1. PERSEVERE IN
OBEDIENCE
JEREMIAH 37-38
AUGUST 26, 2012
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
USA

2. This lesson is about
persevering in serving the
Lord by refusing to
compromise godly
convictions no matter
what the cost to you or to
those around you.

4. John Bunyan was born in
1628 in Elstow, England.
After marrying in his 20s
he became a Christian,
joined a Baptist church &
soon became concerned
about his lack of progress

5. in the Christian life.
At age 27, shortly after he
began preaching, England
outlawed preaching
outside the auspices of the
Church of England.

6. He refused to quit
preaching and spent over
12 years in prison.
After his release, he
continued to preach and
was imprisoned a second
time.

7. He was released again
and kept preaching until
his death at age 60 in
1688.
Bunyan refused to
compromise his
convictions even if it

8. meant imprisonment and
great suffering for him
and for his family.
He wrote The Pilgrim’s
Progress during his
imprisonments.

9. At one time, The Pilgrim's
Progress was considered
the most widely read and
translated book in the
English language apart
from the Bible.

10. Protestant missionaries
commonly translated it as
the first thing after
the Bible.

11. This lesson focuses on the
proper response to trials,
disillusionments, troubles
and disappointments –
the response that pleases
God – persevering faith
and obedience.

17. On August 5th we learned
of Jeremiah’s call, on the
12th of his broken heart
over the sins of Judah and
then last week of his
challenge to overcome
discouragement.

18. This week we learn more
about his courage to obey
God in the face of deadly
opposition.

20. Jeremiah’s Imprisonment
Jeremiah 37:11-17
11 “When the Chaldean
(kal DEE
uhn/Babylonian) army
withdrew from Jerusalem
because of Pharaoh’s

21. 12 Jeremiah started to
leave Jerusalem to go to
the land of Benjamin to
claim his portion
there among the people.”

22. In Jeremiah 32, Jeremiah
had purchased some
property from his cousin
and now that there was a
lull in the action, he
decided to take a short
trip to Anathoth to “claim

23. his portion there among
the people.”
Jeremiah knew that there
would be rough economic
times ahead so he
intended to redeem the
family property.

24. 13 But when he was at the
Benjamin Gate, (the gate
on the north side of
Jerusalem that led to the
territory of Benjamin),

25. an officer of the guard
was there, whose name
was Irijah (eye RIGH juh)
son of Shelemiah, son of
Hananiah, and he
apprehended Jeremiah the
prophet, saying,

26. “You are deserting to the
Chaldeans.”
Irijah’s task apparently
was to protect the city
from spies or anyone who
appeared to threaten the
security of Jerusalem.

27. 14 “That’s a lie,” Jeremiah
replied.
“I am not deserting to the
Chaldeans!” Irijah would
not listen to him but
apprehended Jeremiah &
took him to the officials.

29. 15 The officials were angry
at Jeremiah and beat him
and placed him in jail in
the house of Jonathan the
scribe (secretary of state),
for it had been made into a
prison.

30. 16 So Jeremiah went into a
cell in the dungeon and
stayed there many days.”
Are you willing to be
obedient to God even if it
means getting beaten up?

31. This imprisonment was
much worse than the two
previous ones and he was
emaciated by the time this
imprisonment ended.

32. 17 “King Zedekiah later
sent for him and received
him, and in his house
privately asked him,
“Is there a word from the
Lord?”

33. “There is,” Jeremiah
responded, and he
continued,
“You will be handed over
to the king of Babylon.”

34. King Zedekiah (“Yahweh
is my righteousness”) was
a coward and saw this as
an opportunity to give
Jeremiah another chance
to change his message.

35. Jeremiah, who was
anything but a coward,
refused to compromise
the Lord’s message or to
forsake his calling.
Jeremiah retracted
nothing and it was clear

36. he would never
compromise his
conscience.
He serves as an excellent
model for us of
persevering faith when
the Lord’s enemies attack

37. us with false accusations
and persecute us when we
speak God’s truth to
them.

38. What are some modern
day examples of Biblical
truths we need to speak
out on?

39. The siege was on and
folks were dying of
disease and starvation.
Jeremiah 38 takes place
just before the destruction
of Jerusalem.

40. Jeremiah 38:4
4 “The officials then said
to the king, “This man
ought to die, because he is
weakening the morale of
the warriors who remain
in this city and of all the

41. people by speaking to
them in this way.
This man is not seeking
the well-being of this
people, but disaster.”

42. Zedekiah had moved
Jeremiah from the
dungeon to “the guard’s
courtyard” – part of the
king’s palace where
problem characters were
kept under the watchful

43. eye of the king.
Zedekiah moved Jeremiah
to the guard’s courtyard
for Jeremiah’s protection.
Just as Paul preached
from prison, so did
Jeremiah.

44. The officials decided that
the only way to silence a
man like Jeremiah was to
kill him (the same
conclusion that the
religious leaders of Jesus’
day came to concerning

45. Christ) so they appealed
to Zedekiah again and the
weak king caved in again
to their wishes.
Zedekiah was more a
prisoner of the princes
than Jeremiah was.

46. 5 King Zedekiah said,
“Here he is; he’s in your
hands since the king can’t
do anything against you.”
Jeremiah 38:5

47. Zedekiah was scared to
death of the princes even
though he was the king!
The fear
of the sneer
of the peer!

50. Zedekiah was the king.
He could have delivered
Jeremiah if he had just
had a little backbone.
The reason that the lions
didn’t eat Daniel was
because they didn’t want

51. to eat something that had
that much backbone.
We are to stand firm and
you need some backbone
in order to stand firm.

54. Matthew 27:24
24 “When Pilate saw that
he was getting nowhere,
but that a riot was starting
instead, he took some
water, washed his hands
in front of the crowd, and

55. said, “I am innocent of
this man’s blood. See to it
yourselves!”
Matthew 27:24

59. Matthew 27:26
26 “Then he released
Barabbas to them. But
after having Jesus flogged,
he handed Him over to be
crucified.”

61. King Zedekiah handed
Jeremiah over to his
enemies just like Pilate
handed Jesus over to
those who wanted Him
dead.

62. Jeremiah 38:6
6 “So they took Jeremiah
and dropped him into the
cistern of Malchiah the
king’s son, which was in
the guard’s courtyard,
lowering Jeremiah with

63. ropes. There was no water
in the cistern, only mud,
and Jeremiah sank in the
mud.”
Jeremiah 38:6

65. All over Jerusalem,
cisterns caught water
during the rainy season to
be used during the dry
months (May – October).
The fall of Jerusalem
occurred in July 587 B.C.

67. Therefore, the water in
this cistern had been used
up by July and there was
only mud left in the
bottom.

68. Few people knew that
Jeremiah was at the
bottom of the cistern so
the princes hoped that no
one would bring him food
and he would soon starve
to death.

69. Have you ever felt stuck
in the mud?

77. One day a farmer´s donkey fell down into a well. The
animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to
figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was
old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just
wasn´t worth it to retrieve the donkey.
He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him.
They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into
the well. At first, the donkey realized what was
happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone´s
amazement, he quieted down.
A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down
the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every
shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing
something amazing. He would shake it off and take a
step up.

78. As the farmer´s neighbors continued to shovel
dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off
and take a step up.
Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey
stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted
off.
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of
dirt. The trick to getting out of the well, is to
shake it off and take a step up. Each of our
troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the
deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving
up! Shake it off and take a step upward!

79. Obedience to God’s word
can be very costly to you
and to those around you.
Jeremiah did not give in
to the pressure to tell folks
what they wanted to hear.
Obeying God was #1.

80. How does our desire to
hear the message that we
want to hear sometimes
cause us to miss God’s
best for our lives?

81. Why do we sometimes
think we are outsmarting
God when we are
disobedient to Him?
He will not reward
disobedience.

82. What are some things in
our age group that would
tempt us to take the easy
way out instead of
standing strong in our
obedience to God?

83. The easy way is often the
cowardly way.

85. Jeremiah 38:7-10
7 “But Ebed-melech, a
Cushite (a black man) court
official employed in the
king’s palace, heard Jeremiah
had been put into the cistern.
While the king was sitting at
the

86. Benjamin Gate,
8 Ebed-melech went from
the king’s palace and
spoke to the king:
9 “My lord the king, these
men have been evil in all
they have done to

87. Jeremiah the prophet.
They have dropped him
into the cistern where he
will die from hunger,
because there is no more
bread in the city.”

88. 10 So the king commanded
Ebed-melech, the Cushite,
“Take from here 30 men
under your authority and
pull Jeremiah the prophet
up from the cistern before
he dies.”Jeremiah 38:7-10

91. The official’s death plan
was foiled by a
courageous unsung hero
of the Bible, Ebed-melech.
He is a fine example to us
of taking a stand with
God’s servants to help

92. them to persevere during
difficult times.
Barnabas, Son of
Encouragement, stood
with Paul when the
church leaders thought he
was a dangerous spy.

93. Because of Barnabas being
willing to stand with Paul
during a difficult time, the
church leaders accepted
Paul who went on to
become the greatest
missionary the world has

94. ever seen and whom God
used to write over half of
the New Testament!

96. Has God gifted you with a
ministry of
encouragement?
The word
"encouragement" is
closely linked to the Holy
Spirit, Who is known as

97. the Comforter/Helper.
The words
"encouragement"
(paraclesis) and
"Comforter" (paracletos)
are essentially the same in
the Greek language.

98. The Holy Spirit is the
Encourager.
Have you ever thought
that one of the ministries
of the Holy Spirit is to
encourage you?

99. Have you ever prayed for
the Holy Spirit to
encourage you in times of
trials and tribulations?
Does God want to use you
to encourage someone
else as He used Ebed-

100. melech and Barnabas?
In what ways can we offer
support and
encouragement to
younger people who are
facing situations where
they must stand alone?

101. Is there a minister who is
“stuck in the mud” and
needs your support and
needs you to lift them out
of the pit?

102. As we get older, does it
become more difficult or
easier to stand alone for
what we know to be
right?

103. Jeremiah 38:14
14 “King Zedekiah sent for
Jeremiah the prophet and
received him at the third
entrance of the Lord’s
temple. The king said to
Jeremiah, “I am going to ask
you

104. something; don’t hide
anything from me.”

105. The third entrance of the
Lord’s temple was a
special entryway for
royalty and provided a
safe place for the king to
meet Jeremiah without the
princes knowing about it.

106. Jeremiah 38:15-18
15 “Jeremiah replied to
Zedekiah, “If I tell you,
you will kill me, won’t
you? Besides, if I give you
advice, you won’t listen to
me anyway.”

107. 16 King Zedekiah swore to
Jeremiah in private, “As
the Lord lives, Who has
given us this life, I will not
kill you or hand you over
to these men who want to
take your life.”

108. 17 Jeremiah therefore said
to Zedekiah, “This is what
the Lord, the God of
Hosts, the God of Israel,
says: ‘If indeed you
surrender to the officials
of the king of Babylon,

109. then you will live, this city
will not be burned down,
and you and your
household will survive.

110. 18 But if you do not
surrender to the officials
of the king of Babylon,
then this city will be
handed over to the
Chaldeans.
They will burn it down,

111. and you yourself will not
escape from them.’”
Jeremiah 38:15-18

112. Judah was definitely
going to fall to Babylon
but the fate of the city and
the temple was in
Zedekiah’s hands.
Many deaths and great
destruction would be

113. avoided if Zedekiah
believed God’s word as
delivered through
Jeremiah to him for years.
Zedekiah and his family
would also be spared.

114. Zedekiah was being called
upon to believe God and
to do the opposite of
conventional wisdom but
he continued to make the
wrong decisions and it led
to the disaster Jeremiah

115. had predicted.
The rest of the story is sad
and ugly.
At Riblah the king of
Babylon slaughtered
Zedekiah’s sons right
before his eyes and then

116. blinded him so that the
last thing he ever saw was
the brutal death of his
own family.
Zedekiah was put in
bronze chains and died on
the way to Babylon.

119. Judah being defeated by
the Babylonians was part
of God’s disciplinary
process.
Since Israel had broken
the covenant, she must be
disciplined in order to

120. bring her back into right
relationship with God and
made more amenable to
His purposes.
The carrying forth of
God’s great purposes was
more important than the

121. preservation of the state
(Israel did not become a
recognized state again
until 1948).
The Davidic dynasty was
responsible to God for
overseeing justice in the

122. society in keeping with
God’s law (Exodus 22:20-
23).
If the government does
not uphold God’s law,
judgment comes on the
government and on the

123. entire country.
Godly government is
indispensable to the well-
being of a nation.
When it goes – life falls
apart!

124. We have experienced
God’s blessings on this
great nation through the
Abrahamic Covenant -
Genesis 12:3
3 “I will bless those who
bless you,

125. I will curse those who
treat you with contempt,
and all the peoples on
earth will be blessed
through you.”
Genesis 12:3

126. If we continue to remove
God from our culture and
if we cease blessing Israel,
God will remove His
protective hand from the
USA and He will stop
blessing us and we will go

127. the way that ancient Israel
went into defeat and into
captivity.
God will not reward
disobedience but He will
reward our faithfulness.

128. Hebrews 11:6 NIV
6 “Without faith it is
impossible to please God,
because anyone who
comes to Him must
believe that He exists and
that He rewards those

129. who earnestly seek Him.”
Hebrews 11:6 NIV
Hebrews 11
Group A: verses 33-35a
Group B: verses 35b-38

130. Hebrews 11:33-35a
Group A:
33 “those who by faith
conquered kingdoms,
administered justice,
obtained promises,
shut the mouths of lions,

131. 34 quenched the raging of
fire, escaped the edge of
the sword, gained
strength after being weak,
became mighty in battle,
and put foreign armies to
flight.

132. 35a Women received their
dead—they were raised to
life again.”
Hebrews 11:33-35a
Group A

133. Hebrews 11:35b-38
Group B
35b“Some men were
tortured, not accepting
release, so that they might
gain a better resurrection,

134. 36 and others experienced
mockings and scourgings,
as well as bonds and
imprisonment.
37 They were stoned, they
were sawed in two, they
died by the sword, they

135. wandered about in
sheepskins, in goatskins,
destitute, afflicted, and
mistreated.
38 The world was not
worthy of them.
They wandered in deserts

136. and on mountains, hiding
in caves and holes in the
ground.”
Hebrews 11: 35b-38
Group B

137. Hebrews 11:39-40
39 “All these were
approved through their
faith, but they did not
receive what was
promised,

138. 40 since God had
provided something
better for us, so that they
would not be made
perfect without us.”
Hebrews 11:39-40

139. God does not promise us
78 years of health and
happiness but He does
promise to never leave us
not to forsake us.
He will reward those who
earnestly seek Him.

140. Success = obedience to
God regardless of the cost
to you or to those around
you.

141. Next week
Matthew 5:1-16