Repent of Injustice
Unit 3: Called to God's Work of Injustice • Sermon • Submitted
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Notes
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Key Verse
Key Verse
3 Thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
Introduction
Introduction
The information is the same as last weeks lesson.
However, lets share a little more information about Jeremiah.
God called Jeremiah as a young man to be his Prophet to Judah; Jeremiah's owns evaluation was that he was too young and not qualified to speak.
6 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
The inevitable confrontation would seem, at times, to be just two against everyone else.
But since one of those two was God
17 Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. 18 For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. 19 And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.
there could be no question regarding the outcome.
At times in Jeremiah's lengthy ministry, the stress was so high that it seemed as if he was at the psychological breaking point.
Nothing Jeremiah did seemed to persuade people.
One example of his extreme frustration is his series of complaints in
1 Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously? 2 Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins. 3 But thou, O Lord, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter. 4 How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.
(also 20:7-18).
God's response?
If we could be permitted a very loose translation of
5 If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?
it would be something like, "cowboy up and get with the program!"
But Jeremiah's early years of prophetic ministry under King Josiah were easy compared to what has to come.
I. For Judah (Jeremiah 22:1-5)
I. For Judah (Jeremiah 22:1-5)
Audience Identified (vv. 1,2)
Audience Identified (vv. 1,2)
1 Thus saith the Lord; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
This is a common introductory phrase. It tells the reader that a new prophecy is beginning and to expect a change from the previous subject. Jeremiah is in Jerusalem as our text begins.
compare
3 And say, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle.
1 Thus saith the Lord; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
Go down is probably a directional command in a literal sense.
Jerusalem features elevation changes.
So the directive suggests that Jeremiah receives it while at or near the temple Mount and therefore will need to walk downward to get to the House of the King of Judah.
Based on the timing of the prophecy, the King currently sitting on Judahs throne is probably Jehoiakim.
However, God refers to the location of the King's house instead of to the King himself.
This implies that Jeremiah would not be speaking only to the King
Contrast
18 Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.
11 And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the Lord;
2 And say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:
The phrase is another introduction to prophecy
examples
14 Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men,
That rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord;
The expression demands not just listening but also comprehending and heeding the message.
contrast
9 And he said, Go, and tell this people,
Hear ye indeed, but understand not;
And see ye indeed, but perceive not.
quoted in
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
What Jeremiah is about to speak is an authoritative message. As such, it will be quite unlike the invented messages of Jerusalem's false prophets
14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing:
They commit adultery, and walk in lies:
They strengthen also the hands of evildoers,
That none doth return from his wickedness:
They are all of them unto me as Sodom,
And the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
2 And say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:
Referring to the throne of David confirms the sense that this prophecy is directed toward all David's Royal heirs and not necessarily to a single, specific king of Judah
that's why Luke writes...
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
Jeremiah explicitly extends this challenge to the King's court and all his people (all those in the Palace household).
The gates are the entrances to the Palace
Everyone should listen to and be responsible to respond to Jeremiah's words, but especially the leaders.
3 Thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
Again Jeremiah emphasizes that the Lord is speaking. Jeremiah himself is only the Messenger.
3 Thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
This is the point of leadership failure...
compare
9 Thus saith the Lord God; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord God.
24 But let judgment run down as waters,
And righteousness as a mighty stream.
Judgment (justice) is to ensure fair treatment but is not limited to that.
It also extends to developing and maintaining healthy, honest, and respectful relationships at all levels.
To execute righteousness is to create and maintain those kinds of relationships.
Even so, we should not see too much of a distinction between judgment and righteousness, given their many uses as parallel terms in Hebrew poetry.
examples
1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness,
And princes shall rule in judgment.
24 But let judgment run down as waters,
And righteousness as a mighty stream.
even more than that
God's character sets the standard for judgment and righteousness.
compare
17 Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the Lord your God.
14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne:
Mercy and truth shall go before thy face.
1 Thus saith the Lord,
Keep ye judgment, and do justice:
For my salvation is near to come,
And my righteousness to be revealed.
8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good;
And what doth the Lord require of thee,
But to do justly, and to love mercy,
And to walk humbly with thy God?
Judgement and Righteousness both must be expressed toward everyone at all times.
And it is the real leaders who are to set the example.
3 Thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
We need to understand that Oppression flourishes where justice and righteousness are absent.
In such circumstances, the oppressor can cheat and steal without consequences.
The three kinds of victims mentioned are the most vulnerable in the ancient world. The three were mentioned together 16 times in the Hebrew Old Testament
A quick look at...
6 If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:
The stranger (that is, a non-Israelite living among the covenant people) should have legal recourse for righting violence done to himself and his family.
The fatherless
and the widow are most susceptible to poverty, lacking a family breadwinner.
Consequences Specified (vv. 4,5)
Consequences Specified (vv. 4,5)
4 For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
God frequently sets his commandment in the context of consequences and blessings
example
26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; 27 A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: 28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
4 For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
Here, God promises again to extend David's legacy to David's Royal descendants if they would do this thing - namely, practice justice and righteousness
The bottom-line question is simple:
Do those sitting upon the throne of David desire to keep their positions or do they not?
5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.
A warning against refusing to hear and heed God's words is in keeping with the blessings/curse pattern established early in the history of Israel see Deuteronomy 28.
Jeremiah does not use that couplet specifically, but blessing and curse is indeed the sense here
compare
13 And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.
5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.
To swear is a particularly weighty way of making a promise
compare
16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
The more significant, permanent, or powerful the thing sworn on, the more definite and absolute the promise.
There is nothing and no one more significant, permanent, or powerful than God
13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
He will make sure he fulfills this promise if Judah refuses to respond obediently.
5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.
The consequences God describes are both symbolic and literal.
The phrase this house refers both to David's descendants and to the physical structure of their dwelling.
If Judah's leaders disregard God, they will not only be dethroned; they also will be without a physical residence in Jerusalem.
II. For the Nations (Jeremiah 22:6-10)
II. For the Nations (Jeremiah 22:6-10)
Imagery of Destruction (vv, 6,7)
Imagery of Destruction (vv, 6,7)
6 For thus saith the Lord unto the king’s house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.
Again, Jeremiah restates that the words he speaks come from the Lord and are addressed to the King's house.
There should be no mistake about either the source or the intended recipient!
6 For thus saith the Lord unto the king’s house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.
God uses imagery to affirm how precious his people are to Him.
Gilead is an area just east of the Jordan. Lebanon is located along the Seacoast North of Israel.
Those areas were known for their forests.
Both David and Solomon used expensive wood from the areas in building projects
2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.
Gilead was also known for its balm
25 And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
Other than the text before us, mention of Gilead and Lebanon occur together in the same verse only in...
10 I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt,
And gather them out of Assyria;
And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon;
And place shall not be found for them.
Just three verses later, the Prophet speaks of fire destroying Lebanon's "Cedars" and "Oaks of Bushan" an area line North of an adjacent to Gilead.
The coming destruction will be heartbreaking.
Though David's lineage is precious to the Lord, he will dispossess it's Kings if they don't change their unjust ways. But that is up to them.
7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.
The destroyers to whom God refers or the Chaldeans.
Reference to the choice Cedars may refer either to
(1) trees of the forest or
(2) the Cedar used in construction for the wealthy, especially the Kings Palace.
Considering the first possibility, the felling of trees is a natural thing for a besieging army to do for building its siege ramps and towers Jeremiah 6.
Since an army would use the trees closest at hand, which probably wouldn't be Cedar, the reference to Cedar in the King's Palace is more likely.
Under either interpretation, the victorious besiegers will burn everything of significance before leaving for home.
that's what we find in...
13 And burned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire:
Judah would be a deconstruction zone.
The sense of the verse is of priceless things destroyed that need not have been.
Example of Disobedience (vv 8,9)
Example of Disobedience (vv 8,9)
8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this great city?
People of the ancient Near East generally linked the rise and fall of nations to the power of a nation's deities.
23 And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
Jerusalem status as a great city has earned Judah a reputation for following a very powerful deity.
This is what God intended
1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
The injustice that infects Jerusalem and Judah does not draw the nations toward the just and holy God the only God there is.
Instead, the nations around Jerusalem see no difference between Judah's ways of life and their's, between their gods and Judah's God.
And when those nations see the defeat in captivity of God's people, they will link it to God's activity.
The scope of devastation Judah is to undergo will be so immense that everyone will conclude that it was a God-driven action.
The extent of the destruction will accomplish what Jerusalem and her injustice had not: nations will acknowledge God in at least one sense.
9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
God's plan from the beginning has involved inviting others to experience and follow him.
We see this in God's promise to Abraham, that Abraham would be a blessing to the nations
1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
We see this again in Zechariah 8:20-23 as God's restoration of Judah draws the nation to seek him.
We see it again in the New Testament, when Peter challenges his readers to live lives that draw questions - also that we may respond with Jesus as our answer
8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: 9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. 10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: 11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. 13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? 14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
But in our text we see the opposite occurring.
Jerusalem's injustice does not draw the nations to seek God, since they see no difference between Judah's actions and their own.
So God plans to draw their attention to his ways of judgment and righteousness by disciplining Judah for her failure to model God's character.
That would invite others to see God for who He is
compare
17 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.
23 And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.
The forthcoming devastation will be seen as divine in origin.
The predicted answer is nothing new.
see
25 Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt: 26 For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them:
Mourning for the Exiles (v.10)
Mourning for the Exiles (v.10)
10 Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him:
But weep sore for him that goeth away:
For he shall return no more,
Nor see his native country.
This lament is usually understood to refer to Josiah, Judah's last righteous King
25 But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.
Mourning for the dead is a significant ritual for cultures worldwide; the ancient Near East is no exception.
Jeremiah's words suggest that there is a fate worse than death
2 Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.
10 Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him:
But weep sore for him that goeth away:
For he shall return no more,
Nor see his native country.
The reference is to Shallum, also known as Jehoahaz
11 For thus saith the Lord touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more: 12 But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.
Shallum succeeded Josiah as King in about 609 BC.
Reversing Josiah's initiatives, Shallum led Judah back into the evils of Josiah's predecessors; he was king for only three months, then was exiled permanently to Egypt.
The Shallum of 2 Kings 15 is a different person, not in view here.
It seems odd to mourn the exile of an evil King yet not grieve a death of a godly King
Compare
18 Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah;
They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister!
They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!
However, the force of Jeremiah's prophecy has been God's warning of destruction in exile if Judah's leaders refused to practice justice.
Shallum is to serve as an example of the grief of all the Exiles.
Jeremiah holds him up as a warning of his hearers own possible future.
Conclusion
Supernatural Restoration
The words from the Lord to the House of David features two promises:
(1) if David's descendants would renounce injustice, then God would bless them, but
(2) if not, they would suffer punishment.
Judah would experience the full and recognizable consequences of walking away from God.
God would therefore exhibit his character to the world and draw people to himself in one of those two ways.
God calls us to the same challenge He posed through Jeremiah.
As we demonstrate God's righteous and just character in our actions, we also must expose the injustice inflicted on the powerless by oppressive people and systems.
But we don't just draw people to God as an abstract.
Rather, we draw people to the living Jesus.
To reject the mission is to risk experiencing God in ways we will not like.