Jeremiah 43 - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application
Jeremiah 43 Bible Study
INTRO AND TIMELINE:
Jeremiah was a priest who lived in Anathoth (3 miles from Jerusalem). His ministry was directed towards the people of Judah, immediately before and during their exile in Babylon. His work as a prophet dates from 627 BC through the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC.
Jeremiah is the longest book in the English Bible by word count. The book has 52 chapters.
Jeremiah prophesied under the following Kings of Judah:
Manasseh (687-642 BC)
Amos (642-640 BC)
Josiah (640-609 BC)
Jehoiakim (initially known as Eliakim, 609-598 BC)
Jehoiachin (also known as Jeconiah or Coniah, 598-597 BC)
Zedekiah (His reign ended when Babylon conquered Judah, (597-586 BC)
MAP OF KEY LOCATIONS IN JEREMIAH 43:
OUTLINE:
THE REMNANT OF JUDAH MOVES TO EGYPT (43:1-6):
In Jeremiah 42, the people of Judah asked Jeremiah to inquire of the Lord regarding their plan to go to Egypt. They promised to do whatever God instructed.
But when Jeremiah told them God forbid them to go to Egypt, their attitude changed and they started accusing Jeremiah of lying.
Johanan and the other leading men “did not obey the voice of the Lord, to remain in the land of Judah” (43:4).
The men who had military authority rounded up all the remnant of Judah and led them to Egypt, including Jeremiah.
GOD SPEAKS TO JEREMIAH IN EGYPT (43:7-13):
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in a Tahpanhes, a city in northern Egypt.
He told Jeremiah to take large stones and hide them in the mortar in the pavement at the entrance of Pharaoh’s palace.
Jeremiah was to tell the men of Judah that Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who they were running from, would conquer Egypt and set up his throne above the hidden stones.
The Babylonian sword the people of Judah were hoping to avoid in Judah would find them in Egypt.
God said of Nebuchadnezzar, “I shall kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away captive. And he shall clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd cleans his cloak of vermin, and he shall go away from there in peace” (43:12).
APPLICATION:
Though the people of Judah pretended like they wanted to hear God’s council, they really just wanted to hear God affirm the decision they had already made.
How many of us do the same thing?[
We say we’re interested in knowing the will of God, but we’ll only listen to teachers who already affirm what we believe.
We enjoy listening to preachers who confirm our correctness rather than listening to those who challenge us.
We get angry when a teacher suggests something we’ve believed for a long time may need tweaked.
We would sooner call someone a liar and a false teacher than do an honest critique of our favorite doctrines.
Some people only study God’s words to affirm themselves, but the Bible wasn’t given to us to affirm us, it was given to us to transform us!
