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"And they slew the sons of Zedekiah
befare his eyes, and put out the
eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with
fetters of brass, and carried him to
Babylon" (JI Kings 25:7).
And so J ohanan "took all the remnant of Ju–
dah ... even men, and women, and children,
and the
king's daughters
. . .
and Jeremiah the prophet, and Ba–
r.uch the son of Neriah
[Jeremiah's scribe, or secretary].
So they carne into the land of Egypt" (Jer. 43:5-7).
On reaching Egypt, God warned these Jews again
through Jeremiah that they should die there by the sword
and famine, and "none shall return
but such as sha/1 es–
cape"!
(Jer. 44:12-14.) Yes, a
few
in this company are
under divine protection. A divine mission is to be per–
formed . They shall ESCAPE! The Eterna) continues: "Yet a
small number that escape the sword shall return out of the
Jand of Egypt into the land of Judah" (Jer. 44:28).
Under Divine Protection
Baruch was Jeremiah's constant companion and secre–
tary.
lt
is important to note here God's promise of protec–
tion to him: "Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto
18
. thee, O Baruch.... Behold, that which 1 have built will 1
break down, and that which
l
have planted
I
will pluck up,
even this whole land.... but thy life will
1
give unto thee
for a prey in all places whither thou goest" (Jer. 45:2-5).
Baruch's life, like Jeremiah's, was under divine protec–
tion!
Now previously the Eterna! had said to Jeremiah,
"Verily it shall be well with thy REM ANT." The only
"remnant" left for Jeremiah's mission of transplanting the
throne was the king's daughters. "Verily," continued the
Eterna!, same verse, " 1 will cause the enemy to entreat
thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affiiction"
(Jer. 15:11 ). This God literally did, as described in chap–
ter 39: 11-12 and chapter 40:2-6, which
1
have covered
previously.
Notice, it is to be well with the royal material given to
Jeremiah with which to build and to plant-and Jeremiah
is to be protected and to go to a land that he knows not!
Who else was to go to a land they knew not? The ten–
tribed birthright kingdom, Israel!
So Jeremiah and his Iittle royal remnant are to escape
out of Egypt, return to Judah, and then- where? To the
place where the "lost ten tribes" had gone, as we shall
se
e!
Now let Isaiah complete this prophecy: " For out of Je–
rusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out
of mount Zion: the zeal of tbe Lord of hosts shall do this.
And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah
shall AGAI TAKE ROOT OOWNWARO, ANO BEAR FRUIT
UPWARO" (lsa. 37:32, 31 ).
This same prophecy is found also in II Kings 19:30-31.
It is a prophecy given through lsaiah in the 14th year of
the reign of King Hezekiah of Juda h, when King Senna–
cherib of Assyria threatened invasion of Judah.
lt
was a
prophecy to happen 1ater-not during Hezekiah's reign.
Sorne critics, seeking to overthrow this basic and impor–
tant truth, argue that this same remnant is mentioned also
in
JI
Chronicles 30:6. But that event is
nota
prophecy, but
a historie account of an event in the
first
year of Heze–
kiah- and
that
remnant did not escape from Jerusalem,
but they were Jews who escaped from Sennacherib's
forces threatening invas ion of J udah- they escaped
into,
not
out of
Judah. And nothing is said here about "taking
root downward, and bearing fruit upward," as in both
Isaiah 37 and 11 Kings 19.
This prophecy is so important it is recorded twice! lt
does refer to the remnant to escape later-to Jeremiah's
escape. This remnant with Jeremiah- at least one of the
king's daughters-shall
take root downward!
That is, BE
REPLANTEO!
And then
bear fruit upward!
Be BUILT! Has God
failed in His solemn covenant to keep alive David's
thronc? Where was this planting and building? Can we
find it in God's Word? We can! The place and the
people among whom the throne was reestablished are
clearly ,identified!
The
PLAIN TRUTH February 1979