Reading Jeremiah 8-12; in 2 Chronicles 6 & 7 we find the prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the New Temple in Jerusalem. Solomon prays for the dedication of the Temple, that it would be a place where God would be found. However, the problem wasn’t with God but with the people of Israel. Solomon knew how the people would be in the lust for things of this earth. He knew or better yet prophesied that Israel would wander and drift into idolatry and pagan worship. He foresaw that they would become enslaved again in sin, and as a result the blessing of God would turn into a disciplining situation. The drift of God’s people from Him has been an ongoing problem since the time of the first sin and Adam. Instead of listening and loving the LORD God, mankind seeks his own pleasures. Man doesn’t want to be without, or prevented from satisfying his sensual desires. Even today I still hear people complain that God is too strict, and that He [God] doesn’t want people to have any fun. In chapter 7, Look at what they are doing! 17-19. They had been breaking the Covenant with God since coming out of Egypt. Time after time, God wanted to destroy the stiff-necked people, but for intercessory prayer, He relented. Problems: –Won’t Listen, –Won’t obey –Stubbornness/evil heart –Backward not forward! Disobedient Prophets/People. What was God to do? Let it go? People count on grace/mercy of God. God chose Jeremiah, the task preach Jeremiah! But they won’t listen -27. Preach it anyway.
Jeremiah begins to outline all the abominations of Judah. A place called Topheth – Hinnom valley; is a place of child sacrifices. The Lower South wall, they just threw dead bodies into a refuse pit where the fire and worm did not die. In Chapter 8- Grave robbers.Worse insult to desecrate the graves of the dead. But the condition of Judah has so degraded spiritually, even though such turmoil and anguish, they would rather continue in their sin Rather than repent – they would rather die instead. This has a Revelation connotation during the Bowls. How bad is it? Apostasy of Judah – every depth/level
Verse 14 – what are we waiting for? Rather than repent, they look for a way of escape [humm sounds like wanting the rapture]. IN America, we hope in the return of Jesus to end the troubles of our time. Do we not see that it is the hand of God on His people, trying to bring them to repentance and back to Him? We are Blinded by our own pride and religious regimes! All that Judah had hoped would happen, that God would bail them out didn’t happen. Summer is past and we are not Saved! In the season of hope, or so they thought, that God would deliver – no time for salvation was gone, time for turning to God over – Do Not Pray for these people for I will not listen! The presumption that God would do something to deliver them from Babylon, yet they missed that it was God behind the scenes working
Jeremiah is called the “Weeping Prophet” – he Lamented – weeping or crying over the people.
Condition of the people:
- Adulterers
- -Liars
- -Treacherous dealings
- –Do not know God
- –Evil to Evil
- –Life in utter chaos
- –Watch Out for everyone – trust no one!
The LORD
–Exercises Justice
–Exercises Loving kindness
–Holy and righteous judgments
-“Psalm 51” – broken and contrite heart God will not despise! No fleshly animal sacrifices. But a heart humbled.–Uncircumcised, circumcised – not the foreskin, but of the heart. Pharisees boasted of being Abraham’s children and circumcised – outward looks don’t count
Jeremiah 10; Judgment is coming; the True God is going to act on Judah and the nations.Shepherds have become Stupid – 3X used times. I often have heard that a preacher is not to use the word “stupid” – but here we have it used over and over. A quick definition – doing something when the person knows better, ignoring all caution and warning.
Desolation of Judah – Lion King after the Hyenas destroyed it. Judah will be Corrected with Justice God, not with wrath. We must always remember that Israel is God’s own people. He will not tolerate sin in His children. He will Discipline us, but not destroy them for they have led us astray.It will be a thorough cleansing of Judah, they will be refined by fire, and they will not forget it! Judgment coming on gentile and Judah. Jeremiah 12:10 – bad shepherds; Ezk. 32:1-10. Desolation 3X = barren, isolated, empty. All The efforts of the wicked will result in emptiness.Unproductive crops and lives. Uprooted– the damage of pulling something up by its roots. Remove the plant from its protective and sustaining source
BUT – Merciful God – “But” verse 15, I will have compassion on them, bring them back into the land.“If” – they must listen! They must learn My ways 2 Chronicles 7:14, MY People, My Ways; if they don’t I will uproot them permanently
preachbetweenthelines 