{"id":1744,"date":"2014-08-21T07:03:29","date_gmt":"2014-08-21T14:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/?p=1744"},"modified":"2014-08-22T04:45:29","modified_gmt":"2014-08-22T11:45:29","slug":"jeremiah-2515-38","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/?p=1744","title":{"rendered":"Jeremiah 25:15-38"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jeremiah 25:15-38. \u00a0In yesterday\u2019s reading we saw that God had been warning the people for years about their unfaithfulness to Him.\u00a0 We saw repeatedly that they had actively not listened to God\u2019s messengers.\u00a0 We also saw that there are consequences for not honoring God with our lives.\u00a0 We also saw that God can<\/span> use the actions of others as those consequences.\u00a0 Notice that I underlined \u201ccan\u201d, we want to be careful in making everything that happens in life a direct action from God.\u00a0 If every human action is seen as a direct order from God then no human action can be labeled \u201csin\u201d.\u00a0 That is because \u201csin\u201d is disobedience to God, literally a \u201cmissing\u201d of His mark or target.\u00a0 We cannot say that God tells us not to do something and then causes us to do it (James 1:13-18).\u00a0 Yes God is ruler of the universe, or as scholars like to put it He is sovereign, but in his sovereignty He has chosen to give us the ability to make choices, and often we choose badly.\u00a0 Finally we saw that, even if God uses someone\u2019s actions as a consequence, He will still hold them accountable for those actions if they are \u201csin\u201d.<\/p>\n

At the end of yesterday\u2019s reading we saw specifically that Babylon would eventually pay a price for taking the people of the southern kingdom, Judah, as captives.\u00a0 The Babylonian Empire would only last about 70 years then would be gone.\u00a0 That\u2019s not very long as great empires go.<\/p>\n

Remember that a prophet is a messenger from God.\u00a0 The biggest part of their job was to remind the people of things God had already communicated in the Bible.\u00a0 But they weren\u2019t just teachers, they were usually applying the truth to a specific and current situation.\u00a0 As we saw yesterday their messages sometimes contained predictions of things that would happen in the future.\u00a0 Sometimes those things would happen in the near future and sometimes they would be far off.\u00a0 In the book of Daniel, Daniel lays out a whole timetable for the coming of the Messiah, the promised coming king of Israel.\u00a0 The prediction involved a period of 490 years.\u00a0 The \u201cclock\u201d wouldn\u2019t start running until a specific historic event occurred that was many years after Daniel wrote the prediction and within the \u201ctimeline\u201d there was to be \u201cpause\u201d in the action at a very specific point for an open ended period of time.\u00a0\u00a0 Fulfillment of predictions within their lifetime would support their claim to be speaking for God.\u00a0 Predictions of future events would serve the purpose of warning and\/or encouraging the people who read or heard them, that includes us today.<\/p>\n

Sometimes a description of some future event can actually find it\u2019s fulfillment in more than one future event, one close to the time of the prediction and one later in the future.\u00a0 I\u2019m not talking about something lame like, \u201cI predict that a vehicle will go down my street today.\u201d\u00a0 Remember we are talking about specific predictions.\u00a0 In the book of Isaiah there is a very famous prediction about a virgin giving birth to a son.\u00a0 God applies this prediction to the virgin birth of Jesus (actually it would be a virgin conception, but what ever) in Matthew 1:23.\u00a0 But the entire prediction was given as a sign to then king Ahaz and based on what it says it had to have a fulfillment back then too (though in that fulfillment there was no virgin conception, see Isaiah 7:10-16).<\/p>\n

If you have read \u201cThe Old Testament Connection\u201d<\/a> you might remember that the Jewish people (or Israelites) were part of a plan by God to help all of us understand that we have a broken relationship with Him and what will and won\u2019t fix that relationship.\u00a0 One thing that happens with some<\/span> of the visions that prophets would have is that the timeline would not always be apparent.\u00a0 The end of yesterday\u2019s reading is like that.\u00a0 It describes the short \u201clifespan\u201d of the Babylonian Empire but also talks about other nations being involved in \u201cpunishing\u201d the Jewish people, and suffering for it (Jeremiah 25:14).\u00a0 Today\u2019s reading starts out by continuing that idea.\u00a0 Jeremiah is given a \u201ccup\u201d that is filled with God\u2019s \u201cwrath\u201d for all the nations of the earth to drink from.\u00a0 It is interesting that in verse 14 this all starts out with nations that have oppressed the Jewish people but in today\u2019s reading the Jewish people themselves get to \u201cdrink\u201d some of this wrath.\u00a0 But then again, in yesterday\u2019s reading, this whole idea of consequences for showing God disrespect started with the people of Judah (the Jews).\u00a0 No one is immune from the consequences for disobedience, disrespect, and rebellion toward God.\u00a0 With respect to time though, the oppression of the Jewish people is something that has happened through out history and is still happening today, so is their personal disobedience to God.\u00a0 The events talked about in this part of Jeremiah extend from his day to ours and will not be completely finished until Jesus reenters the world as that promised king whose timetable Daniel laid out.\u00a0 We are now in the \u201cpause\u201d but there are 7 years left in that \u201cgame\u201d during which the Jewish people will be both oppressed and have an opportunity to be the messenger for God that He always wanted them to be.\u00a0 You really don\u2019t get that sense of timing from Jeremiah but that is how this prediction or vision is playing out.<\/p>\n

In verses 17-26 we see a whole list of nations who will<\/span> \u201cdrink\u201d this punishment from God.\u00a0 The list is both specific and general.\u00a0 The history of the nation of Babylon gives us enough proof that Jeremiah was actually speaking for God (Remember the part about the 70 years in yesterday\u2019s reading).\u00a0 The specific names in the list tell us that God is a God who is near by and knows all the players (Jeremiah 23:23).\u00a0 Near the end of the list, though, we see the prediction\/warning extended to \u201call the kingdoms that are on the face of the earth\u201d.\u00a0 In that we see that God is also God over all (far off, Jeremiah 23:23).<\/p>\n

To some it seems odd that Babylon, the current threat, isn\u2019t mentioned in the list, but actually it is.\u00a0 The last name in the list, Sheshach, is actually written in an ancient Hebrew code called Athbash (or Atbash).\u00a0 In it the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are written in two lines one above the other, one of the lines is in reverse order.\u00a0 When a person puts a word in the code he looks at the letter he wand and writes the one below it.\u00a0 For us A-B-C would be Z-Y-X in the code.\u00a0 Also in ancient times Hebrew (the language of the Old Testament and the language Jeremiah would have written in) was written using only consonants, no vowels (and no spaces between words either).\u00a0 Sheshach is three consonants equal to our SSK.\u00a0 In thier code (using the Hebrew alphabet) that is a code for BBL, the three consonants that make up the word Babylon.\u00a0 So Babylon is not only in the list but it is placed at the end to emphasize it.\u00a0 Jeremiah uses this code again in chapter 51.\u00a0 Unfortunately no one seems to know why he would use the code instead of writing the actual name.\u00a0\u00a0 We know he wasn\u2019t using it to keep the name secret because he does use the name Babylon in other places where he predicts their destruction.<\/p>\n

It is also interesting that Jeremiah says that Sheshach will drink last of all \u00a0because Babylon certainly was destroyed before some of the others in the list (Tyre still exists as a city today, but it was completely destroyed in 332 BC by Alexander the Great, about 200 years after Babylon ceased to exist as a nation).\u00a0 The description in this list may go beyond \u201cjudgment\u201d of the kingdoms back in the times of the Old Testament and may be referring also to the destruction of nations in that 7 year time period predicted by Daniel.\u00a0 In the New Testament that time period is described in the Revelation and the anti-God world wide empire is called Babylon the Great.\u00a0 Perhaps Sheshach is a reference to that completely backwards anti-God civilization.<\/p>\n

In verses 27-28 Jeremiah is told to make the nations \u201cdrink\u201d God\u2019s wrath.\u00a0 He probably didn\u2019t travel to all those places and force some icky drink down several king\u2019s throats, but he may have approached traveling business men from those various places and offered them some nasty drink as a symbolic act.\u00a0 The word translated \u201cwrath\u201d is interesting, it can mean \u201canger, displeasure, fury\u201d, but it\u2019s root has the idea of passion and is used to describe the passion between lovers.\u00a0 One thing that is clear from the Bible is that God is passionate about us.\u00a0 He loves us and wants us to be a part of his future forever existence (the \u201ckingdom\u201d promised to the Messiah, or chosen one, Jesus).\u00a0 Because \u201csin\u201d separates us from God and that forever future God is very passionate about helping us understand how serious sin is.\u00a0 He wants us to understand that sin has consequences that need to be dealt with and can only really be dealt with by Immanuel (\u201cGod with us\u201d, Jesus, see Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23.\u00a0 See also \u201cThe Old Testament Connection\u201d<\/a>), so in history God uses events to teach us that lesson and a record of some of that (enough for us to understand) has been made for us in the Bible.\u00a0 In verses 27-28 we see that no one can avoid the consequences of sin (not without Jesus that is, see Isaiah 53:6).\u00a0 Verse 29 gives the ultimate example of that truth by reminding everyone that if God\u2019s \u201cchosen\u201d people and his \u201cchosen\u201d city were not excused from punishment no one will be (but remember Isaiah 53:6).<\/p>\n

Verses 30-32 are a very strong statement of all of this by God to His fold (his flock, the Jews) and to all nations (everyone, the rest of us).Verses 32-38 describe a time of great terror and judgment on the whole earth.\u00a0 On the other hand the reference to shepherds and masters of the flock seem more directed at Jewish people.\u00a0 Again this may be a description both near in time (describing the Babylonian invasions) and future (maybe even describing the last 7 years of Daniel\u2019s prediction).\u00a0 This may be an example of how time is sometimes compressed in prophecy and of multiple fulfillments.\u00a0 What we can be sure of is sin has consequences for every one, both now and in eternity (but remember Isaiah 53:6).<\/p>\n

Christians like to talk about God\u2019s love, mercy, and forgiveness.\u00a0 But we need to remember that mercy is not giving someone what he or she deserves.\u00a0 Because of our rebellion and disrespect (sin) we all deserve to have our relationship with God cut off forever.\u00a0 But God is merciful.\u00a0 His mercy comes at a price though; God graciously paid our debt of infinite separation by allowing his infinite son, Jesus, to die on the cross and be separate from Him for a brief period (That is why Jesus said on the cross, \u201cMy God MY God why have you forsaken (or left) me.\u201d).\u00a0 It\u2019s good to be reminded that God has standards, that we have all violated them (and Him), and that the consequences are brutal and ugly (without God life would be one total bummer, see Colossians 1:16-17 and think what would happen if he decided to \u201clet go\u201d, think atom bomb on a universe sized scale).\u00a0 There really isn\u2019t much hope in this part of the chapter; I\u2019m glad that there is more than just this part.\u00a0 As we saw yesterday God repeatedly warned the Jews and even told them if they would turn back to him he would let them stay in the land forever.\u00a0 God is really about restoring our relationship with Him (remember Jesus and Isaiah 53:6).\u00a0 But we do need to take Him seriously; we need to be careful not think that God will just pretend we didn\u2019t offend him.\u00a0 Our part of course is to turn back (that is what \u201crepent\u201d means) to God, to listen to the warnings, to take God seriously and to let Jesus\u2019 death take care of our offenses.\u00a0 God thank you for making it very clear what happens when we reject you.\u00a0 Thank you for paying the price I never could.\u00a0 Thank you for showing me who Jesus is and what he has done for me.\u00a0 Help me keep my ears open and let me obey your voice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jeremiah 25:15-38. \u00a0In yesterday\u2019s reading we saw that God had been warning the people for years about their unfaithfulness to Him.\u00a0 We saw repeatedly that they had actively not listened to God\u2019s messengers.\u00a0 We also saw that there are consequences for not honoring God with our lives.\u00a0 We also saw that God can use the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1744"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1748,"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1744\/revisions\/1748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/deltaforcedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}