The Bible Recap - Day 236 (Jeremiah 51-52) - Year 5

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible recap. Today we finished our 28th book of the Bible. And in case you were wondering, yes, Chapter 51 is one of the longest chapters in the Bible. The sixth longest to be precise. It picks up where chapter 50 left off yesterday with the destruction of Babylon. But one thing that's important for us to remember as we're reading this is that some of the exiles of Judah

Starting point is 00:00:32 are there when this invasion and destruction are taking place. Given their track record for remembering God's word and his promises, there's a strong chance they may have forgotten that he's promised to rescue them and bring them back to Israel. It's possible that all they recall is that they were driven out of their country into exile, and now they're being attacked while in the land of their exile. So one of the first things he says to them in this chapter is,

Starting point is 00:00:56 Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God. He reminds them that he's there with them, they're not alone, and that he's active in this process, and will bring them back and restore their fortunes. He says he will plead their cause and take vengeance on their behalf by way of destroying Babylon. And when the destruction comes, all they need to do is pack up and go back to Jerusalem. This reminds me of their Exodus from Egypt.

Starting point is 00:01:21 When God killed all the firstborn of Egypt and Pharaoh finally agreed to let them go. And they didn't leave empty handed, they had the spoils of the Egyptians as payment for their slavery. But this time, when they leave Babylon, things will be slightly different. God is going to punish Babylon for what they did to Israel, and they will be so thoroughly destroyed that nothing useful will come from them. He says not even a stone will be removed to use elsewhere.

Starting point is 00:01:44 They're like a nuclear waste site. They're Chernobyl. In order to make this happen, God will prompt the King of Persia to come and destroy Babylon. He says that because he has planned it, it's as good as done. Because as we know, what God initiates, he sustains, and he fulfills. Nothing can stand against the Lord. No matter how fortified it seems, he can overcome it. And while the Babylonians will be ashamed of their worthless idols, God's people not only don't have to be ashamed, but they also don't have to be afraid. Verse 46 says, Let not your heart faint and be not fearful at the report heard in the land.

Starting point is 00:02:20 It's not that it's not a frightening situation. God just says he can be trusted in the midst of it. God's people don't have to fear frightening things. Jeremiah writes all this down and tells it to one of King Zadakai's military officials. And by the way, when he does this, it's still seven years prior to the time when Judah is taken captive by Babylon, which is decades before Babylon is defeated by Persia. We don't need to know those dates, I'm just telling you that to help establish Jeremiah's proficiency as a prophet.

Starting point is 00:02:49 In chapter 52, the final chapter of the book, we get an overview of the whole story, particularly the fulfillment of some of the early prophecies. Jerusalem was overthrown, the temple was plundered, then burned and destroyed, kings and leaders were killed, people were exiled, and in fact, there were three rounds of exile and deportation to Babylon. Yet there are stories of redemption,

Starting point is 00:03:11 freedom, and hope in the midst of it all. And the redemption isn't just for those who do everything perfectly. It even includes people like Wicked, King Chin, and his orange jumpsuit, the one we first met on day 231. By the way, there's one other thing I wanted to point out about his story today. You know how Jeremiah has been promising all along that Judas should surrender to Babylon if they want to survive, but all the kings resisted? King Chin was the only one who obeyed. He surrendered just three months into his reign. It probably looked like a fearful move, and maybe it was, but God blessed his obedience

Starting point is 00:03:45 richly. He was a wicked king by most accounts, but he did what God commanded in this one instance and God took care of him, just like he promised. God provides for and protects people with never expect to receive his blessing. That says a lot about God's heart. Despite King Chin's story being so near and dear to my heart, that's not my God's shop for today. It was in 5119.

Starting point is 00:04:10 That verse comes right after God is talking about the idols of the Babylonians, and it says, not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob. For he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance. The Lord of hosts is his name. The God who made everything, who formed all things, as the verse says, gives his people himself. He owns everything, and he says, I'm the best gift. I'm better than all the stuff I've made, and I will give you

Starting point is 00:04:38 plenty of those things for sure, but none of them will be as good a gift as me. And he's right. Ask anyone who has everything everything and they'll tell you it doesn't satisfy. There's an old song by John Mayer called Some Things Missing that highlights this idea so perfectly. I know not all of you listen to that kind of music, so if you've missed it and you wanna hear it, we'll link to it in the show notes.

Starting point is 00:05:00 By the way, there are probably a thousand other songs out there that make this same point. That's just the one I thought of first. So, people who have everything realize it doesn't satisfy. And on the other hand, some of the most content people I've ever met are homeless people who know Jesus. They get it, and they get it in a way that's very hard for the rest of us to understand. But when God gives us the gift of Himself, it's evidence that He gives us the very best gifts because there's nothing better than Him. You've probably heard

Starting point is 00:05:30 as a book called the Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. It outlines five ways we give and receive love. Words of affirmation, physical touch, acts of service, gifts, and quality time. I know God is fluent in all these, but I have a theory that maybe his primary love language is actually quality time, because he gives us himself. That's good news for us because no matter what love language we speak, he's where the joy is. Tomorrow we'll be reading in the book of Lamentations. It's five chapters long. We've linked to a short video overview in the show notes that will really help set you

Starting point is 00:06:08 up for success with this new book. Check it out if you've got seven minutes to spare. We're almost to the end of the Old Testament. Can you believe it? You have kept showing up, you've persevered, and you're here. Way to go. We'd love for you to start now with inviting your friends and family to jump in with us when we launch the new testament on October 1st. So send the text, make the call, get the word out to your people. To help you, we've built out some tools and social media

Starting point is 00:06:34 posts and stories and QR codes that you can use to help. We've even got a banner you can add to your profile pic so that it's always there on your account, not just when we start the new testament. It's all waiting for you at thebibelrycap.com forward slash invite or click the link in the show notes. Hey Bible readers, you and I might feel competent in a Bible trivia game, but how well do you know popular one hit wonders? Because that was a challenge for me. If you want to see me compete in Way Nation's song battle, text Wonder, that's W-O-N-D-E-R

Starting point is 00:07:07 to 6-7-10-1. Or click the link in the show notes.

The Bible Recap - Day 236 (Jeremiah 51-52) - Year 5

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