Jeremiah 29
Solitary Man
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20240205
Jer 29:1 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue (remnant) of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;
Jer 29:2 (After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters (craftsmen), and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;)
We now turn our attention to the Judeans already in exile in Babylon. God has not forgotten them. 2 of the 3 deportations had already occurred. The first was in 605 BC, the 3rd year of Jehoiakim’s reign. Daniel was exiled at that time. The second one was in 597, and included Jeconiah (Jehoiachin, Coniah) and the prophet Ezekiel. So this would of been written some time after that, probably somewhere in the beginning of Zedekiah’s reign from 597 to 586.
God chooses to communicate his divine will by the written word, as he would choose to do so wonderfully through the apostolic epistles in the new testament. Some think this chapter is composed of 2 separate messages, v1-19 and v20-32, because v28 seems to refer back to a previous writing.
Jeremiah speaks of the remnant of the elders. This most likely means that many of them may of died during the long trip to Babylon. Note also that the craftsmen were especially noted. These were people with special skills. From a practical standpoint, Babylon would want to preserve anyone of value, those with unique skills that could benefit their kingdom. On a spiritual application, the enemy wants to get rid of anyone of value out of God’s realm. I think about how the best of the best were forced to quit their jobs over the vax mandates. That effectively purged every profession of the best and brightest people, certainly the ones who would think for themselves and not be so easily controlled. What is now left in our hospitals, in our armed forces, in our police services, in our schools, are those who will simply comply with whatever the authorities will tell them to do.
Jer 29:3 By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying,
Elasah was the brother of Ahikam, Jeremiah’s protector (Jer 26:24). This Gemariah is different from the one in Jer 36:12. This one is the son of Hilkiah, the high priest under Josiah who found the lost book of the law (2 Ki 22:4). We also see that this is an official envoy sent by Zedekiah, probably at the outset of his reign. He went himself in his 4th year of rulership in Jer 51:59. He allowed Jeremiah’s letter to be sent, maybe because he was impressed that Jeremiah spoke for the Lord after witnessing Hananiah’s death at the end of the last chapter.
Jer 29:4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;
It is a good thing to know that no matter where you are, God had not forgotten you. We shall see in this communique that these exiles are actually in a much safer place than the ones who have escaped the first 2 rounds of deportation. So often the true word of God runs counter to natural human reasoning. Some of these exiles may have been here almost a decade. Their fervent daily prayer must be for a return to the promised land. They must of looked with envy upon those who were still left in the holy land. Here they were living amongst an unclean people, who knew nothing of the one true God. They would of been eagerly awaiting the word of the Lord telling them that their punishment is complete, their sin has been pardoned, and that God is returning them home. What would they do with a word that was the exact opposite to their expectations? I think you can guess what these so called leaders in exile would think of that.
Jer 29:5 Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
This was not what they wanted to hear. From this first sentence their hearts would of been hardened and they would not be able to stomach the true word of the Lord. It’s bad enough that all their false prophets were totally wrong in that they were not protected, they were not allowed to stay in Judah, they were dragged off to a foreign land, many dying along the way. Surely God’s wrath had run its course, now the desire or our heart would finally be met.
Here is a good place to take a brief detour. Ps 37:4 says:
Psa 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Charismatics love to quote this over and over, interpreting it as if you just hype up the praise service and prove how much fun you like having in God’s presence by singing, praising, and dancing wildly, then whatever is in that sweet little heart of yours, God will make your dreams come true!
That sweet little heart may not be so sweet:
Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
The only way to harmonize 2 verses like these is to interpret the first as when you truly delight in God as your chief delight, God gives you his desires.
Deu_6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
When you do the first commandment, God will then place his desires into your deceitful and wicked heart, so then you will want to do God’s will instead of your own. Isn’t that what the Christian life is all about – not my will, but thine be done?
The conclusion of this word is that if God is telling them to build houses, they are going to be here awhile. Jer 25:11 had already firmly fixed the exile as going to be 70 years long. Once something is written in the word, all the praying in the world will not change it. The tribulation will come. It will come on the exact date that the word says it will come. What that exact date is, nobody knows. But I can say with a fair amount of confidence that once it indeed does begin, God will reveal to us the scripture that predicted the exact date. Future prophetic words work like that.
Jer 29:6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
God is not about depopulation, but repopulation. This command is opposite to what was given Jeremiah in Jer 16:2. Both words fly in the face of natural human reasoning. God specifically told Jeremiah not to take a wife while he was in Judah, a land under sentence of death and destruction. Here God specifically tells the survivors of his judgment in a pagan land to take wives and have large families. He wants them to increase in Babylon, but he is still going to keep shrinking them in Judah. God’s ways are not our ways. This is why it is so crucial for each believer to do whatever they have to do to find the time and the place to develop that personal intimacy with the Lord so that you can learn to hear his directives for yourself. Especially in a time of judgment, commands may be given that make no practical or earthly sense. Well meaning, but unspiritual family and friends will try to counsel you out of it, especially your church friends. As you can witness in the words given to Jeremiah, God is not particularly predictable in his direction and guidance. What is predictable is the people’s response.
We are citizens in a Judah that is about to be destroyed. Is having more children a really good idea? Jer 16:2 would say no. Common sense would say no. Yet maybe you are already in exile. Maybe you are already in your place of refuge that you will dwell in when the storm finally hits in full. In that case God may tell you to start raising children that he will want to replenish the earth with in the Millenium! The point is that you must hear God’s instructions for yourself, as no one can point to one, and only one scripture, that is the definitive answer to everyone’s particular circumstance.
Jer 29:7 And seek the peace (shalom) of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace (shalom) thereof shall ye have peace (shalom).
God may of moved you to another region, or even another country. I believe there will be places of refuge, where some of God’s children will be needed to be kept alive to do various tasks for the King. Whether or not God has moved you willingly or even a little unwillingly, if you know this is where he wants you to be, then pray that the worst of the antichrist’s wrath will not fall where you live. That God will blind the evil spirits to your location. That the place will be unnoticed and unmolested by the unrighteous. It is never a bad thing to pray for peace, even in the midst of chaos. Especially in the midst of chaos.
Jer 29:8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners (kaw-sam – soothsayers), that be in the midst of you, deceive you (lead you astray), neither hearken (shama) to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.
Some things you should never shama to. If you don’t always like to shama, then shama not to the things of the devil. Don’t listen to his lies. Apparently there were as many false prophets amongst the exiles as were still found in Judah.
The last phrase is somewhat curious. God is saying don’t hear and obey your own dreams, which somehow you are causing to be dreamed. The ‘ye’ is a definite ‘you’ in the Hebrew, according to Strong’s. It seems that these people were acting like a lot of charismatics in our time. They want so badly to be known as someone who walks in the supernatural, that they kept relating unremarkable, normal dreams to these soothsayers, who would then gladly misinterpret them as something positive from the Lord. As long as there was a market for dreams, so there would be plenty of imposters to supply them interpretations. I’ve seen several such cases of people who have not paid the price in their personal lives boldly proclaim some nonsensical dream. They, or one of their cronies, then come up with the most convoluted, nonsensical torturous interpretation imaginable, claiming that God has spoken very clearly about something that really is all about nothing.
Sigh.
And we wonder why there is such a famine of the true word of the Lord in the land. One that hits like a hammer. That makes us fall flat on our faces in fear and trembling. That makes the real manifest presence of God appear, not just in the mind of the false prophet, but one that everyone feels. One that causes such a wretched sobbing over our own personal sins that he become afraid that we will never recover.
The reality is that while there is a paucity of the true prophet in the time of judgment, there is a marked increase in the false. This seems very logical, when you think about it. When would the devil be the most nervous that we will discover our true spiritual nakedness? When we are being blessed, or close to being cursed? When all is well, or all is about to fall apart? Why has the propaganda multiplied a thousandfold since covid? Because the endgame has been launched. The new world order has been unleashed. The man of sin is about to be revealed. As the darkness becomes so thick that it cannot be hid, so the devil has to multiply the lying spirits in the mouth of his false prophets, as the sheep need constant reassurance that all is still really well, though circumstances are continually screaming a contradictory message.
Jer 29:9 For they prophesy falsely (sheh-ker – a sham, a vain thing) unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.
Just because someone uses the name of Jesus does not mean he is of Jesus. We seem to get tripped up by that statement in 1 Jn 4:3:
1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
So if they confess the name of Jesus, obviously they’re ok.
Look closely at the verse. Did it say that this test covers every evil spirit out there? No, it only said that if a spirit could not even confess that Jesus came in the flesh, you know right away that it’s not of God. Does it say that all evil spirits are incapable of confessing this?
A second point is that this is simply relying on one scripture alone to make a doctrine out of. We know of many cults like the Mormons or Jehovah witnesses that would confess that Jesus lived as a man. Does that mean this test is invalid? We must rely on all instructions as to how to recognize false prophets. Jeremiah is full of such lessons.
Jer 29:10 For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
Here is the greatest specific promise that directly affected these afflicted people in their time. It contained both good and bad news. Good, in that God promised to restore them to their homeland. Bad, in that 70 years must pass before this would be fulfilled. Why 70 years? To fulfill every jot and tittle of the law.
2Ch 36:21 To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.
The land was supposed to rest every 7th year. If that command was ever obeyed, no one knows for sure. After hundreds of years, no one would of thought much about it, except God. Israel owed God 70 years worth of sabbaths. I will not try to calculate the 7 x 70 = 490 year time period. Needless to say, God had the math all worked out. Final judgment time for Judah was as good a time as any for Israel to catch up on all those years where they did not trust God to provide. God had promised that he would double the wealth off the land in the 6th year to cover the land resting on the 7th, but who could believe such a thing? Obviously God expected Israel to.
God does not forget any of the commands he gives his children. Which commands are we ignoring that God still expects us to keep? What seems too hard? Is it trusting God first for your health, or have we given that area over to the doctors? Perhaps that is why God allowed the doctors to be used as the primary vessels of depopulation via the jab. For the young men, it may be lust. They rationalize their behavior by saying that God simply understands that they have certain needs. However God is keeping track of all unrepentant sin. Even if God has not spoken a direct word to you, your unconfessed and unforsaken trespasses will be called to account, sooner or later.
Jeremiah gave this prophecy during Zedekiah’s reign. What year would God use to start the 70 year clock? Would it be from 597 BC, when this word was given, during the second deportation? That would seem most likely.
We need to wait until we get to the book of Daniel to realize that the 70 year period would actually be dated from the time of the 1st deportation on 605 BC, and end in 636 BC, when the command to rebuild the temple was given (see Daniel chapter 9). Daniel began praying in 539. It seems he believed the prophecy began with the 1st deportation, yet he began to pray 4 years before the 70 years were up. I believe this shows the great mercy of God. He chose the start date as the most favorable to the people. When Jerusalem finally fell in 586, 19 of the 70 years of desolation had already passed. God is always more merciful than we deserve.
Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts (plans, intentions) that I think (conceive, purpose) toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace (shalom), and not of evil (rah), to give you an expected end (a living hope for your future).
Here is a startling statement. After all the doom and gloom, the wrath and ruin, the threats and fearful pronouncements, God seems to take an 180 degree turn. We have proven over and over again that God can and does send evil (rah) on his own people that practice evil (ro-ah). Yet here God says his plans and purposes for us are for peace and well-being, and not evil.
This is easily explained. The devil’s plans and purposes for us are only evil continually. He has no other motive. He hates us and wants us dead (preferably suitably tortured first). God loves us and always wants us to live and be at peace. He made a way for us to receive that very desire of his. First he gave us his law, then he gave us Jesus and the new birth. God is restricted by his perfect character in not being able to bless wickedness. All wickedness must eventually be punished. Jesus took that punishment for those who would live for God, but would occasionally fall short in their day to day lives. For those who would presume on the grace of God and really live for themselves, there no longer remains another sacrifice for sin. If you spurn the immeasurable gift given at the cross and still choose to live for self rather than God, God cannot but judge and repay you in kind.
He so wants to bless us. Oh, if we would of only lived for him when his protection and peace filled our lands! If we could only go back in time about 70 years or so and somehow convince that generation that the pursuit of the American dream would lead to our ruin. We did not start out as hating God, or fighting against him, we simply stopped putting him first in our lives. That was all the devil needed to bring us where we are today.
We could have had a living hope for a prosperous, peaceful future. Instead we have what we have.
Jer 29:12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken (shama) unto you.
Jer 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
A spirit of prayer often comes on the remnant when it is time for a certain promise to be fulfilled. We need to take advantage of any and every special prompting of the spirit when he gives us a specific burden.
Here is a gentle warning for the remnant who are living in God’s judgment. You must give yourself totally and fully to God if you want God to really start shama’ing (hearing and hearkening) to your prayers when we have been judged by Him. The church’s connection to God has generally been broken because of our heresies and self indulgences. Judgment has begun. Some of us are realizing that the brand of Christianity we’ve been practising is the main problem. We are attempting to correct our priorities and subsequent behavior. But the ship does not get turned around overnight. One prayer meeting, or one evening of weeping and wailing will not turn the tide. God says that in judgment, the pain will cause you to shoob (turn back) toward him. You must do this with all your heart this time. Do not fool yourself like you have been doing all these years. No more one eye on God, the other on our worldly affairs. This verse says you will only truly find God if you seek and search with all your heart. This implies that he won’t be found just around the corner. It will take great effort. God wants proof of your new found intentions.
When God pours out a special desire for prayer, it is a good sign that he wants to do something positive on our behalf.
Jer 29:14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
For Judah, their physical punishment will eventually be reversed. They needed this promise in order to find the strength and the reason to obey the command to settle down in Babylon in a permanent manner and raise families, and treat this strange place as their new home for now. Perhaps God has promised some great thing. We need to be careful that we don’t put our lives completely on hold, and do nothing but wait for this new thing. We are to occupy the best we can until he tells us the nest step.
I certainly learned this lesson the hard way a few years ago. God told us we would be moving. I let the fear of current events cloud my ability to patiently wait on God. I jumped the gun and bought perhaps the most terrible place I could of ever imagined. After a year or so of terrible anguish and grief, God took pity on me and delivered us (myself and my spouse) from that place, but not before suffering a very significant permanent financial loss. Soon after God led us to the place he had for us all along. Yet the financial loss remains, as a reminder of the folly of acting in the flesh, being moved by worldly fear and not the fear of the Lord, getting ahead of God, and not trusting in his perfect timing. Nevertheless, God used this traumatic experience to bring true humility and humiliation into our lives, and to establish a genuine prayer life, such as I never had the like in my previous 40 years of following him.
God brought evil (rah) into my life, but he certainly used it for my eternal good (Rom 8:28).
Jer 29:15 Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon;
After such a kind word, perhaps the people are thinking that the worst of God’s pronouncements are behind them. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our hearts are so depraved, that no matter how much love and mercy is poured out upon us, God looks deep inside of us and sees that we really have not changed. His love had not moved these stubborn souls one inch off their self destructive path. So he has to go back and reiterate what is in store for those who refuse to shama (hear and obey what they hear).
These people left in Jerusalem had heard of the messages of the prophets in Babylon. Not the true prophets like Ezekiel or Daniel, but all those voices that were speaking in God’s name saying that restoration and victory was just around the corner. That the exiles were going to be sent back by God very soon. Jeremiah’s letter would of caused much anger not only from the people who wanted so much to go home, but by all the false babblers who made a living by having an audience willing enough to believe their vain words.
Jer 29:16 Know that thus saith the LORD of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;
God inserts the moniker of the king of the throne of David for a reason. Just like Israel thought that they could never be destroyed because of the irrevocable promise to the seed of Abraham, so too would the Jews think that their country could never be completely overrun because of the eternal promise to the throne of David. God was straightening out their theology. While the throne of David would indeed be an eternal throne, nothing prevented God from vacating that throne for a season of however long he chose. This time it would be 70 years. Next time it would be from 70 AD onwards until the second coming. God ensures that everyone understands that he is speaking to the remaining residents who have escaped the first two exiles. Spurred on by the false prophets, they were sure that God was just about to turn things around. They must of thought themselves the most faithful of all, since God had spared them exile so far. God was going to deliver yet another blow to their fantasies that passed for sound theology in their day.
If we have been convinced from the text that Jeremiah’s time is our time, then let us not make the same mistake as almost all the people of God have. Stop believing that 2020 until now has been some sort of temporary punishment, that happy days are just around the corner.
Jer 29:17 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile (sho-awr – harsh, horrid, offensive) figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil (ro-ah).
How many more unprecedented disasters does God have to send our way before we stop clinging to our vain beliefs and change our thinking to embrace what God is trying to get all of us to do? He wants us to stop listening to the false prophets of peace and victory, and listen to Jeremiah and like minded voices who inform us that God wants repentance, a complete lifestyle change, and a whole heartedness from his church. We’ve had fake global pandemics, unprecedented medical tyranny, loss of rights and freedoms, mass political arrests, unheard of multitudes dropping dead, immune systems permanently destroyed, mass sterilization, unbelievable amounts of stillbirths, the total ripping apart of any social cohesion, true racism against whites that make all previous racism practised seem as nothing, election fraud, depopulation, chemtrails, direct energy weapons, 5g, self assembling computer systems within our bodies, the unleashing of deadly frequencies, the mass culling of our livestock, the poisoning of our animals, plants, and water supplies, the destruction of our energy sources, the destruction of our environment with deadly and ugly wind turbines and solar panels, the sodomy, homosexuality, drag queens, transgenderism, the transhumanism, open borders, euthanasia, free access to deadly opioids for our children, the destruction of all women’s sports by transgender freaks, the criminalizing of helping gender confused people revert back, the arresting of pastors, the burning of churches – what have I missed?
Is this not enough unique curses unleashed on our lands to make us stop everything and lay down all our false beliefs? Can you not see that what we believe and what we are doing based on those beliefs is not working? Do we want to keep tempting God to send something even worse because we refuse to drop everything in our life and concentrate on repentance, and repentance alone?
Can Jeremiah speak any louder? Can God be any clearer? How many times must God repeat himself over and over and over again?
Obviously he must speak again, and yet again, as we shall see.
God says that after 2 exiles and no change in the beliefs and behaviors in the land, that now I will take those that are left and will punish them yet again, and harder and harder. God will make those unrepentant in judgment irredeemable, so rotten that they will be like rotten figs, which would sicken anyone who tried to consume them.
Sometimes I feel sick watching these prosperity preachers still try to peddle their wares even unto this day. After all that occurred, why is there any audience left? Yet as in Jeremiah’s day, so it is today. The vast majority of people simply don’t care. It does not matter how much reality God throws in their faces, they will believe what they want to believe. They are vile figs.
Jer 29:18 And I will persecute (hunt) them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed (maltreated) to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment (ruin, desolation), and an hissing (derision), and a reproach (disgrace), among all the nations whither I have driven them:
God thought the Jews so vile that he allowed all the nations to have a special hatred for them, which continues until this day. Not that God condones this hatred, especially in Christians, but it is there not just because they are God’s chosen people, but as a consequence of their stubbornness. Western Christians have now fallen into the same boat, becoming despised worldwide for our extreme immorality, such as transgenderism, and the worship of all things vile as promulgated by the alphabet people.
Whether these rebellious Jews were in Jerusalem or Babylon, if they continued to cling to the false prophets, and rejected the true word of God, they would be destroyed. What was the telltale sign of a false prophet? No repentance, and a hatred of those who preached repentance and the acceptance of God’s righteous sentence that he pronounced on us and on our land as a judgment for our sin.
Jer 29:19 Because they have not hearkened (shama) to my words, saith the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear (shama), saith the LORD.
God summarizes why he is going to destroy them all. If you won’t shama God’s true word, again and again he promises that you will not have a future.
Jer 29:20 Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon:
Some think this was a separate word or letter written in response to certain people who were giving the exiles false hope. God again reiterates that he sent these people into captivity. Don’t blame Babylon, don’t blame the cabal, don’t blame the WEF and their ilk, ultimately they would not be able to do what they are doing if it was not for God’s permission in response to his people’s refusal to hear and obey the clear instructions in his sacred word.
Jer 29:21 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes;
Jer 29:22 And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;
God is not afraid to name false prophets by name. Don’t be swayed by the cowards in the pulpit who refuse to name names, because they tell you that’s not the loving thing to do. Is it loving to not warn your sheep about those whose words will send you to hell? Only be sure that those you call out are genuine heretics, and not someone who simply does not agree with your man made denominational doctrine.
Nothing more is known about these two reprobates. That is the fate of all liars and deceivers, to be forgotten in hell. They spoke in the name of Yehovah, but it was all lies. God fights against them, and gives them over to the pagan to judge. He will make a spectacle of them in their death, to cause others to fear. Their fate will be so gruesome, that they will be known as an evil proverb in all of Judah. You would curse someone you hated by wishing the same awful fate as those two experienced, being slowly roasted alive.
I feel a cautionary tale is in order here. Do not give your heart totally to the so called patriot and freedom movements that have sprung up all over the internet. They want to fight for freedom and restoration, which is noble, yet most have no revelation or message of repentance and humility, which are the preconditions of any genuine divine movement. If God does not see changed hearts, judgment will not stop, and you’ll probably see nothing but defeat, which is basically all we have seen since 2020. Don’t take this warning out of context. It is always right to resist evil. However we as the chosen remnant have a deeper understanding of world events than the unredeemed and the ignorant. We are learning how God operates in times such as we are facing. Man’s works of the flesh have no hope of succeeding against the unrestrained power of the evil one. Our only hope is in the Lord. We have learned that he is fighting against us. We are learning what we must do to get our prayers heard. If our prayers over the last 4 hears have produced and are continuing to produce the kinds of results that we are seeing, then it behooves us to reexamine our ways and see if we can figure out what needs to change in order to get our prayer results to change. I am convinced books like Jeremiah hold the key.
We have seen what has happened to the J6’ers and the truckers, how they were metaphorically roasted in the fire by the wicked pagan rulers of our time. Of course, the pattern is not totally applicable, as they will not become a curse, but an inspiration. I only wish to point out that we must fight this life and death battle God’s way, and not man’s way. The arm of man will not save us. These brave, noble souls were the first to give their lives for the cause of freedom. Many were believers. We should stand by them and pray for them. Yet I have also heard many voices that call for all sorts of resistance without any need to repentance and prayer. Some shun prayer as a crutch for doing nothing. Let us all contribute to the fight for freedom in truth and humility, seeking God and doing it His way, and not ours. Have we not had enough of man’s ideas?
Jer 29:23 Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery (apostasy) with their neighbours’ wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.
A sure sign of a false prophet is an unrestrained sexual appetite. This is a doorway to other evil spirits, such as lying spirits. Run from any immoral person who claims to speak in God’s name.
God wants us to know without a doubt that he sees and records all wickedness out there. We need not be afraid that our excessively vile politicians are getting away with anything.
Jer 29:24 Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah (Yah has heard) the Nehelamite (dreamer), saying,
Helem was an actual place (2 Sam 10:16-17). This man’s name would turn out to be a mockery of the truth, as God combined it with the name of his hometown, to give one a better picture of this guy’s character. He thinks he hears God, but he’s just a dreamer. His lifestyle and his doctrines prove that his dreams are not from on high. God has a special word for him, proving that it’s not always a good thing when God has a personal prophecy for someone. In the bible, a personal word indicates doom as often as it does blessing. Perhaps that would make us a little more cautious about running around the country trying to get a personal word for yourself. You may regret it!
Jer 29:25 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,
Zephaniah was the second in command next to the high priest (Jer 21:1, 52:24). Shemaiah was a political animal through and through. He wanted to get to someone in high authority, and turn them against Jeremiah, whom he saw more as a political and influential rival than anything else. He was contradicting the positive prophecies that all the lying prophets were speaking. He was making the people doubt their ministry. He had to accuse Jeremiah of something tangible, so he declared that Jeremiah’s words were unpatriotic. Just as the false pastors declared that those who opposed the jab were unloving, and not practising loving their neighbor.
Of course, the truth is always the opposite of what a false prophet proclaims.
Jer 29:26 The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of (in place of) Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers (superintendent, overseer) in the house of the LORD, for every man that is mad (insane), and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks.
The idea here is that Zephaniah’s promotion to second priest, or second in command, owing to Jehoida being in exile, was unexpected. Shemaiah accuses him of ingratitude, and shirking his duty as overseer of temple order and discipline. One of this office’s tasks was to examine every so called prophet, and arrest those who were obviously not of God. Apparently every loose cannon was to be restrained.
Jer 29:27 Now therefore why hast thou not reproved (rebuked) Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you?
Even after experiencing direct judgment, the utter wickedness of man demanded the true prophets be silenced. How many brain fogged cattle out there, even after seeing loved ones die of the jab, still demand the truth tellers be silenced? It’s one thing for the government to want to shut us up, it’s quite another for the victims themselves to still believe the retarded fairy tales and vent their trauma on those who only want to give them the truth, so they can salvage something from their broken, miserable lives.
Jer 29:28 For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
Like most in our society even 4 years later, this man refused to embrace reality and the truth. God has judged Judah. Most lost everything. They were about to lose the rest. Yet even in wrath, God showed mercy by not killing everyone, but allowing them to live, if even in a foreign land, and be protected, if they would only accept their punishment. Yet this rebel was doing everything he could to silence the truth.
Jer 29:29 And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.
So this temple official did his duty and read this charge to the prophet. What his true motive was, is not stated. Was he putting Jeremiah on notice? Was he warning Jeremiah of potential opposition, as a favor? Was he totally neutral, and followed his duty to the letter by reading it to the accused? We only know that Jeremiah was made aware of the charge.
Jer 29:30 Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,
Once Jeremiah knew what was afoot, and had some context, God gave him a word about the situation. I find that God often speaks to me about something that I have learned in my day to day life. Some new story or thing said in a video or a sermon will trigger a thought that Jesus will then expand upon. God normally works through events in our daily lives. Expect him to speak as you walk moment by moment with him.
Jer 29:31 Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie:
Since this Shemaiah guy went public with his false charge of treason and blasphemy against the true man of God, God wanted to declare his verdict publicly as well. The response would not be a personal word, but for the entire Babylonian Jewish community to hear, since this guy was stirring up trouble publicly in the first place.
An interesting point made by one of the commentators is that this chapter is relating several communiques going back and forth between Babylon and Jerusalem during this time. Perhaps this lends credence that Jeremiah actually had personally made a couple trips to the Euphrates in Jer 13:4, over the matter of the girdle that God wanted him to use as a prop for a divine message. Indeed, the high officials in Babylon were aware of Jeremiah’s ministry, and accorded him much respect and liberty in a later episode in Jer 39:11-12, which may also indicate he always had much freedom of movement.
Jer 29:32 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion (saw-raw – apostasy, revolt, turning away) against the LORD.
Your rebellion rarely just affects you. His bloodline was cursed. He would have no sons. The line would end. All because he refused to humble himself, turn towards God, repent, and accept and submit to God’s decree. He may of thought he was being patriotic in opposing Jeremiah, this traitor who preached submission to Judah’s enemy. From a natural perspective, his position was not unreasonable. Yet he refused to entertain the notion that his theology was suspect. His heart was made up that it could be no other way. Just like the Pharisees and Sadducees in Jesus day. They had God all figured out. God could never send someone like Jesus, to speak and act the way he did. We all know how that story turned out. This man not only missed out on seeing God’s blessing once the punishment had run its course, but he doomed his own family to extinction.
Sin has consequences. Far more consequences than we can imagine.
Let us not be found fighting against God in this most unusual of times. Humility, contriteness, and teachability are all attributes we should strive for with all our hearts in this hour of our sorrow.
Solitary Man
https://solitaryman.substack.com/
Photos courtesy Depositphotos
