Three Letters
Book of Jeremiah • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 3 viewsThe false prophets thought they were going to getaway with their foolish practices, but this would not be true at all, for God would righteously judge them.
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Introduction
Within the three letters presented before us tonight in the book of Jeremiah we will learn three valuable truths that must be taken to heart...
We are not to be led astray by false teachers and false messages
We cannot hide our actions from God
We will be judged for our rebellious acts, especially acts that cause others to stumble, and when we stir the pot and raise our hand against God’s anointed.
Focus Passage: Jer 29:20-32
Opening Passage: Jer 29:20-23
20 Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon: 21 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes; 22 And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; 23 Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.
Outline
The First Letter: Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles (Jer. 29:20-23)
Within (vv.20-23), Jeremiah comes to his conclusion in his letter to the exiles. He builds off of the truth presented in (vv.15-19), that God would judge those that refused to heed his word, who volitionally believed the false prophets, and embraced those lies. What was this truth? He was going to destroy them. Jeremiah wrote, this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the sword, famine, and plague; and I will make them like rotten figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with plague; and I will make them an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and an object of horror and hissing, and a disgrace among all the nations where I have driven them, because they have not listened to My words,’ declares the Lord, ‘which I sent to them again and again by My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,’ declares the Lord (Jer. 29:17-19 NASB).
With this portion of the letter written, Jeremiah builds off of this warning in conclusion to his letter. He writes, You, therefore hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon (v.20).
He reminds them that the letter he is writing to them is not from himself, but from the Lord. He emphasizes this by stating the Lord of hosts, or the Lord of armies.
Jeremiah identifies the subjects of his letter, the false prophets - ‘...Ahab...and of Zedekiah...’
Jeremiah identifies the treasonous acts of the false prophets - ‘…which prophesy a lie unto you in my name...”
Further within the letter, Jeremiah writes within his letter that the Lord declared that they have committed villany in Israel.
They acted the fool by committing adultery with their neighbor’s wife (this could be spiritual thing or physical thing). Based off of textual evidence, I would submit it is a spiritual adultery. Not only did they commit spiritual adultery, but they lied and spoke in the name of the Lord, without his consent and gave a false message, falsely spoke words in My name which I did not command them.
Jeremiah identifies the validity of the testimony against the false prophets - ‘…even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD....’
Jeremiah identifies the judgment of the false prophets - ‘...And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire...’
When the Lord sends forth his message and judgement, it will not return void. God’s word accomplishes that which He has sent it out to do. May we never forget this. As the prophet Isaiah wrote:
10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Evidently some of those who were in exile did not like the letter that was sent by Jeremiah to the people of the exile. One such person was Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Our second letter is the letter written by him to Zephaniah, the next in line to the high priest.
The Second Letter: Shemaiah’s Letter to Zephaniah (Jer. 29:24-28)
24 Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, 25 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks. 27 Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you? 28 For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
God, not only calls the false prophets to the carpet for their false message, He also calls Shemaiah to the carpet in response to his letter to the priest, Zephaniah. So, what does Shemaiah write to Zephaniah about? Of course, Jeremiah, but it is by tongue and cheek that he discusses Jeremiah. He doesn’t want to say it out loudly.
Shemaiah wrote his letter under his own authority - ‘...Because thou hast sent letters in thy name...’
Whereas Jeremiah was writing letters backed by the authority of God, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Shemaiah was writing in the flesh and his own authority, the authority of man.
Not only only was Shemaiah writing his letter under his own authority, but...
Shemaiah wrote his letter to stir up drama
We find that he writes to all the people that are at Jerusalem. He writes to the priest Zephaniah, and writes to the other priests.
He writes to question the validity of their faithfulness to God and ask why they aren’t doing something, The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD? Doing something about what?
Shemaiah wrote his letter to repudiate Jeremiah
Shemaiah does not use the name of Jeremiah
Shemaiah accuses Jeremiah of being a false prophet - ‘...for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet...’
Shemaiah wants Jeremiah brought down - ‘…that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks...’
One thing you do not want to do is go after God’s anointed. You do not want to put your hands on, nor do you want to take a personal vendetta up against God’s man. This is exactly what Shemaiah did. As we are going to find out within Jeremiah’s response written under the instruction of God’s Holy Spirit, it would not be good for him. This is the third letter.
The Third Letter: Jeremiah’s Letter About Shemaiah to the Exiles (Jer. 29:29-32)
29 And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, 31 Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie: 32 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD.
Shemaiah may have wanted everything to be quiet, but this was not the case. Zephaniah go to Jeremiah with the letter, And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet. Whether he does this as informative, as look what is being said, or as a warning, you best be good, it is unknown. However, what is known, is God’s response to Shemaiah’s letter, The came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah saying.
God’s rebuke of Shemaiah was as open as Shemaiah’s cause of drama - ‘...Send to all them of the captivity saying...’
God openly rebuked Shemaiah whereas he hid his attack on Jeremiah - ‘…Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite...’
God rebuked Shemaiah for his personally authoritative letter - ‘…Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not...’
God rebuked Shemaiah for falsely leading the people of Israel - ‘…and he caused you to trust in a lie...’
God’s judgement of Shemaiah would be swift and far reaching - ‘…I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed...’
Shemaiah, under the hand of God would die childless - ‘…he shall not have a man to dwell among this people...’
Shemaiah, under the hand of God would not see the blessings of God - ‘…neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people...’
Shemaiah would come under the right hand of God’s judgement due to his treasonous acts - ‘.. because he hath taught rebellion against the Lord...’
Conclusion
Within the three letters presented before us tonight in the book of Jeremiah we have learned three valuable truths that must be taken to heart...
We are not to be led astray by false teachers and false messages
We cannot hide our actions from God
We will be judged for our rebellious acts, especially acts that cause others to stumble and when we stir the pot and raise our hand against God’s anointed.
God has a purpose and plan. We must trust Him. We must trust Him in that plan, even if that plan is not the plan we want. Let us heed the word of God and reject that which is not of God.