The Way of Life and the Way of Death

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JEREMIAH 21
Lesson #22
THE WAY OF LIFE AND THE WAY OF DEATH

• Memory Verse: Rev 2:10
• Jeremiah 21 and 22 are out of order chronologically in time.
  • The kings mentioned in chapter 22 reign before the king in chapter 21.
  • The appropriate order of kings is this:
    • Josiah (31 years)
    • Jehoahaz (3 months)
    • Jehoiakim (11 years)
    • Jeconiah (Jehoiachin, Coniah) (3 months and 10 days)
    • Zedekiah (11 years)
• The last king of Judah is on the throne in chapter 21 of Jeremiah. The time of the end is almost upon them.
  • Babylon was periodically harassing the small kingdom of Judah.
  • All of the final kings had their periodic problems with Babylon.
• Read Jer 21:1-14
  • When King Zedekiah began to have trouble with Babylon and the army was surrounding Jerusalem, he did not go to the false prophets for help. He asked Jeremiah for wisdom.
    • This was a bit humbling for the king.
      • Why would he ask Jeremiah for wisdom?
      • Probably because the Babylonian army had already entered Israel’s land and had surrounded the city of Jerusalem. People could see that Jeremiah was right in his prediction of coming disaster.
    • However, the king’s only interest was to get rid of the Babylonian army surrounding Jerusalem. He was not interested in mending his relationship with God.
    • Therefore, the king did not humble himself enough to go personally to Jeremiah. He sent Pashur and Zephaniah. (This is not Zephaniah , the prophet of God, who wrote the book of Zephaniah.)
      • We met Pashur in Jer 20.
      • He was a priest and a false prophet that persecuted Jeremiah.
  • It is interesting that non-believers can mock and persecute a believer, but when they lose control of their lives and get in deep trouble, they seek one they know has the true wisdom from God.
  • However, Jeremiah did not change his message.
    • He tells the king that Israel has a choice to make. (8)
    • The choice is the same choice that has existed from the very beginning in the Garden of Eden.
      • The choice is between the way of life or the way of death:
      • Notice that there are no grey areas or half-way measures. There is either all of the one or all of the other. There is not a little bit of one and the little bit of the other.
        • That is what Jeremiah wants us to see here! As we will see in this chapter, understanding the nature of this choice is VERY IMPORTANT.
        • The choice is mutually exclusive.
      • Read Deu 30:19
        • God gave them this same choice back in the days of Moses.
        • Remember God told them to keep the covenant of the Law because the choice was between blessing and cursing, or between life and death.
  • The Way of Death:
    • Jeremiah tells his people if they stay in the city and fight the Babylonian army, they will die. Why?
    • The way of death was a prideful position.
      • If the people relied on their pride and their self-righteous courage, the end result would be disaster.
      • Remember that this is exactly on what the people said they would rely…their own strength, their courage, their wealth.
        • Remember that Babylon put a siege around the city of Jerusalem to starve the inhabitants.
        • The result was some cannibalism in the city.
    • The way of death is the thinking of the natural man (the unbeliever).
    • Read Pro 14:12
  • The Way of Life:
    • Jeremiah tells his people if they leave the city and go to meet the Babylonian army, they will live. Why?
    • The way of life is a humble position of faith.
      • The people must leave the city, but they thought that God would surely protect it.
      • They must put themselves in a defenseless position and by faith trust that God will defend them.
      • The people must trust that the words from Jeremiah were the true words from God.
      • God’s wisdom is the opposite of what man would normally think to do.
  • The message to King Zedekiah is delivered “in the name of the Lord God of Israel”.(4)
    • While neither the people nor their leaders recognized God as their God, still God claimed that title over them.
    • God wanted them to know that their God was going to fight against them on the side of their enemies.
      • What a dreadful situation to be fighting against your God that claimed to love you.
      • Yet, there are believers even today that turn their backs on God in the same way as Judah after having known the miraculous power of God in their lives.
        • They are in the same situation as Judah. They make God their enemy.
        • Read 1Cor 5:1-13

Paul tells the church that people, who turn their backs on God after having known God, put themselves under judgment when they put themselves in the hands of Satan.

Notice that Paul says in verse 5 that that person is turned over to Satan to kill the flesh so as to save the soul.

In other words, a believer in Christ is given an opportunity to repent of sin. If he does not repent and continues in a lifestyle of open sin, he has hardened his heart against God and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. There is no spiritual hope for him but an early death.

In this way, God gives the rebellious believer the choice between life and death.

• • King Zedekiah’s decision:
    • While it required some humility for King Zedekiah to approach Jeremiah for help, he did not take Jeremiah’s advice.
    • King Zedekiah probably thought that the kingdom did not fall to Babylon when Jehoiakim was on the throne, why would it fall now?
    • However, what King Zedekiah did not count on was that he was the worst of all the kings of Judah, and Judah had reached its limit of rebellion against God. The cup of sin was full. It was time to let the consequences of sin reap its reward.
  • The message for the King’s household: (11-12)
    • “Oh house of David…”(12)
      • The kings of Judah were descended from King David.
      • God promised that kings from David would sit on the throne forever. Is God forgetting that promise when he allows the destruction of Jerusalem and the nation?
        • No, the prophecy for the kings of David must wait until Christ comes for He is a righteous king.
        • We will look at this marvelous prophecy later as it relates to Jeremiah 22.
      • God expected Jehoiakim to deal justly with the people the way King David did.
    • The king must immediately start dealing justice to those who come before the king with their petitions.
    • This reminds us of one of Jesus’ parables.
    • Read Mat 18:23-35
      • You cannot expect justice when you do not deal in justice with others.
      • You cannot expect forgiveness when you do not extend forgiveness to others.
      • You cannot expect mercy when you do not have mercy on others.
    • “Behold I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the Lord…” (13)
      • Jerusalem is located in a valley with mountains around it. They thought it was impregnable.
      • “…Who shall come down against us?” (13)
        • God is against them. He is their enemy.
        • “Our God is a consuming fire.” (Heb 12:29)
        • God tells them that fire will destroy the city.(14)
• Application:
  • As we have seen in this lesson, through all of the Bible, God has offered man the choice between life and death.
  • This choice is the most important decision a person makes in his life.
    • It is the choice between eternal life with God or eternal death separated from God in torment with Satan.
    • However, the choice is not just between eternal, spiritual life and death. It is also between physical life and physical death here on this earth, as we have seen in 1Cor 5.
      • For the believer in Jesus Christ, the choice goes beyond receiving Jesus Christ into your heart at salvation. If the moment of salvation is all that a person does with God, then that person becomes a weak Christian.
      • Christ wants His believers to become disciples that walk with Christ in obedience serving God with their lives.
        • That was the failure of the Israelites. They did not follow God in obedience.
        • That is the message of the book of Jeremiah…repent and walk with God in obedience.

HOMEWORK
Jeremiah 22

• Application of Jer 21
  • Have you made the decision for eternal life by receiving Christ into your heart?
    • If you have not made this spiritual life and death decision, then what prevents you from choosing life with Christ in eternity?
    • If you need help with this question, talk to the teacher or to your pastor.
  • Then, have you made the decision to walk in life with Christ physically, here and now by walking with Him in obedience every day?
    • If you have not made this life and death decision, what prevents you from choosing the life of an obedient disciple of Christ?
    • If you need help with this question, talk to the teacher or to your pastor.
• Preparation for Jer 22
  • Read Jer 22:1-30
    • Pay attention to Coniah (Jeconiah, Jehoiachin) in verses 24-30. He is very important.
      • Read 1 Kin 9:5
      • God promised David that his descendents would sit on the throne forever.
      • However, Jer 22:30 says that the line of kings descended from Judah will end with Coniah (Jeconiah).
      • (Advanced question) How do you explain that Jesus Christ descended from David to sit on David’s throne as king, when the line of kings ended with Jeconiah?
• Memory verse: Jer 22:29