Biblical Revivals and Awakenings
So far in our series we’ve looked at twenty-six examples of revival in the Bible:
- Seth
- Noah
- Job
- Abram
- Joseph
- Moses
- Joshua
- Judges
- Naomi
- Ruth
- Hannah
- Samuel
- David
- Solomon
- Jehu
- Elijah
- Elisha
- Jonah
- Amos
- Hosea
- Isaiah
- Hezekiah
- Micah
- Nahum
- Zephaniah
- Josiah
King Josiah was Judah’s last good king. He died in battle with the Egyptians and the prophet Jeremiah “lamented for Josiah” (2 Chronicles 35:25). Let’s see what we can learn about revival from the prophet Jeremiah.
Jeremiah the Prophet
The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month. Jeremiah 1:1-3
The first verses in the Book of Jeremiah tell us a lot about the prophet. He was the son of Hilkiah, the priest who worked with King Josiah to restore the Temple and true worship of God. Hilkiah also found the Book of the Law in the Temple and had it read to the king.
Jeremiah prophesied during the days of the last three kings of Judah: Josiah, Jehoiakim (Eliakim), and Zedekiah (Mattaniah). Jeremiah is often called the “weeping prophet” because of his deep sadness for what happened to Jerusalem and Judah. He wrote the Book of Lamentations in addition to the Book of Jeremiah.
Jeremiah is known as one of the “major prophets” of the Old Testament. That’s because of the length of his writings. The Book of Jeremiah is second only to the Psalms in length, plus Jeremiah wrote the Book of Lamentations. Isaiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel are also known as “major” prophets because of the length of their writings. Prophets whose writings are shorter (e.g. Hosea, Zephaniah, Joel, Micah, Nahum) are known as “minor prophets,” not because their prophetic role was minor or less important but simply because of the length of their written material.
Jeremiah’s Message
God gave Jeremiah a powerful prophetic message to deliver to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. After hundreds of years of warning Judah, God would going to bring about the judgment that other prophets had proclaimed. That message of national and personal doom put Jeremiah squarely in the crosshairs of the leaders and citizens of Judah. Here’s what God told Jeremiah to say –
Then the Lord said to me: ‘Out of the north calamity shall break forth On all the inhabitants of the land. For behold, I am calling All the families of the kingdoms of the north,’ says the Lord; ‘They shall come and each one set his throne At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, Against all its walls all around, And against all the cities of Judah. I will utter My judgments Against them concerning all their wickedness, Because they have forsaken Me, Burned incense to other gods, And worshiped the works of their own hands. ‘Therefore prepare yourself and arise, And speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, Lest I dismay you before them. For behold, I have made you this day A fortified city and an iron pillar, And bronze walls against the whole land— Against the kings of Judah, Against its princes, Against its priests, And against the people of the land. They will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,’ says the Lord, ‘to deliver you.’ Jeremiah 1:14-19
Fight against Jeremiah is exactly what the people of Judah did to the prophet. They opposed him at every turn. They accused Jeremiah of treason. They attacked the honesty of his prophecies. They tried to kill him. Yet, just as promised, God delivered Jeremiah from their attacks.
One thing we learn about revival from Jeremiah’s preaching is that God will do what He says He will do. God offered to save His people time and time again, but the people would not listen. They refused to repent from their sins and turn to God. Assyria removed the people of Israel (Northern Kingdom) from the land, and now it was Judah’s turn.
Another thing we learn about revival from Jeremiah’s prophecies is that God would restore His people to the land after a period of rest for the land because of centuries of idol worship. We find God’s purpose and promise in Jeremiah 25 –
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: ‘From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the word of the Lord has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you have not listened. And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, ‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.’ Yet you have not listened to Me,’ says the Lord, ‘that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the Lord; ‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation. So I will bring on that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations. (For many nations and great kings shall be served by them also; and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.)’ Jeremiah 25:1-14
Notice that God referred to the king of Babylon as His “servant.” That’s another lesson of revival. God is Sovereign over everyone – friend and foe. God used King Nebuchadnezzar to execute His judgment on Judah, remove the people from the land, and give Judah and Jerusalem 70 years of sabbath rest. At the end of that 70 years God would punish the king of Babylon and the nation “for their iniquity.”
Jeremiah wrote a letter from Jerusalem to the remainder of the elders who King Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. The letter includes words of hope for God’s people in captivity –
Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the Lord. For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive. Jeremiah 29:5-14
Notice the insights for revival –
- Call upon God and He will listen
- Seek God and find Him when you search for Him with all your heart
- God will bring you back
This is a simple message, but powerful and true. God loves people and wants to save them. That’s why God sent His only begotten Son to the world, to save people from their sins. God wants to revive people – give them life again. Repentance, confession, and obedience are vital to that happening in our lives, the life of our churches, and the life of our nation.
Why would God do this? Because of Jesus Christ – the Seed of the woman who will destroy the seed of the serpent. He came to save. He will return to rule.
Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah: ‘In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David A Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In those days Judah will be saved, And Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’ Jeremiah 33:14-16
[I also recommend you read the short Book of Habakkuk. He was a contemporary of Jeremiah.]
Next Time
We’ll learn about two important prophets of the Babylonian captivity in the next part of our special series.
Free eBooks
You can download a free eBook of the first six parts of this series to share with family and friends. Please click here for the PDF eBook.
Here is the eBook for the parts seven through twelve of this series. Please click here for the PDF eBook.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
© Faith and Self Defense, 2024
Faith & Self Defense 