Jeremiah 22
Chuck Smith on Jeremiah 22
Verse by verse, taught on Sunday nights: the C2000 series, 1979 to 1985, and the C3000 series, 1985 to 1999. Permission granted by The Word For Today.
Sunday Nights, 1979 to 1985 (C2000)
Chapter introduction
Now the Lord commanded Jeremiah to go down to the king's house and speak there at the king's house this word. The other, it was a message sent back to the king. Now go on down to his house and speak this further word.
Verses 2–5
Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, you that are sitting upon the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people that enter in by these gates: 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. 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. But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith Jehovah, that this house shall become a desolation (22:2-5).
Now here even at this late date, God is still holding out to the king the offer of deliverance. As God said, "I've set before you life and death." And though they are really on the gallows and they're waiting for the handle to be pulled that drop the trap door, the rope in a sense is around their neck. I mean, they are as close to being gone as you can get. But even now the Lord is saying, "Look, if you'll just do what's right, if you'll only have righteous judgments and seek to deliver the fatherless, the widow, the poor from the oppression, if you'll only do that which is right, then I will continue this dynasty, this kingdom. And there will be kings that will be able to go in and up and sit upon the throne and they'll ride in and out of these gates in their chariots and all. All you have to do is turn around, even now." And so God is giving them, really, one final chance. But it seems that many times the evil and the corruption is so deeply imbedded. The greed has gone so far that you just can't turn.
Now it is interesting to me that the main cry of God was the lack of real justice that was coming forth in the land. The poor, the orphans, the widows were being oppressed. It is interesting to me how that God so often takes up the cause of the poor or of the orphan or of the widow who cry upon Him and cry unto Him. And here God's judgment would be forestalled if only they would be righteous that they would execute judgment and righteousness and deliver those who had been spoiled out of the hands of those that were oppressing them. Do no violence to the stranger, or to the fatherless, or the widow. If you do this thing indeed, you can remain. Kings will go in and out. But if you don't, God declares, I swear by myself. Now in Hebrews it says that the Lord can't swear by any higher so He swears by Himself. But when God takes an oath to swear by Himself, you can be sure that He's going to do it.
Now the oath is always to confirm the word. And when a person makes an oath, you swear by something that is higher than you. Now Jesus in a sense tells us that we should not swear. "I say unto you, swear not at all. Neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is God's footstool. But when you say yes, just let it be yes. When you say no, let it be no" (Matthew 5:34-35,37). Just be a person of your word. Don't have to be a person that takes an oath to prove, "Oh, I'm telling the truth," you know. By my mother's name or by heaven or whatever that a person may take an oath by. The Lord says you shouldn't have to do that to affirm the truth. Just speak the truth. Let your yes be a yes, let your no be a no, rather than having to swear by something other than yourself, something higher than yourself. But God when He desired to make a firm commitment, because He could swear by no higher, He swore by Himself. That is, of course, you can't get anything more sure than that. When God says, "I swear by myself that I will do it," man, there's nothing in the world more sure than that. You say, "Well, we're sure the sun will come up tomorrow morning." No, you're not. But if God declares it, then you can be sure. And if God swears by Himself that it will, then you can know. There is no question. There is no doubt. And so God really is laying it on just as heavy. "This is it. This is your final. I swear by Myself. I will just make this place a desolation."
Verse 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 the cities which are not inhabited (22:6).
Gilead and Lebanon, beautiful areas. Forested and all. That's what you are to me, but surely I'm going to make you just a desolate wilderness.
Verses 7–9
I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down your choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbor, Why has the LORD done this unto this great city? Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them (22:7-9).
So this place, this was once so glorious and so beautiful. Really the pride of the earth for glory and beauty. It's going to be laid waste and desolate and become as a wilderness and people will pass by and they say, "Why in the world did God do this to this area, to this place? Why such desolation?" And the answer would come back, "Because they have forsaken the covenant of God and worshipped other gods."
Now God had made a covenant with the nation Israel, a covenant whereby they would be His people and He would be their God. There were several factors to this covenant that God had made, several special aspects to the covenant. One of them was the Sabbath day. That was a special covenant between God and Israel forever--their observance of the Sabbath day. Another aspect to the covenant was the circumcision of the males. Another aspect of the covenant was that their approach to God was to be through the sacrifice of animals. For sinful man cannot approach a holy God. And God had said in His covenant, "For without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sins" (Hebrews 9:22). And so God established in His covenant with them the various sacrifices that they would offer unto the Lord: the sin offerings, the peace offerings, the whole burnt offerings, the meal offerings. Now God said, "You've broken the covenant."
It is interesting to me today that they are still not keeping the whole covenant with God. Though they observe the Sabbath and though they will not eat meat with dairy products, and though they still follow circumcision, yet they have tried to circumvent that portion of the covenant whereby God made provision for their covering of their sins. And they offer no sacrifice. There is no shedding of blood, without which, God said, there is no remission. But they now through some strange quirk seek to approach God on the basis of their own works and their own goodness.
Now where did this come from? Surely not from God or God's Word. This was one of man's substitutes that was introduced by man and picked up by the people and now followed by them religiously. So that on that great day of the year, Yom Kippur, when the priest was to go in and offer the atonement for the nation and for the sins of the nation, that day, the greatest day of the year really for them when the high priest that one day would enter into the presence of God within the holy of holies and there offer the sacrifice unto the Lord for the atonement of the sins of the nation. That day is now devoted to meditation upon your good works and upon your evil works. And hopefully balancing out with a little bit on the good works side so that your good works overbalance your evil works, and this is my acceptance before You, God. And yet, right here in the prophecy of Jeremiah he declares, "Your works are as filthy rags in the eyes of God." What a tragedy. Here they are trying to offer filthy rags to God for the atonement of their sins. Can't be done.
And so God said, "You've broken the covenant." They continue to break the covenant to the present day. But, of course, Jesus said when He took the cup, "This is a new covenant--My blood which is shed for the remission of sins." You see, they could come to God now by the new covenant. But somehow in their minds they feel that if they come to God by the new covenant, they will no longer be Jews. And this is a very weird perversion of the truth, because they are not really keeping the true covenant of God, the shedding of blood for the remission of sins. But what they don't realize, they don't have to keep that part. What they offer instead is their own works. But Paul the apostle writing to the Ephesians said, "It's not our works, lest any man should boast. By grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves. It is a gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
And yet, they are seeking to be accepted by God for their works that they do. But God will not accept any man's works as an atoning factor for that man. You cannot work your way into God's grace or into God's favor or into heaven. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Without the remission of sin there is no fellowship with God. If you're to have fellowship with God there has to be the righteous basis for fellowship, and right now God has established a new covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ. "This cup is My blood. A new covenant in My blood which is shed for the remission of sins."
So why did the Lord do this? Why is this once glorious city such a desolation? Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God. They've worshipped other gods and served them.
Verse 10
Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep for him that is carried away (22:10):
Those that have died, don't weep for them. They're out of it. They're out of their miseries. But weep for those that are being taken captive to Babylon.
for they will never return again, nor see their native country (22:10).
Of course, in a couple of chapters we're going to find out that their captivity is going to last for seventy years. So there were a very, very few who did return, who can remember the former temple that they used to see when they were children. Old men now, probably in their eighties, who were just children when they were taken captive. Now returning to Jerusalem after the captivity, and as they lay the foundation for the rebuilding of the temple and everybody's worshipping and excited, "Oh, glory, glory," these men are weeping because this is such a pitiful looking thing in remembrance of the glorious temple that was once there. So he is saying, "Don't weep for those that are slain. They are well off. Those that are being taken away to Babylon, they are the ones that are going to have continual suffering. Weep sore for those."
Verse 11
For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum (22:11)
And this is Jehoahaz who was taken down to Egypt by the Pharaoh. He was the king of Israel for a period of time, but he was taken as a captive to Egypt. "Thus saith the Lord concerning Shallum."
Verses 11–12
the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He is never going to come back again: but he shall die in the place where they have led him captive, and he will never see this land again (22:11-12).
Jehoahaz is going to die in Egypt. He'll never come back.
Verse 13
Woe unto him that builds his house by unrighteousness (22:13),
Now he's laying it on to king Zedekiah again. "Who built his house by unrighteousness."
and his chambers by wrong; that used his neighbor's service without wages (22:13),
Because he was the king, he refused to pay those that worked upon his house. God's always for the laboring man; God's always for the underdog. God doesn't want you to rip anybody off and especially those that can't afford it, but just nobody, really. God wants righteousness. "Who used his neighbor's service without wages."
Verses 13–14
and gives him nothing for his work; That says, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and he cuts out windows; and it is ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion (22:13-14).
That must have been quite a house--vermilion walls and cedar ceilings.
Verses 15–17
Shalt thou reign, because you closed yourself in cedar? did not your father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD. But your eyes and your heart are not but for your own covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it (22:15-17).
Talking about his father, of course, going back to Josiah and how that in his reign he was righteous before God and God blessed him. He judged the cause of the poor and it went well with him. But this king was covetousness. He was taking advantage of the people.
Verses 18–19
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! But he will be buried with the burial of an ass, that is drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem (22:18-19).
So the fearsome judgment against Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah.
Verse 20
Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up your voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all of the lovers are destroyed (22:20).
All of your lovers.
Verse 21
I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but you said, I will not listen. This has been your manner from your youth, you just haven't obeyed my voice (22:21).
How many people in their prosperity have turned their heart from God. And God speaks to them but they just won't hearken. They won't listen. But God said, "This has been your case from the beginning. You just won't obey My voice." God help us that this not be the case of our own selves as God has spoken to us over and over in His Word. As God has declared in His Word how we are to walk and how we are to live after the Spirit and not after the flesh. And when God has given us so many warnings of the perils of the flesh-dominated life, God help us if we don't obey Him. But if we become covetous, if we become greedy, if we begin to take advantage of other people because of our own position.
Jesus said to His disciples, "The heathen love to exercise lordship over others. But it shall not be so among you. For whosoever would be the chief among you, let him be the servant of all" (Mark 10:44). Now that's what it's to be like in the kingdom. Not to be taking advantage of your position. If you have a position of leadership or authority over others, not to be using it for your own personal advantage. Not to be using it to build your own house as the king did. Not to take unfair advantage of other people. If they work for you, pay them. And if you're going to be the chief, then learn to be the servant of all. Rather than taking, give. Use your position to help and to give to those that are lacking. And thus shall you truly be the servant of the Lord. God help us. God said, "Hey, I spoke to you in your prosperity, you wouldn't listen. And that's been the case. You just haven't listened. You haven't obeyed My voice from the beginning."
Verses 22–24
The wind shall eat up all of your pastors, and all of your lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all of your wickedness. O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makes thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail! As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence (22:22-24);
Coniah, of course, is Jeconiah who reigned just a short period and was cut off. Three months is all that he reigned. And God said, "Though he were the signet on My ring, on My right hand, yet I would pluck thee thence."
Verses 25–27
For I will give thee into the hand of them that seek your life, and into the hand of them whose face you fear, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die. But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return (22:25-27).
You'll never come back again. You're going to die in captivity.
Verses 28–29
Is this man Jeconiah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD (22:28-29).
You see, God had been speaking to men for a long time. God says, "You're not listening. I spoke to you in your time of your prosperity, you wouldn't listen to Me." And so finally Jeremiah's so upset. He has given this message to this people. They're not listening so he turns and he says, "O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord. They won't listen. Earth, you listen."
You ever had the problem of talking to a group of people and you look up and no one's listening? You're telling something very interesting. A lot of times I turn and talk to my menu. No one else is listening, you know. "O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord."
Verse 30
Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah (22:30).
This is the end of the line; Zedekiah's it. The dynasty is cut off with him. No one's going to arise of his seed to reign on the throne in Judah. That is a fact. It has happened. That was the end of the road for that dynasty.
Sunday Nights, 1985 to 1999 (C3000)
Chapter introduction
This chapter might be entitled the tale of three kings because Jeremiah is going to prophecy concerning three of the kings of the last kings of Judah. To give you just a little bit of a historic background to help you understand a little bit of what Jeremiah is prophesying here. There was a king in Judah who’s name was Josiah. A very good king who instituted many spiritual reforms and got the nation back worshipping God again. Jeremiah began his prophesying during the reign of king Josiah. Josiah was strong. He rebuilt the temple and the nation became strong under his reign as was always the case for righteousness exalts a nation and sin is a reproach to any people.
While he was king the Pharaoh of Egypt was engaged in warfare against the Babylonians. And the Pharaoh Neco had brought his troops up to fight against the Babylonians. To do so they had to pass through a part of the land. They came up what was known as the Biyamares. And the Biyamares passed by the area of Megiddo. So Josiah hearing that the Egyptian army was going up to fight the Babylonians decided that he would take his troops over to Megiddo and meet the Pharaoh and his troops in battle. The Pharaoh sent him a note and said to stay out of this. My problem is not with you it is with Babylon. God is sent me on this mission to fight against Babylon and don’t meddle around with God. Because you can only get hurt by doing so.
But Josiah would not listen and he was insistent on his desire to get in and mix it up a bit. And so he came to Megiddo where he disguised himself as just a regular army personal. He went into battle himself. He was hit by an arrow and he ordered his men to get him out of there and he died before he got back to Jerusalem. His son, Jehoahaz, also known as Shallum, was twenty-three years old when his father was killed in the battle. And he began to reign in Jerusalem in his fathers stead. Shallum is the first of the three kings that we will be looking at tonight.
Shallum only reigned for only three months. But in that three months he did one hundred eighty from his father. Where his father was a good king and had rebuilt the temple and had led the people in the reestablishing of the worship of God, he turned completely. He reestablished the idol worship centers that his father had destroyed. In three months he did a lot of damage.
But Pharaoh who had defeated his father in as much as Judah had come to fight against him came to Jerusalem, he took the city, took a lot of the gold and he took Jehoahaz or Shallum as a captive to Egypt. He put his older brother on the throne who was Jehoiakim, the second of the three kings. And so Jehoiakim became a tributary of Egypt and he began to pay taxes that were demanded by the Pharaoh or tribute to Egypt. He reigned for eleven years.
Upon the death of Jehoiakim, his son who is called Jechoniah, or in the chapter tonight, Coniah, began to reign. He reigned for only three months. He also was evil. His father Jehoiakim was evil. So you have three, the tale of three kings who were evil kings.
Coniah only reigned for three months. Actually Jehoiakim, his father, was slain in the battle against Babylon. His son began to reign. He reigned for only three months, was evil, and he was captured by Nebuchadnezzar, and taken as a captive with his family and his mother to Babylon where he died.
Those are the three kings that we will be dealing with tonight. The two sons of Josiah. And then the grandson of Josiah, Coniah, the third of these three kings.
Verse 1
Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
Again we have the LORD speaking directly to Jeremiah and it is interesting how the word of the LORD would come to Jeremiah and how precise, and how explicit were the commands of the LORD to Jeremiah. It would be great, it would be wonderful if we had that kind of a communication where God could speak as clearly to us. Where we could understand the voice of God speaking to us as did Jeremiah. I have often wondered just how did God speak to Jeremiah. Was it an audible voice that he heard? Just how is it that when the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, or in this case, thus saith the LORD, how did the LORD say it?
Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word.
We are coming to a passage of Scripture, a little bit further on in Jeremiah, where we will discover how God spoke to Jeremiah. I think that you will find it quite interesting. But, the question was in my mind for so long. It seems that the LORD spoke in such a clear, precise way. And I become jealous of Jeremiah. I wish the LORD would speak to me like that. And so he is to say;
Verse 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:
So, he is commanding the kings, his counsel, the people that are there to hear the word of the LORD. Now, the fact of the matter is that they did not listen. They had closed their ear to the word of the LORD. So at the end of the chapter we find Jeremiah saying, “Oh earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.” No one will listen so he cries to the earth to hear the word of the LORD. But here the command is to the king and to his servants to hear the word of the LORD.
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.
As I read that I don’t think that God’s demand is harsh or difficult. What God is saying is to be fair. The judicial system had become corrupted. There was not any real true execution of justice. The evil people were getting by with their evil. The court system had become so corrupted that the evil was not being punished. The honest people were getting really a bad deal. It is sort of like the judicial systems of the land today. I mean, there are attorneys that are advertising, “Have you been under stress at work? Do they put you under pressure? Have you suffered mental anguish because of something that was said? Call us, we are on your side.” And we become so litigious in our land today. My, you hate to even have a fender bender because you will slapped with a suit for mental anguish and whiplashes and everything else because you scratched their bumper.
That was the case of Judah at the time. The judicial system had really become corrupted. The people were being oppressed by the law rather than delivered from the law. The LORD said not to do any wrong or any violence. And to take care of the orphans and the widows and do not shed innocent blood in this place. Now, the demand of God is not that difficult or strenuous or erroneous. I can’t see that people would say, “Oh my, how could God tell us to be good. Not to be violent, not to shed innocent blood, to have concern for the fatherless.” God is so fair! And He wants us to be fair. God is so just and He wants us to be just. God is concerned with the underdog and he wants us to be concerned with the underdog. The underprivileged, and that is all that God is asking. And the LORD is saying;
Verse 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.
If you will just be fair, have a honest government, do what is right, take care of the weak, and the widows, then you will be able to ride on your chariots and you will be able to maintain the nation. The kingdom will go on. You will be preserved.
Verse 5
But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become desolation.
God is not laying a heavy thing on them. He is very fair and the rewards of doing it are great. You will be ably to maintain you position as king. But if you don’t though God says that He will swear by Myself. Now, in those days people were prone to take oaths. And in taking an oath you would swear by something that was higher than you. You would never swear by anything that is lower than you. But you would always swear by something higher. You don’t say, “I swear by my dog that I will do it.” But you say, “I swear on my mother’s honor, I will do it.” So they would take oaths to confirm their sincerity in the statements that they were making, or their honesty.
They would swear by the temple, they would swear by God, they would swear by different things. They would take their oaths. Now in our courts we used to swear by the Bible. Swear by God that you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help you God. And you would swear by God to tell the truth. That is probably why the court system is in such a mess. You don’t have to swear by God. Well, what other standard is there?
When God wants to take an oath to confirm that what He says is true. Who can He swear by? There is no one higher than God. So God when He took an oath would swear by Himself. “I swear by Myself,” God said. There is nothing else higher to swear by Himself. But when God takes an oath to affirm a truth than you can know for sure that that is going to happen. And it indeed did happen.
The corruption continued. They did nothing to correct the corruption and thus the kingdom fell. Now God promised that if they would just correct the corruption that He would prolong them, that He would take care of them.
Verse 6
For thus saith the LORD unto the kin’s house of Judah; Thou are Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.
Gilead was over on the far side of the Jordan River by the Jabok River that comes into the Jordan. It was a beautiful woodsy area. And of course Lebanon was famed for the cedars, the beautiful forests of Lebanon. So God said, “You are like Lebanon to Me.” A beautiful forest, the woodsy areas of Gilead,
yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited. And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with is weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. 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?
Jerusalem, that great city, the palace of the king made of cedars, going to be burned to the ground. And when people see the ruins of it as they walked by it they will say, “Why did God do this to this great city?”
Verse 9
Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
The desolation is going to come. When it does and people question why it happened, the answer will be; because they have forsaken the covenant of God and they have begun to worship and to serve other gods.
Weep ye not for the dead,
Now Josiah was a good king, he was a popular king. When he died there was great mourning for him among the people. So they were perhaps still mourning for him at this time.
Verse 10
And the LORD said,
Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away:
That is his son Shallum that is taken his throne.
for he shall return no more, nor see his native country. 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.
The Pharaoh came and took him as a captive unto Egypt and he is not going to come back. So, Jeremiah said not to weep for his father, he is dead, but weep for his son he is going to be in a living hell there in Egypt. He is going to be taken captive, he will not come back. He is being carried away as a captive.
Verse 12
But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.
When he died his brother was made king by the Pharaoh, his older brother Jehoiakim, who was two years older. But Jehoiakim was evil, and he immediately decided to build this beautiful palace for himself. But it was a time of economic woe in Judah. The people were already pressed with taxes in order to pay the Pharaoh the tribute. But in a time of economic woe, like the Senate, he voted himself a raise in salary when every one is having a hard time, making ends meat, paying their taxes, he votes himself this beautiful palace. But he is corrupt in that he brings these guys to work on it but he does not pay them. And so he is taking advantage of the people forcing them to build them this beautiful house and yet not even paying them wages for doing so. So in verse 13 the prophet addresses himself to this situation, the second king Jehoiakim.
Verses 13–14
Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is sealed with cedar, and painted with vermilion.
It must have been quite an elaborate looking place.
Verse 15
But he says,
Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?
His father was Josiah. As we said Josiah was a good king. He turned the hearts of the people back to the LORD. He refurbished the temple, he remodeled the temple and he was a good king. And the LORD reminds him of his father. Your father was a good man. He did judgment, and he was just and it was well with him.
Verse 16
He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD.
He knew the LORD and he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and he was blessed upon the throne.
Verse 17
But He said,
But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.
The indictments of God against this wicked king Jehoiakim. He was taking advantage of people. He was covetousness, he was out for himself, he was not out for the people. He was ruling for his own. He was taking advantage of his position in enriching himself. And one of those evil rulers was only out to rip the people off, not to really minister to the people and to rule over them in righteousness.
Verse 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!
In other words when he dies people are not going to be sad. He is a wicked man. He has oppressed the people. He has been a bad leader and thus upon his death there is not going to be any mourning. Now, when Herod the Great was king, he also was a very king. He also oppressed the people. He also ruled in such a way as to enrich himself. He left many great monuments of which the ruins of many of them still stand to the present day. He had thousands upon thousands of slaves enforced labor to build these huge monuments that he left there in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel. The Herodian, the Alexandrian, the ruins of Caesarea and these great works of Herod the Great. But because of his cruel reign everybody hated him. And he figured that when he died that they were going to have big parties and that just got to him. He knew that his was a wicked man, he knew that people hated him. So he knew that when he died there would probably be just great rejoicing and big parties.
So he ordered that several of these very popular men who were loved by the people be executed when he died. Because he wanted people to be mourning when he died. So he ordered the execution of these popular men in Jerusalem. So when Herod the Great died, they went to execute these fellows and then they said, “Wait a minute, he is dead, why should we follow his orders?” So they did not execute them and thus there was great parties upon his death.
But this fellow Jehoiakim who oppressed the people and so the prophet declares that there will be no real lamenting for him at his death. People are not going to be sad or weeping or mourning as they did for his father Josiah.
Verse 19
He shall be buried with the burial on an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
I mean, he won’t have any royal kind of a burial. In other words his body will just lie out in the field to rot like a donkey when it dies. Jehoiakim went out to battle against the armies of Babylon and he fell in battle against Babylon and his body was left in the fields to rot. He was not brought back to the city to be buried but like a donkey his body rotted in the fields as the prophet declared it would be.
Verses 20–21
Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed. I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear.
It is interesting that many times in a period of prosperity people turn their hearts from the LORD. They do not listen to God. They do not feel a need of God. They have come now to trust in their riches.
I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedsy not my voice.
So Jehoiakim from the time that he was a young fellow was going his own way. He did not take consideration of God or make a place for God in his life, he would not obey the voice of God.
The wind shall eat up all thy pastors ( or leaders, those who were reigning or ruling with him. The pastors were the men who were watching over the people like shepherds over the flock. They were the rulers over the land), and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness. O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars,
His palace was lined with these cedars and so it is a reference to this beautiful palace that he had built there in Jerusalem. You make your nest in the cedars, cedars from Lebanon.
Verse 23
how gracious halt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!
You are going to face a horrible death. Living now in luxury not listening to the voice of God. Not really concerned with the things of God but as sure as a women who is going to have a baby is in travail, in pain so shall you be when you are facing death.
Verse 24
As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;
We get into the third king in verse 24. The son of Jehoiakim that took over when his father was killed in battle and this son, Coniah, followed in the steps of his father. He was just eighteen years old when he began to reign. And again, like his uncle, he reigned for only three months. But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. Now, the LORD said concerning him, though he were the signet on My right hand, or the signet ring.
The kings wore this ring with a large jewel on their right hand and it was a signet ring. Whenever there were any official documents this king would put the wax on the document and the king would take his ring and he would press it into the wax. And that was the seal. So the signet ring. It was always something that the king wore as a sign of his position and power and it was a beautiful gem stone in that ring. So the LORD is saying that even if you were like this signet ring on My right hand yet I would pluck you form there. God has set Himself against this king Coniah or Jechoniah.
Verse 25
And I will give thee into he hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
The Babylonians had already come. They were besieging the city of Jerusalem. His father had gone out from the city to face them in battle. His father was killed in the battle. He took over in Jerusalem but the conditions are bad. The siege is still on. And naturally there was fear in his heart concerning the Babylonians. And the LORD is declaring that He is going to turn him over to the Babylonians.
Verse 26
And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.
The prophecy is that he is going to be captured by the Babylonians and carried away by them to another country where he will die in this other country. It is true that he reigned for three months and the Babylonian army came and they captured him and they took the city of Jerusalem and much spoil with them and many captives. He was carried as a captive to Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar appointed Zedekiah to reign on the throne in his stead. So, the prophecy against Coniah was fulfilled. He and his mother Nehushta were taken to Babylon where they died.
Verse 27
But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return.
The Jew always longed to return to Jerusalem but He said that you are not going to.
Verse 28
Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure?
His life was not pleasing unto God. He did those things that were evil in the sight of God. We have been created by God for God’s good pleasure. That is a basic fact of life that you cannot escape. You exist for the sole purpose of bringing pleasure to God. Now many people rebel against that truth. There are many people who really say that they don’t think that is fair that God would create me for His pleasure. Well, like Paul said, you are like a lump of clay and God is like the potter and what right has the clay to say to the potter, “Hey, what are you doing, why are you making me like this?” And Paul is showing that you have really no right to challenge God or to question God. He made you for His good pleasure, like it or not.
You can fight against. God has given you the choice which allows you to fight against that. And you can say, “I don’t want to bring God pleasure. I don’t care what God thinks. I am going to live for myself. I am going to do my own thing. I am going to find pleasure for myself.” And you might live to please yourself and it should be noted that the majority of people do. Today we are living in a nation in which there is a pleasure mania. The things that are designed are all promoted with the idea of bringing you pleasure. And the amount of money that is spent yearly on things that are designed for pleasure as people are seeking to please themselves. But that is not you are here. That is not why you were created. God created you for His pleasure.
And because that is the basic reason why you exist, your life cannot be fulfilling until you are bringing pleasure to God. Your life will never be fulfilling while you are trying to live to please yourself. No matter how much you amass as far as possessions and wealth. Or understanding or education. These things will not bring fulfillment and satisfaction but will leave you empty.
King Solomon is the classic example of the man who had everything. I mean everything. He had so much that you could not really ask for any more that what he had. He testified of his own self that he did not withhold from himself anything that his heart desired. He had the money to buy it. He had the wherewithal to do. He is the classic example of the man who was searching for meaning in life and fulfillment in life in doing different things. And so he thought that all lies in education. It is understanding and knowing that will bring a person satisfaction and happiness. And so he became the wisest man. He wrote books on zoology and botany and other scientific subjects. People would come from all over the world to hear him talk about the bugs and trees and things of that nature. He was a verbal encyclopedia.
And having all of this vast knowledge, one day he realized that, “I am smart, but I am not smart enough to keep living. I am going to die just like a fool. Fools die and I am going to die. So what good is all my wisdom?” And he saw that it was just folly. It could not keep him alive. So he gave himself over to building huge monuments. The temple in Jerusalem. His own palace. And all of these marvelous monuments. And one day he looked at all of the building projects and all these monument that he had left and he said, “I felt so empty, unfulfilled.”
So he thought that is lied in riches. And so he amassed a greater treasure than any man had ever know. Until silver was as common as rocks in Jerusalem. And then he looked at all of his wealth and he said, “That did not satisfy me either.”
We know that he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. I was not quite up to Wilt Chamberlain. He found that the answer did not lie in sex either. And after doing all these things, amassing all of this wealth, gaining all of this knowledge, he said, “Vanity, vanity, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.” Or emptiness, emptiness, everything is empty and frustrating. And he found that life under the sun was just empty because he was seeking to please himself. He had no thought of pleasing God.
Now the man who lives to please God will never end up with a cry like Solomon. If you devote your life to pleasing God you will find that your life will be rich and fulfilling. The words of Jim Elliot are really classic. Jim Elliot was a tremendous inspiration to me in that we were more or less contemporaries. And he chose to go down to South America and share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the savage Auca Indians. No white man would dare go into the territory of the Aucas because they were known to be killers. But Jim and these other fellows, Nate Saint and all, felt that these men needed Jesus Christ and they had a burden to share Jesus Christ with them. So they took and began to prepare extensive preparations to reach these people, to share the gospel with them. Began dropping gifts to them. Flying over with loud speakers and they learned a few Alca words from a girl that had escaped out of the Alca tribe and taught them a little of the Alca language. And they were calling to them and trying to befriend them.
Some of Jim’s friends in the States heard that he had this dream to go to the Aucas and they wrote to him and they said, “Jim, you are crazy.” He had won the National A.A.U. wrestling championship, he had gotten his doctorate in philosophy. He was offered a professorship at the University of Washington. But he turned that all aside to follow what he felt was the Lord’s will to take the gospel to the Aucas. And his friend said that he was crazy. They said that he would probably lose his life in this crazy adventure. They are savages. You have got too much to just give your life there in the jungles of Ecuador.
Jim wrote his friend back and he said, “No man is a fool who gives up that which he cannot keep in order to gain that which he cannot lose.” He did die on the banks of the Arunka River, speared by the Alca Indians in the abortive attempt to share the gospel with them. But Jim’s dad went down. He was a big huge guy, 230 pounds, 6’5”. And he was determined to find those Indians who killed his son. And he went in and when he got hold of the man that killed his son he threw his arms around him and he said, “Jesus loves you and He gave His son for you and I love you. I gave my son in order that you might know the love of Jesus.” Many of the Aucas have received Jesus Christ. It is no longer a savage group of people.
But that whole philosophy that no man is a fool to give up that which he cannot keep in order to gain that which he cannot lose. Here was king Shallum, he was not willing to give up anything. He was living for himself, for his own pleasure. And God declares of him that he is a vessel in whom there is no pleasure. God was not pleased. He was not fulfilling the purpose of his existence. And so God pronounces that he is going to be cast out, he and his descendants. They are going to be cast into a land that they do not even know, the land of Babylon.
Verses 29–30
O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more In Judah.
You are the end. None of your descendants will sit on the throne or rule in Judah. And so God pronounced the end of Jechoniah’s prosperity as far as ruling over the nation. Now as we pointed out this morning, when you come to the New Testament it is interesting that Matthew’s gospel gives to us the genealogy of Joseph, the husband of Mary. And we find that Joseph is a descendant of Coniah called Jechoniah’s. And he is a descendant of Coniah. Now, if Jesus were the son of Joseph he could not lay claim to the throne of David. It would because of the curse upon the house of Jechoniah that none of his seed shall reign on the throne.
Luke’s gospel chapter 3 gives us the genealogy of Mary. She also is a descendant of David but not through Solomon and Jechoniah. She is a descendant of David through another son of David whose name is Nathan. So Jesus can sit upon the throne of David being the son of Mary and the Son of God. He can sit on the throne of David and thus God’s promise to David will be kept that God will establish the throne of David forever. And that there shall not cease to be one of David’s seed sitting upon the throne. Thus the promise can be fulfilled because Mary is a descendant of David also as is noted in Luke’s genealogy.
So we have the curse upon Jechoniah and his seed not to sit upon the throne forever. Zedekiah, his brother, was made king in his stead by Nebuchadnezzar and Jechoniah died as a captive in Babylon. The tale of three kings.
They were kings who went their own ways and perished in their own ways. Kings who did not surrender their will or their lives to the living God. We can learn much from their mistakes and God help us that we might learn the lessons.
Father, we thank You tonight for Your record that You have left for us for our instruction. And Lord, we do not want it to be said by You that we are vessels in which there is no pleasure. But we want our live to pleasing to You. So help us Lord, to do those things always that are pleasing in Your sight. And my that be the criteria by which we judge our activities, whether or not it is pleasing unto You. And may we be conscious of You and sensitive that we might do those things always that You desire, that You want, things that will please You and bring glory to You. And so may we live our lives not for our glory, but for Your glory. And as David said, Not unto us O Lord, not unto us but unto Thy Name bring glory and praise and unto Jesus Christ our Lord be the glory both now and forever, Amen.
May we live our lives this week as to bring glory unto our Lord Jesus Christ doing those things that please Him. May the Lord be with you, watch over you and keep you in His love and bless you in your walk with Him in Jesus’ name. God Bless You!