Jeremiah continues to pronounce judgment against the nations:
- Ammon, Lot’s descendants – God will humble them and, “Afterwards I will bring back the captives of the people of Ammon.”
- Edom, Esau’s descendants – “Your fierceness has deceived you, the pride of your heart,” therefore, the Lord will destroy Edom like He did Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Damascus, a prominent city in Syria – Their days of joy will be cut off and turned into days of sorrow.
- Kedar and Hazor, Arab tribes from the east – Babylon will destroy them and the land will become desolate.
King Jehoiakam dies after reigning eleven years and his son, Jehoiachin, becomes the next king of Judah. Jehoiachin will only reign three months before he is taken off to Babylon with Ezekiel during the second wave of captivity. There he will spend thirty-seven years in prison (2 Kings 25:27).
Jehoiachin is wicked like his father; therefore the Lord says, “None of his descendants shall prosper, sitting on the throne of David, and ruling anymore in Judah.” God will bring judgement upon all the wicked leaders and false prophets who have scattered His flock and have not attended to them. However, the Lord will gather the remnant of His flock, “And they shall be fruitful and increase.”
The Lord is bringing a Righteous Ruler, Jesus Christ, for His people – “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.‘“
We end the reading with the Lord warning the people not to listen to the words of the false prophets which will not profit them; but listen to the word of the Lord – “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; they speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the Lord. They continually say to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, ‘You shall have peace’; and to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you.’ For who has stood in the counsel of the Lord, and has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His word and heard it? Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord has gone forth in fury— A violent whirlwind! It will fall violently on the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart. In the latter days you will understand it perfectly.”
Judgment is coming upon the people who do not listen to the word of God just like in the latter days, when Jesus returns, judgment will come upon the entire earth. And in that day, just like in the days that we are reading about in our Bible, the only thing that will spare anyone from eternal damnation will be whether they chose to listen to the word of God or not; and according to the word of the Lord, the only way for eternal salvation is through His Son Jesus Christ.
The Lord says, “Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal.” The false voices in the world will try to get people to forget the Lord. However, Christians are called to speak His word and to share the Good News of Christ no matter the cost; and how the world responds is on them but that doesn’t stop our mission as the Lord says – “The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully.”
In order to speak His word faithfully you have to know His word, so keep reading.
(Jeremiah 49:1-33, 2 Kings 24:5-7, 2 Chronicles 36:6-8, 2 Kings 24:8-9, 2 Chronicles 36:9, Jeremiah 22:24-23:32)
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Chronological Bible in Layman's Terms 