A message the Lord God
gave Jeremiah the prophet:
At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry. Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things. For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God. For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, 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, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. 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 firstborn. Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, 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 more at all. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for 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.-Jeremiah 31:1-14***Canaan was land inhabited by idolaters when the Lord God promised to give Canaan to childless Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) and Abraham's descendants. At least 11 years thereafter, Ishmael was born to 86-year old Abraham and Hagar, Sarah's maidservant. Isaac was born to 100-year-old Abraham and 90-year-old Sarah. When Isaac was 40 years old, he was married to Rebekah, Abraham and Sarah's grandniece. Fraternal twin sons Esau (Edom) and Jacob (Israel) were born to 60-year-old Isaac and Rebekah. In Padan Aram, Haran, Jacob was married to Leah and Rachel, the daughters of Rebekah's brother Laban the Syrian (Aramean). Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and daughter Dinah were born to Jacob and Leah. Dan and Naphtali were born to Jacob and Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant. Gad and Asher were born to Jacob and Zilpah, Leah's maidservant. Joseph was the 1st son born to Jacob and Rachel. During Jacob's 20th year in Haran, he began journeying with his family, servants, animals, and possessions to Canaan. Near Bethlehem, Benjamin were born to Jacob and Rachel, and Rachel died. The divinely inspired Scriptures of the Holy Bible reveal that Abraham was a friend of God, and the Israelites are the treasured and chosen people of the Lord God. When Joseph was at least 17 years old, his brothers sold him to merchants traveling to Egypt and led Jacob to believe that Joseph was killed by a wild beast. When Joseph was 30 years old, Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, proclaimed him second-in-command. After the 2nd time that Joseph's brothers were in Egypt to buy corn (grain) during a famine, Joseph identified himself to his brothers and told them to move with their families, including Jacob, to Egypt. Moreover, Pharaoh expressed his generosity and hospitality. During the journey, the Lord God spoke to 130-year-old Jacob. In Egypt, Jacob proclaimed Manasseh and Ephraim, the sons born to Joseph and his wife Asenath, to be his own sons. Sometime after 147-year-old Jacob died in Egypt and his family buried his body in Canaan, and 110-year-old Joseph and his siblings were dead, the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. Miriam and her younger brothers Aaron and Moses were born into the tribe of Levi. When Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83, the Lord God sent them to speak to the Israelite elders and Pharaoh. After the Lord God brought the 10th and final plague upon Pharaoh and Egypt, Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron to get the Israelites and their animals and go serve the Lord God. Pharaoh also told Moses and Aaron to bless him. Before Moses and Aaron led the Israelites, and those with them, away from Egypt, across the divinely parted Red Sea and into the desert wilderness of Shur, the Israelites asked for and were given an abundance of valuable goods, fulfilling the words that the Lord God spoke to Abraham. In the desert wilderness of Sinai, in the region of Mount Sinai, the Israelites heard the voice of the Lord God proclaim the Ten Commandments to them, and the Lord God began giving Moses judgments, statutes, and laws for the Israelites. At least twice after hearing the commandments, the Israelites engaged in idolatry. During the 40-year journey to Canaan, the Promised Land, Miriam the prophetess died and was buried in Kadesh, in the desert wilderness of Zin. Upon Mount Hor, 123-year-old Aaron the high priest died, and Eleazar, the son born to Aaron and his wife Elisheba, succeeded Aaron as high priest. When Moses went upon Mount Nebo, the Lord God showed Moses the Promised Land, and 120-year-old Moses the prophet died and was divinely buried. Joshua, Moses' aide and successor from the tribe of Ephraim, led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the land that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham, and Isaac, and to Jacob, and their descendants. Sometime after 110-year-old Joshua died and was buried in his tribe's portion of the Promised Land, the Israelites began worshiping idols. Rehoboam, the son born to King Solomon and Naamah, was the 4th king to rule over all of the Israelites. After Rehoboam gave a specific answer, the Israelites split into 2 kingdoms, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of Solomon. Judah was the nation in the south, Jerusalem was the royal city and Rehoboam was the 1st king to reign. Israel was the northern nation, Samaria was the final royal city and Jeroboam, the son born to Nebat and Zeruah, was the 1st king to reign. King Pekah was the 18th king to rule over all of the Israelites in the northern nation of Israel. During Pekah's 20-year reign, the Assyrians invaded the kingdom and Tiglath-pileser, ruler of Assyria, began taking Israelites captive. During the 9th year of the reign of King Hoshea, the 19th king to rule the northern nation, the Assyrians conquered Samaria, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Approximately 80 years after Samaria was conquered, Rehoboam's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson Josiah became the 15th king to rule Judah. During the 13th year of Josiah's 31-year reign,the Lord God began giving Jeremiah the prophet messages to proclaim to the Israelites about the upcoming 70-year Babylonian captivity of the Israelites and the future of the Israelites. Years before the Lord God gave Jeremiah messages, Isaiah the prophet received messages from the Lord God to proclaim to the Israelites. Jehoahaz, the son born to Josiah and Hamutal, was the 16th king to rule Judah. Jehoiakim (Eliakim), the son born to Josiah and Zebudah, was the 17th king. During Jehoiakim's 11-year-reign, the Babylonians (Chaldeans) invaded Judah and Jerusalem, and King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of Babylon, began looting the temple of the Lord. Jehoiachin (Jeconiah/Coniah), the son born to Jehoiakim and Nehushta, was the 18th king. During Jehoiachin's 3-month reign, the Babylonians took more prominent Israelites, including Jehoiachin, his wives and mother, to Babylon. Josiah and Hamutal's son Zedekiah (Mattaniah) was the 19th king to rule Judah. During the 11th year of Zedekiah's reign, the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. A group of Israelite survivors took Jeremiah with them to Egypt. Over 500 years after Israelites began returning to Judah and Jerusalem, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Solomon and his descendants, all of Judah's kings, to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin. Before Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary, and after Jesus was betrayed, arrested, crucified, buried in a tomb, resurrected, seen by over 500 people, and returned to heaven less than 33 1/2 years after he was born, the Roman Empire was ruling the land whereupon the kingdoms of the Israelites previously stood.-Genesis 1:1-4:26, 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 20:1-29, 27:12-23, Deuteronomy, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Judges 1:1-2:23, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 6:1-81, 7:20-29, 10:1-29:30, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26, 6:1-8:4, James 2:1-26