I. (21:1-10) The Judgment .

or
King Zedekiah
A. King Zedekiah was the last king
of Judah, 597-586, B.C. His adminis-
tration was evil, for he continued the
traditions of the wicked kings, II Kings
24:17-25:7. He was ambivalent toward
Jeremiah's preaching. Frequently he
would go to Jeremiah for counsel, but
when it was received, he would reject it,
if he did not like it.
B. This time he asks Jeremiah if
God will intervene and rescue Judah
from the imminent invasion of Baby-
lon.
C. God's answer through his pro-
phet destroyed all hope. GOd himself
will destroy Judah by means of Baby-
lon, with irresistible force.
0. ''Yahweh had abandoned his peo-
ple because of their infidelity and dis-
loyalty and therefore Jerusalem's down-
fall was inevitable. When Jeremiah
counseled surrender he called for the na-
tion to accept God's judgment, which
was the first step toward future re-
newal."- Thompson
IT. (21:11-22:9) The .. Judgment
of the Political Establishment
. '
A. The Cause of Judgment: The
Failure of Judah's Political Lea9-ership.
1. Thefundamentalresponsiblili-
ty of the civil magistrate is to admin-
ister justice, 21: 12; 22:3. The head
of state is to be the guardian of
justice as dermed by Jehovah.
The essence of his authority and func-
tion is faithfulness to God's
covenant, Dent. 17:14-20. Failure to
that covenant results in divine judg-
ment, 21:14; Psa. 132:12. The head of
state is as obligated to fulfill the de-
mands of the Mosaic covenant as are
the people, (Compare 22:3 and Exod.
22:21-26; 23:9; Lev. 19:33-34; Deut.
10:18-19; 24:17.)
2. (22:3) The civil government
is to administer (mispat) judgment and
(sedek) justice or righteousness. The
O.T. constantly links these two words.
Sedek has reference to conformity to
God's revealed standards of right and
wrong, which reflect his holy character.
Mispat has reference to the application
and vindication of these biblical stand-
ards leading to .the actual discrimination
against and punishment of evil and the
deliverance and protection of good
people.
3. (22:3) It is only as God's
revealed justice and biblical law are
by the civil government
that social justice and the general wel-
fare of all the citizens, both weak artd
strong, are promoted, 22i21.:.26;
23:9; Lev. 19:33-34; Deul 10:18-19;
24:17. For documentation on a modern
example of the dismal failure. of the
American political establishment to pro-
mote the general welfare of its citizens,
it has abandoned biblical jus-
tice; see Walter Williams' "The State
Against Blacks,'
1
and Charles Murray's
"Losing Ground."
B. The ResultS of Political Aposta-
sy: Severe Judgment
The Counsel of Chalcedon November, 1989. page 14
l. God deals with apostate lead-
ers with true and inflexible justice;
21:14. He will them and theii
soc1ettes with unquenchable fue,
21:12,14; 22:5,6,7.
2, Because leaders and people
transgressed God's covenant and
strated themselves before other gods,
22:8-9, God himself will abandon anci
destroy them. All their military (and
otherwise) attempts to defend
teet themSelves will be to no avail. Be-
cause. they pay homage to and serve
another lawgiver and king than
Jehovah, they must suffer the conse-
quences and be severely and sternly
judged.
ill. (22:10-12) The Judgment of
King Jehoahaz (Shallum)
A. King Jehoahaz reigned for three
months in 607, B.C., succeeding his
father, Josiah. His administration waS
an evil one, II Kings 23:32. He was
dominated by Egypt, II Kings 23:33.
B. Jehoahaz was dragged away to
Egypt in chains. Tears of pity should
be shed for him, whom God judged
with slavery, instead of the dead King
Josiah, . who was a courageous and
honorable hero of Judah.
IV. (22:13-19) The Judgment of
King Jehoiakim
A. King Jehoialdm's administration
was also an evil one, n Kings 23:34-
24:7. He succeeded Jehoahaz and
reigned from 607 to 597, B.C. He
harassed Jeremiah, killed . Uriah and
shredded the scroll of God. He was
dominated by Egypt and by Babylon,
B. (22:13-17) God condemns him
here for his injustice, avarice, and
tyran{ly. He WaS without rnispat or
sedek, vs. 13. He built luxurious
. buildings for himself by requiring his
"fellows" to labor without pay. Note
that the king and citizens are "fellows,"
emphasizing a democratic relationship
leaders and people. "The free-
dom and rights of the individual
Israelite were supposed to be guarded by
the king as well as by his subjects." -
Thompson
C. (22:16-17) Jeremiah calls uP<>n
Jehoiakim to follow Josiah's example.
He took his God-given obligations ati a
political leader seriously. He dispensed
justice for the poor and the needy. This
makes it obvious that Josiah "knew"
Jehovah in the fullest sense--he had en-
tered into "a deep relationship of person-
al commitment, which involved a con-
cern to obey the stipulations of the
covenant" -- Thompson
D. (22:18-19) Jeremiah announces a
terrible judgment on Jehoiakim because
of his failure as a leader to represent the
will and covenant of Jehovah. In fact,
Jeremiah condemned Jehoiakim more
severely than any other king! It should
also be noted that J ehoiakim's life was
marked by a great hostility toward anci
resistance to prophetic preaching!
V. (22:20-23) The Judgment of
Jerusalem
A. Jerusalem is ordered to bewail
her doom far and wide. Her "lovers,"
i.e., her political allies in which she
trusted, rather than trusting in God, are
broken. Because she has throughout
her history refused to listen to the
preaching of God's prophets, she was
deserted, isolated and alone.
B. Because leaders and people re-
fused to obey the Lord, it was only a
mattter of time before judgment would
come.
C. "Lebanon" is used for Jerusalem
because there were large amounts of
cedars from Lebanon used in building
the massive palaces and governmental
buildings. Jerusalem could be called a
little Lebanon.
VI. (22:24-30) The Judgment of
King Jehoiakin (Coniah)
A. King Jehoiakin followed
Jehoiakim and reigned for three months
and ten days in 597, B.C., II Kings
24:6-16. His administration was also
an evil one, II Kings 24:9. During his
reign Jerusalem was besieged and the
frrst deportation to Babylon took place.
B. Because he too failed to do the
will of God, God removed him from
office, sent him into slavery and exile,
rendered him a useless, broken clay pot,
and ruined his future by not allowing
him to have an heir to sit on David's
throne.
C. (22:24) Political leaders are to be
"signet rings on God's right hand." A
signet ring was used to impress the
owner's signature on a document Civil
officials are to regard themselves as
Jehovah's official representatives. If
they reject that function, God will break
them and those who follow them.
D. (22:29) "An important part of
any man's basic security was to live in
his own land. A land and a people be-
longed together. Any separation of the
two was a disaster. A land needs a
people and a people needs a land." -
-Thompson
VII. (23:18) The Promise of
a True Messianic King
A. (23:1-2) The Failure of Judah's
Leadership
In 23:1-2, God denounces the
leadership of Judah for neglecting their
duties, and by their rebellion against
Jehovah, for scattering the flock of
Israel, which belonged to Jehovah, and
which had been committed to their
charge. God declares his intent to judge
them severely for their failure to lead
properly. At the same time, God re-
veals his love for his misguided people
by referring to them as "the sheep of
my pasture," and "my people," and "my
flock." Yet, God clearly says that this
scattering of the flock of which the
ungodly leaders were guilty was also
the disciplinary action of God on his
people for their apostasy--"! myself
shall gather the remnant of my
flock. .. whither I have scattered
them .... " (23:3). In these verses God's
sovereignty and human responsibility
are brought together; and his justice and
his love also.
Against this backdrop of the abuse
of God's people by their leaders, God
reveals his mercy for them by pro-
mising his faithful people a blessed
future under a kingly Messiah. He pro-
mises them that they will be restored to
their own land, under the Messiah's rule
and protection, so that their safety
would be secure and permanent, not
temporary. This would take place with
the restoration of the church in Christ
In these verses God calls attention
to the promised Messiah to remind
them that there is no hope of salvation
except through the Mediator sent from
God and that they were not wise or
knowledgeable unless they turned the
concentration of their minds upon Him.
Without Christ God will not be a
Father or a Savior to men. And without
Christ, the Jewish people cannot hope
for the fulfillment of the promises of
salvation.
B. (23:3-4,7-8) The Promise of
Regathering
God promises that he personally
will regather "the remnant" of his
people back to himself and to covenant
life. He shall regather them from all
over the world. And when they are
back in God's pasture: (1) they will be
fruitful and increase, in fulfillment of
the Abrahamic Covenant; (2) they will
be governed and provided for by the
Good Shepherd himself, the Messiah,
instead of by the ungodly leadership of
the day. This is the True Shepherd
promised in Jeremiah 3:4-8. (3) they
will be safe and secure under the
Messiah's care. And (4) the promised
land will be theirs to enjoy, on which
they could build a God-honoring
civilization. The N.T. extends this land-
promise to embrace the whole earth,
Mat. 5:5; Rom. 4:13; I Cor. 3:21-23.
This regathering, this second
Exodus, will be so remarkable that it
will make the first Exodus of Moses'
day pale into insignificance in compari-
son, 23 :7. The ultimate restoration and
regathering of God's people in Christ
was promised by Moses in Deuterono-
my 30:1-10. Moses promised that
beyond the Exile lay the promise of
restoration. In Deuteronomy 28:64ff,
he described the hopelessness of un-
blieving Israelites in their dispersion
throughout the earth. In Deuteronomy
30 he looks beyond their dispersion to a
new gathering, a (re)New(ed) covenant
in Christ. The hope of Moses and Jere-
miah was that the Jews and Gentiles
would be restored to the covenant Lord
in his Kingdom (Theocracy). This is
fulfilled in Christ and his kingdom un-
der the New Covenant
Meredith Kline has written: "As
the development of this theme in the
prophets shows, the renewal and restora-
tion which Moses foretells is that
accomplished by Christ in the New
Covenant. The prophecy is not narrow-
ly concerned with ethinic Jews but with
the covenant community, here concrete-
ly denoted in its Old Testament identity
as Israel. Within the sphere of the New
Covenant, however, the wall of ethnic
The Counsel of Chalcedon November, 1989. page 15
distinctions disappears. Accordingly,
the Old Testament figure used here of
exiled Israelites beirtg regathered to
Yahweh in Jerusalem, vv.. 3,4: 28:64,'
f'mds its chief fulfillment . in . the
universal New Testament gathering of
sinners out of the human race, exiled
from Paradise, back to the Lord Christ
enthroned in the heavenly Jerusalem."
E.W. Hengstenberg inakes. this.
helpful comment: "How indeed could it
be said of the . bodily bringing . back
from the captivity, that it would far
outshine the fanner deliverance from
Egypt. and -would cause - it -to be
altogether forgotten? The correet view
was stated as early as by Calvin, who
says: 'There is no doubt that the pro-
phet has in view, in the first instance,
the free return of the people; but Christ
must riot be separated from this
ing of the deliverance, for, otherwise, It
would be difficult to show the ful-
fillment of this prophecy.' The right of
thus assuming a concurrent reference to
Christ is afforded to us by the circum-
stance, that caiiaan had such a high
value fat Israel, not because it was its
fatherland in the lower sense, but
beCause it was -the land of God, the
place where his glory' dwelt. From this
it follows that a bodily return was to
the covenant-people of value, in so far
only as God manifested himself as the
God of the land. Aild since, before
Christ, this was done in a manner very
imperfect, as compared with what was
implied in the idea; the value of such a
return could not be otherwise than very
subordinate. And, in like manner; it
follows from it, that the gathering and
l;!:ringing back by Christ. is .'included in
the promise. For wher.eevei"- GOd
is, there is canaan."
. The fact that Out . passage lh
1e.remiah mentions a uremnarit" -to be
regathered, is to teach us that divine
mercy will be accompanied with jus-
tice. As John Calvin wrote: "Mercy
shall not . be exercised until he hilS
cleansed his church of fdthiness, so
great and so horrid, in which she that
time abounded."
C. The Promise of the
Righteous Sprout ofDavid
All of these great promises center
around the greater promise of the
coming of a Messiah, in. fulflllment of
the Davidic Covenant, who would bring
all ofthem to certain realization. 23:5-
6 tells us of this Messiah's person,
reign and accomplishments.
1. Concerning The Messiah's
Person. He would be raised up by
God from the descendants of King
David. He; who would be a kingly
was a full human being. He
was a "sprout" growing out of the
stump of the fallen dynasty of David ..
He was a fresh growth from the
seemingly dead . root of the house of
David; growing by the omnipotence of
the covenant Lord into a new tree, "a
farnity tree. with innumerable branches
and leaves." Furthermore, this human
essiah 'Yill be a . thoroughly "righ-
teous" person. His character will be in
j:lerfect -C::onforrillt.y to the hoi y character
of Gad. Righteousness is the very es-
sence of his nature and being.
The Messiah wUJ.' not' only be
fully human, according to Jeremiah, he
Will be truly GOd. In verSe 6 he is
called "Jehovah," meaning that he Will
be fully and truly Almighty God, the
Covenant Lord, the God of Abraham,
Moses and Jeremiah human flesh.
This divine-human Messiah will be the
direct fulfillnient of Davidic Cove-
it ant.
2: Concerning The Messiah's
Reign. . This Messiah \Vill be a
riUghty King, whose reign . would be
Ch31'acterized by wisdom. justice and
righteousness; 23:5: . His kingdom will
reflect bis character-:.it:will. be a living,
kingdom will never .
perish. Because the Idng is God, he
knows fully the will. of GOd; so he is
able to carty. out phin of salvation
to successful completion . . .' .: :Hcf also
kitows the :schemes of his enemies, so
he _knows how to ' utteriy defeat them.
fie: not o:nly is righteous himSelf'; but
king he will execute and establish a
new 'norm of righteousness, by . which
his people will be governed. "It is a
norm that is established by the. righ-
teouS kirtg, and a rigbteousne8s that
thiS 'righteous king, whose righteous-
ness is that Qf Jehovah, acknowledges
as . all .righteousness,''
wrote Laetsch. The: present state of
disorder ahd injustice in Jeremiah's day,
will be replaced under the kirigly Mes-
siah with a new order or righteoUsness.
This reign of righteousness will
secure the eternat salvation of all o'f
the counsel of November, 1989 page16
God's people, 23:6. And this salvation
will be accomplished by him who will
be . called, "The Lord our
teousness, 23:6. careful note should
be . made of the manner in which this
name is introduced: "And this is his
name by which he will be called, 'The
Lord our Righteousness."' "Name" is
not a mere label or tag. Ratherit'
notes the very nai'uie,essence and being
of him who is "the Sprout of David."
God his sovereign will
that all humanity should kriow this
messianic "Sprout" by that God-given
name which describes. to us his inner- .
most esSence, as God himself urider"'
stands it--"Jehovah olir
(Jehovah-tSidkenu in Hebrew). l:lis
name means' "Jehovah is the vindication
of bur right," or "Jehovah is oilr Jus-:-
tice,; referring to saving presence
arid saving activity. The Messiah iS tlie
One by whom and under whom Jehovim
will be oilr Righteousness; and that
divine righteOusness is our salvation.
In tbis name, the true character
of Christ is revealed, not just in order
to manifest the divine character, but to
bring that righteousness to us which is
able to secure our salvation, Rom. 1:16
17. GOd in Christ is righteouS,: but, if
we are to be saved from his judgment,
his righteousness 'must become ' our
righteousness, in some way, imputed'to
us-, if we are to be accepted by hiiri.
"If; then, we desire to have God a8 our
righteousneSs we must seek Christi .for
ihls cannot. be found except in him.
The righteousness of God has _been set
forth fat us irt Christ; . and all Who tum
away from him, though 'iliey may take
many COUrSeS', can yet never
rmd the righteousness: of God;" wrote
.. . ;
Jereniiah - anticipated . . Pau.i's
gospel 'of justification by' faitti, that
. sii)rieis are received by GOd as rightedus
through faith in the Messiah, iestis-,
because to believers in Jesus, Jehovah .
iniputes his righteousness, chatging his
righteousness 'to thier empty accounts,
exchanging our <temeritS for Christ's
. . To be with the holy
God, sinners intist have a righteousness
that 1s as holy . as God's righteousness.
Sinners cannot produce it, but_ iri. die
gaspe! of Jesus Christ 'God graeiously
bestows what he hiritself demands to all
who belie:ve 'in Jesus: "Pot I am not
(Continued on page 13)
has promised his church a glorious fu-
ture in Jesus Christ, Isaiah 2. We look
forward to the future, knowing that it,
with all its struggles, afflictions, and
progressive victories, belongs, not to
the humanists, but to the faithful peo-
ple of God, I Cor. 3:21-22. We are fu-
ture-oriented in our present responsibili-
ties. Our vision for life and the future is
determined by the promises of God's
covenant and of Christ's kingdom. We
pray that God would use us to bring the
covenantal blessings of salvation to all
the families of all the nations of the
world, Psalm 22:27f; Galatians 3:7-29.
We believe that the kingdom of Christ
and the preaching of that kingdom will
leaven the whole loaf of human life and
society, as it advances toward total vic-
tory, Mark 4:21-32. We work, pray and
hope for the day when "the earth will be
full of the knowledge of the Lord as the
waters cover the sea," Isaiah 11:9.
Your Invitation
If you would like to talk to us about
joining with us, or if you have any fur-
ther questions about who we are and
what we stand for, we would be more
than glad for you to call us at (404) 339-
1162 or (404) 396-0965. .Q
Jeremiah
Continued from page 16
ashamed of the gospel, for it is the
power of God for salvation to everyone
who believes.... For in it the
righteousness of God is revealed from
faith to faith; as it is written: 'But the
righteous man shall live by faith."'
(Rom. 1:16-17). "But now apart from
the Law the righteousness of God has
been manifested, being witnessed by the
Law and the Prophets, even the
righteousness of God through faith in
Jesus Christ for all those who be-
lieve .... " (Rom. 3:21f) "He (Jehovah)
made him (Jesus) who knew no sin to
be sin on our behalf, that we might
become the righteousness of God in
him." (II Cor. 5:21) .Q
The Counsel of Chalcedon November, 1989 page 13