Jeremiah Chapter 40 "Ishmael's Treachery, Discovered." This Bible Study is written by Roger
Christopherson, and it's transcription/ location is
provided by http://www.theseason.org Jeremiah 40:1 "The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him being bound in chains among all that were carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah, which were carried away captive unto Babylon." Until this time Jeremiah had been bound and in chains, and here at Ramah Bebuzar-adan let him go, and gave him his freedom. Ramah is about six miles out side of Jerusalem. Remember that the city of Jerusalem was then in flames, and the walls of the city and Temple that Solomon built to the LORD were being torn down. Ramah then was the point where the separation took place to decide who would be taken back to Babylon, and who would stay. The people knew who Jeremiah was by sight, and they saw his chains being removed, now lets see what happened then. Jeremiah 40:2 "And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, "The Lord thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place." Jeremiah 40:3 "Now the LORD hath brought it, and done according as He hath said: because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed His voice, therefore this thing is come upon you." Stop and think about what this Babylonian captain was saying to Jeremiah and the people of Jerusalem, as they sat waiting for the judgment and their destiny. This general was not taking the credit for the victory, but he was giving all the credit to Almighty God. Then how would this general come to that conclusion? Remember back in the 29th chapter where God told Jeremiah to take a letter for those that had been taken captive to Babylon in the first two sieges. They had been there for over ten years before this final siege came and the city of Jerusalem was destroyed. This information had been spread for the past several years, and was common knowledge throughout Babylon. Not only that it would be taken, but why it would be taken. With men like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego standing their ground in the tests that the Babylonians gave them, the people of Babylon had seen the work of our Heavenly Father, through the knowledge given to Daniel when he refused to eat the diet of the Babylonians, and the others in the fiery furnace. Yes, they know the power of God, and they knew that it was the work of God that would bring down Jerusalem. Jeremiah's letter told them that they would be there for seventy years, and that they were to build houses, plant vineyards and produce fruit, and that they would be blessed there and that God would take care of them. Remember that Daniel by this time was a high official, and the other three were princes over their own territories of Nebuchadnezzar's empire. This letter from Jeremiah that reached Babylon made it obvious that it naturally would be God that would accomplish it. God uses his faithful servants to do his work, and the letter was made so common that even the members of the Babylon's army took strength from it. By this time even Nebuchadnezzar knew God, even to the point where the fourth chapter of Daniel was written by him. Nebuchadnezzar there gives one of the most beautiful prayers to the living God recorded in the Bible. Though Nebuchadnezzar was converted, he was still a type for Antichrist. All flesh has a choice for conversion, and the Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon of Daniels day was a man of the flesh body. The Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylon of Revelation is not of flesh and blood body. His soul refused to enter into the womb of woman and be born of the flesh, and that is the difference between the two kings of Babylon or the past, and of the future time to come. Satan the Antichrist does not have the right of conversion, and he has been judged and condemned to destruction or perdition, as recorded in Ezekiel 28:14-19. Satan is the "king of Tyre [Tyrus]" spoken of here. Any supernatural entity that leaves his place of habitation, whether by choice, or by being kicked out by Michael, for it doesn't matter for he has already been doomed. The sentence and the judgment has already been placed on that entity. Satan is the one called the "son of perdition", that is to say the son that is going to perish. Friend, the reason for this time of captivity by the Babylonians, was to set a type whereby we could look back and know what would take place in the end generation. That time will be in our generation. Take comfort in the fact that while in chains, at the beginning of the tribulation, a kind hand comes forth, and give relief and treatment that is due an honorable one, and not an enemy. Our Lord always takes care of His elect, regardless if it be a Gentile, or one of His own. Jeremiah 40:4 "And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which were upon thine hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come; and I will look well unto thee: but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, forbear: behold, all the land is before thee: whither it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go." When Nebuzar-adan had freed Jeremiah, he told Jeremiah that he could go where ever he desired, and if Jeremiah wanted to go to Babylon, he would even receive a position of honor. I feel that Daniel had much to do with this, however the choice is left up to Jeremiah as to where he would go or what he would do. Remember that the one world order was becoming a fact, and the control of the entire world at this time was under the control of king Nebuchadnessar. Daniel was second in command over that world wide system. We must see an example within this of the freedom that God will give his children, those that will make a stand for him in these final days of this earth age and will not compromise with the one world system. The elect of God know His Word and what they are to do. They know what to expect from the one world system, and deceptions that will come over the people that have been taken by that system. Do you trust God enough to rely on Him to take care of you during that time? We are going to go through this time of Satan's one world system, and there is nothing that we are to worry about, for God has promised us that He would take care of His own. Remember old Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, the servant of the king from the 28th chapter? This Gentile, a black man risked his life to approach the king in asking for the right to save Jeremiah, and that commitment spared his life in the end. We are servants of the King, the King that controls all kings and governments. Jeremiah 40:5 "Now while he was not yet gone back, he said, "Go back also to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath made governor in the land, and had committed unto him men, and women, and children, and of the poor of the land, of them that were not carried away captive to Babylon;" "Gedeliah" was not of the royal line but he was a commoner that was set up as governor of Judaea to represent Nebuchadnezzar. Ahikam was one that stood up for Jeremiah at an earlier time, that we read about in Jeremiah 26. So we see the captain of the guard gave Jeremiah food, money and let him go where ever he desired. Jeremiah was now free to do God's work in the manner that he felt lead. In the time of the great apostasy that we will face, we must be fee to do the work of the Lord where ever we are. That is why it is important that we not be in trouble with any government, but to be free to work under the protection of the rights of the citizen in good standing. That is very important. If you are working against your government that you live under and your credibility is zero, it will hinder your work. All governments will all be under the same system very shortly, and it is time to work for your identification as an individual with good character, and moral values. Remember that our fight is not with governments, but with Satan. All governments that do exist are there because God has allowed them to exist, and they are serving a purpose in God's plan, both the good ones and the bad ones. Jeremiah 40:6 "Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the People that were left in the land." This Mizpah is very near where Jeremiah has a deed in a earthen bottle laying claim to his land that he bought at Anathoth. Notice that Nebuchadnezzar placed this commoner over the people, one that not only could he trust, but also that the people respected. Gedaliah was a good man just like his father, and they had both spoken up for Jeremiah to see that justice was done. Nebuchadnezzar didn't put a foreigner over the land because it would cause the people great trouble, but he placed a person that he felt they would feel at ease with. Nebuchadnezzar tried to make it quite and nice for the people that would be left behind. Friend that is how Satan will come in also, and leave the people living under his one world rule. Daniel 8:28 and 29 point this out. Daniel 8:24 "And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise. and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people." The power that Satan comes in with is the power that God has given him. The destruction that Satan does wonderfully is a spiritual destruction, and that comes by the deceiving of the holy people into thinking he is the True Messiah. What you are doing now, you will probably be more successful in Satan's one Word system. The peace is a false peace, and the hope that he gives is a dead end road. We will be hearing these words more often in the days to come, Hope and Peace. Their hope and peace are dead end roads that offers you spiritual death. Daniel 8:25 "And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand." Even Satan knows that to deceive Christians, he will have to look, talk and do things that Christians expect Jesus Christ will do at His return. His policies are the things that Satan will use to govern his one world system. The policies of any business are what regulates that business in all aspects. Satan's policies will be to cause craft to prosper, as long as he controls it, and to bring his form of peace. The Babylonians of Jeremiah's day gave respect to "Nebo" the god of learning. They were a well educated people. In fact the library at Babylon was the largest library in the ancient world. Under Satan's rule, education and learning will be important, and only the truth of God's word will be gone. There will be a famine for the truth of God's Word, as Amos 8:11 told us. The new world order that is being set up now is completely controlled by the wisdom of this world. When you know what they are planning, and what they consider as being wisdom, then we are to be on top of that wisdom and stay ahead of it. If you desire to beat Satan at his own game, then you have to know the rules of that game. We know from God's Word what the truth is, and the purpose of gaining that knowledge of what Satan's world is all about is to beat Satan at his own game. Satan's offspring [the Kenites] are setting up the New One World Order through the four hidden dynasties. These are Education, Economics, Political, and Religion. Through education they are renaming the meaning of words, and that values that those words hold. This directs the minds of children to be controlled in their adult life, and the process started under John Dewey over sixty years ago. It is called progressive education. Economics is a hidden dynasty in that the control comes through banking, industry and trade. The banking system is completely hidden to most people, for they think the agencies of the Federal reserve, and the IRS are public agencies, where they are not. The names of the owners are kept a secret, because then the general population would know exactly who is governing them, and appointing the politician that you vote on. These people that control our central banking system, are the same ones that own the central systems in other countries. When we eliminated the trade barriers or our nation, they sent our jobs over seas were fifteen dollar jobs become 25 cent an hour jobs. When you don't know who controls the economics, you don't know your direction. Religion has become what ever a mind wants it to be, and if you take the standards of God's Word from the mind of a child, then as an adult his or her imagination is what his religion will become. Stop and take a look around you at what is called religion today, and through systems like the national council of Churches, and its counterpart the Word Council of Churches, we are little more that then what the ancient House of Israel was before God scattered them. The worshipped everything from sex to trees, rocks, and the burning of their babies. The New World order is taking us back to that stage. Christianity is not a religion, but a reality. Politics is the governmental order that the people have over them to regulate their lives. It includes the laws and the enforcement of them, as well as the general well being of the individual person. With the elimination of trade barriers, and immigration control, borders are reduced to one general population, and that is the mission of the United Nation. Through its many agencies, that governing body is trying to control all parts of the citizens of it's member nations. It's policies are to bring strength to itself, and give power and credit for things done only to itself. When people understand this they will understand why some of the decisions made at the UN are so impulsive. Then when you understand that the people that control each of these four dynasties are the same people, we can see how Satan's One Word order is coming into being. Only God tells us in Revelation 13:3 "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast." The two heads of Satan's system are Political, and Religion. The political system will cease to have power very shortly, and from the collapse of the political system will rise a Religious order that will cover the earth, and all mankind will accept it. That religion will receive its power from Satan, the Antichrist, who in turn will give it's authority back to Satan the Antichrist, the serpent, Abbaddon, Apollyon, the devil or what ever you prefer to call him. Jeremiah 40:7 "Now when all the captains of the forces which were in the fields, even thy and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed unto him men, and women, and children, and of the poor of the land, of them that were not carried away captive to Babylon;" Keep in mind that the reason these people were not taken captive, is the fact that they were deserters. They ran from the face of the enemy. These people have nothing noble about them, they are a bunch of scavengers and cowards. So we see that it becomes important to know where you are working and who you are working with, during the times that are ahead. However many were slaves and servants of the noble. Today many will claim to be Christians, but that doesn't make it so. It is important that you know how to test those that you rely upon, and it will become clearer in this chapter. Jeremiah 40:8 "Then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men." So we see this group of people are people that have joined with the other deserters and cowards. This entire group of scum are coming to Gedaliah, only Gedaliah is completely ignorant of who they are, and what their plans are. Jeremiah 40:9 "And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan sware unto them and to their men, saying, "Fear not to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you." Gedaliah let these people know that the entire land was under the Babylonians, and that the king gave their the right to live in peace, to build houses, and grow their crops. That is how it was, and if you were wise, you could gain wealth, and do quite well. That is how it was at this time, and how it is today, and also will be in the tribulation. Jeremiah 40:10 "As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah, to serve the Chaldeans, which will come unto us: but ye gather ye wine, and summer fruits, and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that ye have taken." God's promise was that they had seventy years under the Babylonians, so bear down and make your life fruitful, build your houses, and grow your crops. This was Gedeliah's speech to the bunch of leftovers from the battle with the Babylonians. God has laid out His plan, and each part of that plan will come to pass, exactly as it was written. There were seven dispensations to that plan, and each had to come to pass as it was written of, and when a person got in the way of the plan, it was the person that was removed, so the plan could continue. Today the religious leaders are devising shortcuts to God's plan for the time of Satan's one world rule, and their shortcuts will be the very thing that turns them over to Satan, and makes them part of that system. Each dispensation had it's signs, and it is no difference today then in any other dispensation. The problem is that Christians have become lazy and they do not want to become watchmen on the tower, learning and watching for the signs that God laid out for them in his plan, which is the Work fo God. Jeremiah 40:11 "Likewise when all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the Ammonites, and in Edom, and that were in all the countries, heard of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan;" When these Jews heard that Nebuchadnezzar put a commoner as governor over all the people, they became very alarmed. You have to get use to this, God uses whom ever He desires. It wasn't of Nebuchadnezzer that this was arranged, but it was of God. When Jesus came to chose the ones that would spread the gospel to all the world, and become his disciples, He did not go to the University and choose the top teachers, and students; but he went to the sea shore and choose fisherman, he took a tax collector and so on. Jesus chooses common folks that were among the people, not above them. God knows the heart of a person, and He knows who He can count on. He knows the ones that have the faith, and who can get the work done. Back in Jeremiah 40:8, the man "Ishamel" the son of Nathaniah is of the Royal seed, and Nebuchadnezzer palced a commoner over him. Can you see the mess that these rift raft are trying to stir up? Could God count on him for anything? Hardly, he has been to busy running from his own shadow, and stirring up trouble. Jeremiah 40:12 "Even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits very much." After Gedaliah's speech, the Jews came flowing out of the corners that they were hiding, and they got down to work and were very prosperous. The famine that was prior to the captivity was a thing of the past, and the people were enjoying the harvest. Jeremiah 40:13 "Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah," Here comes the trouble. Those leaders of the rebellion against the Babylonians, that are hiding out in the forests are now coming in from their hideouts. They see that what Gedaliah had said is true. However remember that these are the same ones with no faith or trust in God, and the only thing on their minds is greed. Jeremiah 40:14 "And said unto him, "Dost thou certainly know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites hath sent Ishamael the son of Nethaniah to slay thee? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not." These people came to Gedaliah and made a claim that Baalis the king of the Ammonites had sent Ishamael to kill Gedaliah, and take his position. Gedaliah heard these lies, and did not believe them. Gedaliah was blind to what was going on around him. Baalis was an Ammonite, which was a group of men that God said would never rule again. The king's name, "Baalis", he was a baal worshipper. Gedaliah should have know that some plot was being plotted against him. Just because someone comes to you and claims to be a Christian does not mean they are a Christian, and even if they are they could turn on you. In this generation, if you go public and teach God's Word as it should be taught, chapter by chapter, and line upon line, there will be death threats coming your way. There are funny bunnies with distorted imaginations that will attack any one that goes against their fairy tale doctrines, and beliefs. Religious persecution has always been around, and when you make a statement from God's Word on many matters of concern in the world today, it cuts deep into the minds of those involved in that sin. Jeremiah 40:15 "Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, "Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish?" Johanan knew that they were getting along with king Nebuchadnezzar, and thing were going real good. Johanan knew that the threat was there, and that it was real, why should we let a trouble maker come in and spoil the whole thing. According to God's law Gedaliah should have turned Johanan lose on Ishmael, and ended the trouble that was about to come. But Gedaliah thought to much of himself, and thought that there was no one that desired to do harm to him. Gedaliah saw that every one was prosperously, the welfare program was prosperous, and every one was happy, so what could go wrong? Satan is still the prince of the power of the air, and in that age or any age of this flesh world things will go wrong, even in the best of the conditions. We must be wiser then the serpent, and go around letting nuts threaten the work of God. You cannot allow it. Jeremiah 40:16 "But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, "Thou shalt not do this thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael." Johanan was telling Gedaliah the truth, and Gedaliah couldn't see the truth when it was before him. Though there are six men in the bible named Ishmael, this "Ishmael" is different in name from the rest in the Hebrew language. "Ishmael" in the Hebrew tongue means "Whom my God [El] heareth". The Massorites, or keepers of the Divine Word, set out to take the Divine name from this Ishmael because he was nothing but a piece of trash. On account of his horrible treachery, the memory of which is perpetuated by the fast of the seventh month (Zechariah 7:5, 8:9), the vowel points were changed from "yishma' el" the Divine name, to "Yishma' e' l", thus removing the form of God's name from this man. This is pointed out in detail in your Companion Bible, page # 1075. Gedaliah had no security of his government, and no knowledge of the world that was around him. We are to be wise, and to use that wisdom to protect ourselves, for this his how we become useful to the work of the Lord. If you teach God's Word boldly, you will have the enemy forces at your doorstep, and they will even be in your congregation to cause trouble. They are not to be overlooked, but identified and dealt with. This is why the churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia were respected and loved by God, because they knew who these Kenites were that were around them, and they threw the rascals out, or put them in their place. They knew who the Kenites were, and that they were not of Christ, but of Satan. When we look around in the world today, every war battle that is taking place is a religious battle, a spiritual war for the control of the minds of the people. Don't ever think for a moment that religion is a safe occupation, and safety will be all around you. Each man likes to think that his religion is the correct one. In Hungary today there are four religions battling for the minds of the people, and in Israel there are three, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. In India there are the Moslems and the Hindus, and in Ireland it is between Catholics and Protestants, and on it goes. God is then saying that be wise in your work for Him, and if He chooses you to care for part of his work, do it wisely. As long as you are in the flesh there will be people that will take advantage of your work and generosity. God will give you the unction when you are dealing with people in His Word.
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