Through the Bible – Day 309

₁During the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, the LORD said to me, “Jeremiah, ₂since the time Josiah was king, I have been speaking to you about Israel, Judah, and the other nations. Now, get a scroll and write down everything I have told you, ₃then read it to the people of Judah. Perhaps they will stop sinning when they hear what terrible things I plan for them. And if they turn to me, I will forgive them.”

₄I sent for Baruch son of Neriah and asked him to help me. I repeated everything the LORD had told me, and Baruch wrote it all down on a scroll. ₅Then I said,

_8-10In the ninth month of the fifth year that Jehoiakim was king, the leaders set a day when everyone who lived in Jerusalem or who was visiting here had to pray and go without eating. So Baruch took the scroll to the upper courtyard of the temple. He went over to the side of the courtyard and stood in a covered area near New Gate, where he read the scroll aloud.

This covered area belonged to Gemariah, one of the king's highest officials. ₁₁Gemariah's son Micaiah was there and heard Baruch read what the LORD had said. ₁₂When Baruch finished reading, Micaiah went down to the palace. His father Gemariah was in the officials' room, meeting with the rest of the king's officials, including Elishama, Delaiah, Elnathan, and Zedekiah. ₁₃Micaiah told them what he had heard Baruch reading to the people. ₁₄Then the officials sent Jehudi and Shelemiah to tell Baruch, “Bring us that scroll.”

When Baruch arrived with the scroll, ₁₅the officials said, “Please sit down and read it to us,” which he did. ₁₆After they heard what was written on the scroll, they were worried and said to each other, “The king needs to hear this!” Turning to Baruch, they asked, ₁₇“Did someone tell you what to write on this scroll?”

₁₈“Yes, Jeremiah did,” Baruch replied. “I wrote down just what he told me.”

₁₉The officials said, “You and Jeremiah must go into hiding, and don't tell anyone where you are.”

_20-22The officials put the scroll in Elishama's room and went to see the king, who was in one of the rooms where he lived and worked during the winter. It was the ninth month of the year, so there was a fire burning in the fireplace, and the king was sitting nearby. After the officials told the king about the scroll, he sent Jehudi to get it. Then Jehudi started reading the scroll to the king and his officials. _23-25But every time Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king would tell him to cut them off with his penknife and throw them in the fire. Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, but he ignored them, and soon there was nothing left of it.

The king and his servants listened to what was written on the scroll, but they were not afraid, and they did not tear their clothes in sorrow.

₂₆The king told his son Jerahmeel to take Seraiah and Shelemiah and to go and arrest Baruch and me. But the LORD kept them from finding us.

₂₇I had told Baruch what to write on that first scroll, but King Jehoiakim had burnt it. So the LORD told me ₂₈to get another scroll and write down everything that had been on the first one. ₂₉Then he told me to say to King Jehoiakim:

₃₂After the LORD finished speaking to me, I got another scroll and gave it to Baruch. Then I told him what to write, so this second scroll would contain even more than was on the scroll Jehoiakim had burnt.

₁King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia had removed Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim from being the king of Judah and had made Josiah's son Zedekiah king instead. ₂But Zedekiah, his officials, and everyone else in Judah ignored everything the LORD had told me.

_3-5Later, the Babylonian army attacked Jerusalem, but they left after learning that the Egyptian army was headed in this direction.

One day, Zedekiah sent Jehucal and the priest Zephaniah to talk with me. At that time, I was free to go wherever I wanted, because I had not yet been put in prison. Jehucal and Zephaniah said, “Jeremiah, please pray to the LORD our God for us.”

_6-7Then the LORD told me to send them back to Zedekiah with this message:

₁₁The Babylonian army had left because the Egyptian army was on its way to help us. ₁₂So I decided to leave Jerusalem and go to the territory of the Benjamin tribe to claim my share of my family's land. ₁₃I was leaving Jerusalem through Benjamin Gate, when I was stopped by Irijah, the officer in charge of the soldiers at the gate. He said, “Jeremiah, you're under arrest for trying to join the Babylonians.”

₁₄“I'm not trying to join them!” I answered. But Irijah wouldn't listen, and he took me to the king's officials. _15-16They were angry and ordered the soldiers to beat me. Then I was taken to the house that belonged to Jonathan, one of the king's officials. It had been turned into a prison, and I was kept in a basement room.

After I had spent a long time there, ₁₇King Zedekiah secretly had me brought to his palace, where he asked, “Is there any message for us from the LORD?”

“Yes, there is, Your Majesty,” I replied. “The LORD is going to let the king of Babylonia capture you.”

₁₈Then I continued, “Your Majesty, why have you put me in prison? Have I committed a crime against you or your officials or the nation? ₁₉Have you locked up the prophets who lied to you and said that the king of Babylonia would never attack Jerusalem? ₂₀Please, don't send me back to that prison at Jonathan's house. If you do, I will die.”

₂₁King Zedekiah had me taken to the prison cells in the courtyard of the palace guards. He told the soldiers to give me a loaf of bread from one of the bakeries every day until the city ran out of grain.

₁Melchizedek was both king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He was the one who went out and gave Abraham his blessing, when Abraham returned from killing the kings. ₂Then Abraham gave him a tenth of everything he had.

The meaning of the name Melchizedek is “King of Justice”. But since Salem means “peace”, he is also “King of Peace”. ₃We are not told that he had a father or mother or ancestors or beginning or end. He is like the Son of God and will be a priest for ever.

₄Notice how great Melchizedek is! Our famous ancestor Abraham gave him a tenth of what he had taken from his enemies. ₅The Law teaches that even Abraham's descendants must give a tenth of what they possess. And they are to give this to their own relatives, who are the descendants of Levi and are priests. ₆Although Melchizedek wasn't a descendant of Levi, Abraham gave him a tenth of what he had. Then Melchizedek blessed Abraham, who had been given God's promise. ₇Everyone agrees that a person who gives a blessing is greater than the one who receives the blessing.

₈Priests are given a tenth of what people earn. But all priests die, except Melchizedek, and the Scriptures teach that he is alive. ₉Levi's descendants are now the ones who receive a tenth from people. We could even say that when Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth, Levi also gave him a tenth. ₁₀This is because Levi was born later into the family of Abraham, who gave a tenth to Melchizedek.

₁₁Even though the Law of Moses says that the priests must be descendants of Levi, those priests cannot make anyone perfect. So there needs to be a priest like Melchizedek, rather than one from the priestly family of Aaron. ₁₂And when the rules for selecting a priest are changed, the Law must also be changed.

₁₃The person we are talking about is our Lord, who came from a tribe that had never had anyone to serve as a priest at the altar. ₁₄Everyone knows he came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never said that priests would come from that tribe.

₁₅All this becomes clearer, when someone who is like Melchizedek is appointed to be a priest. ₁₆That person wasn't appointed because of his ancestors, but because his life can never end. ₁₇The Scriptures say about him,

_20-21God himself made a promise when this priest was appointed. But he did not make a promise like this when the other priests were appointed. The promise he made is,

₂₂This means that Jesus guarantees us a better agreement with God. ₂₃There have been a lot of other priests, and all of them have died. ₂₄But Jesus will never die, and so he will be a priest for ever! ₂₅He is for ever able to save the people he leads to God, because he always lives to speak to God for them.

₂₆Jesus is the high priest we need. He is holy and innocent and faultless, and not at all like us sinners. Jesus is honoured above all beings in heaven, ₂₇and he is better than any other high priest. Jesus doesn't need to offer sacrifices each day for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. He offered a sacrifice once for all, when he gave himself. ₂₈The Law appoints priests who have weaknesses. But God's promise, which came later than the Law, appoints his Son. And he is the perfect high priest for ever.