David: [gentle music] ... the living embodiment and locale of God's word-
Seth: Mm-hmm.
David: -that is protected and watched over-
Seth: Mm-hmm
David: ... but has to go through death and suffering so that God shows that he watches over his word to vindicate it and raise it up.
Seth: Yeah.
David: That, uh, God, there, there's an almond branch over the grave.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Like-
Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
David: Right? Like, that's-
Seth: That's right.
David: That's what we're saying, is that there's an almond branch over the grave. That even when it seems like the word of God dies, there's an almond branch over the grave. He will raise it up again.
Intro: [upbeat music] Welcome to the Spoken Gospel podcast. Spoken Gospel is a ministry that's dedicated to speaking the gospel out of every corner of scripture. In Luke 24, Jesus told his disciples that every part of the Bible is about him. In each episode, hosts David and Seth work through a passage of scripture to see how it's all about Jesus and his good news. Let's jump in. [upbeat music]
David: Well, welcome, everyone, to the Spoken Gospel podcast. Thank you so much for joining us. We are continuing our look at the Book of Jeremiah. Last episode, we introduced the book. We looked at what is prophetic literature, what is the message and the ministry of a prophet in Israel, and what was Jeremiah's message? And basically, what we looked at was the message of an inevitable and impending exile at the hands of the Babylonians, that Israel could do nothing to thwart, and therefore, they had to throw themselves upon the grace of God, to trust him that one day he would bring them back into the land resurrected.
Seth: Yeah!
David: There we go, Seth.
Seth: Great job, man.
David: Did I do it?
Seth: That was perfect. [laughing]
David: [laughing]
Seth: Uh, today, w- what we wanna do is just look at Jeremiah chapter 1.
David: Okay.
Seth: Uh, Jeremiah chapter 1 functions as a prologue for the whole book. It sets up a lot of the main themes. Several of, like, repeated ideas and themes happen throughout here, and gives us some new, um, some new ways to think about Jeremiah. Um, uh, some new ways to think about Jeremiah's prophetic ministry.
David: Okay, great. So I mean, we set up all the categories last episode, so if you haven't listened to that one, maybe go back.
Seth: Go back.
David: 'Cause we're just gonna jump into the actual text today.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Yeah?
Seth: Let's do it.
David: Okay, do it.
Seth: So Jeremiah 1:1, and we're just... It's not very long. We're just gonna read every verse today. Here's what it says: "The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month." So basically, this is just his very brief biography.
David: Mm.
Seth: Jeremiah was alive during this roughly 40-year period. He began his ministry during the reign of Josiah. Uh, they were contemporaries. They were both young, ki- young king, young prophet. They lived alongside each other. And, um, Jeremiah is addressing many of his prophecies to these kings and the people they ruled over.
David: Mm-hmm. And we walked through those kings in the last episode.
Seth: That's right.
David: Okay.
Seth: Not a lot of new information here-
David: Mm
Seth: ... if you listened to the last episode.
David: Okay, great.
Seth: Yeah, you-
David: So another, another, uh, another plug for the last episode. There you go.
Seth: Yes, that's right. So I mean, the only thing that's, doesn't say here, um, that you will read about is a man named Gedaliah.
David: Mm.
Seth: So after Zedekiah, um, loses Israel to Babylon, Babylon sets up their own governor. His name is Gedaliah, and he rules for a period of time. Uh, and Jeremiah stays with him-
David: Oh, okay
Seth: ... and continues to function as a prophet to this Babylonian, um, governor.
David: Governor.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Okay.
Seth: And he, that man is assassinated.
David: [chuckles]
Seth: Then, um, a military junta of Judean military folks, uh, take over, uh, Israel, or Judah for a time.
David: Military state?
Seth: A military state.
David: Ooh!
Seth: Um, they end up bringing all God's people to Egypt. Uh, so this is, this is part of the story that isn't in q- I'll just keep going.
David: [chuckles]
Seth: I'll just keep going.
David: Okay.
Seth: I love- I just love keeping going, um.
David: I like the history.
Seth: Uh, but you'll read all about it. So what happens is this military junta state starts, and Jeremiah... They ask Jeremiah what they should do now that they're in charge. They've just killed Babylon's governor-
David: Mm
Seth: ... so they expect some sort of Babylonian retaliation, and they're like, "What should we do, uh, Jeremiah?" And Jeremiah tells them to stay in Judah and to submit to Babylonian rule. [laughing]
David: Which is what he's been saying the whole time.
Seth: And he says, "And if you do what I think you're gonna do and go to Egypt, you'll end up being destroyed in Egypt." The military junta state does not like this prophecy. They kidnap Jer- Jeremiah against his will and bring him to Egypt. And once they arrive in Egypt, God's people and its leadership, Babylon invades Egypt, destroys Egypt, and, um, Judah dissolves into both Babylon, Egypt, and a couple people drift back up to Jerusalem and Judah, and that's how God's people end.
David: Okay.
Seth: And the reason he's not mentioned here is because he's not a king.
David: Mm.
Seth: He's a governor.
David: Yep.
Seth: But Jeremiah's ministry continues during that time.
David: Okay.
Seth: So-
David: That's also... That, that, that was a great bit of history we didn't touch on in the last episode, and it's a great reminder of the prophetic ministry of Jeremiah, what it looked like, the state of the people of Israel, and what his general message was.
Seth: So-
David: So it's like a, actually a nice summary-
Seth: There we go
David: ... of everything, too.
Seth: Uh, there we go.
David: Okay.
Seth: So now-
David: So that's the, his little biography.
Seth: That's his little biography, and then we get his commissioning as a prophet. So many, uh, um, many of God's prophets have a commissioning ceremony-
David: Mm-hmm
Seth: ... of sorts, where God approaches them, say, "I- you are going to be my prophet." They normally debate with God a little bit, and then they get sent off-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... uh, to do the ministry.
David: Is the point of this, like, since it's a stylistic-... um, element of a lot of prophetic literature. Do you think the point of it is to show their credentials-
Seth: Oh.
David: -as a prophet? Is it to set up the, the theme of their calling? Why include-
Seth: You are exactly, asking exactly-
David: Oh!
Seth: -the right question.
David: I did it.
Seth: Let me read it to you, and then we'll talk about it.
David: Okay [chuckles].
Seth: Uh, "Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you. I appointed you a prophet to the nations.'" So just pause there for a second. Kind of a unique calling. God has formed Jeremiah before he was born-
David: Mm
Seth: ... to be an amos- a spokesman for Him, and he's to the nations.
David: Mm.
Seth: So we've just gotten f- three Israelite kings.
David: Right, but he says, "You're a prophet to the nations."
Seth: That's right. Once Judah dissolves, Jeremiah has a whole list of prophecies against Philistia-
David: Mm
Seth: ... Ammon, um, wha- Babylon, um, prophesying their destruction as well. So Jeremiah's ministry extends beyond just Judah-
David: Right
Seth: ... and to the world around him, and so this is kind of, uh, looking forward to that. But then Jeremiah says, "Ah, Lord, behold, I do not know how to speak because I am only a youth." But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a youth,' for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you," declares the Lord. Uh, "Then the Lord put out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, 'Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. And see, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.'" And so this is, this is his commissioning ceremony.
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: So what did you hear as you were listening to that?
David: Uh, [chuckles] I, I mean, I heard something interesting where he's like, "I- hey, God, the problem is I don't know how to speak."
Seth: Mm-hmm.
David: And he's like, "Oh, don't worry, I'll deliver you." And it's like, "Wait, hold on."
Seth: Right.
David: "I thought the problem was I was gonna be a bad, a bad speaker, and now you're saying-
Seth: [laughing]
David: ... I'm gonna be in some real trouble. What's this deliverance I'm gonna need?" [laughing] I go, it's like-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... poor guy. Like, "Hold on." [laughing] Uh, and then obviously, the, uh, the famous pluck up, break down-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... destroy, overthrow, build, plant-
Seth: Yes
David: ... as, like, the outline of his ministry.
Seth: That's right.
David: Yeah.
Seth: Yeah, so if we just take that phrasing right there, that's used multiple times.
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: If you were to summarize Jeremiah's prophecies in just a little couplet or, you know, a little quartet, it would be this-
David: Mm-hmm
Seth: ... to pluck up, break down, destroy, overthrow, but also to build and to plant.
David: Right.
Seth: God will pluck up, break down, destroy and overthrow Judah, but He will also build up and plant.
David: Right.
Seth: That's the, that's the-
David: That's his message
Seth: ... thrust of Jeremiah's, uh, of, of his ministry.
David: Yeah. I mean, I guess the other giant thing that we, I noticed was that God reached out His hand-
Seth: Uh-huh
David: ... and put His words in Jeremiah's mouth?
Seth: Yes.
David: That's crazy.
Seth: Yes.
David: Is that a, is that, is that a metaphor or?
Seth: Yeah. [laughing]
David: [chuckles]
Seth: So here we go. This is why- so why this formulaic thing?
David: Okay.
Seth: Why- what is this doing here? What is it doing for us?
David: So-
Seth: So let's go back to verse six. "I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth." Who does that remind you of? What other prophet-
David: Oh, Moses.
Seth: That's right.
David: Yeah.
Seth: Moses said the same thing to God when God commissioned him at the burning bush.
David: Yes.
Seth: "I am a stutterer, God."
David: Yep.
Seth: "Uh, who am I to do this?" So Jeremiah has cast his calling like Moses's calling.
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: He's a man who doesn't know how to speak, um, and God's gonna put His words in his mouth, just like He did with, uh, Moses. But in Moses's case, he gave his... He gave him another spokesman in Aaron, right?
David: Right.
Seth: And gave him another spokesman in Aaron. But [inhales] why is that significant?
David: Yeah.
Seth: Why do I bring up Moses at all? In the book of Deuteronomy, uh, chapter 18, there is a prophecy.
David: Okay.
Seth: Starting in verse 15, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him, for this is what you, you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, 'Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God or see this great fire anymore, or we will die.'" That refers to when Mo- God came down in fire, and Israel was like, "Oh, I don't wanna-"
David: "Uh, why don't you go talk to Moses?"
Seth: "Go talk to Moses."
David: Yeah.
Seth: And Moses is saying, "There's gonna be someone like me who's gonna come in the future." And the Lord said to me, "Well, uh, what they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words-
David: Mm
Seth: ... in his mouth."
David: Wow.
Seth: "He will tell them everything I command them. I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death."
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: Um, and then how do we gonna know-
David: Mm
Seth: ... that this prophet is from the Lord? Because what he proclaims will come to pass.
David: Mm.
Seth: So in the book of Deuteronomy, Moses prophesies that there will be another prophet like him who will come on the scene, and the phrase that he uses to describe this coming prophet is that God will put his words in his mouth. So Jeremiah understands himself to be the prophet that Moses predicted. He is the prophet like Moses coming to God's people.
David: I mean, that adds so much depth to the phrase, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you."
Seth: Right?
David: He was like, "Bro, back when I was hanging out with Moses-
Seth: Oh
David: ... I saw you." [laughing]
Seth: [laughing] That's nuts!
David: It's like, "I wrote about you in Deuteronomy, Jeremiah." It's like, okay [chuckles].
Seth: Okay, God, fine. [laughing]
David: Could you imagine being that little kid-
Seth: Right
David: ... and being like, "That part of the Torah that I've read and know it-
Seth: That was about me?
David: ... that was about me." [laughing]
Seth: [laughing] Okay. Uh-
David: All right, cool.
Seth: Yeah.
David: All right, cool. So, like, what's the cool stuff you're gonna have me to say? "Oh, don't worry, I'll deliver you." [laughing]
Seth: Oh, wait, what? [laughing]
David: Hold on, hold on, what? I thought I was gonna... I thought this was gonna be a cool job. [laughing]
Seth: [laughing] Oh, man.
David: Um-
Seth: Plucking up and breaking down, okay, I guess.
David: Yes.
Seth: So-... What are you thinking now that you know that Jeremiah is the prophet prophesied by Deuteronomy and a new Moses for God's people?
David: Um, I'm thinking that if they need a new Moses that's like him and did the kind of ministry he did, you know, talked to him the way that God talked to Moses, uh, I'm thinking they're gonna need deliverance, that they must be facing some type of Egyptian-like, um, enslavement and are going to need an exodus.
Seth: Mm-hmm.
David: That's what I would guess.
Seth: Yep, you'd be exactly right.
David: Oh, look at that!
Seth: So more than once, Jeremiah will describe their coming out of exile as a better exodus. So multiple times, Jeremiah will describe, uh, the coming back out of exile as a new and better exodus.
David: Mm.
Seth: So he says this in Jeremiah 16: "'The days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'when it will no longer be said as surely as the Lord lived, who brought up the Israelites out of the land of Egypt-'"
David: Oh.
Seth: "'But it will be said, as surely as the Lord lived, who brought the Israelites out of the land of the north!'"
David: Oh, he's like, "Jeremiah, what we're gonna do, we're gonna one-up the Exodus story?"
Seth: Yeah, this will be the new moment of salvation for God's people, when the-
David: [whooshing]
Seth: ... God brings his people out of exile. It will be a new creation, a new covenant. This is the new defining moment of God's people. No longer the exodus, but what happens after the exile. And the same thing is said in Jeremiah 23:7. It's exactly the same words.
David: Mm.
Seth: The new climactic moment of God's dealing with his people will be what happens after exile.
David: The defining national story will move from the exodus and to the Babylonian return.
Seth: Well-
David: Oh. Oh, no, I did something.
Seth: Well, [laughs] is it the Babylonian return? Because-
David: I don't know.
Seth: So, the, [laughing] the-
David: [laughing]
Seth: Well, this is the question that we started asking behind the scenes. So Jeremiah is prophesying that after a period in exile, they will come back, and God will restore their fortunes-
David: Mm-hmm
Seth: ... and do all these great things.
David: Yep, and yeah, we- and Ezra and people take him up on that.
Seth: Right, and they start rebuilding Israel. However, Jeremiah does not only talk about a rebuilding of Israel's national identity.
David: Mm.
Seth: Throughout the, the book, as... and you know this, is talk of the circumcision of the heart-
David: Mm
Seth: ... the cleansing of the heart. "Judah will sin no more," or, "God will be their righteousness."
David: Yeah.
Seth: And, uh, w- their hearts will no longer be sinful, but the law of God will be written on their hearts. W- Jeremiah has a couple of things in mind when he starts talking about this return from exile. One is, like, a national return, a political return, a geopolitical return. But there's also this other aspect to the return, which is this spiritual revitalization of hearts that have never obeyed God since the time of Moses.
David: Ugh! [laughs]
Seth: Which, by the way-
David: It's okay. I'm following you
Seth: ... is something that Moses himself predicted. God's people go into exile. In Deuteronomy 30, he says, "You will return to exile-
David: Right, you'll, you'll come back
Seth: ... and on that day, I will circumcise your hearts."
David: He does say that, yeah.
Seth: So Moses is predicting a circumcision of the heart after the exile ends, and Jeremiah, as a new Moses, is predicting exactly the same thing. So your question is, "So that's what happened when Babylon came back, right?" Is, well...
David: Is it?
Seth: Is it?
David: Oh, man.
Seth: It's yes and no. It's maybe. It's-
David: It's a, it's a horizon.
Seth: It's a horizon.
David: But it might not be the ac- the end of the story.
Seth: Right.
David: Can I just cheat for a second?
Seth: Please.
David: And just be like, so is, is this adding depth to when Jesus says, "Repent, return, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand"?
Seth: At hand, okay.
David: He's like, "Here's the new cultural, historical moment-
Seth: Oh
David: ... for our people."
Seth: The end of the exile.
David: "This is the end of the exile. Return."
Seth: Yeah.
David: "It's time to come back." Where? The Kingdom of God, it's at hand.
Seth: Yeah.
David: It's here.
Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
David: "Leave your exile that you're in, in the flesh, and return because the Kingdom of God is now here again."
Seth: Yes.
David: "And it's time to tell our national history's defining story once again."
Seth: Yeah. I think that's not illegitimate.
David: That's awesome. [laughing]
Seth: [laughing]
David: It's just really cool.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Okay?
Seth: Yeah.
David: Yeah. I don't... Yeah, I don't know if... I'm sure I've read it before, but I just, have never... I- maybe it's just never sunk in, of "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand"-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... being the, um, "As surely as the Lord lives, who brought us up out of the land of Egypt."
Seth: Yeah, that's right.
David: It's-
Seth: This is the new salvific moment-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... for God's people.
David: It's, it's, "You're in exile. Come back. It's... The Kingdom of Heaven is here." It's like, "We're in Israel. What are you talking about?" "No, no, no, we're talking about the, the exile of your heart and-
Seth: The, the uncircumcision of our heart-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... that you've been dealing with since-
David: The slave master behind the slave master [laughs]
Seth: ... since Moses, that Jeremiah talked about.
David: Yeah. [laughs]
Seth: That's being done away with right now.
David: Wow, okay.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Very cool. Very cool.
Seth: Um, and w- I think, I, I think we said this in the last episode, too. So what Moses prophesied was this return from exile and this, um, circumcision of the heart, Jeremiah talks about as a new Moses, but he innovates.
David: Mm.
Seth: Where Moses said that this was a continuation of the whole old covenant-
David: Mm
Seth: ... Jeremiah explicitly calls it a brand-new covenant.
David: Mm.
Seth: It is a new thing. He's the only prophet to do so.
David: Right.
Seth: It's a new covenant. What God does after the end of exile will be unique. It'll be new. It'll be different-
David: Mm
Seth: ... than what's gone on before. There will, there's a ton of continuity-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... but there's a real climactic difference between what happened before and what happened now, and I think that climactic difference is the ability for our hearts to be w- like, obey God's Word. Like, that's the big deal.
David: Right.
Seth: Which we haven't talked about a ton, I guess, so far.
David: No-
Seth: But
David: ... we haven't.
Seth: Um-
David: I mean, we- last episode, we talked about Manasseh being the-
Seth: For-
David: ... point of no return.
Seth: Mm-hmm.
David: And that the sin of Israel and her kings had stacked up to a point where it was like, "No more redemption is left."
Seth: Yeah.
David: "We just have to die. And then there will be a return and a resurrection," um, but I guess that is a, the fruit-... of an uncircumcised heart-
Seth: Yeah
David: -is inevitable sin, inevitable death.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Um, and so dealing with that issue is-
Seth: That's right
David: ... what Jeremiah offers.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Is getting under the problem.
Seth: Is getting under the problem.
David: Yeah.
Seth: And so, yeah, so Jeremiah's prophesying this day when God's people will no longer be defined by their hard-hearted desire to rebel against God's commands and his covenant and his relationship with them, but will run towards them.
David: Yeah.
Seth: They'll have a heart that's soft towards God's laws, and commands, and covenant. [gentle music] Let's go to verse 11, "And the word of the Lord came to me saying, 'Jeremiah, what do you see?' And I said, 'I see an almond branch.' Then the Lord said to me, 'You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.'" [chuckles]
David: Mm.
Seth: So I read that, and I'm like, "What on earth?"
David: Yeah.
Seth: And then the next thing is, "The word of the Lord came to me a second time," and he moves on. So this is... You're supposed to get this in isolation, and this is part of Jeremiah's calling, [chuckles] so he's gonna talk about it.
David: Okay, great. Um, before we talk about the almond branch-
Seth: Yeah.
David: What, what... I know we talked last episode about the word of God being, like, a character-
Seth: Mm-hmm
David: ... and maybe a primary theme-
Seth: Yes
David: ... uh, that holds the book together. What does it mean to say that, "The word of the Lord came to me"?
Seth: Oh, like, how did that happen?
David: N- like, is, is like, "I heard God's voice. There was a presence of God"? Like, it, it-
Seth: Mm-hmm.
David: What am I supposed to be imagining here?
Seth: That's a good question. I mean, in this case, God has dialogue.
David: Right.
Seth: "Jeremiah, what do you see?"
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: So apparently it's also combined with a vision of an almond branch.
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: So in this particular case, I would imagine that Jeremiah's seeing something-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... and then he hears this divine narrator asking him what he's seeing.
David: Mm.
Seth: At one point in Jeremiah, he's in a dream. During the whole new covenant, when the new covenant's talked about in chapter 31 and 32, um, Jeremiah has this long poem about what's gonna happen in the new covenant, and he says, "And then I woke up," or, "My sleep was pleasant to me." So he had, like, this dream-
David: Wow
Seth: ... about what God would do in the future. So God spoke to him in various different ways.
David: Mm. But he might have been in prayer, in waiting, and then-
Seth: I- this... In a lot of other prophets, angels are the ones who speak on-
David: Right
Seth: ... God's behalf.
David: Yep.
Seth: Um, we don't know.
David: The vehicles are varied.
Seth: The vehicles are varied. He's seeing something-
David: Yep
Seth: ... and he's hearing, either out loud or internally-
David: Mm
Seth: ... "Jeremiah, what do you see?"
David: Okay.
Seth: Um, and he sees an almond branch. Um, so first thing we should note is that God seems to s- think that's enough of an [chuckles] interpretation of the vision. He says, like, "You've seen well!"
David: Good job.
Seth: "I'm watching over you to perform it."
David: Yeah, you get it.
Seth: Uh, what? [chuckles] What are you talking about? So the word for almond, he, he's... God's making a pun.
David: Oh, he loves those.
Seth: God loves puns.
David: [chuckles]
Seth: Uh, the word for almond in Hebrew is shaqed.
David: Which sounds like watching.
Seth: W- watching, which is-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... shaqed.
David: Shaqed.
Seth: Shaqed, shaqed.
David: Ah.
Seth: Shaqed, shaqed.
David: That's fun.
Seth: And so what God is saying here is, like... He sees an almond branch. He's like, "What is"- [chuckles]
David: Why does God like puns? [chuckles]
Seth: Why does God like puns? [laughing]
David: [laughing]
Seth: We did a jokes video a couple years ago-
David: We did
Seth: ... based on biblical principles. [laughing]
David: [laughing] Okay, anyway.
Seth: God loves puns. [laughing]
David: So God shows him a sh- shaqed?
Seth: A shaqed, and he's saying-
David: "I'm shaqed."
Seth: "I'm shaqeding."
David: "I'm watching you."
Seth: "I'm watching you." And the point... And so it's a symbol of God's preservation-
David: Mm
Seth: ... of Jeremiah, the words he's gonna put in his mouth, and delivering Jeremiah from the evil that he's gonna face.
David: Yeah.
Seth: It's this symbolic image of God's vindication, future vindication, and protective care of Jeremiah.
David: Yeah. I mean, it kind of makes sense, too, following the, the call, that narrative that we just watched.
Seth: Mm-hmm.
David: It's like, "Hey, remember that prophecy a long time ago in Deuteronomy?
Seth: Yeah.
David: "That's you. That was my word, and I've been watching over my word-
Seth: Mm-hmm
David: ... to make sure it happens."
Seth: That's right.
David: "You're living proof of that."
Seth: Yes.
David: "So, Jeremiah, I know things are gonna be rough. I know you're gonna, like, say some words that... and promises that I've given you that people aren't gonna like."
Seth: Yeah, they're gonna confront you about it.
David: Yep.
Seth: They're gonna-
David: But
Seth: ... call you a traitor. They're gonna throw you in prison.
David: I'm watching over it. They're gonna say, "This doesn't make sense. This is wrong."
Seth: "This isn't gonna happen."
David: Right. And it's like, "Nope, just as I prophesied that I w- I was gonna raise up another Mosaic-like, Moses-like prophet-
Seth: Mm
David: ... and you're the living proof."
Seth: Mm-hmm.
David: "Trust me, there's an almond branch over your life.
Seth: Yes.
David: Like, I am watching over you and the words you speak. It's going to happen."
Seth: Yes.
David: That's cool.
Seth: And-
David: What a comforting image, like-
Seth: What a comforting image.
David: Yeah.
Seth: And it's also an image from the story, the life of Moses.
David: Oh!
Seth: So there was only two things put in the Ark of the Covenant: a copy of God's Ten Commandments-
David: And the s- and the staff
Seth: ... and the staff of Aaron that budded almonds.
David: Budded almonds! Ah.
Seth: Um, and do you know, remember why it budded almonds?
David: 'Cause people didn't trust that Aaron was the chosen prophet of God.
Seth: So Korah and his-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... and his minions said, like, "Hey, God's spirit's falling out all over the camp. What gives you special privileges in speaking on God's behalf? Aren't we all filled with God's spirit?"
David: Right.
Seth: God sets up a test. "Okay, let's put all your potential prophets up on the line, and we'll see which G- prophet God chooses."
David: Mm.
Seth: And the way that God chooses and vindicates his prophet is by making Aaron's staff bud almonds.
David: Mm.
Seth: It's a symbol that God is vindicating and will make sure that Aaron's words come to pass.
David: Wow.
Seth: Jeremiah is a new Aaron, too.
David: Yeah.
Seth: He's the spokesman f-
David: Yeah.
Seth: So... Oh, I didn't think about this until then.
David: Mm.
Seth: In the same way that Aaron was Moses' spokesperson, that he was the word of God in Moses-
David: Yes
Seth: ... through Moses, Jeremiah's both of those things.
David: Yes.
Seth: The words of God are in Aaron's mouth.
David: That's right.
Seth: The staff with the almonds is in Aaron's hand-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... in, in Jeremiah's hand.
David: He didn't put the words next to him as a speaker.
Seth: That's right.
David: He puts them in his mouth.
Seth: That's right.
David: Yeah. I mean, also, can we just stop and appreciate how kind God is in this moment? [laughing]
Seth: [chuckles]
David: Because in the last episode, I just sympathized so much with Jeremiah being in this position of delivering a really hard message as a young man-
Seth: Mm-hmm
David: ... to a nation that was going to hate his message.
Seth: Mm-hmm.
David: And he would have been full of doubt.... it would've been really hard.
Seth: Yeah.
David: He would've questioned the calling so many times, and I just can't imagine how many times he must have stopped, remembered that almond branch, and remembered the story of the vindication of Aaron-
Seth: Mm-hmm
David: ... and been like, "No, that's me. That's me."
Seth: Mm-hmm.
David: "Like, God chose me. He's watching over me. He will watch over his word. He is going to do this."
Seth: Yeah.
David: "He, he, he called me. Remember the almond branch, Jeremiah."
Seth: Right.
David: "Remember the almond branch [chuckles]" like-
Seth: And what happened after-
David: ... so kind
Seth: ... God's ah budded the almond branch in Aaron's hands, was Korah and all the false prophets were, were punished.
David: They were, yeah, and they were destroyed.
Seth: They were destroyed.
David: Yeah.
Seth: And over and over again in Jeremiah's life, his prophecy's gonna tr- become come true-
David: Mm
Seth: ... his life is gonna be spared-
David: Mm
Seth: ... while all the people speaking against him are gonna be killed by-
David: Mm-hmm
Seth: ... Babylonian soldiers or otherwise.
David: Yeah.
Seth: Um-
David: He's gonna live out the story of-
Seth: Aaron
David: ... the test of Aaron-
Seth: That's right
David: ... over and over again.
Seth: That's right.
David: Wow. Okay, so that's the almond branch.
Seth: Yeah, that's the almond branch.
David: All right.
Seth: And then he says this, as part of his commissioning ceremony, "The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, 'What do you see?' And I said, 'I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.' Then the Lord said to me, 'Out of the north, disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north,' declares the Lord, 'and they shall come, and everyone shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all of its walls, all around, and against all the cities of Judah, and I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands. But you, dress yourself for work. Arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. Behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you,' declares the Lord, 'to deliver you.'"
David: Wow.
Seth: So, and this is where we get the real content of what he's gonna prophesy.
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: From the north, ah, nations, a boiling pot of nations, is gonna spill out, and burn, and scorch the land.
David: Mm.
Seth: It's also probably interesting that there's no names mentioned here. Um-
David: Ah, he's not saying, "It's Babylon." Is that what you're saying?
Seth: Right, that's right. Because eventually, Babylon will be overtaken-
David: Mm-hmm
Seth: ... by another kingdom from the north-
David: Yes
Seth: ... the Medes and the Persians. So part of it is that from the north, judgment's gonna come on Judah-
David: Mm
Seth: ... and all the nations surrounding Judah that have harmed and oppressed Judah at one point in time, Philistia, Ammon, the Ammonites-
David: Mm-hmm
Seth: ... et cetera. But also from the north, deliverance will come from Babylon as well, and Babylon's gonna be destroyed, and then it's the Medes and the Persians who overtake Babylon, that send Israel back-
David: Right
Seth: ... into, into their homeland. So from the north-
David: Mm
Seth: ... both judgment and deliverance are gonna come.
David: I see.
Seth: And that's another way to frame the prophecies that Jeremiah's gonna give, and kinda gives you a foretaste of the rest of the book.
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: "I'm gonna prophesy that a whole bunch of stuff is gonna come from the north." [chuckles]
David: Yeah.
Seth: "That's, that's what my book's about."
David: That's the content.
Seth: "That's what your prophecies are about." And then you have again here, I'm gonna pre- at the very end, in verse 18, "And behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, bronze walls against the whole land."
David: Mm.
Seth: The idea is that for all the doom and gloom you're gonna prophesy, for all the ire you're gonna get from military leaders, political leaders, religious leaders, you're gonna be my prot- my protected contrarian, Jeremiah. [laughs]
David: Protected contrarian.
Seth: You're gonna be a city within Jerusalem-
David: Right
Seth: ... where my word dwells-
David: Mm
Seth: ... that nothing will prevail against. I will deliver you. You are the embodiment of my word in Jerusalem, and I will protect you from everything that comes against you.
David: Yeah, he makes him a city within the city.
Seth: Yeah.
David: That is- that's a good picture-
Seth: Yes
David: ... of, I'm gonna make this, yeah, this fortified contrarian, protected contrarian. I'm gonna put you there, and you're gonna have walls around you, a fortified fortress, and you're gonna lob arrows-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... of my words against the entire city.
Seth: Yep.
David: And they'll come against you, but you'll be protected.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Man, that's fascinating.
Seth: Yes.
David: Um, the other thing that I wanna, like, highlight is, he does talk about, ah, I think it's in verse 16, um, "And I will declare my judgments against them." So I also call out-
Seth: Yes
David: ... what they've been doing wrong.
Seth: That's right.
David: Ah, they've, they've done evil, they've made offerings to other gods, they've worshiped idols.
Seth: Mm-hmm.
David: Anything you wanna say about that?
Seth: The- I mean, those are kind of the big three buckets-
David: Mm
Seth: ... of things Jeremiah's going to critique.
David: Okay.
Seth: He's going to criticize them for the evil that they've done to their land, the corruption, the injustice that they perpetrated as kings. They're gonna... He's gonna call out the idolatry-
David: Mm
Seth: ... of Israel's kings. He's gonna call out... A lot of the time, it's backwards-looking. It's like, "Manasseh did this-
David: Uh-huh
Seth: ... so you are being punished for that." But also-
David: Looking back at the point of no return.
Seth: Right, but there's also evidence of idolatry at the hands of, especially some of Judah's later kings, like Zedekiah.
David: Mm.
Seth: They're now s- in some sort of relationship with Babylon, and so to keep the peace, they're importing Babylonian gods now-
David: Mm
Seth: ... and seeking alliances with Egypt, and doing things that they're not supposed to be doing.
David: I see.
Seth: So-
David: And all of that, like we talked about last time, falls under the category of covenant breaking.
Seth: Yes.
David: Okay.
Seth: That's right.
David: That, I mean, the, the covenant said, "Don't worship false gods-
Seth: It's the first one
David: ... love your neighbor [chuckles]"
Seth: Yeah.
David: You know, and it's like they're breaking those things.
Seth: They're breaking those things.
David: Okay.
Seth: That's right.
David: That makes sense. So he calls Jeremiah, you know, says, "I've, I've been planning on you since Deuteronomy."
Seth: Yes.
David: Um, puts his word in his mouth, like Moses, like Aaron-
Seth: Mm
David: ... says that he will watch over him-
Seth: Mm-hmm
David: ... like an almond branch. Ah-
Seth: He's gonna prophesy a whole bunch of terrible things-
David: He-
Seth: ... that nobody's gonna like.
David: And, and because he's gonna prophesy a whole bunch of things, like evil from the north, destruction from the north, all this stuff is gonna happen, and he's gonna have to call out a whole bunch of people's sin and covenant breaking.
Seth: That's right.
David: But no matter all of that, he's gonna fortify him and protect him-
Seth: Yes
David: ... in that vocation.
Seth: And it's probably good to notice that, um, so we, we said that Jeremiah, in a sense, is like the living-... center of God's word-
David: Mm.
Seth: -in Israel.
David: Oh, that's an interesting way to put it.
Seth: Right?
David: Yeah.
Seth: Like, he's a city within a city of God's word in Israel, and God says he's gonna protect him.
David: Mm.
Seth: Jeremiah doesn't die, but he is put on trial falsely.
David: He's not well-treated.
Seth: He's put in prison.
David: Yeah.
Seth: He's thrown into a cistern. He's kidnapped, taken into exile. So God's protection of him is different than you might imagine, or not as, like, blanket. It's like, "Oh, you'll never have any problems, Jeremiah."
David: Right.
Seth: But I do think what's significant is that every time Jeremiah is taken down, like taken into a false trial, buried in-
David: Mm
Seth: ... a would-be grave, taken into exile, he's always alive. [chuckles]
David: He comes back out.
Seth: He comes back out.
David: Mm.
Seth: And I think this is because as God's representative of the word, he's also giving us a picture of what Jesus is gonna be like.
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: Jesus-
David: And what Isr- and what he's saying is gonna happen to Israel.
Seth: That's right. "I've given you my word, Israel-
David: Mm
Seth: ... that you will be my people-
David: Yep
Seth: ... and you will rise after exile. Jeremiah, you are my living and body word. You will be-
David: Go into the cistern. [chuckles]
Seth: Go into the cistern, but you'll be protected-
David: Mm-hmm
Seth: ... and rise back out. In the same way, like, Jesus does the same thing.
David: Yes.
Seth: He is God's word embodied-
David: Yes
Seth: ... in a more concrete sense than, uh, than Jeremiah was.
David: Yeah, or Aaron.
Seth: Or Aaron-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... for that matter, and he, too, is protected by God, but that protection doesn't mean he does not go unscathed.
David: Mm.
Seth: He dies-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... but on the other side of death-
David: Mm, mm
Seth: ... is resurrection. And so Jeremiah is this living picture of the story that will be true of Israel and will be true of all people, to all nations-
David: Mm-hmm
Seth: ... through Jesus.
David: Yeah. Wow. The living embodiment and locale of God's word that is protected and watched over-
Seth: Mm-hmm
David: ... but has to go through death and suffering so that God shows that he watches over his word to vindicate it and raise it up.
Seth: Yeah.
David: That, uh, God... There, there's an almond branch over the grave.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Like-
Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
David: Right?
Seth: That's, that's right.
David: Like, that's, that's what we're saying, is that there's an almond branch over the grave.
Seth: Mm.
David: That even when it seems like the word of God dies, there's an almond branch over the grave. He will raise it up again.
Seth: Yeah.
David: That's really beautiful. What else in chapter one?
Seth: That's kind of it.
David: Yeah.
Seth: That- that's the commissioning of Jeremiah. He's going to be a new Moses-
David: Mm
Seth: ... God's mouthpiece, predicting the Israel's exile-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... who will nevertheless be protected, and that protection takes the form of being exiled and dying himself in order to be resurrected.
David: Wow.
Seth: And that's the message and hope and life of Jeremiah in Israel, and our hope is today-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... that when we embrace the death that God calls us to-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... we will be risen up.
David: Man, it's, it's awesome to see, like, this call of Jeremiah mapped onto how Jesus was talked about, you know?
Seth: Yeah.
David: Like, I, I wonder if Jesus was known before he was in the womb.
Seth: Right. [laughs]
David: It's like-
Seth: Right
David: ... oh, of course, he's the eternal Son of God.
Seth: Uh, [chuckles] like-
David: John 1:1
Seth: "In the beginning"-
David: Was the word.
Seth: "The word."
David: Yeah.
Seth: Yeah.
David: He was with God-
Seth: Mm, mm
David: ... you know, before the womb, and he appointed him not to just be a prophet to all nations, but a savior to all nations. Uh, yeah, and, uh, he put- he, he didn't just put his word in his mouth, he just was the word made flesh.
Seth: Mm-hmm.
David: You know, he w- e- even more so than Jeremiah-
Seth: That's right
David: ... he was the locale of God's word, and then what did he do? He came, he plucked up, he destroyed.
Seth: Yeah.
David: But then he built and plant. He, he, he said, "I'm gonna tear down this temple. I'm gonna judge sin. I'm gonna destroy the grave. I'm gonna destroy all this stuff-
Seth: Mm
David: ... and I'm gonna build something different, a kingdom of God."
Seth: Right. And v- really particularly, so Moses predicted a day, a return from exile and a circumcision of the heart.
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: Jeremiah predicted and lived-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... an exile and a circumcision from the heart. Jesus is the only one to live both the exile and to offer that circumcision of the heart that both of these people-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... have been prophesying about. Because of Jesus and His Holy Spirit living in us, we finally become the people of God that are not constantly against His covenant and His laws.
David: Mm.
Seth: We are the people that finally approach God in love because He's changed our hearts to do so through the new covenant Jesus secured-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... that Moses and Jeremiah prophesied about.
David: A deeper exodus.
Seth: A true exodus-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... the, that we've been, we've been waiting for.
David: Yeah, it's, it's really fun to, like, imagine that universe, going back to what I said earlier about, like, the "repent for the kingdom of heaven is near" thing.
Seth: Mm-hmm.
David: I mean, like, for all of us, like, we, uh, who, who aren't in Christ, and we can all remember that. If you are in Christ now-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... you can remember what it was like to be, like, just following the world-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... and following all your wicked desires, and having so many bent motives, and no desire for purity and holiness, and no alignment with how God made the world. You were, you were trapped and enslaved to the powers of this world.
Seth: Mm-hmm.
David: You were afraid of death. You had no answers, no purpose. Like, you were without hope and without God in the world-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... right?
Seth: Yeah.
David: And then Jesus comes to you and says, "Hey, repent. Return."
Seth: Mm, mm.
David: "Come to a different kingdom. I've built it. I've plucked up and uprooted this old empire of brokenness."
Seth: Yeah.
David: "Y- it's gonna mean dying, right?
Seth: Mm.
David: "Come take up your cross-
Seth: Yeah.
David: " ... but there's a kingdom on the other side, and in that kingdom is a new heart, and a new way of living-
Seth: Mm
David: ... and a new kind of law, and a new relational covenant, a new way of being."
Seth: Yeah.
David: "Repent, return. Come back into this new kingdom of God and live with me."
Seth: Yeah.
David: Uh, it's just a fun way to-
Seth: Yes
David: ... think about conversion or-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... you know, it's just like-
Seth: Yeah, yeah
David: ... a better imaginative universe.
Seth: Yeah, we'll talk a ton about the new covenant-
David: Mm
Seth: ... in our next episode, and like-
David: Awesome
Seth: ... what does it mean to have a new heart, and all that kind of stuff-
David: Oh, heck yeah
Seth: ... which I'm super excited about. But yeah, for now, this tells the story. Jesus is the new and better Jeremiah because he begins to activate and do what Jeremiah and Moses only prophesied would come.
David: Mm. And that's the next episode?
Seth: That's the next episode.
David: Well, I can't wait for the next episode. [laughs]
Seth: [laughs]
David: So thank you, guys, for joining us. We look forward to seeing you in the next episode as we talk about the covenant and the new covenant, the circumcision of the heart. It's going to be a great time, so continue to walk through the Book of Jeremiah with us. Thank you for joining us. We'll see you next time. [upbeat music]
Outro: Thank you for listening to the Spoken Gospel podcast. Spoken Gospel creates short films, devotionals, and podcasts like this one. Everything we make is free because of generous supporters like you. To see our resources, visit spokengospel.com or subscribe to our YouTube channel. Thanks for listening. See you next time. [upbeat music]
