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THE LORD WILL COME
1 Thessalonians 4–5

“The Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command . . . and the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thes. 4:16).

Christ’s coming is both comfort and challenge.

Background
Eschatology in the Thessalonian letters. It is clear from reading these letters that during the few short weeks or months Paul was with the Thessalonians, he gave them a rather detailed picture of the end times. These letters speak of Christ’s return for His saints, the appearance of the Antichrist, final judgment, and other aspects of the end time. Yet the exact sequence of events, and how elements of the whole eschatological picture fit together, is a matter of debate by earnest Christians.
Perhaps the most important thing to remember as we read these letters is that, as Christ’s “first coming” encompassed a period of more than 30 years, His “second coming” also embraces a period of years. Much of the confusion about the end times comes from assuming that the “Second Coming” is a single event, rather than a series of world-shaking events spread over a period of years.
This does not necessarily help in determining how the events mentioned in the Thessalonian letters relate to each other or other Old and New Testament passages. Even so, we can accept each as describing some aspect of future history.
What seemed most important to Paul was not to provide a chart, but to provide a challenge. Paul called on the Thessalonians and on us to see what God intends to do, and then to apply that vision of the future to guide current choices and adjust present attitudes. It is the application of prophecy that we need to focus on as we read these letters devotionally.

Overview
Pleasing God calls for holiness (4:1–9) and brotherly love (vv. 10–12). Christ’s own will be raised at His imminent return (v. 13–5:3). Till then we are to live expectant, self-controlled lives, encouraging one another (vv. 4–11). Paul closed with various specific instructions (vv. 12–28).

Understanding the Text
“How to live in order to please God” 1 Thes. 4:1. The verb rendered “please” here had a broad meaning in the New Testament era. It spoke of action which not only won approval, but which constituted active and actual service. We are God’s servants as well as His sons. We are to dedicate our lives to serving Him.
Paul said that the Thessalonians knew how to live to please/serve God. But he went on to remind them anyway. If we are not constantly reminded of what we know, we are all too prone to forget. So let Paul’s words of exhortation remind us too of the persons we are called to be, and the service we are called to render.

“It is God’s will that you should be holy” 1 Thes. 4:3–8. Paul specifically mentioned avoiding sexual immorality. But Paul’s broader concern was for controlling all “passionate lust.” Paul used this phrase not just of sexual appetite but of overpowering desire of any kind. A passion for power, a passion for money, a passion for food, a passion for approval and popularity can have just as destructive an impact on holiness as sexual passion.
We are not to be mastered by our desires, but are to let God master us. We must keep a tight reign on any desires whose grip might keep us from serving Him and others.

“You yourselves have been taught by God to love each other” 1 Thes. 4:9–10. One of the most powerful motivations for that service which pleases God is Christian love. Note that such love is reciprocal: Christians love “each other.”
There is something deadly about an unrequited sacrificial love. The daughter who gives up marriage to care for her invalid mother may do so out of love. But if the mother remains critical, bitter, and demanding, even the purest love is likely to sour. The husband who keeps on loving his unfaithful wife may be admirable. But in time that home is sure to shatter from her sheer selfishness. Any love which is constantly rejected must ultimately fail.
This is one reason why God created His church to be family. God gave us brothers and sisters in Christ so we can experience as well as extend love. In the mutuality possible in the body of Christ, our ability to love can grow, and we can find the resources we need to enable us to love others who do not love in return.
If you are in a situation where your love is met only with bitterness or rejection, seek Christian friends who will support and love you. Even in the best of situations we need an intimate relationship with other believers where we can give and receive love.
If you’re looking for a church, don’t look first at programs and activities. Look to see if the people of the church truly love each other.

“Make it your ambition” 1 Thes. 4:11–12. We’re used to parents being ambitious for their children. Usually what Mom and Dad are ambitious for is that the kids get ahead—a bigger job, a higher salary, more status. And often we nod approval when young people show “drive and ambition.” Again what we mean is that they work hard, find a good job, and are on their way “up in the world.”
Paul had a different slant on ambition. In essence, Paul said make it your ambition to be as ordinary as possible. Lead a quiet life. Mind your own business. Work hard, earning your own living with your own hands. Be a good, but rather ordinary, citizen.
I rather like Paul’s emphasis. Ordinary folks, living good, honest, hardworking, ordinary lives, have a habit of winning the respect of those who know them. For God’s people, winning respect is a much higher goal than getting to the top!

“About those who fall asleep” 1 Thes. 4:13–18. One of the most powerful of Paul’s eschatological statements emerged from a very practical concern. Some of the Christians in Thessalonica had died. Friends and family were terribly upset. Would these folks miss out on Jesus’ return?
In compelling language, Paul reassured them. When Jesus appears, believers who are “asleep” will be raised from the dead, and then, together with still-living saints, all Christians will soar together into the clouds to meet Jesus, and be with Him forever.
Paul then applied this dramatic vision simply: “Encourage one another with these words.” When a loved one dies, we can look ahead, catch a glimpse of Jesus’ triumphant appearance, and rejoice.

“About times and dates” 1 Thes. 5:1–3. The early church expected Jesus to return at any moment. They didn’t know when. They just knew that, at a moment the world did not expect Him, Jesus would appear to execute final judgment.
What Paul was talking about is the doctrine of “imminence.” All that this means is that Jesus could return at any moment. There are no conditions to be met that would hinder Him from coming today, tonight, or tomorrow. We know that Halley’s comet won’t return until the late 21st century. But Christians through the ages have been aware that Jesus could return at any moment.
Wouldn’t it be grand if Jesus should come November 16th? Or even today? (See DEVOTIONAL.)

“Hold them in highest regard” 1 Thes. 5:12–13. I suffer from a terrible disease. The Sunday service snoozies.
It goes back to my days in seminary, when I worked from 11 P.M. to 7 A.M. seven nights a week and carried a full 19 semester-hour-load of classes. Every day at chapel I’d find a seat near the wall, lean my head against it, and sleep. Now, even when I preach, it’s hard to keep awake as the service proceeds. And when others preach—well, it’s been nearly impossible. Till we came to our present church and the excellent preaching of our pastor, Richard Schmidt, a warm and delightful brother. I suddenly realized that my wife’s elbow hadn’t been buried in my ribs for several months, and that I was actually staying awake most Sundays! I called Richard and told him how much I appreciated his sermons. They were even worth staying awake to hear!
He laughed and said “thanks.” And added, he wished the other retired preachers in the congregation had the same attitude. It seems they persistently gave him a hard time.
If God has used your minister to speak to you, to bless you, to encourage or strengthen you, why not give him or her a call? Such folk need more than our respect. They need our encouragement.

“Do not put out the Spirit’s fire” 1 Thes. 5:19. Older versions say, “Don’t quench the Spirit.” The meaning isn’t mysterious at all. Have you ever had a youngster come to you, full of enthusiasm over an idea or project? And watched his or her face fall when you said no?
Well, the Holy Spirit is enthusiastically committed to ideas and projects by which you can serve God and experience great blessing. And every time you say no to His prompting, it’s like throwing a bucket of cold water.
The Spirit won’t force you or me to follow His promptings. We can quench His ministry to us by a simple no. But when we do, it is to our great loss.

DEVOTIONAL
Sons of Light
(1 Thes. 5:1–11)
I remember very well playing down in the basement as my mother washed clothes. I was 4 or 5, so it was well over 50 years ago that I dressed up as Pecos Pete, and rode down the steps to rescue her from rustlers. That was pretend. But I also remember very well my mother telling me she expected Jesus to return in her lifetime. That wasn’t pretend. That was very real to my mom. She was wrong. She died in a car accident in the 1960s. But awareness that Jesus’ return was just around the corner was a cornerstone of my mother’s life.
What Mom told me as a child is still very real to me. My wife and I often speak of it, and expect Jesus to return before either of us joins Him through death. We don’t know when He will come. The “times and the seasons” are a mystery. But the reality of Jesus’ return looms large in our thoughts.
Paul pictured those who live with that awareness as “sons of the light and sons of the day.” We’re not in the dark about the future—or about how to live our lives here and now.
Jesus is coming! And so we exercise self-control, and keep our values in harmony with His. Jesus is coming! And so set faith and love as a guard over our hearts. Jesus is coming! And so our perspective is shaped by the certain hope of His appearance, not to judge us, but to rescue us from the wrath about to fall on our lost world. Jesus is coming! And so we encourage each other, and build each other up, placing a higher premium on persons than on things. As God does.
My mother wasn’t wrong to expect Jesus. We’re not wrong either. And as long as His coming is real to us, our choices, and our lives, are sure to be transformed.

Personal Application
Look for Jesus, and brighten the eastern horizon of your life.

Quotable
“I have felt like working three times as hard since I came to understand that my Lord is coming again.”—D.L. Moody

1 Thessalonians





INTRODUCTION
The young church at Thessalonica suffered immediate persecution, and Paul was driven from the city (Acts 17:1–9). This early letter, written about A.D. 50, was intended to encourage and further instruct very new believers.
This and a second letter pick up themes found in all Paul’s letters, such as the inspiration of Scripture, the deity of Christ, salvation based on Jesus’ death, personal purity, love, and especially emphasizes teaching about Jesus’ second coming. Paul clearly felt it was important to ground new converts in basic Christian doctrines.

OUTLINE OF CONTENTS
I.
Introduction
1 Thes. 1
II.
A Relationship Described
1 Thes. 2–3
III.
Exhortation and Conclusion
1 Thes. 4–5

EFFECTIVE MINISTRY
1 Thessalonians 1–3

“We were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the Gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us” (1 Thes. 2:7–8).

The way we relate to others authenticates the Gospel’s message of love.

Overview
Paul praised God for the Thessalonians’ steadfastness (1:1–3) and evidences of their true conversion (vv. 4–10). He reminded them of his very personal ministry there (2:1–12) and encouraged them in their suffering (vv. 13–16). He spoke of the love which moved him to send Timothy to visit them (v. 17–3:7) and his own joy at Timothy’s good report (vv. 8–13).

Understanding the Text
“Work produced by faith” 1 Thes. 1:1–3. The Thessalonians were remarkable as a truly committed church. They not only received the Gospel—they acted on it!
What is so surprising is that Acts 17 seems to suggest Paul’s missionary team was in this city of 200,000 only a few weeks or at most a couple of months before riots and rumors forced them to flee to Berea. Even so they left behind the nucleus of a strong, vital church, which remained faithful despite persecution. What a challenge to us, who may have known the Gospel much longer, but may display less evidence of its grip on our lives.
What was the Thessalonians’ secret? They had faith that produced work, love that prompted labor, and hope that inspired endurance (v. 3). No one who truly lays hold of the Gospel’s message of faith, love, and hope can remain the same.

“You welcomed the message” 1 Thes. 1:4–6. Verses 4–10 describe a total response to the Gospel message: a response that preachers everywhere yearn to see in their congregations, and we yearn to see in those we love.
The very first element in that response is, “You welcomed the message.” God’s people in Thessalonica did not hesitate, or hold back, or cluck critically. They were excited and enthusiastic when they heard the Word of God.
Some years ago Joe Bayly wrote a classic little book called The Gospel Blimp. It told of some enthusiastic Christians who decided to bombard their town with tracts, and figured that a blimp would be great. They could drift over backyards and drop tracts on everyone! It’s hard to imagine that folks would really “welcome” Gospel bombs detonating in their yards. Certainly Paul had a better way. He shared the Gospel personally “with deep conviction” and relied on the power of the Holy Spirit, not the Gospel Blimp. And Paul “lived among” the people he tried to reach, so that they knew him and his way of life.
If you and I want others to welcome the Gospel, Paul’s approach is essential.

“The Lord’s message rang out from you” 1 Thes. 1:7–9a. The old saying is still true. Shepherds don’t have lambs. Sheep do.
It certainly was true in Thessalonica. Paul was forced to leave the city after riots were stirred up by Jewish opponents. But the church kept on growing, spiritually and numerically. Awhile ago I was talking with a Chinese friend just back from mainland China, who was telling me about the quiet revival going on there. In the ’70s when religion was proscribed, the church was forced underground, and leaders were stifled or imprisoned. Yet now, just 15 years later, Christmas church services are swamped as millions openly profess their faith in Christ, and many more millions take part in a dynamic house-church movement. The shepherds were taken away by the state. But it didn’t matter. It is sheep who have lambs, not shepherds, and the ranks of Chinese Christians continue to swell.
Wherever average Christians are willing to become imitators of the Lord, to serve as models for others, and to sound forth the Word, the Gospel will continue to thrive.

“You turned to God from idols” 1 Thes. 1:9b-10. The sequence here can never be reversed. Some try to reform a person before or without conversion. Some say, “I’d like to come to church, but I have this habit. As soon as I break it, then.”
What’s wrong is that we don’t turn from idols to God. We turn to God from idols. We have to turn to God first, because only God’s power will enable us to break the chains that bind us.
So don’t think, “As soon as I get my life straightened around, I’ll come to God.” Come to God, and let Him straighten your life around for you.

“You know that we never” 1 Thes. 2:1–6. Paul had two gifts to offer the Thessalonians. These are the same two gifts that you and I have to offer others. The Gospel and ourselves.
Both the gifts can and often will be misunderstood. But you and I as persons are the most vulnerable to criticism. What a grand way to attack the Gospel. Ignore its message of God’s love, and suggest that the messenger is greedy, or deceitful, or is trying to trick people. It really does hurt the Gospel when something like this proves to be true, as in several celebrated televangelists’ cases.
But think what a great opportunity you and I have to adorn the Gospel by being honest and loving! Paul said, “You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed.” The really significant words here are “you know.” Paul developed a close enough relationship with the Thessalonians, even in the brief time he knew them, that he was sure they knew his inmost motives and self.
By living openly and honestly with others we guard not only our own reputation but the integrity of the Gospel as well.

“Like a mother caring for her little children” 1 Thes. 2:7–9. When Paul tried to describe the relationship he developed with others as he shared the Gospel, only family images would do.
It would have seemed funny to strangers, to hear Paul, described in early documents as a wizened little man whose large nose almost met his chin, speak of himself as a “mother caring for her little children [infants].” But it wouldn’t seem funny to the Thessalonians, for they would have felt just that quality of tender, protective love, flowing from the great apostle.
Love isn’t a matter of how we look, or how much money we have, or how much education. Love is simply the overflow of a deep concern for the welfare of others. If you have that love, nothing else matters. If you do not, nothing else counts.

“We dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children” 1 Thes. 2:10–12. Paul continued to use family imagery. Again, nothing else quite conveys the kind of relationship that fits the Gospel (see DEVOTIONAL). This time the key words are “each of you.”
My sons, Paul and Tim, had the same parents, grew up in the same house, went to the same schools—but are very different from each other. Each needed to be treated as an individual. That’s what is so impressive about Paul’s reminder here that, like a father with adolescent children, he dealt with “each” of the Thessalonians as an individual. Those who needed encouraging, he encouraged. Those who needed comfort, he comforted. Those who needed urging—what we might call a good kick in the pants—Paul urged. His goal was the same in every case: to help them “live lives worthy of God.” But how he worked with others toward that goal took individual differences into account.
If we’re to minister effectively to others—even members of our own families, we must come to know them as individuals and respond to each according to his or her characteristics and needs.
Loving doesn’t just mean letting others know us and our motives. It means getting to know others, individually, and well.

“The Word of God, which is at work in you” 1 Thes. 2:13–16. Frank was a young convert in our Brooklyn congregation. The jolly, heavy-set 20-year-old paid a high price for his faith. His mom and dad, traditional ’50s Catholics, saw his conversion as apostasy. They tried to bribe him with a set of drums he’d longed for. Finally they threw him out of the house. Frank suffered intensely, but he kept faith with what he thought was right. And all of us young people in our church hurt for him.
Paul knew the ambivalence that must come when someone becomes a believer and suffers persecution as a result. But Paul reminded himself and the Thessalonians that you “became imitators of God’s churches in Judea.” There’s a long tradition of suffering linked with Christian commitment. Things don’t automatically get better. They may get worse!
When those we love suffer for their faith, we can hurt with them. But we must remember that suffering is nothing new. What is new is the fact that God’s Word is at work in us. And in this we can rejoice.

“Our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory” 1 Thes. 2:17–3:13. When the very elements that make up this universe dissolve in fervent heat, only human beings will remain. Paul had chosen to love people, rather than things. When Christ comes again, Paul’s hope, joy, and crown of rejoicing will be present with him, preserved for all eternity.
Paul was forced to leave these very precious people when the rioting began in Thessalonica. No wonder he sent Timothy to visit them as soon as he could (3:1–5), and was filled with joy when he brought back a good report (vv. 6–13).
Let’s make others the focus of our concern, and the touchstone of our values, so that they become our joy.

DEVOTIONAL
Home, Sweet Home
(1 Thes. 2:1–12)
I suppose I had many reasons for taking the bus home from college so many weekends. I did bring back bags of dirty laundry, like most college guys. But the real reason was that nothing felt quite like home. Nothing was quite as comfortable as Mom baking bread in the tiny kitchen, or Dad smoking his pipe on the front porch. Nothing felt quite so “right” as watching Dad wash the dishes while Mom dried, or sprawling in an easy chair while Mom read aloud stories and articles from the Saturday Evening Post.
Home was warm, comfortable, a place where I was welcomed and loved even if I was a college man now, and out on my own. Home had a climate all its own.
Paul understood this as well as anyone. He knew that home is the one really effective climate for evangelism and for spiritual growth. So Paul not only brought others the Gospel in word, he created a sense of family by the way he loved every member of the Thessalonian church.
What people need today, perhaps even more than in other times, is that climate of warmth, intimacy, and caring that marks a loving home. The church that provides this climate will be sure to grow. And its members will become mature.

Personal Application
Build your church as birds build nests—one tiny twig of love at a time.

Quotable
WE EXIST TO PROVIDE LOVE AND CARE FOR ONE ANOTHER . . .
through sharing each other’s needs, burdens, and joys
through serving each other in a sacrificial way
through learning how to love and be loved.
God in His grace, has given us to each other. An integral part of our life as His body is caring for and supporting each other.—From the Mission Statement, Crossroads Community Church

AGAINST ALIEN NATIONS
Jeremiah 46–52

“That day belongs to the LORD, the LORD Almighty—a day of vengeance, for vengeance on His foes” (Jer. 46:10).

If judgment truly begins at the house of God, as Hebrews suggests, how will God’s enemies escape? In these chapters Jeremiah directed his message of impending judgment to the nations that had mistreated God’s covenant people.

Overview
A collection of oracles condemning foreign enemies concludes the book. Jeremiah described judgment about to fall on Egypt (46:1–28), Philistia (47:1–7), Moab (48:1–47), Ammon (49:1–6), Edom (vv. 7–22), Damascus [Syria] and others (vv. 23–39), but especially on Babylon (50:1–51:64). The book concludes by recapping Jerusalem’s fall (52:1–34).

Understanding the Text
“Concerning Egypt” Jer. 46:1–28. For over a thousand years Egypt had tried to extend its sphere of influence to include Canaan—and had often succeeded. Godly King Josiah fell in 605 G.p. fighting Pharaoh Neco, and Judah’s last kings had been encouraged to rebel against Babylon by empty promises of Egyptian aid. Egypt had proven herself a brutal overlord and a deceptive ally. Thus Jeremiah portrayed Egypt as a warlike nation intent on conquest (vv. 1–9). But the day of battle belongs to the Lord. Pharaoh was only a “loudmouth” (v. 17): the sword will “devour till it is satisfied” (v. 10).
There is irony in verses 11 and 12. From the third millennium G.p. Egypt was renowned for her physicians, medicines, and books on healing. But now for Egypt herself “there is no healing.”
While verse 28 makes it clear that Jeremiah is speaking of a contemporary defeat of Egypt by the Babylonians, the Lord intends events to convey a timeless message. God is in charge of history. The defeat of Egypt is evidence that the Lord can—and one day will-deliver His people and return them to their land (vv. 27–28).
History still witnesses to the moral nature of our universe and conveys a message of hope. Nations built on evil, as was Nazi Germany, carry the seeds of their own destruction. God values righteousness and peace, and one day will give His people both.

“Concerning the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza” Jer. 47:1–7. The chronological note is obscure but suggests that Jeremiah focused on current events. The Egyptians were about to crush the remnants of Judah’s ancient enemies, so terrifying them that fathers would not even turn back to help their own children (v. 3).
Note that God used the agency of one of His people’s enemies to bring ruin to another. You and I don’t need to take revenge on those who mistreat or harm us. Such people have plenty of other enemies God can and will use to repay them!

“Concerning Moab” Jer. 48:1–47. The Moabites originally occupied the high plains east of the Jordan River. Moab had tried to seduce the Israelites into immorality and idolatry on their journey from Egypt (Num. 25:1–3), and the two peoples were generally hostile to each other after that time. The prophecies in this chapter seem to summarize the oracles other Old Testament prophets directed against this people (cf. Isa. 15–16; Ezek. 25:8–11; Amos 2:1–3; Zeph. 2:8–11).
The destruction described here is merited, for in her complacency (Jer. 48:11–15) and conceit (vv. 26–34) Moab “defied the LORD” (v. 42). Despite this the Lord lamented over Moab (v. 36), and in the future will “restore [her] fortunes” (v. 47).
One of the most significant features of biblical prophecies of judgment is that they typically conclude just like the oracle against Moab. Sins are exposed, judgment is decreed, and yet, always, God expresses His love and promises that after necessary discipline His people will be restored. Even foreign nations, with no claim to a covenant relationship with the Lord, are to be justly punished for their sins but, in the end, their fortunes too will be restored.
We can understand such promises made to Israel and Judah. After all, God by a formal, legal covenant committed Himself to bless Abraham’s children. But He has no such obligation to foreign nations that not only fail to know Him, but are even enemies of His chosen people. Yet again and again we see that God intends to bless all peoples—not because He has to, but simply because He cares.
Theologians speak of a doctrine called “common grace.” Somehow God has chosen to bless all human beings in many ways, whether they know and trust Him or not. Reading the oracle against Moab we sense, despite its theme of judgment, a strong current of very uncommon grace! God’s love will leap over every obstacle. He will find a way to redeem His enemies as well as His own.

“Concerning” others Jer. 49:1–39. Several hostile peoples are dealt with in this chapter. Again the focus is on the contemporary historical setting rather than the “last days.” Babylon, the agent God will use to discipline His people, will also strike the Jews’ enemies. In one act God will both discipline His own people, and punish those historically hostile to them.
The message of these chapters must have been encouraging to the exiles once they were in Babylon. When they struggled to understand why, as we all do when tragedy strikes, the revelation of God’s purpose to punish the nations as well as Judah would help His people sense the consistency and fairness of the Lord. God is a moral judge, who will punish all sin. Yes, He disciplines us. But He is evenhanded in His acts. He disciplines us. And He punishes those who are not His own. And, most wonderful of all, He offers pardon to all.

“Concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians” Jer. 50:1–51:64. Jeremiah’s major oracle against foreign nations was reserved for Babylon. The spectacular rise of this Chaldean power would be matched by a sudden fall (50:1–20). God would call other nations against her, for “the LORD has opened His arsenal and brought out the weapons of His wrath” (vv. 21–27). The exiles of Judah would return triumphantly to their homeland (vv. 28–40) after God called up an army from the north to crush Judah’s conqueror (vv. 41–46). Amid further descriptions of Babylon’s doom (51:1–5, 11–19), the prophet added a warning to the people of Judah. Babylon was beyond healing. When the time came to return home, the people of Judah should “flee from Babylon.”
This lengthy prophecy carries a postscript. Seraiah, an official who accompanied Zedekiah to Babylon in 594/3 G.p. (cf. v. 59), was to read these prophecies against Babylon to the captives already there, and then sink his copy in the river, to symbolize the impossibility of Babylon arising again.

“All this happened to Jerusalem and Judah” Jer. 52:1–34. Jeremiah had written in most passionate language about Judah’s sins, and about impending judgment. But now, in a brief appendix, there is only a blunt, straightforward account of Jerusalem’s fall. It is almost as if all emotion has been exhausted, all passion drained. There is hardly even a capacity to feel horror, for the terrible has become commonplace. Zedekiah rebelled. The Babylonians finally took the city from starving defenders. The king’s children were executed and he was blinded. The temple was burned and its holy vessels cut up for transportation to Babylon. Key spiritual and military leaders left alive were executed. The few thousand survivors were then transported to Babylon.
It’s left for us to read between the lines, if we wish. To feel the hunger and fear; the anguish of watching loved ones die. To sense the anger and hatred that surged—often against Jeremiah—as the futility of resistance became more and more clear. But all that was past now. It was over. And, in Babylon, the remnant of the people of Judah would be given a fresh start.
Judgment never is pleasant. But the historical accounts of Scripture remind us that judgment is sure.

DEVOTIONAL
Babylon Must Fall
(Jer. 50–51)
The awesome specter of Babylon dominates many chapters of the historical and prophetic books of the Old Testament. The impression made on God’s people by this ancient kingdom is so great that the name has been transformed into a symbol. The symbol is seen most clearly in Revelation 17 and 18, where Babylon stands first for humanistic religion, and then for materialistic human society. All man’s achievements, all that human beings strive and hope for in this world, is summed up in that one word, Babylon.
I’m not an exponent of allegorical interpretation of Scripture. Or of spiritualizing the Old Testament. Yet in these chapters describing the coming destruction of historic Babylon, something more than history is at stake. The prophet says, “Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain, just as the slain in all the earth have fallen because of Babylon” (Jer. 51:49). And somehow, in those words, I hear a message for me today. Babylon, with its worldly hopes and worldly ways, with its focus on wealth and power, with its pride in human achievement, is responsible for so much spiritual deadness. The excitement of hitching a ride to Babylon, of making it big in the Big City, has made God’s priorities and His ways seem dull and even foolish to many. Yes, Babylon must fall, because so many are slain by her superficial attractiveness.
And the very first place Babylon must fall is from my heart.

Personal Application
Only a heart fixed on God will have no room for love of the world.

Quotable
“Worldliness is a spirit, a temperament, an attitude of the soul. It is a life without high callings, life devoid of lofty ideals. It is a gaze always horizontal and never vertical.”—J. Henry Jowett

FLIGHT TO EGYPT
Jeremiah 40–45

“You made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the LORD your God and said, ’Pray to the LORD our God’ ” (Jer. 42:19–20).

Knowing the will of God obligates us to do it. Better not to ask God’s will unless you intend to do it!

Overview
Brisk narrative chapters tell of the assassination of the Babylonian-appointed governor, Gedaliah (40:1–41:15), and the Jewish remnant’s hasty flight to Egypt despite Jeremiah’s warnings (v. 16–43:13). Now destruction faced the fleeing population, which persisted in idolatry (44:1–30). A footnote contains God’s promise to, and rebuke of, Baruch (45:1–5).

Understanding the Text
“You people sinned against the LORD” Jer. 40:1–6. Jeremiah was found chained with other captives due to be sent to Babylon. We do not know whether or not the Babylonian commander truly believed what he said to Jeremiah when he set the prophet free (vv. 1–3). But his words show that the enemy was well acquainted with the prophet’s message.
We never know how far our words carry when we witness to our faith in God or share His message with others.

“Gedaliah . . . took an oath to reassure them” Jer. 40:7–41:15. Gedaliah is one of Scripture’s least-known but most attractive figures. When he was appointed to govern Judah, he took pains to reassure the remaining population. He promised to represent their interests to the Babylonians, and settled them on productive land where they would have food and ultimately prosper.
At first all went well. Reassured by Gedaliah’s appointment, Jews who had fled to neighboring countries returned, and the initial harvest was abundant. When warned of a plot to assassinate him, Gedaliah brushed it aside, refusing to believe the worst of a person he thought of as honorable and a friend. In all this Gedaliah showed himself to be a truly good man. But Gedaliah was an exception, and good men do not prosper in the land of the wicked. He was murdered, along with the small garrison of Babylonian soldiers left in Judah.
Perhaps only the words of Isaiah provide insight when a person like Gedaliah dies before his time, and the wicked seem to prosper. “The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death” (Isa. 57:1–2).

“Please hear our petition” Jer. 41:16–42:3. The murders terrified the Jewish population. Surely the Babylonians would avenge this terrorist act! All the remaining Jews, under discharged army officers led by Johanan son of Kareah, assembled and begged Jeremiah to ask God what they should do.
On the surface this step seems a pious and wise one. But, as noted earlier, it is dangerous to ask God for guidance unless we fully intend to do as He directs.

“May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything [you] tell us” Jer. 42:4–22. After a 10-day delay, Jeremiah brought the anxious remnant God’s answer. The message was unequivocable and clear. The Jews were to remain in the land; God would see to it that Nebuchadnezzar dealt kindly with them. They were definitely not to go to Egypt. If the people did try to flee to Egypt, “not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them.”
As the men of Jeremiah’s day were about to discover, it’s not what we don’t know of God’s will that may be our problem. Knowing God’s will carries the obligation to do God’s will. Failure to do what we know is right is far more serious than not understanding what the Lord requires.

One of the most exciting finds by archeologists in Jerusalem is the bullae (seal) used by Baruch, the scribe to whom Jeremiah dictated this Old Testament book. The seal, illustrated here, was used as an authenticating stamp and reads “to/from Baruch // son of Neriah // the scribe.”

“They entered Egypt in disobedience” Jer. 43:1–13. The people of Jeremiah’s time had decided beforehand what they wanted God to say. When Jeremiah’s message disagreed with their expectations, they accused Jeremiah of lying!
It seems like such an easy way out. You don’t like what the Bible says? Well then, just decide not to believe it! You feel uncomfortable about this or that passage? Then just ignore it, or revise it to suit. A contemporary paraphrase by Shirley Maclaine, the New Age Version, renders Romans 3:23 as: “For all have experienced momentary lapses and have come up a tad shy of the Divine Entity’s absolute idea, but hey, nobody’s perfect. So don’t worry. Be happy!”
Nice try, Shirley. But this admittedly more cheery phrasing does not change the truth affirmed in the original. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And it has no impact on the fact that “the wages of sin is death” (6:23). One can choose to deny, ignore, or reinterpret the Word of God. But nothing a person does can change the fact that what God says is true and binding.

“To this day they have not humbled themselves or shown reverence” Jer. 44:1–30. Rebelliously the leaders and remaining people of Judah announced that they were going to Egypt anyway. What’s more, “We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our fathers . . . did in . . . the streets of Jerusalem.”
This defiance of God and His Word was the final demonstration of the attitude which cost the people of Judah their kingdom. Now the remaining few trudged into Egypt, terrified of the Babylonians behind them, but blind to the destruction that God assured them lay ahead.
And so the remnant disappeared into the desert, as the focus of God’s plans for His people shifted to highlight the captives in Babylon.

DEVOTIONAL
Seeking Great Things
(Jer. 45)
Baruch was a frustrated man. His confrontation with Jehoiakim over the words Jeremiah dictated to him had ruined his prospects! He saw a bright career going down the drain.
We know from the text of Jeremiah that Baruch was a member of a respected Jerusalemite family (36:4), and that his brother was an official in the royal court (51:59). He was trained as a scribe, very likely in order to serve in government. Everything about Baruch—background, education, connections—suggests that he could normally expect to gain a high-status, high-paying position in the local aristocracy.
And then somehow Baruch got mixed up with Jeremiah, was linked with that unpopular prophet in the mind of King Jehoiakim—and that was it! No high pay. No fancy chariot. No job with the king. Kaput! And so Baruch pouted, and complained, “Woe to me.”
I suppose we can identify with Baruch to some extent. He had great plans for himself, and a real prospect of making it big. When his plans crashed down around him, he became despondent, “worn out with groaning” and finding “no rest.” Life didn’t seem worth living to Baruch unless he achieved his goals, and made it in the big city.
It was then God spoke to Baruch, and rebuked him. God was about to bring the whole society crashing down! “Should you then seek great things for yourself?”
Bluntly God told Baruch, “Seek them not.” And then God made a promise. In the coming disaster the Lord would give Baruch something more precious than position—God would let Baruch “escape with your life.”
Sometimes we need to be reminded, as Baruch was. We may not see the realization of our dreams. We may not reach the potential we think we have. We may never take our place among the rich and famous of this world. But compared to the gift that God has given us, the gift of life, these things mean little. “Seek them not,” is still some of the best advice Scripture has for the godly. Instead of wanting what we do not have, let’s be grateful for God’s gift of life. And use our lives to serve Him.

Personal Application
Satisfaction is not found in getting what you want, but in wanting what you get.

Quotable
“Greatness after all, in spite of its name, appears to be not so much a certain size as a certain quality in human lives. It may be present in lives whose range is very small.”—Phillips Brooks

UNDER SIEGE
Jeremiah 34–39

“You will see the king of Babylon with your own eyes. . . . And you will go to Babylon” (Jer. 34:3).

Jerusalem was under siege. Jeremiah was imprisoned, the king powerless—and the people unrepentant.

Overview
Jeremiah warned Zedekiah to surrender (34:1–7). Judah’s disobedience to God (vv. 8–22) was contrasted with the Recabites’ obedience to an ancestor’s command (35:1–19). Jehoiakim’s destruction of an early Jeremiah scroll is recalled (36:1–32). Returning to Zedekiah’s day, Jeremiah was imprisoned and thrown into a muddy cistern to die (37:1–38:13). The powerless Zedekiah questioned Jeremiah privately (vv. 14–28) just before the city was finally taken (39:1–18).

Understanding the Text
“Go to Zedekiah king of Judah” Jer. 34:1–7. In a final effort to spare the city God sent Jeremiah to Zedekiah. Only a few pockets of resistance to the invading Babylonians remained in Judah (v. 7); it was clear that further resistance was hopeless. Yet even now if Zedekiah would surrender, God promised to spare his life and give him an honorable burial.
The incident reminds us of the two thieves on the cross. All hope of living is past. Death stares grimly from the doorstep. Even then, God gives sinners a chance to repent.

“Proclaim freedom for the slaves” Jer. 34:8–22. This passage suggests that Zedekiah did make some effort at reform. In hopes of winning God’s favor he led his officials and Jerusalem’s citizens to free their Hebrew slaves. Old Testament Law required that Hebrew slaves be freed after just a few years of service (Deut. 15:12–18). But the wealthy of Jerusalem violated this law and kept fellow Jews in perpetual servitude. This the people now pledged to correct, and released their Hebrew slaves. But when the feint of an Egyptian army caused a temporary lifting of the siege of Jerusalem (cf. Jer. 37:4–5), “they changed their minds and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.”
In this they not only disobeyed the Lord, but also violated a most solemn “covenant of blood,” made by walking between halves of a slain calf. This act symbolized the punishment they merited if they broke the covenant promise, made “before the LORD.” Now God would impose just this penalty.
The problem with many “deathbed conversions” is that when death seems imminent, almost any promise will be made. But when the danger recedes, people revert to their old ways. The reality of repentance and faith can never be verified by mere words. True repentance and faith can only be displayed by a lifetime of obedience to God’s commands.

“You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab” Jer. 35:1–19. The Recabites were a family of nomadic tribesmen who had carefully followed the instructions of a forefather not to drink wine and not to live in houses or take up agriculture. God pointed out this obedience, and contrasted it with Judah’s persistent refusal to obey One far greater than Jonadab, the Lord Himself. Judah would be punished for her refusal to obey God. As for the Recabites, they were rewarded with the promise that “Jonadab son of Recab will never fail to have a man to serve Me.”
It is not emotional protestations of faith, or sudden deathbed conversions, that count with God. These may or may not be real. What pleases God is the believer’s persistent, consistent life of simple obedience to His Word.

“The king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation” Jer. 36:1–32. The contrast between the Recabites and the people of Judah continued with this story from the time of Jehoiakim, about 15 years before the other incidents reported in these chapters. The Recabites had remembered the words of Jonadab: God caused His words through Jeremiah to be written in ink, an unforgettable testimony. What had happened? King Jehoiakim had actually burned the manuscript, a futile attempt to blot out the Word of God!
The attempt was futile indeed. Jeremiah simply dictated another copy—with added text—to his secretary Baruch, while the prophet and his scribe hid from Jeiakim.
And what did this attempt to blot out Scripture gain Jehoiakim? Complete rejection by God. He and his family would be set aside, and David’s royal line would be traced through a brother, not the apostate king.
People still try to ignore or discredit the Word of God. But their efforts are just as futile as Jehoiakim’s—and have the same consequence of rejection by the Lord.

“Please pray to the LORD our God for us” Jer. 37:1–10. Zedekiah completely ignored God’s word (v. 2), but he wanted Jeremiah to pray for him! How typical of the unconverted. God doesn’t merit their attention—unless they want something from Him.
God did respond to Zedekiah’s request. He sent Jeremiah to tell the king that the withdrawal of the Babylonian forces to meet an Egyptian threat was temporary. The Babylonians would return, resume their attack, and burn Jerusalem down.
Yes, anyone can pray. But like Zedekiah, those who have ignored God all their lives might not like the answer they receive.

“You are deserting to the Babylonians” Jer. 37:11–21. During a break in the siege, Jeremiah tried to leave Jerusalem on business, but was stopped at the gate and accused of deserting to the Babylonians.
Jeremiah’s constant urging of surrender clearly had antagonized “patriots.” In their anger they and the king’s officials had Jeremiah beaten and imprisoned. In the first of several private interviews with Zedekiah, Jeremiah again urged surrender. Rather than being returned to a prison where he was in danger of dying, Jeremiah was kept in the “courtyard of the guard” and fed daily.
The reaction of the “patriots” is typical. In the stress of the siege the people blamed Jeremiah, who had warned them for years of what must happen if they continued to disobey God. They struck out at him, rather than accepting responsibility for the situation.
Blaming others is one of the most useless and destructive of all possible responses in any situation. The only positive response is to look honestly at causes, to accept responsibility for our own role, then to take any appropriate action. In Judah the people still refused to accept responsibility for the actions that brought the Babylonians down on them. The people of Judah simply blamed Jeremiah, and directed their frustration and anger at him.
The same trait is common in spouse and child abusers, and in alcoholics. They refuse to accept responsibility for their actions, and instead blame their victims! Until a person accepts responsibility for his own acts, there is no hope of change. Such people will continue to victimize the innocent, just as the officials of Judah victimized righteous Jeremiah.

“This man should be put to death” Jer. 38:1–13. The compulsive anger of guilty men who deny their responsibility is further shown in the reaction of high officials to Jeremiah’s continued preaching. The prophet again warned that only those who left Jerusalem would survive to go into Captivity. This additional “treasonous” preaching, which no doubt threatened the morale of the defenders, led to demands that Jeremiah be put to death. Zedekiah, unwilling to resist their pressure, shrugged and turned Jeremiah over to them.
Jeremiah was then placed in an empty city cistern, a giant water-storage pit. He sank deep into the muck, and was left there to die.
Don’t ever think, if you are in a relationship with an abuser or alcoholic, that things will somehow get better. Even if you do what’s right, as Jeremiah did, you can count on more intense persecution. Only when the abusing individual accepts responsibility for the sinfulness of his own acts is there any hope of change. Until then you can expect more hostility, more anger, and more abuse.
Jeremiah’s situation, however, was not hopeless. God sent another official, named Ebed-Melech, to help him. Jeremiah was lifted out of the cistern, and returned to the courtyard of the guard.
A neighbor of ours, seriously abused by her husband, prayed desperately that God would send someone to counsel her. That day my wife met her at our community pool, and spent an hour sharing with her. Three weeks later the neighbor, feeling desperate again, uttered the same prayer. Again she “just happened” to meet my wife, who again spent several hours talking with her. God has an Ebed-Melech for you when you are desperate too. Pray, as our neighbor did, and ask God to send someone who can help.

Jeremiah was placed in a cistern much like this one, and left to die.

“Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes” Jer. 39:1–10. Jerusalem fell, as Jeremiah had predicted. Zedekiah tried to flee, but was captured. His sons were slaughtered as he watched, and then his own eyes were gouged out, so that the last sight the king saw was the murder of his family. Then Zedekiah, and all but a few of the poorest in Judah, were taken into Captivity, as the smoke of burning Jerusalem rose behind them. The king had refused to heed the word of the Lord. The responsibility for what happened to him was his own.
The blinded, childless king, being dragged away in shackles, is a graphic reminder of a basic spiritual truth. Anyone can choose to ignore the Word of God. But no one can avoid the consequences of that choice.

“Go and tell Ebed-Melech” Jer. 39:11–18. The Babylonians cared for Jeremiah, whom they must have viewed as an asset. Given the choice, Jeremiah chose to remain with the little group of Jews left in the land rather than to accompany the captives to Babylon. After all, Ezekiel and Daniel were both in Babylon. The exiles would not be without guidance. But who would care for the poor remnant remaining in Judah?
Jeremiah’s first mission was one of comfort. Ebed-Melech, who had earlier saved the prophet, was told that though the city must be destroyed, he would be saved, “because you trust in” the Lord. This man’s rescue of Jeremiah had been an act of faith.
The incident encourages us. Just as there were consequences to Zedekiah’s disobedience, so there were consequences to Ebed-Melech’s act of faith. God does, as Hebrews says, “reward those who earnestly seek Him” (Heb. 11:6).

DEVOTIONAL
Pity the Poor, Powerless King
(Jer. 38)
TV found a winner when it decided to feature “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” Ah, how the average person envies them. Wealth! Power! What more could a human being want?
But Jeremiah gave a totally different notion of the “rich and famous” of his time. His portrait of Zedekiah, the King of Judah, takes us behind the scenes, and reveals a man more to be pitied than envied. For this king was powerless!
When officials demanded the death sentence for Jeremiah, Zedekiah shrugged and said, “He is in your hands. The king can do nothing to oppose you” (v. 5). After Jeremiah was rescued by the bold Ebed-Melech, Zedekiah went to Jeremiah alone, to ask what was to happen to him in the future (vv. 14–16). The king was told that if he surrendered he and his family would live (vv. 17–18). Zedekiah hesitated, and shared his fears. The Babylonians might hand him over to the Jews who had deserted to them, and he might be mistreated (v. 19). Again Jeremiah urged surrender (vv. 20–23), but the king only begged that Jeremiah not tell his officials what either of them had said, but simply to say that Jeremiah had begged for his life (vv. 24–28).
What a portrait of a king! Afraid of the future. Terrified of his own officials. Knowing what was right, but totally unable to do it, even if he wanted to. The most powerful man in Judah was the least free to act; the least able to do what was wise and right. Oh, yes, we should pityäthe poor, helpless king. And we should learn from him.
The greatest gift that God can give us is freedom—the freedom to do what we believe is right. Often the rich are too concerned for their wealth to do what they believe is right. They are captives of what they possess. Often the famous are too concerned about what others will think to do what they believe is right. They are captives of their fame. And often the powerful are too concerned about maintaining their position to act on what they believe is right. They are captives, not wielders, of their own power. Only those who care supremely about doing God’s will are truly rich, for they alone are truly free.

Personal Application
Do God’s will, and you will be greater—and happier—than any king.

Quotable
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from soul to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
“Good morning,” and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich—yes, richer than a king
-And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.-Edward Arlington Robinson