Day 423: Useless shepherds – Jeremiah 22 vs 15 – 23 vs 1
15-16 A beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king! Your father, Josiah, also had plenty to eat and drink. But he was just and right in all his dealings. That is why God blessed him. He gave justice and help to the poor and needy, and everything went well for him. Isn’t that what it means to know me?” says the Lord. 17 “But you! You have eyes only for greed and dishonesty! You murder the innocent, oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.” 18-19 Therefore, this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim, son of King Josiah: “The people will not mourn for him, crying to one another, ‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’ His subjects will not mourn for him, crying, ‘Alas, our master is dead! Alas, his splendour is gone!’ He will be buried like a dead donkey - dragged out of Jerusalem and dumped outside the gates!
20 Weep for your allies in Lebanon. Shout for them in Bashan. Search for them in the regions east of the river. See, they are all destroyed. Not one is left to help you. 21 I warned you when you were prosperous, but you replied, ‘Don’t bother me.’ You have been that way since childhood - you simply will not obey me! 22-23 And now the wind will blow away your allies. All your friends will be taken away as captives. Surely then you will see your wickedness and be ashamed. It may be nice to live in a beautiful palace panelled with wood from the cedars of Lebanon, but soon you will groan with pangs of anguish - anguish like that of a woman in labour.
24-27 “As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “I will abandon you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. Even if you were the signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off. I will hand you over to those who seek to kill you, those you so desperately fear - to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the mighty Babylonian army. I will expel you and your mother from this land, and you will die in a foreign country, not in your native land. You will never again return to the land you yearn for.
28 “Why is this man Jehoiachin like a discarded, broken jar? Why are he and his children to be exiled to a foreign land? O earth, earth, earth! Listen to this message from the Lord! This is what the Lord says: ‘Let the record show that this man Jehoiachin was childless. He is a failure, for none of his children will succeed him on the throne of David to rule over Judah.’ Chapter 23 vs 1 “What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people - the shepherds of my sheep - for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the Lord. Jeremiah 22:15–23:1 New Living Translation paraphrase. (English Standard Version link)
The last verse of today's longer reading is the key. The Kings of Israel were meant to look after the nation even as a shepherd would look after the sheep entrusted to his care. But what does God say concerning the ones Jeremiah was speaking of? (vs 17 & 23 vs 1)
Because of what they had done, great sorrow was in store for them. Vs 18-19 describe the ignoble fate that would befall Jehoiakim, and vs 24-27 tell how Jehoiachin, the king after Jehoiakim, would end up in exile. Vs 20 -23 stress how they would be let down by those they thought were their allies. What was it that made their behaviour so serious? (vs 21)
God had given them many warnings (as a parent would do with a child) but they had obstinately refused to listen and change their ways. It's probably a reference to the many prophets God had sent urging them to repent, but their rebelliousness was too ingrained. Notice too how it had started in their youth! How important our younger years are! How important that those who have children should teach them of God's holiness as well as His love, and seek to bring them in their early years to the good shepherd, Jesus Christ.
We still live in days when there are many useless 'shepherds' in the world. People in positions of power and influence who reject God's word and promote mankind's greed and lusts, and drag the nation down with ungodly ways. Like Jeremiah, we need to stay true to God's message and be willing, if called, to tell even Kings, Presidents and Prime Ministers of the fate that awaits those who rebel against God and reject His warnings.