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From Judgment to Hope: Jeremiah’s Enduring Message

January 27, 2026 at 3:47 PM Leave a comment

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General Summary of 23, 24, 25
These three chapters deliver stern warnings of judgment against corrupt leaders, false prophets, and a disobedient Judah, culminating in the prophecy of a 70-year Babylonian captivity. Interestingly enough, in the midst of these threats, God promises to raise a Righteous Branch (Messiah) from David’s line. Further, —God will restore the remnant, while also pronouncing judgment on Babylon itself as well as other nations that set themselves against Israel.

Jeremiah 23
—This chapter focuses on the false shepherds over Judah who were leading the people astray. Jeremiah 23 also introduces the True Branch in the coming Messiah (from Jeremiah’s perspective)

—While God condemns those unfaithful leaders, He announces the coming Messiah who will do God’s will perfectly. He won’t be unfaithful. He will not abuse and use people for His own aggrandizement. He will rule fairly and competently, perfectly fulfilling God’s will. —Jesus would rule with righteousness, referred to as The LORD Our Righteousness (v6)

—Jeremiah the prophet also condemns the false prophets as those who spread lies by claiming there will be peace when judgment is imminent (vv9-14). This is a repeated situation in Scripture.

Jeremiah 23
God then takes the false prophets to task for their lies and false claims of coming peace and security (vv15-40), speaking through Jeremiah. It is interesting that Jeremiah sounds imprecatory, but we must remember he is speaking on behalf of God to the people of Judah.

—We have the same thing occurring in society today with false prophets announcing that peace is coming along with major revival. Yet the Bible tells us when everyone is claiming “peace and safety,” the world needs to watch out because the very opposite will occur (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

—This is, unfortunately, what is part of the late Charlie Kirk’s theology – Dominionism or Seven Mountain Mandate. —This belief states that as Christians work to convert the lost, the world will be changed and made ready for Christ’s return.

—Christ’s return stands on its on and when He returns, He will immediately judge all the people of the earth (Matthew 25:31-46). He does not need our help to return to this planet. It is not part of the Great Commission of Matthew 28.

Jesus’ physical return occurs after the Battle of Armageddon, which occurs at the end of the coming seven year Tribulation.

—God also asks rhetorically if anyone is capable of actually hiding from Him (vv23-24). —If He fills the heavens and the earth as He says (v24), the clear answer is NO.

Jeremiah 24 – The Sign of the Two Baskets
—King Jeconiah (son of Jehoiakim), is carried away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. Then —Jeremiah sees two baskets of figs (vv1-4):

• one very good (representing the exiles) and
• one very bad (representing King Zedekiah and those left in Judah/Egypt)

—God promises to preserve the good figs (those who went into exile; vv4-7). —God will protect them, protect them and give them a heart to know Him.

—The bad figs represent are those who deliberately remained in Judah instead of going to Babylon as God said they should. —God promises to use Egypt to bring destruction on those who did not obey His voice (vv8-10).

—The reason God brought Babylon against Judah was because of the people’s continued reliance on self instead of obedience to God. This is proven in those who rejected God’s directives and remained in Jerusalem. They unfortunately, listened to the false prophets.

—These two chapters speak of imminent judgment as well as ultimate restoration and a righteous King.

Jeremiah 25 – 70 Years of Desolation
—This chapter also reveals how many years the Judahites would be judged in Babylon until the LORD releases them from captivity through King Cyrus. —This is the section of Jeremiah that the prophet Daniel was reading when he saw the number of years of captivity (Daniel 9:2).

—Daniel was in Babylon at the time and wanted to know when his people would be released and Jeremiah’s scroll provided the answer. Though they would be released after their 70 year captivity, the angel in Daniel 9 makes it clear that there would be a total of 490 years of being under the thumb of other nations (as divided into two sections; seven “weeks” and sixty-two “weeks” with a gap of indeterminate length between the two sections).

—During this 70 years of captivity in Babylon, the Land would be desolate. Since the Judahites had not observed the Sabbath rest for the Land at all (every 7th year), God took the total and gave them that length of time to allow the

—Decades ago, farmers would rotate their crops, allowing a field to lie fallow for a year. —This allowed the land to revive naturally. —Modern farming methods ignore this. —Instead, they continue to farm all fields using chemicals added to the dirt instead of allowing the land to have a break.

—Jeremiah 25 also tells us that after these 70 years, Babylon, which was used by God in judgment, would also be judged. —This happened through Cyrus against Belshazzar (Daniel 5).

—Jeremiah 25 ends with God’s promise to judge all surrounding nations around Babylon:

• Judah
• Egypt
• Edom
• Moab
• Ammon
• Tyre
• Sidon, and
• Babylon

—This is God pouring out His “cup of wrath” and He began with judging His own people first.

Application for Christians Today
These chapters highlight the need for the Christian to:

• Be Repentant
• Hold leaders accountable before God
• Submit to God’s sovereign control
• Develop an active trust in God’s omniscient character
• Faithfully follow the teaching of His Word
• Understand/believe Jesus the Righteous Branch is coming back
• Understand God’s perspective on trials
• Submit to God’s Timing and Discipline

—These chapters emphasize that ignoring God’s Word brings destruction, while trusting Him brings restoration. It is very interesting to realize that God held out His forgiveness to the Judahites. All they had to do was turn to Him in repentance. Instead, they dug in their heels, became angered at Jeremiah and did whatever they wanted because they chose to cater to Self.

We must avoid this at all costs.

Entry filed under: christianity, israel, Religious - Christian - Prophecy, Religious - Christian - Theology, salvation, sanctification. Tags: Jeremiah 23 24 25.