Jeremiah 52 - North/Lake G

[A video showing a Post-Credits Scene started the talk]

JEREMIAH 52: JUDGEMENT AND HOPE

Now I think this is one of the early post-credits scenes in film history – from Ferris Bueller’s Day Out. I don’t want to say, back in my day, but remember when you’re sitting in the movies, and the credits rolled and you’d just get up and leave straight away? And now, we sit through 5 minutes, maybe longer of credits just to watch a few seconds or a minute of a little scene.

The final chapter as a post-credits scene

Chapter 51 end with the line “that these are the words of Jeremiah”. That is the credits line. And as we come to the final chapter of Jeremiah and it’s a bit like a post-credit scene. And I reckon at first read, it feels a little bit like the scene that we just watched? We’ve travelled through 51 chapters, and it’s now just a reiteration, that the story is over. God’s people have been judged – there’s nothing more to see here.

But I want to say that there is something more to this final chapter, and in fact, it’s one of the most important chapters of the book. And as we’ll see, there are some details, such as the number of captives taken to Babylon, or about Jehoiachin in Babylon which means this chapter was written in Babylon. And the exiles, as the people in Babylon are known, would’ve reflected deeply on Jeremiah’s prophecy, and this chapter would’ve helped them orient them to do that.

There’s really two points that we’re going to look at which is just the main two themes of Jeremiah – judgement and hope. Let me pray. Righteous Father, as we experience a troubled and difficult world, remind us that you are not distant, but you’ve come near – and help us to see you at work in our world. Amen.

1. JUDGEMENT

Let’s start with the judgement.

52 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 3 For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence.

Zedekiah and the destruction of Jerusalem

The chapter begins with a summary of Zedekiah’s reign. And it’s essentially like Zedekiah was like Jehoiakim? In what way is Zedekiah like Jehoiakim? Well the most significant thing that Jehoiakim does, is he burns the scroll with Jeremiah’s prophecy on it. In other words, he rejected God’s word. And that’s likewise what Zedekiah did. And I think Zedekiah is being used as a representative of the nation of Judah. And so his fate, is essentially the nation’s fate – they are destroyed. And the chapter then continues to outline the completeness of the destruction.

And so it starts with the Babylonians destruction of the city of Jerusalem. The Babylonians essentially camp around the city and restrict food access so they starve out the city. And here’s the destruction of the city of Jerusalem.

13 And he burned the house of the Lord, and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 14 And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the walls around Jerusalem.

The temple undone

Jerusalem is absolutely destroyed. The key buildings of the city are burned to the ground – the walls, the palace and the temple are destroyed. And we get a bit of a zoom in on the destruction of the temple. Now, it’s worth going back into 1 Kings 7 and seeing how Solomon built the temple, and the loads of gold and silver that were either placed in the temple or used to build the temple. At the time it was peak prosperity and blessing for God’s people.

17 And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried all the bronze to Babylon. 18 And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the basins and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service; 19 also the small bowls and the fire pans and the basins and the pots and the lampstands and the dishes for incense and the bowls for drink offerings. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver.

And in fact as the destruction is recounted, it’s in a way – an undoing of the construction of the temple. The blessing that was bestowed on God’s people is symbolically being taken away. It’s a bit strange the detail about the pomegranates – but I think in the ancient near east, pomegranates were a symbol of blessing. And so, what’s being symbolised, is that God’s not blessing them.

Now, can I say the destruction of the temple is a profound moment theologically. Because often it’s called the Lord’s house. But in this case, God destroyed his own house so to speak. And it’s not in a rage or fury. Remember one of the key reasons that God’s people didn’t listen to Jeremiah? It’s because they had the temple of the Lord. The mere presence of the temple inoculated against what God was really looking for – which was their hearts.

The leaders dismantled

And of course, many people get killed. But we get a specific list in this chapter in verse 24.

24 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; 25 and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and seven men of the king's council, who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the midst of the city. 26 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath.

That is, it’s the key institutions that are dismantled. The religious leaders – that is the priests; the military leaders - the commander and the officers of the army; and the political and ruling leaders – like the seven men of the king’s council. In other words, the elites, the ruling class are destroyed. And so if I was to summarise what’s being described here, is that not only was the city, the leaders and temple were utterly destroyed.

Why did this take place?

So why did all this take place? Well, interestingly enough chapter 52 doesn’t say directly. But as the exiles were reflecting on what got them here, I think there’s three things they would’ve observed.

Firstly, they broke the covenant, or the agreement that they made with God all the way just before they entered into the land. Here is Moses talking to God’s people in Deuteronomy 30.

15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.

And so one of the key reasons was that God’s people had broken a promise that they had made. And so really, this judgement was a consequence of their own broken promise.

Secondly, and it’s a reminder that God will keep his word. At the outset of Jeremiah – it’s the purpose verse of the book, in 1:10, he will pluck up and break down, destroy and overthrow, and that’s exactly what’s happened. Yes, there was the invitation to repent, and God would’ve withheld his judgement. But Judah did not repent – and so God was true to his word, and brought the judgement against them.

Third, that God does not play favourites. That is, just because they were God’s chosen people, did not mean they could do whatever they wanted to do, and claim that God was on their side. Instead, God is the God of the world – and he is a just God. And as we saw last week, every nation will face judgement.

And the exiles, as they reflected on this, would have had a moment of clarity. It’s clear they used to think that their identity as God’s people was made up of three things - land, temple and Scripture. But the destruction of Jerusalem meant that if they were to be in God’s people, only one of those things was now part of their identity – which is Scripture. And so there’s a lot of reflection done during the exile of hearing and responding to God’s word.

Christian identity: what are we really trusting?

We of course think a lot about identity in our day and age – and often we think about our race or sexuality or something like that. But I want to dig into our Christian identity and ask the question of what would challenge our faith? Or maybe what have we subtly wrapped up as essential into our Christianity identity?

Let me illustrate, by telling you a story of a persecuted family in the remote regions of Oaxacu (Wah-Hah-Kah) in Mexico. The indigenous community of the region blends Cathlolicism with ancient Hispanic traditions. That really translates to worshipping other deities and gods. But when a Christian family decided not to participate in traditional ceremonies. The father of the family was jailed and beaten. Electricity and water were cut off from their home, they seized their land and their belongings. But their faith turned them to prayer – knowing that God cared for them. God wasn’t found in their belongings. And it later turns out, that they were able to get their belongings back.

But I wonder, when crisis hits us and it challenges our faith, could it be that we maybe have incorporated something else into our Christian identity? Perhaps for some of us, it’s having a stable job, for others it’s our marriage, for others, it’s perhaps having a leadership role even with the church. Perhaps, it’s even church being done in my style, my way. See, even something like a blessing like a temple can distract us from what God’s really after. But I think the story of the family in Wah-Hah-Kah challenges me, because it makes me ask the question, would I know that if I lost every worldly possession, every comfort – I still have Christ, and that’s more than enough? I certainly know people in this church who’ve lived that.

The same warning in Jesus’ day

And can I say, we’ve read the warnings of Jeremiah, but we can so easily make the same mistake as Judah did. And the reason I say that, is because the Jews in Jesus day, did exactly that.

41 And when he drew near and saw the city , he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

45 And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”

Jesus, Jerusalem and judgement

Clearly, Jesus is invoking Jeremiah, he’s certainly talking about a judgement that’s going to come on Jerusalem. And he’s certainly framing it in terms of the siege of the Babylonians, and he even quotes Jeremiah there in verse 46. But this time it won’t be the Babylonians – it’ll be the Romans who will destroy the city and the temple once again in AD 70.

And what’s the reason for the judgement? It’s because they did not know when God visited them. Now, to be explicit, Jesus is saying – I am God in human flesh – God has come to you now, and you’ve rejected me! He’s saying again to the Jews – it’s not about the city, it’s not about the temple – but it’s about Jesus.

And so do you know about God’s visitation? And so can I ask, do you know the time that God visited us? In the first century God put skin on and came to face the judgement on our behalf, so that we wouldn’t have to. See God couldn’t just overlook our sins, he doesn’t think that Christians are exempt. No, he paid for peace with his life. And why did he go to such lengths – because he wants us to build a temple, or a church? Or to have a middle-class existence? No, he did it so we could be his friends, so he would have our hearts.

2. HOPE

That is the judgment, but now let’s talk a bit about hope, and I want to start with another post-credits scene.

I don’t know if you remember the MCU, that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe craze that enveloped a good chunk of the world. It wasn’t just that they had blockbuster movies. But they also kept you hanging with those post-credits scenes. If you weren’t fully across it, that was the post-credits scene from Avengers Infinity Wars, which was the first of a two part climax to a series of Marvel films. And to ruin the ending of Infinity Wars, basically a bunch of the main characters die or are “snapped” out of existence. And so, we’ve seen already that most of Judah has been wiped out by the Babylonians. But the hope of the post-credits scene is in the very last moment, where you see the pager is for another Avenger – Captain Marvel. And what did people start doing after the film – eagerly anticipating the next film. They would analyse very carefully the post-credits scene, they would re-look back at the original film to see if there are any hints for what’s coming up. And they would even speculate on what might come up.

God keeps his word

And so we’re going to go back over this chapter, like the MCU nerds, and look for what’s coming up. And if you’ve got an eagle eye, you might have already noticed a couple of things. Firstly, that God keeps his word. Let me take you back to the purpose verse again.

10 See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,

to pluck up and to break down,

to destroy and to overthrow,

to build and to plant.”

That is, if God’s been consistent in plucking up and breaking down. He’s also going to follow through and build and plant. That is, he’s going to restore God’s people. Surely that’s got to give us confidence. But it is worth recognising that it’s going to happen on his timing. And so, for example, Jeremiah prophesied

11 This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

Waiting for God’s timing

Now seventy years is a long time. And you can understand that this would’ve been a daunting message to hear. And if you remember earlier on in the book, there was a false prophet, Hananiah, who had prophesied that they would be in Babylon only two years.

Now, two years living as an exile, as a refugee in foreign land and so on sounds doable. Seventy years, is committing to a full resettlement. It’s a couple of generations. And as the exiles were reflecting on Jeremiah, one of the things that I think this final chapter is trying to do, is to encourage God’s people to be patient. To wait for God to bring the full restoration. And this final chapter would’ve given them hope that would have motivated them to keep trusting that God would finally restore and plant.

God preserves his people

And so, secondly, we see that God has not been sitting on his hands – he’s working out the restoration process already.

28 This is the number of the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year, 3,023 Judeans; 29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem 832 persons; 30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Judeans 745 persons; all the persons were 4,600.

4600 of God’s people were kept alive, although they were taken to Babylon. And God promised to look after this small number of captive Jews – the exiles. This is the start of God’s restoration of his people. This is a small number that God will turn into a big number – in his time.

And the fact that they are living in a foreign land – in Babylon really challenged their theology. Because they now understood that their identity is not found in the land that they were living in or the temple. But in the God that they loved and worshipped, who was with them wherever they went. Their God, was the God of the world.

God preserves the kingly line

And so thirdly we see another example of God restoring: in the post-credits scene of this post-credits scene.

31 And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. 32 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king's table, 34 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, until the day of his death, as long as he lived.

Jehoiachin and the line of Jesus

Jehoiachin, one of Judah’s kings, gets taken to Babylon in one of the earlier waves of the exile – before the total destruction of Jerusalem. But 37 years later after he’s arrived in Babylon, he’s freed from prison. It’s not just that God’s preserving his people in Babylon. Jehoiachin is a king – so God is preserving his kingly line.

And Jehoiachin appears later in the Scriptures, in the New Testament – in Matthew 1. This is about 500 years or so after the end of Jeremiah.

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

That is, Jeconiah – that’s the other name for Jehoiachin, he pops up in the genealogy of Jesus. And here is the final fulfilment of God’s promise to restore and plant. That is in Jesus, he is gathering a new people. And it’s worth saying that even up until Jesus’ day – God’s people still feel like they are living in exile. Even though after the 70 years, they are allowed to live back in the land. The reality is, they don’t have autonomous rule – they live under various empires – the Medes, the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans. And so, the Jews saw themselves as waiting patiently for the Messiah or in other words, their king, to come and restore them, and replant them back in the land.

Christians as exiles

And in the New Testament, Christians are often called exiles. Because we aren’t living in our land. Because our land is not the earthly land of Israel. It’s not about our earthly churches – which is why we can meet in a school or a home, or in a park or wherever. Our homeland is heaven. And the posture of the Christian is that we are living in a foreign land. And we’re living here for a while but we’re waiting for the real home.

And so for those of us whose world is shaken, maybe we’re doing it tough at the moment. Maybe we feel like we’re in Babylon just out of our depth. Know that God is bringing us to a place where there is no more pain or suffering. For those of us who’ve experienced severe injustice, know that God will bring a just judgement on the whole world. And we can look forward to that, by saying come Lord Jesus.

Prayer

Let’s pray.

Father we thank you that in Jesus, he has taken the judgement on our behalf. And so help us to look forward to the day of salvation knowing that you will justly judge all. But remind us that as we go through this time of difficulty and trouble, there is a day where that will be no more. And so help us to place our treasure in heaven, to live life knowing our true home is not here, and to lift our eyes to what you are doing in the world in the meantime. In your name we pray,

Amen.