Rarely do people desire to discuss their behavior. Yet behavior is a primary concern in God’s kingdom. The Old Testament consistently discusses the rightful behavior of the covenant people.
In essence, God says to his people, “Show me what you think of me by the way you treat people.” Jesus made this point in Matthew 25:40: “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
God examines lives by observing external behavior and inspecting the heart. External conduct flows directly from the heart’s philosophy and moral condition. Therefore, God appeals to one’s conduct to reveal the true condition of one’s heart. Those who are committed to God’s covenant will make the appropriate heart adjustments to satisfy their righteous Lord.
Jeremiah 22 answers the conduct of three of the last four kings of Judah. Their reigns were short because of political turmoil. God allowed the turmoil because the kings and the people in general had conduct unbecoming of the covenant.
What are you building your reputation on? (Jeremiah 22:13-14,17)
The message of chapter 22 centers on the four commands of verse 3. These commands represent all commands that guide interpersonal conduct. These commands describe, by using extreme examples, the type of interpersonal concerns that should characterize God’s people.
People are God’s prized creation. God’s heart is moved by the plight of people. God fights for oppressed and abused people. He directs his people to respond to human suffering.
The conduct of Judah’s leaders toward fellow humans was carefully scrutinized. If the lives of national leaders are examined, so also are the lives of common people.
The Shallum of verse 11 was better known as Jehoahaz. Verse 13 delivers a woe or “distress” upon him because he built his palace through injustice. The “red” of verse 14 is vermillion or cinnabar and was associated with royalty because of its expense. Jehoahaz attained this frivolous royal status symbol by refusing to pay the laborers building his palace.
Verse 17 reveals Jehoahaz was focused on dishonest gain, shedding innocent blood, oppression, and extortion—four counterpoints to the commands in verse 3. The Lord, as Israel’s great King, could not let this matter go unanswered. He rescued his people from their royal oppressor. After only three months of rule, Pharaoh Neco exiled Jehoahaz to Egypt. God used a foreign king to answer Jehoahaz’s injustices.
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What does it mean to know the Lord? (Jeremiah 22:15-16)
Sometimes it helps to work backwards through a passage. The second stanza in verse 16 states the core objective of the believer: to know God. To know the Lord is to know his heart. The one who loves the Lord will live to fulfill his desires.
God’s heart is focused upon his human creation. He loves people dearly and yearns to for each one to know him personally. God is concerned about the welfare of each person and is grieved by human oppression. Those who know the Lord understand this. Therefore, God’s people strive for justice and to ease human oppression.
Josiah (“your father” in v. 15) dealt rightly with his people. God answered his justice with adequate provisions (food and drink). In contrast, the first stanza of verse 15 asks if the essence of being a king is found in collecting cedar (an expensive aromatic wood used in finish carpentry). Cedar is substituted for the red of verse 14 with the associated dishonest gain implied. Jehoahaz should have been content with the way God provided for him.
God makes the king. Thus the king should live to serve his Lord’s desires, not his own craving for privileges. Similarly, God makes the man and the woman. Each person must live to serve the Lord’s desires, not his or her sinful cravings.
What are the consequences of self-indulgence? (Jeremiah 22:18-19)
Jehoiakim was Jehoahaz’s older brother. He succeeded his brother by pledging allegiance to Pharaoh Neco. Eleven years later, he was exiled to Babylon, where he lived out his days in King Nebuchadnezzar’s palace—a privileged house-arrest arrangement.
Jeremiah did not bother to describe Jehoiakim’s royal conduct. His character is seen in the epitaph to his reign. He will receive the esteem and burial of a donkey: to be dragged outside the city and discarded. Such were the consequences of a reign exhibiting the same self-indulging characteristics as Jehoahaz’s.
A question for believers today is: How will the Lord summarize your life? “This one died in self-seeking and lost what they had” (compare Matthew 16:25), or “This one lived to please God’s own heart?” (compare 1 Samuel 13:14).
Is your behavior in line? (Jeremiah 22:20-21)
Jeremiah states the coming doom, which will overtake the entire nation, must be proclaimed throughout Israel. Judgment will come because the people have not obeyed God (v. 21). They disobeyed because they refused to listen (v. 21).
Jeremiah’s proclamation parallels the wide broadcasting of the gospel, which both condemns unrighteousness and offers salvation to those who believe and thus practice righteousness (see Romans 1:17-18).
How will each individual fare? External conduct indicates the condition of the heart. Those who examine their conduct in light of God’s instruction can hope for a transformation that aligns their hearts with the Lord’s will. One’s conduct automatically will change to indicate the true condition of one’s heart. The result is to experience God’s great joy.
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