Lesson 375 - Senior

Memory Verse

"My people have committed two evils;  they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water"  (Jeremiah 2:13).

Cross References

 

I The Return of Judah to Idolatry

1. Zedekiah rebels against the Lord and His prophets, [2CH:36:11-13]; [2KG:24:17-20].

2. The Temple is again polluted by the priests and people, [2CH:36:14].

3. The voice of the prophets goes unheeded, [2CH:36:15-16]; [JER:38:14-18]; [JER:25:1-7]; [MAT:23:34-35].

4. A false cry of peace is heard, [JER:28:1-17]; 29:8, 9; [1TS:5:3]; [DEU:18:22]; [2CO:11:13-15].

II The Judgments of God

1. The king, princes, and nobles are taken, [JER:39:4-8]; [2KG:25:4-7]; [ISA:30:15-16].

2. The Temple, city, and people are destroyed, [2CH:36:17-19]; [2KG:25:1-21]; [JER:52:1-30].

3. Seventy years of captivity are decreed and started, [2CH:36:20-21]; [JER:25:8-11].

4. All nations are to be included with Judah in God's judgment, [JER:25:15-33]; [1PE:4:17-18].

5. After seventy years God will visit Israel and judge Babylon, [JER:29:10-14]; [JER:25:12-14], [JER:25:26]; [DAN:9:2]; [MIC:7:18]. 

Notes

 

Pride

Zedekiah "humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the LORD" [2CH:36:12]). Although Zedekiah was the son of Josiah [JER:1:3]) he did not inherit the humble spirit of his father. Josiah had inaugurated great reforms, but they were soon thrown off in the days of his sons.

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall" [PRO:16:18]). Zedekiah had little to be proud of, but he was proud. It is true that he was king, but it was a subjected rule " he did not even rule in his own name, for the king of Babylon changed his name. His people were "the poorest sort of the people of the land" for Nebuchadnezzar took all the mighty men, the craftsmen, the smiths, and the royal families into Babylon. Zedekiah had no wealth of which to boast, for Nebuchadnezzar had taken all the treasures of the house of the Lord and of the king's house with him. But still Zedekiah was proud.

Oftentimes men kneel before God who look as if they are at the bottom rung of the social ladder, drunk, ragged, and the picture of despair; yet when one counsels with them they justify themselves and say they are not so bad. Instead of humbling themselves and pleading for mercy they justify themselves with a pharisaical pride. A compassionate heavenly Father stands ever ready to receive the humble and contrite heart, but rejects the proud. Ahab and Manasseh, the most wicked kings, received consideration from God when they humbled themselves. Zedekiah had every opportunity to obey God, but "he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the LORD God of Israel" [2CH:36:13]).

The Rejection of Mercy

God sent his prophets to the king and to the people, "because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place" [2CH:36:15]). "Thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness" [NEH:9:17]). God dealt long and mercifully with his people -- His compassion went far beyond that of any human love. "When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up" [PS:27:10]). "But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy" [2CH:36:16]).

What sad and indicting words, "till thee was no remedy." The Bible tells of the prodigal son who wasted his substance in riotous living, but the Father stood with open arms to receive him the moment he returned home. "Lord, remember me," cried a thief on the cross, and received the comforting reply. "To day shalt thou be with me in paradise" [LUK:23:43]); but Israel, God's own chosen people, rejected his messengers "till there was no remedy." Men of enlightened lands today need to give serious heed to the warning, "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy" [PRO:29:1]).

Excuses

Zedekiah sought counsel of Jeremiah, the true prophet of God, and was told a way of escape. "If thou wilt assuredly go forth . . . then thy soul shall live, . . . but if thou wilt not go forth . . . thou shalt not escape" [JER:38:17-18]). The way was clear and plain, a fool could follow it if he chose, but Zedekiah offered the excuse, "I am afraid of the Jews . . . lest . . . they mock me." He had his choice: a laugh or a city burned; a jeer or a temple destroyed; a sneer or a soul lost; face it and live, or run and be lost. Zedekiah ran.

Today men still shun the way of salvation because of the same flimsy excuse: "I am afraid of what my friends will say," "I will take my chances" is the answer that people give as they turn down the way of eternal life and try to climb up "some other way," only to be overtaken with death and destruction, as was Zedekiah with his nobles and princes.

False Prophets

At a time of crisis such as this was in Judah, there are always false prophets around to cry, "Peace and safety." Hananiah was one of them. He and others like him received an audience because he preached what the people wanted to hear. Isaiah knew what was in the hearts of the people and proclaimed, "Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits" [ISA:30:10]).

Jesus warns us that false prophets would be one of the dangerous evils of the last days. "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect" [MAT:24:24]). Peter also states it, saying, "There shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways" [2PE:2:1-2]). It is sad, and almost unexplainable, that many will forsake the truth for error, and neglect the plain way of eternal life for the hard way of destruction.

God's Plan

What a pity that man failed to follow God! In Eden God placed man in the ideal environment, but he rebelled. In the promised land God provided a way for one year out of seven to be a year of rest and enjoyment, but man refused to keep it. "If ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase: then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years" [LEV:25:20-21]). Because the Israelites had not kept the sabbatical years, God decreed that they should go into captivity and the land should be desolate for seventy years, "until the land had fulfil threescore and ten years" [2CH:36:21]). The seventy years was an accumulation of the Sabbaths the land would have enjoyed if the Israelites had obeyed God and left the land idle each seventh year.

Judgment

God's judgment was not limited to Judah at this time, but all nations were to drink of the cup of His fury. God could not see the city called by His name destroyed and let the rest of the idolaters go unpunished. "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?"

Babylon, God's instrument of destruction, rode high for a time, but the day came when Isaiah's prophecy was fulfilled: "Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there" [ISA:13:19-20]).

The Way Back

But unto Israel the Lord hath said: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, . . . thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end" [JER:29:11]). God's mercy was extended to Israel; and her way back was the same as for sinners today. "Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" [JER:29:13]). 

Questions

 

1. Who was Judah's last king?

2. What prophet of God did he have to instruct him?

3. Why did he not follow true counsel from God's prophet?

4. How long was the captivity of Judah to last?

5. What reason did God give for leaving the land idle?

6. What were some of the other nations that were to be judged?

7. When was Babylon to receive her punishment?

8. What were the predictions of the false prophets?

9. What are some of the warnings against false prophets of our day?

10. What was God's plan for providing for Israel's sabbatical year?