This chapter is a continuation of the previous chapter, as the Lord continues to give messages to Jeremiah to give to His people. Here’s the chapter in its entirety: “Then the Lord said to me, “Go over and speak directly to the king of Judah. Say to him, ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, you king of Judah, sitting on David’s throne. Let your officials and your people listen, too. This is what the Lord says: Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent! If you obey me, there will always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem. The king will ride through the palace gates in chariots and on horses, with his parade of officials and subjects. But if you refuse to pay attention to this warning, I swear by my own name, says the Lord, that this palace will become a pile of rubble.’” (Wow…the Lord continues to give His people a chance to do right til the very end!)
A Message about the Palace
Now this is what the Lord says concerning the royal palace: “You are as beloved to me as fruitful Gilead and the green forests of Lebanon. But I will destroy you and leave you deserted, with no one living within your walls. I will call for wreckers, who will bring out their tools to dismantle you. They will tear out all your fine cedar beams and throw them on the fire. People from many nations will pass by the ruins of this city and say to one another, ‘Why did the Lord destroy such a great city?’ And the answer will be, ‘Because they violated their covenant with the Lord their God by worshiping other gods.’” (Wow! Notice the theme around God’s anger is always, simply, about not worshiping Him. God doesn’t want much. He just want us to worship Him!)
A Message about Jehoahaz
“Do not weep for the dead king or mourn his loss. Instead, weep for the captive king being led away! For he will never return to see his native land again. For this is what the Lord says about Jehoahaz, who succeeded his father, King Josiah, and was taken away as a captive: “He will never return. He will die in a distant land and never again see his own country.”
A Message about Jehoiakim
And the Lord says, “Destruction is certain for Jehoiakim, who builds his palace with forced labor. By not paying wages, he builds injustice into its walls and oppression into its doorframes and ceilings. (Treat people right and pay them for their services!) He says, ‘I will build a magnificent palace with huge rooms and many windows, paneled throughout with fragrant cedar and painted a lovely red.’
“But a beautiful palace does not make a great king! Why did your father, Josiah, reign so long? Because he was just and right in all his dealings. That is why God blessed him. He made sure that justice and help were given to the poor and needy, and everything went well for him. Isn’t that what it means to know me?” asks the Lord. (Wow! Lord, help us to know you! Help us to be just and right in all of our dealings.) “But you! You are full of selfish greed and dishonesty! You murder the innocent, oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.”
Therefore, this is the Lord’s decree of punishment against King Jehoiakim, who succeeded his father, Josiah, on the throne: “His family will not weep for him when he dies. His subjects will not even care that he is dead. He will be buried like a dead donkey – dragged out of Jerusalem and dumped outside the gate! Weep, for your allies are all gone. Search for them in Lebanon. Shout for them at Bashan. Search for them in the regions east of the river. See, they are all destroyed. Not one is left to help you.” (Wow!)
“When you were prosperous, I warned you, but you replied, ‘Don’t bother me.’ Since childhood you have been that way – you simply will not listen! (The Lord keeps a record…what things have we done since childhood that the Lord is not pleased with?) And now your allies have all disappeared with a puff of wind. All your friends have been taken away as captives. Surely at last you will see your wickedness and be ashamed. It may be nice to live in a beautiful palace lined with lumber from the cedars of Lebanon, but soon you will cry and groan in anguish – anguish like that of a woman about to give birth.” (Wow!)
A Message for Jehoiachin
“And as surely as I live,” says the Lord, “I will abandon you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. Even if you were the signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off. I will hand you over to those who seek to kill you, or whom you are so desperately afraid – to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the mighty Babylonian army. I will expel you and your mother from this land, and you will die in a foreign country. You will never again return to the land of your desire.
“Why is this man Jehoiachin like a decarded, broken dish? Why are he and his children to be exiled to distant lands? O earth, earth, earth! Listen to this message from the Lord! This is what the Lord says: Let the record show that this man Jehoiachin was childless, for none of his children will ever sit on the throne of David to rule in Judah. His life will amount to nothing.” (Jeremiah 22)
Lord, thank you for your Word today! Help us to, simply, worship you and you alone! Help us to be just and right and treat others the way we would like to be treated. And, Lord, help us search ourselves for any dissatisfying behaviors and dispel them so you will be pleased with us. Lord, we love you!
May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
….AND MAY WE ALL PRACTICE THIS WITH ONE ANOTHER.
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