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Daily Devotions

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 
Day 
Day 99

"Children of Bethlehem... flee from the midst of Jerusalem!"

Text: Jeremiah 6:1

CONCERN FOR BENJAMIN

The prophet Jeremiah had fond personal attachment to Benjamin. Why was there such a special concern for Benjamin?

“O you children of Benjamin,
Gather yourselves to flee from the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet in Tekoa,
And set up a signal-fire in Beth Haccerem;
For disaster appears out of the north,
And great destruction.”
Jeremiah 6:1

1. “O you children of Benjamin”

a) The Southern Kingdom was made up of 2 tribes.
i) Judah the main tribe.
ii) Benjamin was mentioned with Judah (1 Kings 12:23).
(Half of the tribe was in the South; the other half was in the North.)
b) Benjamin was the place where Jeremiah grew up.
i) Anathoth was a city given to priests.
ii) Anathoth was in the territory of Benjamin.
Jeremiah understandably had a special sense of affection for Benjamin.

2. “Gather yourselves to flee from the midst of Jerusalem!”

a) Jeremiah knew and believed in God’s word of warning.
b) The Babylonians would invade the land.
c) Those in Benjamin must flee from Jerusalem.

3. The ancient war-alarm system

a) Trumpets were used.
b) Fires were lit in fortresses.
c) Those on guard duty must spot these fires and warn the rulers of invaders.

4. “Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a signal-fire in Beth Haccerem”

a) Tekoa was the hometown of Amos the prophet (Amos 1:1).
b) The name Tekoa and “trumpet” were “related”.
i) There was a play on words.
ii) To blow a trumpet a burst of air must be blown.
iii) Tekoa means just that, “a sudden burst” of air (on a trumpet).
iv) Tekoa had given a warning blast of the war trumpet.
c) Beth Haccerem
i) It had sent forth its warning fire.
ii) The Invaders were not very far away at all.

5. “For disaster appears out of the north, and great destruction”

a) This was the message that was being sent:
i) By trumpet sound.
ii) By fire.
b) The message was a grim and frightening one.
i) Disaster
ii) Destruction
iii) The Enemies were coming from the North.