Jeremiah 21
(v.7) Here is one of the verses that skeptics of the Bible cite as conflicting. They say that the Bible does have errors. They claim that in Eze 12:13 God told Ezekiel to prophesy that King Zedekiah would NOT see Babylon, and here God tells Jeremiah to tell King Zedekiah that he would be taken captive and taken to Babylon. This seems like an error, but it's not!
Zedekiah escaped Jerusalem through a tunnel to the outskirts of the city. They were found out, and Babylon killed Zedekiah's sons in front of him. Then, they gauged Zedekiah's eyes out and took him to Babylon.
So, both Ezekiel and Jeremiah were correct...Zedekiah was taken captive to Babylon, but he never saw Babylon, since his eyes were gone! God's Word is true, but when we come to parts that seem contradictory, that's when we see amazing truth come out!
Jeremiah 22
(v.9) Here is the answer to the age-old premise that the God in the OT is mean...He exacted judgment because His people were evil. God can't abide in that, and after numerous warnings, He used Israel's enemies to mete out His wrath.
(v.30) This is a great concept to teach your kids, and if I explain it well here, your kids will see the amazing detail of God's work for our salvation!
There was an evil King of Judah called Coniah, (but he's also called Jeconiah or Jehoiakim in other parts of the Bible), and God declared that none of his descendants would sit on the Throne of David. Well, Jesus was a direct descendant of Coniah, so is God's Word broken here?
In the words of the Apostle Paul, "Certainly not!"
In Gospel of Matthew, in chapter one, the genealogy of Jesus is given. The key to look for is verse 6, where it says that David begot Solomon. Of course, Solomon was the next king of Israel, and his descendants were kings as well...this includes King Coniah.
However, if we look in the Gospel of Luke, in Luke 3:31 we see that the other son of David, Nathan is listed...why?
In God's anger at King Coniah, it seems that He negated his royal line to the Messiah! But if we look at the difference of the sons of David, we see how God thought of everything.
The royal, kingly bloodline from David through Solomon was cursed when it came down to Coniah. Joseph, the husband of Mary, who gave birth to Jesus, is a direct descendant of Coniah! So how did God keep from cursing His own path to the Messiah?
The key is David's other son, Nathan, who is listed in Luke's account of Jesus' genealogy. If we track the list to verse 23, we see that Heli is listed...Heli is the father of Mary! Mary has the kingly blood in her as well as Joseph!
So the neat thing is this...Joseph's blood was cursed due to his direct bloodline to Coniah, but Mary's wasn't since her blood came from David as well, but not Solomon...it came from David's other son, Nathan!
Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, so not one drop of Joseph's cursed blood was in Jesus. However, Jesus had David's blood in Him from Mary!
Also, the Jewish custom was if a man didn't have any sons, and his daughters married, then he would adopt legally the son-in-law, and consider him to be his own son. This is exactly what Heli did with Joseph!
So Jesus has David's blood in Him from David's son Nathan, and it's not the cursed blood from Coniah. Also, Jesus is a direct descendant from Solomon, since Joseph has Solomon's blood. With the adoption of Joseph by Heli, the deal is sealed, and Jesus is in the kingly line but His blood hasn't been tainted by the cursed blood of Coniah!
Isn't that amazing? I recommend you go through this with your kids so they understand this...it's key to understanding the virgin birth of Christ! Our Heavenly Father adopts us as His children because of His Son!
Jeremiah 23
(v.1) Who are the shepherds? They are the leaders, especially spiritual leaders, who lead the people away from God. This applies to all the people who have revised or perverted God's Word for their own power, and taken the focus off of Jesus, and had the people's salvation be essential to go through them and their cult.
Do not be deceived...God's Word is our light...not any groups or denominations that insist that they are the way to God! We all have a direct line to God in prayer and in our faith...we don't need any church's approval or mandates to do that for us!
(v.6) There are some great names that Israel calls God:
YHWH Tsidkenu ~ The LORD Is Our Righteousness
YHWH Jireh ~ The LORD Will Provide
YHWH Shalom ~ The LORD Is Our Peace
YHWH Nissi ~ The LORD Is My Banner
YHWH Mekoddishkem ~ The LORD Who Sanctifies You
YHWH Raah ~ The LORD Is My Shepherd
Jeremiah 24
(v.5) Daniel and his three friends were taken away in the first siege. They were a part of the good figs, and as God said, He will set His eyes upon them for good. As we will see later in the book of Daniel, God did amazing things for Israel and the whole world! Rom 8:28
Jeremiah 25
(v.11) Daniel read this verse, and he knew that Israel would be held captive for 70 years. God's Word was accurate to the day, and Babylon was conquered 70 years later by the Persians!
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