Jeremiah

Jeremiah 17:1-4

The sin of Judah left a permanent mark on the tablets of their hearts, much like the carving on the horns of the pagan altars they sacrificed on.  The 'tablets of their hearts' imply a hard heartedness about them.  It's ironic that the finger of the Lord wrote the law on the stone tablets.  These were to serve as a permanent reminder of what holiness and obedience looked like.  The children were to remember, yet, they remember the pagan altars, Asherah and high hills; all pagan worship sites. 

Jerusalem would be given to the enemy, along with all their wealth.  The Lord included their worship sites as part of the deal.  This implies the land would be given over to their enemies.  Their inheritance would be lost and it was their own fault (not that of their forefathers or anyone else). 

Jeremiah 17:5-8

Verses 5 &6 stand as a contrast to verses 7&8.

• Like a bush in the wastelands – unhealthy, struggling, lifeless
• No prosperity – fruitless, no purpose or meaning
• Like salted land – nothing grows there, barren.

Blessed, the one who trusts in the Lord, has confidence in Him.

• Like a tree planted by the water – healthy, growing, full of life
• Heavily rooted – stable, nourished from many places.
• Fruitful – green, no fear

Jeremiah 17:9-10

These two verses further reveal the heart of verse 1.  The unsearched heart is deceitful beyond anything else.  This person evaluates their own heart based on their own standard and not the standard laid down by God.  The self-evaluation is full of deceit.  Because of the trust in man, the cursed will 'try harder' to fix their heart.  This heart is not curable.  Who could possibly understand it?

The answer is given in verse 10; the Lord searches the heart.  He knows what's in a person.  He alone can judge and reward based on the content of the heart and mind.  The outward deeds are seen, but the heart with which they are done is only seen by the Lord.  Only He can measure the deeds.    

Jeremiah 17:11

The legend is that this partridge would steal the eggs of another bird and then hatch them out.  However, the hatchling would see this bird wasn't its mother and fly away.  Those who gain riches in an unjust way will see a similar thing, the riches will fly away because they don't belong to this person.  They will be shown to be both moral and spiritual fools. 

Jeremiah 17:12-13

The hope is not in ill-gotten gains or in our own heart.  Mankind must look outside itself, look to the throne of God.  This is the place where hope is found.  To leave, or disregard this hope, is foolish.  Those turning away from God will have their name written in dust instead of the book of life.  Life is found in the living water of the Lord.

Jeremiah 17:14-18

Jeremiah laments again to the Lord.  He asks for healing and salvation and states his loyalty and trust in the Lord.  He is taunted by the people because they had not seen the fulfillment of the word he taught.  They would only believe what they could see.  In spite of the persecution, Jeremiah states he has not run away from his calling.  He had not longed for the day of the despair of the people.  His words were open before the Lord. So he asked that the Lord not be a terror, but to be his refuge from persecutors. 

Jeremiah 17:19-27

Jeremiah was to go to this gate; there is no clear understanding of what gate this is.  He was to then go to other gates also.  This first gate was the gate used by the king and his nobles as well as the people.  Then at the other gate, the people of Judah would hear the message as well.  God's law said they were not supposed to work on the Sabbath.  The penalty of doing so was death.  The Sabbath was created for men and the Lord took it seriously and expected His people to do likewise.  At the gates, the people heard Jeremiah proclaim this message, yet they didn't listen.  The Lord characterized them as stiff-necked and unwilling to respond to discipline.  Obedience would bring a blessing of the kings and their officials riding in through the gates to a city inhabited forever.  In addition, the people would come from near and far to make their offering at Jerusalem.    But if they failed to obey, then the Lord would bring the fires of judgment upon them. 

©2018 Doug Ford