Jeremiah 29 FSI - HEAR, O EARTH

> [!title|noicon] **Jeremiah 29 Notes** > [[Jeremiah 28 FSI|<Prev]]   [[Jeremiah 30 FSI|Next>]] > [[Jeremiah 29|Verse list view]] > Intro note to [Jeremiah 29](Jeremiah%2029.md) > > In this chapter, God is focusing on those that have been cast out of Jerusalem, as it was God's intention for Jerusalem to be destroyed. And God is giving certain information to those who have taken up residency in Babylon as captives to King Nebuchadnezzar. > > And, again, we must remember that what we are learning here applies spiritually to our day. These are pictures of what is happening with the local congregations in our day. And we have come to the time where King Nebuchadnezzar rules over Jerusalem. He has not officially destroyed Jerusalem yet -- the temple was still standing for about another 10 years. So this coincides with the early years of the great tribulation period. > > In [verse 4](Jeremiah%2029.md#^4), God makes it clear that *He* has caused those who were carried away to be taken captive into Babylon. And this represents those who have come out of the churches and congregations (the visible Jerusalem in our day) before they have been completely destroyed by Satan, the king of spiritual Babylon. ^jer29-intro > [Jeremiah 29:1](Jeremiah%2029.md#^1), [2](Jeremiah%2029.md#^2), [3](Jeremiah%2029.md#^3), [4](Jeremiah%2029.md#^4) note > > So the king sends a letter from Jerusalem, from the hand of Jeremiah, to those taken captive into Babylon. And remember, Jeremiah is the spokesman for God, so this letter is the Word of God to them. > > Now, as we read in [verse 3](Jeremiah%2029.md#^3), this letter was sent through official channels from King Zedekiah to King Nebuchadnezzar. Though this message isn't for Nebuchadnezzar himself, it is for the people who have already been carried away captive. So God is indicating here that He wants *everyone* to hear this message and to know God's intention. And notice the letter was sent by the hands of two men, "Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah." And this represents how it is out of the mouth of two or three witnesses that every word is established ([Mt 18:16](Matthew%2018.md#^16); [2 Cor 13:1](2%20Corinthians%2013.md#^1); [Heb 10:28](Hebrews%2010.md#^28)). It also points to the fact that God is concerned with each of us as individuals -- that God works through very specific people and directly with us. So many times He directly names those through whom He is working and so on. > > So here we have this message from God to those carried captive ([vv1](Jeremiah%2029.md#^1), [2](Jeremiah%2029.md#^2)), to those who represent the true believers during the final tribulation period and have been forced out of the visible kingdom of God. And this message indicates that they are to expect this to be a permanent situation for the time being, they are to dwell there as obedient citizens in Babylon in all things lawful and not to rebel against the authority (as we see from those like Daniel and his companions and others during the time of captivity). So this letter that Jeremiah has sent to the captives in Babylon is to discuss how they are to live now that they have been cast into Babylon. And this is also for us to know how we are to live and to conduct ourselves now that we know that the end of time is upon us. > > Notice in [vv1](Jeremiah%2029.md#^1), [2](Jeremiah%2029.md#^2) there are 2 different kinds of people taken captive that represent the believers. There are the elders, priests and prophets -- those who represent the spiritual rule over the people and witness to the Word of God. And then there are the princes, carpenters and smiths -- those who represent the political rule and those who are the builders of the temple, pointing to those who build the kingdom of God. > > But again, this is a message that God intends for everyone to hear and to know about. It is a public message that goes into all the land so that as many as possible will hear it. So in today's terms, this isn't a secret message just for those who have come out of the churches -- it is ultimately addressed to the whole world through the Bible. Of course, that doesn't mean that everyone will respond and obey it. But it is nevertheless published for all to hear. ^jer29-1-4 > [Jeremiah 29:5](Jeremiah%2029.md#^5), [6](Jeremiah%2029.md#^6), [7](Jeremiah%2029.md#^7) note > > Now that we are just a short time before the end, represented by the captives who are now forced out into Babylon, how are we to live out our lives in this situation? We are not to put on white robes and go out to a mountain somewhere to wait for the rapture. We aren't to change our living habits and begin to live a different kind of a life since we're near the end. We're to continue living our lives as we should always be living them -- in obedience to the Word of God, as we read in [Matthew 6:10](Matthew%206.md#^10), [33](Matthew%206.md#^33). > > Spiritually, of course, there is a house we need to build and a garden we need to plant. And that happens as we continue to send forth the Gospel, building the house or the kingdom of God and the garden of God ([1 Cor 3:9](1%20Corinthians%203.md#^9)). And as we do so, we are *carpenters and smiths* ([v2](Jeremiah%2029.md#^2)) who pray for and who seek *the peace of the city* ([v7](Jeremiah%2029.md#^7)) where we are carried away captives (see also [1 Tim 2:1](1%20Timothy%202.md#^1), [2](1%20Timothy%202.md#^2), [3](1%20Timothy%202.md#^3), [4](1%20Timothy%202.md#^4)). So we continue to have our focus on the Lord Jesus Christ and to share Him with others as we live out our lives as ambassadors in Satan's world and to seek the salvation of others. That is, when we seek the peace of the city in which we are carried away captive, we are seeking the peace of God for them. And this, even as we are approaching the end where God is allowing Satan to rule more definitively over the churches and the world -- in order to multiply and magnify wickedness and sin all over the world. And this is so that no one can stand before God and falsely believe that somehow, after all, they are pretty good people, and how could it be that God would bring judgment? > > When we read at the end of verse 7, concerning the city in which the captives have been carried away, "for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace," this is what we see also in [1 Timothy 2:1](1%20Timothy%202.md#^1), [2](1%20Timothy%202.md#^2), [3](1%20Timothy%202.md#^3), [4](1%20Timothy%202.md#^4). We indeed pray that we might have domestic tranquility in the world. But, ultimately, we are to continue praying for the salvation of others, for the peace of God for them. And it is in the setting of a peaceful society where the Gospel may flourish more readily. To put it another way, this is teaching the principle that we are to *occupy* until Christ comes ([Lk 19:13](Luke%2019.md#^13)), that is, we are to continue to bring the Gospel as Christ's ambassadors until the very end ([Mt 10:27](Matthew%2010.md#^27)). ^jer29-5-7 > [Jeremiah 29:8](Jeremiah%2029.md#^8), [9](Jeremiah%2029.md#^9) note > > Some people might think that just because they have obeyed a particular command in the Bible that it is proof they have become saved. They might think that just because they have come out of Jerusalem in accordance with God's command to do so that it is evidence of their salvation. And it is true that if you are a child of God, you will obey that command eventually to come out of the churches and congregations (the visible Jerusalem in our day). But for a true child of God, the Holy Spirit has taken up residency in them so that they want to continually do the will of God deep in their heart and soul. It's not a matter of obeying this thing over here or that over there and now you're saved. > > So God is warning here in [verses 8](Jeremiah%2029.md#^8), [9](Jeremiah%2029.md#^9) that there are false prophets and diviners *in the midst of you*, that is, that have been carried away captive into Babylon along with the rest of the captives. So, infiltrated amongst the captives who have departed out from Jerusalem are those who are coming in the Name of God but are NOT from God. God has not sent them to declare their false dreams and divination. They are being used of Satan to deceive them, even in Babylon. So they must be on guard, they must be very careful. And this is exactly how it is today. Just because someone can speak very eloquently about many truths of the Bible, even with regard to God's end-time program outside of the churches and congregations, they can still slide in their own sinful ideas. So this is the very distinct warning that God is giving us here. > > In [verse 9](Jeremiah%2029.md#^9) to prophesy falsely in God's Name is the most heinous, terrible sin imaginable. It's one thing for the Buddhist, Hindu or New-Age person to bring their false gods. But there it's fairly easy to know they are not falsely proclaiming something is from the Word of God, from the Bible. But for someone to come in God's very Name -- someone who gives a lot of evidence that they know the Bible quite well, looking like a child of God -- that is the greatest and most terrible deception. They are using God Almighty's Name as their Authority for what they are falsely teaching. ^jer29-8-9 > [Jeremiah 29:10](Jeremiah%2029.md#^10) note > > God is using this 70-year period of captivity and trauma for Judah in Babylon as a spiritual picture of the whole tribulation period. And just as the final tribulation period comes to an end, Christ is saving a great multitude of people for Himself (out in the highways and hedges, [Lk 14:23](Luke%2014.md#^23)) up until He returns, and causes us to return to the eternal Jerusalem if we have become saved. That is what is being foreshadowed by the return of Judah and Jerusalem into their own land at the end of this 70 years. Now, when [verse 10](Jeremiah%2029.md#^10) uses the phrase *after seventy years*, that word after should really be translated *at the edge of the seventy years*. That is, it doesn't come at some point in time *after* the seventy-year period, but right as it is coming to an end -- but it is nevertheless *a part of* that seventy years (see [Jer 21:7](Jeremiah%2021.md#^7) where this same word is translated in the phrase ***edge*** *of the sword*). ^jer29-10 > [Jeremiah 29:11](Jeremiah%2029.md#^11) note > > This verse is a very, very beautiful statement. It reminds us of [Matthew 24:21](Matthew%2024.md#^21), **[22](Matthew%2024.md#^22)**, where God has shortened these days of great tribulation for *the sake of the elect*. God has not forgotten that He has elected certain ones to become saved who had not yet become saved at the beginning of the final tribulation period as we're approaching judgment day. And, in fact, we know that there's a great multitude which no man can number. And God has thoughts of peace (with Himself) toward them, not of evil, to give them an expected end. And that phrase *to give you an expected end* would be better translated *to give you hope in the latter end*. And when is the latter end? It is the very end of the period of time in which we are in, the final tribulation period. So there is still the hope of salvation even in this bleak period when judgment has come upon the churches and congregations and upon the world at large. There is a great multitude of God's elect out in the highways and hedges that are being brought into the kingdom of God. ^jer29-11 > [Jeremiah 29:12](Jeremiah%2029.md#^12), [13](Jeremiah%2029.md#^13) note > > Now we get right into the question of salvation. In [Deuteronomy 4:29](Deuteronomy%204.md#^29) we find a parallel verse to what we read here in Jeremiah 29:12-13. Salvation is very, very mysterious because on the one hand God absolutely *insists* that He has elected and predestinated people to salvation and that all of the work in salvation is completely *His* work. And yet, on the other hand, God commands and commands people to turn to Him. Here He is saying if you seek Him with all of your heart then you will find Him. So on the one hand God says that your salvation is absolutely not of any work that you do. But then on the other He is saying you have got to do this and you will become saved. > > In [Luke 13:24](Luke%2013.md#^24), Christ commands us to *strive* to enter into the strait (that is, narrow) gate (see also [Mt 7:13](Matthew%207.md#^13)). The narrow gate is where the true believers come into the kingdom of God and it represents the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Gate, He is the Door, He is the Ladder into the kingdom of God. And as Christ instructs us to *strive* to enter the narrow gate in Luke 13:24, He warns that there are many who will seek to enter but will not be able. Yet, we know that we are not to work for our salvation at all -- it is all *God*'s work. > > The word *strive* in Luke 13:24 is a very interesting word that should help us to understand salvation a little more. The Greek word translated *strive* in Luke 13:24 is a word that means *to agonize, to struggle with difficulties and dangers, to endeavor with strenuous zeal*. It's also used in the setting of running a race -- the runner agonizes to win the race ([1 Cor 9:24](1%20Corinthians%209.md#^24), [25](1%20Corinthians%209.md#^25)). In other place it's used to *fight* the good fight of faith ([1 Ti 6:12](1%20Timothy%206.md#^12); [2 Ti 4:7](2%20Timothy%204.md#^7)). There's an intense desire to be the winner. So God is saying we are to *agonize*, we are to have an intense desire to enter into the kingdom of God (see also [Col 1:29](Colossians%201.md#^29)). And if we have such an intense desire, we want to start being obedient to God's commands. And He commands us to seek Him. He commands us to search our lives, to see that we are sinners and to turn from our sins, realizing that we are at the total mercy of God. He tells us to pray to Him for His salvation. This all has to do with striving. > > But these are all works that we are doing. Any time we do what God commands it is a work. And yet we know that we are not to work at all for our salvation. So as we are striving, we must never, never get the notion that if only we strive hard enough it will guarantee our salvation. We know that anything we have done will not make us saved, Christ must do all of the work. > > To be sure, the Bible uses language indicating that before we are saved we are spiritually dead. We are not energized by God, the Holy Spirit does not indwell us. We are dead. God uses the illustration of Christ raising Lazarus from the tomb to demonstrate our salvation. He was a stinking corpse that required a complete resurrection, life that only Christ can give ([Jn 11:39](John%2011.md#^39) ... [43](John%2011.md#^43), [44](John%2011.md#^44)). That is what our salvation is like. God also uses the illustration of dry bones ([Ezekiel 37:1-14](Ezekiel%2037.md)). We are as dead as dead can be, spiritually. > > So God works His will within us *even as we are still spiritually dead* to draw us to Himself if we are to become saved. And in this, we are to strive or agonize to enter into the kingdom of God. And as we are doing so with all of our heart, the mystery is this: Is our striving a product of *God* working in our life to will and to do of His good pleasure as *He* is preparing us for the moment when *He* will give us a new, resurrected heart and soul as one of His elect ([Eze 36:24](Ezekiel%2036.md#^24), [25](Ezekiel%2036.md#^25), [26](Ezekiel%2036.md#^26))? Or, are we striving to the best of "our" ability to do what God desires and yet it is not *motivated* by God at all -- it's simply what we want to do? We can't tell. > > So let's consider 2 individuals who are striving to enter into the kingdom of God. Both are searching the Bible, trying to be as faithful as possible. Both are convinced that they are doing so with all of their heart and soul. So how can they know? The only one who will do so with all of their heart and soul is the one in whom God is working to will and to do of His good pleasure. But the other may truly *believe* they are seeking God with their whole being and yet they have their own selfish motivation. They are striving to find God but not resting completely 100% on the mercy and grace of God. So their entire motivation is wrong, it is human-centric so that their striving is in vain. > > So what we learn from this is that we may *never presume* upon God and think for a moment that if we just strive harder to obey God's commands to seek Him and to cry more for mercy that it will somehow put us definitively on the path to salvation. We must strive realizing that we don't deserve salvation at all and that *maybe, maybe* God will save us ([Jonah 3:9](Jonah%203.md#^9)), praying that God will help us to do His will more and more as we wait upon Him ([Lam 3:26](Lamentations%203.md#^26)). And eventually, if someone is being motivated by God, then the moment will come when God gives them a new heart and a resurrected soul. It's not a result of the striving, it is because Christ has done all of the work in saving them and drawing them to Himself. So once all is said and done, we know that *all* of the work is God's work, He receives *all* of the credit in saving us ([Deut 30:6](Deuteronomy%2030.md#^6)). > > As we think about how God does all of the work in saving His people, we must remember that He has carefully and meticulously planned out His entire salvation plan for all of His elect from before the foundation of the world. He knows the end from the beginning because it is His plan that He is accomplishing down to the most minute detail. ^jer29-12-13 > [Jeremiah 29:14](Jeremiah%2029.md#^14) note > > "And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity" -- Before we are saved, we are captives to sin and Satan. This is why God speaks of turning away our captivity here. We have been under Satan's thraldom in the world, under his rule, and now God has rescued us and made us His children and citizens of *His* Kingdom. > > "...and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD" -- This goes back to the Garden of Eden. God *drove out* the human race from the Garden of Eden into what has become the cruel, cold world due to our sin and as the human race was placed under the curse of God and under the rulership of the serpent, Satan. > > "...and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive." -- Where is the place that we are returning to when God brings us again? We just saw that Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden from which they were driven out. And while they were there, they were in the kingdom of God. They had no sin, they walked and talked with God and had perfect harmony with Him until they sinned. So in being brought again to that place, we are returned into the kingdom of God when we become saved. It is as if the captivity has been repealed based on the work of Christ in saving us so that we are now again in the good graces of God (see [Isa 11:6](Isaiah%2011.md#^6), [7](Isaiah%2011.md#^7), [8](Isaiah%2011.md#^8), [9](Isaiah%2011.md#^9), where the conditions that prevailed in Eden before sin entered the picture will spiritually prevail again for the true believers, where there is no spiritual death and no fear of Satan as typified by the asp and the cockatrice). > > Now we must not forget that God is inserting these verses concerning salvation in the middle of judgment that has come upon Jerusalem and Judah, representing the churches and congregations in our day, that are being destroyed by Babylon. And it is at the edge of 70 years ([v10](Jeremiah%2029.md#^10)), representing the final tribulation period, that God is now saving a multitude for Himself outside of what was the visible kingdom of God, directly from Babylon (as He called Abraham out of Ur of Babylon). God still has a plan to save many in this time that judgment has fallen upon the churches and upon the world. And as they are saved, they are brought into the *eternal* kingdom of God, represented by the Garden of Eden, by this place from which God had driven out the human race from His Presence. > > Beginning in the next verse, God returns to the language of and focus on judgment. ^jer29-14 > [Jeremiah 29:15](Jeremiah%2029.md#^15) note > > Remember, we are looking at this letter Jeremiah has sent from Jerusalem to the people who were in captivity in Babylon ([v1](Jeremiah%2029.md#^1)). And not only has he given them instruction from God about how they are to conduct themselves in Babylon ([v5](Jeremiah%2029.md#^5)), but through that God is giving instruction for us in our day how we are to live during this time of spiritual desolation in the churches and the world. > > But now God is speaking to those who are false prophets -- not in Jerusalem, but to those who are mingled with the captivity in Babylon. So God is giving us a strict warning here in these next few verses. Since God had commanded those in Judah and Jerusalem to go out or surrender to king Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, you might expect that those who did so would all be true believers, while those who were in rebellion against God remained in Jerusalem to defend it. So it might be easy to assume that the prophets who went out with them into captivity would also be true believers. But that is not the case -- there are false prophets also among them of the captivity that they are to avoid. ^jer29-15 > [Jeremiah 29:16](Jeremiah%2029.md#^16), [17](Jeremiah%2029.md#^17), [18](Jeremiah%2029.md#^18), [19](Jeremiah%2029.md#^19) note > > So God is telling them to watch out for these false prophets who have mixed their way into the captivity but are insidiously worming their way into their confidence. It appears from [verse 16](Jeremiah%2029.md#^16) that these false prophets were yet proclaiming to the captivity that all will be well with Judah and Jerusalem, in agreement with the lie that we read about from Hananiah (in Jerusalem) in chapter 28 ([Jer 28:1](Jeremiah%2028.md#^1), [2](Jeremiah%2028.md#^2), [3](Jeremiah%2028.md#^3), [4](Jeremiah%2028.md#^4)). They were giving the captives a false hope that they would be returning to Judah and Jerusalem, representing the visible kingdom of God in the world, in spite of the fact that God had declared judgment upon them. And so this letter from Jeremiah is telling those of the captivity that that is not so -- that they are to build houses and dwell in them, plant gardens, take wives and have families ([v5](Jeremiah%2029.md#^5), [6](Jeremiah%2029.md#^6)) because the captivity is going to continue for 70 years ([v10](Jeremiah%2029.md#^10)). > > And again, this is a warning to us today also. If some are coming with the message that God isn't really bringing judgment upon all of the churches, that things are not really as bad as we've been reading here in the Bible, then we are not to listen to them. God Himself is giving us this warning again right in these verses. It is the same as if someone comes with another gospel because it is not the Truth of the Bible, it is encouraging you to trust in something or someone other than the Word of God, to trust in a lie. So what we read here in these verses is both confirmation that God is indeed bringing them under judgment, as well as the false prophets that are among them feeding them with lies. > > In [verse 17](Jeremiah%2029.md#^17), we read, "Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil." Remember in [Jeremiah 24](Jeremiah%2024.md) we read about how the true believers are typified as good figs, whereas those who refuse to obey God and to come out from Judah and Jerusalem are like bad figs. There were so bad they couldn't be eaten, they were worthless. So God is picking up that figure again here. > > Then in [verse 18](Jeremiah%2029.md#^18), where is it that God will drive them? The captives to whom God is speaking are already outside of Judah and Jerusalem (the local churches and congregations). But for those who are still in rebellion against God, either by remaining in Judah and Jerusalem or by claiming falsehoods that God's judgment isn't actually upon them -- while they may *think* they are safe and secure, they are on their way to eternal destruction. Why? Because, as we read in [verse 19](Jeremiah%2029.md#^19), they have not listened to *God*'s Words. > > When we come to the Bible with any preconceived ideas that have been derived from our congregational teaching, from a seminary that we belonged to, from some theological books we have been reading or from our own thoughts and ideas that we formulate according to what we think is reasonable, we are approaching the Bible with our own wisdom. They may not necessarily come with malice aforethought or malicious intent, they firmly believe they have Truth. But when they are utterly convinced they have Truth and come up against some verses that contradict what they believe or what they are teaching, what do they do with it? *They don't listen*. It's like they haven't really read the verse. They will not hear. And while God might sometimes yet turn someone away from their error according to His good purpose (like with the apostle Paul, for example), if someone is that locked into their false teaching it is most likely God's purpose for them to be there, He has not opened their spiritual eyes and ears to Truth so they will not hear. Since faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, they do not become saved because they cannot *hear* the Word of God spiritually. And thus we don't really find any examples outside of the apostle Paul of any false prophets that were locked in that eventually became saved. > > It is a very serious matter when we approach the Bible with preconceived ideas. We should approach the Bible with the recognition that we really don't know anything and that we cannot trust our minds and our preconceived notions, praying that God would open our spiritual eyes and ears to understand His Word. Truth MUST come from God through His Word. ^jer29-16-19 > [Jeremiah 29:20](Jeremiah%2029.md#^20), [21](Jeremiah%2029.md#^21), [22](Jeremiah%2029.md#^22), [23](Jeremiah%2029.md#^23) note > > God now names a couple of these false prophets, Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah. God knows who the false prophet are, and He is going to have them killed by Nebuchadnezzar. Why does God mention these individuals? Many times they are names that we won't really even remember. But it illustrates to us how, ultimately, God relates to each of us as an individual person. Remember we read that when Christ returns, there will be 2 in the field or grinding at the mill -- one will be taken and the other left ([Mt 24:40](Matthew%2024.md#^40), [41](Matthew%2024.md#^41)). Every human being has a name, and each one of us is personally accountable before God. God knows all about each one of us. > > In [verse 23](Jeremiah%2029.md#^23), the word *villany* is a translation of a word that means *folly or foolishness*. And this points to going against the Word of God -- the foolish trust in themselves or in someone other than the Bible itself. And in verse 23, God speaks of a particular sin they have committed: "and have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives...." We find in many places where God accuses Israel in the Bible of being spiritually *adulterous*. Whenever anyone runs after false gods, they are in spiritual adultery. And whenever we disobey God, we are committing spiritual adultery against Him. And the primary focus of this is with the marriage union which is a foundational part of God's plan for the human race. It is through families that God raises up the holy seed, for example. It is the institution through which children are born and nations progress and so on. So God has established very careful guardrails around the marriage institution where there is never any excuse for divorce ([Mt 19:6](Matthew%2019.md#^6); [Mk 10:8](Mark%2010.md#^9)). > > Now, Jesus said that if a man simply looks upon a woman lustfully he has already committed adultery with her in his heart ([Mt 5:28](Matthew%205.md#^28)). So God is inserting this information about these 2 false prophets, saying in verse 23, "...even I know, and *am* a witness, saith the LORD." We know that God sees every single sin of our lives. So here God is saying, "For those of you who claim to be true believers, I know and see what's going on even in your minds and in your hearts." Adultery begins right in the mind and in the heart, and God speaks here of just how terrible this is ([Lev 20:10](Leviticus%2020.md#^10)). > > Over the years churches and congregations have "adjusted" the rules of the Bible to permit divorce and then remarriage after divorce to allow people to have multiple living spouses, even though the law of the land might only recognize the latest one as the lawful marriage. And the next thing you know, they were allowing people to live together before marriage and become members, or those who have sexual relations outside of the Biblical prescription between a man and woman in marriage, so that now just about anything goes that exists out in secular society. So they've created their own standards for right and wrong that aligns with *what is in their minds*, and God knows what's in their minds. This matter of sexual promiscuity is very well known to God. And a good barometer that would record the degree of sin that's in the world today is to simply look at the readily available pornography, lewd entertainment and perversions that exist all over. > > God speaks of another sin that Ahab and Zedekiah have committed here in verse 23: "...and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them." This is the most terrible sin imaginable, to say, "This is what God is teaching, I'll help you to understand this trustworthy message," but then they begin to teach what is *contrary* to what God's Word will allow so that in the Name of the Lord, they bring a lie. This is how Satan comes as an angel of light and his minsters as false ministers of righteousness ([2 Cor 11:13](2%20Corinthians%2011.md#^13), [14](2%20Corinthians%2011.md#^14), [15](2%20Corinthians%2011.md#^15)). ^jer29-20-23 > [Jeremiah 29:24](Jeremiah%2029.md#^24), [25](Jeremiah%2029.md#^25) note > > In response to the letter Jeremiah had sent to the captives in Babylon (relating God's Word to them that they should build themselves houses, plant gardens and marry wives to start families there in Babylon because the captivity would last for 70 years -- [vv1](Jeremiah%2029.md#^1), [5](Jeremiah%2029.md#^5), [6](Jeremiah%2029.md#^6), [10](Jeremiah%2029.md#^10)), we now read about these letters from Shemaiah the Nehelamite to Jerusalem. And these letters were addressed to all the people that were at Jerusalem, to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests. And so, of course, Shemaiah the Nehelamite was also one of the false prophets of the captivity along with Ahab and Zedekiah that we read about in verses 20-23. And he must have been a false prophet of fairly high standing given the arrogance and the nature of his letters to all those in Jerusalem, including the priests -- and he actually instructs the priests as to what they should be doing. The contents of these letters are then seen in verses 26-28. ^jer29-24-25 > [Jeremiah 29:26](Jeremiah%2029.md#^26), [27](Jeremiah%2029.md#^27), [28](Jeremiah%2029.md#^28), [29](Jeremiah%2029.md#^29) note > > So the letters from Shemaiah the Nehelamite to those in Jerusalem, to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, declared that God had made Zephaniah priest in place of Jehoiada. And he instructed the priests in Jerusalem that they were to get after Jeremiah the prophet -- accusing him of being mad and saying he should be placed in the prison, in the stocks -- for telling the captives that the captivity in Babylon would be long, so they should build themselves houses to live in and to plant gardens to eat of the fruit. So Shemaiah is really exercising his perceived authority as prophet in order to write these letters to the priests and to the people in Jerusalem. He wanted them to stop Jeremiah from prophesying anymore. Then we read that "Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet." > > And, as we began to see in [verse 24](Jeremiah%2029.md#^24), God responds to Shemaiah in the next few verses. ^jer29-26-29 > [Jeremiah 29:30](Jeremiah%2029.md#^30), [31](Jeremiah%2029.md#^31), [32](Jeremiah%2029.md#^32) note > > Again, remember what happened to Hananiah in [Jeremiah 28](Jeremiah%2028.md)? When he rebelled against God and prophesied lies in the Name of the LORD, God took his life within the year. It is a very serious offense. And here God pronounces His judgment against Shemaiah *and his seed*, his progeny. And when God says that this is going to impact your seed it's much more solemn. It emphasizes that when we sin we are setting up our families also on the path of sin. We still see this today -- if someone is a Roman Catholic, many times it's because they were born to a Roman Catholic family. If someone is an Athiest, many times it's because they were born to parents who were Athiests. People frequently just follow what they have been taught. ^jer29-30-32 Tags: #Old_Testament #Jeremiah #Gods_judgment_on_His_people #FSI