A STUDY OF THE BOOK OF JEERMIAH
The Danger of being Unfaithful to God
Jeremiah 2 SCC 8/28/16
IT IS POSSIBLE TO BECOME DISLOYAL TO GOD 1-8
Remember when 1-3
Thus says the Lord; I remember concerning you the devotion of your
youth...your following after me in the wilderness. When the Israelites
left Egypt, she had times of disobedience, but generally, she was a nation who
followed God (Ex 14:31). Israel was
holy to the Lord. Holy is set apart for God (Ex 19:6; 11:31), like the first of His harvest (Lev 23:9-14),
chosen to be the first nation to worship God. He would bring disaster against
anyone who came against her v 3.
Application: Remember the
devotion you had to God? Is there more or less devotion now? Our devotion to
God can constantly be in jeopardy. The spirit of the age infiltrates our heart
and minds.
My How Things Changed 4-8
Here is a
message for Jacob and Israel, both guilty of unfaithfulness v 4. What injustice did your fathers
find in me that they went far from me,
walking after emptiness to become empty v 5?
God’s Record: (1) God brought
them up out of Egypt-from bondage, slavery, humiliation; (2) God led them
through the wilderness. Not just any wilderness but thru deserts, pits,
drought, deep darkness, and uninhabited territory v 6. This implies dangerous and a potentially life threatening
experience. God brought them into the fruitful land v 7.
PT: God often leads his people through the
desert rather than from it. It can be a dry, scabbing, parched experience
personally financially, relationally, professionally, and spiritually. Like
Israel’s 40 yrs of desert, he has purposes that only this laboratory can
accomplish. It’s a time of tears, sorrow, loss, doubt, fear, panic, trust,
faith, prayer, creating dependence upon God’s faithfulness if applied
correctly.
Israel’s Record: But you came and defiled my land making it an abomination v 7. First, The priests did
not say, where is the Lord? Second,
and those who handle the law did not know me. Third, rulers transgressed against Me. Fourth, prophets prophesied
by Baal. Instead of declaring God’s words of rebuke and correction, they
got the people to follow worthless idols, such as Baal (a Canaanite idol god of
fertility; 1 Kings 18:18-40; 2 Kings 10:18-28; 21:1-3). None of this was profitable
at all v 8.
Application: Don’t blindly
follow leadership. Think for yourself. You will appear alone before God. It is
us who move, not God. For example, God came to Eden, but Adam was hiding.
DISLOYALTY TO GOD HAPPENS
WHEN THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD
Building a Case
9-13
Therefore, I
will yet contend with you declares the Lord v 9. Contend means “to bring charges
against”, like a court case or lawsuit. God wants them to observe how the other
lands are faithful to their idol gods who are not even real gods v 10-11a. But my people have changed
their glory for that which does not profit v 11b. God is a God of profit. There are essential benefits for
Israel by staying with their God. This is so outrageous, such an appalling
affront against their Creator that it must horrify the very heavens v 12. For My people have committed
two evils v 13. (1) They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters. Natural springs, with their cool,
clear running water were the most dependable and satisfying water source in
Israel. (2) To hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold
no water. Cisterns were large
pits dug into the rock and covered with plaster. If the cistern developed a
crack, it would not hold any water at all. So to turn from a dependable, pure
stream of running water to a broken, brackish cistern was idiotic.
Application: There is no life
in any personal, professional, or religious substitute for God. It is a dead
end. Lifeless. Boring. Enslaving. Undependable. There is no genuine profit.
Illusory pursuits.
Only humiliation
before enemies and fake friends 14-19
Israel has become plunder her riches now vulnerable v 14. Powerful lion-like enemies have laid waste
and her cities destroyed by foreign invaders v 15. Egypt (Memphis and Tahpanhes) v 16 has humiliated you in very
personal ways. Have you not done this to yourself, by your forsaking
the Lord your God, when He led you in the way v 17? Besides
forsaking God for false idol gods, they also forsook God by making alliances
with other nations like Egypt and Assyria to try to guarantee safety v 18. But no alliance could protect
Judah from the results of her sin when God brings judgment on her. Then she will know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake
the Lord your God v 19. Sin
brings its own punishment and reproof. Sin carried far enough becomes its own
punishment and correction. Fundamentally,
Israel lacks the fear of God—a serious flaw that enables forsaking duty to God v 19.
Application: God leads us in
“the way” of His Word. When you disobey, you will reap what you sow (Gal
6:7-8). You will have “done this to
yourself”. A fear of God is meant as a deterrent to forsaking him and the
carnage that results. You can love God when you agree with Him. You must fear
God when you disagree with Him. Otherwise, disloyalty is just a matter of time.
He commands full, entire allegiance with no rivals.
DISLOYALTY IS SUSTAINED BY DECEPTION LEADING TO
SHAME
1. Deception by
idolatry I will not serve v 20
God broke off
Israel’s Egyptian yoke, but instead of serving Him, they acted like spiritual
prostitutes, worshipping the idols on the high hills v 20. God planted you a
choice vine, but in spite of His care, she became the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine
becoming bad stock v 21. Judah was
stained before God by her iniquity, and it could not be washed off, even with
lye (a strong mineral alkali) or soap (a strong vegetable alkali) v 22.
2. Deception by
denial I am not defiled v 23
Judah was like a
wild animal in heat v 23-24. She
could not be restrained in her lust for the foreign idol gods. Yet she outright
denies her idolatrous behavior. God says she is sprawled upon every high hill
passionately playing the harlot to gods that do not exist.
3. Deception by
addiction it is hopeless v 25
God is
exasperated with Israel’s seductive addiction to idolatry v 25. Judah credited its very existence to the idols of wood and
stone, not to God v 26-27. But when
they were in trouble, they had the nerve to ask God to save them. But God said,
where are your gods, which you made for yourself v 28? Let them arise, if
they can save you in the time of trouble. They had as many gods as
they had cities.
4. Deception by
abandonment I am free to roam v 31
In a reversal of
v 9 where God brought charges against Judah, here Judah brings charges against
God v 29. But God said His judgment
of them is deserved because you have all transgressed against me. God’s chastening judgment was to
bring about correction, but it was in vain because the people refused to
respond, even killing God’s prophets v
30. God pleads with the people to give serious attention to the word of the Lord v 31. Has God’s words been unknown, like a wilderness, or
unable to be seen, like a thick darkness? So why do the people think they are
free, independent of God? He gives an illustration. Can a bride forget to wear
her wedding dress v 32? Yet my
people have forgotten me days without number. Jeremiah sarcastically said that Judah had become so skilled
in the art of pursuing illicit love that even the worst of women could learn
new secrets of seduction by observing her perverse ways v 33.
5. Deception by lying
I am innocent, I have not sinned v 35
Judah shed the
lifeblood of the innocent poor v 34.
If these people had been breaking in (caught as a thief), then the one
responsible for the death was considered guiltless (Ex 22:2). But Judah kept
insisting, I am innocent. Therefore, she would experience God’s
judgment, because you say, I have
not sinned. Judah kept changing the way she dealt with other nations
v 36. But her new alliance with
Egypt would be just as disappointing as her last alliance with Assyria because the Lord has rejected those in whom you
trust, and you shall not prosper with them v
37. It will all lead to shame twice in v 36. This is where disloyalty to
God ultimately leads. Shame will be the result.
SO WHAT?
1. Idolatry is appealing because you get God on your terms and not his.
You get to call the shots with the God if your own making. It gives you the
autonomy you crave.
2. One won’t dare argue with one’s creator but one can establish his
own standards with the gods he creates. Arguing many ways to God is idolatry
since one can say with many ways mine too is valid.
3. The existence of one God who calls people to obey His laws ensures
accountability something all people seek to avoid.