Faith often involves taking our eyes off the immediate and looking at the greater purpose. Captivity was the greater purpose for the inhabitants of Judah. This didn’t feel good of course, but was good, as we have heard many times before.
Jeremiah 24: The Good Figs and the Bad Figs
1 After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, together with the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the metal workers, and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me this vision: behold, two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the LORD.
2 One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs, but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten.
3 And the LORD said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I said, "Figs, the good figs very good, and the bad figs very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten."
4 Then the word of the LORD came to me:
5 "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans.
6 I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not uproot them.
7 I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.
8 "But thus says the LORD: Like the bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat Zedekiah the king of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt.
9 I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a reproach, a byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places where I shall drive them.
10 And I will send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers."
Jeremiah 25: Seventy Years of Captivity
1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon),
2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem:
3 "For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, to this day, the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened.
4 You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the LORD persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets,
5 saying, 'Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever.
6 Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, or provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.'
7 Yet you have not listened to me, declares the LORD, that you might provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.
8 "Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words,
9 behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the LORD, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation.
10 Moreover, I will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the grinding of the millstones and the light of the lamp.
11 This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
12 Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the LORD, making the land an everlasting waste.
13 I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations.
14 For many nations and great kings shall make slaves even of them, and I will recompense them according to their deeds and the work of their hands."
The Cup of the LORD's Wrath
15 Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: "Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.
16 They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them."
17 So I took the cup from the LORD's hand, and made all the nations to whom the LORD sent me drink it:
18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse, as at this day;
19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, all his people,
20 and all the mixed tribes among them; all the kings of the land of Uz and all the kings of the land of the Philistines (Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod);
21 Edom, Moab, and the sons of Ammon;
22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastland across the sea;
23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who cut the corners of their hair;
24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed tribes who dwell in the desert;
25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media;
26 all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of Babylon shall drink.
27 "Then you shall say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of the sword that I am sending among you.'
28 "And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: You must drink!
29 For behold, I begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the LORD of hosts.'
30 "You, therefore, shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them: "'The LORD will roar from on high, and from his holy habitation utter his voice; he will roar mightily against his fold, and shout, like those who tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31 The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth, for the LORD has an indictment against the nations; he is entering into judgment with all flesh, and the wicked he will put to the sword, declares the LORD.'
32 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, disaster is going forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth!
33 "And those pierced by the LORD on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall be dung on the surface of the ground.
34 "Wail, you shepherds, and cry out, and roll in ashes, you lords of the flock, for the days of your slaughter and dispersion have come, and you shall fall like a choice vessel.
35 No refuge will remain for the shepherds, nor escape for the lords of the flock.
36 A voice---the cry of the shepherds, and the wail of the lords of the flock! For the LORD is laying waste their pasture,
37 and the peaceful folds are devastated because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
38 Like a lion he has left his lair, for their land has become a waste because of the sword of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger."
Things to think about…
1. Jeremiah had been told by the false prophets that the Lord would not be in any captivity. Well Jeremiah in his vision of the two baskets of figs shows that the good figs are the ones that go into captivity, the bad are the ones that remain. The ones that went – left in 605 & 597BC, the ones that were bad died in 586BC because they rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. Ezekiel was taken in 597BC and was used by God with Daniel (taken earlier in 605BC) to prophecy not only regarding Babylon but the future wellbeing of Judah and Jerusalem. They were truly – ‘Good Figs’ J.
2. Jeremiah says he has been prophesying for 23 years. The dates are 627BC – the thirteenth year of Josiah to 605BC – the fourth year of Jehoiakim, Jer 25:1. Time was up. The 70 years were about to begin. Have a look at vs 8. Nebuchadnezzar is called the Lord’s servant. The people of Judah were devoted to destruction. This is quite ironic because the original Canaanites were ‘devoted to destruction’ because of their wickedness by the Lord’s servant ‘Israel’. Here the reverse is true. Sin is sin, whether it is from a pagan or those who should know better – the Lord’s people. Babylon would later be punished after seventy years because of their iniquity by the Persians. Nebuchadnezzar of course encountered and accepted the true God under Daniel’s ministry – so he truly was a servant of the Lord.
3. Jeremiah was a prophet to the nations and not just to Judah. In Jer 25:15-33 he says the Lord will judge all nations. The instrument of judgement at this point is Babylon and then they themselves will be judged. He says, ‘I begin to work disaster at the city called by My name, shall you go unpunished’. If Jerusalem was being judged by God, how much more those nations that were not called by Him. Judgment we are told in the NT does begin with the household of God, the church. Is the Lord judging the church at the moment? Following on from that – how do you think He is judging the world? What are the signs?
4. The last verses of Jer 25:34-38 are fearful for those in positions of biblical teaching, IE pastors, elders, bible scholars, theological colleges etc. The promise is ‘no escape’. What a fearful thing this is. Please pray for your pastor and others in the same position that the Word of God is not misrepresented. Pray that a greater fear comes upon pastors, ministers, elders etc who don’t seem to understand the judgement that is over their heads if they bring their word and not the Lord’s to His people. By the same token judgement is upon churches who reject the faithful preaching of the Lord. John in Revelation says their light will be taken away, Rev 2:5. The Lord will not be misrepresented..
Vision Point for cell groups – Cell groups on break over the school holidays
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Prayer Points
1. People in the church and community who have Covid. Pray especially as some will have a severe reaction.
2. That we see Christ even as Covid goes through the community.
3. Praise, hope and Joy through this new year.
4. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
5. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. CBC Leadership team – maintaining church and grounds as well as the weekly running of ministries. Thankyou.
2. Wonderful worship on Sunday – thankyou, Zac, Gina as well as Bec and Doug – technical team.
3. Joy in our service, great times in the cafe.
4. Word of God being blessed at CBC.
Announcements
1. All ministries on break until the start of February
2. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
3. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism question for January...
Q. 15. What does the wine represent? A. The blood of Christ, shed for our salvation.
Bible References – Matt.26:27&28; 1Cor.11:25.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jer 33:3
