King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Thursday, August 22, 2024
Chapters: Jeremiah Chapters 45-48
Message: Praising God Through His Judgments
Hello My Friend,
Whenever we are facing affliction, especially if it is prolonged, it is not uncommon for us to start thinking about days gone by when God protected and saw us through other trying times. I will even go back to the days that I was not saved and praise God that He hand His hand on me even though He did not know me yet. While we cannot do anything about the past, reflection often brings us to see the warning bells and or signs that were right there in front of us that God was with us.
[Psalms 42:2-5 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? 3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? 4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday. 5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.]
As we continue in the reading of Jeremiah, the rebels have taken Jeremiah and all who remained in Jerusalem, and are now at the boarder of Egypt. God, told them to return to Jerusalem if they want to live, but the majority of them rejected that answer and now God was sending the same judgment on Egypt that He placed on Israel. Jeremiah, recalls what God had said to him when he was in the prison and asked Baruch to write the words that He had spoken and how Jehoiakim’s men had it burned when Baruch read it to them. Now, Baruch, is feeling very discouraged, that was when God, sent Jeremiah over to Baruch with the same message that all of God’s faithful get when we are feeling discouraged.
[Jeremiah 45:2-5 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch; 3 Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest. 4 Thus shalt thou say unto him, The LORD saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land. 5 And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.]
[I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.] Talk about an understatement, as if we do not have enough sorrow with what is going on with our own lives, we have the sorrows of our loved ones, friends, and even our nations bringing more grief and as soon as we start to see a glimpse of hope something else comes up. During times like these when we feel restless that is when we need to seek rest in Jesus, [Matthew 11:28-29 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.]
[thy life will I give unto thee for a prey] These are not the words that we want to hear when we are feeling discouraged, but we are reminded that this is not our home. Because we belong to Christ we are going to be a constant by the wicked simply for our faith in Christ. Jesus, said it this way, [John 15:18-19 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.]
Even when we are faithful to God, we are not entirely innocent, we all have our own crosses to bear, and that is why we face chastening from our Father. I always say that our judgment comes while we are here because once we leave the earth that that will be the end of all of our sorrow. That is not the case for the world, they will be judged to their own destruction. Through Jeremiah, God, gives warning to all nations of His judgment upon them, starting with Egypt. Jeremiah, recalls when king of Egypt was warned all the way back to the days of Josiah that they were to prepare themselves for this attack from the Chaldean’s.
[Jeremiah 46:1-2,4-5 The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles; 2 Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaohnecho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah. 4 Harness the horses; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the brigandines. 5 Wherefore have I seen them dismayed and turned away back? and their mighty ones are beaten down, and are fled apace, and look not back: for fear was round about, saith the LORD.]
[against the army of Pharaohnecho king of Egypt,] Pharaohnecho, in Josiah’s time, came up against him, this was when Josiah was killed. Now, he is the same place, this time against the king of Babylon when the rebels fled to Egypt in hopes that they would help them. God, is actually telling Egypt to prepare for the battle against Babylon. However, the Egyptians, after all this preparation for war, and seeming ready to engage in the battle, panicked when they came to it and ran.
[Jeremiah 46:8,10-11 Egypt riseth up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof. 10 For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates. 11 Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured.]
[in vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured.] God, is telling Egypt that while they may not be destroyed completely, this would be the end of their prosperity and posteriority as a nation that other nations respected. Egypt, reminds me so much of America as it is losing its prosperity and posteriority and I fear it will not be cured because it is seeking other means to cure itself instead of God, [Psalms 118:6-9 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? 7 The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. 8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. 9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.]
In case you have not noticed, God, does not have to lift one finger to destroy the wicked, they do it all by themselves as they turn on each other. As we read yesterday, Egypt is being judged at the result of the rebels who escaped captivity, and took their own captives to Egypt with them. However, it was a long time coming, in fact, God goes on to tell them that.
[Jeremiah 46:15-18,25 Why are thy valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the LORD did drive them. 16 He made many to fall, yea, one fell upon another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword. 17 They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath passed the time appointed. 18 As I live, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come. 25 The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him:]
[As I live, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts,] You see, even back then they knew that there is truly only one KING, and that is the LORD of hosts Himself, Jesus Christ. Even though they did not know the name, Jesus Christ at this point they knew who their KING and LORD is, [Psalms 24:7-10 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.]
Do you see how God actually gives all nations the opportunity to repent? God, does not want to see any soul in hell nor does He want to see them destroying each other. They have the same choices that we do, Egypt, was no exception, in fact, they had more knowledge of God, then all the other nations since the days of Joseph, when he was made governor over Egypt to prepare for a famine that was to overtake the world. It was a long time coming, in fact, God goes on to tell them that.
[Jeremiah 46:26-28 And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the LORD. 27 But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. 28 Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.]
[will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure;] You see, judgment or rather chastening from God, is used to correct us in order to make us more accountable for our actions. Some Christians will heed the warning, many will not and continue to live the way that want and suffer greatly until they either repent or He brings them home sooner so they can no longer hurt themselves. God, is letting both Jews and Gentiles know that He will not repent of His judgment, and if they belong to Him, while they will be corrected, they will be saved.
[Romans 2:7-11 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: 8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 11 For there is no respect of persons with God.]
Contrary to the assumption that God is referring to Israel as a specific race of people, namely the Jews, iHe is actually referring to it as a nation of His people. A nation is a body of people living by the same beliefs regardless of where they live. Saved, born again Christians, are a body of both Jews and Gentiles, of which will not longer be known as a Jew or a Gentile, but of Christ, and our nation is the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately, while we are in the flesh we cannot live in His Kingdom and therefore, we are scattered all over the world right now. Now, God goes on to tell the fate of the Philistines.
[Jeremiah 47:1-2,4,7 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before that Pharaoh smote Gaza. 2 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl. 4 Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines, and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the LORD will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor. 7 How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he appointed it.]
[there hath he appointed it.] Nothing and no one can stop God from what is appointed to them. There are two things that are certain for everyone life and death, their soul will end up spending eternity in one of two places, heaven or hell. Those who accept Christ as their Saviour will be in heaven while those who do not will be in hell. There are also other things that we need to go through while we are here, but the one thing we can do with what is appointed us is trust that God will see us through, [Romans 8:28-30 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.]
Remember Lot, and Sodom and Gomorrah? Every nation gets the opportunity to turn to God, but some are too wicked for even one person to be saved and therefore, will be destroyed immediately. Others are being warned to get to higher ground before judgment comes, which is what God interestingly did with Moab, descendant of Lot of all people.
[Jeremiah 48:1-2,6-7,10 Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed. 2 There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee. 6 Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness. 7 For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together. 10 Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.]
[because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures,] It was not their sin that sent the destruction of Moab, it was that they trusted in their own works and those treasures they possessed. You see, we are all sinners and while God detests sin, He has come to an agreement with all who seek Him, if we confess our sins, we will be forgiven and saved from the judgment. However, if we are trusting in our own works to save us, then we can forget forgiveness, [Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.]
The world thinks they are safe by trusting in their works, weapons, and possessions, but will find out the hard way that they are not. Because the people of Moab had not suffer the calamities which befell some of the other nations and rejoiced when they did, particularly Israel, they were now facing the same judgment. In fact, God, goes on to describe why they were facing the same judgment as Israel.
[Jeremiah 48:26-27,29-31,35 Make ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the LORD: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision. 27 For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy. 29 We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart. 30 I know his wrath, saith the LORD; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it. 31 Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kirheres. 35 Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the LORD, him that offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods.]
[For was not Israel a derision unto thee?] [Derision; The act of laughing at in contempt.] In other words, they were made a laughing stock to the nations who were well aware of God, but refused to commit themselves to Him, hence the reason for the judgment. Interestingly enough, Moab, was around before Israel was as they became a nation of their own sometime after Abraham and Sarah had Isaac as Sarah would give birth to Isaac before Jacob would be born and the nation of Israel would begin, [Genesis 19:36-38 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. 37 And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. 38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.]
[Therefore will I howl for Moab,] God, does not want one soul to perish, let alone an entire nation. Keep in mind that Ruth was a Moabite, so, God, did not judge them all, which is why we must come to Christ on our own. No one can save us, but our faith alone in Jesus Christ, [John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.]
The destruction of Moab is further prophesied, to awaken them by national repentance and reformation to prevent the trouble, or by a personal repentance and reformation to prepare for it. He goes on to warn them of the destruction, but gives them hope, if they would just fear Him.
[Jeremiah 48:42-44,47 And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the LORD. 43 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the LORD. 44 He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the LORD. 47 Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the LORD. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.]
[I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days,] Since God is not a respecter of persons, every person born, and even the angles will face judgment. He does not limit salvation to a select race, creed, or family, and no matter what family we are born into, we all have a chance to be saved from the judgment, [Romans 10:9-13 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Jeremiah 46:18 As I live, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.]
Today’s Prayer: God, It is truly amazing the blessings You give us just by our faith and obedience to Your Word. You tell us that there is nothing we can do to escape the judgment of hell and the lake of fire for our sin, except that we believe in and accept Your Son as our Saviour. No chastening is joyous, but I know and have seen the blessings that come as I endure them, for Your anger is not forever, and You have no problem rewarding us for our faithfulness. The greatest reward of all is becoming one of Yours, receiving eternal life, and spending eternity with You in Your Kingdom. Thank You Lord, and all I ask is that You put Your hedge of protection around me and use me as to be a faithful witness of not only Your mercies, but how we can endure this war until the very end. I pray this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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