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Jeremiah 42

1 Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near,

2 and said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we pray thee, our supplication be presented before thee, and pray for us unto Jehovah thy God, even for all this remnant; for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:

3 that Jehovah thy God may show us the way wherein we should walk, and the thing that we should do.

4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto Jehovah your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass that whatsoever thing Jehovah shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you.

5 Then they said to Jeremiah, Jehovah be a true and faithful witness amongst us, if we do not according to all the word wherewith Jehovah thy God shall send thee to us.

6 Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of Jehovah our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of Jehovah our God.

7 And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah.

8 Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,

9 and said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him:

10 If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you.

11 Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith Jehovah: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.

12 And I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.

13 But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land; so that ye obey not the voice of Jehovah your God,

14 saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:

15 now therefore hear ye the word of Jehovah, O remnant of Judah: Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, If ye indeed set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there;

16 then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye fear, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, whereof ye are afraid, shall follow hard after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.

17 So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there: they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.

18 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: As mine anger and my wrath hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my wrath be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt; and ye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more.

19 Jehovah hath spoken concerning you, O remnant of Judah, Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have testified unto you this day.

20 For ye have dealt deceitfully against your own souls; for ye sent me unto Jehovah your God, saying, Pray for us unto Jehovah our God; and according unto all that Jehovah our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it:

21 and I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah your God in anything for which he hath sent me unto you.

22 Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go to sojourn there.

Jeremiah 43

1 And it came to pass that, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of Jehovah their God, wherewith Jehovah their God had sent him to them, even all these words,

2 then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: Jehovah our God hath not sent thee to say, Ye shall not go into Egypt to sojourn there;

3 but Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death, and carry us away captive to Babylon.

4 So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of Jehovah, to dwell in the land of Judah.

5 But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all the nations whither they had been driven, to sojourn in the land of Judah;

6 the men, and the women, and the children, and the king's daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan; and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah;

7 and they came into the land of Egypt; for they obeyed not the voice of Jehovah: and they came unto Tahpanhes.

8 Then came the word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,

9 Take great stones in thy hand, and hide them in mortar in the brickwork, which is at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah;

10 and say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them.

11 And he shall come, and shall smite the land of Egypt; such as are for death `shall be given' to death, and such as are for captivity to captivity, and such as are for the sword to the sword.

12 And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captive: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace.

13 He shall also break the pillars of Beth-shemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of Egypt shall he burn with fire.

Second Reading: Psalms Chapter 122 and 123

Psalms 122

1 I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go unto the house of Jehovah.

2 Our feet are standing Within thy gates, O Jerusalem,

3 Jerusalem, that art builded As a city that is compact together;

4 Whither the tribes go up, even the tribes of Jehovah, `For' an ordinance for Israel, To give thanks unto the name of Jehovah.

5 For there are set thrones for judgment, The thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: They shall prosper that love thee.

7 Peace be within thy walls, And prosperity within thy palaces.

8 For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.

9 For the sake of the house of Jehovah our God I will seek thy good. Psalm 123 A Song of Ascents.

Psalms 123

1 Unto thee do I lift up mine eyes, O thou that sittest in the heavens.

2 Behold, as the eyes of servants `look' unto the hand of their master, As the eyes of a maid unto the hand of her mistress; So our eyes `look' unto Jehovah our God, Until he have mercy upon us.

3 Have mercy upon us, O Jehovah, have mercy upon us; For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.

4 Our soul is exceedingly filled With the scoffing of those that are at ease, And with the contempt of the proud. Psalm 124 A Song of Ascents; of David.

Bible Background

CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

JESUS CHRIST THE FOUNDATION STONE

Part 2 of 4

SECTION II - "..HE WAS DESIGNATED BY GOD TO BE HIGH PRIEST..."

According to the law of Moses, the high priest once a year on the Day of Atonement would take the blood of the offered sacrifice into the temple for the atonement of the sins of himself and the people.

As part of the ceremony on this holy day, the high priest entered the sanctuary area with a young bull for a sin offering for himself and a ram for a burnt offering. From the Israelite community he was to take a male goat for a sin offering for the people. He was to wash himself with water and put on special garments. Before he entered the temple he sacrificed the animals on the altar. He would enter the temple with the blood of the bull and of the goat. He would pass the table with the consecrated bread that was changed daily, the lampstand, and the altar of incense in the Holy Place. He would then pass through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.

In the Most Holy Place was the Ark of the Covenant with the Mercy Seat and the overshadowing Cherubim. The High Priest sprinkled the blood of the bull in atonement for his own sins and the blood of the goat in atonement for the sins of the people.

Did any of those Israelites of Old Testament times who learned of this ceremony or the High Priests who actually participate ever understand the lessons God was teaching? When Jesus the Messiah came the people were looking for someone to save them from oppression but it seems only he understood the necessity for salvation from sins. Paul in Hebrews 9 & 10 very clearly shows us that Jesus entered as High Priest into the Most Holy Place with his own blood in order to make atonement for us, once for all.

"Tell him this is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the LORD. It is he who will build the temple of the LORD, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne....'" Zechariah 6: 12-13

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