Thursday, October 2nd, 2025
Chronologically, after the reign of Manasseh and Josiah comes a few power-packed chapters in Jeremiah (chapters 41-45). During Manasseh’s reign, God was so angered by his evil acts that God declared punishment on the Israelites. 2 Kings 21:11-14 says the abominations of Manasseh will cause calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah and “they will become victims of plunder to all their enemies.” Before all of this however, we see Josiah go on his cleansing spree and bring some redemption to the land. He was stirring up a remnant that would be given the choice to hear and obey God.
But the word of the Lord declaring destruction still needed to be fulfilled. This is where the Babylon captivity and the destruction of Jerusalem comes in. Jeremiah was the prophet of this time who tried on multiple occasions to deliver the word of the Lord to the Israelites. In Jeremiah 42 we see one of his words for this time. The initial wave of captivity in Babylon had started, but there were still some Israelites in Judah. Jeremiah warned them not to flee to Egypt where they thought they would have no wars nor be hungry (v.14). He said if they did this, the sword would overtake them there (v.16). Jeremiah told them God’s will was for them to be planted under Babylon captivity and that God would relent from the disaster he planned and not pluck them up (v.10-11).
Continuing on from the last blog, I feel like this is the place we are at now. There is a distinct turning point, tipping point, pivot point or proverbial fork in the road before us and we have a choice to make. Will we listen to the voice of the Lord or will we decide we know what is best and safest in this situation?
Final Thoughts…
The fire of purification has been released across this land. None of us are outside of its reach. The good news is we know the fourth man in the fire. We also know that during the heat of purification, only the lesser things are burned away. What remains is the purest of gold; gold fit for the King and ready for His use.