The Family Bible Journey Podcast

Jeremiah ends with a summary of Jerusalem's demise. Only hundreds were left of a nation that once numbered in the millions. But there is a ray of hope at the end of the book, as a former king of Judah is restored to honor. This brief foreshadowing shows that there is hope for God's people.

God's wrath falls on Babylon, who was puffed up with pride after defeating most of the known world at the time. She mistakenly took credit for her many victories, failing to recognize she is only a tool in the Lord's hand. Here we learn how God uses the good, the bad and even the ugly to draw His people back to Himself.

Building on the Hall of Fame chapter of the Bible, we are encouraged to run with endurance the race that is set before us. Great training and discipline go into training. Distance running is a test of physical strength, determination and endurance. We should not be shocked that even more discipline and training go into life and death spiritual exercise.

As God's wrath is prophecied on Judah's neighbors, including the Babylonians, we hear a few verses of promised redemption. God had to punish His wayward children for their sin, so that they would return to Him and be healed by His mercy. Here we learn that the Lord's plans for His people is as prophesied in chapter 29, to give them a future and a hope.

Baruch has suffered in everything right along with Jeremiah as his faithful scribe. When he despairs of their lot, God promises to preserve him. Here we are encouraged when we are down, because the Lord knows those who are His, and He will redeem us in the end.

This list of heroes of the faith demonstrates the power of God's power at work in the lives of His people. We are greatly encouraged by these men and women of faith, because we see how God has blessed them and used them mightily.

After staying in Judea, Jeremiah witnesses a coup, wherein the faithful Governor, Gedaliah, is killed by ruthless men. The people ask Jeremiah what they should do, and he tells them to stay and be blessed. Instead of listening, they flee to Egypt, where Jeremiah prophecies a certain demise. Poor Jeremiah is then taken, against his will to Egypt, as a human shield from the wrath of God.

We are encouraged with the knowledge of God's plan fulfilled in Christ Jesus! Despite our differences and difficulties, we are encouraged here, to encourage one another with the hope we have in Jesus.

Jeremiah is a type of Christ in this passage! He is literally lowered into the bowels of earth as punishment for proclaiming the Lord's Word for His people. Jesus likewise was held in the Dungeon of Caiaphus. Even though these chapters are not easy, and make us sad for the prophet, we marvel at how the Lord preserved him through such difficult trials.

In this section of Jeremiah, we see how the prophet's suffering for truth grew worse over time. Not always arranged chronologically, we see a building resentment and mistreatment of Jeremiah. In this, we see many parallels to Christ, and all He suffered for us.

In Christ Jesus, heaven and earth collided. Throughout the Old Testament, we saw earthly representations of heavenly realities. In Jesus, we see the eternal reality of God and man united forever in mercy, faith and love.

The Rechabites were a family known for their abstinence from alcohol and perpetually living in tents. They persisted in the ancient way of the shepherds, leading a simple life. They were commended by God through the prophet, even as He challenged godless Judah with the humble faithfulness of this family.

When we make an oath, we swear by something greater than ourselves. Since God can't swear by anything higher than Himself, He has sworn to love and forgive us by His own blood shed on a cross. This mystery is profound, yet it assures us of a good standing before God.

King Zedekiah does not deserve the Lord's mercy, because he's been a horrible king. But mercy is undeserved love, given when God relents of punishing us for our sin. Since all sin has been punished in Christ Jesus, we all live with the hope of mercy, which is God's undeserved love in Christ Jesus.

More great promises of hope and restoration are shared in this passage. To know that God clearly foretold even the earthly lineage of the Savior through the prophet Jeremiah, nearly 600 years before Jesus was born, gives us great hope! No matter what the world throws at us, we receive with great joy in the love of God in Christ Jesus.

How can a holy God be reconciled with fallen humanity? Only when fallen humans are somehow made righteous. This has happened in Jesus, who is both our Lord and Savior, the God-man who has come from heaven to earth to forgive us.

Jeremiah does a great act of faith, in buying for himself a field in the midst of the siege. He knows that Isreal will be restored, so his apparently foolhardy investment is a a bold proclamation of faith, even in the face of defeat.