Thursday Evening Bible Study
Jeremiah 38
:1-13 Jeremiah sinks in the cistern
:1 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying,
While Jeremiah was being held in this courtyard, he had the ability to keep speaking to the people. These four fellows were important government leaders.
Gedaliah the son of Pashhur – his dad may have been the fellow that had had Jeremiah beaten and put into stocks (Jer. 20)
Jucal the son of Shelemiah – was sent by Zedekiah to ask about a word from
God concerning the siege of Jerusalem
Pashhur the son of Malchiah – the fellow sent by Zedekiah to ask about Babylon Jerusalem
:2 "Thus says the LORD: 'He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.'
:3 "Thus says the LORD: 'This city shall surely be given into the hand
of the king of Babylon
This isn’t the politically correct thing to say at this time. He’s predicting that the home team is going to lose.
:4 Therefore the princes said to the king, "Please, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm."
To these fellows, Jeremiah was a traitor. He was discouraging people from
fighting for Jerusalem
:5 Then Zedekiah the king said, "Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you."
It sounds like Zedekiah was a bit intimidated by these guys.
:6 So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the king's son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire.
dungeon – bowr – pit, well, cistern
Last week we read about Jeremiah being put into the prison at the house of Jonathan the scribe (37:15). Apparently Jonathan had a dried out cistern that had been converted into a prison.
Now Jeremiah is thrown into another cistern. This one is a bit more muddier. He begins to sink in the mud.
:7 Now Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs, who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon. When the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,
Ebed-Melech – “servant of the king”
Ethiopian – he’s a foreigner.
He’s a friend of Jeremiah, willing to put his life and reputation on the line to save his friend.
:8 Ebed-Melech went out of the king's house and spoke to the king, saying:
:9 "My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon, and he is likely to die from hunger in the place where he is. For there is no more bread in the city."
no more bread in the city – a sign that the siege is nearing its close. The Babylonians are getting ready to break into the city.
:10 Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, "Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies."
Thirty men not just to lift Jeremiah out of the cistern, but probably also to guard him from the other guys as well.
:11 So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there old clothes and old rags, and let them down by ropes into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
The room under the treasury was where the access was to the cistern.
The rags were used as padding to keep the ropes from cutting into Jeremiah’s arms.
:12 Then Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, "Please put these old clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes." And Jeremiah did so.
:13 So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
I would imagine that Jeremiah felt a little like what David wrote,
(Psa 40:1-3 NKJV ) I waited patiently
for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. {2} He also brought me
up out of a horrible pit, Out of the
miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. {3} He
has put a new song in my mouth; Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the LORD.
:14-28 Jeremiah tells Zed to surrender; kept in prison courtyard
:14 Then Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance of the house of the LORD. And the king said to Jeremiah, "I will ask you something. Hide nothing from me."
:15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me."
:16 So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, "As the LORD lives, who made our very souls, I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life."
Somehow I have a hard time believing Zedekiah. Perhaps he means to do well, but his past actions make you wonder what will happen next.
:17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: 'If you surely surrender to the king of Babylon's princes, then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.
:18 'But if you do not surrender to the king of Babylon's princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.'"
Everything will be fine if Zedekiah would just surrender.
:19 And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they abuse me."
:20 But Jeremiah said, "They shall not deliver you. Please, obey the voice of the LORD which I speak to you. So it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live.
:21 "But if you refuse to surrender, this is the word that the LORD has shown me:
:22 'Now behold, all the women who are left in the king of Judah Babylon
the women – the harem
(Jer 38:22 NLT) All the women left in your palace will be brought
out and given to the officers of the Babylonian army. Then the women will taunt
you, saying, 'What fine friends you have! They have betrayed and misled you.
When your feet sank in the mud, they left you to your fate!'
When Jeremiah sank in the mud, a friend came to his rescue.
In contrast, Zedekiah would sink in the mud of Babylon
Lesson
Friends and pits
Enemies throw each other in the pit.
Joseph’s brothers threw him into the pit.
True friends help each other out of the miry clay
Do you know of a friend who is “stuck” in a pit?
Illustration
A man fell into a pit and couldn't get himself out...
~ A subjective person came along and said, "I feel for you down there."
~ An objective person walked by and said, "It's logical that someone would fall down there."
~ A Pharisee said, "Only bad people fall into pits."
~ A mathematician calculated how deep the pit was.
~ A news reporter wanted the exclusive story on the pit.
~ An IRS agent asked if he was paying taxes on the pit.
~ A self-pitying person said, "You haven't seen anything until you've seen my pit."
~ A fire-and-brimstone preacher said, "You deserve your pit."
~ A psychologist noted, "Your mother and father are to blame for your being in that pit."
Jesus, seeing the man, took him by the hand and lifted him out of the pit.
(John 13:34-35 KJV ) A new commandment I
give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love
one another. {35} By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye
have love one to another.
(1 John 3:16
KJV )
Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and
we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
Illustration
A number of years ago, in a mental institution just outside Boston ,
Mass.
About that time, an elderly nurse in the institution was nearing retirement. She felt there was hope for all of God’s creatures, so she started taking her lunch into the dungeon and eating outside Little Annie’s cage. She felt perhaps she could communicate some love and hope to the little girl.
In many ways, Little Annie was like an animal. On occasions, she would violently attack the person who came into her cage. At other times, she would completely ignore them. When the elderly nurse started visiting her, Little Annie gave no indication that she was even aware of her presence. One day, the elderly nurse brought some brownies to the dungeon and left them outside the cage. Little Annie gave no hint she knew they were there, but when the nurse returned the next day, the brownies were gone. From that time on, the nurse would bring brownies when she made her Thursday visit. Soon, the doctors in the institution noticed a change was taking place. After a period of time, they decided to move Little Annie upstairs. Finally, the day came when this “hopeless case” was told she could return home. But Little Annie did not wish to leave. The place had meant so much to her she felt she could make a contribution if she stayed and worked with the other patients. The elderly nurse had seen and brought out so much in her life that Little Annie felt she could see and help develop something in others.
Many years later, Queen Victoria England England
It’s not too well known, but Helen Keller was a normal, healthy baby before
some mysterious disease left her almost helpless and hopeless. Anne Sullivan
saw Helen Keller as one of God’s very special people—treated her as she saw
her—loved her—disciplined her - - played, prayed, pushed and worked with her
until the flickering candle that was her life became a beacon that helped light
the pathways and lighten the burdens of people all over the world. Yes, Helen
Keller influenced millions after her own life was touched by “Little Annie!”
Do you know someone in a pit? In a dungeon?
:23 'So they shall surrender all your wives and children to the Chaldeans.
You shall not escape from their hand, but shall be taken by the hand of the king
of Babylon
:24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die.
:25 "But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and say to you, 'Declare to us now what you have said to the king, and also what the king said to you; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death,'
:26 "then you shall say to them, 'I presented my request before the king, that he would not make me return to Jonathan's house to die there.'"
Zedekiah had an excuse that Jeremiah was to use if he was asked about what Zedekiah and he had talked about.
:27 Then all the princes came to Jeremiah and asked him. And he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been heard.
:28 Now Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem Jerusalem
Lesson
Moved by fear
When I read these accounts of Zedekiah, I get this feeling like something inside of him wanted to do what was right. Why else would he keep sending messengers to Jeremiah to find out what God had to say?
Yet it seems that Zedekiah was derailed in his life because of his fear of people.
His fear of the leaders made him give in and allow Jeremiah to be thrown into a pit.
His fear of the people in captivity kept him from surrendering to Nebuchadnezzar and sparing the city.
He knew the right thing, but was too afraid to do it.
Fear can cause us to do strange things.
Illustration
Former Hearse
Driver
An American is in
A counterpart to fearing people is the desire to “please people”. It’s really the same thing. We seek to “please” people because we’re “afraid” of what will happen if we don’t. A typical person we try and please is our boss …
Illustration
My Boss' Jokes
The boss returned from lunch in a good mood and called the
whole staff in to listen to a couple of jokes he had picked up. Everybody but
one girl laughed uproariously. “What’s the matter?” grumbled the boss. “Haven’t
you got a sense of humor??” “I don’t have to laugh,” she said. “I’m
leaving Friday...”
When you’re always doing things to please other people you’re setting yourself up for trouble.
What if the people you are trying to please want you to do the wrong thing?
Sometimes we get so caught up in pleasing everyone else, that the people we really ought to be helping (like our family) get neglected.
How can we ever hope to get away from being afraid of people?
One approach is to remember who is really worth fearing. Jesus said:
(Mat
God is the one who has the power to put someone in
hell. If we understand what it is to
fear Him, then we can put our fear of people into perspective. God is the one to be pleasing, not people.
Another way of approaching this is to simply keep our eyes on Jesus.
We can only do it if we are relying on Jesus to help us. By our own selves it is just too hard.
(Heb 12:1-3 N
Steven gave a bold witness for Jesus. He was facing a wild mob. How did he do it?
(Acts 7:55-60 N
He had his eyes on Jesus.
Jeremiah 39
:1-10 Jerusalem
The events of this chapter are also recorded in Jeremiah
52 .
:1 In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah Babylon Jerusalem
:2 In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the city was penetrated.
The siege would last about 30 months, from Jan. 15, 588 , to July
18, 586 B.C.
This is such a hugely traumatic date in the nation’s life that it is
recorded in three other places as well: 2 Kings 25:1 ;
Jer. 52:4; Ezek. 24:1-2
Jeremiah’s ministry started in 627 BC (the 13th year of Josiah,
Jer. 1:2). For much of that time, he has
been warning the people of Judah
Lesson
Jesus is coming back
(2 Pet 3:1-12 NKJV ) Beloved, I now write to you this second
epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), {2}
that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy
prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior,
{3} knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking
according to their own lusts, {4} and saying, "Where is the promise of His
coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were
from the beginning of creation." {5} For this they willfully forget: that
by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water
and in the water, {6} by which the world that then existed perished, being
flooded with water. {7} But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved
by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition
of ungodly men. {8} But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the
Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. {9} The
Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is
longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should
come to repentance. {10} But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the
night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements
will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will
be burned up. {11} Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what
manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, {12} looking
for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens
will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
People may mock us and say that we’ve been claiming for years that Jesus would be coming back and yet things go on just like they always have been.
Peter says that this is what people said before the flood of Noah.
I’m sure this is the kind of thing that people thought in Jeremiah’s day, “Hey old man, you’ve been saying that for years …”
And then it happened.
Our part is to be “looking for and hastening” the return of Jesus to the earth.
Each year that we do our “Prophecy Update” we see that a few more pieces have fallen into place. It will happen.
What kind of condition do you want Jesus to find you in when He comes back?
(Mat 24:45-51 NKJV ) "Who then is a faithful and wise
servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in
due season? {46} "Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes,
will find so doing. {47} "Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him
ruler over all his goods. {48} "But if that evil servant says in his
heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' {49} "and begins to beat his
fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, {50} "the master
of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an
hour that he is not aware of, {51} "and will cut him in two and appoint
him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.
At the Men’s Retreat I was challenging the guys not just to think about Jesus coming back tomorrow (though that’s a good thing), but also, what if we had five years left? Are there some things you might do a little different in your life if you knew you had five years left to before you brought your life before Jesus?
