God Reveals His Word and Fulfills It (Walk Thru the Bible Week 31)

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,180
Welcome to Walk Through the Bible, Susan Michael's 12-month journey through the most exciting

2
00:00:06,180 --> 00:00:07,680
book on the planet.

3
00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:10,700
It will transform your life one page at a time.

4
00:00:10,700 --> 00:00:15,140
Be sure to subscribe for future episodes that will ignite your faith and bring your Bible

5
00:00:15,140 --> 00:00:16,140
to life.

6
00:00:16,140 --> 00:00:20,100
Now, let's join our host, Susan Michael.

7
00:00:20,100 --> 00:00:24,380
Hey there, welcome back.

8
00:00:24,380 --> 00:00:28,020
This is Walk Through the Bible Week 31.

9
00:00:28,020 --> 00:00:35,040
This week we are reading in the Daily Bible the dates of July 30 through August 5 or the

10
00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:39,640
pages of 9.63 through 9.99.

11
00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:44,960
Now this week we are going to get to know the Prophet Jeremiah's personality a little

12
00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:45,960
bit.

13
00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:51,560
We are going to put our feet in his shoes as he complains to the Lord.

14
00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:56,720
But we are also going to see how the Lord uses him in certain prophetic acts.

15
00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:59,800
And we are going to talk about Josiah some more.

16
00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:02,000
So lots to cover.

17
00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:05,000
Let's get started.

18
00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:13,160
Last week we talked about the great Prophet of Jeremiah, his calling to a very, very lonely

19
00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:15,840
role as a Prophet.

20
00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:22,240
And then his temple sermon where he kind of wrapped it all up there, standing at the

21
00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:28,600
gates of the temple, the temple sermon is sort of all in all.

22
00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:33,560
It's kind of like a composite of all his message there.

23
00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:39,320
And so this week I want to talk a little bit about Jeremiah's personality because I think

24
00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:41,360
we can all relate to this.

25
00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:46,360
So I'm not going to give out all the references, but some of the words of Jeremiah that you'll

26
00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:51,680
be reading this week is he says, you know, Lord, I've done nothing wrong.

27
00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:53,960
But everyone curses me.

28
00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:58,040
And then he actually accuses God of having deceived him.

29
00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:03,400
And God rebukes him and promises to protect him.

30
00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:07,600
Another time Jeremiah begs God to execute his judgment.

31
00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:11,080
Now it's like, okay, you say you're going to bring your judgment.

32
00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:12,560
You say you're going to destroy them.

33
00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:13,720
Just do it, okay?

34
00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:15,280
Do it.

35
00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:19,400
And we read these things in chapter 15.

36
00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:26,160
And in chapter 18 he says, listen to me, Lord, hear what my accusers are saying.

37
00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:31,480
They've dug a pit to capture me and have hidden snares for my feet.

38
00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:33,160
Deal with them in your anger.

39
00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:36,080
And he's saying, Lord, go after them.

40
00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:38,680
Get them, you know, in your anger.

41
00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:44,920
And in chapter 20 he says, cursed be the day I was born.

42
00:02:44,920 --> 00:02:48,720
Why did I ever come out of the womb?

43
00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:52,920
I mean, don't you see Jeremiah's frustration?

44
00:02:52,920 --> 00:02:58,200
And he's like, why am I even doing this?

45
00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:01,200
Do you ever, have you ever related to this?

46
00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:03,040
Have you ever felt that way?

47
00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:06,880
Kind of like, you know, what's it all about?

48
00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:09,480
Is this really worth it?

49
00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:13,440
Am I having any impact whatsoever, Lord?

50
00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:18,520
And here God's telling Jeremiah he's going to judge his people and destroy Jerusalem

51
00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:20,040
and they're all going in exile.

52
00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:21,880
And he's like, just do it already.

53
00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:23,680
Why are we waiting?

54
00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:26,440
What are we waiting for?

55
00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:35,560
But God's call upon him is stronger than his frustration and it's stronger than his dismay.

56
00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:39,960
And so we read in chapter 20, verse nine, he says,

57
00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:48,400
But if I say, I will not mention his word or speak any more in his name,

58
00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:55,080
His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones.

59
00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:58,080
I am weary of holding it in.

60
00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:01,240
Indeed, I cannot.

61
00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:06,040
The calling of God was like a fire in his bones.

62
00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:14,960
And he was compelled to continue on each day to get back up and to continue proclaiming

63
00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:17,440
the word of the Lord.

64
00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:23,840
May the Lord's calling in all of our lives be as that burning fire that we will not give up.

65
00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:31,920
We will not be discouraged and we will continue on to serve him, trusting him for the fruit.

66
00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:35,400
Our responsibility is faithfulness.

67
00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:42,600
And this is what we have to understand that in these prophets, especially Jeremiah,

68
00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:48,600
but also in Isaiah and in the others, they were called to being faithful

69
00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:51,000
and to continue proclaiming the word of the Lord.

70
00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:53,680
They were not called to bear fruit.

71
00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:56,120
They didn't have a large following.

72
00:04:56,120 --> 00:05:00,160
And especially Jeremiah, he was not called to the fruit.

73
00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:01,840
That was up to God.

74
00:05:01,840 --> 00:05:07,240
He was called to be faithful and thus are we.

75
00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:11,840
And the Lord also had Jeremiah do what I call prophetic acts.

76
00:05:11,840 --> 00:05:14,080
It wasn't just to proclaim the word.

77
00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:21,640
He actually had to act out the word or to give the word at a place where there was an example,

78
00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:24,480
a word picture nearby.

79
00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:29,640
So last week, I talked about how God called him to go stand at the door to the temple

80
00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:31,880
and to proclaim about the temple.

81
00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:37,120
You say the temple, the temple, the temple, but you're just using it as a lucky charm.

82
00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:40,040
It's not going to protect you in the end.

83
00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:44,880
Well, this week we read where God told him to go to the gate where the king sit.

84
00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:49,080
This is the gate of the city where the kings would sit.

85
00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:54,720
And he was to prophesy that they were not keeping the Sabbath.

86
00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:58,360
Now remember, why is the Sabbath important?

87
00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:06,280
Because the Sabbath was the sign of God's covenant with his people, Israel, and they

88
00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:07,880
were not obeying it.

89
00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:10,840
They weren't paying it any attention.

90
00:06:10,840 --> 00:06:17,160
And so he went and he proclaimed that they needed to obey the Sabbath.

91
00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:23,640
God also told him to go to the potter's house and to declare to the people that they were

92
00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:27,400
like clay in the hand of the potter.

93
00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:34,920
What a perfect example that God, the creator of the universe, he's the creator.

94
00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:36,720
He's the potter.

95
00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:39,560
They're nothing but like clay in his hands.

96
00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:43,280
He'll do whatever he wants to with them.

97
00:06:43,280 --> 00:06:47,520
Or he told him to go to the potchard gate.

98
00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:53,440
Now the potchard gate is where they threw away the old pieces of clay pots.

99
00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:57,640
Now you might say why they had a special gate just for that, well no.

100
00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:01,240
It was probably the gate that went out to that area.

101
00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:08,480
But keep in mind that the people didn't have a lot of things like paper and papyrus and

102
00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:09,680
all of this.

103
00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:11,720
They used potchards.

104
00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:13,960
They wrote on the clay.

105
00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:18,640
They used it for all of their utensils, all of their pots.

106
00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:21,440
Everything was made out of clay.

107
00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:26,960
And when they'd break a piece of potchard, when they'd break a pot, they'd have pieces

108
00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:30,800
of potchards and they needed to get rid of them.

109
00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:38,720
So they would go out this gate probably towards the valley of Hinnom, which had become a dump,

110
00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:43,800
a refuge, and they would throw the broken pieces of clay there.

111
00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:51,240
So God tells him to go there and then he says, tell them I'm going to smash them to pieces.

112
00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:53,200
Like a jar.

113
00:07:53,200 --> 00:08:00,520
So you know you have a beautiful big clay jar, maybe a big water pot stood three feet off

114
00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:02,400
the ground.

115
00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:12,120
And God's saying, don't trust in that water pot because I'm going to crush it into pieces.

116
00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:15,400
That's God's judgment that was coming.

117
00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:23,000
So now let's get back to our story about Josiah and to understand what's happening here during

118
00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:25,120
these days of Jeremiah.

119
00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:30,280
So as I mentioned last week, Josiah became king when he was eight years old.

120
00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:34,020
And so he's hearing Zephaniah and he's hearing Jeremiah.

121
00:08:34,020 --> 00:08:39,380
So by the time he's a teenager and he's able to make more decisions and do things, he begins

122
00:08:39,380 --> 00:08:40,720
to reform.

123
00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:43,600
He begins to get rid of the idolatry.

124
00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:47,840
And then he takes on a big project of renovating the temple.

125
00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:48,840
Now why?

126
00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:56,320
Well, because when these evil kings would get into idolatry, a lot of times they actually

127
00:08:56,320 --> 00:09:01,960
turned the temple of the God of Israel into a temple to another God.

128
00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:03,800
And so they'd move everything around.

129
00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:08,320
They'd set up statues and they'd set up the things that they used to worship that pagan

130
00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:09,320
God.

131
00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:17,120
So somebody like Josiah went back in and he had it completely renovated and he's reinstating

132
00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:21,560
the true worship of the God of Israel.

133
00:09:21,560 --> 00:09:23,360
And what happens?

134
00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:28,240
They find a book of the law of Moses.

135
00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:34,880
And when the priest takes it to him and he reads from it to the king, Josiah tears his

136
00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:39,160
robe, which is a sign of distress.

137
00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:46,880
And he said, here, 2 Kings 22, 13, great is the Lord's anger that is poured out on us

138
00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:52,720
because those who have gone before us have not kept the word of the Lord.

139
00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:59,000
They have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.

140
00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:01,520
Now I want you to stop and think about this for a minute.

141
00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:02,960
Here's Josiah.

142
00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:06,400
He's wanting to reinstate true worship of the God of Israel.

143
00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:09,200
He's wanting to get rid of the idolatry.

144
00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:10,200
Why?

145
00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:16,280
Because Zephaniah and Jeremiah are saying it's wrong, but he actually didn't know the

146
00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:18,800
law of Moses.

147
00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:27,480
So when he hears it, he realizes how far off they are from obeying the law of Moses.

148
00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:32,800
So for him and for all the people, they had a lot to learn from this.

149
00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:39,960
And so he gathers all the people, he has the book of the law read to them all, and they

150
00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:43,520
renewed their covenant with the Lord.

151
00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:50,320
It says Josiah then purged Jerusalem and Judah, and even the northern territory of

152
00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:56,040
the previous Israel, kingdom of Israel, he purged it all.

153
00:10:56,040 --> 00:11:02,080
He even went to Bethel where remembered Jeroboam who started the perverted worship in Bethel

154
00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:03,080
and Dan.

155
00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:10,400
It specifically says he went to Bethel and he had everything crushed and ground up.

156
00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:13,960
He got rid of all the idols, all the worship there.

157
00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:16,720
And it says he did it throughout all of Samaria.

158
00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:19,200
So hopefully he also did it in Dan.

159
00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:21,280
I didn't mention Dan by name.

160
00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:24,040
And then they had a great Passover celebration.

161
00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:31,480
It says it was the greatest Passover celebration since the time of the prophet Samuel.

162
00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:40,720
Now Josiah during this time is blessed and he expands the kingdom, he strengthens the

163
00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:41,720
kingdom.

164
00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:44,920
Well, what does that mean?

165
00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:46,080
Remember our seesaw?

166
00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:55,800
Well, if Judah is getting stronger and larger, it means Assyria is getting weaker.

167
00:11:55,800 --> 00:12:00,840
Now I want to talk about the fall of Assyria then.

168
00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:09,400
The fall of Nineveh comes first and it is roughly 40 years after the prophet Nahum said

169
00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:11,400
that Nineveh would fall.

170
00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:20,680
So in 612 BC, a coalition of the Babylonians, the Medes and the Scythians went against the

171
00:12:20,680 --> 00:12:26,840
city of Nineveh because that was the capital of what was left of the Assyrian Empire, the

172
00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:30,040
weakened Assyrian Empire, I should say.

173
00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:36,440
And the way they took the city is exactly the way Nahum said in his book.

174
00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:39,480
And that is they dammed up the river.

175
00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:46,000
So the, let me tell you, the city of Nineveh is located right on the Tigris River.

176
00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:53,360
But there is a tributary off the Tigris River that is called the river, let me find the

177
00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:55,560
name, Kosar.

178
00:12:55,560 --> 00:12:57,600
K-H-O-S-E-R.

179
00:12:57,600 --> 00:12:59,280
The Kosar River.

180
00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:06,720
It went right straight through the city of Nineveh because remember, Nineveh was huge.

181
00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:09,080
And Nineveh had, it was a beautiful city.

182
00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:16,640
It had hanging gardens, it had a zoo, it had over 100,000 people lived inside the city

183
00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:17,640
of Nineveh.

184
00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:19,360
So they had their own river.

185
00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:23,640
Well, the enemy came along then and what did they do?

186
00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:30,480
They dammed up that river and it backed up into the city of Nineveh and it flooded it.

187
00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:36,880
And the bricks dissolved and they began to fall in because of the moisture from the water.

188
00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:43,320
That is exactly what the prophet Nahum said in chapter 2.

189
00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:48,080
And I said that the palace would fall in.

190
00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:58,040
But Nineveh was destroyed so completely that it actually just became a tale, a mound.

191
00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:07,400
And it was like 2,500 years later that archaeologists began to uncover the ancient city of Nineveh.

192
00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:15,080
Once again, just as Nahum said in 311, he said that the city would go into hiding.

193
00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:18,840
It would be hidden.

194
00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:26,000
Now we have Nineveh Falls in the Assyrians retreat and they retreat farther north and

195
00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:28,520
they're getting weaker and weaker.

196
00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:37,800
And so at this point in our story, our godly king Josiah makes a terrible, terrible mistake

197
00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:40,520
and it cost him his life.

198
00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:47,040
Josiah goes to battle when the Lord has not told him to go to battle.

199
00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:50,120
And it's a defeat and he loses his life.

200
00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:52,200
So what's happening?

201
00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:59,320
In 609 BC now Nineveh has fallen and Assyria has been driven back.

202
00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:07,120
And so Egypt comes up from the south up the International Trade Highway to go and help

203
00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:13,080
Assyria to fight against this coalition with the Babylonians.

204
00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:15,400
Well Josiah hates the Assyrians.

205
00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:19,360
The Assyrians had destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel.

206
00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:20,960
They had come against the south.

207
00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:26,800
They had taken many cities in the south and they were evil and he hated them.

208
00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:31,680
So he didn't want Egypt to go up and to help Assyria.

209
00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:38,040
So Josiah takes his own troops to the city of Megiddo and confronts the Egyptians.

210
00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:40,560
Now why Megiddo?

211
00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:47,120
Because the International Trade Highway, when it gets up to the city of Megiddo, it turns

212
00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:52,800
and goes through the Jezreel Valley all the way over to the Sea of Galilee.

213
00:15:52,800 --> 00:16:00,600
And at that juncture, the small troops of Judah had the opportunity to maybe surprise the

214
00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:04,640
Egyptian troops and to actually defeat them.

215
00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:08,720
But Egypt is much bigger than Judah.

216
00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:15,200
And so the king of Egypt, Neco, says to Josiah, he sends his messengers and they say, you

217
00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:19,200
know, we don't have any problem with you Josiah of Judah.

218
00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,240
Why are you getting in our way?

219
00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:26,600
And they're like, there's no battle between us.

220
00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:30,000
And Josiah persisted.

221
00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:34,680
And he went to battle and he is mortally wounded and he dies.

222
00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:39,480
And so now Judah is a part of Egypt.

223
00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:47,760
Very sad because Josiah with his reforms really could have done what maybe extended the life

224
00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:53,000
of Judah for decades.

225
00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:55,240
We don't know what all he could have done.

226
00:16:55,240 --> 00:17:03,200
But he ran out ahead of the Lord and he confronted the mighty Egyptians and he paid for it with

227
00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:05,280
his life.

228
00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:17,680
Now Egypt then, one of Josiah's sons becomes the king in his place, but he's only there

229
00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:21,360
for I think three months and he's replaced by the Egyptians.

230
00:17:21,360 --> 00:17:27,840
They put another son of Josiah as king and they changed his name to Jehoiakim.

231
00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:32,240
So Jehoiakim was a vassal of Egypt.

232
00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:34,600
He paid tribute to Egypt.

233
00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:39,120
He reigned for 11 years and he was very, very evil.

234
00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:43,920
He did evil in the sight of the Lord, which means he brought back in the paganism and

235
00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:46,040
the idolatry.

236
00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:54,000
Now Jeremiah is so sad over the loss of Josiah that he actually writes a lament for him.

237
00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:57,960
It's a huge blow to the future of Judah.

238
00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:05,640
Now also, it's a huge blow to Jeremiah because now without a godly king of Josiah, Jeremiah

239
00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:06,920
has no friends.

240
00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:08,600
He has no support.

241
00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:11,320
He doesn't have a king that likes what he's saying.

242
00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:15,920
He now has Jehoiakim who doesn't like what he's saying at all.

243
00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:22,240
So Jeremiah ends up being charged and arrested, you could say, taking captive.

244
00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:26,040
In the end, he is released.

245
00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:30,920
But the scripture reading this week tells us that there's another prophet whose name

246
00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:36,520
was Uriah and Uriah had been preaching the same thing Jeremiah had.

247
00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,200
He was killed by Jehoiakim.

248
00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:44,840
So it's looking very, very dangerous for Jeremiah.

249
00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:51,360
This week we then, let's leave Jeremiah and we go to the book of Habakkuk.

250
00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:53,360
And Habakkuk is a very short book.

251
00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:55,080
We read the whole thing this week.

252
00:18:55,080 --> 00:19:03,360
But Habakkuk is questioning here how a righteous and holy god can use a wicked nation like

253
00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:08,200
Babylon to bring punishment against God's own people.

254
00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:11,320
Even though they are rebellious and sinful.

255
00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:19,440
So the answer is that the Babylonians, if they are evil, they too will suffer God's

256
00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:21,280
judgment.

257
00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:25,960
That's a very quick summary of the book of Habakkuk.

258
00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:31,760
Now I want to go back as one of our last points this week.

259
00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:35,360
I want to go back to Jeremiah.

260
00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:44,680
In Jeremiah chapter 46 there is a beautiful scripture here where Jeremiah reassures Judah

261
00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,800
not that they're not going to suffer judgment.

262
00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:49,640
No, no, no.

263
00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:55,120
But that even after judgment there is a day of hope coming for them.

264
00:19:55,120 --> 00:19:56,560
So let me read it for you.

265
00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:00,120
It's verses 27 and 28.

266
00:20:00,120 --> 00:20:03,960
Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant.

267
00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:07,560
Do not be dismayed, Israel.

268
00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:12,200
I will surely save you out of a distant place.

269
00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:16,040
Your descendants from the land of their exile.

270
00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:23,560
Jacob will again have peace and security and no one will make him afraid.

271
00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:30,640
Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant, for I am with you, declares the Lord.

272
00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:39,320
Though I completely destroy all nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely

273
00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:41,000
destroy you.

274
00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:45,800
I will discipline you but only in due measure.

275
00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:52,640
I will not let you go entirely unpunished.

276
00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:58,240
This chapter is the closing for Judah but it's a whole new chapter that's opening

277
00:20:58,240 --> 00:20:59,240
up later.

278
00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:02,400
This is what Jeremiah is saying.

279
00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,680
I will not completely destroy you.

280
00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:11,280
I will discipline you, yes, but with measure.

281
00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:14,720
I will not let you go entirely unpunished.

282
00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:16,600
They have to be punished.

283
00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:18,360
But God's going to measure it.

284
00:21:18,360 --> 00:21:22,000
He's going to make sure that they are not destroyed.

285
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,480
And he says, for I am with you.

286
00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:35,160
That means that even in their judgment and in their exile, God is saying, I am with you.

287
00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:39,840
What a profound history we are into right now.

288
00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:43,560
What a profound moment of the history of the Bible.

289
00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:47,640
Do you share my sense of awe about it?

290
00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:50,880
Our God is so faithful.

291
00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:51,880
He is true.

292
00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:53,520
His word is true.

293
00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:57,800
And because of that, he is so consistent.

294
00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:07,880
He told his people over and over and over what was the problem and what was the solution.

295
00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:10,120
He never changed his mind.

296
00:22:10,120 --> 00:22:12,440
He never changed his requirements.

297
00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:16,520
It was all there from the days of Moses.

298
00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:22,880
Based on what he told Moses, based on his covenant with the people of Israel is exactly

299
00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:25,480
the way God behaved.

300
00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:28,320
He told them all ahead of time.

301
00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:33,620
And then he reminded them through the prophets over and over and over.

302
00:22:33,620 --> 00:22:37,600
If you do this, you will experience blessing.

303
00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:45,320
If you do this, you are going to suffer judgment and go into exile because you will be defiling

304
00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:47,880
my land.

305
00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:55,080
Very consistent, but always with that ray of hope that one day, even after your judgment,

306
00:22:55,080 --> 00:23:00,200
after your exile, after your punishment, I will bring you back.

307
00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:06,840
And once again, you will have peace and security in your land, this beautiful land, this beautiful

308
00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:11,880
inheritance that I have set aside for you.

309
00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:16,600
One day, one day, one day.

310
00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:24,040
All the prophets had this hope as they saw judgment approaching.

311
00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:28,200
Now I hope you enjoy your reading of Jeremiah this week.

312
00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:30,880
Before we close, I want to take just a few more minutes.

313
00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:35,440
I want to tell you something else that's at work here.

314
00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:39,800
You're probably not going to read this anywhere, but it's something that really stuck out

315
00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:42,880
to me in the reading this week.

316
00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:50,240
When Josiah was renovating the temple, the priest uncovered a book of the law, and it

317
00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:57,240
was read to Josiah in a way as a testimony of this is the way you're supposed to be

318
00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:00,240
living, you and the people of Judah.

319
00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:03,280
This is my original agreement.

320
00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:09,560
And based on this agreement, if you disobey, judgment is coming.

321
00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:16,400
And it's as though that at this time of history, God is about to act, and he's about to act

322
00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:18,280
in judgment.

323
00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:22,680
And as a result, he reveals his word ahead of time.

324
00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:30,440
He explains to his people ahead of time what it is that he's about to do.

325
00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:36,840
Now he's done this again in most recent history, in our history and in our day.

326
00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:41,480
And so I want to tell you a story about 1947.

327
00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:47,440
In 1947, I'm skipping way ahead in all of our history, but as you know, the Jewish people

328
00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:51,480
had been in exile for 1900 years.

329
00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:56,320
The Romans had destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD.

330
00:24:56,320 --> 00:25:01,440
The Jewish people had either been killed or dispersed, a few left behind in the city

331
00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:03,320
of Jerusalem.

332
00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:10,280
And since then, that there had been no Israel, and the Jewish people had been in exile for

333
00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:13,280
almost 2000 years.

334
00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:16,560
That is a very, very long time.

335
00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:24,200
But beginning in the 1900s, actually beginning in the 1800s, God begins setting the stage

336
00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:25,200
for their return.

337
00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:30,960
And one day, after we finish our walk through the Bible, I'll do some sessions and I'll

338
00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:36,360
teach about this part of history and what God did in order to bring his children back

339
00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:44,440
home after almost 2000 years of exile, that he brought them back miraculously, no doubt.

340
00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:50,640
So in 1947 now, this is a key date, a key point in this story.

341
00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:57,440
The United Nations is considering what to do with this ancient land of Israel.

342
00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:02,600
The British had said we want it to be a homeland for the Jewish people, but then all this fighting

343
00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:03,760
erupted.

344
00:26:03,760 --> 00:26:05,760
The Arabs were attacking the Jews.

345
00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:07,840
There was a tension.

346
00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:12,440
There ended up almost civil war between the Jews and the Arabs and the British, and it

347
00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:16,160
was really, the tension was building every day.

348
00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:20,360
So the British had turned it over to the United Nations and they said, you find a solution

349
00:26:20,360 --> 00:26:22,720
because we're out of there.

350
00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:24,240
We're leaving.

351
00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:30,640
And so the United Nations is considering this in November of 1947.

352
00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:34,600
What else is happening at this time?

353
00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:42,400
There was an Arab Bedouin shepherd boy and he finds a cave, an undiscovered cave.

354
00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:47,560
And so he throws a rock into the cave to see if there's anything in there, what might be

355
00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:48,560
in there.

356
00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:53,320
Of course, it's dangerous to go into a dark cave not knowing are there animals in there,

357
00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:54,440
what's in there.

358
00:26:54,440 --> 00:27:02,520
And the rock hits upon a jar and he goes in and he hears it break.

359
00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:04,440
He hears the jar break.

360
00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:09,320
So he goes and he gets a friend and he brings him back and they go in and they find what

361
00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:14,680
are ancient scrolls that have been hidden inside clay jars.

362
00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:20,320
These scrolls had been hidden there since the days before Christ.

363
00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:25,200
And because of the destruction of the temple by the Romans, they had been left there for

364
00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:33,240
2000 years in this ancient hot, dry desert climate there that preserved them.

365
00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:41,120
And so there was a professor at Hebrew University, a professor at Sulkenac, and he found out about

366
00:27:41,120 --> 00:27:47,200
the existence of these scrolls and he was able to purchase three of them and he took

367
00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:51,680
them to his home and he unscroll the scroll.

368
00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:54,280
You'll know the Dead Sea Scrolls.

369
00:27:54,280 --> 00:28:02,520
One of the scrolls was the entire book of Isaiah and he's sitting there in his home

370
00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:07,080
on November 29th, 1947.

371
00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:14,160
And he's looking at the fragment, the scroll of the book of Isaiah.

372
00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:21,440
And he said that while he was reading the words of Isaiah, he was listening on the radio

373
00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:25,720
to the United Nations vote taking place in New York.

374
00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:33,640
And the vote was in favor of the partition of the land that there could be a Jewish state

375
00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:38,720
on parts of it and there could be an Arab state on the other parts of it and that the

376
00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:41,560
British were leaving in May 1948.

377
00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:50,160
And so that paved the way legally for the Jewish state to be declared then in May 1948

378
00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:51,920
when the British pulled out.

379
00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:58,920
So here it is, the professor is looking at the words of Isaiah and he is listening to

380
00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:06,680
this amazing historic vote, paving the way for the reestablishment of Jewish sovereignty

381
00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:13,080
in the ancient land of Israel and he's reading these words out of Isaiah 40.

382
00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:18,280
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, says the Lord.

383
00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:27,520
Speak ye comfortly, speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished,

384
00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:35,680
that her iniquity is pardoned, for she hath received the Lord's hand double for all

385
00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:38,320
her sins.

386
00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:48,080
God had revealed his word at the very point in history when he was fulfilling that word.

387
00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:55,240
That's what happened in the days of Josiah when they found that ancient book of the law.

388
00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:59,280
It was God saying this is what's going to happen.

389
00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:07,440
And here in 1947 he reveals his word to the Jewish people that it's over, they've paid,

390
00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:11,680
the exile is over, it's time to come home.

391
00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:18,400
Speak the words tenderly to Jerusalem, it's a whole new era.

392
00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:20,240
Isn't that exciting?

393
00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:23,680
That is the amazing God that we serve.

394
00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:31,600
He is so consistent that when he's about to act he uncovers the writings from 2500 years

395
00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:37,280
ago to 4000 years ago and he says that's what I'm about to do.

396
00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:39,600
And so he does.

397
00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:42,880
Be blessed in your reading of the word this week.

398
00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:50,240
I'll see you back here next week and until then, God bless.

399
00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:54,120
We hope you have enjoyed this episode of Out of Zion with Susan Michael.

400
00:30:54,120 --> 00:31:00,560
Be sure to subscribe to Out of Zion now on Apple Podcasts, CPNshows.com, YouTube, or

401
00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:02,800
wherever you like to listen and learn.

402
00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:20,840
Out of Zion with Susan Michael is a production of ICEJUSA, All Rights Reserved.