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The word of the Lord came to me saying: Tell them to get those prophecies which they have cast behind their backs, and to lift them up before my throne of grace. In no way are they to disregard the word of the Lord as invalid or not having significance. I am moving by my Spirit at a rapid rate. I have not forgotten one good word of all that I have spoken to my people. Do not be intimidated by your adversary. I am not hindered, for the things which are impossible with man are possible with God!
Through the evil imaginations of the heart individuals are devising evil against God's prophetic word. They are saying: That was no word of the Lord, that I received--That you received in that prayer line, through that pastor, through that prophet, through that minister of God. They do not like the word God gave. It was not suitaable to them. They do not want to be accountable for it.
But the Lord will lift up His prophetic word in this very hour. Even the prophecies given by the Lord to the Balaam's of this generation will the Spirit of the Lord lift up, to testify that "You will see him--You shall behold Him. For the Star has arisen out of Jacob, and the sceptre from out of Israel--and yea it yet shines. It will smite the corners of Moab and destroy the children of Sheth. Edom will be a possession, Seir" also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiently. Out of Jacob shall he come forth that shall have dominion, and shall detroy him that remains in the city.
This word is reminiscient of one for Staraya Russa, Russia, which was entitled "The Blood of Jesus," received several years ago. "I am the Root and Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star" (Rev. 22:16). In it, God addressed the Russian army, spoke of the Star of the Morning, the Bright and Morning Star over their heads.
Moreover the Lord comes to His people in this present hour saying: What have you done with that prophetic word that was given you? Who is the king in your life? Finances? Sickness? Envy or Unbelief? Nay, in all these things you are more than conquerors through Him that loves you and gave His life for you!
THE EVENTS PRECEEDING THE CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM
Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city and the Lord hath not done it? Surely the Lord will do nothing but he revealeth it to his servants the prophets. The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken, who will not prophesy? (Amos 3:6-8)
When God called the Prophet Jeremiah, for his particuliarly difficult mission to a people who that would see the overthrow of their beloved nation if they rejected the word of the Lord, and refused to repent, he chose a man of unusual mercy and compassion, who never ceased to give forth the prophetic word of the Lord and to intercede for them. The revelation in this book, shows us a God who is exalted, and who is to be honoured by men. Deeply aware of God's activity in his own life, Jeremiah was awed by his commission to show forth the true and living God. He understood the extreme seriousness of his assignment for the nation, but had no respect for false prophets, that lightly tell the imaginations of their heart, and declared these to be divine revelations. Jeremiah was from a priestly family. (Jer. 1:1) His prophecies from God are contained in writings recorded in the book of Jeremiah. These communications from God to the people of Judah and Jerusalem were recorded between the years of 627 B.C. and 586 B.C.
THEIR FATHER'S FINAL WARNING
Here in chapter 36, God gives His final warning to a nation determined not to hear or heed the Law of the Lord. Babylon, the Prophet Jeremiah warned, would be God's instrument, chosen to chasten His people for their generations of unfaithfulness. Jeremiah's prophetic predictions were ignored, and he was viewed by the nation as a traitor. In his hearers feeling Jeremiah ought to keep his mouth shut, the nation was saying to the "King of the Universe: Oh Shut up! We want to hear something pleasant for a change. Don't you ever have anything but bad news? We aren't all that bad! Within a family, children know when they have crossed over a line, and are going to be punished, and Israel was God's covenant family was nearring the edge, where He had some things in store for them, but they would not be pleasant. The Lord put His all His words, and now His final word in the prophet's mouth and commanded the Jeremiah to go and hide himself, in a similar was to Elijah's hiding himself by the Brook Cherith. God "shut up Jeremiah in a "secret place," there in the Spirit beholding His face, but spoke words for which the Prophet was responsible to give forth as serious warning, as ever was given. He was unable to even go to the temple to worship and praise the Lord. (v.5) His concepts of what was required concerning his religion were altered, as God sanctified and set Jeremiah apart as holy unto the Lord. The words used by Jeremiah are "I am shut up." Jeremiah was not without spiritual fellowship during this time. For one thing, he had his scribe, Baruch, and in addition to the essential purpose of transcribing God's word's as dictated by the prophet, this aspect of spiritual fellowship was the blessing of the Lord. In the New Testament, we read the words of Messiah: Wherever two or more are gathered, there am I in their midst.
Jeremiah, referred to as "The Weeping Prophet," not only for his prophecies, but the extreme extent of his intercession, suffered intensely as he witnessed his homeland gradually crushed beneath the feet of the oppressor. Yet as the Prophet of God, he remained true to his calling, and the Lord's protection of him was one mark of God's divine favour.
The 40 years spanning Jeremiah's ministry had been marked by a stunning transformation, in the political scene. Assyria wich had ted the world for centuries as the ruling power, was challenged and crushed by Babylon. In the beginning this struggle between Mesopotamian super powers reduced external pressures on Palestine. This lead to a religious and political revival during the reign of King Josiah. But the decisive battle of Carchemish in 605 B.c, left Babylon the dominent power. Babylon's expansionist policy placed the land of Judah in grave danger.
A TIME TO BE SILENT
To everything there is a season...A time to keep silence and a time to speak. (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
Jeremiah's prophecies burst forth upon the nation at intervals, like the pangs of birth from his own innermost being. They heralded like a harbinger of spring, God's own desire that newness of life be born anew in the hearts and lives of His people. There would be silences (Hebrew "chashah)between them. These periods of silence were a necessary part of God's work of spiritual reformtion and revival in the nation. These quiet intervals provided times or seasons of rest and refreshing in the life of the prophet. The Psalmist David who understood the need for "selah's , even in a musical refrain so that the congregation might have time to pause and reflect on the truthes contained in those songs of praise and worship, wrote: "Surely I have behaved myself, as a child that is weaned of it's mother: my soul is even as a weaned child." (Psalm 131:2) There is a significant need for one to train his oe her soul to be quiet, and especially in these days in which a busy life presupposes a life filled with purpose.
There are times in our lives when God is silent, but this doesn't mean that He is inactive on our behalf. He may be waiting for our response by faith to a previous word that He has given. Because a person is used as a prophet or prophetess does not assume that they must produce a word from the Lord upon demand. When the Lord speaks to a prophet, the word may be a word of knowledge meant for the prophet alone, concerning a situation. God may instruct the vision or prophecy to be written or given to a person, or group. Or the Lord may be totally silent. When God is silent, never allow a person or a situation to attempt to entice or coerce you into producing a word for them. Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has taken nothing? (Amos 3:4)
The hiding of the prophet of God was at times, a "time to be silent," and to allow God to work in the lives of the hearers. Jeremiah wrote of the way God worked, using even "a time of trouble," to bring mankind into a quiet place where the Lord their God could deal with them: Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the Lord our God hath put us to silence, and given us gall to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord. We looked for peace but no good came, and for a time of health, and behold trouble. (Jer. 8:14) When God speaks we must listen, but every prophecy, however genuine it is, does not simply require quiet contemplation or reflection. Some words from the Lord demand that action be taken, and that's the type of prophecies that the Lord was giving through the prophet Jeremiah. We see this sort of prophetic word from God given in Nahum's prophecy which asks the listeners to seek immediate answers, to such questions as: Nahum 2:11) Where is now the dwelling of the lions, and the feeding place of the young lions, to which the lion went, to enter in thither, the young lion, and there was none to make them afraid?
2:12) The lion caught enough for his whelps, and killed for his lionesses: and he filled his holes with prey, and his den with rapine.
THE WRITING & SEALING OF PROPHECIES
Jeremiah, whose Hebrew name means "Yah lifts up," was one of the "writing prophets." The Lord who put is word in the Prophet's mouth, would lift up not only His word in the form of written prophecies, but His writing Prophet, in case the nation's concept was that he should give these words forth orally, ane remain a visible target. There are various examples of God commanding prophecies to be written out. Sometimes these were written and read aloud. God told Habakkuk that his vision was yet for an appointed time, but to "write the vision, and to make it plain." We read that Isaiah both wrote and "sealed up an oracle" at God's command. (Is. 8:1,16) In the New Testament, we have the example of the elders weeping, for there was no man worthy in heaven, in earth, nor under the earth to open the book, and loose the seals thereof, of that mortgage scroll sealed with seven seals, and which the human race was mortgaged because of sin. (Rev. 5:3) Suddenly, when it seemed all hope was gone, a Redeemer is found! One who is able to unseal the scroll, so long time sealed. Sin had sealed the book! Only one who was sinless could loose the 7 sealed scroll! Messiah appears in John's vision as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, the Lamb slain, but living still and having 7 horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. (Rev. 5:5-6)
Was this sealing (Hebrew- chatham,) meaning to seal up or finish a scroll of prophecy, done in the spiritual realm, because of sin, even in the prophetic books of Isaiah, or Ezekiel? The Patriarch Job, in Job 33:15-18 was shown by the Lord that God uses dreams and visions to "open the ears," and to "seal men's instruction," that he may withdraw man from his purpose and hide pride from man. This is not done on the basis that God does not will for all men to be saved, for scripture teaches He is not willing for any to perish. But the Lord tries the hearts of men, and works to open hearts, as He did Lydia's to His salvation. The Song of Solomon which is a prophetic allegory of haMashiach/Christ and His Bride, the church, speaks of the espoused of the Lord as "A garden inclosed, a fountain sealed." (Song of Songs 4:12)
Conversely, Ezekiel detailed, by inspiration of God, the fact that an individual could by his sin, and the giving over of his life to demonic powers, "seal up" the sum of demonic wisdom, and possess a seeming brilliance or brightness." (Ezek. 28:12,17) In the book of Daniel, the prophet was given revelation in the form of a vision and prophecy for those living in the end times, but it was "sealed up," till an appointed time or season. (Dan. 9:24,12:4, 12:9) The sealing of prophecy because of sin, was similar to God's giving of a guardian angel with a flaming sword stationed in the entrance of the Garden of Eden after the fall to bar man's access to the tree of life, lest he "take of the tree and live forever." (Gen. 3:24) In the book of Jeremiah, the Prophet purchased a field in chapter 32, as evidence the Babylonians would not lay claim to Erets Israel forever. The document was sealed. That this was a prophetic action is observed in the words: "For thus says the Lord: Houses, and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land." (Jer. 32:15)
The implication of Isaiah's word of prophecy is that a person will be handed the open book to read, but will be unable to comprehend it. When God commanded a written word to be sealed, we see in scripture that the people had come under a "spirit of deep sleep or slumber," due to the spiritual blindness and hypocrisy of the people. (Isaiah 29:10-14) This "sealing of the scroll" provided an incentive that the blindness could be taken away, and the prophecy unsealed, if there was repentance in even one individual. The prophetic vision becomes to the careless and unconcerned as a "sealed book." They simply say: "I can't read it, because it's sealed." Nevertheless these individuals are often the people who will slander the prophet of God that gave forth the prophecy, calling them a false prophet, as Jeremiah was to Israel at this critical time, in which they refused to repent, called a traitor. They fail to view their own backslidings as treacherous, in the Lord's eyes. They wll not seek to understand it, but will take a complacent attitude towards the word of the Lord.
Another will be given the prophecy to read but he will reply: I'm not learned, or educated enough. (Isaiah 29:11) God however did not see this as a lack of religious education, so much as it was His people receiving man-made traditions, which were contrary to His word. "This people have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men. Therefore behold, I do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of the prudent men shall be hid. (Is. 29:13-14) Thus we see that not only the prophet was hidden by the Lord, but God commanded prophecies to be sealed or hidden, even from the wise and prudent so He could reveal them unto s." Yeshua haMashiach/Jesus Christ spoke of this in a prayer saying: I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto s. Matt. 11:25 - KJV)
When Ezekiel commanded by the word of the Lord that there would be no rain nor dew for the space of 3 1/2 years, God gave instructions for the prophet's own personal needs to be met, saying: "Get thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be that thou shall drink of the brook. And I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. (1 Kings 17:3)
THE COMPILING OF PROPHECIES BY THE WORD OF THE LORD
The Jewish Tanach contains a compilation of Old Testament prophecies, spoken by the mouth of God as he gave these to Jewish prophets, while the broader range of Old Testment and New Testament prophecies are recorded in the books of the bible, spoken to us in His Son and recorded under the divine inspiration of God, through His holy apostles.
At various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his Son, the Son that he has appointed to inherit everything and through whom he made everything there is. (Heb. 1:1-2) God spoke through Messiah to His disciples during His earthly ministry. And Yeshua haMashiach/Jesus Christ gave direction to them after he was ascended. When they had gone throughout Phrygia, and the region of Galatia, tthey were to preach in Asia, at that time, so tthey assayed to go into Bithynia on a missionary journey, but the "Spirit of Yeshua/Jesus (original text) forbid them to go there. (Acts 16:6-10)He guides us by His right hand today!
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (2 Tim. 3:16)
These apostles were Jewish men, who understood the writings and Messianic scriptures of the Tanach, or Old Testament books, and who had appropriated for themselves the fulfillment of Ezekiel's predictions of God's New Covenant.
"Then will I sprinkle clean water on you, and ye shall be clean from all your filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stoney heart out of your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and ye shall keep my judgments and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people and I will be your God." (Ezekiel 36:25-28)This prophecy is alluded to by Ananias's exhortation (Acts 9) to that man of the tribe of Benjaimin, a Pharisee of the Pharisees, Saul of Tarsus, after he was apprehended by the Yeshua/Jesus speaaking to Him from heaven in Acts 9:5. The Lord appeared to Ananias with instructions concerning Brother Saul, to whom Ananias said: "Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name" (Acts 22:16). The New Testament speaks, saying: "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water" (He. 10:22)
"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore, come out from among them and be separate," says the Lord. "Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters." (2 Corinthians 6:12-18)
Because prophecies frequently take many years to come to pass, it is important that prophets be good stewards of the words that the Lord has given to them. God carefully preserved these truthes so that we would not be left without a witness of Him, and His wonderous works, nor the specific instructions governing new covenant believers and their understanding of the last days or end times.
In chapter 35, the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah the Prophet in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, several years before Jerusalem was taken by the Chaldeans. God told Jeremiah to record all of the prophecies given to him by the Lord from the beginning of his prophetic ministry, and spanning a period of twenty-three years, many of which convey a strong sense of his own despair. (4:19-21, 12:6; 14:8-9, 16:8-9) The fact that so many prophecies, covering such a broad period of time were readily available, show us that Jeremiah was a good steward of the words that the Lord had given to him. How many people do you know that obtain copies tthey can keep or transcribe from a cassette tape of the service in which they have ever given a prophecy? This would be easier if they were written on scrolls, as in Jeremiah's case, or journaled into notebooks.
Jeremiah's compiling of these prophecies at this time, prior to the Babylonian captivity, was necessary as it provided the utmost sense of accountability to the people, and afforded no opportunity for the nation to say: "We did not know!" It probably also helped preserve Jeremiah's prophecies for posterity's sake. Chapter 36 of Jeremiah indicates how some of the prophets committed their prophecies to writing, or the making of them into books. Baruch wrote the prophecies out, and read them publicly in the temple, and afterwards to many princes. Jeremiah assured Baruch that even though a total destruction of Jerusalem was determined, because of the great wickedness of the inhabitants, yet his own life would be preserved amid the desolation.
The Prophet Jeremiah saw the preparations, but these are declared to be of no avail, for God had decreed their fall. The king of Egypt is portrayed as marching with all the confidence of victory, like a river over-flowing it's banks, and threatening all around with it's inundation. But this immense armament of Pharaoh-neco consisting of many nations, shall by a righteous judgment of God, receive a signal overthrow near the River Euphrates, the political consequence of Egypt shall be ruined, and it's remaining power become contemptible in the sight of all the nations. The promise in in the conclusion of the chapter, of the preservation of the Jews, has been remarkably fulfilled. Chapters 30-33 focus primarily on the end times and it's relationsip to the new covenant. God promises to establish a relationship with human beings based on forgiveness and inner transformation. This new covenant was instituted at Calvary aand provides the very basis today for believers to know their God.
36:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah.1 He said,2 36:2 “Get a scroll.3 Write on it everything I have told you to say4 about Israel, Judah, and all the other nations since I began to speak to you in the reign of Josiah until now.5 36:3 Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about all the disaster I intend to bring on them, they will all stop doing the evil things they have been doing.6 If they do, I will forgive their sins and the wicked things they have done.”7 And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiaah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of the lord in the Lord's house.8
The fourth year of Jehoikim's reign was a turning point both in the political world, and in the Prophet Jeremiah's ministry. This was the last moment that Israel as a nation could avert written judgments, for as the word of the Lord states: "It may be thaat they will present their supplication before the Lord, and will return every one from his evil way: for great is the anger and the fury which the Lord hath pronounced against this people." (36:7) Hindered from being present, Jeremiah dictates the words of the Lord to his faithful scribe Baruch, commanding him to read the scroll to the assembled people, during a time of fasting.
Ignorance abounds today concerning the word of the Lord. People assume that all truly valid prophecies must be spoken words, and although the prophets of scripture, prophesied orally at times, this was not always the case, for them either. It is important that prophets and prophetesses give forth the word of the Lord in exactly the way that He instructs. Here, the Lord instructs Jeremiah that these prophecies were to be written, and the prophet was commanded by God to obtain the necessary writing materials to record the prophetic word given by the Lord, i.e. a scroll or book made of prepared skins, made into a roll or scroll. God knows the heart of the hearers, what His divine purpose is for a prophetic word, and what the future holds.
This narration of what takes place in the ministry of Jeremiah, is but one classic example of why God requires certain prophets to record their prophetic words.
The scribe Baruch the son of Neriah, wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah, all the words of the Lord.
JEREMIAH SUMMONS THE SCRIBE BARUCH SON OF NERIAH
36:4 So Jeremiah summoned Baruch son of Neriah. Then Jeremiah dictated to Baruch everything the Lord had told him to say and Baruch wrote it all down in a scroll.8 36:5 Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am no longer allowed to go9 into the Lord’s temple. 36:6 So you go there the next time all the people of Judah come in from their towns to fast10 in the Lord’s temple. Read out loud where all of them can hear you what I told you the Lord said, which you wrote in the scroll.11 36:7 Perhaps then they will ask the Lord for mercy and will all stop doing the evil things they have been doing.12 For the Lord has threatened to bring great anger and wrath against these people.”13
36:8 So Baruch son of Neriah did exactly what the prophet Jeremiah had told him to do. He read what the Lord had said from the scroll in the temple of the Lord.14 36:9 All the people living in Jerusalem15 and all the people who came into Jerusalem from the towns of Judah came to observe a fast before the Lord. The fast took place in the ninth month of the fifth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah.16
When in the nineth month (abt December) of the fifth year, of Jehoiakim, a fast was proclaimed to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem, this was not a regularly appointed fast, but rather was probably in light of the danger threatened by the Chaldeans. (verse 29) Elsewhere in scripture, it is the presiding officers who proclaim a fast. (1 Kings 21:9,12, 2 Chron 20:3, Ezra 8:21) Baruch read the prophecies to the assembled people in the chamber of Gemariah in the temple. Gemariah is named as one of the princes assembled in the royal chancery, and he appears, as scribe to have had a room in the temple, and took part in the official transactions in the scribes chamber in the king's house. His father was a scribe under Josiah. (2 Kings 22:3) Possibly the family was a priestly one. (2 Kgs 22:3, 1 Chron 9:11,12)
Michaiah the son of Gemariah mentioned the matter to the princes assembled in the royal palace, who then sent for Baruch with the scroll, and made him read it to them. However, they were so frightened by what was read, that they found it necessary to inform the king of what was said in it.
The chamber of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, the scribe was in the upper forecourt, at the entrance of the new gate of the house of the Lord, and which led from the outer to the inner to the inner court of the priests, which rose higher than the others. It was situated not in entry but at the entry, so that it might probaly have been entered from the gateway. It was a highly frequented spot. As the higher court was that of the priests, which the people might not enter, it is possible that the new gate led from the higher to the outer or great court. (2 Chron 4:9) and that accordingly, the room, from it's higher elevation, afforded a view over the great court.
Gemariah was one of King Jehoiakim's private scribes, a secretary of state. According to verse 12, he belonged to "the princes," and was probably a brother of Ahikam the son of Saphan, who had prevously to this shown himself to be a protector of the prophet. (24:24)
Micaiah, the son of Gedaliah, was also listening to the reading of the prophecies, and it was he wo brought the news to the palace.
36:10 At that time Baruch went into the temple of the Lord. He stood in the entrance of the room of Gemariah the son of Shaphan who had been the royal secretary.17 That room was in the upper court18 near the entrance of the New Gate.19 There, where all the people could hear him, he read from the scroll what Jeremiah had said.20
36:11 Micaiah, who was the son of Gemariah and the grandson of Shaphan, heard Baruch read from the scroll everything the Lord had said.21 36:12 He went down to the chamber of the royal secretary in the king’s palace and found all the court officials in session there. Elishama22 the royal secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor,23 Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials were seated there. 36:13 Micaiah told them everything he had heard Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people.24 36:14 All the officials sent Jehudi, who was the son of Nethaniah and the grandson of Cushi, to Baruch. They ordered him to tell Baruch, “Come here and bring with you25 the scroll you read in the hearing of the people.”26 So Baruch son of Neriah went to them, carrying the scroll in his hand.27 36:15 They said to him, “Please sit down and read it to us.” So Baruch sat down and read it to them.28 36:16 When they had heard it all,29 they expressed their alarm to one another.30 Then they said to Baruch, “We must certainly give the king a report about everything you have read.”31 36:17 Then they asked Baruch, “How did you come to write all these words? Do they actually come from Jeremiah’s mouth?”32 36:18 And Baruch answered, “Yes, they came from his own mouth. He dictated all these words to me and I wrote them down in ink on this scroll.”33 36:19 Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must go and hide. And you must not let anyone know where you are.”34
JEHUDI SENDS FOR THE SCROLL
36:20 The officials put the scroll in the room of Elishama, the royal secretary, for safekeeping.35 Then they went to the court and reported everything36 to the king.37 36:21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. He went and got it from the room of Elishama, the royal secretary. Then he himself38 read it to the king and all the officials who were standing around him. 36:22 Since it was the ninth month of the year, the king was sitting in his winter quarters.39 A fire was burning in the firepot in front of him.40 36:23 As soon as Jehudi had read three or four columns41 of the scroll, the king42 would cut them off with a penknife43 and throw them on the fire in the firepot. He kept doing so until the whole scroll was burned up in the fire.44 36:24 Neither he nor any of his attendants showed any alarm when they heard all that had been read.
Nor did they tear their clothes to show any grief or sorrow.45 36:25 The king didn’t even listen to Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah, who had urged him not to burn the scroll.46 36:26 He even ordered Jerahmeel, one of the royal princes,47 Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah. (However, the Lord had hidden them.)
Having listened to these prophecies, the hearers are unmoved, displaying neither grief nor sorrow. Elnathan, meaning "God has given," was a servant of Jehoikim who brought Uriah out of Egypt. (2 Kgs 24:8; Jer. 26:22;36:12,25) Delaiah, was the official who advised against the burning of the scroll. Gemariah was another official that voted against burning the prophecies. (36:10-25)
According to 2 Kings 23:36, Jehoiakim came to the throne at twenty-five years of age, and was then at this time, in the fifth year of his reign, at almost thirty years of age. Jerahmeel, one commaanded by King eoiakim to arrest Baruch and Jeremiah, is called "the king's son" (Jer 36:26) but considering the age of Jehoiakim, was most likely "a prince royal." Jehoiakim did however, send men of the highest rank to apprehend the Prophet and his scribe.
Observe the care shown toward the prophet of God, in the fact that the princes commanded Baruch together with Jeremiah, to hide themselves. (verse 19) Even in this command however, there is this warning, that prophets not simply "hide themselves," lest they become as Jonah going down to Tarshish!!! (Jonah 1:3) Remember that Satan cccomes as an angel of light. Why did it matter where Jeremiah hid himself? Because the Spirit of the Lord forbids people to go to certain places, just as surely as He sends them to others! (Acts 16:6-10) Prophets can become weary, and Satan looks for an opportune season, to divert somebody from the will of the Lord. In Jeremiah's case, these men appear to have possessed a genuine concern for him. But we must seek God's perfect will in all that we do. We live in times in which many like to receive the word of the Lord, but for various reasons. Some enjoy the sensationalism afforded by being able to share a controversial communication, but frequently are unspiritual men with little concern for the fact that giving forth of such words, pose a great danger to a prophet. Other's genuinely want to apply the word to their lives, but may still lack cconcern for the individual through whom the word is given, or the prophets needs. They don't mind being accountable for the prophetic word, which they see themselves quite capable to judge. There can be at times a root of bitterness, envy, or strife! They feel that this one with a direct line to heaven, can look out for himself, or God can look out for him. While it's true that the Sovereign God looks out for his prophets, such as Elijah being instructed to "hide himself by the Brook Cherith, (I Kings 17:3-5) the attitude today is at time, a similar attitude to the mocking of haMashiach/Christ on the cross. "Let him come down from the cross and we'll believe in Him--Let him save himself!" (Matt. 27:40-43) But they are not always as desirous of being accountable as "my brothers keeper." (Gen.4:9)
There is a Rabbai "greatly loved" as Gideon, who loves Messiah in his heart, and he has suffered greatly. For He has said: I only have one life to give, and they must know Him who to know aright is life eternal. But it has not been easy! They have opposed you bitterly! They have even called you a goy and a goy-lover! But you love Israel, and know that God spoke a promise to Father Abraham, before the law was written, that his descendants would be as the stars in number! I bless you in the name of Yeshua haMashiach, and I say to you be righteous toward them, and walk in the righteousness of Messiah! Do not avert that which God is doing through you, for you will be a mighty nation, and your seed will inherit the Gentiles. Your enemies will come and bow down at your feet. The Gentiles shall ccome to the brightness of thy rising, for you will shine as the stars and turn many to righteousness. Do not fore-swear and say: I have not seen this nor that! You have seen the wonders of God before your very face. And He will do for you what you ask Him to do like your father's before you. You have said in your heart: The auto accident was for the glory of God. The Lord would say to you: The accident was to turn a corner, that you might "be the glory" the lifter up of His Head. How did Messiah "lift up the head? He drank from the brook by the way. He did nothing of Himself. He lived and moved and had his being as one with the Father.
He taught: Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and you shalt love the Lord thy God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength. He taught his disciples that they must go into all the world and preach the gospel, saying: He that believes and is baptized shall be saved. He said: baptizing them in haShem, the name singular) of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Matt. 28:19) The disciples appropriated His very words meticulously, as "he that has an ear." And they baptized in that singular name of Yeshua haMashiach. (Acts 2:38, Acts 8:16, Acts 10:46-48, Acts 19:5) He taught them to live in oneness. He said: In that day, you will know that I am in the father, and you in Me and I in you. Arise. Shine. For thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is arisen upon thee.
The Lord gives me a vision. I see a teacher with this little disc shaped metal object with holes all around, and she blows into one and it makes a humming noise, a tone, and she instructs the class to begin on the same note, so they will sound beautiful and harmonious. And they all go h-m-m-m-m. You say: I cannot do this, because they must receive it by revelation, just as I did. And sometimes I get tired, and I give it a rest. The Lord says: When you give it a rest, then they say: H-m-m-m-m. And they give it a rest, because they think you are "sounding the trumpet" for them to cease work. We must work for the night is coming when no man can work. Your rest must be in Yeshua. Your activity must be in Him too. ut no laying off building the wall, as in Nehemiah's day, just because...Prophesy to them, and they will resume this work again.
The Apostle Paul prayed that the God of Yeshua hamashiach/Jesus Christ would grant unto us, the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of our heart being enlightened, that we might know the hope of His calling, and the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. And what is the exceeding greatness of is power to usward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which he worught in Christ when he raised Him from the and set him at is own right hand in heavenly places, far above all princpality and power, and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also that which is to come. And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things in the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that fills all in all. (Eph. 1:17-23) He taught out of this...You will too.
This has been a prayer of mine for many years. One day God sent a minister from Kirkland, Washington named John Decker, who not only was called of God to raise up workers, but he took great care to make sure that they were not left without a proper understanding of doctrine, to they could carry out the ministry which God set them apart for. God says: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge! He also wanted people not to be left without a vision, for without a vision the people perish. There was always a time of fasting and prayer for several days, and then prophetic words were shared. John abhorred those flippant imaginations of the heart which are frequently passed off as prophecy, but are not the genuine word of the Lord.
John Decker had been instructed by God to be a "Maker of Timothy's!" This required John to have a certain "oneness with His Maker." The individual that I would one day marry, was working with him, in this work. I'd been sent by the Lord to be instructed as a "Timothy." The Spirit of the Lord called me out and He said this: "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him shall ye hearken." (Deut. 18:15) As John prayed for me he said: "The Lord has instructed me to anoint your right hand. As he anointed my right hand, He said: The Lord has given you an unusual anointing of revelation knowledge. You will lay this hand on people, and you will tell them what the Lord shows you." Later I prayed: Why my right hand Lord? He said: The right hand of my righteousness. When I pray, I remember this rigteousness of Messiah, that this is the ground on wich I stand, because of the precious blood Of Yeshua haMashiach/Jesus Christ.
What else is needed? The prayer life of Yeshua/Jesus. The early church followed the 3 hours a day of prayer observed in Judaism. The Apsotle Paul favored a prayer life, closer to that of Messiah, and He said: I pray in tongues more than you all. (1 Cor. 14:18) Some say: Intercession is not my gift. We are to be conformed to the image of haMashiach/Christ, even in this, that we might do the greater works He said we would do. The scriptures say: He openeth mine ear morning by morning to hear as the learned, and I was not rebellious. I did not turn away back. (Is. 50:5) This is an attitude of prayer, where we cease from the reckless pursuit of constantly needing to be entertained, in favor of unbroken fellowship with the the Lord. That I might know Him...
THE PROPHET SANCTIFIED FOR SERVICE
Take note that there is in scripture, this responsibility on the part of todays prophets to know when the Lord is telling them to "disappear" as it were, for the sake of their own safety. Is God leading you alone as He did Jacob, instructing you as the "apple of His eye" to teach you deeper dependence upon Him? (Deut. 32:9f) Is He giving the leadership godly counsel for you? God sets people apart and sanctifies them for His service. (John 17:17) Messiah said: I sanctify myself! (John 17:19) You cannot go where you want to do and do what your own self will dictates. As many as are lead of the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14) I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live through the faith of the Son of God who loves me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20) When God is setting you apart for the gift of miracles, you may not find people in agreement to even pray the prayer of faith with, when in the company of ly minded Christians, who utterly depend on their physicians, phychologists, and stock brokers, rather than in God's unchanging Word. Family men in close relationship with God, when moved on by the Lord for for service on a foreign mission field, may be opposed by family members saying: You're not pulling those kids out of school! Or what? Take your family to that dangerous place? Learn to discern God's voice, like Elijah! Move in the Holy Ghost. If you think there will always be a positive group concensus to obey God, there won't!
While the scriptures heartily support submission to authority, and Christian unity, the society worships "socialization." The bible teaches us to judge people by their fruit. So you as a modern day Jeremiah "try the spirit" of your rabbai or pastor, and you go to him and you show him something he's been teaching that does not square with scripture, and he plays King Jehoiakim's role and tells you "burn that page of scripture because our denomination just doesn't "see it" that way! When the early church was formed, believer in Acts 2:38, were persecuted in city after city. Their beliefs were termed "this sect called the Way!" God saved their persecutor's like Saul of Tarsus and turned them into apostles, when God Himself appeared in Messiah and rebuked him. (Acts 9) When Paul went up to Jerusalem at the end of the seventeen-year period, he says, "I went up by revelation" (Galatians 2:2). This means that he was instructed by Jesus Christ to go, and when to go. And when he got to Jerusalem he said that he, "communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation [the top apostles], lest by any means I should run, or had run [had run to Jerusalem] in vain." (Galatians 2:2)
If that rabbai or pastor's already waving his pen-knife at you, like he's planning to remove some of that New Testament doctrine that the Holy Spirit has written on the fleshly tables of your heart, this is not the church for you~ because the Lord said: He that receives you receives me! And he that receives me receives Him that sent Me! If he teaches that same false doctrine more vehemently next week, and telling the elders that you're a dissident and a false prophet, he probably wasn't just cleaning his finger-nails with that pen-knife! Yeshua/Jesus was no compromiser! His word shed light on the traditions of Judaism in a radical way! He took their understanding of the Law to new heighths, explaining God's heart concerning the commandment "Thou Shalt Not Commit ery, as "If you look at a woman to after her, you have committed ery in your heart already! Never a man spake as this man. Messiah wanted the people of His nation of Israel to be "holy as God is holy." He knew that Proverbs 6:32, teaches: "The one who commits ERY with a woman is lacking in understanding; he that does it DESTROYS HIS OWN SOUL."
Was Messiah considered dangerous to the leaders of the religious group that he grew up in. Absolutely! But not always. At age 12, he was found by Joseph and Mary in their midst, astounding them with his wisdom. (Luke 2:42) As his fame and influence grew, and they could not duplicate the miraculous signs of God, they felt threatened by Him. It was said of Him: The whole world has gone after Him! He was there to effect change in a centuries old system, and he knew that to this end He was born. God was instituting the new covenant prophesied by the prophets centuries before. Ezekiel wrote that God would take away their stoney heart and give them a heart of flesh. He would write it on the fleshly tables of the heart, that He might live in them and walk in them, and they would be His sons and daughters and He will be their God.
The very concept of Messiah among the Jews of that era as such that the majority stumbled at the stumbling stone, through unbelief. The prophet prophesied He would be a Stumbling Stone, and a Rock of Offence laid in Zion. (Is. 28:16) A tried Stone. A precious Corner Stone, and he that believes shall not be anxious. They were fulfilling God's prophetic word, just as he was. They believed He would appear in a certain way, i.e. As their "Conqueroring King" but misinterpreted the necessity for Him to be their Pesach--crucified as the Lamb of God for the sins of the people. He will come again as King, with a mighty entourage. But when He came the first time to His own, they received im not. Only 120 disciples appeared in the upper room in Acts 2:1-4, and received the promised outpouring of Joel's prophecy, spoken of in Joel 2.
Or perhaps your pastor has received the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, (Acts 10:46-48) and is the Jeremiah type, who reveres God's Word, and weeps for God's people in intercessory prayer, and you can't pray five minutes. Or see what there is to pray about! He find that he gets excited when you share the truth of God's Word with him. He agrees this aberrent doctrine should be changed in the Articles of Faith, because the denomination is promoting things which are misleading. He tells you he's willing to pull out of the denomination if they won't receive the truth on this! You've got a live one! When he's warring against principalities and powers, and standing for truth, don't be a "Jehoiakim." If you knuckle under where you need to stand fast, you're not on your way to being a "spiritual reformer type, like Elijah. Do not allow yourself to be swayed, concerning God's unchanging word. Yeshua/Jesus is the Word made flesh. (John 1:1) He is Truth, and the truth will prevail.
They may tell you that the denomination possesses vast numbers, and who are you to disagree? What do you owe to centuries of tradition if it doesn't line up with what the apostles taught? Absolutely nothing. Those apostles were responsible to plant churches, to interpret doctrine, and God worked miracles through them. It only takes a spark to get a fire glowing. Be a light in the darkness.
Or you live in a nation where there's no freedom of speech, and you study the scriptures on how Yeshua haMashiach/Jesus Christ and his disciples dealt with times of severe persecution. At times Messiah would preach in the temple, or heal the sick in Solomon's porch. (John 10:23) When it was the time for Messiah to be offered up, He did not shrink back from the Heavenly Fathers will, but warned His disciples of what was about to happen. Behold, we go up to Jerusalem: and the Son of Man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him. (Matt. 20:17) He knew from the unchanging word of God, when he would die and how.
At other times he was unable to walk among the Jews openly. He went to a city called Ephraim, near a wilderness, with His disciples. (John 11:54) Galilee. (John 7:1) In Mark 12:12, they sought to lay hold of Him, but feared the people. He hid himself, not out of cowardice, but because God hid Him, to preserve His life and extend His ministry. This did not mean that he hung out indoors and did nothing. There were many things which needed to be done in those last and final days before the crucifixion. Jeremiah went through great persecutions, even being throwwn into a cistern on one occasion.
In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul who once persecuted the believers in Yeshua haMashiach, came under persecution himself, and once had to be let down from a wall by his friends in a basket! (Acts 9:25)
Acts 9:22 Saul [Paul] became increasingly more powerful [after his conversion] and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah. 23 After some time had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, 24 but their plot became known to Saul [Paul]. They were watching the gates day and night so that they might kill him; 25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. 26 When he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles, and described for them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he went in and out among them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.
In free societies, the spiritual warfare can be more subtle. God is not willing for any to perish. Yet is word teaches that where people reject the gospel, shake their dust off your feet! You may be told you aren't showing Christian love if you avoid those whom the bible teaches you to shun! The effects of negative socialization have destroyed entire families.
When you feel you're getting no support from leaders, they may be praying that you will hear God and do what he says for you to do. It is often best that way. Why is it best? Because God commands us all to stand and having done all to stand. We stand as believers in some lonely places in life. There are times when completely confidential in what the Lord is showing you, and reveal it to no one, or disclose it at a specific time. We must learn to trust God for His provisions in every area. When we cease to look to man and place humble dependance upon God, Satan loses his ability to dry up our supply lines.
On the other hand, demonic attacks come where there is Christian unity. People can be crass with one another, or let one another down at critical points. As God has taken me into the very "chambers" of a number of them, I have attitudes both godly as well as extremely unmerciful in these leaders, as I have been shown these things in the Spirit, while waiting on the Lord in prayer. The thought of heart is that God will hide is prophet if He deems this necessary. Here, with the words "But the Lord Jehovah hid them" in verse er. 36:26, we see that the Lord used leadership, to protect is prophet as well as the scribe of Jeremiah. This also affords opportunity for prophets to know the mind and heart of God themselves, and to surround themselves with spiritual men, or this could cost you your life. These men appear to tell Jeremiah and Baruch to hide, but where to hide is left to their own discretion.
The name of Jehudi's ancestor, indicates that he was of Cushite descent. The princes went in Jehoikim, leaving the scroll of Jeremiah with the secretary of state. After the public reading in the temple, the matter could not be kept concealed from the king. Purposeful concealment by those whose duty was to report, would have been dangerous. The king made Yehudi fetch the book, and read it to him, together with the assembled princes. He was seated in his winter-house, in that portion of the palace built as a winter residence in the nineth month, or during the winter, with a brazier of burning coals before him. Upon hearing the word of the Lord, he and his servants were not afraid, nor did they rend their garments, at the seriousness of what was said.
Now when Yehudi had read three or four columns, he cut off (i.e. "cut in pieces") the scroll, with a pen knife, and threw the pieces of it into the fire, where it was consumed upon the coals. When in verse 25, Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah addressed the king requesting that he not burn it, paid them no heed. The scripttures imply that the prophecy was read in it's entirity, and not merely a portion of it.
BARUCH & JEREMIAH WROTE ANOTHER SCROLL
36:27 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah after Jehoiakim had burned the scroll containing what Jeremiah had spoken and Baruch had written down. He said,48 36:28 “Get another49 scroll and write on it everything50 that was written on the original scroll51 that King Jehoiakim of Judah burned. 36:29 And tell King Jehoiakim of Judah, ‘The Lord says, “You burned the scroll. And you asked52 Jeremiah, ‘How dare you write in this scroll that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and wipe out all the people and animals on it?’”53 36:30 So the Lord says concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah, “None of his line will occupy the throne of David.54 And his body will be thrown out to be exposed to scorching heat by day and frost by night.55 36:31 I will punish him and his descendants and the officials who serve him for the wicked things they have done.56 I will bring on them and the citizens of Jerusalem57 and the people of Judah all the disaster that I threatened to do to them. I will punish them because I threatened them but they still paid no heed.”’”58 36:32 Then Jeremiah got another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah. And as Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote on this scroll everything that had been on the scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah burned in the fire. They also added on this scroll several other messages of the same kind.59
After the burning of the scroll by King Jehoiakim, Jeremiah received from the Lord a command to get all that had been written on the former scroll written on a second one, and to make an announcement to the king. The punishment which was to come upon Jehoiakim for his wicked act, was that "The King of Babylon shall surely come and destroy this land and root out every maan and beast from it." In contrast to the prophecy that David would never lack a descendant to sit upon the throne, Jehoiakim shall not have one who sits upon the throne of David, and his corpse shall be cast forth to the heat by day, an to the frost by night.
Jehoiakim could burn the scroll, but he could not eliminate the presence of the Living God. Rather he increased his guilt before God, and increased the predictions of calamities in a new scroll. God doesn't think much of the reviling contempt of His prophetic words. It is vain to resist the power of the Most High God; for not one of is words will "fall to the ground." Jeremiah was to speak the word of the Lord to Jehoiakim, not in person, for Jeremiah was "hidden or shut up," but he was to speak to him through the written words of prophecy. God does not alter the word which goes forth from His mouth, simply because man chooses to disregard it. Rather God establishes it.
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