SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/25/2014
8:58 AM
My Worship Time Focus: God
Discloses the Fate of the Kings PT-3
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Jeremiah
22:13-23
Message of the
verses: “13 “Woe to him who builds
his house without righteousness And his upper rooms without justice, Who uses
his neighbor’s services without pay And does not give him his wages, 14 Who
says, ’I will build myself a roomy house With spacious upper rooms, And cut out
its windows, Paneling it with cedar and painting it bright red.’ 15 “Do you
become a king because you are competing in cedar? Did not your father eat and
drink And do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. 16 “He pled
the cause of the afflicted and needy; Then it was well. Is not that what it
means to know Me?" Declares the LORD. 17 “But your eyes and your heart Are
intent only upon your own dishonest gain, And on shedding innocent blood And on
practicing oppression and extortion." 18 Therefore thus says the LORD in
regard to Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, "They will not
lament for him: ’Alas, my brother!’ or, ’Alas, sister!’ They will not lament
for him: ’Alas for the master!’ or, ’Alas for his splendor!’ 19 “He will be
buried with a donkey’s burial, Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of
Jerusalem. 20 "Go up to Lebanon and
cry out, And lift up your voice in Bashan; Cry out also from Abarim, For all
your lovers have been crushed. 21 “I spoke to you in your prosperity; But you
said, ’I will not listen!’ This has been your practice from your youth, That
you have not obeyed My voice. 22 “The wind will sweep away all your shepherds,
And your lovers will go into captivity; Then you will surely be ashamed and
humiliated Because of all your wickedness. 23 “You who dwell in Lebanon, Nested
in the cedars, How you will groan when pangs come upon you, Pain like a woman
in childbirth!”
We begin this SD with an endnote from Dr. Wiersbe: “Obviously this message was delivered to King
Jehoiakim before he died in 598 BC. It’s
included in this section of Jeremiah’s prophecy because it fits with the
special messages to the four other kings.
We’ve noted before that the Book of Jeremiah isn’t assembled in
chronological order. Chapters 21-24
focus especially on the royal house of David.”
We also want to remember that Jehoiakim ruled for eleven
years and was also a son of Josiah and that he was a covetousness king. We can see this because it was during this
time of international crisis that he was more concerned about building his new
spacious place than he was about building a righteous kingdom. This reminds me of Solomon who was chosen by
the Lord to build the first temple in Jerusalem. I don’t remember exactly how long it took to
build the temple, but seven years runs in my mind, but then he took a much
greater time to build his own house.
This never set well with me when I read about it. Josiah seems to have the same traits.
Jehoiakim must have not paid those who worked on his
house, and this was against the Law of the Lord, and it is also in the book of
James chapter five and verses one through six.
Dr. Wiersbe writes “Jehoiakim wasn’t much different from some modern
politicians who profit from dishonest gain while they ignore the crises of the
poor and needy.” Makes me think of some
of the costs of the vacations that our president and first lady take where the
cost of where they stay is $10,000 per night.
Verse fifteen asks this question “‘Does it make you a
king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He
did what was right and just, so all went well with him.” (NIV) Jeremiah
reminds Jehoiakim that his father lived comfortably, but he did right in the
sight of the Lord so it can be done.
Josiah defended the rights of the people while Jehoiakim did the opposite
and this does not please the Lord as Jeremiah told the king.
Jeremiah mentions Jehoiakim by name in verse eighteen and
then speaks of how his burial would be like a donkey thrown out of into the garbage
dump of Jerusalem. I can’t say for sure
but that dump of Jerusalem burned continuously and its name was used to speak
of hell, so perhaps that is where Jehoiakim ended up.
Dr. Wiersbe concludes by writing “Before going on to
discuss the next king, Jeremiah paused to address the people of Jerusalem and
describe their terrible plight (Jer. 22:20-23).
The advance of the Chaldean army had crushed their allies (‘lovers’),
who also would be sent into exile. Like
the desert wind, the Babylonians soldiers would round up’ Judah’s evil leaders
and sweep them away. The king and his
nobles, living carelessly in the cedar palace (‘Lebanon”), would soon suffer
terrible pain like a woman in travail.
The Lord had warned them, but they felt so secure that they wouldn’t
listen. The peace promised by the false
prophets would never materialize. For the
city of Jerusalem, it was the end.”
The phrase about the woman having birth pangs is also
used in the NT when our Lord speaks of the end times and is also speaking about
what will happen to Israel and Jerusalem during the tribulation period. Just as the pains of a woman continue to get
closer so when the events described by the Lord get closer and closer then the
end will come. For more on this look at
the 24th chapter of Matthew, and then the 13th chapter of
Mark, for this is known as the “Olivet Discourse,” as it was given near the
Mount of Olives. Judah would go into
exile in 586 BC and then again in 70 AD, and then the next time this type of
language is given about them it is talking about the tribulation period which
is still in the future. The “Rapture of
the Church” will happen before the tribulation period and one needs to have a “ticket”
to be a part of that event. The
Philippian Jailer asked the question “What must I do to be saved?” Paul’s answer was to believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ for salvation and you will be saved. He did that and his life was changed. I know about that because my life was changed
in Jan. of 1974 when I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ into my life as Savior
and Lord.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I can see that I
also need to treat those who are poor the way the Lord desires me to do
so.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Believe the promises of the Lord that He will
cause me to walk worthy of the calling He gave me.
Memory verses for the
week: Philippians 2:5-7
5 Have this attitude in
yourself which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form
of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself,
taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Lot” (Genesis 12:4).
Today’s Bible question: “How long is a millennium?”
Answer in our nest SD.
5/25/2014 9:37 AM
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