Study Desk

You people, change your lives! You must start doing good! You must obey the Lord your God. If you do that, he will change his mind. He will not do the bad things he told you about.

"King Hezekiah of Judah and the people of Judah did not kill Micah. You know that Hezekiah respected the Lord and wanted to please him. So the Lord changed his mind and didn't do the bad things to Judah that he said he would do. If we hurt Jeremiah, we will bring many troubles on ourselves. And those troubles will be our own fault."

In the past there was another man who spoke the Lord 's message. His name was Uriah son of Shemaiah from the city of Kiriath Jearim. Uriah said the same things against this city and this land that Jeremiah did.

King Jehoiakim, his army officers, and the leaders of Judah heard Uriah and became angry. King Jehoiakim wanted to kill Uriah, but Uriah heard about it. Uriah was afraid, so he escaped to the land of Egypt.

All nations will serve Nebuchadnezzar and his son and his grandson. Then the time will come for Babylon to be defeated. Many nations and great kings will make Babylon their servant.

"‘But if some nations or kingdoms refuse to serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and refuse to be put under his control, I will punish them, says the Lord . I will destroy them with war, hunger, and disease. I will use Nebuchadnezzar to destroy any nation that fights against him.

I gave the same message to King Zedekiah of Judah. I said, "Zedekiah, you must place your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and obey him. If you serve the king of Babylon and his people, you will live.

So the prophet who says that we will have peace must be tested. People can know that he really was sent by the Lord only if his message comes true."

Jeremiah was wearing a yoke around his neck. The prophet Hananiah took the yoke from Jeremiah's neck and broke it.

Because Shemaiah has done that, this is what the Lord says: I will soon punish Shemaiah, the man from the Nehelam family. I will completely destroy his family, and he will not share in the good things I will do for my people.'" This message is from the Lord . "‘I will punish Shemaiah because he has taught the people to turn against the Lord .'"

"Ask this question and consider it: Can a man have a baby? Of course not! Then why do I see every strong man holding his stomach like a woman having labor pains? Why is everyone's face turning white like a dead man?

From far away, the Lord will appear to his people. The Lord says, "I love you people with a love that continues forever. That is why I have continued showing you kindness.

"Nations, listen to this message from the Lord ! Tell this message in the faraway lands by the sea: ‘God scattered the people of Israel, but he will bring them back together. And he will watch over his flock like a shepherd.'

The Lord will bring Jacob back. He will save his people from those who are stronger.

He makes the sun shine in the day, and he makes the moon and the stars shine at night. He stirs up the sea so that its waves crash on the shore. The Lord All-Powerful is his name. This is what the Lord says:

King Zedekiah of Judah will not escape from the army of the Babylonians. But he will surely be given to the king of Babylon. And Zedekiah will speak to the king of Babylon face to face. He will see him with his own eyes.

"The Lord made the earth, and he keeps it safe. The Lord is his name. He says,

There will be sounds of joy and happiness. There will be the happy sounds of a bride and groom. There will be the sounds of people bringing their gifts to the Lord 's Temple. They will say, ‘Praise the Lord All-Powerful! The Lord is good! His faithful love will last forever!' They will say this because I will again do good things to Judah. It will be as it was in the beginning." This is what the Lord said.

When he rules, Judah will be saved. The people of Jerusalem will live in safety. This will be his name: ‘The Lord Makes Things Right For Us.'"

The message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. The message came at the time when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and all the towns around it. Nebuchadnezzar had with him all his army and the armies of all the kingdoms and peoples in the empire he ruled.