something different this morning. These chapters, 40 of Isaiah, Jeremiah, 40 through 44, I've never preached on before. And as we read them, you will see they are difficult to preach on. So I can tell you truthfully that since last Sunday night, I have studied these verses every day till this morning at 5.30. praying that God would show me exactly what points to make from it. So rather than standing and reading a text, we're going to work our way through chapter 40 through 44 as far as we can get today because it's such an important section. So turn to Jeremiah 40, and let me tell you something about it real quick. Chapters 43 through excuse me, chapter 40 verse 1 through 43 verse 7 took place in Judah. Chapter 43 verse 8 through 45 verse 5 took place in Egypt. Now before we read these words, let us pray. Lord, we are very conscious of the fact that we need the Holy Spirit to enlighten our minds and help us understand and live by these words. So we pray that he would give us a true understanding of these words so that we might apply them to our lives. For Christ's sake, amen. All right, in chapter 40, the first six verse, we have the historical setting. where we are. Now, you know, last week we began a story, a very, what's the word for suspense, suspenseful story, a very fascinating story, a true story about one of the most important events in human history. And that was the destruction of the covenant nation of Judah by Babylon in 586 BC. Now these chapters continue that story after the destruction of Judah. Ten days, two weeks, three weeks, just a few days after the total destruction of Judah and Jerusalem and the temple by Nebuchadnezzar and his armies. Now let me tell you something about Nebuchadnezzar. Get a dictionary, go to YouTube, read whatever you can about Nebuchadnezzar because he was the greatest and most powerful king in this era. He had conquered everything from the Black Sea to the Persian Gulf to Egypt. The entirety of the Middle East was a part of his empire. And the city of Babylon, the capital, was the biggest city in the world. So you need to know who Nebuchadnezzar is, because toward later on in his life, he became a Christian. But right now, he's not a Christian. But in some ways, he is a man of integrity. Okay. So let's see the historical setting for this. In verses 1 through 6, the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuchadnezzar, captain of the bodyguard. Captain of the bodyguard probably meant he was a general. After Nebuchadnezzar, the captain of the bodyguard had released him from Ramah when he had taken him bound in chains among all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. Now the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, the Lord, now this is a pagan general fixing to preach. a pagan unbelieving general fixing to tell the truth. He said, the Lord your God promised this calamity against this place. And the Lord has brought it on and done just as he promised. Because you people, Jews, covenant nation of Judah, you people sinned against Jehovah. and did not listen to his voice. Therefore, this thing has happened to you. Can you imagine a Babylonian general saying that? He goes on. But now, behold, I'm freeing you today from the chains which are on your hands. If you would prefer to come with me to Babylon, come along, and I will look after you. But if you would prefer not to come with me to Babylon, never mind. Look, the whole land is before you. Go wherever it seems good and right for you to go." What a kind man he was, a Babylonian general, conquered the whole world, treating Jeremiah the prophet with utter respect and utter kindness. As Jeremiah was still not going back, he said, Go back then to Gedaliah. In other words, Jeremiah said, I don't want to go to Babylon with you. And so he said, go on back then to Gedaliah, the son of Ahicham, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people, or else go anywhere it seems right for you to go. So the captain of the bodyguard gave him a ration and a gift, some money to live on, and let him go. Amazing. They have all these other captives, they're taken to Babylon, and Jeremiah says, I don't want to go to Babylon. I want to stay in Judah. Now what was Judah comprised of? Unskilled, the poorest of the poor, the lowest of the low, because all of the leading people had already been taken out of Judah and taken captive in Babylon. That's all there was in Judah. What also is amazing, Jerusalem was one of the great cities of the world and the holiest city in the world as far as Israel was concerned. And it was a ghetto. Jerusalem was a ghetto. The people that lived there were the poorest of the poor. But that's where Jeremiah went to go, wanted to go. He wanted to go and live with Gedaliah. Now, Gedaliah was the last of the kings. He wasn't really a king of Judah. He was an administrator of Judah, a governor of Judah. appointed by Nebuchadnezzar himself. In other words, he was a puppet. But he was a good man. And so Jeremiah wanted to go back and stay with the remaining people of God, low as they were, in Judah. Verse 6, Then Jeremiah went to Mizpah, to Gedaliah the son of Ahicham, and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land. Now remember, Jerusalem was a ghetto. So Gedalia's palace, so to speak, was in a town called Mizpah. And Mizpah was about four and a half miles north of Jerusalem. And it was over 3,000 feet above sea level. So it was a pretty safe place from any invasion by foreign powers. And that's where he went. And then verses 7 through 12 describe what was left of Judah. Now, I want you to remember a verse as we read all these verses. I want you to remember the promise that God gave to Abraham. He said, Abraham, I'm going to give you a seed that's going to be more numerous than the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. I want you to notice what happened to that promise in these chapters. Remember that promise. He promised the descendants of Abraham that they would be more numerous than the stars of the sky and the sand of the seashore. Now let's see what's left. The noble people, the leading people, have all been taken captive to Babylon. Now look at the kinds of people that were left. Verse 7, Now all the commanders of the forces that were in the field, they and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedalia the son of Ahacham over the land, and that he had put him in charge of the men, women, and children, those of the poorest of the land, who had not been exiled to Babylon. So they came to Gedalia at Mizpah. Now who were these people? These were Judean guerrillas who had been fighting out in the field against Babylon to protect Judah. But when they saw that they were leaving, that they were losing, they hid out in the hills. And so now they're coming to Mizpah. All these guerrilla commanders, commandos, are coming back to Gedalia and the rest of the covenant nation that's left. Verse eight. So they came to Gedalia at Mizpah along with Ishmael, underline that name. You see the title of the sermon? Murderer in the church. Ishmael is the murderer. So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah along with Ishmael, the son of Nathaniah, and Johanan, the sons of Koriah, and Saraiah, the son of Tanhumath, and the sons of Ephah, the Netophathite, and Jesaniah, the son of Maokathite, both they and their men. Then Gedaliah, the son of Ahab, the son of Shaphan, swore to them and said to their men, Don't be afraid of serving the Babylonians. They were still occupying the land. Don't worry about them. Stay in this land of Judah. Serve the king of Babylon. Don't try to resist him. Don't try to be revolutionaries so that it may go well with you. But as for me, Jeremiah, behold, I'm going to stay at Mizpah. to stand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us. So I'm going to stand to be the mediator between any other Babylonians that come into our land and all the remaining people of Judah. But as for you, gather in wine and summer fruit and oil and put them in your storage vessels and live in your cities that you have taken over. In other words, just in case the Babylonians decide to evade again, stock up. Get all the food you can together in case they besiege any of our cities. Likewise, also all the Jews. Now look at this. All the Jews were in Moab and among the sons of Ammon and in Edom and they were in all the other countries. heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant for Judah, and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Aecham, the son of Shaphan. Then all the Jews returned from all the places to which they had been driven away, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mishpah, and gathered in wine and summer fruit and great abundance." So now who's up there with the governor Gedaliah? It's his bodyguards. and all these guerrilla commandos that were hiding out in the mountains. Now it's safe for them to come back to Mizpah. And then there had been Jewish people that had been scattered all over the world in all kinds of nations, either by the Assyrians or by the Babylonians. And now they all came back. And they're up there with these commandos and with Jeremiah the prophet and with Gedalia. All right. Now in verse 13, see the murder of the governor, the assassination of Gedalia. Now Johanan, the son of Korea and all the commanders of the forces that were in the field came to Gedalia at Mizpah and said to him, are you well aware that Beales, the king of the sons of Ammon, has sent Ishmael, the son of Nathaniah, to take your life. But Gedaliah, the very honest man, a man of integrity, didn't believe him. So this man, Ishmael, it's a different Ishmael. is coming to kill Gedalia, and Johanan warns him, but Gedalia just can't imagine another church member trying to kill him. And Ishmael was so wicked that he was in the service of the king of Ammon. Then Johanan, the son of Korea, spoke secretly to Gedalia in Mespisha, Let me go and kill Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah. And not a man will know. Why should he take your life so that all the Jews who gather to you should be scattered and the remnant of Judah perish? Johanan was a good man for a while. And he said, let me go assassinate this Ishmael, perfectly proper to, since he's coming to assassinate you. Verse 16, But Gedaliah the son of Aacham said to Johannan, the son of Korea, don't do this thing, for you're telling me a lie about Ishmael. We don't have any murderers in the church. And he goes on, Now it came about in the seventh month that Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishamah, of the royal family, So Ishmael was a royal seed, directly related to some of the kings of Judah, of the royal family. And one of the chief officers of the king, along with 10 men, came to Mizpah to Gedalia, the son of Aacham, while they were eating bread together in Mizpah. How often has this happened in history? that they were all having a meal together, rejoicing, they're all members of the church, there's Gedalia the king, there's the commandos, there's the people that are united that were scattered all over the world, and there was Ishmael, and they were all having such a good time eating bread together. Ishmael. son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him, arose and struck down Gedaliah, the son of Iachom, the son of Shephan, with the sword, and put to death the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land." But that wasn't enough for Ishmael. He was bloodthirsty. Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him. Now that not only was extremely wicked, it was ridiculous, reckless to kill the man that Nebuchadnezzar put on the throne. So he's risking offending the greatest king in the world just because he has a taste for blood. How many times in history has there been this kind of betrayal? One of the most famous that you need to be aware of took place in the late 1500s in France. There was a great reformation in France and many, many thousands of people became Christians, became Protestants, became reformed largely through Calvin's influence. and they were called Huguenots. The Roman Catholic government did not like, to say the least, Protestants, the Huguenots. They wanted to figure out some way to destroy them. But they couldn't destroy them as long as there was one man alive. And that one man was the second most powerful man in France, if not the most powerful. And he was Admiral Coligny. He was the head of all of French Navy. And he was a godly Calvinist and Christian. As long as he was alive, Roman Catholic government couldn't do much. So they had to assassinate him. Then after assassinating him, they said to all the Huguenots, let's quit fighting each other. We're going to throw a party, the government's going to throw a party in all the main cities and we want all the Huguenots, all of the Protestants to come and enjoy these great feasts we're throwing all over France to celebrate peace. So the naive Huguenots went to all of these parties all over France and when they got there, hiding in the background, were French soldiers who on that day, which is St. Bartholomew's Day, the day Bill Potter was born, on St. Bartholomew's Day, 36,000 Protestants were butchered. And that's why, to this very day, France is the most secular country in Europe. So here they're pulling it again, having a big meal and everybody's having a big time. Then Ishmael gets up with his men and killed the governor with a sword and then turns around and kills all the rest of the Jews that were there at that party. The seed of Abraham is going to be more numerous than the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore and it gets smaller and smaller and smaller. All of the powerful men had been taken captive to Babylon. There were only these commandos and the poorest of the poor. Ishmael kills whoever was there. And the remnant, smaller and smaller. It happened on the next day, This is verse 4. Further atrocities all over the place. Now it happened on the next day after the killing of Gedaliah, which no one knew about, that 80 men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria with their beards cut off, their clothes torn, and their bodies gashed, having grain offerings and incense in their hands, to bring to the house of the Lord. Apparently they didn't even know the temple had been destroyed. And they brought these sacrifices. Notice that none of them were blood sacrifices. They didn't bring any lambs or goats or anything. These were just sacrifices to give God praise for His goodness in allowing them to live. There was no temple. So they come from everywhere. They're beaten. Beard shaved off, clothes torn, bodies gashed. Then Ishmael, the son of Nithaniah, went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went." He's feigning this. He's faking it. He's acting like that he's so sad that these people are in such bad condition. Then Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went. And it came about as he met them and said to them, Come to Gedali and the son of Ahakam, who's already dead. Yet it turned out that as soon as they came inside the city, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and the men who were with him, slaughtered them, cast them into the city, into the cistern. This was a big trench. And he took all these people that he slaughtered and just, big common grave, just like the Nazis during World War II, just poured them in this ditch and let them decompose there. But 10 men who were found among them said to Ishmael, don't put us to death for we have stores of wheat and barley and oil and honey hidden in the field. So he refrained and did not put them to death along with their companions, because that might be food they might need as they continue their invasion of things. Now, as for the cistern where Ishmael had cast all the corpses of the men whom he'd struck down because of Gedalia, it was the one that King Asa had made on account of Besha, king of Israel, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, filled it with the slain. Then Ishmael took captive all the remnant of the people who were in Mizpah, the king's daughters and all the people who were left in Mizpah, all the people who were left in Mizpah, whom Nebuchadnezzar Dan, the captain of the bodyguard, had put under the charge of Gedaliah, the son of Ahakam. Thus Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, took them captive and proceeded to cross over to the sons of Ammon with the spoils of war. But Johanan, the son of Chariah, and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, had done. So they took all the men that they had and went to fight with Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and they found him by the great pool that is in Gibeon. Now it came about as soon as all the people who were with Ishmael, so Johanan, the son of Korea, and the commanders of the forces that were with him, they were glad. So all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mishpa turned around and came and went to Johanan, the sons of Korea. But Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the king, sons of Ammon. Then Johanan, the sons of Korea, and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, took from Mishpah all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah, the son of Aakim, that is, the men who were soldiers, women and children and eunuchs, whom we brought back from Gibeon. And they went and stayed in Geruth Chimim, which is beside Bethlehem, in order to proceed to Egypt, because of the Chaldeans. For they were afraid of them, since Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, had struck down Gedaliah, the son of Aachab, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. So the story is this group of people that were loyal to Gedaliah were captured by Ishmael, but then they saw more of the loyal people come, and so they left Ishmael, and they joined together, men, women, and children, to go to Egypt. That's the story. What was left of the remnant felt like that their only hope for survival was to flee to Egypt. Egypt was a great country, but Nebuchadnezzar had already whipped them once. And they thought if they could go to Egypt, that would protect them from Ishmael, and that would protect them from Babylon and from Nebuchadnezzar. Instead of trusting God, staying in the land that God gave them, and trusting God to be their shield, in their infinite wisdom, they thought the safest thing that we should do is flee back to the people who once held us in slavery. They found that it's safer to be in slavery. than it is to be free men. How many times in history has that happened? When Moses was leading the children of Israel through the wilderness, and they were growing weary, they said, Moses, you've just brought us out here to kill us. We'd rather have the leeks and onions of Egypt than the responsibilities and duties of free men. We'd rather be slaves, taken care of, dependents, than being free men. Same thing in the United States today. There are more slaves in the United States today than there were in the South in 1861. 1861, the slaves were all members of families. The 21st century and 20th century, all the slaves are slaves of the state. They're on welfare. They do what the state tells them to do. There is no life. There's no possibility of survival apart from slavery to the state. That's where we are. That's what the Democrats believe with all their heart and soul. That's what many of the Republicans believe, that the safest place to be is dependent upon the United States federal government, not independent men and women cherishing freedom who depend upon the living God to protect them. So now we come to chapter 42. And in chapter 42, we see their flight to Egypt. That's where they're going. So let's see what happened. Then all the commanders of the forces, the guerrilla commandos, Johanan, the son of Korea, who tried to, wanted to assassinate Ishmael, Jesediah, the son of Hoshiah, and all the people, both small and great, approached and said to Jeremiah the prophet, please let our petition come before you. Now this is less, this is all that's left of the remnant. King's dead, no leader, some rugged guerrilla commandos, some poorest of the poor, that's all that's left. So they're going to Egypt because they don't think they can survive outside of Egypt, no matter what God says. So they're following their own will, completely disregarding the will of God, and so they become such hypocritical people. This remnant is not a godly remnant. It's hypocritical to the core. I said to Abraham, Your seeds are going to be more numerous than the stars of the sky and the sand of the seashore. And what's left is a handful of hypocrites. So they come to Jeremiah the prophet and they say, please let our petition come before you and pray for us to the Lord your God, that is, for all this remnant, because we're left but a few out of many, as your own eyes now see us, that the Lord your God may tell us the way in which we should walk and the thing we should do." What hypocrites. They're already determined to go to Egypt. They're already on their way to Egypt. And they come to Jeremiah and say, Jeremiah, pray to God and ask Him what we should do and where we should go and what His will for our lives are. And they're already heading toward Egypt. Hypocrites par excellence. Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, I've heard you. Behold, I'm going to pray to the Lord your God in accordance with your words. And it'll come about that the whole message which the Lord will answer you, I will tell you, and I will not keep back a word from you. Bless Jeremiah's heart. He's always preaching. He's always praying. He's always faithful. He held out hope for Judah until the city was destroyed. Now the city's destroyed. There's a handful of remnant left and he's still praying for them. He still has not given up hope. I'll tell you everything God tells me. I won't hold back a word. Verse five, then they said to Jeremiah, may the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with the whole message with which the Lord your God will send you to us. Whether it's pleasant or unpleasant, we will listen to the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you in order that it may go well with you when we listen to the voice of the Lord our God. We love the Word of God. We love the prophet of God. We love prayer. We want to do what's right. We want to do what God's Word tells us to do. Whether it's pleasant or unpleasant, we don't care. We'll listen to and obey whatever the Lord our God tells us. And may the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us. In other words, may God strike us down if we disobey Him. And they're already disobeying Him. Verse 7. Now it came about at the end of ten days, But the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. Then he called for Johanan the son of Korea, and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, and for all the people, both small and great, important and not important, and said to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him. Jeremiah is always telling the truth, no matter what it's going to cost him. If you will indeed stay in this land, then I'll build you up and not tear you down. And I will plant you and not uproot you. For I shall relent concerning the calamity. I'll stop this calamity if you change. See, God doesn't change. Judah changes. That I have inflicted upon you. So Jeremiah's message is, stay in the land. of Judah, stay in the promised land and God will take care of you and God will protect you. Verse 11, don't be afraid of the King of Babylon as long as you stay in the land where you have the shield of God. Don't be afraid of the King of Babylon whom you are now fearing. Do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord, for I am with you to save you and deliver you from his hand. You trust in me, go back to where I told you. Don't be revolutionaries. Don't resist Babylon. Don't go to Egypt. That'll put you back in slavery. Do what I'll tell you and I'll be with you. You don't have anything to worry about as long as I am with you and I'll save you. And I'll deliver you from the hand of all your enemies. Just trust me and obey me and all will be well. I will also show you compassion. This is God's offer of salvation. I will also show you compassion so that He will have compassion on you and restore you to your own soil. But if you're going to say, we will not stay in the land so as not to listen to the voice of the Lord your God, saying, no, we will not stay in the land. We don't want your salvation. We don't want your presence. We don't want your deliverance. We don't want your compassion. We got a better plan. We'll go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or hear the sound of a trumpet or hunger for bread, and we'll stay there. And in that case, listen to the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, omnipotent, the God of Israel, if you really set your mind to enter Egypt, then go on. reside there is death. And it will come about that the sword which you are so afraid of will overtake you there in the land of Egypt and that famine about which you are so anxious will follow closely after you there in Egypt and you'll die there. So all the men who set their minds to go to Egypt to reside there will die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, and they will have no survivors or refugees from the calamity that I'm going to bring on them." Most of them go to Egypt, no survivors. Thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, as my anger and wrath have been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. And you will become a curse, an object of horror, an imprecation, and a reproach, and you will see this place no more. The Lord has spoken to you, O remnant of Judah. Do not go into Egypt. You shall clearly understand that today I have testified against you, for you have only deceived yourselves. For it is you who sent me to the Lord your God, saying, Pray for us to the Lord our God, and whatever the Lord our God says, tell us so, and we'll do it. So I have told you today. But you have not obeyed the Lord your God, even in whatever he has sent me to tell you. Therefore, you should now clearly understand." He's talking to the church. Therefore, you should now clearly understand that you will die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place which you wish to reside. But it came about, as soon as Jeremiah, whom their Lord God had sent, had finished telling the people all the words of the Lord, that is, all these words, that Azariah the son of Hoshiah, and Johanan the son of Koriah, and all the arrogant men, said to Jeremiah, You're telling us a lie. You're a liar. You're not God's prophet. You're a liar. Lord, our God has not sent you to say, You are not to enter Egypt to reside there. But Baruch the son of Moriah is inciting you against us to give us over to the hand of the Chaldeans so they may put us to death or exile in Babylon. You're just under the thumb of Baruch." Remember he was the one that Jeremiah dictated the Word of God to on a scroll. You're just under the thumb of Baruch and there's a conspiracy to get us back under the thumb of the Babylonians So they'll put us to death or put us in exile. You're a liar, Jeremiah. And you imagine how that broke Jeremiah's heart. So Johannan and the son of Korea and all the commanders of the forces and all the people, all the people did not obey the voice of the Lord so as to stay in the land of Judah. But Yohanan, the son of Korea, and all the commanders of the forces, took the entire remnant of Judah, who had returned from all the nations to which they had been driven away, in order to reside in the land of Egypt. The men, the women, the children, the king's daughter, and every person, the nebuchadnezzar, the captain, of the bodyguard had left with Gadalia, the son of Aacham, the grandson of Shaphan, together with Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah, and they entered the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the Lord. And they went in as far as Taphanes, and notice they forcibly made Jeremiah go with them. In the word of the Lord, came to Jeremiah and Taphaniah, saying, Take some large stones in your hands and hide them in the mortar in the brick terrace, which is at the entrance of Pharaoh's palace in Taphanies, in the sight of some of the Jews. And say to them, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I am going to send and get Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon my servant. Why would God call Nebuchadnezzar my servant? because he was being used by God to punish this bunch of wicked, murderous hypocrites. And I'm going to set his throne right over these stones that I've hidden, and they'll spread his canopy over them. And he will come and strike the land of Egypt Those who are meant for death will be given over to death, those for captivity to captivity, and those for the sword of the sword. And I shall set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt." God has always hated the gods of Egypt. That was the whole purpose of the ten plagues. You remember the ten plagues that God poured out on Egypt to let His people go? Each one of those plagues destroyed a particular god of Egypt. God was at war with the gods of Egypt and now he's burning down their temples and he is at war with their gods and he will burn them and take them captive so he'll wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself with his garment and he'll depart from there safely and Egypt will just be an overcoat for him. He will also shatter the obelisks of Heliopolis, like a Washington tower, a Washington monument, which is in the land of Egypt, in the temples of the gods of Egypt, he'll burn with fire. There's where you're going to be safe. Nebuchadnezzar is going to burn it to the ground. Now here in chapter 44, you have Jeremiah's last known words. last known words of Jeremiah. The word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt, those who were living in Migdal, Taffanis, Memphis, and the land of Pathros, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts, who has all the energies and powers of creation at his disposal, the God of Israel, who has entered into a covenant with this pathetic church, You yourselves have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah. And behold, this day they're in ruins and no one lives in them because of their wickedness, which they committed so as to provoke me to anger by continuing to burn sacrifices and to serve other gods whom they had not known. Neither they you nor your fathers. Yet I sent to you all my servants. So Nebuchadnezzar's a servant. Now the prophets are the servants of God. Yet I send you all my servants, the prophets, again and again, saying, O do not do this abominable thing which I hate. But they didn't listen or incline their ears to turn from their wickedness, so as not to burn sacrifices to other gods. Therefore, my wrath and my anger were poured out and burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, so they have become a ruin and a desolation to this day. You know what one of the greatest sacred cows and one of the greatest lies in the United States is? Everybody has the right to worship the God of his choice. That is an absolute lie. If you worship anybody else besides Jehovah, you will go to hell. If your whole nation is known for that, you'll burn down all your temples and declare war on all your gods. Verse six. Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured out and burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they become a ruin and a desolation as it is to this day. Now then, thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, why are you doing great harm to yourselves, so as to cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, from among Judah, leaving yourselves without remnant? provoking me to anger with the works of your hands, burning sacrifices to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you are entering to reside, so that you might be cut off and become a curse and reproach among all the nations of the earth. Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah? and in the streets of Jerusalem, but they have not become contrite and repentant even to this day, nor have they feared nor walked in My law and My statutes, which I have set before you and before your fathers. You have seen all of the destruction I brought against Jerusalem and all the destruction against Judah, and you continue to live in disobedience to My law. Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I am going to set my face against you for woe, even to cut off all that you do. I am determined to wipe out. God said, Abraham, your seed We'll be more numerous than stars in the sky and sand in the seashore. Now there's nothing. God wipes out all Judah. I will take away the remnant of Judah who have set their mind on entering the land of Egypt to reside there, and they will all meet their end in the land of Egypt. They will fall by the sword, meet their end by famine. Both small and great will die by the sword and famine. They'll become a curse, an object of horror, a deprecation, and a reproach. And I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt as I have punished Jerusalem with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence." So there will be no refugees or survivors for the remnant of Judah. They have entered the land of Egypt to reside there and then to return to the land of Judah, to which they are longing to return and live, for none will return except a few refugees. Then all the men who were aware that their wives were burning sacrifices to other gods along with all the women who were standing by as a large assembly, including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying, As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to listen to you. But rather, we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths. By burning sacrifices, this is the church talking, by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out libations to her, just as we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. And then we had plenty of food and we're all well off and saw no misfortune. But since we stopped burning sacrifices at the Queen of Heaven and pouring out our libations to her, we've lacked everything and have met our end by the sword and by famine. Here's why we're ruined. The Queen of Heaven's mad at us. We quit worshiping her. And so now she's punishing us. You know why, Augustine? wrote The City of God. Rome had just been destroyed and fallen. Nobody in the world could imagine a world without Rome. The question is, after a thousand years of power, why did Rome fall? And do you know what all the Romans said? Romans said, and this is in Augustine, The City of God, the Romans said, Rome has fallen because we quit worshiping the old gods. It's these Christians that has got us in trouble. It's these Christians that worship a triune God, and trying to get people to worship the triune God, and we've quit worshiping our old gods, and now our old gods came back and destroyed us. When it was exactly the opposite. Jehovah destroyed them. This queen of heaven. She was worshiped all over Babylon and Assyria. She was one of the most popular goddesses in all the Middle East. She was the god of fertility. So there was a lot of immorality connected with the worship of the Queen of Heaven. By the way, the Roman Catholics today called Mary the Queen of Heaven. I bet you had another name. And the queen of heaven's name was Ishtar. And the name Ishtar degenerated into the name Easter. And you look at some of the sculptures of Ishtar In Assyrian and Babylon, since she was the goddess of fertility, there's a lot of rabbits around her. Because rabbits are so prolific. Ishtar bunnies. Easter bunnies. And they also had her favorite flower carved near her statues. And it was the Ishtar lily. The Easter lily. And every spring she had a great celebration and all of her worshipers celebrated her. I don't celebrate Easter because I do not worship the Queen of Heaven. I celebrate the resurrection of Christ every Sunday. Let's go on here quickly, we're over time now. Let's start with verse 23, verse 22. So the Lord was no longer able to endure it. He's no longer being patient because of the evil of your deeds, because the abominations which you've committed, thus your land has become a ruin, an object, a horror, a curse without an inhabitant as it is this day. Because you've burned sacrifices and sinned against the Lord and not obeyed the voice of the Lord or walked in His law, His statutes or His testimonies, therefore this calamity has befallen you as it has this day.' Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, ''Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, as follows. As for you and your wives, you spoke with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands, saying, We will certainly perform our vows that we have vowed to burn sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pour out libations to her. Go ahead and confirm your vows. Certainly perform your vows. Go ahead. Choose you this day whom you're going to serve. Nevertheless, hear the word of the Lord, all Judah. We're living in the land of Egypt. Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the Lord, never shall my name be invoked again by the mouth of any man in Judah. All the land of Egypt. Saying as the Lord God lives, behold, I'm still watching over them. But now it is for harm and not for good. And all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will meet therein by the sword and by famine until they're completely gone. And those who escape the sword will return out of the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, few in number. Then all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to reside there will know whose word will stand, mine or theirs. This will be the sign to you, declares the Lord, that I'm going to punish you in this place so that you may know that my words will surely stand against you for harm. Thus says the Lord. Behold, I'm going to give over Pharaoh, Hophra, king of Egypt, to the hand of his enemies, to the hand of those who seek his life, just as I gave over Zedekiah, king of Judah, to the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who was his enemy and was seeking his life. That's the last words of Jeremiah, died shortly thereafter in Egypt. Now, why do I keep saying, reminding you of the promise? Did God fail in His promise? Did God promise Abraham and his descendants that they would be more numerous than stars in the sky and the sand in the seashore? And now in 586 and 587, they're nothing. There's just a handful of survivors. I mean, the remnant's not even there. Just a handful of survivors. And that's it. That's all that was in the church. Did God's promise fail? No. Because the real descendant of Abraham is Jesus Christ and all those who belong to him by faith regardless of ethnic origin. Galatians 3, 29. And they shall continue to grow throughout all the earth till they are this numerous throng. They'll not be confined to some little poverty stricken country that's under the thumb of some dictator who will possess the entire earth. On that earth, they will build a godly civilization based upon the word of God. They'll no longer be disobedient. That great Christian civilization will continue for hundreds, if not thousands of years, so that when Jesus returns to earth at the last, he'll return to a Christian earth. You have the faith to believe that. God's promises never fail. So be faithful. Don't chicken out. Don't trust in man. Don't trust in the United States. The United States is just as idolatrous as Judah in the Old Testament. We got a very good member of Trump's cabinet when he was sorny and put his hand on a Hindu book. And he's Hindu. And he worships a false god. Wife of the Vice President of the United States is a Hindu. Can you imagine the writers of the Constitution ever thinking that there would ever be a Hindu wife of the Vice President of the United States? That's just a couple examples. So we've got to pray, Lord, for help us to turn from our idolatry. Help us to turn from that idolatrous belief that every man and woman in America has the right to worship the God of his choice. Thou shalt have no other gods before thee. Where do you find the right to worship other gods in the first commandment? So here we are. Trust the word of God. Don't trust your own word. Don't fear your enemies. God's with you to save you, to deliver you, and to have compassion upon you as you trust in him and obey his law. Father in heaven, we are saddened by these chapters. We're glad you put them there. Your wrath is real, and your mercy is real. As you continue to judge our country in your wrath, remember mercy. For Jesus' sake, amen.