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Judgment on Judah and the Nations 

Jeremiah 25 

Don Ruhl • Savage Street, Grants Pass, Oregon • May 5, In the year of our Lord Christ, 2019 

  1. Chaps 21–33 | Prophecies of Judgment & the Messiah 
    1. Chaps 21–29 | Judgment: Judah & Nations 
      1. Chap 25 | Judge on Judah and the Nations 
        1. 25.1–7 | People Were Impenitent

          1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: 3 “From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the word of the LORD has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you have not listened. 4 And the LORD has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. 5 They said, Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. 6 Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you. 7 Yet you have not listened to Me,” says the LORD, “that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.”

          – Jeremiah 25.1–7
          1. Up to this time, how long had Jeremiah been preaching? 
            1. He had preached for 23 years and he was not done. 
            2. Did he procrastinate? 
              1. No, he rose early and spoke to them. 
              2. How did they respond? 
                1. They did not listen. 
                2. They had reason to listen for everything that Jeremiah had said had come to pass. 
          2. How did they respond to the other prophets? 
            1. They did not listen to them either. 
            2. They all gave evidence that they had spoken on behalf of the Lord. 
          3. In one word, what did they tell the people to do? (v. 5) 
            1. “Repent.” 
            2. If they repented, what would they be able to do? 
              1. They would be able to continue to dwell in the land. 
              2. The Lord had given it to them, so He could take it away from the people or rather He could take them away from the land. 
          4. How could they provoke the Lord to anger? (v. 6) 
        2. 25.8–11 | Consequences for Not Listening

          8 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words, 9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ says the LORD, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”

          – Jeremiah 25.8–11
          1. Would only Judah suffer at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar? 
          2. Describe the destruction that he would unleash. 
          3. This passage and 29.10 are what Daniel read: Daniel 9.1–2. 
        3. 25.12–14 | Babylon Would Suffer Later

          12 “‘Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the LORD; ‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation. 13 So I will bring on that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations. 14 (For many nations and great kings shall be served by them also; and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.)’”

          – Jeremiah 25.12–14
          1. Why do you think the Lord would wait 70 years to punish Babylon? 
            1. He used them to hold Israel, or Judah, until 70 years had passed. 
            2. While Judah had become wicked, Babylon was worse, which is why the prophet Habakkuk questioned the Lord for using Babylon to punish Judah. (See the Book of Habakkuk.) 
          2. What is the benefit of having these prophecies in the Book of Jeremiah concerning Babylon? 
            1. Today we can study the prophecies of doom and by archaeology and history see that the Lord did just as He said He would do. 
            2. This not only verifies the Bible, but lets us know that His revelation of future doom will happen. 
        4. 25.15–26 | All the Nations Drink of God’s Wrath

          15 For thus says the LORD God of Israel to me: “Take this wine cup of fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. 16 And they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.” 17 Then I took the cup from the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom the LORD had sent me: 18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its princes, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people; 20 all the mixed multitude, all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the Philistines (namely, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod); 21 Edom, Moab, and the people of Ammon; 22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands which are across the sea; 23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who are in the farthest corners; 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed multitude who dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes; 26 all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.

          – Jeremiah 25.15–26
          1. Remember that Jeremiah was not sent just to the people of God, but to other nations. 
            1. 1.5, 10 
            2. 22.29 
          2. Do not make the mistake of saying that Genesis through Malachi was only for Israel. 
        5. 25.27–29 | Other Nations Guilty

          27 “Therefore you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink, be drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.’ 28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: You shall certainly drink! 29 For behold, I begin to bring calamity on the city which is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,’ says the LORD of hosts.”

          – Jeremiah 25.27–29
          1. What would the nations suffer? 
          2. Why would God punish Jerusalem, but not the nations guilty of sin or of the same sin? 
            1. The truth is they would not escape punishment. 
            2. Again, note that the message of the Book of Jeremiah is for all people. 
        6. 25.30–33 | Against All Nations

          30 “Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:

          ‘The LORD will roar from on high,
          And utter His voice from His holy habitation;
          He will roar mightily against His fold.
          He will give a shout, as those who tread the grapes,
          Against all the inhabitants of the earth.
          31 A noise will come to the ends of the earth—
          For the LORD has a controversy with the nations;
          He will plead His case with all flesh.
          He will give those who are wicked to the sword,’ says the LORD.”

          32 Thus says the LORD of hosts:

          “Behold, disaster shall go forth
          From nation to nation,
          And a great whirlwind shall be raised up
          From the farthest parts of the earth.

          33 And at that day the slain of the LORD shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground.”

          – Jeremiah 25.30–33
          1. What picture do you have of the Lord roaring? 
          2. Why would a noise come to the ends of the earth? 
            1. Because the Lord had a controversy with all nations. 
            2. What would He do with all flesh? 
          3. What picture do you have of a disaster going from nation to nation? 
            1. It starts in one nation and goes to another. 
            2. The Lord would use powerful armies to accomplish these things, starting with Babylon, and then the Persians, and then the Greeks, and finally the Romans. 
        7. 25.34–38 | God’s Fierce Anger

          34 “Wail, shepherds, and cry!
          Roll about in the ashes,
          You leaders of the flock!
          For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions are fulfilled;
          You shall fall like a precious vessel.
          35 And the shepherds will have no way to flee,
          Nor the leaders of the flock to escape.
          36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds,
          And a wailing of the leaders to the flock will be heard.
          For the LORD has plundered their pasture,
          37 And the peaceful dwellings are cut down
          Because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
          38 He has left His lair like the lion;
          For their land is desolate
          Because of the fierceness of the Oppressor,
          And because of His fierce anger.”

          – Jeremiah 25.34–38
          1. The shepherds would mourn deeply. 
          2. They would see the fierce anger of the Lord like a lion that has left its lair.