah. Yeah. And so my I what I'm saying is too often I find myself playing religion Yeah. rather than submitting to what the Lord has said. never works well, right? So, do you follow the Lord even though it may be costly, Jeremiah, or do you just kind of try to manipulate and maneuver and scheme your way through life, giving lip service to God, playing around with him, but not actually submitting. Ready to pray? >> Yep. All right. God, we pray that we would trust you. You are the King of Kings. And Father, we pray that we would indeed be a salt and a light. That if trials or persecution or suffering comes, we pray that we would know how to respond to this well. But Lord, we pray that you would give us the courage to speak the truth no matter what might be popular at the moment. Father, please teach us and help us to walk in your ways. Give us your spirit. We pray in Jesus's name. Amen. Well, may the Lord bless you. May you walk in the joy and peace of Jesus. And we'll see you next time. Bye >> bye.