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Jeremiah 37
The Book of Jeremiah
Jeremiah 37:1 And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the
son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of
Judah.
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Moving forward about 17 years
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The Egyptians having raised the seige of the
Chaldeans, king Zedekiah sends to Jeremiah to
pray for the people.
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2 Kings 24:17 And the king of Babylon
made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his
stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
2 But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto
the words of the Lord, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah.
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Words = prophecies
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Zedekiah the king, the people, they wouldn't listen
3 And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son
of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the Lord
our God for us.
4 Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him
into prison.
5 Then Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that
besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.
6 Then came the word of the Lord unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
7 Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of
Judah, that sent you unto me to enquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is
come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.
8 And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it,
and burn it with fire.
9 Thus saith the Lord; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall
surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.
10 For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against
you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up
every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.
11 And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from
Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army,
12 Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to
separate himself thence in the midst of the people.
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To go = Probably to Anathoth.
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To separate himself thence = to assign (himself) his portion there
(at Anathoth, in Benjamin, three and a half miles north-east of
Jerusalem), where he drew his living.
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In the midst: for safety, and to avoid detection.
13 And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there,
whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he took
Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans.
14 Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he
hearkened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.
15 Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in
prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.
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Smote = scourged.
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Put him in prison. Note Jeremiah's prison experiences:.
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(1) Put in on false charge = Jeremiah 37:1 And it
came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from
Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army,
12 Then Jeremiah went
forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate
himself thence in the midst of the people. 13 And when he was in
the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose
name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah;
and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the
Chaldeans. 14 Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I fall not
away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Irijah took
Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes. 15 Wherefore the
princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in
prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that
the prison.
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(2) Released, but confined in the court of the prison;
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(3) Imprisoned again in Malchiah's miry dungeon =
Jemeriah 38:1 Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the
son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of
Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the
people, saying,
2 Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this
city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence:
but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall
have his life for a prey, and shall live. 3 Thus saith the LORD,
This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of
Babylon's army, which shall take it. 4 Therefore the princes
said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death:
for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in
this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words
unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but
the hurt. 5 Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in
your hand: for the king is not he that can do any
thing against you. 6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into
the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the
court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in
the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in
the mire.
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(4)Released again as before = Jememiah 38:13 So
they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the
dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
14
Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him
into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and
the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing
from me. 15 Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it
unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee
counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me? 16 So Zedekiah the king
sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth,
that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I
give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life. 17 Then
said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts,
the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of
Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not
be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house:
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Jememiah 38:18 But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of
Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of
the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not
escape out of their hand.
19 And Zedekiah the king said unto
Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans,
lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me. 20 But
Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech
thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be
well unto thee, and thy soul shall live. 21 But if thou refuse
to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me:
22 And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of
Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's
princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee
on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire,
and they are turned away back. 23 So they shall bring out
all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not
escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king
of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.
24 Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these
words, and thou shalt not die. 25 But if the princes hear that I
have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee,
Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not
from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said
unto thee: 26 Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my
supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return
to Jonathan's house, to die there. 27 Then came all the princes
unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all
these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking
with him; for the matter was not perceived. 28 So Jeremiah abode
in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken:
and he was there when Jerusalem was taken
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(5) Carried away in chains by Nebuchadnezzar, but released
at Ramah = Jeremiah 40:1 The word that came to Jeremiah
from the LORD, after that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had
let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him being bound in chains
among all that were carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah,
which were carried away captive unto Babylon.
2 And the captain
of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, The LORD thy God hath
pronounced this evil upon this place. 3 Now the LORD hath
brought it, and done according as he hath said: because ye
have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed his voice,
therefore this thing is come upon you. 4 And now, behold, I
loose thee this day from the chains which were upon thine
hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come;
and I will look well unto thee: but if it seem ill unto thee to come
with me into Babylon, forbear: behold, all the land is before
thee: whither it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither
go.
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In prison = in the house of bonds.
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The prison = the house of detention
16 When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah
had remained there many days;
17 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him
secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the Lord? And Jeremiah
said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king
of Babylon.
18 Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee,
or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison?
19 Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of
Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?
20 Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I
pray thee, be accepted before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the
house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.
21 Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the
court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of
the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah
remained in the court of the prison.
• Exactly 2520 years from the exile
of Benjamin, Iceland became an independent nation.
•
The first tribe to be
conquered by the Assyrians was Manasseh,
in 745 B.C. Exactly 2520 years later America became a nation on July 4, 1776.
(Leviticus. 26: 28-46) God warned Israel that if they persisted in continually
breaking His Laws, not only would curses come upon them.
He would punish them for seven times, (a time being 360 years, seven times would
be 2520 years) and would banish them from the land of Palestine and scatter them
among the heathens (like lost sheep)
• Study the book: Abrahamic Covenant,
(A study outline of the identity of God's people) By E. Raymond Capt
- page 25
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