Jehoiakim—God’s Testimony Rejected

The contrast is painful in turning to the history of Josiah's son. Of him it may be said, "Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness." Psa. 52:7.
The 36th chapter of Jeremiah opens with the goodness of God towards His poor rebellious people. He presses upon their attention the solemn condition in which they were. He causes a roll to be written containing all the words Jeremiah had spoken against Israel saying, "It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin" (v. 3). This roll of a book reaches the ears of Jehoiakim.
So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll; and he took it out of Elishama the scribe's chamber. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king. Now the king sat in the winter house in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him. And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words. (Jer. 36:21-24.)
How solemn all this is after seeing the tenderness of heart in Josiah. Jehoiakim rushes from the sound of God's Word into the darkness of infidelity. He supposes he can escape the judgment of God by disbelieving the testimony concerning it. This is where Satan is fast leading the world into open rejection of the Word of God today. Men are like Jehoiakim. He was not afraid, nor rent his garments. "Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." Jehoiakim had quietness, but it was not that peace which Josiah knew: the peace of condemnation put away and of sin forgiven. There is a message for him in verses 30 and 31:
Therefore thus saith the Lord of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they hearkened not.
Pride and unbelief shut out from all blessing, and leave their victims exposed to the wrath of God.
“Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord." Jer. 17:5. The only place of blessing is that which Josiah took. There the Lord ceases to have a controversy. He knows the claims of His own truth. He will not relinquish them. "Thou hast magnified Thy word above all Thy name." Psa. 138:2.
Saul sought to uphold his own integrity when the word of God was against him. His heart did not bow before the truth and the Lord cast him off. It is a vain thing to strive with God. May the Lord guard His children in this day of evil! Let us have tenderness of heart to all His truth so that we may hold our proper place of testimony for Him.
Present Testimony Vol. 2
Questions and Answers
QUESTION: How and when will the lost ten tribes be restored, and can they presently be identified?
ANSWER: Israel, or the ten tribes, was taken to Assyria (2 Kings 17) about 130 years before Judah, or the Jews, was taken to Babylon. Idolatry and turning to Assyria for help, instead of to God, were the immediate causes of the deportation of the ten tribes to Assyria (see Hosea). Not being involved in the guilt of Judah in rejecting and crucifying the Messiah, their restoration to the land of their fathers will be accomplished in a special way. They will not pass through the awful trials under the Antichrist which their brethren of Judah will. Ezek. 20:33-39 records the restoration of the ten tribes by the Lord Himself. The mass of Judah will be restored by the aid of a seafaring nation (Isa. 18).
Whatever human instruments may be employed in assisting the return of the ten tribes, they are hid in the meantime, and God Himself is presented as the source and power of their return. It is to be noted, too, that God deals with the conscience of Israel, or the ten tribes, in the wilderness, not in the land. As the unbelieving and disobedient fell in the wilderness, and only the faithful entered the land, so will it be in the return of these tribes. The rebels and disobedient will be first purged out, and then the godly will be brought into the land to rejoin their converted brethren of Judah. This sifting will take place while the Jews are suffering under the Antichrist in the land. The wondrous meeting of the long-scattered tribes of all Israel is most touchingly described in Jer. 31:8, 9.
There is a later return of any scattered among the nations, whether of Jews or Israelites, when the Lord comes. It is He who sends out His messengers to gather His elect (Matt. 24:31; Isa. 66:19, 20).
There was a return of certain remnants of Judah from Babylon to Jerusalem after the seventy years of captivity (see Ezra and Nehemiah), but there has been no return of Ephraim or the ten tribes. God has His eye upon them; He knows where they are, for He scattered them.
It is most remarkable that people will pretend to tell who and where the descendants of these long-lost tribes are. The truth is, no single people or nation can claim to be their descendants, for they were to be scattered among the heathen and dispersed through the countries. Their scattering and dispersion were to be world-wide (Ezek. 20:34; 34:12, 13).
God further declares them to be "lost" and that He will "search" and "seek them out." What God says, He will do. Man is daring enough to say he has done it. God says He will search for, and seek the lost sheep of Israel. Man says he has searched them out, and can tell you who and where they are.
You have only to read carefully Ezekiel chapters 20 and 34 to have all such thoughts dispelled. There is nothing like the sure and unerring testimony of God's blessed Word in meeting the foolish thoughts and vain speculations of men.
Young Christian