Category Archives: Jeremiah

Following the Trail of NIŠ·BĀ·RĀH

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While studying sacrifice, I found niš·bā·rāh in Psalm 51:17. That form of the word is only used three times according to biblehub.com. (It has a lot of cousins.) In the Strong’s it is H7665.

Hebrew Concordance: niš·bā·rāh — 3 Occurrences (biblehub.com)  

The three places it is used are – Psalm 34:20, Psalm 51:17, and Jeremiah 48:25. As I focused on the verses, I realized that broken bones and spirit told a story for those who would seek God.

Psalm 34:20

David wrote this psalm as a praise and thank you to God for delivering him from a bad situation. That story is in 1 Samuel 21:10-15.

The way I like to read Psalm 34 is the Father is speaking to His children starting at verse 11 and ending at 20. Verse 20 is a prophecy about Jesus that is fulfilled in John 19:36. Not one of Jesus’ bones was broken during His crucifixion.

Psalm 51:17  

David is calling out to God again in this psalm. This time he is in grief because of his sin and a wrong that he committed against God. This story is in 1 Samuel 11 + 12. He realizes that what the Father wants is a broken spirit and a heart that is broken and can only be fixed by fellowship with God again.

Jeremiah 48:25

The entire chapter is a message against Moab. Moab is the nation descendant from Lot and his oldest daughter (Genesis 19:30-38). That makes them famies (family enemies). Through the centuries it has been a curious relationship. In Deuteronomy 2 God is “protecting” Moab but by the end of the wandering they are with Balaam in corrupting Israel. Ruth the grandmother of David and Jesus is from Moab, so Lot’s bloodline is not to be dismissed.

In this verse, Moab’s horn or strength is cut, and his power or his arm is broken. They did help the Babylonians when Jerusalem fell.    

The Trail of NIŠ·BĀ·RĀH

As I pondered these verses, this path in the Way took shape.

Because righteous Jesus was not broken on the cross, we can bring our broken hearts and spirits to Him. He will create a clean heart and renew our spirit so we can fellowship with Him. Now that we walk with Him, He will break the power of our sinful flesh (Moab).

Bible 911 – Jeremiah

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This Bible 911 from Jeremiah is part of a series of “declares or says the Lord” statements. Judah has turned from God, and they refuse to repent. Jeremiah’s writings can be complex, and they are not in a nice linear format. I wonder how much editing Jeremiah and Baruch did in joining these words into the powerful message they are. We are not sure when this verse was written, but you would hope it is after Josiah and his work to bring Judah back to the Lord. The message however is clear, God is going to hold the people of Israel accountable for not following Him. King Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33) is a key player in this apostasy and judgment.

Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel are alive and active at this time in history. If you take all of their 9:11s, they make an interesting statement about Jerusalem and Judah (they were written at very different times). Each of these prophets had their own area of ministry, but all were used by God during a dark period of time for Judah and Jerusalem.

Chapter 9:7 starts with a “This is what Hashem Tzva’os says”. This phrase is found in verses 15 and 17 also. A good translation of this is “Lord of Host or Armies”. For a Jewish perspective on this title, please see Tzeva-ot: Master of Legions – Chabad.org or The Name of G-d – Judaism 101 (JewFAQ) I believe that this term sets the tone for how serious the Father is about the problem, He is ready to lead His armies into battle. The section I will focus on is verses 7 to 16.

Verse 7 – This verse is in harmony with 6:27-30 where Jeremiah is appointed a tester of people as if they are metals. The refining has to be done before you can test most metals. That is and has been God’s focus, the test is to show how much you have moved forward and to remind you that you’re not done yet. The curriculum for this test is God’s righteousness. The Spirit uses grace to construct the lesson plans, please refrain from adding impossible additions that detract from the real learning.

Verses 8 and 9 – The tongue is the problem and how we treat each other. From the Ten Commandments, numbers 5-10 are the Old Testament standard. Jesus simplified these with the statement “Love your neighbor as yourself”. Please, go back and read the chapters leading to this point. God is making His case and He is not happy. 9:4-6 is an interesting play on words with the name Jacob (deceiver) and how they treat each other.

Verse 10 – God is attached to His Land. This land is important to Him. He is upset at how His land has been treated and defiled, which is the bases for the seventy years of exile. I do not fully understand this, but what else is new? Here are some examples of why I say this:

  • Melchizedek is serving as His High Priest in Salem.
  • Terah was sent there but he did not go.
  • Abram went by faith and the land was given to his descendants. He even left and returned.
  • Jacob came back twice. Once after he was dead.
  • Joseph was brought there twice.
  • God ruined Egypt to get His people back to that land. 2:7, 3:2,
  • I believe but cannot prove that is where the Garden of Eden was.

Jeremiah 9:11  And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant. (KJV) Okay, verses 10 and 11 should be one paragraph. Heaps and dragons are better translated in non-KJV translations. This verse is very clear as to what will happen when God gives His land the respect it was deprived of.

Chapters 2-8 were written early in Jeremiah’s ministry and does mention Josiah. It must have been tough for this young prophet because some of his messages were against his family. The destruction and judgments stay consistent in these words.  Even in the midst of these proclamations, there are words of hope-3:14, 4:1.

Verse 12 seems to be Jeremiah asking a question of God about the land. This FYI is free of charge, the word land appears in Jeremiah more than any other Book in the Bible. Not all of these references are about Israel. I compared several major translations, and it was the same in all of them. Process that how you will, I just found it interesting.

Verses 13-16 is God responding to that question. These verses echo Deuteronomy 27-30. Verses 13+14 reminds me of the free-will that Adam and Eve had in the Garden, and they chose the wrong tree to eat from. The people of Israel did not obey the Word of the Lord and did what they wanted to do. Verses 15+16 has the Leader of the Army giving poison water and bad food to the nation as He purses them with the sword.

Thoughts on Jeremiah 911

  • The title and office and ministry of a prophet is a solemn calling and should not be claimed lightly. Ezekiel, Daniel, and Jeremiah paid a high price but were used by God in a very dark period in the history of Jerusalem.
  • There are many historical connections in Chapters 1-9.
  • God’s plan has never changed, He desires a people who want to fellowship with Him. There were bright spots but Israel repeatedly chose the Tree of Knowledge over the Tree of Life.

Christmas Connection’s 2020

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My wife found these two verses as we were looking into a place called Migdal Eder.  This Christmas connection adds support to the story we know and love.

Migdal Eder is a new place and term for us.  We heard about it in connection with the sheep and shepherds around Bethlehem.  In my post (Jeremiah – A Christmas Connection) we talked about Jeremiah 31:15 because of Rachel and her death and mourning.  Both of these things are part of the history of Bethlehem.  Migdal Eder was a tower that was used to guard the sheep that were used for the Temple.  This tower/cave/birthing pen/stable might have been where Jesus was born.  The reference in the Bible is Micah 4:8 and uses the term watchtower and stronghold and in 5:2 we have Bethlehem added as the location. There are many opinions and much uncertainty about Migdal Eder but I feel it has a place in the Story.   

During the study we saw Job 38:7 – “the morning stars sang together and all of the angels shouted for joy” (NIV).  This is part of the Lord’s answer to Job.  It also would fit very well into the Genesis narrative of the story of creation.  It describes the angel’s songfest for the shepherds on the first Christmas.  So, how does a creation idea work into Christmas?  Jesus’ arrival marked a new beginning for mankind and especially Israel. The Bible is the story of the children of God and our history.  First, with natural Israel and then with spiritual Israel.  The two stories need to be told together to get to all that the Lord God wants to show us.

Over the years, we have heard many facts and traditions about the swaddling clothes or strips of cloth that Mary put on Jesus and that the shepherds were to be looking for.  These two things are tied to Migdal Eder.    

They could have been at THAT stable for the lambs for the Temple.  There seems to be a few facts about the wrapping up of Temple lambs in strips of cloth from the worn-out priest robes.  Some people reference tour guides in Israel as their source of information and others quote an eighteenth-century book about a third-century oral tradition. Do your own study – the idea is nice but very few solid facts about wrapping up baby lambs.

Ezekiel 16:4 does talk about the practice of child care after birth.  The child was washed in water, rubbed with salt, and wrapped in strips of cloth.  This verse and story of how God treated Jerusalem can also be used as part of the Exodus story as the washing might be the trip through the Red Sea after they were delivered from Egypt. The rubbing with salt may be the forty years of wandering and the wrapping up could be the protection God gave Joshua and David.

These verses are good additions to my other Christmas Connection verses.

 

Jeremiah – A Christmas Connection

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Jeremiah’s Christmas connection is found in Chapter 31:15. The Gospel of Matthew repeats the verse in Matthew 2:18.  This is the foundation for the special day called the Feast of the Innocents (December 28), which remembers the murder of the male children in Bethlehem at Herod’s command.  

Tradition has the visitation of the Magi on Christmas Day but it could have been up to two years after the angels sang the Gloria and the shepherds found Jesus in Bethlehem.  We also tend to ignore that Jesus was in a house (Matthew 2:11; not a stable) and that the Magi (maybe) went east (2:9) from Jerusalem following the star.  This argument could be pointless, but Nazareth is north and east of Jerusalem while Bethlehem is south and west from the Holy City. The terminology about the star and its behavior could come down to who is doing the translating. Okay back to the connection.

The History behind Jeremiah’s prophecy that refers to Rachel weeping for her children and that she will not be comforted was first said by the Prophet Micah.  Micah’s first mention of a ruler is in chapter 4:8 (kingship will come to the Daughter of Jerusalem, NIV) with the mention of a watchtower of the flock.  Chapter 5:2 completes the location by predicting Bethlehem as the birthplace of Jesus.  This is the region where the sacrificial lambs came from for the Temple. The watchtower connects the sheep, shepherds, Bethlehem, and Rachel.

Rachel and Jacob – Rachel, Bethlehem, and the mourning all started in Genesis 35:16 – 20.  This is the story of Rachel dying as she gave birth to Benjamin.  Some back story here is good.  Rachel named the boy, son of my trouble, and Jacob renamed him the son of my right hand.  It is also worthy to mention that this makes Benjamin the only child of Jacob born in Israel.

Jacob retells a version of this story to Joseph on his death bed in Genesis 48:7. He adds some details about the distance from Bethlehem, and the burial by the road, with the detail of his returning from Paddan.  Paddan is where Jacob worked for Laban. 

Jeremiah’s word recounts the pain of Rachel, as it foreshadows the loss of the children of Bethlehem. Its Christmas connection goes further as this would be the warning for Joseph to take his family and flee to Egypt.

Special pic is from http://www.LumoProject.com.

Jeremiah – His Kings

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Jeremiah served under several kings of Judah and saw Neco and Nebuchadnezzar flex their muscles in Judah.  In Jeremiah’s book Manasseh and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, are mentioned. Jeremiah, in its present form, is not linear in construction but is grouped loosely by several different themes.  One grouping could be that in the first part of the book is that people, priests, and prophets (false) are dealt with, and the second part focuses on kings and nations.  So, in this post, I will try listing Jeremiah’s kings as they appear while doing something important. (Let me explain using Josiah.  He is frequently listed with his son’s names as an identifier but not directly involved in that story.  (In another context that is also a reminder that they could have been doing better because of his good example. Those listings I will not put in.)  Some commentary will appear and some noteworthy events, but please go to the post on Josiah for a different look at his children and grandchild.

Josiah

  1. 1:1 Jeremiah started in his thirteen-year of reign. (Jeremiah had been ministering for five years when Josiah celebrated Passover. 2 Chronicles 35:19)
  2. 3:6 A word about unfaithful Israel (northern kingdom) and unfaithful Judah.  The leader was trying to do right, the people were not.
  3. 25:3 The length of time Jeremiah had been prophesying – twenty-three years.
  4. 36:2 Jeremiah’s commission to write down his words from the Lord. (Josiah is a time marker; the event was in the 4th year of Jehoiakim.)

Jehoahaz/Shallum

22:11 The word that he would never return to Judah and Jerusalem. (He ruled three months.)

Jehoiakim/Eliakim – Possible Chronology Order

  1. 1:3 Time of his reign. (Eleven years)
  2. 22:18 No one would mourn for him.
  3. 24:1 Identified Jehoiachin as his son.  (See Josiah’s Children)
  4. 25:1 His fourth year and the first of Nebuchadnezzar reign.  Captives were taken.  Verse 11 is the first mention, by Jeremiah, about seventy years of captivity.
  5. 36:1 Jehoiakim’s fourth year and when God told Jeremiah to write down all of the words he had been given.
  6. 36: 9 – 32 He burns the scroll Baruch wrote for Jeremiah.
  7. 45:1 Refers to the writing of the scroll in 36:1.
  8. 46:2 Refers to his fourth year, but this word is against Pharaoh Neco and his defeat at Carchemish.
  9. 26:1-20 Jeremiah prophesies and is threatened with death.
  10. 26:21,22,23 He had the prophet Uriah retrieved from Egypt and killed.
  11. 35:1 When Jeremiah learned a lesson from the Recabites.
  12. 52:2 Compares Jehoiakim to Zedekiah and the evil they did.

Other references: 2 Kings 23: 34 – 36; 24: 1- 19; 1 Chronicles 3:15+16; 2 Chronicles 36: 4-8; Daniel 1: 1+2

Jehoiachin

  1. 22:24 + 28 Words that he will be cast out with his children.
  2. 24:1 The word about two baskets of figs when he, his officials, and the craftsmen and artisans were taken to Babylon. (He ruled three months and ten days or 100 days.)
  3. 27:20 The pillars, the Sea, the movable stands, and other furnishings would be taken to Babylon.
  4. 28:4 A word from a false prophet about Jehoiachin’s return to Jerusalem.
  5. 29:2 Jeremiah had sent a letter after the time marker of Jehoiachin leaving Judah. 
  6. 52:31, 33, 34 Jehoiachin was released and taken care of in Babylon.

Zedekiah – Possible Chronology Order

  1. 1:3 History of Jeremiah and Zedekiah’s eleven years. 
  2. 24:8 Word about a basket of figs and how God will deal with Zedekiah and the survivors. 
  3. 29:3 When Jeremiah sent the letter to the exiles about the seventy years of serving Babylon.  (This is hard to place but I would put it before Zedekiah’s trip to Babylon. Jehoiachin was only in power 100 days.)
  4. 49:34 A word about Elam early in the rule of Zedekiah.  Elam was an area north and east of the Persian Gulf. This is an interesting word about an ancient, long-surviving culture (see the link below).  This is an example of the non-linear editing order.  Elam/Susa is the setting for the Book of Esther. Verse 39 was fulfilled. Chapter 50:1 is a word against Babylon which subjugated Elam. 
  5. 51:59 An event in his fourth year when he went to Babylon. Jeremiah sent a letter with Seraiah about Babylon. 29:3 and this verse/event is possibly the same story.
  6. 27:1,3,12 The word that Zedekiah and other kings were to bow their neck to Nebuchadnezzar.  It was early in his reign. (28:1 has this in the same year.)
  7. 28:1 The fourth year and fifth month of Zedekiah’s rule (see 27:1-12) and a false prophet breaks the yoke.
  8. 21:1,3,7 He sent people to have Jeremiah inquire of God because of Nebuchadnezzar attacking Jerusalem.
  9. 34:2,4,6 A word about how Zedekiah would not die by the sword.
  10. 34:8 After Zedekiah gives slaves their freedom, only to enslave them again.
  11. 34:21 God retracts His offer and Zedekiah will die by the sword. (1. Pharaoh Neco had marched out of Egypt to battle Nebuchadnezzar. 2.There are several words about this topic. It seems that God was willing to give him a chance.)
  12. 37:1 – 21 The time must be after the ninth year of Zedekiah.  They are not listening to Jeremiah but the king sends a private envoy to ask him a question. (The Babylonian army withdraws because of Neco.  Jeremiah is thrown into prison because he tries to leave the city.  Zedekiah calls for him again, he is afraid of the people. He also assigns Jeremiah to a different prison with food.)
  13.  32:1,3,4,5 Jeremiah bought his cousin’s field and Zedekiah is warned again about fighting Nebuchadnezzar. This is the tenth year and Jeremiah was held prisoner in the courtyard.
  14. 38:5 Jeremiah is put in a muddy cistern because Zedekiah won’t stop his officials.
  15. 38:14 – 24 Zedekiah again sends for Jeremiah to ask him questions.  Zedekiah is afraid to follow the advice because of Jews who switched sides.  Jeremiah cannot talk about the conservation because of the haters.
  16. 39:1-7 The story of the fall of the city and Zedekiah’s attempt to escape, his capture, and his punishment.  Jeremiah was freed in this telling of the story.
  17. 52:1-11 A retelling of the fall of the city and the capturing of Zedekiah. This version goes into the destruction of the city and when more captives were removed.
  18. 44:30 This is a warning to the fleeing Jews to not go to Egypt. The association of Pharaoh and Zedekiah to the Jews was an example of what would happen to them.  (A change in Pharaohs.) 

Other references: 2 Kings 24:17 – 20, 25:1-7

https://www.ancient.eu/elam/