Seventy Years of Captivity
Comments for Study 19
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I. Two Baskets of Figs (24:1-10)
>1. When did this event take place? (1a)
* Jeremiah 24:1a "After Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the craftsmen and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon"
* "Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim" -Jehoiachin (597 B.C.) was taken to Babylon in the first Exile in 597 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar after only three months as king of Judah. (2 Kings 24:10-17; 2 Chronicles 36:9-10) He was put into chains. Years later Nebuchadnezzar released him from prison and allowed him to eat at his table. (2 Kings 25:27-30)
* 2 Chronicles 36:9-10 "Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD. In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon, together with articles of value from the temple of the LORD, and he made Jehoiachin's uncle, Zedekiah, king over Judah and Jerusalem."
* "Jehoiakim son of Josiah" -Jehoiakim (609-597 B.C.) was ambitious, cruel and corrupt. (2 Kings 23:36-37; 2 Chronicles 36:2-8) Egypt's Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim paid Pharaoh Neco the silver and gold he demanded. In order to do so, he taxed the land and exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land according to their assessments. (2 Kings 23:33-34) In the third and fourth years of his reign Babylon defeated Egypt and besieged Jerusalem.
* 2 Chronicles 36:5-8 "Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD his God. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked him and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon articles from the temple of the LORD and put them in his temple there. The other events of Jehoiakim's reign, the detestable things he did and all that was found against him, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son succeeded him as king."
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* "the craftsmen and the artisans" -
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* "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon" -Nebuchadnezzar (634-62 B.C.) was king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, who reigned from 605-562 B.C. The Akkadian name means "O god Nabu, preserve/defend my firstborn son". Nabu is the Babylonian deity of wisdom, and son of the god Marduk. In an inscription, Nebuchadnezzar styles himself as Nabu's "beloved" and "favourite". Nebuchadnezzar was the oldest son and successor of Nabopolassar, who delivered Babylon from its three centuries of vassalage to its fellow Mesopotamian state Assyria, and in alliance with the Medes, Persians, Scythians and Cimmerians, laid Nineveh in ruins. During the last century of Nineveh's existence, Babylon had been greatly devastated, not only at the hands of Sennacherib and Assurbanipal, but also as a result of her ever renewed rebellions. Nebuchadnezzar, continuing his father's work of reconstruction, aimed at making his capital one of the world's wonders.
* Babylon and Judah counted king's reigns differently. According to the Babylonian system of computing the years of a king's reign, the third year of Jehoiakim would have been 605 B.C. (Daniel 1:1), since his first full year of kingship begun on New Year's Day after his ascension in 608 B.C. But according to the Judah's system, which counted the year of accession as the first year of reign, this was the fourth year of Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 25:1, 46:2) Also note that the Babylon and Hebrew calendars had different months and began the year at different times.
* See a bas/relief to the right from Nineveh which shows a deportation such as the citizens of Jerusalem had to endure under Nebuchadnezzar. (The Bible as History in Pictures, Werner Keller)
>What did the Lord show Jeremiah? (1b-3)
* Jeremiah 24:1b-3 "...the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD. One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very poor figs, so bad they could not be eaten. Then the LORD asked me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" "Figs," I answered. "The good ones are very good, but the poor ones are so bad they cannot be eaten."
* "figs" -The fig tree and the olive tree are often symbols of Israel.
* "ripen early" -Figs would start to ripen in mid or late spring.
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>2. What did the good figs represent? (4-7)
* Jeremiah 24:4-7 "Then the word of the LORD came to me: "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart."
* "I regard as good the exiles from Judah"
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>What did he promise them?
* "whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians"
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>Who were they? (Daniel 1:1-9)
* Daniel 1:1-9 "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treassure house of his god. Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility-- young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service. Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego."
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* See written evidence of Babylon's first invasion and deportation of Jews to the right. Babylon dealings of the events described in the Bible is in the cuneiform text. It reads, "In the seventh year (of Nebuchadnezzar) in the month Chislev (November/December) the King of Babylon assembled his army, and after he had invaded the land of Harti (Syria/Palestine) he laid siege to the city of Judah. On the second day of the month Adara (16th March) he conquered the city and took the king (Jehoiachin) prisoner. He installed in his place a king (Zedekiah) of his own choice, and after he had received rich tribute, he sent (them) forth to Babylon". (The Bible as History in Pictures, Werner Keller)
>3. What did the Lord say about the poor figs? (8-10)
* Jeremiah 24:8-10 "'But like the poor figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,' says the LORD, 'so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt. I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, an object of ridicule and cursing, wherever I banish them. I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their fathers.'"
* "Zedekiah king of Judah" -Zedekiah (597-586 B.C.) was twenty-one years old when he became king, a puppet king of Babylon. (2 Kings 24:18-19) King Zedekiah took an oath of allegiance to the Babylonian but soon became disloyal. So Nebuchadnezzar besieged the city from 10 January 587 to 9 July 586 B.C. Jerusalem fell and approximately eighty distinguished leaders of the community were executed, the royal palace and the city were set on fire, and the survivors (except the poorest of the land) were taken into captivity.
* 2 Chronicles 36:11-14 "Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the LORD. He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath in God's name. He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the LORD, the God of Israel. Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the LORD, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem."
* "when the people of Jerusalem went into exile" -581 B.C. (2 Kings 25:22-26, and 2 Chronicles 36:15-21; Jeremiah 40-44)
* A summery is as follows: Isreal was defeated by Egypt (south west of Israel) in 609 B.C. (2 Kings 23:33-34) Egypt made Jehoiakim king of Judah. Babylon (north east of Israel) attacked and defeated Egypt in 605 B.C. (2 Kings 24:1-7) This brought Babylonian influence to Judah, but was allowed to maintained its national, spiritual, and cultural identity. Jehoiakim attacked Babylon in 597 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar defeated him and tightened his control over Israel. One of the things he did was to take around 10,000 selected captives. Among these including Daniel and his friends mentioned in this chapter and even Ezekiel, the author of the proceeding book in the Bible. The captivity lasted 70 years dating from Nebuchadnezzar's first decent on Judah and Egypt.
* Jeremiah records the end of David's offspring earthly kingdom. In fact no Israelite or Jew reigned over Israel until 1948 A.D.
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>What can be learned about God's justice? (Revelation 20:11-13)
* Revelation 20:11-13 "Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done."
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II. Seventy Years of Captivity (25:1-14)
>4. When did the following message come to Jeremiah? (1-3)
* Jeremiah 25:1-3 "The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah and to all those living in Jerusalem: For twenty-three years--from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day--the word of the LORD has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened."
* "all the people of Judah" -Jeremiah's ministry was mainly to the Kingdom of Judah.
* "the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah" -Jehoiakim became king of Judah in 609 B.C. so this word came to Jeremiah in 605 B.C. Babylon defeated Egypt in 605 B.C. at the battle of Carchemish. (2 Kings 24:1-7) Also in 605 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar was made king of Babylon. He reigned from 605-562 B.C. When Egypt fell Judah became a colonial state of the Babylon Empire but was aloud to keep its own national, spiritual, and cultural identity.
* "the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon" -Not only was this the first year that Nebuchadnezzar controlled Judah, but his father died and thus he became king of the Babylon Empire.
* After the battle of Carchemish, Nebuchadnezzar, as crown prince of Babylon, advanced to Jerusalem and then quickly left for Babylon to be crowned king when his father died. Then he returned to Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar spared King Jehoiakim, who had rebelled against him when he left to be made king. However, Nebuchadnezzar carried off several of the princes of Judah, among them was Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The captivity of Israel lasted 70 years. (This count starting from Nebuchadnezzar's initial defeat of Egypt and Judah in 605 B.C.)
* "For twenty-three years--from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah" -This would place Jeremiah's call in 628 or 627 B.C. He was just a boy, probably the age of ascension, twelve.
* "I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened" -Often we think and/or are told that the success of a ministry is based on number of converts. However, the success of a ministry is based on obedience to the Lord, based on love and awe.
* See a picture of a reconstruction of the Babylon Ishtar gate to the right. The great Ishtar Gate, dedicated to the goddess of that name, and one of the most impressive monuments rediscovered in the ancient East, formed one of the principal entrances into Babylon. It was one of the elaborate building projects of Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 B. c.) who was determined to beautify his capital, and who also restored the temple of the chief god Marduk and built himself a splendid new palace with the famous "Hanging Gardens". We are told in the Bible that this was the king of Babylon who brought the Kingdom of Judah to an end and carried off its people into exile. King Jehoiachin, who spent many years in Babylon as a prisoner, must have seen this massive gateway many times like many other exiles. The Ishtar Gate was the starting point for processions, which assembled in front of it, marched through the triumphal arch and proceeded along the Sacred Way to the seven-storied ziggurat which was crowned by the temple of Marduk. The gateway, which is flanked by twin towers and ornamented with pinnacles, is completely covered with colored enamelled bricks. Dragons and bulls are molded in relief, the animals symbolizing the gods Marduk and Adad. The bright yellow and brown beasts are surrounded by tiles of glorious blue, tinted with lapis/lazuli dust. In front of the gateway outside the city there was a road whose walls were decorated with lions, in reliefs of glazed yellow tiles. The Ishtar Gate was reconstructed in Berlin out of material excavated by Robert Koldewey. (The Bible as History in Pictures, Werner Keller)
>What was the message of the prophets to Judah? (4-6)
* Jeremiah 25:4-6 "And though the LORD has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. They said, "Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the LORD gave to you and your fathers for ever and ever. Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not provoke me to anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you."
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>What was the result of their ministries? (7)
* Jeremiah 25:7 "But you did not listen to me," declares the LORD, "and you have provoked me with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves."
* 2 Kings 24:1, 2 Chronicles 36:5-8, and Jeremiah 25 record the same event. From a historical chronological order, Jeremiah 25 is right after the 20th chapter. Jeremiah had been a prophet for 13 years. Daniel chapter 1:1-2 also records the event. The event, Nebuchadnezzar's defeat of Egypt which made Judah subject to Babylon in 605 BC.
In 605 BC Babylon finally defeated Egypt after several years of battles. Judah became a colonial state of the Babylon Empire but was permitted to keep its own nationality, spirituality, and cultural identity. After victory Nebuchadnezzar marched to Jerusalem and surrounded it for the first of three times. All this was in fulfillment of the warnings of the prophets.
Jeremiah stood up and preached among the people of Judah as Nebuchadnezzar took control of Judah by defeating Egypt. He was marching to Jerusalem. However, Nebuchadnezzar suddenly left Jerusalem to go back to Babylon to be crowned king when his father died. He would come back to Jerusalem.
Jeremiah told them that their captivity would be 70 years. After that, when they repent the Lord God would bring them back. (Jeremiah 25:12-14) They were being punished, but only for a time.
Every day I have choices. I and those I am in contact with are affected by them. I need to make righteous decisions. I need to control my thoughts, for the heart, Jesus teaches is the wellspring of my actions.
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>5. Because they refused to repent what would happen to them? (8-11)
* Jeremiah 25:8-11 "Therefore the LORD Almighty says this: "Because you have not listened to my words, I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon," declares the LORD, "and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.'
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>What will happen to Babylon, the tool of God's wrath after seventy years? (12-14)
* Jeremiah 25:12-14 "But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt," declares the LORD, "and will make it desolate forever. I will bring upon that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands."
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>What were they guilty of? (Isaiah 13:11, 14:3-6)
* Isaiah 13:11 "I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless."
* Isaiah 14:3-6 "On the day the LORD gives you relief from suffering and turmoil and cruel bondage, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury has ended! The LORD has broken the rod of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers, which in anger struck down peoples with unceasing blows, and in fury subdued nations with relentless aggression."
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III. The Cup of God's Wrath (25:15-38)
>6. What did the Lord tell Jeremiah? (15-16)
* Jeremiah 25:15-16 "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: "Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them."
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>What nations drank from the cup? (17-26)
* Jeremiah 25:17-26 "So I took the cup from the LORD's hand and made all the nations to whom he sent me drink it:
18 Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin and an object of horror and scorn and cursing, as they are today;
19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his attendants, his officials and all his people,
20 and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines (those of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod);
21 Edom, Moab and Ammon;
22 all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea;
23 Dedan, Tema, Buz and all who are in distant places;
24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the foreign people who live in the desert;
25 all the kings of Zimri, Elam and Media;
26 and all the kings of the north, near and far, one after the other--all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshach will drink it too."
* "Judah"
* "Egypt"
* "Uz"
* "the Philistines"
* "Edom, Moab and Ammon"
* "Tyre and Sidon"
* "Dedan, Tema, Buz"
* "Arabia"
* "Zimri, Elam and Media"
* "on the face of the earth"
* "And after all of them, the king of Sheshach" -Sheshach is a cryptogram for Babylon.
>Why was it impossible for them to escape it? (27-29)
* Jeremiah 25:27-29 "Then tell them, 'This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword I will send among you.' But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, tell them, 'This is what the LORD Almighty says: You must drink it! See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears my Name, and will you indeed go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword upon all who live on the earth, declares the LORD Almighty.'"
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>7. What does this prophecy concern? (30-31)
* Jeremiah 25:30-31 "Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them: "'The LORD will roar from on high; he will thunder from his holy dwelling and roar mightily against his land. He will shout like those who tread the grapes, shout against all who live on the earth. The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth, for the LORD will bring charges against the nations; he will bring judgment on all mankind and put the wicked to the sword,'" declares the LORD."
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>What will happen in those days? (32)
* Jeremiah 25:32 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth."
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>What did Jesus say about it? (Matthew 24:6-8)
* Matthew 24:6-8 "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains."
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>8. How great will the slain be when Jesus comes again? (33; Isaiah 13:11-13)
* Jeremiah 25:33 "At that time those slain by the LORD will be everywhere--from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered up or buried, but will be like refuse lying on the ground."
* Isaiah 13:11-13 "I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. I will make man scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD Almighty, in the day of his burning anger."
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>9. What does the Lord tell the shepherds to do? (34-38)
* Jeremiah 25:34-38 "Weep and wail, you shepherds; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For your time to be slaughtered has come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery.
35 The shepherds will have nowhere to flee, the leaders of the flock no place to escape.
36 Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing of the leaders of the flock, for the LORD is destroying their pasture.
37 The peaceful meadows will be laid waste because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
38 Like a lion he will leave his lair, and their land will become desolate because of the sword of the oppressor and because of the LORD's fierce anger."
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>Who do they represent?
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