Jeremiah - Lesson 17

• Chapters 1-6 The foundation of this book is established by the LORD’s calling of Jeremiah as a prophet to Judah in the final days of that kingdom. The LORD’s people, Israel and Judah, had rejected their God by worshipping false gods without repentance. The LORD is sending a nation from the North as judgment, but not for the complete destruction of His people.

  • Chapter 7-11 Jeremiah calls out the impending destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem. The people have been led into the worship of false gods, signs in the heaven and idols by their spiritual leaders, forsaking the LORD and violating His covenant. The necessity for discipline is not pleasing to the LORD, just as Christ experienced as He declares the destruction that was coming on Jerusalem in His day. Many want to silence the LORD’s prophet.

  • Chapter 12 Jeremiah asks the LORD why it seems the wicked prosper in this life. The LORD prepared Jeremiah for the path ahead to get worse for the LORD’s people, and yet there will be grace offered to His people and the nations in the future. 

  • Chapter 13 Jeremiah buries a linen garment, again prophesies the LORD’s judgment is coming and calls out the leaders of Judah, specifically the king and queen mother.

  • Chapter 14 Drought is sent on the LORD’s people as a warning of judgement to the people for following the false prophets and leade  rs of Judah. The people did not remove the false prophets but followed them into greater sin, leading to judgment by the LORD to remove His people, not accepting their false worship or prayer from Jeremiah to spare them.

  • Chapter 15 The LORD reaffirms judgment will fall on Judah now because of what king Manasseh did in Jerusalem. Jeremiah laments over his calling as prophet to the LORD’s people and the LORD tells Jeremiah to repent and to return to the work and He will protect him.

  • Chapter 16 Jeremiah is told he is not to take a wife or have children, and he is not to participate in events that display mourning. The LORD again reveals the destruction of Jerusalem and Judah are imminent and yet there will be a future restoration for His people.   

Jer. 17:1 The sin of Judah is written down with an iron stylus;
With a diamond point it is engraved upon the tablet of their heart
And on the horns of their altars,
Jer. 17:2  As they remember their children,
So they remember their altars and their Asherim
By green trees on the high hills.
Jer. 17:3 O mountain of Mine in the countryside,
I will give over your wealth and all your treasures for booty,
Your high places for sin throughout your borders.
Jer. 17:4  And you will, even of yourself, let go of your inheritance
That I gave you;
And I will make you serve your enemies
In the land which you do not know;
For you have kindled a fire in My anger
Which will burn forever.
Jer. 17:5 Thus says the LORD,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the LORD.
Jer. 17:6 “For he will be like a bush in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A land of salt without inhabitant.
Jer. 17:7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD
And whose trust is the LORD.
Jer. 17:8 “For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.

• Verse 1 The LORD continues to speak through Jeremiah as He says the sin of Judah is written down with an iron stylus.

  • This stylus has a diamond tip for accuracy and strength.

  • This would be an engraving tool used on a very hard surface.

    • What is written down is described as a sin, not sins, of Judah.

    • This sin is engraved in the hard heart of the people.

• The point is twofold here, as it highlights the hardness of the heart of the people and it highlights the permanence of the sin, as an engraving will not disappear. It is for a permanent record.

  • This sin is also engraved on the horns of their altars.

  • These are referred to as their altars, not the altar of the LORD’s temple.

  • The plural for altars diminishes the thought that it is the altar of the LORD in the temple in Jerusalem.

• Generally, the horns of the altar would be where the sacrifice is tied to the altar, but the scriptures also speak of the horns being used as a place to seek mercy.

1Kings 1:49 Then all the guests of Adonijah were terrified; and they arose and each went on his way.
1Kings 1:50 And Adonijah was afraid of Solomon, and he arose, went and took hold of the horns of the altar.
1Kings 1:51 Now it was told Solomon, saying, “Behold, Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon, for behold, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’”
1Kings 1:52 Solomon said, “If he is a worthy man, not one of his hairs will fall to the ground; but if wickedness is found in him, he will die.”
1Kings 1:53 So King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and prostrated himself before King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”

• In Jeremiah the LORD says the sin of Judah is engraved on the horns of their altars--not mercy.

  • Jer. 17:2 When these people, with the hard hearts, remember their children, it will bring to mind for them their altars and the Asherim.

    • These places were located by the green trees on their hills.

    • This would be where the sacrifice of these children took place.

  • An excavation of a site in Gezer found evidence of a high place of worship and the skeletons of children were found there.

    • The Asherim was set up next to the altars to demonstrate who the sacrifice was being made to.

    • The worship of Asherim is infamously associated with fertility rituals.

• Verse 3 The ‘mountain of Mine’ may be a reference to Jerusalem, or it may be His people.

  • Either way, the LORD says He is going to give all its treasures and wealth as booty.

  • It is payment back for what was given in the high places throughout the borders of Judah.

    • There is also the point to be made that the hills where the false worship was set up were thought to be places that the power of the false gods was known; contrary to an understanding that the land was the LORD’s, and the inheritance was given to the people--not to be given away to false gods.

• Verse 4 The people will let go of their inheritance, the land the LORD gave to them, and instead they will be removed to serve their enemies, far away in a land they do not know.

  • The LORD is not indifferent to the sins done against Him.

• Verse 5 The LORD clearly says any man who would put his trust in a person or in the physical world has turned their heart away from the LORD.

  • These two things are mutually exclusive.

  • You can’t serve them both at the same time.

• Verse 6 The one who puts their trust in the physical world is like a desert bush with the existence relying on the immediate surface rain or dew to survive. It is precarious at best.

  • Verse 7 The contrast is given of a man who trusts in the LORD; there is no other God.

  • This man also lives out a life that demonstrates he trusts in the LORD in his heart.

• Verse 8 This man is compared to a tree planted by water with the roots reaching to the stream.

  • This man will not fear when difficult times come but will produce fruit in life like a tree produces green leaves and fruit.

  • The roots must be established before the difficult times come.

Jer. 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?
Jer. 17:10 “I, the LORD, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give to each man according to his ways,
According to the results of his deeds.
Jer. 17:11 “As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid,
So is he who makes a fortune, but unjustly;
In the midst of his days it will forsake him,
And in the end he will be a fool.”

• Verse 9 The heart of a person is desperately sick, and the question is posed, “what man can understand it or interpret the depths of the sickness?”

Prov. 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.

• The message from our world today is to just follow your heart, as if the heart and its desires will direct us into good ways. Instead, a heart that is sinful and wicked leads to sinful places.

  • Jer. 17:10 The LORD alone truly knows the heart, whether it is hard or not, and can test the mind or the motivation of a person.

    • The LORD will be the only one to reward each person, based on the deeds of the person.

Psa. 33:13 The LORD looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men;
Psa. 33:14  From His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
Psa. 33:15  He who fashions the hearts of them all,
He who understands all their works.

Psa. 44:20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
Or extended our hands to a strange god,
Psa. 44:21 Would not God find this out?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.

Psa. 7:8  The LORD judges the peoples;
Vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
Psa. 7:9  O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous;
For the righteous God tries the hearts and minds.
Psa. 7:10  My shield is with God,
Who saves the upright in heart.

Prov. 17:3  The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
But the LORD tests hearts.

Prov. 21:2  Every man’s way is right in his own eyes,
But the LORD weighs the hearts.

Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

• The LORD has much to say about the heart of man throughout the scriptures.

  • Jer. 17:11 The picture of a bird that sits on an egg it did not lay is given to describe how men who take rewards that they have not earned will ultimately be misguided by that in life and ultimately, they will be proven to be a fool.

    • ‘Misguided in life’ may be the lack of understanding of his need for the ultimate provider--God.

    • The time of being proven to be a fool is not necessarily during his days; it will be in the afterlife for sure.

Psa. 62:10 Do not trust in oppression
And do not vainly hope in robbery;
If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.

• At this time in Judah’s history, it would be even more foolish for one to be gaining wealth fraudulently, as it was all about to be taken away.

Jer. 17:12  A glorious throne on high from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
Jer. 17:13  O LORD, the hope of Israel,
All who forsake You will be put to shame.
Those who turn away on earth will be written down,
Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the LORD.
Jer. 17:14  Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed;
Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my praise.
Jer. 17:15  Look, they keep saying to me,
“Where is the word of the LORD?
Let it come now!”
Jer. 17:16  But as for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd after You,
Nor have I longed for the woeful day;
You Yourself know that the utterance of my lips
Was in Your presence.
Jer. 17:17 Do not be a terror to me;
You are my refuge in the day of disaster.
Jer. 17:18 Let those who persecute me be put to shame, but as for me, let me not be put to shame;
Let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed.
Bring on them a day of disaster,
And crush them with twofold destruction!

• The full context of these verses demonstrate they are being spoken to the LORD from Jeremiah.

  • Jer. 17:12 There is a place of sanctuary from this judgment.

    • This sanctuary is found in a glorious throne.

    • This throne is found on high.

    • This throne on high has existed from the beginning.

    • The beginning of creation.

Dan. 7:9 “I kept looking
Until thrones were set up,
And the Ancient of Days took His seat;
His vesture was like white snow
And the hair of His head like pure wool.
His throne was ablaze with flames,
Its wheels were a burning fire.

• The Ancient of Days would be prior to creation, or from the beginning.

  • Jer. 17:13 Jeremiah speaks clearly to the LORD, calling Him the hope of Israel.

  • Those who forsake the LORD will be put to shame.

    • There is a record kept of those who do not come to know the LORD, or who turn away.

    • The LORD is referred to as the fountain of living water.

• Verse 14 Jeremiah acknowledges the LORD can heal and save a man from this condition of shame.

  • Verse 15 Jeremiah identifies there are some who say, ‘Where is the word of the LORD?’

    • They demand that, ‘It come now.’

    • These men are suggesting Jeremiah is a false prophet because the words he has brought about destruction have not happened yet.

  • This may mean they want the promises of the LORD but not the discipline of the LORD, not the seeking after only the LORD.

  • The comparison of these men is seen in the next verse.

• Verse 16 Jeremiah says, unlike these men, he has not turned away from his calling to be a shepherd for the LORD to His people.

  • Jeremiah did not desire this judgment of the people, and he has brought his concern before the LORD.

  • Jeremiah can say, ‘You LORD are my witness’.

    • Jeremiah only speaks what the LORD has given him to speak, like all true prophets.

2Pet. 1:20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation,
2Pet. 1:21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

• Jer. 17:17 The days of judgment are coming, and Jeremiah asks the LORD to be his refuge.

  • Verse 18 Jeremiah asks that these evil men who persecute him and put him to shame, for the LORD to deal with them and not allow them to put him to shame.

    • Jeremiah asks that it be these men who are put to shame and that they be dismayed and crushed.

    • It is Jeremiah’s desire to see the words given to him by the LORD come to fruition as evidence he is a true prophet and not the false prophet they are accusing him of being.

  • Jeremiah seems to stand alone as the voice of the LORD to this people.

  • One person standing up for the word of God is important even when one feels alone.

Jer. 17:19 Thus the LORD said to me, “Go and stand in the public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as in all the gates of Jerusalem;
Jer. 17:20 and say to them, ‘Listen to the word of the LORD, kings of Judah, and all Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates:
Jer. 17:21 ‘Thus says the LORD, “Take heed for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem.
Jer. 17:22 “You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the sabbath day nor do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers.
Jer. 17:23 “Yet they did not listen or incline their ears, but stiffened their necks in order not to listen or take correction.
Jer. 17:24 “But it will come about, if you listen attentively to Me,” declares the LORD, “to bring no load in through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but to keep the sabbath day holy by doing no work on it,
Jer. 17:25 then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.
Jer. 17:26 “They will come in from the cities of Judah and from the environs of Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the lowland, from the hill country and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of the LORD.
Jer. 17:27 “But if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched.”’”

• Verse 19 The LORD now responds to Jeremiah, telling him to go to all the gates of the city of Jerusalem.

  • He is to specifically be found in the gates known to be used by the kings of Judah.

• Verse 20 Jeremiah is to speak publicly to all those who come through the gates.

  • There will be no one who has not heard the message from the LORD.

• Verse 21 The message Jeremiah is to bring to the people is that they are not to bring goods into the city on the sabbath day.

  • Verse 22 The people are not to be carrying goods out of their houses or do work on this day which the LORD set as a holy day.

  • This has been told to the forefathers of this people, the LORD’s people.

• Verse 23 The forefathers had not obeyed this command.

  • They heard but did not listen, instead resisting obedience to this command.

  • The obedience to this command was an outward demonstration of their heart.

• Verse 24 The LORD speaks of a day that will come in the future when the people will keep His command concerning keeping the sabbath day holy in the streets of Jerusalem.

  • Verse 25 The LORD specifically says, ‘It will come about.’

  • When this command is kept in the future there will be kings and princes who will come to Jerusalem.

    • They will come in on their chariots and horses.

    • This will be a time when the men of Judah will occupy Jerusalem and this time, they will not be removed from Jerusalem again.

• Verse 26 Those men coming to Jerusalem will be from the other cities of Judah as well as from the outskirts of the city of Jerusalem.

  • They will come from Benjamin, the lowland, the hill country and the Negev.

  • They will come bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of the LORD.

    • This time is still in the future.

    • This will be when the LORD has established His kingdom on earth with Jesus ruling from the throne of David.

  • The LORD gives Jeremiah a picture of what he spoke about to the LORD in verse twelve.

Jer. 17:12  A glorious throne on high from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.

• This will be the place for a glorious throne to be in Jerusalem and a place of sanctuary for the LORD’s people.

  • There are many chapters of the Bible dedicated to this time period, yet future for Israel, that goes beyond our need for detail now. We can simply understand that what the LORD is communicating to Jeremiah is a wonderful promise for the future.

• Verse 27 The LORD says if the people will not listen and keep the sabbath day holy, then He will destroy the gates and the palaces with fire.

  • The LORD knows the people will not listen to Him through Jeremiah, just like they had failed to listen to the other prophets who brought the commands of the LORD to His people.

    • This chapter makes it clear that you can’t have two loyalties when it comes to serving the LORD.

    • You are either His, or you are not His; you are obedient, or you are not obedient.

  • The LORD alone knows the heart of every person.

  • The heart of every person does not seek after the LORD.  Psa. 14:0-3, repeated in Psa. 53:1-3

Psa. 14:0 For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
Psa. 14:1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds;
There is no one who does good.
Psa. 14:2 The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there are any who understand,
Who seek after God.
Psa. 14:3  They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.

• The LORD’s people were plagued with this stubborn heart.

Psa. 81:10 “I, the LORD, am your God,
Who brought you up from the land of Egypt;
Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.
Psa. 81:11“But My people did not listen to My voice,
And Israel did not obey Me.
Psa. 81:12 “So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart,
To walk in their own devices.

• All mankind suffers from this hardness of heart.

Eph. 4:17 So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,
Eph. 4:18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;
Eph. 4:19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

• It is with the heart a person believes.

Rom. 10:8 But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART” — that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,
Rom. 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
Rom. 10:10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

• It is God who sends forth His Spirit into our hearts.

Gal. 4:4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
Gal. 4:5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
Gal. 4:6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
Gal. 4:7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

• The heart was an issue in Jeremiah’s day as much as it is the issue today.

  • This should bring believers to experience a humbled heart to know God has directed our lives by entering our hearts with the gift of the Holy Spirit.

  • In gratitude for the gift of a softened heart we are to be ready to do the work the LORD has for us.

    • Believers today should expect to be mocked and ridiculed for their beliefs, just like Jeremiah.

    • We should be willing to stand alone in our dedication to the work the LORD calls us to do.

• Homework: Psalm 119—read and look for the word “heart” in this chapter, where God is active when it is softened to Him.