The Ambassador Group

Jeremiah

00. Jeremiah: Introduction

Welcome to an in-depth exploration of the Book of Jeremiah, written by Imre Tokic, PhD, LLD, edited for audio and produced by the Ambassador Group.

Our narrators for this exploration are Byron Phillips and Lynette Newhart.

Let's learn about the primary contributor to these explorations.

The primary contributor for our explorations in the book of Jeremiah is Imre Tokic, PhD, who is the head of the Old Testament Department at the Adventist Theological College in Pesel, Hungary.

He is a professor of Old Testament and Jewish religious sciences and also has a Doctor of Law, LLD degree.

And now, let's learn about a key phrase in the book of Jeremiah.

Biblical Hebrew, like most languages, is sprinkled with idioms, words, or phrases that mean something different from what they immediately say.

An example is miyatayn, which is composed of 2 Hebrew words, mi, which is the interrogative who, and yitayn, which means will give.

In the Hebrew Bible, this phrase expresses the idea of a wish, of a desire, of Someone wanting something badly.

For example, after their escape from Egypt, the children of Israel, facing challenges in the wilderness, exclaimed, If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt.

The phrase, if only, came from me-y-tayn.

In Psalms 14 and verse 7, David utters, Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion.

The Hebrew doesn't say, O, it says, Me-y-tayn.

In Job 6, 8, when Job exclaims, O that I might have my request, O is from Me-y-tayn.

Another occurrence appears, this time in Deuteronomy 5, verse 29.

Going over the history of God's providences, Moses reminds the children of Israel about their request that he, Moses, taught the Lord for them lest they die.

According to Moses, the Lord, pleased with their request, then said, Oh, that there were such an heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my commandments always.

The word translated O, yes, it is me-y-tain.

Here is the Lord, the Creator God, the 1 who made space, time, and matter, the 1 who spoke our world into existence, the 1 who breathed into Adam the breath of life, uttering a phrase generally associated with the weakness and limitations of humanity.

Talk about the limits of what God can do in the midst of the great controversy.

This use of me attain reveals that even God won't trample on free will, because the moment he did, it would no longer be free.

Now if ever 1 book of the Old Testament revealed the reality of God's desire for humans to obey him and the human tendency not to, it would be the book of Jeremiah, the topic of our exploration.

Set against the background of great geopolitical changes in the ancient Near East, the book of Jeremiah recounts the ministry and message of the prophet as he, with passion and faithfulness, preached God's message to a people who, for the most part, didn't want to hear it.

Starting with the Prophet's call, the book takes us through decades of biblical history as the Lord used this young and then old man to proclaim the basic truths that have been the foundation of the biblical message from the beginning.

And of all the spiritual truths taught in the book, These words catch the essence of so much of what the Lord seeks from his people.

Thus says the Lord, Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, Let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts, boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth.

For in these things I delight, declares the Lord." Jeremiah 9, verses 23 and 24.

To read the book of Jeremiah is to take a journey, a spiritual journey that goes back and forth from the lowest depths of human depravity to the heights and grandeur and majesty of the Lord, The Lord who from those heights cries out to all of us, even in our fallen state, Mi-y-tayn, that such a heart would be in you.

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01. Jeremiah: The Prophetic Calling of Jeremiah

Welcome to an in-depth exploration of the Book of Jeremiah Written by Imre Tokic, Ph.D., LLD Edited for audio and produced by The Ambassador Group Exploration 1 The Prophetic Calling of Jeremiah Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.

I ordained you a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1, verse 5.

We know more about the life of Jeremiah than we do about any other Old Testament prophet.

The biographical facts in his book help us understand better his work as a prophet.

Jeremiah had such an effect on history that even at the time of Jesus, he was a revered prophetic figure.

At the same time, the prophet's work, judged by human standards, shows only slight success.

Despite decades of fervent warning and pleadings, the people for the most part didn't listen to the messages he gave them from the Lord.

Nevertheless, despite the opposition, Jeremiah could not be bought or sold.

He stood as a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall, Jeremiah 1 verse 18, not in his own strength but in the Lord's.

Jeremiah's lot in life wasn't a happy 1 in many ways.

His Calling brought him suffering, woe, rejection, even imprisonment.

Worse still was the fact that so many of these troubles came from the very ones whom he was seeking to help, seeking to point in the right direction.

So in his own way, Jeremiah prefigured what Jesus himself would face hundreds of years later in the same land.

You The Prophets The Prophets, according to their calling, were determined protectors of God's law.

They stood on the ground of the covenant and the 10 Commandments.

Jeremiah 11, verses 2-6 Hear the words of this covenant, or solemn pledge, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Say to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, Cursed is the man who does not heed the words of this covenant or solemn pledge, which I commanded your fathers at the time that I brought them out of the land of Egypt from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do according to all that I command you, so will you be my people, and I will be your God, that I may perform the oath which I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.' Then I answered, Amen.

So be it, O Lord.' And the Lord said to me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem.

Hear the words of this covenant, or solemn pledge, and do them.

Micah chapter 3 verse 8 gives 1 summary of the prophet's work, which was to declare unto Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.

Romans 7, verse 7 reveals the concept of sin, of course, is meaningless apart from the law.

Nevertheless, if it had not been for the law, I should not have recognized sin or have known its meaning.

For instance, I would not have known about covetousness, would have had no consciousness of sin or sense of guilt, If the law had not repeatedly said, you shall not covet and have an evil desire for 1 thing and another.

What was the prophet's message to the people?

In what ways is that message the same to us today?

Let's consider 3 Old Testament scriptures and 1 from the New Testament.

If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land, Jeremiah 7, 5-7.

For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly and truly execute justice between every man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the transient and the alien, the fatherless and the widow, or shed innocent blood by oppression and by judicial murders in Jerusalem, or go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers, to dwell in forever.

Jeremiah chapter 7 verses 5-7 For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly and truly execute justice between every man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the transient and the alien, the fatherless and the widow, or shed innocent blood by oppression and by judicial murders in Jerusalem, or go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers, to dwell in for ever.

Ezekiel 18 23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked?

And not rather that he should turn from his evil way and return to his God and live?

And Matthew chapter 3 verses 7 through 11.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee and escape from the wrath and indignation of God against disobedience that is coming?

Bring forth fruit that is consistent with repentance.

Let your lives prove your change of heart.

And do not presume to say to yourselves, we have Abraham for our forefather, for I tell you God is able to raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones.

And already the axe is lying at the root of the trees.

Every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

I indeed baptize you in and with water, because of repentance, that is because of your changing your minds for the better, heartily amending your ways with abhorrence of your past sins.

But he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy or fit to take off or carry.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." God's judgment was not inevitable, but it would come if the people did not turn from their evil ways.

Change, however, is not so easy, especially when people get accustomed to doing evil.

Who hasn't seen how people get used to the evil that at 1 time had appalled them.

The message of the prophets was to let people see just how bad their evil was, and what the consequences were of not turning away from it.

This message, of course, wasn't the prophet's.

The prophets do not mention how God's Word was revealed to them or how they heard it.

Other times, the Holy Spirit touched them in dreams or visions or perhaps through a still, small voice.

First Kings chapter 19 and verse 12 reports that was Prophet Elijah's encounter with God.

And after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.

And after the fire, a sound of gentle stillness and a still, small voice.

However their messages came to them, the prophets had a mission not only to transmit God's will to the common people, but also if need be, to deliver it before kings, emperors, and generals.

If they told the truth, these powerful people could kill them.

But if they did not represent the truth, God's judgment could also come upon them.

To be a prophet is a heavy calling, and from what we can tell from the Bible, those who were given that call took it seriously.

We can be glad they did, for their messages have come down to us in the Bible.

In that sense, their words still speak, even today.

The question now, as in Jeremiah's time, is the same.

What are the prophets, even after all this time, still telling us?

At the core, what is their basic message to God's people?

Jeremiah's Family Background First Kings chapter 1 and First Kings 2 verse 26 reveal the background story of what led to the exile of Abathar to his home in Anathoth.

1 Kings chapter 1 Listen for the name of Abathar.

And King David was old and advanced in years.

They covered him with bedclothes, but he could not get warm.

So his servants, the physicians, said to him, let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin, and let her wait on and be useful to the king.

Let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may get warm.

So they sought a fair maiden through all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king.

The maiden was beautiful, and she waited on and nursed him, but the king had no intercourse with her.

Then Adonijah, son of David's wife, Haggith, exalted himself, saying, I, the eldest living son, will be king.

And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, with 50 men to run before him.

David's father had never in his life displeased him by asking, Why have you done so?

He was also a very attractive man, and was born after Absalom.

He conferred with Joab son of Zerui, David's half-sister, and with Abiathar the priest, and they followed Adonijah and helped him.

But Zadok the priest, Banea son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Re and David's mighty men did not side with Adonijah.

Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside the wall in Erogel, and he invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the royal officials of Judah.

But Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he did not invite.

Then Nathan said to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggath, reigns, and David our Lord does not know it?

Come now, let me advise you how to save your own life and your son Solomon's.

Go to King David and say, Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?' Why then does Adonijah reign?

Behold, while you are still talking there with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words." So Bathsheba went into the king in his chamber.

Now the king was very old and feeble, And Abishag, the Shunammite, was ministering to him.

Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance to the king.

And she said to him, My lord, you swore by the Lord your God to your handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and sit upon my throne.

And now, behold, Adonijah is reigning, and my lord the king, you do not know it.

He has sacrificed oxen, and fatlings, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king's sons and Abathah the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he did not invite Solomon your servant.

Now my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after you.

Otherwise, when my Lord the King shall sleep with his fathers, I and my son Solomon shall be counted as offenders." While she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in.

The king was told, here is Nathan the prophet.

And when he came before the king, he bowed himself before him with his face to the ground.

02. Jeremiah: The Crisis Within and Without

Welcome to another in-depth exploration in the Book of Jeremiah, written by Imre Tokic, Ph.D., LLD, edited for audio and produced by the Ambassador Group.

Exploration 2 The Crisis Within and Without Israel was holiness to the Lord, the first fruits of His increase.

All that devour him will offend, disaster will come upon them, says the Lord.

Jeremiah 2 3 The New King James Version If we could pick 1 word to describe the human condition since the fall, it would be crisis.

The extent of which can be best understood by what it took to get us out of the crisis.

Look at the extreme measure needed to solve it.

All through the Bible, many stories took place against the backdrop of 1 crisis or another.

The situation during the time of Jeremiah and his ministry was no different.

God's people faced many challenges, both from within and from without.

Unfortunately, despite the terrible military threat from foreign powers, in many ways the greatest crisis came from within.

Within meant not just a corrupt leadership and corrupt priesthood, which were bad enough, but within was in the sense of people whose hearts had been so hardened and damaged by sin and apostasy that they refused to heed the warnings that God was sending them, warnings that could have spared them from disaster.

Sin is bad enough, but when you refuse to turn away from it.

A Quick History When the Israelites had finally entered the Promised land, after years of wandering in the wilderness, it wasn't long before troubles began.

All it took was for a new generation to arise, 1 that didn't know the Lord, Judges 2 verse 10, And a spiritual crisis started that in many ways infected the nation all through its history.

It's a problem that, indeed, has infected the Christian church as well.

Let's listen to Judges chapter 2, verses 1 through 15.

As you listen to these verses, answer this two-part question.

What caused the crisis and How was it made manifest?

Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochem, and he said, I brought you up from Egypt and have brought you to the land which I swore to give to your fathers, and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.

And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land, but you shall break down their altars.

So now I say, I will not drive them out from before you, but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you." When the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the Israelites, the people lifted up their voice and wept.

They named that place Bochim, Weepers, and they sacrificed there to the Lord.

And when Joshua had let the people go, the Israelites went every man to his inheritance to possess the land.

And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord which he did for Israel.

And Joshua, son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being 110 years old, and they buried him within the boundary of his inheritance in Timnat-Hedez, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Geash.

And all that generation were gathered to their fathers, and there arose another generation after them, who did not know, recognize, understand the Lord, or even the work which he had done for Israel.

And the people of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals.

And they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt.

They went after other gods of the peoples round about them, and bowed down to them, and provoked the Lord to anger.

And they forsook the Lord and served Baal the God worshipped by the Canaanites and the Ashtoreth, female deities such as Ashtoreth and Asherah.

So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them into the power of plunderers who robbed them And he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so they could no longer stand before their foes.

Whenever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn to them and they were bitterly distressed.

In the New International Version, verse 11 says, Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

Each generation, 1 after the other, moved 1 step further from God until the nation was being exactly what the Lord had told them not to do.

Due to their sin, they faced 1 crisis after another.

But even then, the Lord had not given up on them.

Judges chapter 2 verse 16 tells that the Lord sent them judges who delivered them from their immediate woes.

But the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hands of those who robbed them.

After the era of the judges, the nation entered a time of relative peace and prosperity under what has been called the United Monarchy.

The rule of Saul, David, and Solomon, which lasted about 100 years.

Under David, then Solomon, it grew into a regional power.

After the death of Solomon about 931 BC, the nation split into 2 factions, Israel in the north and Judah in the south.

Much of the blame can be placed on the misguided rule of Solomon, who, for all his wisdom, made numerous mistakes.

The tribes had long suffered grievous wrongs under the oppressive measures of their former ruler.

The extravagance of Solomon's reign during his apostasy had led him to tax the people heavily and to require of them much menial service.

White wrote those words in her book entitled Prophets and Kings, page 88 and 89.

Things were never the same again for God's chosen nation.

Everything the Lord had warned them not to do, They did, and thus they reaped the depressing, distressing, and painful consequences.

Think about the problem of the next generation not having the values and beliefs of the 1 before it.

How have we as a church approached and handled this issue?

How can we learn to transmit our values to those who follow us.

The 2 Kingdoms The 2 Kingdoms After the division of the nation, Things went from bad to worse.

In the Northern Kingdom, King Jeroboam made some terrible spiritual choices that had a long-lasting impact for evil.

Listen to 1 Kings chapter 12, verses 26 through 31 with this question in mind.

What does this glimpse of Old Testament biblical history indicate to you about how immediate circumstances can so blind your judgment.

Jeroboam said in his heart, now the kingdom will return to the house of David.

If this people goes up to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to sacrifice, then the heart of this people will turn again to their Lord, to Rehoboam, king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam, king of Judah." So the king took counsel and made 2 calves of gold and he said to the people It is too much for you to go all the way up to Jerusalem Behold your gods Oh Israel who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

And he set the 1 golden calf in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.

And this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship each of them even as far as Dan.

Jeroboam also made houses on high places and made priests of people who were not Levites.

The king's introduction of idolatrous worship helped set the nation on a disastrous course.

The apostasy introduced during Jeroboam's reign became more and more marked, until finally it resulted in the utter ruin of the Kingdom of Israel.

White in her book, Prophets and Kings, page 107.

In the 12th year of Ahaz, king of Judah, Hosea, son of Elah, began his nine-year reign in Samaria over Israel.

He did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not as Israel's kings before him did.

Against him came up Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, and Hosea became his servant and brought him tribute.

But the king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to sow king of Egypt and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria as he had done year by year.

Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison.

Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land and went up to Samaria and besieged it for 3 years.

In the ninth year of them in Hala and in Habor by the river of Gozan and in the cities of the Medes.

This was so because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt and they had feared other gods.

In 722 BC Shalmaneser king of Assyria put an end to the country and deported its inhabitants to different parts of his empire.

There was no turning back from this exile.

For a time, Israel disappeared from history.

Things weren't as bad in the southern kingdom, at least not yet, but they weren't great either.

And, as with the northern kingdom, the Lord sought to spare these people from the calamity that the Northern Kingdom faced, only now from the threat of the Babylonians.

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Jeremiah

06. Jeremiah: Symbolic Acts

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