The Berean Pursuit
This is what the LORD says: "Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there, saying, 'Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David-you and your officials and your people who enter these gates. This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.
For if you will indeed carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David's throne will enter through the gates of this palace riding on chariots and horses-they and their officials and their people. But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself, declares the LORD, that this house will become a pile of rubble.'?"
For this is what the LORD says concerning the house of the king of Judah:
"You are like Gilead to Me,
like the summit of Lebanon;
but I will surely turn you into a desert,
like cities that are uninhabited.
I will appoint destroyers against you,
each man with his weapons,
and they will cut down the choicest of your cedars
and throw them into the fire.
And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, 'Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?'
Then people will reply, 'Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods.'?"
Do not weep for the dead king;
do not mourn his loss.
Weep bitterly for the one who is exiled,
for he will never return
to see his native land.
For this is what the LORD says concerning Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah, who succeeded his father Josiah but has gone forth from this place: "He will never return, but he will die in the place to which he was exiled; he will never see this land again."
"Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness,
and his upper rooms without justice,
who makes his countrymen serve without pay,
and fails to pay their wages,
who says, 'I will build myself a great palace,
with spacious upper rooms.'
So he cuts windows in it,
panels it with cedar,
and paints it with vermilion.
Does it make you a king to excel in cedar?
Did not your father have food and drink?
He administered justice and righteousness,
and so it went well with him.
He took up the cause of the poor and needy,
and so it went well with him.
Is this not what it means to know Me?"
declares the LORD.
"But your eyes and heart are set on nothing
except your own dishonest gain,
on shedding innocent blood,
on practicing extortion and oppression."
Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
"They will not mourn for him:
'Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!'
They will not mourn for him:
'Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!'
He will be buried like a donkey,
dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.
Go up to Lebanon and cry out;
raise your voice in Bashan;
cry out from Abarim,
for all your lovers have been crushed.
I warned you when you were secure.
You said, 'I will not listen.'
This has been your way from youth,
that you have not obeyed My voice.
The wind will drive away all your shepherds,
and your lovers will go into captivity.
Then you will be ashamed and humiliated
because of all your wickedness.
O inhabitant of Lebanon,
nestled in the cedars,
how you will groan when pangs of anguish come upon you,
agony like a woman in labor."
"As surely as I live," declares the LORD, "even if you, Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on My right hand, I would pull you off. In fact, I will hand you over to those you dread, who want to take your life-to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Chaldeans. I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another land, where neither of you were born-and there you both will die. You will never return to the land for which you long."
Is this man Coniah a despised and shattered pot,
a jar that no one wants?
Why are he and his descendants hurled out
and cast into a land they do not know?
O land, land, land,
hear the word of the LORD!
This is what the LORD says:
"Enroll this man as childless,
a man who will not prosper in his lifetime.
None of his descendants will prosper
to sit on the throne of David
or to rule again in Judah."
"Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!" declares the LORD.
Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: "You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.
Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands to which I have banished them, and I will return them to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any go missing, declares the LORD.
Behold, the days are coming,
declares the LORD,
when I will raise up for David
a righteous Branch,
and He will reign wisely as King
and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
In His days Judah will be saved,
and Israel will dwell securely.
And this is His name by which He will be called:
The LORD Our Righteousness.
So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when they will no longer say, 'As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of Egypt.' Instead they will say, 'As surely as the LORD lives, who brought and led the descendants of the house of Israel up out of the land of the north and all the other lands to which He had banished them.' Then they will dwell once more in their own land."
As for the prophets:
My heart is broken within me,
and all my bones tremble.
I have become like a drunkard,
like a man overcome by wine,
because of the LORD,
because of His holy words.
For the land is full of adulterers-
because of the curse, the land mourns
and the pastures of the wilderness have dried up-
their course is evil
and their power is misused.
"For both prophet and priest are ungodly;
even in My house I have found their wickedness,"
declares the LORD.
"Therefore their path will become slick;
they will be driven away into the darkness and fall into it.
For I will bring disaster upon them
in the year of their punishment,"
declares the LORD.
"Among the prophets of Samaria
I saw an offensive thing:
They prophesied by Baal
and led My people Israel astray.
And among the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen a horrible thing:
They commit adultery
and walk in lies.
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,
so that no one turns his back on wickedness.
They are all like Sodom to Me;
the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah."
Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says concerning the prophets:
"I will feed them wormwood
and give them poisoned water to drink,
for from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness has spread throughout the land."
This is what the LORD of Hosts says:
"Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you.
They are filling you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds,
not from the mouth of the LORD.
They keep saying to those who despise Me,
'The LORD says that you will have peace,'
and to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart,
'No harm will come to you.'
But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD
to see and hear His word?
Who has given heed to His word
and obeyed it?
Behold, the storm of the LORD
has gone out with fury,
a whirlwind swirling down
upon the heads of the wicked.
The anger of the LORD will not turn back
until He has fully accomplished the purposes of His heart.
In the days to come
you will understand this clearly.
I did not send these prophets,
yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them,
yet they have prophesied.
But if they had stood in My council,
they would have proclaimed My words to My people
and turned them back
from their evil ways and deeds."
"Am I only a God nearby," declares the LORD, "and not a God far away?"
"Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?" declares the LORD.
"Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" declares the LORD.
"I have heard the sayings of the prophets who prophesy lies in My name: 'I had a dream! I had a dream!' How long will this continue in the hearts of these prophets who prophesy falsehood, these prophets of the delusion of their own minds? They suppose the dreams that they tell one another will make My people forget My name, just as their fathers forgot My name through the worship of Baal.
Let the prophet who has a dream retell it, but let him who has My word speak it truthfully. For what is straw compared to grain?" declares the LORD. "Is not My word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that smashes a rock?"
"Therefore behold," declares the LORD, "I am against the prophets who steal from one another words they attribute to Me."
"Yes," declares the LORD, "I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and proclaim, 'The LORD declares it.'?"
"Indeed," declares the LORD, "I am against those who prophesy false dreams and retell them to lead My people astray with their reckless lies. It was not I who sent them or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people," declares the LORD.
"Now when this people or a prophet or priest asks you, 'What is the burden of the LORD?' you are to say to them, 'What burden? I will forsake you, declares the LORD.'
As for the prophet or priest or anyone who claims, 'This is the burden of the LORD,' I will punish that man and his household.
This is what each man is to say to his friend and to his brother: 'What has the LORD answered?' or 'What has the LORD spoken?' But refer no more to the burden of the LORD, for each man's word becomes the burden, so that you pervert the words of the living God, the LORD of Hosts, our God.
Thus you are to say to the prophet: 'What has the LORD answered you?' and 'What has the LORD spoken?'
But if you claim, 'This is the burden of the LORD,' then this is what the LORD says: Because you have said, 'This is the burden of the LORD,' and I specifically told you not to make this claim, therefore I will surely forget you and will cast you out of My presence, both you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers. And I will bring upon you everlasting shame and perpetual humiliation that will never be forgotten."
At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the LORD: "This is what the LORD says: Stand in the courtyard of the house of the LORD and speak all the words I have commanded you to speak to all the cities of Judah who come to worship there. Do not omit a word. Perhaps they will listen and turn-each from his evil way of life-so that I may relent of the disaster I am planning to bring upon them because of the evil of their deeds.
And you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: 'If you do not listen to Me and walk in My law, which I have set before you, and if you do not listen to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I have sent you again and again even though you did not listen, then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city an object of cursing among all the nations of the earth.'?"
Now the priests and prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD, and as soon as he had finished telling all the people everything the LORD had commanded him to say, the priests and prophets and all the people seized him, shouting, "You must surely die! How dare you prophesy in the name of the LORD that this house will become like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted!"
And all the people assembled against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
When the officials of Judah heard these things, they went up from the king's palace to the house of the LORD and sat there at the entrance of the New Gate.
Then the priests and prophets said to the officials and all the people, "This man is worthy of death, for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears!"
But Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people, "The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. So now, correct your ways and deeds, and obey the voice of the LORD your God, so that He might relent of the disaster He has pronounced against you. As for me, here I am in your hands; do to me what you think is good and right. But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves, upon this city, and upon its residents; for truly the LORD has sent me to speak all these words in your hearing."
Then the officials and all the people told the priests and prophets, "This man is not worthy of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God!"
Some of the elders of the land stood up and said to the whole assembly of the people, "Micah the Moreshite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah and told all the people of Judah that this is what the LORD of Hosts says:
'Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,
and the temple mount a wooded ridge.'
Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did Hezekiah not fear the LORD and seek His favor, and did not the LORD relent of the disaster He had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great harm on ourselves!"
Now there was another man prophesying in the name of the LORD, Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land the same things that Jeremiah did. King Jehoiakim and all his mighty men and officials heard his words, and the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah found out about it, he fled in fear and went to Egypt.
Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: Elnathan son of Achbor along with some other men. They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him put to the sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.
Nevertheless, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.
For the choirmaster. According to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.
I cried out to God;
I cried aloud to God to hear me.
In the day of trouble I sought the Lord;
through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary;
my soul refused to be comforted.
I remembered You, O God, and I groaned;
I mused and my spirit grew faint.
Selah
You have kept my eyes from closing;
I am too troubled to speak.
I considered the days of old,
the years long in the past.
At night I remembered my song;
in my heart I mused, and my spirit pondered:
"Will the Lord spurn us forever
and never show His favor again?
Is His loving devotion gone forever?
Has His promise failed for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has His anger shut off His compassion?"
Selah
So I said, "I am grieved
that the right hand of the Most High has changed."
I will remember the works of the LORD;
yes, I will remember Your wonders of old.
I will reflect on all You have done
and ponder Your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is so great as our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
You display Your strength among the peoples.
With power You redeemed Your people,
the sons of Jacob and Joseph.
Selah
The waters saw You, O God;
the waters saw You and swirled;
even the depths were shaken.
The clouds poured down water;
the skies resounded with thunder;
Your arrows flashed back and forth.
Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind;
the lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.
Your path led through the sea,
Your way through the mighty waters,
but Your footprints were not to be found.
You led Your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
My brothers, as you hold out your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, do not show favoritism.
Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes and say, "Here is a seat of honor," but say to the poor man, "You must stand" or "Sit at my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the noble name by which you have been called?
If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
Whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom. For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you tells him, "Go in peace; stay warm and well fed," but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that? So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith and I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that God is one. Good for you! Even the demons believe that-and shudder.
O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is worthless? Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did. And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called a friend of God. As you can see, a man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone.
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies and sent them off on another route? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.