Jeremiah 52
COMMENTARY:
: 2 And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. (5869 “eyes” [ayin] means sight, understanding, presence, concern, look, or part of the body.)
DEVOTION: Our God is present everywhere. Our God knows all that is going on in our life. Our God sees what is happening in our life and around us every moment of every day. There is no hiding from the LORD.
The children of Israel thought that they could hide things from the LORD. The leaders had a secret room where they worshiped false gods in the Temple area. They thought God could only see what was above ground not what they were doing underground. They were wrong.
Each king was noted for his good behavior or his evil behavior. The LORD would judge them and the nation according to their behavior. The people had a choice to make between following the king or obeying the LORD. Too often they followed the leadership away from the LORD. They could have been stronger but it was the lazy way to handle things. They wanted to be politically correct rather than Biblically correct. This caused the LORD to have to judge them to bring them back to the right path.
Here we have another account of the destruction of Jerusalem by Jeremiah. He keeps adding facts to show that the people were not following the LORD. Remember that this book is not in chronological order.
Jeremiah closes the book with the facts surrounding the Babylonian defeat of Jerusalem. He doesn’t mention all the warnings the LORD sent but that the LORD used a famine to get their attention but they still didn’t listen to HIS instructions.
Too often we are like the children of Israel. HE has made it plain as to what we are supposed to be doing for HIM in our daily life but we seem to pick and chose what we can do easily rather than work hard for HIM.
What happens when Christians are lazy and selfish? People are not reached for the LORD. People observe what Christians are doing and know that they are not excited about their service to the LORD. Some would rather do anything else but serve the LORD.
There are even some Christians who are complaining even when they are blessed by the LORD with so many great things happening in their life. They always want more. They think they deserve it.
Those who are true followers of the LORD know what they deserve and it isn’t more blessings. HE gives them to us as we are faithful in our service to HIM. Faithfulness is honored by the LORD. Unfaithfulness is judged.
How many think that America is being judged because believers are not doing their part to reach this nation for the LORD. Satan loves to side step the issue of the Gospel with other issues.
CHALLENGE: Remember that the main issue is faithfulness to the commands of the LORD. If we are faithful, HE can bless us.
: 13 And burned the house of the LORD, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire. (8313 “burned” [saraph] means kindled, consume objects by fire, or destroy by fire.)
DEVOTION: The captivity of Jerusalem and Judah was complete by the king of Babylon. His captain of the guard destroyed the city by fire. The walls of the city were set on fire. The house of the LORD was set on fire. The king’s house was set on fire. Finally, the houses of the leaders of Judah were set on fire. Sin has consequences.
Captivity is a consequence of sin. Every nation that doesn’t honor the LORD will have to face judgment. Every individual will have to answer to the LORD for their actions. We will not be able to blame others. We will not be able to use others as an excuse for our bad behavior like we are doing at present. We are to honor the LORD will all of our actions. Our life and possessions are in HIS hands to do with as HE pleases.
If HE thinks or knows that something is between us and HIM, HE can remove that obstacle. It might hurt but HE wants us to be close. HE wants us to show our love for HIM. Does HE need our love? NO!!! We need HIS love.
The Babylonians spoiled the temple in Jerusalem. They took everything they could break up and carry away. The king of Babylon killed the people that tried to escape. King Zedekiah had to watch as his children were killed and then his eyes were put out. Only the poor people were left behind in the land. The LORD was longsuffering toward Israel. They didn’t turn from their sin.
Our freedom to worship depends on our faithfulness to HIM. This freedom can be lost because we are not practicing it as we should. We can just give token worship with our mind and heart in a different place.
The same is true today. There is coming a judgment for those who refuse to turn from sin and follow Christ. They are going to spend eternity in a place called Gehenna. It is a lake of fire that will be kindled for all eternity.
Those of us who are true followers will one day stand before HIM at the Judgment Seat of Christ and our works will be thrown into the fire to see what will last. Only those works that were done with the right motive and attitude with last this time of testing. All others will be burned. Some people will be saved with nothing to show for their Christian life.
There are some people who say they will be satisfied with just making it into heaven by the skin of their teeth. The problem is that many of those individuals are not even heading for heaven. They are living with a false hope of heaven. Remember repentance means a turning from sin to service for the LORD.
It will not be a consuming fire but a place that will remind those that they are outside the presence of God by choice. Now is the time to share our faith with those around us.
CHALLENGE: At the communion table we are to examine ourselves to see what our actions and motives say about our service to the LORD. Will yours or mine all be burned up? Our prayer should be that there will be many stars in our crowns. One crown is giving to those who are soul winners.
: 31 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison. (4984 “lifted up” [mithnasse’] means exalted, carry, to take up, raise, pardon, support, respect, or honor.)
DEVOTION: Hope is necessary in life. It was necessary for the children of Israel as they were in captivity for thirty years when this happened. It is thought that Jeremiah was about ninety years old when he gave this statement.
Some think that Evil-merodach was in prison with Jehoiachin when his father was ruler of Babylon. So they got to know one another while in prison. He was taken out of prison some time either before his father died or right after. He remembered Jehoiachin and brought him out prison as well.
So we have the book of Jeremiah ending on a note of hope. There was going to be a restoration of the children of Israel to the Promised Land under the administration of the Medes.
The children of Israel could have observed that one of the descendants of David was shown favor by the king of Babylon which could mean that the time of their captivity was going to end with them having hope for a future.
The LORD did punish HIS people because of their sin but HE also gave them hope for the future through HIS prophets. HE does the same for us today. We have hope in heaven even though it seems like this world is against the ONE TRUE God of the Bible. The Bible tells us that we will rule and reign with Jesus Christ in the future. Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. We can’t trust in this world but we can trust in the LORD to keep HIS promises to us that are found in HIS Word.
CHALLENGE: Always keep your eyes on the promises of the Word of God. It gives us a future and a hope that will not let us down. One day we will be honored by our Savior.
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