Calling out responsibility
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
Accountability comes with power and position. This chapter highlights how God desires leaders to act rightly and justly. It will emphasize the need for true repentance and restoration that follows genuine change. This is a great foreshadow of Christ who was the ultimate king who fulfills the righteous standard that the human leaders failed to meet. He embodies justice, mercy, and truth.
Big Idea of chapter: God holds leaders accountable for their actions, and He desires justice and righteousness in all who hold authority; we must strive to reflect His character in our lives and communities.
Summary of chapter: This chapter speaks to the failure of the leadership in Judah, where political power is misused, leading to judgment. God urges the king (through the prophet) to act justly and righteously, emphasizing the importance of integrity and faithfulness in governance.
Do you think God still holds leaders responsible today?
This chapter can remind us of the importance of personal integrity and taking personal responsibility in our lives and the lives of the leaders around us. Whether they are in the church or in the community or even in our household. It serves as a warning against the consequences of neglecting righteousness and justice.
This is a longer chapter today, I think maybe we better break it down in pieces as we go.
A Call for Justice
A Call for Justice
1 Thus says the Lord, “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word 2 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who sits on David’s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates.
3 ‘Thus says the Lord, “Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place. 4 “For if you men will indeed perform this thing, then kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people.
5 “But if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a desolation.” ’ ” 6 For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah: “You are like Gilead to Me, Like the summit of Lebanon; Yet most assuredly I will make you like a wilderness, Like cities which are not inhabited.
7 “For I will set apart destroyers against you, Each with his weapons; And they will cut down your choicest cedars And throw them on the fire. 8 “Many nations will pass by this city; and they will say to one another, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this great city?’
9 “Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord their God and bowed down to other gods and served them.’ ”
A Call for Justice (vv.1-5)
God Commands justice from Judah’s kings
He commands Jeremiah to go to the house of the king and speak God’s word (v.1)
Exercise justice, deliver the oppressed, stop violence and bloodshed (v.3)
Issue warning: Obedience brings blessings; disobedience brings ruin if they do not listen (vv.4-5)
Coming judgment on house of David (vv.6-9)
The palace will become desolate
The place that was once beautiful like Gilead and Gilead and Lebanon, God will make them like a wilderness (vv.6-7)
Nations will ask “Why has God does this?” (v.8)
Answer: Because they forsook the covenant, they violated the covenant relationship with God.
God desires leaders to engage in just and righteous actions, for leaders can influence many people positively when they uphold God’s stands of justice. You can impact many or some, or even one in your family when You do.
Message to Shallum (Jehoahaz)
Message to Shallum (Jehoahaz)
10 Do not weep for the dead or mourn for him, But weep continually for the one who goes away; For he will never return Or see his native land. 11 For thus says the Lord in regard to Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in the place of Josiah his father, who went forth from this place, “He will never return there; 12 but in the place where they led him captive, there he will die and not see this land again.
Grieving faithless leadership
Do not weep for the dead — weep for the exiled one who will never return(v.10)
Shallum (Jehoahaz) will die in captivity and never return (vv. 11-12)
This section shows Jeremiah’s lament over the fallen king and the emphasis on humility. It does not say who the king was, but more than likely it was (Josiah). This is a good reminder that power and authority are fleeting without faithfulness to God’s covenant. Christ is a great example of humble submission to the Father’s will and sets the path for our submission.
Condemnation of Jehoiakim
Condemnation of Jehoiakim
13 “Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness And his upper rooms without justice, Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay And does not give him his wages, 14 Who says, ‘I will build myself a roomy house With spacious upper rooms, And cut out its windows, Paneling it with cedar and painting it bright red.’
15 “Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink And do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. 16 “He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; Then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?” Declares the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your heart Are intent only upon your own dishonest gain, And on shedding innocent blood And on practicing oppression and extortion.” 18 Therefore thus says the Lord in regard to Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, “They will not lament for him: ‘Alas, my brother!’ or, ‘Alas, sister!’ They will not lament for him: ‘Alas for the master!’ or, ‘Alas for his splendor!’
19 “He will be buried with a donkey’s burial, Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
Jehoiakim: Injustice and arrogance
Condemnation for exploiting labor and rejecting justice.
He builds for himself with forced labor by injustice (v.13)
He only cares for luxury and greatness (vv.14-15)
His father Josiah was a righteous and just man, and it went well for him (vv.15-16)
Jehoiakim’s eyes and heart were for greed and shedding of innocent blood (v.17)
He will die without honor and be buried like a donkey (vv.18-19)
Self-serving leadership, that is what is brought to light here and the dangers of it. How the king exploited and it led to his downfall. We are encouraged to evaluate our motives to ensure our actions align with God’s principles of love and justice.
Inevitable Judgment
Inevitable Judgment
20 “Go up to Lebanon and cry out, And lift up your voice in Bashan; Cry out also from Abarim, For all your lovers have been crushed. 21 “I spoke to you in your prosperity; But you said, ‘I will not listen!’ This has been your practice from your youth, That you have not obeyed My voice.
22 “The wind will sweep away all your shepherds, And your lovers will go into captivity; Then you will surely be ashamed and humiliated Because of all your wickedness. 23 “You who dwell in Lebanon, Nested in the cedars, How you will groan when pangs come upon you, Pain like a woman in childbirth!
24 “As I live,” declares the Lord, “even though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull you off; 25 and I will give you over into the hand of those who are seeking your life, yes, into the hand of those whom you dread, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
26 “I will hurl you and your mother who bore you into another country where you were not born, and there you will die. 27 “But as for the land to which they desire to return, they will not return to it.
28 “Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar? Or is he an undesirable vessel? Why have he and his descendants been hurled out And cast into a land that they had not known? 29 “O land, land, land, Hear the word of the Lord!
30 “Thus says the Lord, ‘Write this man down childless, A man who will not prosper in his days; For no man of his descendants will prosper Sitting on the throne of David Or ruling again in Judah.’ ”
In this section you see the final rejection of the Davidic kingdom
The lamentation from Lebanon and Basham (vv.20-23)
Coniah (Jehoiachin) cast out like a broken vessel (vv.24-28)
No descendant will prosper on David’s throne again (v.29-30)
There is inevitable judgment for those who forsake God’s statutes, akin to what happened to those in high places who trusted in their power. God provides a way to escape judgment through repentance, through righteousness, urging believers to pursue a life anchored in His teaching.
Scripture Questions
Scripture Questions
What specific actions does God require of the king (v.3)?
Do justice and righteousness. Deliver the one who has been robbed of power from oppressor.
Do not mistreat or be violent to strangers, orphan or widows, or shed innocent blood.
How does (v.15) contrast Jehoiakim’s priorities with those of his father Josiah?
His father lived for justice and righteousness (eat and drink).
What does (v.30) imply about the future of the Davidic line?
That the line as far as a man sitting on the throne in Judah would end.
Application
Application
Righteous leadership is God’s expectation
Whether in church, workplace, church, family or in government, God expects righteous and accountable leadership.
Success without justice is sin
God weighs motives, not just the end results but how we got there.
Our heritage or position will not save us
David’s sons fell because they assumed privilege guaranteed blessings
God defends the vulnerable
He specifically calls out the oppressed, the alien, the fatherless, and the widow (look at v.3).
Jeremiah 22 is a prophetic mirror that can be held up to every generation of leaders. God does not bless brutality, exploitation, or injustice. Even if the throne is “David’s.” God demands righteousness, not merely religious identity or kingly lineage. Judah’s kings ignored God’s word, and what was the result? The throne collapsed.
So, what does this mean for us today? Good question. If we lead many, a few, or just our own household, God calls us to be people of righteousness, integrity, mercy, and justice. The question is not what position do we hold, but how do we just the position we have?
(Prayer) (Exit)
