Prophets and Kings
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 38: Light Through Darkness
The dark years of destruction and death marking the end of
the kingdom of Judah would have brought despair to the stoutest heart had it
not been for the encouragements in the prophetic utterances of God's
messengers. Through Jeremiah in Jerusalem, through Daniel in the court of
Babylon, through Ezekiel on the banks of the Chebar, the Lord in mercy made
clear His eternal purpose and gave assurance of His willingness to fulfill to
His chosen people the promises recorded in the writings of Moses. That which He
had said He would do for those who should prove true to Him, He would surely
bring to pass. "The word of God . . . liveth and abideth
forever." 1 Peter 1:23. {PK
464.1}
In the days of the wilderness wandering the Lord had made
abundant provision for His children to keep in remembrance the words of His
law. After the settlement in Canaan the divine precepts were to be repeated
daily in every home; they were to be written plainly upon the doorposts and [465]
gates, and spread upon memorial tablets. They were to be set to music and
chanted by young and old. Priests were to teach these holy precepts in public
assemblies, and the rulers of the land were to make them their daily study.
"Meditate therein day and night," the Lord commanded Joshua
concerning the book of the law, "that thou mayest observe to do according
to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous,
and then thou shalt have good success." Joshua 1:8. {PK 464.2}
The writings of Moses were taught by Joshua to all Israel.
"There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not
before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and
the strangers that were conversant among them." Joshua 8:35. This was in
harmony with the express command of Jehovah providing for a public rehearsal of
the words of the book of the law every seven years, during the Feast of
Tabernacles. "Gather the people together, men, and women, and children,
and thy stranger that is within thy gates," the spiritual leaders of
Israel had been instructed, "that they may hear, and that they may learn,
and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: and
that their children, which have not known anything, may hear, and learn to fear
the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess
it." Deuteronomy 31:12, 13. {PK 465.1}
Had this counsel been heeded through the centuries that
followed, how different would have been Israel's history! Only as a reverence
for God's Holy Word was cherished in the hearts of the people, could they hope
to fulfill the divine [466] purpose. It was regard for the
law of God that gave Israel strength during the reign of David and the earlier
years of Solomon's rule; it was through faith in the living word that
reformation was wrought in the days of Elijah and of Josiah. And it was to
these same Scriptures of truth, Israel's richest heritage, that Jeremiah
appealed in his efforts toward reform. Wherever he ministered he met the people
with the earnest plea, "Hear ye the words of this covenant," words
which would bring them a full understanding of God's purpose to extend to all
nations a knowledge of saving truth. Jeremiah 11:2. {PK 465.2}
In the closing years of Judah's apostasy the exhortations of
the prophets were seemingly of but little avail; and as the armies of the
Chaldeans came for the third and last time to besiege Jerusalem, hope fled from
every heart. Jeremiah predicted utter ruin; and it was because of his
insistence on surrender that he had finally been thrown into prison. But God
left not to hopeless despair the faithful remnant who were still in the city.
Even while Jeremiah was kept under close surveillance by those who scorned his
messages, there came to him fresh revelations concerning Heaven's willingness
to forgive and to save, which have been an unfailing source of comfort to the
church of God from that day to this. {PK 466.1}
Laying fast hold on the promises of God, Jeremiah, by means
of an acted parable, illustrated before the inhabitants of the fated city his
strong faith in the ultimate fulfillment of God's purpose for His people. In
the presence of witnesses, and with careful observance of all necessary legal
forms, he purchased for seventeen shekels of silver an [469]
ancestral field situated in the neighboring village of Anathoth. {PK 466.2}
From every human point of view this purchase of land in
territory already under the control of the Babylonians, appeared to be an act
of folly. The prophet himself had been foretelling the destruction of
Jerusalem, the desolation of Judea, and the utter ruin of the kingdom. He had
been prophesying a long period of captivity in faraway Babylon. Already
advanced in years, he could never hope to receive personal benefit from the
purchase he had made. However, his study of the prophecies that were recorded
in the Scriptures had created within his heart a firm conviction that the Lord
purposed to restore to the children of the captivity their ancient possession
of the Land of Promise. With the eye of faith Jeremiah saw the exiles returning
at the end of the years of affliction and reoccupying the land of their
fathers. Through the purchase of the Anathoth estate he would do what he could
to inspire others with the hope that brought so much comfort to his own heart. {PK 469.1}
Having signed the deeds of transfer and secured the
countersignatures of witnesses, Jeremiah charged Baruch his secretary:
"Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is
sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel,
that they may continue many days. For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of
Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this
land." Jeremiah 32:14, 15. {PK 469.2}
So discouraging was the outlook for Judah at the time of
this extraordinary transaction that immediately after perfecting the details of
the purchase and arranging for [470] the preservation of the written
records, the faith of Jeremiah, unshaken though it had been, was now sorely
tried. Had he, in his endeavor to encourage Judah, acted presumptuously? In his
desire to establish confidence in the promises of God's word, had he given
ground for false hope? Those who had entered into covenant relationship with
God had long since scorned the provisions made in their behalf. Could the
promises to the chosen nation ever meet with complete fulfillment? {PK 469.3}
Perplexed in spirit, bowed down with sorrow over the
sufferings of those who had refused to repent of their sins, the prophet
appealed to God for further enlightenment concerning the divine purpose for
mankind. {PK 470.1}
"Ah Lord God!" he prayed, "behold, Thou hast
made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched-out arm, and
there is nothing too hard for Thee: Thou showest loving-kindness unto
thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their
children after them: the great, the mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is His name,
great in counsel, and mighty in work: for Thine eyes are open upon all the ways
of the sons of men: to give everyone according to his ways, and according to
the fruit of his doings: which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,
even unto this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and hast made Thee a
name, as at this day; and hast brought forth Thy people Israel out of the land
of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a
stretched-out arm, and with great terror; and hast given them this land, which
Thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and [471]
honey; and they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not Thy voice,
neither walked in Thy law; they have done nothing of all that Thou commandedst
them to do: therefore Thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them."
Verses 17-23. {PK 470.2}
Nebuchadnezzar's armies were about to take the walls of Zion
by storm. Thousands were perishing in a last desperate defense of the city.
Many thousands more were dying of hunger and disease. The fate of Jerusalem was
already sealed. The besieging towers of the enemy's forces were already
overlooking the walls. "Behold the mounts," the prophet continued in
his prayer to God; "they are come unto the city to take it; and the city
is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it, because of the sword,
and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what Thou hast spoken is come to
pass; and, behold, Thou seest it. And Thou hast said unto me, O Lord God, Buy
thee the field for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the
hand of the Chaldeans." Verses 24, 25. {PK 471.1}
The prayer of the prophet was graciously answered. "The
word of the Lord unto Jeremiah" in that hour of distress, when the faith
of the messenger of truth was being tried as by fire, was: "Behold, I am
the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for Me?" Verses
26, 27. The city was soon to fall into the hand of the Chaldeans; its gates and
palaces were to be set on fire and burned; but, notwithstanding the fact that
destruction was imminent and the inhabitants of Jerusalem were to be carried
away captive, nevertheless the eternal purpose of Jehovah for Israel was yet to
be fulfilled. In further answer to the prayer [472] of His
servant, the Lord declared concerning those upon whom His chastisements were
falling: {PK 471.2}
"Behold, I will gather them out of all countries,
whither I have driven them in Mine anger, and in My fury, and in great wrath;
and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell
safely: and they shall be My people, and I will be their God: and I will give
them one heart, and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of
them, and of their children after them: and I will make an everlasting covenant
with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put
My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me. Yea, I will
rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly
with My whole heart and with My whole soul. {PK 472.1}
"For thus saith the Lord; Like as I have brought all
this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I
have promised them. And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It
is desolate without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.
Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and
take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and
in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities
of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity
to return, saith the Lord." Verses 37-44. {PK 472.2}
In confirmation of these assurances of deliverance and
restoration, "the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the second time,
while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying, [473]
{PK 472.3}
"Thus saith the Lord the Maker thereof, the Lord that
formed it, to establish it; the Lord is His name; Call unto Me, and I will
answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. For
thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and
concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by the
mounts, and by the sword; . . . Behold, I will bring it health and
cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace
and truth. And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel
to return, and will build them, as at the first. And I will cleanse them from
all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against Me; and I will pardon all
their iniquities. . . . And it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise
and an honor before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good
that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and
for all the prosperity that I procure unto it. {PK 473.1}
"Thus saith the Lord; Again there shall be heard in
this place, which ye say shall be desolate without man and without beast, even
in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, . . . the
voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the
voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts:
for the Lord is good; for His mercy endureth forever: and of them that shall
bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause to
return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the Lord. {PK 473.2}
"Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Again in this place,
which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all the [474]
cities thereof, shall be an habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie
down. In the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the vale, and in the
cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about
Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the
hands of him that telleth them, saith the Lord. {PK 473.3}
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will
perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to
the house of Judah." Jeremiah 33:1-14. {PK 474.1}
Thus was the church of God comforted in one of the darkest
hours of her long conflict with the forces of evil. Satan had seemingly
triumphed in his efforts to destroy Israel; but the Lord was overruling the
events of the present, and during the years that were to follow, His people
were to have opportunity to redeem the past. His message to the church was: {PK 474.2}
"Fear thou not, O My servant Jacob; . . .
neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy
seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in
rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. For I am with thee, saith
the Lord, to save thee." "I will restore health unto thee, and I will
heal thee of thy wounds." Jeremiah 30:10, 11, 17. {PK 474.3}
In the glad day of restoration the tribes of divided Israel
were to be reunited as one people. The Lord was to be acknowledged as ruler
over "all the families of Israel." "They shall be My
people." He declared. "Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among
the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save Thy
people, [475]
the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and
gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame;
. . . they shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I
lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way,
wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is My
first-born." Jeremiah 31:1, 7-9. {PK 474.4}
Humbled in the sight of the nations, those who once had been
recognized as favored of Heaven above all other peoples of the earth were to
learn in exile the lesson of obedience so necessary for their future happiness.
Until they had learned this lesson, God could not do for them all that He
desired to do. "I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee
altogether unpunished," He declared in explanation of His purpose to
chastise them for their spiritual good. Jeremiah 30:11. Yet those who had been
the object of His tender love were not forever set aside; before all the
nations of earth He would demonstrate His plan to bring victory out of apparent
defeat, to save rather than to destroy. To the prophet was given the message: {PK 475.1}
"He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep
him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and
ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. Therefore they
shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the
goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young
of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and
they shall not sorrow any [476] more at all. . . . I
will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice
from their sorrow. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and
My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, saith the Lord." {PK 475.2}
"Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; As
yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof,
when I shall bring again their captivity; The Lord bless thee, O habitation of
justice, and mountain of holiness. And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and
in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with
flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every
sorrowful soul." {PK
476.1}
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will
make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not
according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took
them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which My covenant they
brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: but this shall be
the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith
the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall
teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know
the Lord: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest
of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember
their sin no more." Jeremiah 31:10-14, 23-25, 31-34. {PK 476.2}
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"In the Court of Babylon"
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