Wed. Aug 14

A letter to the Exiles

After the second wave of exiles is taken, Jeremiah writes this letter to encourage them.

If you think about the people who are taken into captivity, you can imagine their devastation and fear. Look at what God is doing:

He promised to punish Judah for their disobedience. God promised that the sign of their destruction would be a son born to a virgin.

He also promised through Habbakuk to discipline Judah through the wickedness of the Babylonians.

But God promises to show favor to those who are taken captive in Babylon:

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Jeremiah 24:4–7 CSB

4 The word of the Lord came to me: 5 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Like these good figs, so I regard as good the exiles from Judah I sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. 6 I will keep my eyes on them for their good and will return them to this land. I will build them up and not demolish them; I will plant them and not uproot them. 7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God because they will return to me with all their heart.

In , Jeremiah writes a letter to the exiles reporting that God knows the plans that He has for them, plans of peace and not of evil, plans to give them a future and a hope.

It is an amazing picture of God’s grace. God is sending His people out of the land for their own good, so they will not be destroyed when the Babylonians burn Jerusalem and other cities. Those who are left behind will be destroyed. Primarily, the false prophets, the false priests, and those who have utterly rejected the Lord.

As an example:

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Jeremiah 29:24–32 CSB

24 To Shemaiah the Nehelamite you are to say, 25 “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You in your own name have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying, 26 ‘The Lord has appointed you priest in place of the priest Jehoiada to be the chief officer in the temple of the Lord, responsible for every madman who acts like a prophet. You must confine him in the stocks and an iron collar. 27 So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who has been acting like a prophet among you? 28 For he has sent word to us in Babylon, claiming, “The exile will be long. Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce.” ’ ” 29 The priest Zephaniah read this letter in the hearing of the prophet Jeremiah. 30 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 31 “Send a message to all the exiles, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah prophesied to you, though I did not send him, and made you trust a lie, 32 this is what the Lord says: I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. There will not be even one of his descendants living among these people, nor will any ever see the good that I will bring to my people—this is the Lord’s declaration—for he has preached rebellion against the Lord.’ ”

A general timeline of the 3 waves of exile:

Year one, Daniel is taken with the first waves of exiles

Year 7, the second wave of exiles is taken.

Year 7, Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem

Year 18, Jerusalem is destroyed.

The king, Zedekiah and his family are killed, 73 others were killed, some of the “great people” were burned in their homes, plus everyone who died of hunger during the 11 year seige. The poor were then taken in the third wave of exile. Some of the poor were left to tend vineyards.

If the Jews had been paying attention to the prophecies: This was definitely not the judgement of destruction—the virgin had not yet give birth to a son.

This couldn’t have been the judgement of destruction, because more than a remnant had been rescued and been preserved.

General time stamp: 14 years later, Nebuchadnezzar would spend 7 years living as a wild animal.

The Prophets Speak God’s Word in Jerusalem and Babylon

Jeremiah

When Zedekiah becomes king (he will rule for 11 years, the seige will last for this entire time with a small break), he asked Jeremiah to pray for the people. God had already told Jeremiah not to pray for the people (Samuel and Moses wouldn’t even have been able to get the Lord to relent).

Egypt attacked Babylon, and Babylon lifted the seige to go fight Egypt.

Jeremiah told Zedekiah that Babylon would be back and Jerusalem would be destroyed.

Jeremiah was imprisoned and would have died in a dungeon or well filled with marsh, if it had not been for an Ethiopian who pulled him out.

Jeremiah tells Zedekiah not to attempt to escape Jerusalem, but to surrender to Babylon…if he obeys, God will not burn the city with fire (God gives them one more chance)—if he does, then the Babylonians will will burn the city with fire.

Jeremiah 38:17–18 CSB

17 Jeremiah therefore said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If indeed you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned, and you and your household will survive. 18 But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans. They will burn it, and you yourself will not escape from them.’ ”

Jeremiah 38:17–23 CSB

17 Jeremiah therefore said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If indeed you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned, and you and your household will survive. 18 But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans. They will burn it, and you yourself will not escape from them.’ ” 19 But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am worried about the Judeans who have defected to the Chaldeans. They may hand me over to the Judeans to abuse me.” 20 “They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey the Lord in what I am telling you, so it may go well for you and you can live. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is the verdict that the Lord has shown me: 22 ‘All the women who remain in the palace of Judah’s king will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon and will say to you, “Your trusted friends misled you and overcame you. Your feet sank into the mire, and they deserted you.” 23 All your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans. You yourself will not escape from them, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon and this city will burn.’ ”

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jer 38 17-

Jeremiah also prophesies the destruction of Babylon. We will see how God blesses and rewards Jeremiah in a few weeks.

Ezekiel

Ezekiel begins prophesying 4 1/2 years after he is taken into captivity, in year 13 of the exile.

He is sent to preach God’s word among the exiles. We find out that God has rescued these exiles in spite of their rebellion. Jeremiah told them that God had plans of hope for them, but God told Ezekiel that they were rebellious. Some would listen to him and some would not.

Ezekiel first sees the glory of the Lord, the Holy Spirit, and magnificent creatures (cherubim). Then God instructs him:

Ezekiel 2:1–8 CSB

1 He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak with you.” 2 As he spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and I listened to the one who was speaking to me. 3 He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to the rebellious pagans who have rebelled against me. The Israelites and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this day. 4 The descendants are obstinate and hardhearted. I am sending you to them, and you must say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’ 5 Whether they listen or refuse to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 “But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them and do not be afraid of their words, even though briers and thorns are beside you and you live among scorpions. Don’t be afraid of their words or discouraged by the look on their faces, for they are a rebellious house. 7 Speak my words to them whether they listen or refuse to listen, for they are rebellious. 8 “And you, son of man, listen to what I tell you: Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.”

Ezekiel 3:4–15 CSB

4 Then he said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak my words to them. 5 For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or a difficult language but to the house of Israel— 6 not to the many peoples of unintelligible speech or a difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. No doubt, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you. 7 But the house of Israel will not want to listen to you because they do not want to listen to me. For the whole house of Israel is hardheaded and hardhearted. 8 Look, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. 9 I have made your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Don’t be afraid of them or discouraged by the look on their faces, though they are a rebellious house.” 10 Next he said to me: “Son of man, listen carefully to all my words that I speak to you and take them to heart. 11 Go to your people, the exiles, and speak to them. Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ whether they listen or refuse to listen.” 12 The Spirit then lifted me up, and I heard a loud rumbling sound behind me—bless the glory of the Lord in his place!— 13 with the sound of the living creatures’ wings brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound. 14 The Spirit lifted me up and took me away. I left in bitterness and in an angry spirit, and the Lord’s hand was on me powerfully. 15 I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were living by the Chebar Canal, and I sat there among them stunned for seven days.

God is using Jeremiah to encourage the exiles, while Ezekiel is calling them to repentance.

Ezekiel sat among the exiles for 7 days, then the Lord spoke to him again:

Ezekiel 3:17–19 CSB

17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman over the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, give them a warning from me. 18 If I say to the wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him—you don’t speak out to warn him about his wicked way in order to save his life—that wicked person will die for his iniquity. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood. 19 But if you warn a wicked person and he does not turn from his wickedness or his wicked way, he will die for his iniquity, but you will have rescued yourself.

ezekiel 3 17-19

God also gives Ezekiel a picture of how the next 22.5 years are going to go:

Ezekiel 3:23–27 CSB

23 So I got up and went out to the plain. The Lord’s glory was present there, like the glory I had seen by the Chebar Canal, and I fell facedown. 24 The Spirit entered me and set me on my feet. He spoke with me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25 As for you, son of man, they will put ropes on you and bind you with them so you cannot go out among them. 26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be mute and unable to be a mediator for them, for they are a rebellious house. 27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’ Let the one who listens, listen, and let the one who refuses, refuse—for they are a rebellious house.

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Important to understand the time stamps as you read couldn’t find a commentary that got this right. Ezekiel prophesied for 22.5 years. Most commentaries say that he prophesied for 21 years:

Ezekiel 1:1–3 CSB

1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, while I was among the exiles by the Chebar Canal, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. 2 On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile— 3 the word of the Lord came directly to the priest Ezekiel son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar Canal. The Lord’s hand was on him there.

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Ezekiel 8:1 CSB

1 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting in front of me, and there the hand of the Lord God came down on me.

Ezekiel 29:17 CSB

17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:

ezek 29

here is why this is important: is a vision of the sin that was taking place in the temple. At the conclusion of the vision, God’s glory leaves the temple. God’s glory leaves Jerusalem. Because of the time stamp, we know that Ezekiel is seeing what is going to happen to the temple in 5 years.

Side note: God’s glory does not return until the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fills the believers (120). I have never seen this…but go back and check it…all 120 of them were filled with the Spirit and speaking in tongues, including the women.

The time stamps are also important in Ezekiel: in ch 30, the time stamp is the 11th year. This is a prophecy about the fall of Egypt. This is the same year Jerusalem is destroyed. So God is letting the exiles know that even as they hear about Jerusalem being destroyed, God will also destroy Egypt. This must have brought encouragement to them.