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Daily Devotions

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 
Day 
Day 401

"They proclaimed a fast before the LORD"

Text: Jeremiah 36:9

PROCLAMATION OF A FAST

The historical setting is to be noted. Jehoiakim had been king for five years already. But he had made no significant spiritual impact on his kingdom. What then was the occasion of this fast?

“Now it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah,
king of Judah, in the ninth month,
that they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem,
and to all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem.
Then Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD,
in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe,
in the upper court at the entry of the New Gate of the LORD’s house,
in the hearing of all the people.”
Jeremiah 36:9-10

1. “Now it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah,
in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem,
and to all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem”

a) What happened in the fifth year?

i) The Babylonians conquered Ashkelon, a major city of the Philistines.

ii) This caused many a ripple in Judah and Jerusalem.

b) Note the phrase “they proclaimed a fast before the LORD”.

i) The call to have a Fast may not have been initiated by the king.

ii) He was not known to be spiritual or religious in any special way.

iii) The pronoun “they” could suggest that the idea of a Fast
may have been initiated by the people, rather than the king himself.

c) What made people consider a Fast?

i) Fear would have been a major factor.

ii) Faith would be the reason for some of the people (a minority).

iii) Hope that God would somehow respect their Fast and deliver them.

2. “Then Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD,
in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court
at the entry of the New Gate of the LORD’s house, in the hearing of all the people”

a) Baruch read from a book that Jeremiah had dictated to Baruch.

b) Location:

i) In the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan.

ii) This family had been serving the Lord faithfully
since the days of King Josiah (2 Kings 22).

iii) Shaphan was a scribe (2 Kings 22:3, 12).

iv) Gemariah was a son of Shaphan.

c) Hearing of all the people

i) “All the people”
This is a reference to all the people who came to this place for Fasting.

ii) These would be “the faithful few”.