The God who Reigns

Jeremiah 50 “The Lord spoke concerning Babylon and the land of Babylonia through the prophet Jeremiah. “Announce the news among the nations! Proclaim it! Signal for people to pay attention. Declare the news! Do not hide it! Say: ‘Babylon will be captured. Bel will be put to shame. Marduk will be dismayed. Babylon’s idols will be put to shame; her disgusting images will be dismayed. For a nation from the north will attack Babylon; It will lay her land waste. People and animals will flee out of it. No one will inhabit it.’ “When that time comes,” says the Lord, “the people of Israel and Judah will return to the land together. They will come back with tears of repentance as they seek the Lord their God. They will ask the way to Zion; they will turn their faces toward it. They will come and bind themselves to the Lord in a lasting covenant that will never be forgotten. “My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have allow them to go astray. They have wandered around in the mountains. They have…”

Exordium.

(Christianity is Different than every other religion, it is rooted in history)

Getting to the end of Jeremiah, and that becomes incredibly clear to us

Narratio

As we zoom out on the book of Jeremiah, I want to ground ourselves on how the book is put togehter.

The book is a collection of Jeremiah’s sermons and prophecies.

And it’s not really in chronological order...not really at least. But it’s arranged thematically.

The sermons and prophecies come from all throughout the life of Jeremiah, but thematically they’re arranged in 4 acts.

Act 1, At the beginning we get Jeremiah’s early preaching, calling out the people of Judah to repent and follow God

Act 2, Toward the middle we get flashes of scenes during the exile, before the exile, and after the exile. Sort of giving us a 360 degree view of all of the things Jeremiah had been saying, and all of the opposition he faced along the way. This is where we get the turning point of the entire narrative of the Israelite people...they’re in Exile, and they’re given a choice, how they are supposed to live while in Exile.

Act 3, then is the historical account of what went down in the final days. So it’s a lot less sermons and prophecies, and a lot more narrative.

And then here at the end, Act 4, what we’re going to see is a collection of Jeremiah’s sermons and prophecies about all of the other nations that surround Judah.

Because the Old Testament is a pinch-zoomed view on one specific nation, one specific group of people, sometimes as we read it we sort of forget that they were a real people group that existed in history.

On this little tiny sliver of land, while God was working out his plan to redeem humanity,

The rest of the world was off doing their own thing.

This is what we would consider the Bronze age of history

Egypt was doing their own thing, Assyria was doing their own thing. The greeks and the romans were just barely getting established as a people group.

And all of these different nations all had their own idols, their own lower case g gods that they worshipped

Because during that time, the common understanding was that every nation had their own local deity.

They were like minor league baseball teams.

And a big part of the reason why Judah and israel were punished was because that’s the way they viewed God.

They saw him as just Israel’s local diety. Perfectly compatible with Chemosh in Moab, and Marduke in Babylon, and all of the gods of egypt.

And as we zoom out, in chapter 46, Jeremiah starts getting prophecies from God against all of these nations.

Partitio

Confirmatio

Egypt

Jeremiah 46:1–2 NET 2nd ed.

This was the Lord’s message to the prophet Jeremiah about the nations. He spoke about Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt, which was encamped along the Euphrates River at Carchemish. Now this was the army that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah:

And God basically tells Egypt, look I know you think you’re big and mighty

You have your pyramids, you’ve been an empire over a millenia at this point

But you too will fall

Your soldiers will flee, your armies will be defeated.

Because the same Babylon that is rolling through the known world, Gobbling up all of these little nations like Israel, they’re coming for you too.

Jeremiah 46:22–26 NET 2nd ed.

Egypt will run away, hissing like a snake, as the enemy comes marching up in force. They will come against her with axes as if they were woodsmen chopping down trees. The population of Egypt is like a vast, impenetrable forest. But I, the Lord, affirm that the enemy will cut them down. For those who chop them down will be more numerous than locusts. They will be too numerous to count. Poor dear Egypt will be put to shame. She will be handed over to the people from the north.” The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says, “I will punish Amon, the god of Thebes. I will punish Egypt, its gods, and its kings. I will punish Pharaoh and all who trust in him. I will hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar and his troops, who want to kill them. But later on, people will live in Egypt again as they did in former times. I, the Lord, affirm it!”

So God gives Egypt a very similar message that he gave to Judah

Babylon is coming, you will be destroyed, but after it’s all said and done, you will be rebuilt and have your fortunes restored.

Phlistines in chapter 47 — these are life long enemies of the Jewish people

Jeremiah 47:1–2 NET 2nd ed.

This was the Lord’s message to the prophet Jeremiah about the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza: “Look! Enemies are gathering in the north like water rising in a river. They will be like an overflowing stream. They will overwhelm the whole country and everything in it like a flood. They will overwhelm the cities and their inhabitants. People will cry out in alarm. Everyone living in the country will cry out in pain.

So the philistines, life-long enemies of the Jews, God says you are going to be conquered by Egypt.

And egypt, in turn is going to be conquered by Babylon.

The nation of Moab, just south of Judah

They worshipped the idol Chemosh

They practiced Child Sacrifice

And historically, for whatever reason, they had ended up just barely staying safe throughout all of the conquest and all of the empieres who had fought wars in the Ancient near east

And they often Mocked Israel for it.

Jeremiah 48:7–11 NET 2nd ed.

“Moab, you trust in the things you do and in your riches. So you too will be conquered. Your god Chemosh will go into exile along with his priests and his officials. The destroyer will come against every town. Not one town will escape. The towns in the valley will be destroyed. The cities on the high plain will be laid waste. I, the Lord, have spoken. Set up a gravestone for Moab, for it will certainly be laid in ruins! Its cities will be laid waste and become uninhabited. A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord’s work! A curse on anyone who keeps from carrying out his destruction! “From its earliest days Moab has lived undisturbed. It has never been taken into exile. Its people are like wine allowed to settle undisturbed on its dregs, never poured out from one jar to another. They are like wine that tastes like it always did, whose aroma has remained unchanged.

Jeremiah 48:27 NET 2nd ed.

For did not you people of Moab laugh at the people of Israel? Did you think that they were nothing but thieves, that you shook your head in contempt every time you talked about them?

And God says, to Moab, basically, don’t think that you’re safe in all this.

Babylon is coming for you too. Your days are numbered.

But like Egypt, God says

Jeremiah 48:46–47 NET 2nd ed.

Moab, you are doomed! You people who worship Chemosh will be destroyed. Your sons will be taken away captive. Your daughters will be carried away into exile. Yet in future days I will reverse Moab’s ill fortune,” says the Lord. The judgment against Moab ends here.

Just like Judah, just like Egypt, God says to Moab, you’re going to be carried in to exile, but when it’s all said and done, I’m going to restore you.

The ammonites, they tried to swoop in after the exile of Judah, and take over the promised land

Jeremiah 49:1 NET 2nd ed.

The Lord spoke about the Ammonites: “Do you think there are not any people of the nation of Israel remaining? Do you think there are not any of them remaining to reinherit their land? Is that why you people who worship the god Milcom have taken possession of the territory of Gad and live in his cities?

God says, guess what, Babylon is coming for you too.

Are you guys seeing a pattern here? as we go through?

The residents of Edom, just south of moab, are told the same thing

The people of Damascus, that was once a great and famous city, they’re going to be conquered by Babyon

We even have accounts of nations and people who were completely lost to history.

Jeremiah 49:28 NET 2nd ed.

The Lord spoke about Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered: “Army of Babylon, go and attack Kedar. Lay waste those who live in the eastern desert.

The people of Hazor were wiped completely out of history, this reference here in Jeremiah is the only place that we have record of them even existing

The people of Kedar, are mentioned here

And then also in the Babylonian writings where they made lists of all the nations they conquered.

In verse 34, we read about the Elamites, and God says they are going to be carried into captivity and destroyed, but again, when the dust settles God is going to restore them.

Sometimes what happens when we read through all of this prophetic literature, we can sometimes forget how it would have come across to the original audience

these people were living their lives under the assumption that there were all of these local gods. Moab had their god, and babylon had their gods, and egypt had their gods, and israel had their gods

And each little local god was concerned about the fortunes of their people. Almost like a good luck charm.

And through these prophecies god is blowing the front door right off of that pre-supposition.

And he is declaring to them the fact that he is the one and only almighty god of the entire universe.

He’s telling them You think Marduke of Babylon had anything to do with their conquest? no that was all me

You think Chemosh in moab protected them all these years, no that was me too.

Because God reigns over all of human history.

Every battle, every war, every king, every emperor, nothing on earth happens without God’s consent.

Not a single sparrow falls from the sky without God knowing it.

And these prophecies, and these wars that were happening, that at the time probably seemed like chaos, God was saying, Yeah, I’m in charge of all of that.

And as we zoom out, in chapter 46, Jeremiah starts getting prophecies from God against all of these nations.

Application

And yet, how often do we forget that today?

We might say it with our words, that we believe that God is in charge of All things

But how often do our actions reveal to us that we might not truly trust his soviergnty?

We have fear and doubt and anxiety about the future, about the economy,

We have a trade war with China, Putin is shooting rockets in the middle of negotians, Hamas is holding people hostage who we don’t even know if they’re alive or dead.

And we hope.

I hope everything turns out ok, I hope we get the right leader in charge, I hope that they sign a peace treaty.

And instead of hoping we ought to start trusting, that God is in charge and knows what he’s doing in the grand scheme of things.

Counterpoint

And look I get that that raises all sorts of questions.

Big questions.

Well if God’s in charge, why doesn’t he stop the suffering?

What about free will? how much of this is God orchestrating history, and how much of it is people making evil decisions?

What kind of God would even allow Babylon to cause so much destruction?

And we’re not alone in that. In fact, that’s what the entire book of Habakuk is all about, is the prophet habakuk praying to God and saying

“God what are you doing? why are you alowing these awful people Babylon to do all this stuff?”

If you have time this week, I recommend you read habakuk a coupel of times, It’s a really short book

And what we have to realize is that God allows free will, that’s what sin inherently is

It’s people sinning out of their own free will.

because God decided that having a people with the free will to choose him was the ultimate good.

But he takes the sins of people, he takes things that they are going to do anyway , and he redeems those actions for his purpose.

In Genesis, when Joseph’s brothers sold him in to slavery, God used their sin to redeem it and bring some good out of it.

Genesis 50:20 NET 2nd ed.

As for you, you meant to harm me, but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day.

And the big question on everybody’s mind in Jeremiah’s day, as nation after nation is being destroyed, is yeah but what about Babylon?

They’re evil? why aren’t they being punished.

Jeremiah 50:1-12

Jeremiah 50:1–12 NET 2nd ed.

The Lord spoke concerning Babylon and the land of Babylonia through the prophet Jeremiah. “Announce the news among the nations! Proclaim it! Signal for people to pay attention. Declare the news! Do not hide it! Say: ‘Babylon will be captured. Bel will be put to shame. Marduk will be dismayed. Babylon’s idols will be put to shame; her disgusting images will be dismayed. For a nation from the north will attack Babylon; It will lay her land waste. People and animals will flee out of it. No one will inhabit it.’ “When that time comes,” says the Lord, “the people of Israel and Judah will return to the land together. They will come back with tears of repentance as they seek the Lord their God. They will ask the way to Zion; they will turn their faces toward it. They will come and bind themselves to the Lord in a lasting covenant that will never be forgotten. “My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have allow them to go astray. They have wandered around in the mountains. They have roamed from one mountain and hill to another. They have forgotten their resting place. All who encountered them devoured them. Their enemies who did this said, ‘We are not liable for punishment! For those people have sinned against the Lord, their true pasture. They have sinned against the Lord in whom their ancestors trusted.’ “People of Judah, get out of Babylon quickly! Leave the land of Babylonia! Be the first to depart. Be like the male goats that lead the herd. For I will rouse into action and bring against Babylon a host of mighty nations from the land of the north. They will set up their battle lines against her. They will come from the north and capture her. Their arrows will be like a skilled soldier who does not return from the battle empty-handed. Babylonia will be plundered. Those who plunder it will take all they want,” says the Lord. “People of Babylonia, you plundered my people. That made you happy and glad. You frolic about like calves in a pasture. Your joyous sounds are like the neighs of a stallion. But Babylonia will be put to great shame. The land where you were born will be disgraced. Indeed, Babylonia will become the least important of all nations. It will become a dry and barren desert.

So God says, Babylon will receive payment for what they did to israel. Even thought God used them to destroy israel and all the surrounding nations in the first place.

God is able to use the warmongering tendencies of Babylon, and their ambitions for empire, for his purpose, which was to bring the people of Judah back into relationship with him.

Here’s three truths that we need to understand from this.

God using evil for good is not the same thing as god causing evil.

I know it seems like splitting hairs, but it is a big distinction.

God doesn’t cause evil. But he is absolutely willing to use evil to bring good out of it.

Romans 8:28 NET 2nd ed.

And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose,

In other words, God is able to use all things and bring good out of them.

God using evil is not the same thing as God condoning evil

Another huge distinction.

God can use babylon, God can use putin, God can use anybody he wants for his purposes.

He can redeem the consequences of their actions and weave good through it

But that doesn’t mean he condones it.

God does not let evil go unpunished

God allowed babylon to role through the ancient world, like his own personal wrecking ball

and then when it was all said and done god says, Ok, babylon, you’re next.

God says Oh I’m sorry, you thought you were safe because I was using you as my instrument to bring Judah back in to relationship with me? No you’re not safe, this isn’t a free pass to sin.

All of chapter 50, and all of chapter 51 is about that.

And at the very end of chapter 51, it saysthat Jeremiah took all of the prophecies and wrote them down on a single scroll. and he gave them to the people before they went in to exile, to take with them.

And he says when you get there, read this proclamation of Judgement against babylon out loud, so they can hear it.

Jeremiah 51:62–64 NET 2nd ed.

Then say, ‘O Lord, you have announced that you will destroy this place so that no people or animals live in it any longer. Certainly it will lie desolate forever!’ When you finish reading this scroll aloud, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River. Then say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the disaster I am ready to bring upon her; they will grow faint.’ ” The prophecies of Jeremiah end here.

This last line is a scribal note, it was, when all of the prophecies of Jeremiah were collected together and put together in to one book, this was a signal that the official book of jeremiah is over.

Because what we get in chapter 52 is a word for word copy of what is found in the book of Kings concerning the fall of Jerusalem.

And at the very end of the book, we get a glimmer of hope

Jeremiah 52:31–34 NET 2nd ed.

In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month, King Evil Merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, pardoned King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him from prison. He spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prestigious position than the other kings who were with him in Babylon. Jehoiachin took off his prison clothes and ate daily in the king’s presence for the rest of his life. He was given daily provisions by the king of Babylon for the rest of his life until the day he died.

And it almost feels like a footnote, like why is this here?

Jehoiachin, also went by the name Jeconiah.

Jeconiah was the last direct decendent of the king David.

Because the final king, Zedekiah, was a puppet king, installed by babylon

And throughout the entire narrative of the Bible, God had promised that a decendant of David would rule on the throne forever.

Matthew 1:12–16 NET 2nd ed.

After the deportation to Babylon, Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

Peroratio

Our God reigns in history. Our God actively works through human history to redeem the world that he created.

And that doesn’t stop when this book ends

It’s not like after the Book of Revelation God quit reigning over all the kingdoms of the earth.

He sits on the throne in heaven right now, he rules over all creation right now

Democrats and republicans, China, russia, ukraine, iran, north korea

There is not a single thing that happens without Our God allowing it to happen.