JEREMIAH 9-17 THE HEART IS DECEITFUL2013 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Jeremiah 9-17 The Heart Is Deceitful

We are here in Jeremiah looking at chapters 9 through 17, which are the chapters that we read this week going through the Bible in three years.

As we continue on the prophet Jeremiah, we're looking at the second of the major prophets. We'll be looking at Jeremiah in this book and then also in the following book, which is Lamentations. As Jeremiah writes that after the fall of Jerusalem as a lament to his great sorrow over what has happened to the nation of Judah.

The book of Jeremiah is written by Jeremiah. It's the recording of Jeremiah's prophecies, which he delivered to the nation from about 626 to 586 B.C.,

He was prophesying to the nation while Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah were the kings of Judah. These are the last five kings of Judah. And so he was prophesying to those last five kings, calling them to repentance right until the very end when Babylon conquered Jerusalem. And alongside of him were Zephaniah and Habakkuk. They

They were ministering to the nation at that time as well, calling the people to repentance. As we look at chapters 9 through 17 this evening, the chapters that we're looking at are recording a time that's happened right in between here, the time that Babylon conquers Assyria and

And the time that Jehoahaz begins to reign in Judah. And so it's right around in that time frame. Josiah is on the throne for most of it. But then his reign comes to an end and Jehoahaz begins to reign. His reign is actually really short, which we'll see later on in the book of Jeremiah. And Jehoiakim reigns right after him. So it's in that basic time frame that Jeremiah prophesied the things that we'll be studying this evening in these chapters.

Throughout the book of Jeremiah, he is prophesying about the nation of Babylon that is going to come. From the north, they're going to come and they're going to conquer Jerusalem and lead the people away captive. And we see that proclaimed all throughout the book of Jeremiah. And then we see it fulfilled at the end of the book of Jeremiah. And then again in Lamentations, it's the aftermath looking at

the result as Babylon conquered Jerusalem. And that makes Jeremiah very unique as a prophet because he prophesied for his whole life and then he watched the fulfillment of all of those prophecies as opposed to Isaiah who prophesied all kinds of things but many of those things still haven't yet come to pass as we read it today. But Jeremiah watched these things unfold in his own lifetime today.

Babylon did come and conquer Jerusalem. Now when Babylon conquered Jerusalem or the nation of Judah, they actually conquered it three times. And that's important to understand when you start looking at the 70 year captivity and that kind of thing, these dates become very important. So the first time that Babylon conquered Jerusalem and Judah was in 605 BC where Jehoiakim was king. He was defeated and

And taken captive to Babylon along with some of the young men from the royal family. And also some of the temple articles were taken to Babylon at that time.

Then a few years later in 597 BC, Jehoiachin is now king. He rebels against Babylon. And in 597, he surrendered to Babylon as Babylon came back to battle against Jerusalem. And so when he surrendered, he was taken captive to Babylon along with some more treasures from the temple.

And the captains and the craftsmen, the skilled workers of Judah were taken to Babylon at that time as well. Thinking that, well, if we take away these key people, they're not going to resist us anymore. But then Zedekiah is on the throne and he rebels against Babylon. And so Babylon comes against Jerusalem for the third time. And in 586 BC, Jerusalem is...

conquered, Zedekiah is defeated, and all the inhabitants of the land are taken to Babylon. And so it's that full desolation of the city of Jerusalem, the nation of Judah, by Babylon in 586 BC.

Well now as we get into our chapters for this evening, I want to begin actually in chapter 8, even though we're starting really in chapter 9. But chapter 8 gives a little bit of the background as we head into chapter 9. So as we finished off last week looking at chapter 8, God was talking about how his people hold fast to deceit in verses 4 through 7.

that the nation of Judah is holding fast to lies. He says that they've deceived themselves and they're insisting to stay in that condition of being deceived. He says in verse 6 of Jeremiah 8, he says, I listened and heard, but they do not speak aright. No man repented of his wickedness saying, what have I done? Everyone turned to his own course as the horse rushes into the battle.

And as Jeremiah is addressing the nation of Judah, God is saying, there's nobody who's repentant. There's nobody who's turning back. They're holding on to their deceitfulness, their deceitful ways. They're sticking to their own paths and their own course and not following me and my word.

Then he also addressed the false prophets in verses 8 through 17, saying that they falsely heal the hurt of my people. And one of the issues that was going on as Jeremiah is prophesying is that there's a bunch of false prophets bringing forth false prophecies, saying...

You don't need to worry. You don't need to repent. We're going to be fine. God's going to take care of us. We have the temple here. So just keep doing what you're doing. You don't need to change anything. And the false prophets were giving this message of assurance and peace to the people when God's message to the people was a message of repentance or a call to repentance. And so they were saying, peace, peace, but there was no peace.

And so Jeremiah says, for the hurt of my people I am hurt. It's an accurate representation of God's heart as they weep over the condition of the nation of Judah. And so that brings us now to Jeremiah chapter 9. Verse 9 is the key verse. It says, shall I not punish them for these things, says the Lord? Shall I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?

We're continuing this idea, this understanding of the deceit that is there in Judah. In verses 1 through 6, we find that it's through deceit that they refuse to know me. God's complaint against the nation of Judah is that they are deceived. They're deceiving themselves. And through that, they're refusing to get to know God. They're refusing to walk with God.

In verse 3 it says, like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies. They are not valiant for the truth on the earth for they proceed from evil to evil and they do not know me says the Lord. What God desires most, what he requires and demands is relationship. He wants us to know him. He wants us to walk with him. That's what he has always desired of his people.

But the nation of Judah, they go from evil to evil. They're continuing on to go from bad to worse. And he says, I think it's an interesting phrase the way he says it. He says that they're not valiant for the truth. They're continuing on in deceit. And through their deceit, they refuse to know God. And they're not valiant for the truth. They're not fighting for the truth. They're not fighting to know the truth.

They're not even bothering to battle, to understand and know the truth and to know God. And so God says in verses 7 through 11, I will refine them and try them. I'm going to test them. I'm going to refine them. I'm going to turn up the heat, put them through the furnace of affliction.

Because through deceit they refused to know me. He says in verse 9, Shall I not punish them for these things? For their great wickedness? Shall I not avenge myself? As you examine the judgments of God and the wrath of God, you have to come to the conclusion that God's judgments are just and fair. And so as he says, Shall I not punish them for these things? He's laying out the case.

This is how I've been. This is how they've been. This is the prophets I've sent to them. This is how they've responded to it. All throughout the book of Jeremiah, we see this. God is presenting his case and saying, I have no other option. They left me no other choice.

But to bring this judgment and to avenge myself on a nation like this. And so in verse 11 he says, I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah desolate and without inhabitants. That's how he's going to refine them and try them. The nation of Judah is going to be completely destroyed. Why? Well, verses 12 through 16, he says, Because they have forsaken my law. The issue is,

they've disregarded the word of God. They've disregarded his commands. They've disregarded what he has declared. But instead, verse 14, he says, they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them. There's two issues. The first is that they've forsaken the law of God. That's

Not the right thing to do. It's a terrible thing to do. It will get you into lots of trouble. But on top of that, he says, they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts. And this really is a theme that we can see throughout the chapters we're looking at this evening. The issue for the people of the nation of Judah is an issue of the heart. The real issue is that they are determined to

To follow their own hearts. Now this is one of the reasons why for me the prophet Jeremiah is really so applicable to myself and to us today, to our nation. I really see our nation on the same path. We're like in parallel with the nation of Judah on the path to destruction and God calls out for repentance for a nation in that condition. But there's great challenges here.

For us. There's great things to consider. Because although we don't have the Jewish law. And Judaism and the temple and that kind of thing. We can get caught up in the same type of religious mentality. As the nation of Judah was in. And we can easily fall into following the dictates of our own hearts. Even though we come to church.

Even though we read the Bible, even though, you know, we know things about God and we have known God, we can fall into the trap of following the dictates of our own hearts. And that's an issue. As we'll see at the end of our chapters this evening, Jeremiah chapter 17.

There Jeremiah tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. And so that's the problem with our hearts. And that's why we cannot just surrender to following the dictates of our own hearts. I like the way it's put in the Proverbs. Proverbs 28, 26. It says, Proverbs says,

But walk wisely and you'll be delivered. And how do you walk wisely? Well, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. First things first, fear God.

First things first, submit to God and surrender to God. That's what we must do. If we trust our own heart and just follow what we think and follow how we feel and respond to life according to what, you know, happens within our own hearts, we're going to be in trouble. And we're going to be in a position like the nation of Judah because we follow the dictates of our own hearts.

that God will say, I have to deal with you because you care more about what you think and how you feel than you care about what I say. And how we feel, if we follow our hearts, it will always lead us away from the Lord. Think about that, okay? If we follow our hearts, it will always lead us away from the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And so walk wisely in

Fear God. And we need to know his word. And we need to be submitted to his word. Otherwise we will end up forsaking the word of God. Well then in verses 17 through 22.

We see that there's going to be a voice of wailing in Zion. He says, hire wailers. They would have professional mourners for funeral processions and such. And so he's saying, get those mourners because there's going to be great tragedy. Verse 19, he talks about them being plundered and being cast out. And there's going to be great mourning as a result as this judgment is brought upon Judah. In verses 23 through 26...

God calls us to glory in knowing him. Verse 23 says, Thus says the Lord,

Such a great

reminder from God for the nation of Judah but then also for us. Don't glory in your wisdom. Don't glory in your might. Don't glory in your bank account. Don't glory in whatever you have. Here's what we should be most excited about in our lives. That you got the beta version of iOS 7 on your phone. That's what you should be most excited about. Right Jake? No. What should you be most excited about in your life? What should you glory in? Your retirement plan?

The great choice you made? The great career that you have? What should you glory in? God says, here's what you should glory in. If you're going to glory in anything, glory in this. That you know me. And that you understand me. God is calling us to that relationship. Do you know the Lord? Do you walk with the Lord? Do you understand Him? Does He talk to you? Does He reveal Himself to you? That should be the most exciting thing ever.

In your life. That was the issue for Judah. God was not the most exciting things in their life. They had other things that were more exciting. Because they followed the dictates of their own heart. Well now as we go into chapter 10 verse 16. Is the key verse. It says the portion of Jacob talking about God. Is not like them talking about the false gods. For he is the maker of all things. And Israel is the tribe of his inheritance. The Lord of hosts is his name.

In verses 1 through 5, he tells his people, don't learn the way of the Gentiles. Don't be like the people around you, he says. In verse 2, he says that the Gentiles are dismayed at the signs of heaven. They get freaked out. They get focused on. They're strongly influenced by the signs of the heavens. But then he says in verse 3 that the customs of these people are futile. They're worthless. As he's talking about idolatry,

He's saying it's worthless. It's a worthless doctrine. Idolatry is still an issue today as we often talk about and we'll see this throughout the book of Jeremiah. It might come in different forms instead of a wooden statue or gold or silver. It comes in other forms but it's the same false gods. Here's what Warren Wiersbe has to say about that. He says, "...today's idols are much more subtle but they are just as worthless when it comes to a life that is real."

He says money and the things that money can buy, position, authority, fame, and so forth. When we trust and serve anything other than God, we practice idolatry. Or describing it the way that we just left in chapter 9, if there's anything that we're more excited about than God, we're practicing idolatry. And it's a worthless doctrine that will not provide for us. In verses 6 through 11, he tells us that the Lord is the true and living God.

All of these idols are false gods. Again, it's a worthless doctrine. Whether it be an idol of wood or silver or gold or some other material, it's a worthless doctrine. But in verse 10 he says, The Lord is the true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble and the nations will not be able to endure His indignation. He is the only true and living God.

He is the only creator. He is the only one that can cause the earth to tremble at his wrath. And that's why we must begin with the fear of the Lord. That's the beginning of wisdom. He says in verse 11, any God that has not created the heavens and the earth will perish. And so think about that for me, would you? When you are excited about something, whatever it is, the most exciting thing in your life, what are you passionate about? What's your first priority? What are you focused on? What are you living for?

If that hasn't created the heavens and the earth, realize and understand it's going to perish. It's not going to last. Make sure that whatever you worship, whatever you're most passionate about, is, well, the one that has created the heavens and the earth. Otherwise, what you worship, what you're passionate about, what you're living for, is going to perish. In verses 12 through 16, he tells us that he is the maker of all things.

He has made the earth. He is the creator. He is the one who spoke it into existence. He is God. In verses 17 through 22, God says, I will throw out the inhabitants. He's talking about the nation of Judah. He's saying, I'm casting them out. I'm throwing them out. This land is going to be left desolate without inhabitants.

In verse 21 he tells us why. He says, "...the shepherds have become dull-hearted and have not sought the Lord. Therefore they shall not prosper and their flocks shall be scattered." There was an issue with the people as a whole collectively. They were in rebellion against God. But that doesn't let the leaders of the people off the hook. And the shepherds of the nation have a big part to play. That they were dull-hearted and they were not seeking the Lord.

And so the people would not prosper because the leaders were not seeking the Lord. There's a serious responsibility that comes with authority. And I would encourage you, whatever kind of authority you have, whether it's authority in your home, whether it's authority in the workplace, if it's authority in the community or in the neighborhood or in the family, whatever it might be, don't take that authority lightly. Because as shepherds, when we do not seek the Lord, it affects us.

The people that God has entrusted to us. The people that we have authority over. And the flocks will be scattered when the shepherds do not seek the Lord. So if you're going to glory, glory in that you know the Lord. That you seek the Lord. Well then in verses 23 through 25, we see Jeremiah's prayer. Oh Lord, correct me.

I love the heart of Jeremiah in this. And again, it's so relatable to us. This is right where we need to be. Verse 23, O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. Jeremiah says, Lord, I understand. I can't trust myself. I know it's not in me. I know I don't have a good grasp on what needs to happen or even on what is happening.

He's saying, don't trust your heart. Don't trust yourself. Don't trust your thoughts. Don't trust your plans. What I'm trying, I know. I know I shouldn't trust these things. And so in verse 24, he says, O Lord, correct me, but with justice, not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing. He's calling out for God to correct him. Lord, correct me. I know I don't have a full understanding of my own heart, God. I know I don't have a full understanding of my ways, but

I know I've got some issues with my motivations. I know I've got some issues with my heart. And so, Lord, would you correct me? Jeremiah prays. Correct me. Not in your anger that you would just completely wipe me out. But, Lord, I need to be corrected. And so, with mercy and grace, with patience, God, bring correction to me. Oh, Lord, correct me. You know, we have these shirts...

That we've given out to the body. We encourage you to wear. Jesus loves you. Ask me how I know. But with Jeremiah's heart here, maybe we need to do a new round of t-shirts that just says real big under construction. Oh Lord, correct me. The prophet Jeremiah says, Lord, correct me. You and I need to have, this is a model for us. This should be our attitude. This should be our hearts.

Lord, I know I don't fully understand my heart, my ways. Lord, I know there's issues that need to be addressed. And so, Lord, correct me in your mercy. Correct me in your grace. We need to have that constant willingness for God to change us, to work in us. We're not finished. We're under construction. And Lord, help us to never forget that. Well, chapter 11 now, verse 10 is the key verse.

He says, In verses 1 through 10, God says,

He pronounces a curse. It's really the re-pronouncing of the curse of this covenant. If you remember back in Deuteronomy chapter 28, 29, and 30, Moses presents the covenant to the people. And the covenant is, if you obey God and walk with Him, God says, I will be your God and you will be my people. But if you disobey God, if you disregard His word,

Then he announced, here's all the curses that will fall upon you. There's great blessings if you obey me. Here's the curses. And so God is pointing them back to that and saying, cursed is the one who does not obey the words of this covenant. In verse 4, he says, obey my voice and you will be my people and I will be your God.

Again, going back to Deuteronomy, back to the covenant with Moses. If you'll just listen to what I say, God says, if you'll just obey my commands, then our relationship will be restored.

If you will repent and turn from your sin to follow me, there will be restoration and you will be my people and I will be your God. And he calls Jeremiah in verse 6 to proclaim these words in the streets and in the cities. He's calling out to the people, hear the words of the covenant and do them. Put them into practice, live them out. But then verse 8 it says, yet they did not obey or incline their ear.

And so when he gave him that covenant, he said, here's the choice you have to obey or to not obey. If you obey, there's great blessings. If you don't obey, here's the curses. And so here God is saying, you've chosen not to obey, so I'm going to bring the curses.

As a result of this covenant that you have broken in not obeying me. And what's the issue? Well, he says they haven't heard, they haven't obeyed, but instead everyone followed the dictates of his evil heart. Again, this is the theme here of the issue for the nation of Judah. That everybody follows the dictates of their evil heart. Again, the proverb says, whoever trusts in his own heart is a fool.

And they were fools. They were following their own hearts. They were living the way that they wanted to live. They were doing what they wanted to do. They were doing what they thought was best. And their word, their thoughts, their feelings overwrote what God said. And they disregarded God's word to say, no, this is what I want to do. This is what I'm going to do. And so God says in verse 10 that both Judah and Israel, Israel's already been conquered by Assyria,

Because they broke the covenant with God. And now Judah is not far from that as well. Because of their continued rebellion and following the dictates of their own evil hearts. Well then in verses 11 through 17 he says, God's response to this is,

As he announces that he will bring these curses upon them, he says, I'm going to bring calamity. And they're not going to be able to escape, he says in verse 11. Even if they cry out to me, he says, I will not listen to them. It's come to the point, God says, even if they cry out to me in the midst of that calamity, they're going to have to experience the whole thing. I'm not going to deliver them. I'm not going to listen to them when they cry out to me.

He says in verse 12 that they're going to call out to their gods, but their gods are false gods. And so those gods are not going to be able to save them. And so there is not going to be a deliverance for this people if they continue in this rebellion. And so God says in verse 14, something a little bit shocking. He says, so do not pray for this people. God says, Jeremiah, stop praying for this people. That's enough. Stop it. Don't pray for them anymore. That's kind of shocking.

To hear that from the Lord. When we know that He is gracious and merciful. His loving kindness reaches to the heavens. We've seen His pattern of calling out and allowing repentance even at the last moment. And yet at this point He says, do not pray for this people. When do you stop praying for people? Think about that. I think we all have friends, family, people we want for them to know the Lord more.

When do we give up? When do we stop praying for them? I would suggest you stop praying for them when God tells you to. Not before. You know, Jesus told several parables where he was like, you need to continue to pray and not lose heart. Be faithful and keep praying. And I suppose if like Jeremiah, God tells you, okay, stop praying, then you got to be obedient to the Lord. But until that happens, don't give up. Don't give up just because you don't see anything happening.

Pray without losing heart. Pray without ceasing. Now as God tells us to Jeremiah, I would suggest to you that this does not mean that God is done with the nation of Judah. What God is saying is, I've done all that I'm able to do. The ball is in their court now. The rest is up to them. I will save them if they turn and repent. But I'm not going to deliver them if they're not repentant.

It's up to them now. I've given them every opportunity, every chance. I've done everything that I could do. I've sent the prophets. I've been patient for a couple hundred years now. So stop praying, Jeremiah, because I've done my part. And I've done all that I'm going to do. And I won't do anything else until they repent. The last part of this chapter in verses 18 through 23 says,

tells us that the people around Jeremiah though now devise schemes against Jeremiah and so they're shooting the messenger they don't like what they hear they don't like the message that's being brought forth

And so they're scheming and planning to put Jeremiah to death. Now here it mentions for us Jeremiah's hometown, which was the city of Anathoth. Anathoth was a Levitical city. If you might remember when Joshua led the people into the land, he set apart various cities for the Levites and the priests because they didn't get a land inheritance, so they had designated cities. And Jeremiah being a priest...

was from Anathoth, which was a Levitical city, which was just slightly south of Jerusalem. And so that's where Jeremiah is at. That's his hometown. He's prophesying. And his friends and family, his neighborhood, is rising up and scheming against him to put him to death. His message was not a popular message. Well, then Jeremiah chapter 12 says,

Verse 1, it says, I have forsaken my house. I'm sorry, verse 7. I have forsaken my house. I have left my heritage. I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies. Here in Jeremiah chapter 12, we have a little bit of a discussion between Jeremiah and God. In verses 1 through 6, Jeremiah says, God, let me talk with you about your judgments.

Can we talk about this, Lord? Because I'm not understanding what you're doing. I'm having a hard time with this. He says in verse 1, Why does the way of the wicked prosper? You're speaking all these things through me, but I don't see the results of it. Wicked people are still doing well. He says, Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? They're smiling. They're having a good time. But they're so treacherous in their dealings.

There's been many men of God who have struggled with these kinds of issues. You might remember Job wrestled with this. You can check it out in Job chapter 21. Also there's a psalm, I think it's a psalm of Asaph in Psalm 73, where he's wrestling with this too. Like, God, wicked people are doing well. They're prospering. It doesn't seem to make sense. And there's been many more men and women of God who've wrestled with this. As we look around, we see people

The wickedness around us. And yet they don't seem to be receiving the consequences for those sins. Now one of the issues in Psalm 73 brings this into focus for us. Is that when we have those feelings. When we're thinking that way. It's because we're only looking at this life. And we've missed the scope of eternity. And how God's eternal plan fits in and brings justice.

But God's response here to Jeremiah is somewhat different. He says in verse 5, God responds to Jeremiah's request or his inquiry about his judgments, not understanding how come the wicked are happy,

And God says, you don't even have any idea how bad it is yet, Jeremiah. You've run with the footmen and they've wearied you. But it's going to get much worse. He says, you don't even know how bad it is. He says in verse 6, for even your brothers, the house of your father, they've dealt treacherously with you. And they've called the multitude after you. You don't even know the full story of how wicked they are, Jeremiah. So don't get wearied here with the foot soldiers.

Because the horses are coming. It's going to get more difficult. Things will get worse. But Jeremiah, you have to trust me. And God is promising through this. I will be with you.

Then in verses 7 through 13, he says, the sword of the Lord shall devour. Again, he's announcing this judgment that will come through the nation of Babylon. In verse 12, he says, the plunderers have come on the desolate heights in the wilderness. For the sword of the Lord shall devour from one end of the land to the other end of the land. No flesh shall have peace. But this judgment from the Lord will

brought upon them by Babylon is going to affect every part of the land, every type of person. He's going to deal with them. Then in verses 14 through 17, God says, if the nations will learn my ways, they will be established. As God is addressing Judah, he widens it a little bit. He says, okay, all of you neighbors around Judah, Moab and Ammon, if you guys, I'm going to pluck you up. Babylon's going to come against you as well.

But I'm also going to give you an opportunity, just like I'm going to give to Judah. And I'm going to bring you back into the land. And if you will learn my ways, if you will turn to me, then you will be established. And so God's calling out not just to Judah, but to the surrounding nations as well, for them to know him, to walk with him, and the promise that they will be established if they do.

Chapter 13 now, verse 10 is the key verse. He says, In verses 1 through 7, we have the beginning of this sash illustration. There's some discussion about what this sash was. It could have been the sash of a priestly garment.

Or it could have been more like maybe what we would consider a fashion accessory. Regardless, he's to take this sash. And I love the progression here. Check this out. Verse 1, God says, go get a sash. Verse 2, Jeremiah says, so I went and got a sash. Then God says in verse 4, hide the sash in a hole. Then verse 5, so I went and I hid it. Then verse 6, God says, go get the sash.

And in verse 7, Jeremiah says, then I went and I got the sash. I love this progression. God says, go get it. So I went and got it. He says, hide it in a hole. So I went and hid it in a hole. He says, go get the sash now. Dig it back up. So I went and I dug it back up. Again, Jeremiah becomes a good example for us. Here's what God says. Now here I went and did it. Here's what God says next time. And then I went and did it. That's really what our lives are to be looking like. That we're responding to the word of God.

And so God tells him, and keep in mind, this is somewhat ridiculous what God is asking of Jeremiah. Maybe that's blasphemous to say that. But he tells Jeremiah to take it to the Euphrates River. Verse 7, at the end he says, Then I went to the Euphrates and dug it up. I took the sash from the place where I had hidden it, and there was a sash ruined. It was profitable for nothing. So God, you made me spend money on this sash just so that it would be ruined. And you made me travel this long distance. I'll show you that in just a moment.

Just so that it would be ruined. I don't understand would be my thoughts if I was in Jeremiah's shoes. Why are you making me do this? Well, God explains in verses 8 through 11. He says, I will ruin the pride of Judah. This is an illustration. Thus says the Lord in verse 9. In this manner, I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. Just like the sash was ruined, the pride of Judah, the pride of Jerusalem was ruined. Why?

Well, again, verse 10, the key verse. Because this evil people who refuse to hear my words, who follow the dictates of their hearts and walk after other gods. What's their problem? They disregard God's word and they follow their own hearts. And the result of that is the same result that the sash experienced. That is pride. It's great pride.

And it will bring great ruin. Just like the sash was ruined. Then in verses 12 through 14 he gives another illustration. He tells Jeremiah, go announce that every bottle will be filled with wine. And the people respond, yeah we know. We're going to be blessed and we're going to have lots of wine. And we're going to enjoy it. We know every bottle is going to be filled with wine. But then God extends the message and says, no this wine, this is the wrath of God. And you're going to be crushed. You're going to be destroyed in the wrath of God.

Then in verses 15 through 23, he calls out to them and says, Here he announces that the time to repent is limited. There's not unlimited time to repent. There is a set amount of time. I can't tell you what that set amount of time is for any particular individual, but there is a set amount of time. You don't know what that set amount of time is for you.

If you're in a condition where you need to repent. But we always think when we're in that condition, yeah, I'll get around to it. After this point, you know, over here, when I get to this point, then I'll repent. But he says in verse 16, give glory to the Lord your God before he causes darkness and before your feet stumble. While you're looking for light, he turns it into the shadow of death. It's like what Jesus said in John 12, walk while it's day. You have opportunity now, you don't know if you have opportunity tomorrow.

Or even later this evening. Don't wait for the end of the message to repent. Repent now. Because you don't even know if you're going to make it that far. You have light now. But that time to repent is limited. He says in verse 18. Say to the king and to the queen mother. Humble yourselves. You see this is what God is seeking to address. It's the issue of pride. Following my own heart. Following what I think.

And the solution to that is humility. Humble yourselves, he says. Sit down. Humble yourself before the Lord. In verse 22, he says, And if you say in your heart, Why have these things come upon me? It's for the greatness of your iniquity. Your skirts have been uncovered, your heels made bare. The greatness of your iniquity brings this judgment upon you, he says. In verses 24 through 27, he says, I will scatter them like stubble.

You're going to be scattered. You're going to be driven out of this land because you've forgotten me and you've trusted in falsehood. Warren Wiersbe says, useless, broken, and slaughtered because of sin too deep to be removed. Those are the sad consequences of pride and disobedience. As Jeremiah addresses the nation of Judah, they're about to be destroyed.

Because they follow the dictates of their own evil heart. It's their pride. They listen to themselves before God. And that leaves us in a terrible condition. We need to learn from their mistake and go back to Jeremiah's example and say, oh Lord, correct me. I know I've got issues. I know I need to grow. Lord, work in me. Correct me. Help me to humble myself before you.

Well, this journey to the Euphrates that God has Jeremiah take, here on the map you can see a good example or a good understanding of what it is that God was asking of him. Jerusalem is there. You see the Mediterranean Sea. There's Jerusalem with the Dead Sea right next to it.

The Euphrates River is a really long river. It runs, you know, from the top of the map here all the way down to the Persian Gulf. And then the Tigris River, you know, runs parallel to it. And so as God tells Jeremiah, go and bury this at the Euphrates River, it's about 250 miles from Jerusalem to the Euphrates River up there in the north. And so, you know, that's about a week-long journey by foot.

uh to to go from jerusalem to euphrates i think it's like walking you know 12 hours a day at three miles an hour something like that so take about a week to get there and then a week to get back and then picture this right so then god says go buy a sash take it to euphrates two weeks later jeremiah is back in jerusalem he's walking around he's talking he's proclaiming the word of god and then god says at some point after that all right go back get the sash that you hid and

And so he has to go another week journey back to the Euphrates, another week back. So two weeks later, he comes back and now he's got this sash which is just completely destroyed. God is going to great lengths to make his message clear to the people. You know, one day they're looking and they're like, hey Jeremiah, nice sash. Wow, I'm really digging it, man. It looks good. Brings out the color of your eyes. I think it's really sweet. And two weeks later, it's like, hey, what happened to your sash, man? I mean, it was so nice. Oh, God told me to go bury it. That's strange.

And a couple weeks later, you see him again, and he's got this ugly, like, destroyed sash. Like, Jeremiah, what's wrong with you? Why are you wearing that? This is how I'm going to destroy the pride of Judah, God says. I mean, God's going to great lengths to make this message really clear to the people that they have this opportunity to humble themselves and repent. I also would see this as, well, God also goes to great lengths to test the obedience of his servants.

If I was Jeremiah, I'd be grumbling the whole way. Like, why on earth, God? I could hide this at the Jordan River. It's like right here. Take me 10 minutes. Why do I got to hide this at the Euphrates? But God's working in Jeremiah's heart at the same time as he's using Jeremiah to minister to the people. So when God asks you to do ridiculous things, be obedient. Be faithful, even if it requires several two-week journeys. Be faithful.

Let God declare to you what must be done and then be obedient to it. Chapter 14, now verse 14 is the key verse. And the Lord said to me, the prophets prophesy lies in my name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them. They prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart. We see the heart issue again. The prophets prophesy.

are prophesying in my name but God says I have not sent them we begin the chapter in verses one through six and God is describing the people being ashamed because there's no rain there's no rain there's famine in the land and they're sending out the lads to go get the water but they come back ashamed there's no water I'm sorry I can't bring there's no water and it says that they're confounded and they're covering their heads they're they can't figure out why is there no water what's wrong why would God allow this famine

And God's explaining, I'm doing what I said. I'm doing what I said. You've disregarded my word. And in that word, I declared, if you disregard my word, I'm going to bring famine. It's one of the curses. And so God is saying, I'm doing exactly what I said I would do if you do not follow this covenant. Then in verses 7 through 12, he says, I will not hear their cry. Jeremiah prays now. In verse 7, Jeremiah is praying. He says, oh Lord,

Please bring water for your namesake. And God says, I'm not going to do it. Verse 10, thus says the Lord to this people, thus they have loved to wander. They have not restrained their feet, therefore the Lord does not accept them. He will remember their iniquity now and punish their sins. And again he says in verse 11, do not pray for this people. Again, God is saying, I've done everything that I'm going to do for them. They have everything that they need. It's now up to them. If they will repent, I will hear them.

But Jeremiah, you don't need to pray for them anymore. You don't need to pray for water because they've refused to listen to me. Warren Wiersbe points out that the people mourned for the land but not for their sins. They were sorry for their plight, their condition, but they weren't sorry for their evil ways. They weren't turning back to the Lord through this. They were just sorrowing over their condition. We talked about this on Sunday, the difference of repentance.

There's a repentance which has a true change of heart towards God and then there's a repentance that's just sorry for the consequences and sorry for the situation. They were not sorry with a changed heart to turn back to the Lord. They were just sorry that life was so hard and that they were still thirsty.

In verses 13 through 18, it tells us that the prophets prophesy lies. In verse 13, Jeremiah tells the Lord, So there's famine in the land and the false prophets are there saying, you shall not have famine. All you got to do is name it and claim it and you won't have any kind of famine.

And the sword's not going to come here. And Jeremiah's confused. I think it's interesting. Jeremiah's confused. He's like, Lord, you're telling me I'm not going to bring water. You're not going to bring water. But the false prophets, he doesn't call them false prophets. He says, the prophets are saying there's not going to be famine. They're saying something different. Jeremiah is shocked to learn that people can lie even though they use the name of the Lord. Did you know that?

Do you remember when you first learned that? Do you remember that shock? Jeremiah is shocked. God, I don't understand. He's thinking these guys are your prophets and this is what they're saying. And God here tells him they're prophesying lies. They're prophesying based on the deceit of their own heart. They're saying what they want to hear. They're saying what they want me to say. But I haven't sent them. I've not commanded them. I haven't spoken to them.

Jeremiah didn't realize that they were false prophets until God told them they're false prophets. It makes me wonder, do false prophets know that they are false prophets? Something for you to wrestle with. Do deceived people know that they're deceived? They're prophesying in the name of the Lord, but it's lies. They're prophesying what they think according to their own hearts. They're trusting in their hearts and they're fools.

They're fools. Because if you trust your own heart, you're a fool. Verses 19 through 20, it says, We acknowledge our wickedness. We acknowledge our wickedness and the iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against you. This prayer, as you read through it, sounds really good. I mean, you read through it, you're like, wow. I mean, this people, there's real repentance here. This is great. The people are responding. They're turning to God. This is going to be wonderful. The problem is, is it's just words.

There's no actual repentance. There's no real turning from sin. And again, this is why this book becomes so relatable for us because this can happen to us where we can learn how to pray really good prayers and not have repentant hearts. This happens all the time. This is something I got to guard against in my heart. This is something you got to guard against in your heart. We know how to say the right things and we know how to sound really repentant.

Say, yes, we acknowledge our wickedness. But then to not turn from the wickedness shows that there's not a real change of heart. It's just words. And so they're continuing on in their wickedness, but they're praying really good prayers. Chapter 15 now of Jeremiah, verse 1 is a key verse. Then the Lord said to me, even if Moses and Samuel stood before me, my mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of my sight and let them go forth.

He says in verses 1-4, I have appointed for them four forms of destruction. They're going to have death and the sword and famine and captivity. I'm going to bring against them the sword to slay them, dogs to drag them, birds to devour them, beasts to devour them. They're going to be destroyed. Why? Verses 5-9, because they don't return from their ways. You see, they can pray really nice prayers, but there's not real repentance. They're not turning from sin.

He says in verse 6, you have forsaken me, says the Lord. You've gone backward. Therefore, I will stretch out my hand against you and destroy you. I am weary of relenting. Why? Because in verse 7, they don't return from their ways. That's the problem. They don't return from their ways. Verses 10 through 14, he says, a fire is kindled in my anger. The wrath of God will be brought upon them in judgment.

But then, verses 15 through 21, he says, if you return, I will bring you back. What's he calling for? He's calling for repentance. He's calling for a return. Stop going that direction. Turn back and follow me. He's even talking to Jeremiah here in verses 15 through 21. As Jeremiah says, oh Lord, correct me. God says, okay, make sure you turn back to me. Make sure you walk with me. Make sure you follow me. That's what God is asking for. Verse 2 now of chapter 16 says,

He says, you shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place. Here God is giving specific instruction to Jeremiah. Verses 1 through 4, he says, you shall not take a wife. You're not going to have any kids, Jeremiah. Because, he explains in verse 4, the children are going to die gruesome deaths. And I don't want to put you through that. So, better for you, you're going to serve me in this time of crisis. Because in Jeremiah's lifetime, all this is going to happen again.

It's better for you. Don't take a wife and don't have children because they will die gruesome deaths. Verses 5 through 9, he says, I have taken my peace from this people. I've removed my peace. He says in verse 6 that both the great and the small will die in this land. There's not going to be, you know, the wealthy who survive because they've got great resources. No, it's going to impact all of them as God removes his peace.

But then he explains why in verses 10 through 13. Because each one follows the dictates of his evil heart. You see the theme in these chapters? I mean, this is a real issue. The heart of the matter is always a matter of the heart, as the saying goes. It comes back to our heart. Why has the Lord pronounced this great disaster? Well, he says in verse 12, You've done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to me.

The problem is they've forsaken God and what's worse, their forefathers forsook God too. But what's worse is they've added on to that the following of the evil dictates of their own heart, he says. Each one follows. You've done worse because you pursue the dictates of your own evil heart. And in doing so, you do worse than those who have gone before you. And so that's why you don't listen to me.

Because you want what you want. You're focused on what you want. You're focused on what you think. You're focused on how you feel. You're focused on you. And you don't listen to me. And what God requires of us is to fear the Lord. That's the beginning of wisdom. And to let His word override our word. Let His thoughts override our thoughts. Let His feelings override our feelings. Let His commands override what we want to do. Jeremiah, I don't care if you want to get married. I'm telling you, don't get married.

I don't care if you want kids, Jeremiah. I'm telling you, you're not going to have kids. You got to follow what I say. Now, that's not for everybody. But it is for everybody that we need to turn from our own hearts and follow what the Lord says. Again, he who trusts in his own heart is a fool. He says, though, in verses 14 through 21, he gives a little bit of hope as he often does. He says, I will bring them back after I repay them for their sins.

You guys always look back to Egypt and how God delivered the nation out of Egypt. Well, in the future, God says, you're going to look back at how I've delivered you from that kingdom who comes from the north, talking about Babylon. And so the nation of Israel can look back not only to the bondage in Egypt and how God delivered them, but can look at how God released them from Babylon and brought them back into the land of Judah, a great and awesome miracle that took place.

under King Cyrus, the Persian king. So God says, I will bring them back, but first I'm going to repay double for their iniquity. Then chapter 17, verse 9 is the key verse. It says, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Verses 1 through 8, God says, curse is the man who trusts in man. Curse is the man who trusts in man, who makes flesh his strength, whose heart...

departs from the lord but then in verse 7 he gives the contrast blessed is the man who trusts in the lord and whose hope is in the lord verses 9 through 13 he says the heart is deceitful above all things i want to come back to that and finish with that and so we'll move on verses 14 through 18 he says let them be ashamed in verse 15 he says they say where is the word of the lord

Where's the word of the Lord? He says in verse 16, Jeremiah speaking, I haven't hurried away from being a shepherd. I haven't desired the woeful day, but they're coming against me. They're persecuting me. And so he says in verse 17, his prayer to the Lord, let them be ashamed who persecute me. Then in verses 19 through 27, God gives a command to the people of Judah. He says, bear no burden on the Sabbath.

Now, of course, this was the command, you know, established of old through Moses to bear no burden on the Sabbath. But he sends Jeremiah to stand at the gate and announce, hear the word of the Lord. Bear no burden on the Sabbath. God is giving them a chance. He says, look, if you will obey me in this, I think it's interesting how God works. He gives them one command. Now, what God wants is for them to obey all the commands, right?

But he's giving him a simple step going forward. Here's one thing to do. Do this one thing and I will deliver you. If you bear no burdens on the Sabbath, if you will take heed to me in this, I will deliver you. He says in verse 24, if you heed me carefully, verse 25, this city shall remain forever. God's giving them an opportunity. Look, you want to be saved from Babylon? Start with this. Stop bearing burdens on the Sabbath.

And I'll deliver you from Babylon. He gave them one command to give them an opportunity to take that step and listen to God. But verse 23 tells us, but they did not obey nor incline their ear, but made their neck stiff that they might not hear nor receive instruction. And so God says, if you don't hear me, verse 27, a fire will devour Jerusalem. I'm going to bring great destruction. If you don't listen to this, here's your chance. Obey this command.

And this command represents all my commands and represents all relationship with me. And if you walk in this command, then I'll save you. If you don't walk in this command, I will destroy you. And what did they choose? What did they choose rather? They chose to disregard God, to not hear, to not receive the instruction. And they continued to violate the Sabbath even though God gave them this opportunity because they followed the dictates of their own hearts.

I think verses 5 through 8 is interesting. God gives a comparison and a contrast between trusting in man and trusting in the Lord. He says, if you trust in man, you're cursed. But if you trust in the Lord, you'll be blessed. If you trust in man, you'll be like a shrub. You're not going to last. But if you trust in the Lord, you'll be like a tree. If you trust in man, you'll be like a shrub in the desert.

So there's no water. You won't be nourished. You won't be strong. But if you trust in the Lord, you'll be like a tree by the waters. You'll be established. You'll be nourished. You'll be refreshed. If you trust in man, you're not going to see when good comes. I'm going to bring blessing to this land. But if you're trusting in the flesh, you're not going to see it. But if you trust in the Lord, difficult times are going to come too. But you won't see when the heat comes because you're by the waters.

If you trust in man, you're going to inhabit parched places. You're going to be thirsty. But if you trust in the Lord, you're not going to be anxious in the year of drought because God's going to provide for you as you trust in him. And so he sets before us the choice. Trust in man, including yourself. Trust in your ways. Trust in your thoughts. Trust in your heart. And that's foolish, but you can choose to do it and you'll be cursed. But if you trust in the Lord, you will be blessed.

Now Jeremiah 17.9 is a verse that I refer to often because I think it's, well, it's one that we need to hear often. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Here we have, as clear as you can get, a good understanding of our hearts. We may deny it. We may not like what it says about our hearts. But the heart is deceitful above all things. What does your heart do best?

What is your heart best at? We might think a lot of things and we might hope for a lot of things, but Jeremiah, the Lord says, first and foremost, what your heart does best is be deceitful. Your heart is an expert at deceiving you.

First and foremost, your heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. That's why it's so easy for us to be deceived and that's why we need to guard our hearts, as the proverb says, because out of it flow all the issues of life. We have to guard our hearts. This is why we must be submitted to the Lord. I want to do my best to make sure this is clear. Your worst enemy is your own heart. My worst enemy is my own heart.

Because it's deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. And I must, because I have a sinful heart, because I have this flesh, this sinful nature, I must continually submit myself and subject myself to the Word of God. And my life must be examined by the Word of God. Because it's living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword.

The Word of God is what's able to cut through the deception and bring truth. Because if I just trust how I feel, I'm going to be deceived because my heart is deceitful above everything else. My heart has the capacity to love. But above that, my heart is deceitful. That's what my heart does best.

And that is why I must subject myself. That's why I must fear the Lord. That's why I must do what he says even when I don't agree. That's why I must look for what his ways are and not my own ways. That's why I must seek his counsel before making decisions because I don't know what's best. My heart is deceitful. And like Jeremiah prayed, Oh Lord, I know the way of a man is not in himself. My heart's deceitful. God correct me. That needs to be the continual condition.

For us. Because the heart is deceitful above all things. Don't trust your heart. That's foolish. In verse 10, God says, I, the Lord, search the heart. I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. God says, you don't know your own heart, but I know your heart. So listen to me. Don't trust in man. Don't trust in yourself. Don't trust in your own heart.

Trust in me. Submit to me. Don't just be good at praying the prayer, but change your ways. Don't be prideful, but seek the Lord. Hear from Him. Let Him direct you. Let Him correct you. Let Him override what you think and how you feel. Let's pray. God, as we consider our hearts and Your declaration that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, Lord, we can't even know it

Lord, we see how much we need you because you search our hearts, you search our minds. And so, Lord, like Jeremiah, I pray, Lord, correct me. Not in your anger, because I can't stand to that, but Lord, in mercy and grace, I pray that you would bring correction, that you would bring direction, that you would lead, that you would guide, that you would accomplish your will in me. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

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