Monday after Ki Tisa
Monday after Ki Tisa
Weekday Reading
Jeremiah chapter 35 & 36
Jer 35:1 The word which came to Yirmeyahu from YHWH in the days of Yehoiakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Yehudah, saying,
Jer 35:2 Go to the house of the Rechavim, and speak to them, and bring them into the house of YHWH, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.
Jer 35:3 Then I took Ya`azanyah the son of Yirmeyahu, the son of Chavatzinyah, and his brothers, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechavim;
Jer 35:4 and I brought them into the house of YHWH, into the chamber of the sons of Chanan the son of Yigdalyahu, the man of Elohim, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Ma`aseyah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the threshold.
Jer 35:5 I set before the sons of the house of the Rechavim bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, Drink you wine.
Jer 35:6 But they said, We will drink no wine; for Yehonadav the son of Rechav, our father, commanded us, saying, You shall drink no wine, neither you, nor your sons, forever:
Jer 35:7 neither shall you build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any; but all your days you shall dwell in tents; that you may live many days in the land in which you sojourn.
Jer 35:8 We have obeyed the voice of Yehonadav the son of Rechav, our father, in all that he charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters;
Jer 35:9 nor to build houses for us to dwell in; neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed:
Jer 35:10 but we have lived in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Yehonadav our father commanded us.
Jer 35:11 But it happened, when Nevukhadnetzar king of Bavel came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Yerushalayim for fear of the army of the Kasdim, and for fear of the army of the Syrians; so we dwell at Yerushalayim.
Jer 35:12 Then came the word of YHWH to Yirmeyahu, saying,
Jer 35:13 Thus says YHWH Tzeva’ot, the Elohim of Yisra’el: Go, and tell the men of Yehudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, Will you not receive instruction to listen to my words? says YHWH.
Jer 35:14 The words of Yehonadav the son of Rechav, that he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; and to this day they drink none, for they obey their father’s mitzvah: but I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking; and you have not listened to me.
Jer 35:15 I have sent also to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return you now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and don’t go after other gods to serve them, and you shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but you have not inclined your ear, nor listened to me.
Jer 35:16 Because the sons of Yehonadav the son of Rechav have performed the mitzvah of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to me;
Jer 35:17 therefore thus says YHWH, Elohim Tzeva’ot, the Elohim of Yisra’el: Behold, I will bring on Yehudah and on all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim all the evil that I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken to them, but they have not heard; and I have called to them, but they have not answered.
Jer 35:18 Yirmeyahu said to the house of the Rechavim, Thus says YHWH Tzeva’ot, the Elohim of Yisra’el: Because you have obeyed the mitzvah of Yehonadav your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according to all that he commanded you;
Jer 35:19 therefore thus says YHWH Tzeva’ot, the Elohim of Yisra’el: Yehonadav the son of Rechav shall not want a man to stand before me forever.
Or, as Matthew records:
Mat 25:19 “Now after a long time the lord of those servants came, and reconciled accounts with them. Mat 25:20 He who received the five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents. Behold, I have gained another five talents besides them.’ Mat 25:21 “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ Mat 25:22 “He also who got the two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents. Behold, I have gained another two talents besides them.’ Mat 25:23 “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
Today we know something that this father, who commanded his descendants to avoid alcohol, did not – a tendency to alcoholism is genetic. A person with the bad genes who drinks alcohol has a high probability of becoming an addicted drunk. Perhaps he had seen this tendency in his own family’s generations prior to himself, and vowed this vow, and made his children vow this vow, to save them from the horrible effects of alcoholism. He was faithful with the “talents” he had, as were his children.
Today we are given many “talents” and seeming limitations on our “talents,” by way of inheritance, genetics, schooling, opportunities, interests, and circumstances. We must also use discernment to figure out those things we must avoid, and those talents we must nurture to benefit Elohim’s Kingdom. This family did that – they stayed away not only from wine at home, but away from towns (which invariably have taverns) to safeguard their family’s good “talents.” And Elohim blessed them for their faith and perseverance. We, too, says Yeshua, will be blessed for our faith and perseverance.
We each have special circumstances in our lives. It’s now unlawful for most people to drink wine with dinner or enjoy a drink for a simcha – but for some it is a deadly mistake. It is not unlawful for most people to enjoy snacks and desserts – but for some it destroys their health. It’s not “fair” – and not meant to be. But Elohim doesn’t give us any test we cannot pass. It is simply our job to identify those things that interfere with our proper service to Elohim’s kingdom and avoid them, the same as it is our responsibility to figure out what spiritual gifts we have and nurture them for the betterment of the kingdom.
Jeremiah, continued:
Jer 36:1 It happened in the fourth year of Yehoiakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Yehudah, that this word came to Yirmeyahu from YHWH, saying,
This would have been about the 3562nd year from the creation of Adam.
Jeremiah, continued:
Jer 36:2 Take a scroll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken to you against Yisra’el, and against Yehudah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Yoshiyahu, even to this day.
Jer 36:3 It may be that the house of Yehudah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do to them; that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.
Writing books, articles, letters, blogs and journals is a good way to get out Elohim’s message in this day and age. We can reach a far larger audience by writing than we can face-to-face.
Jeremiah, continued:
Jer 36:4 Then Yirmeyahu called Barukh the son of Neriyah; and Barukh wrote from the mouth of Yirmeyahu all the words of YHWH, which he had spoken to him, on a scroll of a book.
Jer 36:5 Yirmeyahu commanded Barukh, saying, I am shut up; I can’t go into the house of YHWH:
Jer 36:6 therefore go you, and read in the scroll, which you have written from my mouth, the words of YHWH in the ears of the people in YHWH’s house on the fast day; and also you shall read them in the ears of all Yehudah who come out of their cities.
Jer 36:7 It may be they will present their supplication before YHWH, and will return everyone from his evil way; for great is the anger and the wrath that YHWH has pronounced against this people.
It is made clear in v22 below that this is a Fast called by the Cohanim in an attempt to appease Elohim so He will not let Jerusalem fall to the enemy.
Jeremiah, continued:
Jer 36:8 Barukh the son of Neriyah did according to all that Yirmeyahu the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of YHWH in YHWH’s house.
Jer 36:9 Now it happened in the fifth year of Yehoiakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Yehudah, in the ninth month, that all the people in Yerushalayim, and all the people who came from the cities of Yehudah to Yerushalayim, proclaimed a fast before the LORD.
This would have been about the 3563rd year since the creation of Adam.
Jeremiah, continued:
Jer 36:10 Then read Barukh in the book the words of Yirmeyahu in the house of YHWH, in the chamber of Gemaryah the son of Shafan, the scribe, in the upper court, at the entry of the new gate of YHWH’s house, in the ears of all the people.
Jer 36:11 When Mikhayahu the son of Gemaryah, the son of Shafan, had heard out of the book all the words of YHWH,
Jer 36:12 he went down into the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber: and behold, all the princes were sitting there, [to wit], Elishama the scribe, and Delayah the son of Shemayah, and Elnatan the son of `Akhbor, and Gemaryah the son of Shafan, and Tzidkiyahu the son of Chananyah, and all the princes.
Jer 36:13 Then Mikhayahu declared to them all the words that he had heard, when Barukh read the book in the ears of the people.
Jer 36:14 Therefore all the princes sent Yehudi the son of Netanyah, the son of Shelemyahu, the son of Kushi, to Barukh, saying, Take in your hand the scroll in which you have read in the ears of the people, and come. So Barukh the son of Neriyah took the scroll in his hand, and came to them.
Jer 36:15 They said to him, Sit down now, and read it in our ears. So Barukh read it in their ears.
They were not interested in heeding the words. They just wanted to see if they could formally charge Jeremiah with treason over them.
Jeremiah, continued:
Jer 36:16 Now it happened, when they had heard all the words, they turned in fear one toward another, and said to Barukh, We will surely tell the king of all these words.
Jer 36:17 They asked Barukh, saying, Tell us now, How did you write all these words at his mouth?
Jer 36:18 Then Barukh answered them, He pronounced all these words to me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.
Jer 36:19 Then said the princes to Barukh, Go, hide you, you and Yirmeyahu; and let no man know where you are.
Jer 36:20 They went in to the king into the court; but they had laid up the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe; and they told all the words in the ears of the king.
Jer 36:21 So the king sent Yehudi to get the scroll; and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. Yehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes who stood beside the king.
Jer 36:22 Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month: and [there was a fire in] the brazier burning before him.
The 9th month is now called Kislev. It is the month with contains Chanukkah, and there are no Biblical Fasts in this month.
Jeremiah, continued:
Jer 36:23 It happened, when Yehudi had read three or four leaves, that [the king] cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier.
Jer 36:24 They were not afraid, nor tore their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants who heard all these words.
Jer 36:25 Moreover Elnatan and Delayah and Gemaryah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the scroll; but he would not hear them.
Jer 36:26 The king commanded Yerachme’el the king’s son, and Serayah the son of `Azri’el, and Shelemyahu the son of `Avde’el, to take Barukh the scribe and Yirmeyahu the prophet; but YHWH hid them.
This is an interesting little miracle that is seldom commented upon.
Jeremiah, continued:
Jer 36:27 Then the word of YHWH came to Yirmeyahu, after that the king had burned the scroll, and the words which Barukh wrote at the mouth of Yirmeyahu, saying,
Jer 36:28 Take again another scroll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Yehoiakim the king of Yehudah has burned.
Jer 36:29 Concerning Yehoiakim king of Yehudah you shall say, Thus says YHWH: You have burned this scroll, saying, Why have you written therein, saying, The king of Bavel shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from there man and animal?
Jer 36:30 Therefore thus says YHWH concerning Yehoiakim king of Yehudah: He shall have none to sit on the throne of David; and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.
Lacking a proper burial was considered to be a terrible curse.
Jeremiah, continued:
Jer 36:31 I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring on them, and on the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, and on the men of Yehudah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them, but they didn’t listen.
Jer 36:32 Then took Yirmeyahu another scroll, and gave it to Barukh the scribe, the son of Neriyah, who wrote therein from the mouth of Yirmeyahu all the words of the book which Yehoiakim king of Yehudah had burned in the fire; and there were added besides to them many like words.
Those words became the core of what we are now reading: the Book of Jeremiah. The words we have in the Bible today are the words Elohim wants us, today, to have. It does not matter that the ancients had additional books that we lack. All the information we need has been provided to us. There is nothing lacking from what we have that would have benefited us, in our present day and condition. It is rather silly to say that the creator of all the universe could not get the words He wanted into a book. The Book, the Bible that we have, is what we are meant to have. It is not helpful to chase after other apocryphal documents. These have no message for us. The message we need is the one in our hands. So study it carefully and learn.
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