Evening star., 1922-06-11
Judah's downfall was rapidly ap'

Judah's downfall was rapidly ap-
preaching. Jeremiah's toczin had
failed to arouse the nation to its
imminent peril. The, death of
Jehoiakim and Hananiah, the degene-
| rate prophet. who had opposed Jere-
! miah. had established the certainty
.. of the prophets predictions. yet the
people refused to listen to his mes
sage. Jeremiah's efforts to make the
nation realize its mission and the
sacredness of their treaty obligations
caused him to be classed as an old
fogey and fossil. He saw clearly
that the conditions of his times and
the fatal consequences of their moral
and religious corruption, revealed in
their persecution of the Lords proph-
cts and rejection of Gods word
meant the destruction of the nations
life He. labored with a heavy heart
to restore real faith in Jehovah and
His manifestation through humanity
so that Judah might be saved.
Shortly after the decisive battle of
Carchemish had established the un-
doubted supremacy of the Babylon
| ians. referred to in our lesson as the
Cha aldeans. Nebuchadnezzar appeared
at Jerusalem. He took Coniah tthe
SUI VI W no ndu SuCSccueu
to the throne only three months pre-
vious upon the death of his father).
a prisoner to Babylon, together with
number of the leading princes. He
placed upon the throne. as a sworn
vassal to Babylon and shadow of a
king. Zedekiah, a weak. vacillating
brother of Jehoiakim. who was the last
ruler of Judah. He was easily led and
under the guidance of evil advisers he
took advantage of what appeared to
be favorable opportunity, due to
the aggressiveness and ambitions of
Hophra. the Apries of Herodotus.'
to carry out Necho's policy "of restor-
ing the ancient Egyptian influence in
Western Asia" Ezekiel tells US that
Zedekiah took the initiative in seek
ing this new alliance. When the
news of Judah's treachery and viola
tion of their covenant agreements
reached Babylon Nebuchadnezzar
marched against Jerusalem and be-
sieged it
jeremiah was charged with being
a friend of Babylon and foe of his
country because he urged upon the
government and people that the only
way of safety was for them to sur
render to Nebuchadnezzar When the
| army of the Egyptians was reported
! to be approaching. it called for the
exercise of that strategy, which made
Nebuchadnezzar one of the worlds
greatest military leaders. He quick
| ly raised the siege. marched to meet
the army of Pharaoh. whom he de-
| feated and forced to retreat into
Egypt When the Bahylonian army
departed from Jerusalem to check the
forces of Hophra the opponents of
jeremiah pointed to it as an evidence
that the prophet had failed in his
predictions They accepted it as an
omen that Jerusalem was inviolable
and that God would protect the city,
as He had when Sennacherib set out
to meet Tirhakah without carrying
out his measures to execute his
threats against Jerusalem. They rep
resent a modern class of people who
claim that they find the revelation
of the Most High incredible" yet they
accept, without question. unsupported
theories and foolish conjectures
The prospect of divine deliver
ance because of their promises to
worship Jehovah and of their freeing
| the Hebrew slaves and maid servants
brought courage to the court, city
and country. jeremiah saw the facts
in their true light. He alone declared
that it meant. in the end, national
misfortune. He pointed out the facts
(which God had revealed to him. This
! made him about as popular as re-
ligious pacifist was in our land apd
in other nations during the recent
war. The prophet realized that his
pletely destroyed.
The withdrawal of the Babylonian
| or Chaldean forces furnished an op-
portunity for many to visit their
farms and ascertain the state of their
possessions. When jeremiah sought to
, take advantage of the enem'S depar-
ture to visit his family estate. he was
misjudged by the guards at the city
gates. They charged that he was evil
IDENTIFY spy and wished to go out
| of Jerusalem to get in communicat tion
with some Of the forces of Nebuchad-
report of the city's destitution and
points of weakness. Although Jere
miah denied the charge, they classed
him as traitor. and put him in pris-
on. Bars could not. stop the prophet
preaching the message of warning
hinder Paul and Silas from praisine
Cod The missionary records of al
denominations are filed with the
stories of men who have suffered the
tortures of prison life for the ad-
vancement OF the kingdom of Christ
/ among men, The blood of. the mar
tyrs has always been the seed of the
church. To be sent upon the masters
business is often a call to suffer for
His glory The faithful witnesses Of
Himself. have all been called upon to
pass through the fires of religious
persecution.
1t was not easy for jeremiah to
pass the weary days in the dungeon
where they had imprisoned him, be-
cause they were. afraid to take his
life He rejoiced that he was counted
worthy to suffer for the glory of Je-
hovah. The bars Of his dungeon prison
could not keep the Lord from visit
ing His servant. He drew near 20
the prophet, as He has to all those
who have sought to glorify Him
when they are called upon 70 s.ifer
for His sake Jehovah encouraged sne
prophet to look beyond III. over
throw of Judah and see the ffnal 1ri-
umph that would come after a period
of seventy years exile, for the ma
tion would then return AMI restore
the worship of Jehovah. There is no
JOY in suffering when sin brings its
puni nishment home to us, but prison
walls hold no terrors for. men when
for the glory of the Christ they are
placed within the dreaded dungeon
walls.
jeremiah could not be silenced by
being imprisoned. He called upon all
who came within hearing of his voice
to surrender to Babylon. so that they
could live. He did not hesitate to de-
clare the truth to the king. when he
sought a private conference with the
prophet Goddess leaders in all ages
have had no desire to hear the truth.
The sting of the unWelcomed facts
always. exasperates sinful men. The
degenerate leaders of Jerusalem had
been tried by the attitude of Jere-
! miah. They considered that he was
cause he had the courage of his con-
,,i,f;onS and dared tn nrnC1aim the