If God has called you to something stick with it. Stay with it. Ground your feet. Take the call of God seriously and say it's time to stand up and continue to fight this fight to the very end. Because God will honor your obedience and your faithfulness even if you don't see fruit at the time. It is much better to be faithful to God and not see your fruits now if you know one day Jesus will say, Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over little, I will make you a ruler over much, enter into the joy of your Lord. Jeremiah reminds me to keep going, to keep sowing, and to keep growing, no matter what's going on in life, because in the end, glory awaits us. Glory awaits us.

Well, hello and welcome to the You Can Learn the Bible podcast, where we summarize complete Bible books in single episodes. My name is Bode Quirk from youcanlearnthebible. com, here with Joey Rozek, lead pastor of Living Springs Fellowship in New Jersey. Joey, it's good to see you, brother. How are you today?

I am doing great brother Bodie. It is snowing out. Well, it's actually snowing, but we have snow outside, it is a, beautiful season to enter into a book that takes us into seasons of life that are quite wintry, sometimes cold, sometimes hard.

Jeremiah is what we're in today. And Jeremiah is an incredible book of prophecy, the largest book of prophecy outside of Isaiah. Isaiah is the first. But as we enter into this book, we're going to see that we are going to understand what it's like when we get opposed in the ministry. When you're alone in the ministry, sometimes you're in a wintry season, and Jeremiah is our weeping prophet. We're going to be getting into a pretty powerful book today.

Yes. Yeah. And I think it's one of those ones that's challenging for people. So our goal today is to make it less challenging, to summarize it for you,

and so really give you our, seven part framework, which is to equip and to inspire you for your Bible study, again, this is always to help you with your Bible study. So we offer this as a video you can watch on YouTube as well as the audio that you could get in your podcast player through Apple Podcasts. Spotify. We also like to summarize it on a one page PDF as well, and we'll give you a link for that at the end of the episode.

But our framework that we apply to every single book, it's the seven parts. The first part is the essentials of the book, just the basics, getting started. Where does that book fall on the storyline of history? What are the major themes and ideas? How is the book structured? What does it teach us about God? What does it offer for us today? And then what are those things that we love? Those seven things are our seven part framework. We're going to apply them to the book of Jeremiah starting right now. So Joey, if, someone doesn't know anything about Jeremiah, can we help get them started on number one, the essentials?

Yes. Well, as we open up the book of Jeremiah, as I have it open before me,

this is a book that is truly a book that will help us to grasp how God speaks to us in the dark seasons. So, the book of Jeremiah, comes from in Hebrew, this is Yahweh appoints the Lord appointed a man from the womb to speak a message to the people who had strayed away from God.

So let's hit some of these essentials. The date it covers between 627 and 580 BC before Christ. focused on the captivity of Judah, the time in which they were taken captive by Babylon with three different invasions. The genre of the book is prophecy. we're going to hear messages of judgment from this prophet who we call the weeping prophet because he wept over Jerusalem, much like Jesus who wept over Jerusalem and said, Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how I long to gather you as a hen gathers her chicks beneath their wings, but you were not willing.

So the author. Jeremiah is a weeping prophet. He's also from a priestly line. He was a priest, and so that's important to know. Now, the setting of this book takes place right at the time of the fall of Judah. You won't appreciate the book of Jeremiah without understanding its setting. And so this is so key. The fall of Judah. The warning that God gave before, during, and after the invasion. The purpose of this book is judgment. God is disciplining his people toward repentance. And so the audience is Judah. Jews and all believers benefit from every generation who listens and heeds the words of this book.

Yeah.

That's what It's, about.

that was great. Yeah. So much that we need to keep in mind. And again, this is why context is so important for understanding the Bible. And that's what we're trying to do. You already got us started. That's perfect.

That actually sets me up for number two, which is where does Jeremiah fit in the story of the Bible? So Joey, you mentioned the fall of Judah. If our listeners don't know what that means, what we want to do is we want to help you understand what it is and why that's such a big deal.

So really where Jeremiah fit, fits on the storyline is from the fall of Judah and the rise of Babylon. So in the history of major world empires, Assyria was a world empire around the time of Isaiah in our previous episode, but Assyrian power has now begun to decline.

And we also had, king Josiah come after Isaiah, who instituted some very important righteous reforms in Judah, which was a really bright spot in Judah's history. But the problem was they started making these alliances with other nations, They started to forget the Lord and really trust in other nations for their support, which caused, you know, lots of political turmoil.

So as Judah starts to decline, we start to see more and more kings rise and fall, and we start to see Babylon start to now grow as a world. threat and they start to now seek to take over Judah. And it is in this moment here where God calls Jeremiah as his mouthpiece. But Joey, right out of the gate, Jeremiah one versus one through three really helps set us up for this. Would you mind reading this? And I'll go back and just show a couple quick timeline shots so that we really get a visual of what we're going to see.

Yes, this is how the book of Jeremiah begins. It says, The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah, the son of Ammon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign, until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive to the fifth month.

That's pretty much summarizing the first three verses there. And, this is so important because. Jeremiah is God's prophetic voice, At a time now where you can see the nation has been carried away captive. That's what the fall of Judah is about.

Exactly. Yeah. So if you're listening, I want you to imagine on the left side, you have kind of Isaiah who had a 60 year period. That's 740 BC. But as we travel down the timeline, to 627 BC,

Jeremiah, his ministry is really at the fall of a nation. And so it's really cool that we can actually see this even with our mind's eye, or you could say. here on the video, Judah is about to fall. God wants to reach his people. So that's why we have the book of Jeremiah, because God's heart is for his people, but they're in rebellion and they are going to be taken over by Nebuchadnezzar.

And so you can see basically that Jeremiah overlaps all the final kings of Judah. He is one of the final prophets at the fall of Judah. So that's really the most important thing to take from number two on the storyline.

That really sets the tone for number three, which is really now, now that we know where Jeremiah fits,

what are the themes of this book, Joey, that we really want to keep an eye on as we read it?

Well, as you go through this whole book, and it's a pretty long book, but you're going to notice it's really all about Judah's backsliding ways.

In fact, the word backslide in some form comes up 13 different times. So it's a very key theme throughout the book. We're going to see prayers. pleas and prophecies. We're going to see all three of those play a huge role throughout the course of his ministry. We see that God is using Jeremiah to show divine judgment for idolatry, which is what the nation was guilty of. God's call is to repent and to return. That's going to be a key theme throughout the messages.

There's also going to be a theme of the rejection of Jeremiah's message. You know that not a single person really is shown to respond or repent during the time he's giving the messages. So for all you preachers out there, when you're preaching, you don't see anything. Keep going. Be faithful. Be patient. Well, another thing is Jeremiah's struggles are going to be seen in this book very transparently. His sufferings. He gets thrown into dungeons. He gets in, he's in darkness. He's in weeping. It's a very difficult time for Jeremiah.

The theme of the book is also about the new covenant, and restored hope, this is a big one as we get to the latter chapters especially in the middle of the book 30 and 31. Now, the other theme that you're going to see is destruction. The city, the temple, and the people are all going through a time of destruction, and so that's the key themes and ideas that we're going to look at throughout the book, Bodie.

Yeah. And now we get to see how these themes that Joey just introduced us to,

now we get to see how they play out because now that we understand the essentials, the storyline, setting, and now these themes, we now want to start to walk through the major sections of the book. And now as Joey said, this is a big book. It's one of the ones that I think is intimidating for people because it's so big.

What we want to do is we want to break it down in a way that helps make it approachable for you. So we want to first talk about the sections of the book, but we also, as we go through each section, two things we're going to do, we're going to really highlight some of those key verses that you have to know to really get a sense of each section, and in that, we really hope that we can learn more about the character and nature of God, and then apply that to our own lives. Because all scripture is for us, but I think people read it, Joey, and they sometimes get thrown off because they don't really know what's going on. We hope to help you with that today.

We're going to try to simplify a big book with giving you this structure here , here's our goal. We want you to get your mind wrapped around the book of Jeremiah so that you can have your heart touched by the message of Jeremiah. So that's what we want to do.

Amen.

So let me break down the structure that we have and if you're driving or listening, I want you to imagine kind of like a. sandwich approach because there's, this is, there's going to be five parts to our structure, but the first one and the last one are single chapters.

So section one is an introduction. It's the call of Jeremiah, just one chapter, chapter one. The last chapter is also a recap and that's where we see the fall of Jerusalem. So in chapter one, we have Jeremiah's call in chapter 52 the very last chapter, the fall of Jerusalem.

Now, inside those two, there is, the second section is chapters two through 45. And this is God's judgment to Judah. So this is where we see a lot of those messages of judgment. And it's a major section from two to 45, big, big section.

There's another section. section, though, right after it, this would be the middle. So this were like a sandwich, Joey. The first two that would be just single chapters. Then you have God's judgment to Judah. The middle part three. Those are the new covenant promises, but they are their select chapters, they don't go back to back all of them. This is chapters 18, 23, and then chapters 29 through 33. That's going to be part three of the structure.

After that, it goes back to judgment, and that's chapters 46 through 51. So we got five sections that we want to walk through,

So what you're saying is we've got like the, the intro and the recap or the buns, and we've got the meat in the middle. So this is like shout out to like an in and out burger right here. This is where all the

this is our in and out structure. Yes, exactly. Animal style. It is.

this is the meat in the middle. Literally, Jeremiah gives you chapters upon chapters of all of these different judgments, but we pulled out these key chapters that are in the middle because we're going to show you that these key chapters really bring this book alive to the redemptive part of the whole Bible. This is where you can see the line of the Messiah and how it all leads to the Savior. So this is going to help you guys when you look at this outline. This is going to get your mind wrapped around this book.

exactly. So we got introduction, judgment, new covenant promises. More judgment and then a recap. Let's walk through it, Joey. Let's start with the first one. So we want to really point you to some key verses. So Joey, what are the highlight verses from, chapter one?

So yes, this chapter one gives us not only the introduction of the book, but the calling of the prophet Jeremiah. He was a priest born by a priestly family, but it says in verses four and five, listen to this, Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, so here you have came to me, so Jeremiah is writing, We know he's the author.

He says this, before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. I love this before you were born. I sanctified you. I ordained you as a prophet to the nations. What a clear calling. What a specific word of the Lord. I pray that all believers have such a clear understanding of their identity and their calling.

Jeremiah could never question it again. The Lord spoke directly. To him that he was to be a prophet to the nations. Now, the next set of verses, verses nine and 10 really kind of give you a bit more color to this calling, but why don't you read for us, what is this calling going to do as he lives it out here? It is

I love this. So check this out. It says, this is verse nine, Jeremiah 1, 9. Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth and said, the Lord said to me, behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations, not to be, Build up, but it says to root out and to pull down, to destroy, to throw down and then after that, what Joey?

now is to build up and to plant.

Exactly. Which is a really hard ministry. Joey mentioned it earlier. Jeremiah had a very difficult ministry that did not see a lot of fruit. But friends, God is not looking predominantly for fruit as much as he is looking for fruit. faithfulness. And Jeremiah was a faithful man.

Yes, yes. So faithful. And so picture it like this. Imagine stepping into a new house that you just purchased, but nobody tended the garden for years and years and years. And it's full of weeds. It's full of growth all over the place. Jeremiah is stepping into a role of a ministry where he's got to pull weeds. He's got to clean up the garden. He's got to drive out all the things that are unhealthy, and then the seeds can be replanted back in and life can flourish. That's what the book of Jeremiah is doing. And that's what he was called to do.

And so that's chapter one. That's just some key verses there. Now we got a bigger section, Joey, section two, God's judgment to Judah. So now we're going to start to get, he's going to start pulling some weeds here, Joey, isn't he?

Big bulk of the book.

two through 45, it's a major section. So what we want to do is here's how we want to frame it for you.

There are some theme verses that really So this whole section and that is chapter 17 verses one through 10. So if you're really looking for an assessment, this is God's assessment of the heart of man. So in this section, which kind of summarizes this whole section, this is where God recalls the covenant with Israel, but he illustrates their disobedience and he uses these symbolic actions such as a linen belt and a basket of figs. So it's kind of interesting. I'm going to have Joey read a couple of verses from this. section, but Jeremiah 17, this is a summary from Jeremiah about this section. What does he say here, Joe?

17 verses 7 through 8 says, Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord, for he shall be like a tree planted by the waters. Does that sound familiar? Similar to Psalm 1. He'll be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes.

But its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit. So what a powerful picture. And then it goes on to say this, and I think this is where, you know, as we get into the heart of the book, you have to look into the heart of man. Because the heart of man is what?

Here's what it says. The heart is deceitful, above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. What a powerful word. so listen. This is against Disney messages.

I have to say, don't follow your heart. Don't chase your heart. This is a call to know that your heart is deceitful and wicked. You have to first let God change your heart and direct your heart because the heart by itself wants to gravitate toward evil.

does. Yeah. Yeah. And so if you're reading this book and you start to go through these, this second section, know that there's after this summary that Jeremiah gives us in chapter 17, there's kind of two blocks to know about.

The first block is chapters two through six, and this is basically Jeremiah His call to repentance. He really wants Judah to repent. So Jeremiah pleads with Israel to return to God. Remember, God made a covenant with Israel. It's still there, but they have broken the covenant, and this pleading exposes their unfaithfulness, but it also, Joey, Jeremiah warns them that. imminent judgment is coming.

The heart of God is never to judge or to punish, as its own goal. It's always to do that, to bring back, to restore, to build up, and God's heart through Jeremiah is calling and the people are not responding. They have been unfaithful and God, he is exposing their unfaithfulness and he is warning them of. Eminent judgment, isn't he, Joey?

So this is where Jeremiah is really pulling up. This is the beginning of the pulling up, and he's calling them, and the people are not necessarily responding to Jeremiah's message. What are some key verses from this block in chapters two through six?

Well, what I'm about to read is basically God presenting a case of why Israel is guilty and why they need to be punished and judged.

And here's what he says. Listen to this. Jeremiah 2 verses 11 through 13. Summarize it. It says, Has a nation changed its gods, which are not gods, but my people have changed their glory for what does not profit. Be astonished, O heavens, at this, and be honestly afraid. Be very desolate, says the Lord, for my people have committed two evils. Two evils. Here's what they are. One, they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters. And two, they have hewn for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

So you see, once you forsake the Lord, your heart becomes open to adulterous, idolatrous ways. And as a result, you start building yourself like the Tower of Babel. You start doing things for a name for yourself or for these false gods, and before you know it, you can't hold the living water. You can't hold the power and presence of the living God. God has to turn his back and turn away. And so he calls us to return, right Bodie. This is another set of verses that cause us to return. Why don't you read these return verses?

Take note, 15, God's heart. We see God's heart. Return, O backsliding children, says the Lord, for I am married to you. We see this covenant language here. I will take you one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. I will give you shepherds, according to my heart, who will feed I mean, when you read these, you could just hear the heart of God for his people, can't you, Joey? But the people's hearts are hard.

And that's where the second subsection of chapter two, seven through 28, is the consequences of idolatry. So this is where Jeremiah elaborates on judgment. Judgment is a big theme of 7 through 28, but it uses these illustrations of sin and these warnings of judgment. So Jeremiah is warning them that judgment is coming. And this is where he really confronts a lot of the false teachers and prophets in Judah. We see this a lot in Jeremiah. There's a lot of voices that rise up that claim to speak for the people.

Meanwhile, Jeremiah's truth continually. uh, is affirmed and validated where these false prophets are not. And so there's a couple of verses here.

For example, Jeremiah 9, 23 through 24 says, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor the rich man glory in his riches, but let him who glories glory in this.

What is it, Joey? That he understands and knows me. That is a word for us today, right? That I am the Lord exercising loving kindness. Judgment, righteousness in the earth for in these I delight, says the Lord. So that was Jeremiah Just a couple of key verses from this section. Jeremiah 10 though, has a couple of key verses as well. Joey, unless you have anything you want to add from what we've covered, I'd love to have you share those.

yeah one thing I just want to add is that as jeremiah is kind of walking the people Through their idolatry, you know, he's kind of calling them and I love how it's actually in chapter 6 verse 16 where he says You know stand In the ways and see and ask for the old paths where the good way and walk in it, and then you will find rest for your souls.

So you can kind of see that Jeremiah is pleading with the people as he's giving prophecies of judgment to the people. But here's where you go back to the heart. These verses in Jeremiah 10 verses 14 through 16 really shows you that the problem is in the heart of man, not in the heart of God.

So it says this, everyone is dull hearted without knowledge. Every metalsmith is put to shame by an image, for his molded image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are futile, a work of errors. In the time of their punishment they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like them, for he is the maker of all things.

And Israel is the tribe of his inheritance. The Lord of hosts is his name. This is a powerful word, really summarizing where the problem lies, why the consequences continue, and why they have to return to the Lord, Bodie, if they're going to see any hope of a good future.

exactly. And I love how we see the heart of God for his people, and that Joey is where we now get to go to the center of the book. So what we've done is we've collected a number of chapters that all have this similar theme of new Covenant promises.

So take note, chapters 18, 23, and then chapters 29 through 33. all those are all on the theme of the new Covenant promises. And this is so important to understand if we're gonna get the larger story of the Bible and the work of Christ himself. And what I love, Joey, is in chapter 23, Jeremiah 23, 5. Speaking of Christ, this is one of the clearest messianic prophecies in Jeremiah. Would you read it for us?

Sure. Listen to this. Prophetic words concerning Jesus. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will raise to David a branch of righteousness. A king shall reign and prosper and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In his days, Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely. Now this is his name, by which he will be called, The Lord Our Righteousness.

Yahweh to Sid Canu. This is a beautiful phrase about the Lord, The Lord Our Righteousness. And this is why Jesus fulfills the idea of being a branch. the branch of righteousness. He is the member of the offshoot of David and he is the vine in which we are the branches, in him one day. So yeah, beautiful messianic, very clear about Jesus.

This,

Yes. I love that. I love that, and that kind of leads us into the middle section.

So there's a lot that goes on. We can't go into every chapter, but we wanted to call out each chapter so that you can take note as you read. So chapter 18 is important. This is on the potter and the clay. You may have heard of this.

This is where really God talks about making Israel into a new creation. That's chapter 18. Jeremiah 29, Joey, is probably the one that gets quoted the most. And we're going to quote a verse from that in a second, but this is Jeremiah's letter to the exiles. This is where we hear about the future and the hope that God has for his people.

In chapter 30, we, then hear on the heels of that, a promise of restoration for his people. it's a restored future for Judah. It's beautiful. And then Jeremiah 30, 31. Oh, Joey's 31. The new covenant is spelled out. This just talks about a renewed Israel and really for the first time, the difference of the indwelling of the spirit.

That's one of the markers of the new covenant is the indwelling of the spirit of God, which is what we see come to life in the New Testament. And then 32, we see like a future hope chapter where Jeremiah buys this land kind of as a. symbol. And then we see again, 33, the Davidic covenant, which is a promise of a new covenant restoration.

So there's a lot here in this section, but I want you to make sure that all of these go and read these with an eye towards future restoration and really to see how it connects to the new covenant. And so Jeremiah 29 is really probably one of those chapters, Joey, that people maybe they've heard this, quoted out of context, but what is Jeremiah 29, 11 saying in terms of the understanding, explaining the book as a whole?

Yeah, this is a picture of God's heart. When we have failed, when we are faithless, He remains faithful.

Jeremiah 29 11 quoted all the time, of course, a very direct word for Judah at this time, but all of those who are in the heritage of faith among God's people can see the heart of God towards you. Here's what it says.

For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord. Thoughts of peace. And not of evil to give you a future and a hope, then you will call upon me and go and pray to me and I will listen to you and you will seek me and find me. When you search for me with all your heart, you see, this passage just brings to life that God is a God of second chances of new beginnings of restored hope.

that picture in Jeremiah 18 of the potter and the clay. If you remember had. Jeremiah going to the potter's house, watching the clay just fall into the hands of the potter. turning into a lump. And then God says, but I'm doing something new. He turns it into something brand new. That is new covenant life. That is the old things passing away. All things becoming new. God makes us new creations. Here's where the promise is. This is beautiful, right? Beautiful, beautiful promises.

it is beautiful. And when you understand that this now in Jeremiah 31, right on the heels after 29, where we hear the heart of God for the exiles who are away in Babylon,

We hear the heart of God for the nation, for the restored nation. But what's cool is, is that this new covenant is what Jesus inaugurates with his life and death and his public ministry. And so we get our first glimpse of it here. Don't we, Joey? Where it says in Jeremiah 31, 31, it's an easy one to remember. As well as verse 33 says,

behold, the days are coming. Now remember, Israel is desolate right now. But through Jeremiah, God says this, check it out. The days are coming says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

Now, if you remember, they're split right now, they're not one nation, but the new covenant is with both. But this covenant that I will make with the house of Israel in those days, which is future, says the Lord, I will put my law in their minds. I will write it on their hearts and I will be their God. They will be my people.

So we see this heart of restoration here in the new covenant. And even Jesus, if you look at the last supper scene, when Jesus offers the bread and the wine, you remember where he says, this is my body given for you. And this is the blood of what the new covenant. So Jesus is what makes this. Covenant active in our lives today. And this is our first glimpse here in the book of Jeremiah. We don't get a full picture, Joey, but we get a gospel glimpse here. Don't we?

Absolutely. And I love that in Jesus, we have an internal reality of what used to be external to Israel. One of the phrases you'll see Paul picking up on is the old things were the shadow. Jesus is the substance. So if you look at the description of Jeremiah 31. You can read about it again when you get to the book of Hebrews in chapter eight, it reiterates this whole thing and you're really seeing that there is this transformation happening in God's people where what used to be in front of them and in a literal temple, we now become the temple and God's doing it all inside of us.

He's put his law in us. He's teaching us by the Spirit, and he's atoning for our sins once and for all.

That's the beauty of the new covenant. It's complete in Christ. You are complete in Christ. Jesus did what no man could do, where the law brought death. Jesus brings life where the law and the Ten Commandments had 3, 000 people die in Pentecost with the Holy Spirit coming 3, 000 people are being born again and repenting. So Jeremiah is giving us the early foreshadowing of these beautiful promises coming to life, which we as Christians now know is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

I love it. I love it. It's beautiful. Yeah. And just so, just to be clear, the new covenant is replacing the old covenant, which was the Mosaic covenant, the covenant that God had with Israel specifically. And so now this is a new covenant for anyone who is in Christ, which is beautiful.

And so , but we get, we don't. the whole thing. We just get the beginning glimpses of that. But those new covenant promises, Joey, are the heart of the book of Jeremiah. But now we go back out to section four. So just, we had our intro. We had God's judgment. We hadn't had those key chapters on new covenant promises. That was part three. Now we go back to judgment in part four. So part four is 46 through 51. And this is just a number of judgment, not to Judah this time, but to the nations,

Yeah, that's the distinction. The first judgment was to Judah only the bulk of the book

But now you see God has some specific judgments for various nations So we don't want to spend too much time here, but we want you to realize that God treats Israel The nation that he made a covenant with different than these other nations.

In fact, there's a verse here, Bodie, that I think really encapsulates what God is doing differently with Israel as opposed to these nations. And of course, we're focusing on Judah right now because remember, the northern kingdom is already turned away and we just see everything perishing there. But the Judah is where it's keeping everything alive. It all centers upon Jerusalem, the city of the great king.

This word from Jeremiah 46 28, where it says, Fear not, O Jacob, my servant, declares the Lord, for I am with you, I will make a full end of all the nations. To which I have driven you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.

Uh, so God is saying, you will be punished, but I won't make a full end of you. God always saw a revived Israel. He always saw a restored people. He always saw that he was putting his name there, putting his promises there, that there will be a praise in Jerusalem. And this is, that's a key thing. But the nations on the other hand, don't have the same destiny, not the same promises at least. And so, what other nations does he call out? I mean, he didn't call it every nation in the world, but he calls out some of these key surrounding nations, doesn't he?

Well, if you go through this section, so I think this is one of those harder sections where people will read and be like, Oh my gosh, it just feels like judgment after judgment. But it's important because these are the neighbors to Israel. These are the ones surrounding the covenant nation of Judah here that are still left.

And they are the ones, one, that are influencing Judah towards idolatry, but they are the ones opposing what God is doing in this covenant with this nation. So God calls out. Egypt in 46. He calls out Philistia, which is where, of course, the Philistines would derive from, in 47. 48 is about Moab. In 49, Joey, there's like 15 people mentioned Ammon, Edom, Damascus.

I mean, if I read the names, you're going to turn off the episode. So I'm going to stop. But then, Joey, it's interesting that chapter 50 is about Babylon. And so now that kid's got to see. set up because Jeremiah ends on a low note. Israel is gone. Judah is now taken into exile. And so we start to see that even though God is using Babylon to chasten Israel so that he might bring them back, eventually there is still judgment towards Babylon as part of these other nations here in this fourth section.

Well, isn't it interesting that just as these nations that surround Jerusalem, in the Songs of Ascent, we see that as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people. You really see that God's saying, don't look at the nations. Don't look at the people. Keep your eyes on me. I surround you.

I take care of you. And when you look at these particular nations that are named here, all of these nations that surround Israel then are still surrounding the Israel that's been rebirthed today. And you really do see some similarities. You know, we don't want to get into some of the undertones of, like, there's problems politically and nationally among all people groups today that don't have Jesus, whatever their bent is and whatever their, religious idol is.

But what we want to point out is that God is a covenant keeping God, and he really does treat Israel differently here. He treats them differently. And that's what Jeremiah 46, 28 was telling us that he will correct. His people and he will, chase in them, but he will not give them up.

Hosea will talk about this. I will not give you up. Oh, Israel, you know, so really important that we see the spirit of God, calling and wooing his people that he made covenant with back to his heart. Yeah.

And it's incredible how the heart of God contrasts the destruction and collapse of Judah at this point, right? That's why it's so incredible to see that God's heart is not always reflected by the circumstances of your immediate life right now. And it's so important that we know who God is from the scriptures, because sometimes we're going to experience things in our life that make us question God's goodness and his faithfulness. But when you understand how God has worked previously in the word, it gives you confidence and it grounds your faith in a rich and deep way. Jeremiah here.

Amen, Bodie. And you know, when you read a prophetic psalm like Psalm 22, and it talks about Jesus, when he was on the cross, it actually says something very similar to what we just read in those chapters. It says in Psalm 22, verse 16, For dogs have surrounded me. The congregation of the wicked has enclosed me.

They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look and stare at me. They divide my garments among them. And for my clothing they cast lots. But then it says, But you, O Lord, do not be far from me. All my strength hasten to help me, deliver me from the sword, and my precious life from the power of the dog.

You can really see that even as Jesus, who was the embodiment, the messianic fulfillment of all that was promised to this nation, he went through it personally and individually. But of course, the nation went through it in cycles, time and time again. and then eventually though, we see that what's the principle in the New Testament, Bodie?

God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows that he will also reap, right? So we get to the final section, right? Chapter 52, the final section

is showing us that there's still consequences, right? As we get to the final section, what do we see about the consequences here?

Well, I mean, if this has been, this is the empire strikes back of the biblical prophets here, right? Because it ends on a dark, low note. Israel is overthrown by Babylon, by King Nebuchadnezzar, and there, and the people are taken into exile. And so if you read chapter 52, it's such an interesting contrast to chapter one, where God is calling a man to be his mouthpiece.

But unfortunately, the people don't repent, they don't listen, and they are, they're taken into Babylon for 70 years. And if you want just a really summarized recap of this event, that's what you have in Jeremiah chapter 52. It's a recap of the fall of Jerusalem.

We're not going to read the whole thing, but I did want to call out. Verses four and five, where it basically says in the ninth year of his reign in the 10th month on the 10th day. Can I just say, I love how exact Jeremiah is. I wish some of these other prophets would be as exact as this guy. Very helpful on the timeline.

Anyways, on the night, on the 10th day, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came with all of his army and did what? Came against Jerusalem and he laid siege. to it. And they built siege works around it. And the city was besieged until the 11th year of King Zedekiah. So this is major judgment and the people, as Joey said, are preserved, but they're not preserved in the land God promised them.

Remember the Abrahamic covenant, I will give them a people, a land and a nation, and so now they don't have the land anymore. They're out, but they still have the promises. We'll see that when we get to the book of Daniel. But Jeremiah ends on a low note. I mean, there is weeping, there is destruction.

Jerusalem is gone. The temple is destroyed and things could not be more bleak. But if, Joey, if it were not for those key chapters, this would be a book of hopelessness, but we know that God has something else in mind, doesn't he?

Amen. God never ever leaves us nor forsakes us. You know, if you're in covenant with God today, you can be confident, like Paul would write to the Philippians, be confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete

So, Bodie, before we complete this episode, uh, we've looked at all of these essentials, right? We've looked through all, all of the different areas We like to focus on, and then we like to end with our favorite things or some of the things that we most enjoy. So I don't know if you want to give us any final recap stuff, and then I'd love for you to start with some of the, what, what kind of, what do you love about this book yourself? And then I'll share my final thoughts.

One of the things I love, is that you see how God can really put his heart in us. Like, if you have a burden for something in your life that you feel like, why doesn't everybody feel this way that I do?

That's part of your call. And so I think it's so important that God gives, and he calls, and he calls, Equips people in different ways. And so whatever burden you have, Jeremiah was given the voice and the burden for his nation so that they would repent. Your call might look different, but friend, you have a call as well, and you were created to be just as essential to God's plan now as Jeremiah was then. So I just love how Jeremiah is a model of obedience for the call of God on his life.

That's beautiful. Yeah. I think what, for me, Bodie, I can't help but see the parallels of Jeremiah with Jesus. It's interesting that Jeremiah is the weeping prophet. I already mentioned in the beginning of the episode how Jesus wept over Jerusalem himself. think about this. Jeremiah was mocked, whipped, accused, threatened, despised.

he was. rejected. He was imprisoned. He was cast into a pit. These are all kinds of things that Jesus went through, but all of it was to help the nation turn around. Well, Jeremiah couldn't turn the nation around, but Jesus, he can turn anybody around. Jesus can take out that heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh.

He can revive the spirit. Jesus can wipe away our tears. He can give us the oil of joy for mourning and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Jesus can bring beauty from ashes. And I just love that Jeremiah may end in the book on a dismal note. But because of those chapters of hope, there's a longing when you finish the book of Jeremiah, I can't wait till Messiah comes.

I can't wait till there's a hope for us in the future. There is this coming King, the branch of righteousness. And so, I just love that part of it, Bodie. I love that Bodie too, as a, as, as a fellow minister of the gospel, you know, you and I both preach the gospel. We both are, have been pastors for, for many, many years.

I would say this like Jeremiah at one point says your word was like a fire shut up in my bones. I was weary of holding it back, but I could not. You know What brothers out there and all of you sisters out there who are in tough situations remember this

I can't possibly think of a better way to end the episode than what you just did. Joey. That was great. It's so true. It's so true.

Friends, we are done with the book of Jeremiah. I pray that this was helpful, Joey. This was I love, I love doing this with you. It's one of the great joys of my own personal life, but I love that. And I really hope that it's helpful. And what's so great is if you've left comments on our podcast or on YouTube, thank you. We get those. We are glad that this is helpful because this is the kind of thing that we want ourselves. And we're so blessed to be able to do it. And so that wraps us up now, Joey, on the book of Jeremiah, but it doesn't wrap us up on the writings of Jeremiah quite yet, does it?

We'll talk about that in a second.

So as we said, at the beginning of the episode, we have a, PDF summary. You can get that at, you can learn the bible.com/notes. That's you can learn the bible.com/notes. That's where you can get the one page overview. If you'd like to download the timeline that we use, you can get that at.

You can learn the bible.com/timeline. Those are resources that we provide for you free of charge because we believe, again, that you can learn the Bible. That is our hope. But Joey, in episode 31, we get to hear from Jeremiah again, but not in the book of Jeremiah, where are we going next?

Well, his final book is called Lamentations, and it's a shorter book, so it's going to be much less content, but you're going to really get to see the deeper side of his lament. So less content. More lament and that's what's coming, but you're gonna it's gonna help some of you who are in times of suffering times of hardship We all weep in life.

We all mourn in life You're gonna see why but even in the midst of the lament comes The God sent comes the one who brings hope comes the one who lifts our soul and lifts our heads And so we will bring some encouragement to you for those of you going through mourning as we study the book of Lamentations So that's what's coming next.

That's what's coming next. All right, friends, we're signing off. We pray that this is helpful as always. And you know that we are here because we believe that you can learn the Bible. So until next time, grace and peace, and we'll see you next time. God bless you guys.

Amen