HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1056
J EREMIA H 2 2
14
And I myself will punish you for your
sinfulness,
says the Lord.
I will light a fire in your forests
that will burn up everything around you.’”
A Message for Judah’s Kings
This is what the Lord said to me: “Go
over and speak directly to the king
of Judah. Say to him, 2 ‘Listen to this message
from the Lord, you king of Judah, sitting on
David’s throne. Let your attendants and your
people listen, too. 3 This is what the Lord says:
Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help
those who have been robbed; rescue them from
their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not
mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop
murdering the innocent! 4 If you obey me, there
will always be a descendant of David sitting
on the throne here in Jerusalem. The king will
ride through the palace gates in chariots and
on horses, with his parade of attendants and
subjects. 5 But if you refuse to pay attention to
this warning, I swear by my own name, says
the Lord, that this palace will become a pile of
rubble.’”
22
A Message about the Palace
6 Now this is what the Lord says concerning Judah’s royal palace:
• Adversity
JE R E MIA H 2 1 :1 4
Adversity does not always come as a
result of sin, but it often does. Planting
a garden will produce a crop at the end
of the summer. Planting the seeds of sin
will produce a crop of trouble. Sometimes
this adversity is a natural result of our
actions; other times it is discipline from
God. Hebrews 12:6 reminds us that God
shows he loves us when he punishes us
for sin because he is trying to correct us.
However, adversity does not always
come as punishment. In these cases, we
find ourselves asking why. Why didn’t
God stop the train or car that crashed?
Why didn’t God halt the tornado or
hurricane? Why didn’t God redirect the
forest fire that burned down our home?
Now we have walked into the mystery of
his sovereignty. The simple answer is we
don’t know why. But we know who God
is and what his nature is, so we must
trust that whatever he does or permits
to be done, no matter how it appears
to us temporarily, ultimately has a good
purpose.
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7
“I love you as much as fruitful Gilead
and the green forests of Lebanon.
But I will turn you into a desert,
with no one living within your walls.
I will call for wreckers,
who will bring out their tools to
dismantle you.
They will tear out all your fine cedar beams
and throw them on the fire.
8 “People from many nations will pass by the
ruins of this city and say to one another, ‘Why
did the Lord destroy such a great city?’ 9 And
the answer will be, ‘Because they violated their
covenant with the Lord their God by worshiping other gods.’”
A Message about Jehoahaz
10 Do not weep for the dead king or mourn
his loss.
Instead, weep for the captive king being
led away!
For he will never return to see his native
land again.
11 For
this is what the Lord says about Jehoahaz,* who succeeded his father, King Josiah,
and was taken away as a captive: “He will never
return. 12 He will die in a distant land and will
never again see his own country.”
A Message about Jehoiakim
13 And the Lord says, “What sorrow awaits
Jehoiakim,*
who builds his palace with forced
labor.*
He builds injustice into its walls,
for he makes his neighbors work for
nothing.
He does not pay them for their labor.
14 He says, ‘I will build a magnificent palace
with huge rooms and many windows.
I will panel it throughout with fragrant
cedar
and paint it a lovely red.’
15 But a beautiful cedar palace does not make
a great king!
Your father, Josiah, also had plenty to eat
and drink.
But he was just and right in all his dealings.
That is why God blessed him.
16 He gave justice and help to the poor and
needy,
and everything went well for him.
Isn’t that what it means to know me?”
says the Lord.
17 “But you! You have eyes only for greed and
dishonesty!
You murder the innocent,
oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.”
22:11 Hebrew Shallum, another name for Jehoahaz.
22:13a The brother and successor of the exiled Jehoahaz.
See 22:18. 22:13b Hebrew by unrighteousness.