{"id":72018,"date":"2020-03-18T16:17:59","date_gmt":"2020-03-18T14:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=72018"},"modified":"2020-03-18T16:17:59","modified_gmt":"2020-03-18T14:17:59","slug":"nebuzaradans-prophecy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/nebuzaradans-prophecy\/","title":{"rendered":"Nebuzaradan\u2019s Prophecy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The fortieth chapter of Jeremiah begins with a typical Biblical verse:\u00a0 “(This is) the word which came to Jeremiah from God\u2026” However, the prophecy of God referred to in this verse seems to be absent from the chapter. Instead, the chapter records the speech that Nebuzaradan, chief of the Babylonian guards, delivered to Jeremiah, after sacking Jerusalem: “The chief of the guards took charge of Jeremiah, and he said to him, \u201cThe LORD your God threatened this place with this disaster; and now the LORD has brought it about. He has acted as He threatened, because you sinned against the LORD and did not obey Him. That is why this has happened to you\u2026If you would like to go with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you. But, if you don\u2019t want to come with me to Babylon, you need not. See, the whole land is before you: go wherever seems good and right to you.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Before we return to our question of the missing prophecy, let us ponder this unusual speech of Nebuzaradan. If we examine its components, it is more similar to a rabbi’s sermon than to the proclamation of a Babylonia guard!\u00a0 Firstly, it acknowledges God’s call for repentance. It then attributes Jerusalem’s destruction to the sins of the people. Lastly, it asserts that Jeremiah still has free will to choose his own destiny.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nebuzaradan’s speech has similar themes with the last prophecy that God said to Moses before entering the Land of Israel: “I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life\u2014if you and your offspring would live\u2014 by loving the LORD your God, heeding His commands, and holding fast to Him. For thereby you shall have life and shall long endure upon the soil that the LORD swore to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them.” (Deuteronomy chapter 30)<\/span><\/p>\n

It seems to me that Nebuzaradan’s speech to Jeremiah is the prophecy referred to at the beginning of the chapter. Just as God instructed the people when they entered the land with Moses, God instructs the people in Jeremiah’s time, as they are being deported to Babylon.\u00a0 However, since this is a period of Exile, God’s message comes through unusual means, including through monologues of Babylonian guards.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Upon hearing Nebuzaradan speak these words of prophecy, Jeremiah was at a loss at what to do. The Bible indicates this with the unusual phrase: “But Jeremiah still did not turn back.” Was Jeremiah trying to ascertain if this was really a message from God? Was he simply too shocked to take action upon hearing the word of God emanate from a Babylonian guard?\u00a0 Whatever the case may be, Nebuzaradan needed to prod Jeremiah further before heeded the prophetic message of God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After forty years of giving prophecies, Jeremiah learned a new lesson regarding them: Prophecies from God are able to be given through any source that God deems fit to give them.<\/span><\/p>\n

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