Royalty and Ruin

The Faithful Youth Were Encouraged

Jeremiah never lost sight of the importance of heart holiness in the service of God. He foresaw the scattering of Judah among the nations, but with faith he looked beyond this to restoration. “‘The days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’” Jeremiah 23:5, 6. RR 151.3

Those who would choose to live holy lives amid apostasy would be enabled to witness for Him. The days were coming, the Lord declared, when people would no longer say, “‘As the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel ... from all the countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own land.” Verses 7, 8. Such were the prophecies that Jeremiah spoke when the Babylonians were surrounding the walls of Zion. RR 151.4

These promises fell like sweetest music on the ears of the steadfast worshipers of God. In homes that still held in reverence the counsels of a covenant-keeping God, even the children were mightily stirred. Their receptive minds received lasting impressions. Their observance of Holy Scripture gave Daniel and his companions opportunities to exalt the true God before the nations of earth. The instruction these Hebrew children received in the homes of their parents made them strong in faith. When Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem for the first time and carried away Daniel and his friends, the faith of the Hebrew captives was tested to the utmost. But those who had learned to place their trust in the promises of God found these promises to be all-sufficient, a guide and a support. RR 151.5

As an interpreter of the judgments beginning to fall on Judah, Jeremiah stood nobly in defense of God’s justice. He extended his influence beyond Jerusalem by frequent visits to various parts of the kingdom. In his testimonies he constantly emphasized the importance of maintaining a covenant relationship with the compassionate Being who on Sinai had spoken the Ten Commandments. His words reached every part of the kingdom. RR 152.1