By Eugene Garner

JEREMIAH - CHAPTER 17

WARNINGS AND EXHORTATIONS

    The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars; 2 Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills. 3 O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders. 4 And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever.

    1. This message was delivered near the close of the reign of Jehoiachim.
    2. So indelibly and permanently fixed is the sin of Judah (2:22) that Jeremiah pictures it as engraved (comp. Job 19:23-24) on the hearts of the people (contrast Isa. 49:16; Prov. 7:1-3; 2 Cor. 3:3), and upon the horns of her altars (vs. 1; comp. Ex. 29:12; Lev. 4:7), where the blood of the sin-offering was to be smeared for the removal of sin.
    3. Her children, forgetting the true God, were devoting themselves to Asherah (the cult-goddess of the Canaanites) whose objects of devotion (sexually-suggesting shame-images, Judg. 6:25-26) were scattered throughout the land, (vs. 2; 3:6; 7:18; Ex. 34:12-16; Deut. 16:21).
    4. Because of her sin, the kingdom (mountain) of Judah, with all its possessions, will be given (for a spoil) into the hands of her enemy, (vs. 3; 26:18; Mic. 3:12; Isa. 39:4-6; Jer. 15:13; 20:5; 2 Kings 24:13), since she has kindled a fire of divine anger that will burn "to the age' - the coming day of the Lord, (7:20; 15:14; comp. Isa. 5:25).
    5. Judah will be cast out of her divinely given heritage and delivered into the hands of an enemy (Babylon) whom she does not really know, (vs. 4; 12:7; 27:12-1 3; Deut. 28:48).

    5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

    1. A divine curse rests upon everyone whose heart departs from the Lord to trust in man - leaning upon the arm of the flesh, (vs. 5; Psa. 146:3; Isa 2:20; 30:1; 31:1-2; Ezek. 29:6-7; 2 Chron. 32:7-8).
      a. Some take this as a reference to Jehoiakim (or, perhaps to king Zedekiah) who forsook God to trust in an alliance with Egypt; but, the principle applies to ALL men.
      b. Humanism is not only destined to failure; it stands cursed, and will ultimately be crushed under the power and judgment of the ALMIGHTY!
      c. Such as devote themselves to this philosophy of life will be like a stunted bush in the desert - ever struggling for survival and the real meaning of life, (vs. 6; comp. Deut. 29:22-28).
    2. By way of contrast, the person who trusts in the Lord will truly be blessed, (vs. 7-8; Isa. 30:18; Psa. 34:8; 40:4; 84:12).
      a. His life will be fruitful - spiritually prosperous like a tree planted beside the waters of refreshment, (comp. Psa. 1:3; 92:12-14).
      b. Stable and confident, he will be free from anxiety and fear.
      c. And he will find God's grace sufficient to sustain him through the trials and pressures of life.

"When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply:
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine,

"The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake!"

    3. All reasonable men will place their trust in the Creator, rather than in things created, (Psa. 146:3-5).

    9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. 11 As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.

    1. So deceitful is the human heart that no man can fully understand it, (vs. 9; Mk. 7:21-22; Gal. 5:19-21; comp. Matt. 13:15-17); it is diseased beyond human help! and may be cleansed ONLY through the blood of Christ!
    2. But God so fully explores the mind (reins, or "kidneys,' in the Heb., involving the conscience, emotions and feelings); and discerns the heart (the seat of reason and intelligence), that He is able to judge every man according to the fruit of his thoughts and deeds, (vs. 10, 11:20; 20:12; 1 Sam. 16:7; Rom. 8:27; comp. Heb. 4:12-13); to those who fully commit their way to Him, He gives a NEW heart!
    3. The man who collects riches, through injustice, is likened to a partridge "that broods, but does not hatch' (see New K.J.V., vs. 11; 6:13; 8:10; 22:13, 17).
      a. A partridge often hatched no young - her nest being robbed; thus, the bird sometimes gathered young birds that she did not hatch - only to have them leave her and return to their own nests.
      b. So will the riches of the unjust forsake them in the midst of their days - proving inadequate for their needs - even if they do not take to themselves wings and fly away!
      c. Such men will be revealed as fools - spiritually and morally bankrupt! (comp. Lk. 12:16-21; 16:19-31).

    12 A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. 13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.

    1. True SANCTUARY, involving safety and rest, is found ONLY in a right relationship with the throne of God - Who rules over all!
      a. Since the completion of the tabernacle, God has dwelt (between the cherubim that guarded the mercy seat) in the midst of His believing people - as they respond to Him in covenant-love and fidelity, (vs. 12; 3:17; Ezek. 43:7).
      b. Through the disobedience of her unbelief, Judah has forfeited that relationship, and has no sanctuary! (comp. 3:17; 14:21).
    2. Jehovah alone is the hope of Israel, (vs. 13; 14:8; Joel 3:16); those who forsake Him will be put to shame, (Psa. 36:9; 73:27; comp. Jer. 2:17).
      a. Turning from Him, man's enjoyment of His covenant blessings and mercy will be like a name written in the dust - fading and impermanent.
      b. Those who forsake the Fountain of Living Waters cannot continue to enjoy the blessings of its never-failing refreshment! (comp. 2:13).

    14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise. 15 Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now. 16 As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee. 17 Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil. 18 Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.

    1. In a very discouraging situation, Jeremiah calls, for healing and deliverance, to Jehovah Who is the object of his praise, (vs. 14; comp. Psa. 54:1; 109:1; Deut. 10:20-21).
    2. The threatened judgment upon Judah's sins has been so long suspended that Jeremiah's enemies, in arrogant smugness, are beginning to taunt him with ridicule and scorn - charging him with being a false prophet, (Deut. 18:21-22); "Where is the word of the Lord?" (the fulfillment of what has been threatened), they ask; "Let it come NOW!" (vs. 15; comp. 2 Pet 3:4; Amos 5:18).
    3. The prophet looks to the Lord for grace to endure; he is not seeking release from shepherding God's people - though he clearly does not understand God's ways, (vs. 16; comp. 20:8-9).
      a. He has not, personally, yearned for the Day of the Lord - the day of divine reckoning with His people - though he has forcefully proclaimed God's word.
      b. What he has spoken has been at God's command, and in His presence, (12:3).
    4. Thus, He looks to Jehovah for refuge and hope, rather than terror, (vs. 17; 16:19; Nahum 1:6-8).
    5. And he asks for deliverance from shame and dismay, (comp. 1:17; 20:11; Psa. 35:4, 26); but, he now sees that God will be righteous in bringing upon His rebellious people a "day of evil," wherein they will reap the harvest of their sins, and prays that the destruction may be complete! (vs. 18; Psa. 35:8; comp. Jer. 19:3-4).
    6. He who cannot resist condemning Jeremiah's call for judgment, upon this erring people, reveals the shallowness of his spiritual experience!

    19 Thus said the LORD unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; 20 And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates: 21 Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; 22 Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. 23 But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction. 24 And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein; 25 Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon 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 shall remain for ever. 26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD. 27 But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.

    NOTE: The sabbath had its origin in the completion of creation, when God "ceased from His Labors" and rested on the seventh day. And this is exactly the thing to which He calls us - to cease from all our laborious scheming, striving and trying, in the energy of the flesh, to rest solely in His finished work on our behalf, and in His divine adequacy for our every need. To cease from our own attempts to do something FOR God casting all our care upon Him Who cares for us, and wholly entrusting the sustenance and direction of our lives unto His trustworthy hands; THIS is to "enter into" GOD'S REST; this is true sabbath-keeping!
    The sabbath illustrates how God intends us to live - not by trusting in ourselves, or in other men; but in the acceptance of a NEW WAY OF LIFE wherein God Himself is permitted (with our consent) to live and work within us "both to will and to do of his good pleasure," (Phil. 1:12-13). Thus is our whole being made available for His mastery, His service, His glory and praise! Such a life is at rest and peace -sustained by hidden manna and a never failing spring of divine refreshment.

    1. An inescapable part of the Mosaic covenant, the sabbath has filled a major role in the life of the Jewish people, (Ex. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15).
    2. Jeremiah is commanded to stand "at the gates" of Jerusalem, calling all Judah - from king to the most lowly servant (comp. 19:3-4; Hos. 5:1) - to their covenant responsibilities regarding the sabbath, (vs. 19-23).
      a. They are to bear no burdens, and do no work, on the sabbath, (Ex. 16:23-29; 20:8-10; Deut. 5:12-14 Num. 15:32-36; Neh. 13:15-21).
      b. Rather, they are to hallow that day - as God commanded their fathers, (Ex. 31:13-17; Isa. 56:2-6; 58:13-14; Ezek. 20:12).
      c. But, their fathers have been stubborn and stiff-necked - stopping their ears, walking in disobedience and refusing to receive instruction. (comp. 7:24, 26, 28; 19:15; Prov. 29:1).
    3. If they will diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord, in this matter, they will be greatly blessed. (vs. 24-26).
    a. The house and throne of David will be divinely sustained, (22:4; 33:15-17, 21; 2 Sam. 7:16; Isa. 9:7; Lk 1:32).
      b. Jerusalem will be established as a city of habitation, (Psa. 68:16; 87:1-2; 132:13-14).
      c. And the people of Judah will bring their sacrifices, offerings and oblations to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, (33:17-18; Psa. 107:21, 22).
    4. But, if Judah continues to despise the sabbath, the Lord will surely kindle within her gates an inextinguishable fire that will devour her palaces. (vs. 27; comp. Amos 1:4, 7, 10, 12; Jer. 22:5; 26:4-6; 21:14; 7:20).
    5. In this passage one may clearly see the conditional nature of the prophecies of doom.
      a. They could be revoked IF there was a manifestation OF TRUE REPENTANCE!
      b. There is a sense in which men and nations control their own ultimate destinies by the attitude of their hearts toward Jehovah.