Jeremiah Chapter 34 "Defeat and Capture of Zedekiah Proclaimed" This Bible
Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's
transcription/ location is provided by http://www.theseason.org We see in this chapter the defeat of Zedekiah would happen, and following the defeat Jeremiah will take three of Zedekiah's daughters and protect them. Jeremiah will take them to Europe to join the rest of the House of Israel, that will have a great deal of keeping this throne. Jeremiah 34:1 "The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying," Nebuchadnezzar was the king over the one world system, as it stood in Jeremiah's day. This is the type of the system that is coming to power in our day, called the New Word Order, which is the United Nations. Jeremiah 34:2 "Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:" Historically, that is exactly what happened to Jerusalem in Zedekiah's day, as the king of Babylon destroyed the city of Jerusalem, killed or took captive the people and made the land desolate for the seventy year period. Prophetically the Antichrist shall also destroy the city and take all the people captive, only this will be a spiritual destruction, and the death will be that of the soul. This is why Jesus said when He was leaving Jerusalem, would say in Matthew 24:2 "And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." At Christ's coming at the second advent, the land of Judah, Jerusalem shall be cleansed. Jeremiah 34:3 "And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon." Zedekiah did see king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon at Riblah, after the battle, and then Zedekiah's eyes were put out, and he was taken captive to Babylon. This is recorded in II Kings 25:5, 6, 7; II Kings 25:5 "And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him." II Kings 25:6 "So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him." II Kings 25:7 "And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon." This prophecy did come true as Jeremiah prophesied. This is a type also of how it shall be in the final generation. The king of Babylon at this time will be Satan, the false messiah. Jesus taught in Mark 13:11; "But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Spirit." Friend, if you are one of the election [elect] of God you will face this king of Babylon of the end times also eye to eye and mouth to mouth. Your mouth will converse directly with Satan the Antichrist and at that time the only thing that you will say is what the Holy Spirit of God places in your mouth. The purpose for your speaking is that the truth of God's Word could be published to the entire world. When Satan appears as the "instead of Jesus" the world will se the greatest revival of all times, only it will be to the wrong Christ, it will be to Satan the Antichrist whom the world and the Christians believe to be Jesus Christ returned to take them away. Satan comes with peace and prosperity, and God said that He will give it all into Satan's hands. Satan will deceive the entire world, except for God's elect who have the seal of God in their minds. That seal is the truth from the Word of God. So this is a type of what is to come, when Zedekiah is delivered before Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah 34:4 "Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword:" God is assuring Zedekiah that he shall not die by the sword. Jeremiah 34:5 "But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD." In the writings of Josephus, "Antiquities of the Jews, Chapter VIII, verses 2" Give us a secular historical account which details what Jeremiah is saying in this chapter to the letter, in the capture of Zedekiah. Then in "Antiquities of the Jews, Chapter X, verse 8" we read of the death of Zedekiah, and the ceremony that was preformed for Zedekiah in Babylon, by Nebuchadnezzar. God's Word always comes to pass, and this is the evidence of it. Jeremiah 34:6 "Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem," It took courage to speak out against the king, especially in Jerusalem. Jeremiah went right before the king and told him face to face that he is going to lose the battle. Jeremiah 34:7 "When the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah: for these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah." After Jerusalem had fought against the Babylonian army, the cities of Lachish and Azekah as well as other cities had not fallen yet. King Zedekiah just didn't believe Jeremiah. Jeremiah 34:8 "This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them;" Let's see what is happening at this time in Jerusalem. It was written by law, that if one of your own had to take what we call bankruptcy of today, he had to be a slave to you. When you took one of your own kind as a slave, you could never keep that person for over sis years. At the end of the six years you would be bound by law to completely release him from all bonds and give him complete freedom. That was God order to the Children of Israel, that went all the way back to the time of captivity when Moses freed them from Pharaoh. Exodus 21:2 "If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing." King Zedekiah is sharp in seeing this happening in Jerusalem and around the land, and he knew the consequences of breaking this law. Zedekiah is thinking that if he stops what is going on as a common practice, this will find favor with God, and remove the judgment that Jeremiah has just pronounced. The other point that Zedekiah is thinking is that those slaves simply would not fight against Babylon the same for us, as they would if they were free men and women. So the lie is that we will tell them that they are saved and free men, and then they will fight hard for the country. Then when the battle is over, we can still bind them over into slavery again. Are you getting the picture what is going on here, with the religious leaders going along with it all. Friend, now relate this type to the future sense. Listen to what is being taught of the coming battle with the future king of Babylon, the Antichrist. What are the religious leaders saying is going to happen when that king comes against the Israel of today, the Christian nations. We are told that we are not going to be here but we will be gone, raptured out of here. Listen to the preachers tell you that you have liberty, and are home free by merely saying a few words and being baptized. Start relating what is happening today to the time of Zedekiah, and the wisdom that he possess and used, to what is being taught in the Church houses of today. The Churches of today are planning to win a battle against the Antichrist, instead of preparing themselves to do spiritual battle with him, as Paul told us that the battle would be. Ephesians 6:10-20 lets us know that it is a spiritual battle fought with spiritual darts, and requiring spiritual armor to protect yourself in that battle. Friend, the battle is fought with words, and most of them will come from the Word of God, ideas and doctrines twisted taken right from God's Word. The battlefield is in your mind, not in some distant land. Jeremiah 34:9 "That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother." So Zedekiah is telling all the People to turn all their slaves of the tribe of Judah free, to make them available to do battle with Babylon. Jeremiah 34:10 "Now when all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let them go." Follow this verse closely. Keep in mind that when the rich in the country heard that Babylon was going to attack, they rushed to the city immediately along with all their slaves. It is now taking on another view, as to the volume of slaves that had come into the city of Jerusalem. When the rich and royal families heard the law, they were willing to release their slaves. They knew that there was going to be a battle, and that bodies were needed in the trenches. Is it starting to look like back home in America, where the slaves, and common folk charge forth, to save the country, while the rich and pious stay home to grow richer and stay out of battle? By giving the slaves the sense of freedom, they felt that their slaves would fight a lot harder for the country. There is another covenant that has to be mentioned here, and that has to do with a covenant that Zedekiah had with the Pharaoh of Egypt. Zedekiah and the rulers knew of this agreement, and that is why Nebuchadnezzar didn't hit the defensive out post cities of Lachish and Azekah, and others. Such action would have brought in the Egyptian army, however when only Jerusalem was attacked, it was felt that Egypt wasn't needed. Remember that this siege coming here was the third siege, and on the others, Babylon was not successful because Nebuchadnezzar simply fell back. The problem that Zedekiah and the rich are facing now was that, when they need the slaves to fight, they gave them their liberty, but now that the Babylon has fallen back, what are they to do with the former slaves. This is what salvation without the Gospel armor on and in place is like. It make you rely on a false sense of security, when you think there is not going to be a battle, you get sloppy with what defenses you think you need. Today the common defense is that you rely on fairy tales, sprout your wings and fly away, only it just is not biblical. So when it appear that the battle is over, and the threat is gone, What do the rich do about their slaves that they set free? Jeremiah 34:11 "But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids." Remember that law that was passed to release those men and women held as slaves. Everyone was for it when the danger was at the door. However, it appears now that the Babylonian army is not coming. It was God's order that every six years all slaves were to be released, and they hadn't been doing that. There is nothing new under the sun, and the government just reversed that law. The people enjoy being deceived and they delight in listening to lies when it makes things easier for them, and now they are heading right back into slavery. Friend, it doesn't matter what your pastor says because the only thing that does matter is what is written in God's Word. You had better get real use to the prophecies given for our times, because you are going to face them, whether you believe it our not. The people were listening to Zedekiah and not to the prophet Jeremiah, and the short run plan to defeat Nebuchadnezzar was successful for the moment, however there is a tomorrow. They reversed the law for these poor souls that they tried to set free, when they were only lying to them in the first place. Don't get caught up in the slave ship of ignorance in our generation, for it is heading right for the rocks. It is time to take the prophecies and understand that what happened before is going to happen again, and to the final generation. You might as well use the prophecies that Jesus gave us through the prophets, of our generation is going no where until they have all been completed. We are living in the generation of the "parable of the fig tree", for the Jews are in the land of the House of Judah, and have established the tiny nation of Israel. Jesus told us in Matthew 24:34-36 "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.[34] Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.[35] But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.[36] This is why it is important to understand what went on in the past, for the prophecies and their fulfillment are the lessons for us to understand what is happening today. We see that when the danger was over the people were put right back into bondage. So now we are going to see what God thinks of this tricky move of playing with His law. Jeremiah 34:12 "Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah for the LORD, saying," Jeremiah 34:13 "Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying," God is saying that this is what I told your forefathers when they were in Egypt and under the bondmen. Jeremiah 34:14 "At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear." This is an extension to the law that was given in Exodus 21:2, for now God is stating that at the end of seven years, no Hebrew slave may be kept. God told them to free their own people, but they simply will not listen to Him. Jeremiah 34:15 "And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name:" God said that He thought you had finally done right when you went down to My house, and in the My Temple made a covenant to free the people in My name. They said, In the name of God we are going to free all the slaves. Let yourselves be free so that you can die for me a free man in battle. Jeremiah 34:16 "But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids." God is telling them that when the did this act of deceiving their brothers and sisters they were polluting His holy Name. The act of setting these Hebrew people free, and making them think they had liberty, when all the time it was for the sake of using them. When the danger was thought to be over, then you brought them right back into subjection, and used them as step-stools. Jeremiah 34:17 "Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth." There is only one liberty, and that is as it is stated in God's Word. God is saying that if you declare this a liberty for your fellow Hebrew brothers and sisters, then I am going to declare another liberty back on you. Pay attention to this liberty declared here. Friend, God's liberty stated here was that they would fall under the sword, and by pestilence, and famine, and following that they would be scattered into all the nations of the earth. God kept that covenant, and today most of both the house of Judah, as well as the house of Israel don't even know who they are. They will listen to and believe any soothsayer that comes down the pike with a better story. Today people are so biblical illiterate that they don't know if what is taught them is in God's Word or not, and they don't really care because they have some Kenite scribe doing their thinking for them. They sit under their hirelings, and go along with what the reverend is paid to say. After all the denominations [which means division] felt that this is what you should be taught today. Friend, the good ones won't lie to you and you tell them by what they say, and if it checks out within the Word of God. Jesus gave the guidelines in Revelation 2:9, and 3:9 for knowing whether a church is teaching the Word properly or not. Those were the churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia, and it was not by name but by their deeds. They knew who the Kenites were and the false doctrines they were teaching, and would not allow them in their midst. Revelation 2:9, concerning the church of Smyrna; "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty (but thou art rich), and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan." The synagogue of Satan is the teaching of the doctrines of Satan, and that is the taking of God's holy Word, and twisting it to change its meaning. That is what Satan did when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness, when he added a word here, and took a word out to change the context. That is what Satan's children, the Kenites did through their priests and scribes, and that is what is being done today. Both Smyrna and Philadelphia knew how the Kenites worked and they would not stand for it in their church house. They marked them well, and booted the Kenites out. God found fault with all of the other churches because they were ignorant of His Word, and their doctrine was the doctrine of Satan. Satan's doctrine was the changing of the Word to conform to your pleasures, and not making God's Word absolute. If your church doesn't align with these two churches they it is time to find the door, and get out. Jeremiah 34:18 "And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof," This is a lesson in the law. When they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts of the calf, they turned it over to divine justice. It comes from Genesis 15:9, 10 when Abraham preformed this sacrifice to allow God divine justice to fall upon him. God is telling the people of the House of Judah that you can count on it, that I will keep my word on this covenant of judgment that will fall on you. The justice will be that you will be gone and cut in two, and dead as a nation. Jeremiah 34:19 "The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf;" This is direct to every last person that took part in the breaking of this covenant to these slaves. To not only the king and the governmental people but to the religious leaders, and those that follow them in their directives as well. To sum it all up, God included all the people, for they sat back and allowed it to happen without saying a word. Jeremiah 34:20 "I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth." When the Babylonian army came against the city, those that resisted were slain and fed to the wild beasts, and those that surrendered were taken captive and scattered far from their homeland. In the time coming at the end of this earth age of the flesh, all souls will be changed to their incorruptible bodies, and the evil things will all be removed from this earth for the Millennium age. The flesh just won't matter from that point on anyway, for all flesh will be done away with. Did you notice that this commandment is directed to those that took their servants back again, and kept them captive. It does not apply to those that allowed their Hebrew slaves to remain free. The message is to those that today, that they do not hold their people captive by salvation messages. There is only one true liberty, and that is in the Branch that was promised, and that Branch is Jesus Christ. Don't make the promises unless you are knowledgeable in the Word, and can verify those promises from the Word of God. You are going to be held accountable for what you say about and from the covenant, which is the Word of God. When you say that God told you to say something, or tell them that you had a vision from God by a dream that you had, and it ends up being wrong. Then God is going to turn that false message against you. Friend, the end shall come, but it will come in the due course of time after all the prophecies have been fulfilled. You are not going to escape the reign of the Antichrist unless you pass from your flesh body. Remember what Jesus said, "This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Jeremiah 34:21 "And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which are gone up from you." God is telling Jeremiah to go now and tell king Zedekiah this message from God, that because he and the leaders and all the people that withdrew the freedom that was given to the Hebrew slaves this is going to happen to them. Babylon withdrew from the battle, after they started moving toward Jerusalem, and the people of the nation or house of Judah thought it was all over. The message is that the Babylonian Army is coming back. Jeremiah 34:22 "Behold, I will command, saith the LORD, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant." An inhabitant is one that is living in the land. This means that Those that are not taken into captivity will be killed; without life. In the futuristic sense without an inhabitant means they will be without Christ. For only in Christ is there spiritual life. After the false messiah sits in Jerusalem and claiming to be the Jesus Christ the great apostasy will take place, and in ignorance all the people will worship Satan as the true Christ when he is the false Christ, Antichrist. All that is except for those with the seal of God in their forehead, which are God's Elect. We will see now that God has inserted this Jeremiah 35 to identify those that we are to be on guard against. Not to bother them or even to hate them, but to be aware and identify what they are doing. It is the other side of the key of David.
Home .~ Plough .~ Seeds .~ Vine .~ Potter .~ Seasons .~ Sonshine .~ Rain .~ Field |