Shiloh Remembered - Jeremiah 26

Jeremiah 26:6 "Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth."

We will remember Shiloh (not the Civil War site) in the Bible as the place where the tabernacle and the ark once sat. The Philistines defeated Israel there and took the ark. Thousands of Israelites were slain. I Samuel 4:10-

Shiloh: (the place of rest) a city Judges 21:19 17 miles north of Jerusalem. Joshua 18:1 Where , the Tabernacle was set up and remained for 300 years.

The message of this chapter is that the priests and council did not like the message God sent Jeremiah to deliver, so they sought to kill Jeremiah.

v3 "If so be they will hearken, and turn every ma from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings."

The message was one of warning and compassion. But the leaders held fast to their sinful ways and would not repent but rather wanted to kill Jeremiah as if that would solve their problem. It is the old "kill the messenger" mentality.

v8 "Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets, and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die."

So there was a hearing for Jeremiah with the princes as the sort of court. At first, the people went with the priests and prophets but then they changed sides and went with the princes who were to let Jeremiah live. For Jeremiah stood firm.

v16 "Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die; for he hath spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God."

So then the elders spoke up.

v17 "Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying."

They reminded the people of Micah and how Hezekiah responded to his message in a good way. And of Urijah who also had a strong message for Israel. So the elders were Jeremiah's defenders and Jeremiah lived a long life.

v24 "Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death."

It must have surely been an intense day. The priests and prophets were taking it on themselves to judge Jeremiah until the princes heard the commotion and came up the hill to see what was going on. Then as the people swayed from one opinion to the other, the elders finally stood up.

Josiah's Sons - Jeremiah 22

Jeremiah 22:2 "And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates."

v3 "Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place."

Josiah started his reign when he was 8 years old and reigned for 31 years then was wounded in battle and died when he was 39. He was a good king.

He had several sons which were not good leaders. The Bible says they did evil.

v11 "For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more;" See I Chronicles 3:15 where he is also called Jeheahaz in Chronicles 36:4.

Well, some of the names were changed by Jeremiah, probably to show their standing at the time. It was common in the Bible to depict character or some other meaning i.e. Jeremiah 20:3 with Pashur changed to Magormissabib after he smote Jeremiah.

Shallum or Jeheahaz reigned 3 months and was carried away never to return.

v18 "Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying Ah my brother! or Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or Ah his glory!"

v24 "As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;"

Coniah is called Jehoiachin in II Chronicles 36:5. Again, Jeremiah is using another name. I think it could have been a way to wipe them from history or to separate them from the great kings of Judah at least. It does serve to confuse the tracing of their history. See all II Kings 24:12.

Verse 30 tells us the final judgment.

v30 "Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah."

We can again read the Kings and Chronicles to see the evil things going on when these people were kings.

Hezekiah was a good king. His son Manasseh was evil. Amon his son did evil. Josiah, his son was a good king and followed Hezekiah's example.

II Chronicles 34:27 "Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God... v28 Behold I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of the same.

35:25 "And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel; and behold they are written in the lamentations. (4:20)

Although there were some good kings during the end, before the captivity, there were also evil kings which reigned over the end and they expressed the evil that caused the judgment to come.

Hezekiah's Mistake Isaiah 39

Isaiah 39:6 "Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left,s aith the LORD."

Hezekiah has been sick and since he is king, the word gets around.

v1 "At that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered."

Merodachbaladam means Merodach, worshipper of Baal. Merodach means slaughter and was an idol of the Babylonians and often used as a surname.

Hezekiah liked the attention and did some showing off.

v2 "And Hezekiah was glad of them, and showed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures; there was nothing in his house, not in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not."

That was like showing a bank robber around a bank. He could see that there was much more to steal besides what was in the registers. Isaiah found out about this and told the king what would happen.

v4 "Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not showed them."

Which leads us to the text verse. What they saw, they would take away.

Next is the part of the chapter that I find shocking for such a good king. Isaiah also told Hezekiah that his sons would be taken away. Hezekiah, himself, would be spared this even but his sons would suffer. Hezekiah's attitude was very selfish.

v7 "And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."

Then the first that shocked me. It is as if Hezekiah cares only for himself.

v8 "Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken, He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days."

Sun 10 Degrees Back Isaiah 38

Isaiah 38:8 "Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down."

It must have been a strange sight for the people living then, to see the sun going the other way.

The occasion was to give Hezekiah 15 more years of life.

v1 "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live."

Hezekiah was a special person, a king and the son of David but he still had an appointment with death. So do we. Hezekiah was very sad over this and pleaded with the Lord recounting his faithfulness.

v3 "And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore."

With compassion, the Lord gave Hezekiah an extension of life but those years were perhaps the darkest time of his life.

I say that because it was during these years that he showed the representatives of the king of Babylon all his treasures. Those treasures would be taken. It also led to the captivity of his two sons who would serve in the king of Babylon's house.

The balance of the chapter is Hezekiah's song about his sickness and restoration.

v21 "For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover. v22 Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall g up to the house of the LORD?"

It is not unlike us that Hezekiah would seek a sign even after the Lord had sent Isaiah to tell him his life was extended. The story is told in previous studies.

v16 "O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit; so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live."

Rabshakeh Part2 Isaiah 37

Isaiah 37:10 "Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria."

Rabshakeh has increased his blasphemy. In the last chapter, he told the people to not let Hezekiah deceive them (v14), now he is telling them to not let God deceive them.

v1 "And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the LORD."

Here is Hezekiah strength. He has told the people to not be afraid. Now, he goes before the LORD to plead for Judah and Jerusalem. He has said that the LORD would take care of them and now he prays that he would be so.

Hezekiah sent to Isaiah that he would call upon the LORD and received an answer. He himself also goes in to pray.

v16 "O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. v17 Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God."

Although Sennacherib was not there in person, he was responsible in that he sent Rabshakeh to do his work. It reads like that at some point Sennacherib did come at least near to where Rabshakeh was because he 'returned' to Nineveh.

Hezekiah's prayer was answered and it happened as the LORD told him.

v36 "Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand; and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses."

As for Sennacherib, he lost his kingdom to his son.

v38 "And it came to pass as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead."

They learned that the One true God is not like the gods made by man. Also, that He protects Jerusalem.

Rabshakeh Isaiah 36

Isaiah 36:1 "Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defensed cities of Judah, and took them."

He is closing in on Jerusalem and things look pretty bad. The story is also told in II Chronicles 32:1.

Rebshakeh is the representative of Sennacherib. Rebshakeh uses some strong words to discourage the men guarding the city. He made his mistake when he blasphemed the LORD and put him in the same bunch as the idols worshipped by other nations.

v7 "But if thou say to me, We trust in the LORD our God; is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar?"

Rebshakeh had his facts all wrong. Hezekiah had done some housecleaning by getting rid of the idols.

v18 "Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying The LORD will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?"

What was it that Hezekiah told the people?

II Chronicles 32:7 "Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him; for there be more with us than with him: v8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah."

We will have to wait until the next chapter for the rest of the story.

We can go back to a story of Elisha in II Kings 6 where the king of Syria sent people to fetch Elisha but it did not work. That is also where the swimming ax story is.

v15 "And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto, Alas, my master! how shall we do? v16 And he answered, Fear not; for they that be with us are more than they that be with them."

The servants eyes were opened and he saw a host protecting the prophet.

Manasseh II Chronicles 33

II Chronicles 33:1 "Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem;" See II Kings 21:1 also

It seems a long time for a bad king to reign but there is a difference with Manasseh. He turned his life around by humbling himself before God.

v2 "But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel."

He did the usual stuff but with a lot of enthusiasm.
v3 "For he built again the high places... v4 Also he built altars in the house of the LORD... v5 And he built altars ...in the two courts... v6 And he caused his children to pass through the fire...observed times, and used enchantments...witchcraft...v7 And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made in the house of God..."

He tried about everything that was against the teachings of the law, so it appears. He did not get away with it though.

v10 "And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to his people; but they would not hearken. v11 Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria which took Manasseh among the thorns and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon."

Manasseh had a good example in Hezekiah but there must have been other influences in his life. It is often the case when a man of God is off busy with the LORD's work, his children take advantage of his absence to do mischief. Most grow out of it and return to their teachings, some do not.

v12 "And when he was in affliction he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. v13 And prayed..."

God heard and brought him back to his homeland where he tried to undo all the evil he had done such as set up the idols. He started out really bad but ended up trying to honor God.

He had a son named Amon who started to reign at 22 years old but did evil. He reigned only two years before his servants killed him who in turn lost their lives to the people. Instead of humbling himself as his father did v23 "...Amon trespassed more and more."

Isaiah 32:1 "Behold a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment."

Manasseh humbles himself before the Lord.

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Hezekiah Part 4 II Chronicles 32

II Chronicles 32:1 "After these things and the establishment thereof, Sennach'e-rib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities and thought to win them for himself."

Sennacherib stayed at a place called Lachish and sent his servant to carry his message to king Hezekiah. This in itself seems like an insult to king Hezekiah that another king would send a servant instead of coming himself. It may have be a ploy to lower Hezekiah to a servants level. His reasons are not mentioned here. When I saw the name Senacherib (and there is no spiritual insight here) I could not help but think it sounded like snatch-a-rib which I thought was funny.

Anyway the servant came to Jerusalem and started out telling how Hezekiah had done away with all the high places and idols and so the people had no gods to pray to for deliverance. He bragged about all the other nations they had destroyed who gods of their own, which seems a contradiction to me. Then he made a grave mistake, he bundled the true God with the false gods and railed against him.

v10 Thus saith, Sennacherib king of Assyria, Whereon do ye trust that ye abide in the siege in Jerusalem?" Then he asks a bunch of questions like the serpent did in the garden of Eden.

v11 "Doth not Hezekiah persuade you to give over yourselves to die by famine and by thirst... v12 Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars...v13 Know ye not what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands? v14 Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people...v15 ...how much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand?"

The man was full of questions. It was all an effort to dishearten the people and turn them against their king and their God. Hezekiah did the best thing, he called a prayer meeting.

v20 "And for this cause Hezekiah the king and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven."

v21 "And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valor, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword."

After this Hezekiah became sick but prayed for more years and was given 15 more. During this time he had a son whose name was Manasseh who started his reign as king at the age of 12.

Hezekiah made some mistakes near the end but in the end he humbled himself and was buried with honors.

Isaiah 48:10 "Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction."

Hezekiah prays and is delivered from the king of Assyria.

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Hezekiah Part 3 II Chronicles 31

II Chronicles 31:1 "Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities."

Now that is a revival. Many will not remember but in the 60's there was such a revival in this country, at least, in the southeast. There was others before but this one I remember. The renewal spread from church to church. It was like one big long revival meeting. Young people got involved and brought their friends. Schools and work places were impacted. I barely remember when I was a child when my folks went house to house in cottage prayer meetings and there were prayer meetings before work in the plants. It is what our country needs today.

v5 "And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly. See Exodus 22:29 James 1:18

Spiritual renewal results in physical action. Hezekiah has taken the remnant and brought them back to the law and dedication to the true God of Israel. It will not set well with the idol worshippers who later attack Judah but that will turn out good too.

v20-21 "And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.

The key phrase has to be 'he did it with all his heart'. See also I Kings 15:5, John 1:47, Deut 29:9 I Timothy 4:8.

It was during these times that Isaiah, a prophet who knew Hezekiah, penned some of the most beautiful words of the Bible. Isaiah even got a glimpse of Jesus on the throne of heaven.

Isaiah 6:1 "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. v3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory."

Hezekiah and the people cleanse the land of idols.

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Hezekiah Part 2 II Chronicles 30

II Chronicles 30:1 "And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel."

Hezekiah is the king of Judah but he is now reaching out to the whole nation to observe the passover. He is a man with a broader view that just his immediate area. He is considering the law as it applies to all Israel. It is a profound move on his part if you consider the history we have studied concerning the wars and killing between the two nations (or the two divisions of the original nation).

v5 "So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in such sort as it was written."

The posts went out and were met with scorn and laughter in Israel. Yet it did have some effect for many showed up from these places, although not as a unified nation.

v11 "Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem."

They were not disappointed for it was a grand occasion. In fact, it is described as the best event since Solomon's time.

There is a demonstration of grace in this chapter. The LORD was pleased with the effort of his people to honor his commandment by observing the passover. After all, it represented their deliverance from death while judgment was being executed on the firstborn of Egypt.

When some were not cleansed, as they were taught, the LORD heard Hezekiah's prayer for them and healed them so that they could observe the passover. Hezekiah prayed in v18 "...The good LORD pardon everyone."

v20 "And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people." See Exodus 15:26 James 5:16

Hezekiah did not miss the opportunity but had great patience with the Levites who were taxed greatly by all the work involved in preparing the sacrifices.

v22 "And Hezekiah spake comfortably unto all the Levites that taught the good knowledge of the LORD:..."

It went so well that they extended it seven more days as Solomon did in I Kings 8:65.

v27 "Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people; and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even unto heaven." See Numbers 6:23

One thing that stands out in the reign of Hezekiah is that there was a lot of praying going on. The Bible plainly says that the LORD heard them.

note: Although the kingdoms of Judah and Israel were often drawn to idols and away from the LORD, there were prophets in the land which warned them and counseled them. Isaiah was available to Hezekiah while Elijah and Elisha were in Israel.

Isaiah 32:17 "And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever." See Luke 2:14

Hezekiah and the people observe the passover.

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Hezekiah Part 1 II Chronicles 29

II Chronicles 29:1 "Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. V2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done."

We will notice first that Hezekiah is the son of a very bad king named Ahaz. Next we see that his mother is mentioned, her name was Abijah. It is the grace of God that Hezekiah was such a good king after the example he had but his mother must have surely taught him for many years before he was king.

A lot is written about Hezekiah and it takes several chapters to tell his story. So much so that some have mistakenly said that there is a book of the Bible called Hezekiah. Indeed more is written of him by the prophet Isaiah as noted in chapter 32 verse 32. See Isaiah chapters 36-39.

v3 "He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them."

The Levites are called in to prepare themselves to do service in the house of the LORD. Hezekiah recounts the wrongs that have been done and encourages them to do the work.

v15 "And they gathered their brethren and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD."

It took them eight days to sanctify the house of the LORD. v17 They went to work on the vessels and got everything in order.

v20 "Then Hezekiah the king, rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD.

So the brought sacrifices and sprinkled the blood on the altar. They brought forth goats for the sin offering and made reconciliation with their blood on the altar. v23-24. All Israel was included in these offerings. v24. It was Hezekiah's intention to bring all Israel together at the house of the LORD.

With the house of the LORD prepared, they began the worship service.

v28 "And all the congregation worshipped and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished."

Much was done that day. They sang the songs of David and Asaph and offered the offerings as in Leviticus 7:12, the thank offerings.

v35b "...So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order."

v36 "And Hezekiah rejoiced and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly."

So, Hezekiah started to rebuild Judah and reached out to Israel by first getting the house of the LORD in order and the hearts of the people turned toward God again. The faith of the people was centered on the house of the LORD and when it was in disarray so was their faith.

Next we continue with Hezekiah in chapter 30. What did he do next?

Psalm 34:11 "Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Hezekiah, a good king of Judah, starts to rebuild.

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