0:01 Welcome once again to Words of Life. We are studying through the Bible book by book to get the message of each book according to our need today. Today we have reached in our study to 0:24 the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was a prophet who preached to the southern kingdom of Judah for more than 40 years. He was the last prophet God sent to Judah to try and save them from being 0:42 sent to captivity. God doesn't have any delight in punishing his people. But if they don't turn from their sin, he has no other alternative. And Jeremiah tried his best to turn 1:02 Judah back from their sins, but he didn't succeed. There were certain other prophets also who lived at the same time. Zephaniah Habakkuk Daniel Ezekiel But 1:21 we don't see them working together. In the Old Covenant two people could not work together. They would get into conflict. That is possible only in the New Covenant. And in the New Covenant also, if you can't work together with somebody, then 1:40 you are an Old Covenant person. Jeremiah was not a hard man even though he spoke very strongly. He says in one place that he used to weep in secret for Judah's sins. He was deeply concerned about the 2:01 backsliding of God's people. A very simple man. He started prophesying when he was very young. He was very sensitive in his spirit at the same time very strong. These are good qualities for anyone who 2:20 preaches God's word. He was simple at heart sensitive to the feelings of others strong when it comes to proclaiming the truth. In this sense, Jeremiah was like Jesus. Jesus wept over Jerusalem just like 2:44 Jeremiah wept over Jerusalem. You remember once when Jesus asked the people, "Who do people say that I am?" They said, "Some people say you're Jeremiah come back again." Because there was so much similarity 3:01 between Jeremiah and Jesus. That's a tremendous compliment to Jeremiah that people mistook Jesus for him. Jesus wept and suffered because God wept and suffered. Jeremiah wept and suffered for the same 3:23 reason. But even though Jeremiah was like that mouthpiece of God people misunderstood him just like they misunderstood Jesus. They persecuted and rejected him just like they rejected all the prophets before. He wrote many of his prophecies in a 3:46 dungeon like the prisons of those days. His great phrase is the Lord of hosts, 82 82 times. Chapter 1 verse 5 and 6, we see that he 4:05 was a very young man. The Lord has to tell him, "Don't say you're a young man." The Lord called you to be a prophet before you were born. You know, nowadays there's a lot of dispute about whether a little embryo is a human being in a mother's womb when 4:24 it's conceived. If God consecrated this man to be a prophet before he formed him in the mother's womb, surely then that is a person in God's eyes. Then Jeremiah was a microscopic speck 4:52 inside his mother's womb, God knew him. When he was a microscopic speck, he was a appointed to be a prophet. God has a plan for us, too. 5:11 Before we were born our names were in the book of life if you're born again. When Jeremiah faced all the difficulties that he faced imagine how this truth would have encouraged him. He could have said, "I'm facing a lot of 5:31 difficulties right now." But God knew me when I was in my mother's womb. And my life then. So that plan will be fulfilled. I'm going to yield to God utterly. You and I were also known to God before 5:50 we were conceived. That should comfort you and encourage you. Jeremiah says, "Lord, I don't know how to speak." Just like Moses. God made him speak. 6:11 And God can make you speak, too. The Lord touched Jeremiah's mouth and told him, "I put my words in your mouth." Verse 9. See, the condition of Christendom today is very similar to the condition that 6:28 was in Judah at that time. There were a lot of things in Judah that were contrary to God's word and a lot of things in Christendom today that are contrary to God's word. And a lot of that is to be overthrown 6:46 before you can build something for God. So, the Lord says in verse 10 of chapter 1, "I first of all appointed you to pluck up, break down, destroy, and overthrow." Then only you can build and plant. 7:07 You have to destroy that structure which is not in God's will before you can build something in God's plan. In chapter 2 to chapter 45 we find a number of prophecies addressed 7:27 to Judah. And then 46 to 52, there are prophecies addressed to other nations. What does he say about Judah? In chapter 2 verse 13 7:44 My people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me which is the fountain of living waters. And they have cut out certain useless cisterns that can hold no water. That was a reference to idols. 8:04 Idols are like vessels with holes in them. In chapter 3 Jeremiah speaks about adulterous Judah and backslidden Israel. And what Jeremiah is saying to Judah is 8:25 this. He says, "Your sister Israel God sent prophets to them, they didn't listen to them. So about 100 years ago, God sent them into captivity. In these 100 years, have you learned a 8:43 lesson? Because if you don't learn a lesson from them you'll say, "No, that won't happen to us." Then same thing will happen to you. Now, I want to ask you, my brother or sister. Look at all the movements that have been 9:02 risen up in Protestant Christianity. So many groups came out of some church. And they said, "We don't conform to all those dead traditions. We want to be a pure testimony for Christ." Look at the condition of all those 9:23 groups today. Now, if you have started a new group how do you know it won't be like those groups? Are you going to say, "We won't be like them?" But that's exactly what Judah told Jeremiah. And they became just like Israel. 9:46 So God sent them to captivity, too. But one thing that all the prophets said was a remnant will come back from Babylon. And that we when we studied Ezra and Nehemiah. Notice another verse in chapter 3. 10:08 In verse 14. The last part. I will take you one from a city and two from a family and bring you to Zion. Zion is a picture of the true church. God brings one from here and two from there to be a part of that church. How do you know whether you have come to 10:31 Zion or not? Every group will say they are Zion. But there's one mark of Zion. And that's in the next verse. That is in Zion there'll be shepherds after God's own heart. Shepherds like Jesus. 10:55 Jesus was not interested in people's money and these shepherds will not be interested in your money. Jesus had compassion on people and wanted to help them and these shepherds will have compassion on you and want to help you. 11:14 They'll be more interested in your spiritual growth than in your money. That is the mark and proof that you come to Zion. And And until you find such shepherds, 11:31 you've got to keep seeking for Zion. So ask yourself, have you come to Zion? Let me know what your shepherd is like. What are the elders in your church like? And I'll know whether you come to Zion 11:49 or not. Don't shut your eyes and imagine that they are like God. They suck to it. Do they have the spirit of Christ? Are Or is it just psychological emotional 12:09 manipulation of people? Then in chapter 4 verse 3 and 4 the Lord says, Break up your fallow ground and don't sow among thorns. Tell them to repent. 12:27 Circumcise yourself. Remove the foreskin of your heart. In chapter 6, before that in chapter 5, the Lord said to Jer- to Jeremiah something very interesting. In Sodom he said if I find 10 people, 12:47 I'll spare it. But here in chapter 5 verse 1 he says, If you find find one righteous person in Jerusalem, I'll spare it. He couldn't find even one. 13:06 That's why they went to Babylon. Imagine a city where there was not one person who sought after the truth. And then in chapter 6, our chapter verse 16 and 17, 13:25 it says here the Lord says, "Stand in the ways and ask for the old paths where the good is and you'll find rest for yourself." That's what we need to do today. Ask yourself, go to the Bible and say, "Where are the old paths the apostles 13:42 walked in?" In chapter 7, there had been a superficial revival in the time of Josiah. Just like a lot of superficial revivals in Christendom today. And Jeremiah says, the Lord told 14:04 Jeremiah, "Don't be deceived by all this. Don't say the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord in verse 4. This is not the temple of the Lord. You have made my house, verse 11, a den of 14:24 robbers." And years later Jesus quoted this same verse 600 years later. But people were making money in the name of religion. It was a den of robbers. What are robbers interested in when they 14:44 come to a house? Money. And what are many preachers interested in when they visit a church? Money. That's why he calls them robbers. Are you like that as a preacher? 15:01 Then you're a robber. These were religious people. Not spiritual. And when Jeremiah sees their condition, he doesn't criticize them. Just he doesn't only point out their fault. But he says in chapter 9 verse 1, 15:21 "Oh that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears. That I might weep day and night for these people." See, he was a man who wept in secret for the sins of God's people. He said it so that people knew that he 15:42 was he had compassion for them. Here's another lovely verse. Chapter 23 and verse 23 and 24. Chapter 9. Don't let a wise man boast in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man boast in his 16:01 might. Let not the rich man boast in his riches. These are the things most people boast in. See, if you want to boast in something, boast in the fact that you know me. That's what we need to remember today as 16:19 well. And in chapter 10 Jeremiah asks the Lord a very good prayer. He says, "Lord, please correct me. Not with your anger lest you bring me to nothing. Please correct me, Lord. 16:42 But not in your anger because then I'll be reduced to nothing." In chapter 13 and verse 17, Jeremiah says this. In verse 17, he tells the people, 17:02 "If you will not listen to me, I will weep in secret for your sins." That's how he did it in secret. But it's not that Jeremiah didn't have any struggles. For example, he has some complaints to make against 17:22 God. You see in chapter 12, because you know, people were plotting against him. And he says, "Lord, you're righteous but I want to plead my case with you." Chapter 12 verse 1. "How long, verse 4, is this land to 17:43 mourn? How long are we going to see all this?" The Lord says to him, "If you run with footmen, verse 5, and they tire you out, how will you run with horses one day? And in a land of peace if you fall down, how will you run doing the thicket of 18:01 Jordan? He says, "If you have a problem with these small things happening now, what's going to happen later on when things get worse?" Further in chapter 15, 18:22 verse 16 to 21, here we see three conditions for being a spokesman for God. First of all, verse 16, God's word must be the joy and delight of your heart. Just like a bad businessman has great 18:45 delight in making money, your delight must be in digging into God's word. Secondly, verse 17, "I did not sit in the circle of merrymakers." If you don't stay away from all the 19:03 jokers of the world and and get alone with God, you're not going to be a spokesman for God. And then, a third condition, Jeremiah complains to God. 19:21 Verse 18. "Lord, you are like an unreliable stream, verse 18 last part. I go there thinking there's water and there's no water." And then he gives the third condition. The Lord says, "Don't ever speak like 19:40 that to me. If you remove all such words and speak only precious words of faith, I get rid of worthless words from your life. Useless words, words of unbelief. 20:03 And speak only precious words. Good words. Faithful words. Then you'll be my mouthpiece, he says. So we have to be very careful about the words we speak if we want to be God's mouthpiece. Then the Lord told Jeremiah, 20:23 "You must never compromise and go back to them." "Let them come to you, but don't go back to them." See, there's a very heavy price to be paid if you want to be God's mouthpiece. In fact, the Lord told Jeremiah in 20:41 chapter 16, verse two, "You must never get married." Some people, like Paul and Jeremiah, were called to live a single life because of their situation. He was told in verse five and eight never to go to a house of feasting. 21:04 Can you imagine what people said about Jeremiah? He's a very unsocial person. But he had to wait before God to get his message. And they don't want to pay that price and they still want to be God's spokesman. Not possible. 21:24 Chapter 17, verse five to eight is a wonderful passage about trusting in the Lord. Do you know that there's a curse on a man who trusts in other men? Chapter 17, verse five. 21:43 Do you know that there's a curse on people who depend on their own strength to serve the Lord? They will be like a barren bush in the wilderness. But the man who trusts in the Lord, he'll be like a tree that's always 22:02 green. And that will never cease to yield fruit. That's what it means to trust in the Lord. That means your roots underneath must go to the river, the Holy Spirit. In chapter 17, 22:23 verse 21 to 24, Jeremiah rebukes all those greedy people who work on the Sabbath day in order to make more money. In chapter 18, there's a very beautiful passage where Jeremiah is taken to a 22:40 potter's house. And the Lord says, "Go there and see." The potter was making a vessel, and it got spoiled. And then he made another vessel. And the Lord says, 23:00 "See, I'm the potter. You are the clay. It doesn't matter if your life is spoiled. Don't say there's no hope for you. I can take that if you yield yourself to me even now. I can still make you into a beautiful vessel." 23:19 What God was saying to his people was, "There's hope for you even now." Let God break these hard places in your life. Those are the things that hinder the vessel from being formed beautifully. In the 20th chapter, 23:41 Jeremiah makes a complaint to God. He says verse seven, "Oh Lord, you have deceived me. You never allowed me to speak a kind word to these people. All I ever speak is judgment, judgment, judgment." That's how it says in the Living Bible. 24:05 And so one night I decided I'm not going to speak anymore about him. But when I take that decision, God's word is like a burning fire in my bones, and I can't keep quiet. Do you know that God calls some prophets 24:24 to keep on preaching about judgment against sin, against sin all the time? People called Jeremiah imbalanced for always speaking on the same subject. Calling it holiness, holiness, holiness. 24:45 That's the burden God gave him. And he was not bothered what people felt. You are a prophet, you cannot have a balanced ministry. You have to speak the burden God gives you. Jeremiah was an amazing prophet. 40 years he stuck to the message God 25:06 gave him. And he said in chapter 20, verse 11, "The Lord is with me like my champion. All my persecutors will stumble and fall. They'll be utterly ashamed 25:24 with an everlasting disgrace." That's the way God stand with you and me. God bless you. Welcome once again to Words of Life. We are studying through the Bible book 25:42 by book, and we have now reached the book of Jeremiah. Chapter 23. In Jeremiah 23, we find Jeremiah prophesying about the coming of Jesus. He says, "The days are coming, verse 26:04 five, when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, and he will reign as king." This is referring to the Lord justifying us and imputing his righteousness to us. Jeremiah speaks about the new covenant 26:25 more than almost any other prophet. And this chapter 23 is a very wonderful chapter for all preachers to read. The There are many warnings here for as to how we things we should be careful 26:44 about. He denounces the false prophets. It says here in verse nine, "As for the prophets, my heart is broken within me, and my bones all tremble." The prophets are adulterers, verse 10. 27:11 The word is verse 11. Therefore, their way will be like slippery paths to them. And this is very true today in verse 13. They prophesied and led my people Israel astray. They commit adultery and walk in 27:34 falsehood, verse 14. They are not turning people, their my people, back from their sin, verse 14. So, the Lord says in verse 16, "Do not 27:51 listen to the words of these prophets." Because when they talk to you about a vision, it's from their own imagination. Do you know that the lot of people who speak about visions is just their imagination according to this word? 28:14 If people could have a vision from their years ago, why can't they have it today? And all these visions are not leading people to holiness. Verse 18, "Who has stood in the council of the Lord? 28:33 Who has heard what he is speaking? They are too lazy to stand before God and wait for his word." They were interested in money and honor. And there were multitudes of false prophets going around like that, 28:50 interested in money and honor. They prophesied and preached their imaginary dreams. The Lord says, "I didn't send these prophets, verse 21. 29:09 I didn't speak to them, but they prophesied. If they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words, and my people would have turned from sin." When God's people don't turn from sin, that's the proof that that man is a 29:25 false prophet. And he says in verse 25, "I have heard what these prophets are saying. They say, 'I had a dream, I had a dream.' Does God give dreams? He certainly gives dreams. 29:45 I'm visions. But these had were not from God. What is the How do you know? Because the people were not turning from sin. If people are living in sin, how can God be giving dreams and visions to that their leader? And God goes on to say here, The one 30:08 minute I told you that Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy? They're preaching it from the deception of their own heart, verse 26. But all the dreams, verse 27, which they relate to one another. He says, "The prophet who really has a 30:29 dream from me can speak about it. But straw and grain are not the same thing. No. It's not the same. It says here, "Straw and grain are not the same thing." You can eat grain, but you can't eat 30:48 straw. How are these people preaching my word? My word is like a fire. Verse 29. It's like a hammer. To break people's hard hearts. No, he says, "These people are not 31:07 preaching my word." Another thing, listen to this. These prophets, verse 30, steal my words from each other. They listen to somebody's cassette or CD or tape and then preach the same 31:25 message. They haven't waited before God. They just listen to a tape or read a book and produce a message. What does God think about such preachers? 31:44 Verse 31. I am against such preachers. You see, the Philistines could also copy the tabernacle which Israel made. And you can repeat the same sermon that 32:00 an anointed man of God preaches. Down to the last word. But the Philistines could not re- uh reproduce the fire which was on top of Israel's tabernacle. You won't be able to reproduce the 32:20 anointing which is on that message. You can only copy the pattern of the tabernacle. I am against the prophets who prophesy false dreams, verse 32. They lead my people astray. 32:39 I did not send them or command them. And they don't give the people the slightest benefit. But they themselves get a lot of benefit because they get money out of these people. What a word. If you're serious about following the 32:59 Lord, study this chapter. In chapter 25, verse 3, he says, "These 23 years to this day I have preached the word of the Lord, and you have not listened to me." This is sort of halfway point of 33:21 Jeremiah's ministry. But he still continued to prophesy hoping that he'd be able to save those people from going into captivity. In chapter 26, verse 20 to 24, we see something of the sovereignty of 33:40 God. There was another true prophet in those days. Not a false prophet. A true prophet called Urijah, verse 20, 26:20. He's not so well known. 33:58 But he prophesied the same message that Jeremiah preached. He didn't copy Jeremiah. He was in touch with God and preached the same message. And when King Jehoiakim heard this, they tried to put him to death. So, Urijah heard it, verse 21, and ran 34:18 off to Egypt. So, the king sent some people and brought him back from Egypt. Verse 23. And the king killed him with the sword. And now see this. But the hand of Ahikam, verse 24, the 34:37 son of Shaphan, was Jeremiah, so he was not given into the hands of the people to put him to death. He was the king's secretary, and he stood with Jeremiah and told the court, "Please don't kill him." Don't hand him over to the mob to be 34:59 killed. Why did God allow one servant of his to be killed and another not to be killed? In Acts 12, why did he allow James to be killed and send an angel to release Peter? God could have saved both of them. 35:24 James and Urijah. Why Why did he allow them to die? The answer is very clear to me. Their ministry was over. Their time was over. And they didn't pray that like Hezekiah 35:42 to the have their life extended. If God's time has not yet come for you, he'll save your life one way or the other. God's time had not come for Jeremiah. That's why he was saved. 35:59 In chapter 29 to 33, we read about the restoration of Israel in the future. In chapter 29, verse 10, he says, "After 70 years, I'll bring you back from Babylon." This is the prophecy that Daniel read 36:20 and began to pray. And there's a wonderful verse here in verse 13 of 29 that if you seek me, you'll find me when you search for me with all your heart. Another lovely verse, verse 11, "The plans I have for you are plans to give 36:38 you a future and a hope." That's true for us, too. God has plans for us. And if you seek him with all your heart, we will find him. This movement of God's people from 36:57 Babylon to Jerusalem began with Daniel reading this prophecy. Chapter 31 in verse 3, here is a beautiful word from the Lord to encourage us. "I have loved you with an everlasting love, and therefore I 37:15 have drawn you with loving kindness." He doesn't draw us to himself because there's anything deserving in us, but because of his everlasting, unchanging love. In chapter 32, chapter 32, we read of 37:38 Jeremiah being imprisoned by the order of King Zedekiah. Those days, prisons were just some pit. Very uncomfortable with the rats and insects and all types of things. And while he was in the jail, 38:03 the Lord told him, in verse 6 onwards, "You must buy some property in this place." Buy property in a when the Babylonians are coming in a few days? Yes. What for? To show your faith that after 70 years, 38:22 people will come back here. Yeah, that So, Jeremiah had to do something, spend his money to show his faith. Humanly speaking, nobody would go and buy property in a place where there's a war going to take place. Because you don't know what's going to 38:45 happen. But Jeremiah says, "I know." And you you read in the book of Ezra, this place called Anathoth is mentioned. People came back to Anathoth. So, Jeremiah buys it. When you put your money in something, 39:04 you really believe it. Otherwise, you wouldn't put your money into it. And what does he say to God? Verse 16. Verse 16. After I have given the deed of purchase, he says, "Lord, and already You have made heaven and earth. Nothing is too difficult for 39:23 you." This is This is a word many people quote. But they don't know the context in which it is written. Here's a man who's put his money down. In a humanly speaking impossible situation. And he believes that God will fulfill 39:45 his promise. 70 years later people will come back and my relatives will be able to take this property. He wasn't trying to make money. buying real estate in order to get some 40:03 profit later on. Prophets don't have time for that. He was showing his faith in God's promise. Now we come to chapter 33. And we see here the word of the Lord 40:19 that came to Jeremiah second time. "Call to me," he says in verse three, "and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things that you don't know." A wonderful promise. It's an invitation. 40:38 In chapter 33 in verse 15, we see one more promise concerning the coming of Jesus and the new covenant. Uh the righteous branch of David will spring forth. In chapter 34 to 45, 41:01 we read about the destruction the fall of Jerusalem. But before getting there, I want to show you one more promise. And that is in chapter 31. Where he says in verse 31, "The days are coming where I'll make a 41:20 new covenant with the house of Israel and Judah." And in verse 33, "This is the covenant I'll make with them. I'll put my law in their hearts. I'll write them. I'll be their God. They shall not teach any man every man their neighbor saying, 'Know the Lord.' 41:40 I'll be their God." "And I will forgive them and I will not remember their sin anymore." These two verses are quoted in Hebrews 8 as the terms of the new covenant. Jeremiah was a new covenant prophet. 42:05 In chapter 36, we read that the Lord told Jeremiah to write down certain things. And the king heard about it. And when the king heard about it, he said, "Let me read that." In verse 20 onwards, 42:24 and he got so upset with it, he just cut it up and threw it into the fire. And when Jeremiah heard that the king had thrown it into the fire, it says in chapter 36 verse 32, 42:45 he took another scroll and told Baruch to write down. And this time, the Lord added a lot more than was before. You can't get rid of God's word that easily. In chapter 38, we read again how 43:04 Jeremiah was put into uh a well. a well mud mud cistern and a muddy well. And God miraculously saved him by sending an Ethiopian man to lift him out. And when we come to chapter 39, 43:26 it's amazing how God has his agents to help his servants. The Ethiopian man lands up at the right time. In chapter 39, we read this amazing thing Nebuchadnezzar gave orders about 43:45 Jeremiah and said, "Take him and look after him." Verse 12. How in the world did Nebuchadnezzar know about this small prophet called Jeremiah? God has a way of protecting his servants 44:07 even by using the greatest people in the world. So, the captain of Nebuchadnezzar's army came and told Jeremiah, "I'll take care of you if you come with me." But Jeremiah said, "No." 44:30 He could have gone and lived a comfortable life in Babylon. But he still dis- stayed with the despised people of Judah. Later on, we read in chapter 42 and 43, the people wanted to go to Egypt. 44:50 And Jeremiah said, "Don't go." And they said, "No, you're not speaking the truth." And they went and they suffered. In chapter 45, we see something which is a warning for us. The Lord speaks to to Baruch through 45:10 Jeremiah. Baruch was Jeremiah's secretary. Verse five. "Baruch, are you seeking great things for yourself being my secretary? Don't seek honor for any honor for yourself in this world. 45:29 Everything around here is going to be destroyed." A good word for us to listen to. Then in chapters 46 to 51, we read of prophecies the Lord gave Jeremiah concerning all the nations around Israel. Right up to 52. And we read about the 45:53 fall of Jerusalem. And thus ends this marvelous book of a prophet who faithfully preached an unpopular message for 40 years. He is a failure in man's eyes. But a great success in God's eyes. 46:17 Now briefly in a few minutes, we look at Lamentations which Jeremiah wrote. Five chapters written like a poem with each word beginning with a new alphabet of the Hebrew language. It was like a funeral song for 46:39 Jerusalem. He was lamenting about the condition of the streets. Jeremiah, the people of Jerusalem defiled themselves with immorality. How the Lord judged them for their sin. 47:00 He despised the false worship of the people. Prophets find no vision from the Lord. The prophets said many foolish things. Chapter two verse 14. He asked the people to cry out aloud in 47:18 the night. Verse 19. Chapter three verse 22, "The Lord's loving kindness never ceases." Verse 23, "His mercies are new every morning. Great is his faithfulness." 47:39 Lovely passage. And here's a good word for young people. Verse 27 onwards. "When you are young, it's good for you to bear the yoke of the Lord. It's good for you, verse 29, to put your mouth in the dust and to submit to the yoke of discipline. 48:01 Sit shaky new open and another. And if you are smitten, verse 30, give your cheek. The Lord will not reject you forever." In other words, humble yourself under God's discipline. And one day God will raise you up. 48:21 All young people need to go through this. His mercies are new every morning in verse 23 means that he looks at us every day as we have never sinned. And that's the way we should look at others, too. 48:40 As God forgives us like that. Chapter three verse 40. "Let us examine our ways and return to the Lord." Chapter five four verse two, "Children who were once like pure gold have become worthless now." And they finally praise, "Remember, oh 49:05 Lord, chapter five, where we have fallen. Look and see our reproach." Verse four, "We have to pay for our water, even our wood we have to pay for. Our persecutors are at our necks. We are worn out. There's no rest for us. 49:27 Verse three, "We become orphans without a father. Our mothers are like widows. Verse eight, "Slaves rule over us. Verse 14, the elders are gone from the gate. Verse 15, the joy of our hearts has 49:44 ceased. Because of our sins. Lord, your throne, verse 19, is from generation to generation. Restore us. This is the burden with which Jeremiah lived and prayed. This was his 50:02 lamentation throughout his life. He wasn't just a prophet who stood there and preached strong words. Behind the scenes, he wept, as we read in these five chapters. That is the mark of a true prophet. 50:24 with compassion. I believe God wants many people like Jeremiah in our time. May God raise up such people. Amen. Amen.
