Lesson 4 for October 24, 2015
Jeremiah s message The two ways (Jeremiah 17:5-10) Rebuking sin (Jeremiah 17:1-4) Replying the message Attacking the prophet (Jeremiah 11:18-23) The lament of the prophet (Jeremiah 12:1-5) The divine reply Drought (Jeremiah 14:1-10)
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9) Thus says the Lord: Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. (Jeremiah 17:5) For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited. (Jeremiah 17:6) Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. (Jeremiah 17:7) For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit. (Jeremiah 17:8) There are only two ways; either I trust God or I don t. How could I trust other people? I can t even trust myself, since my heart deceives me.
The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with the point of a diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of your altars. (Jeremiah 17:1) Evil is like an iron chisel. It sculpts sin in our stone hearts. Each sin deepens that mark and sullies our acts (the horns of our altars). Jeremiah called Judah to repentance by rebuking their sins. He called them to accept God s love (Jeremiah 31:3). When we let God sculpt our hearts, an amazing change happens: Clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. (2 Corinthians 3:3)
When Jesus speaks of the new heart, He means the mind, the life, the whole being. To have a change of heart is to withdraw the affections from the world, and fasten them upon Christ. To have a new heart is to have a new mind, new purposes, new motives. What is the sign of a new heart? a changed life. There is a daily, hourly dying to selfishness and pride. E.G.W. (Sons and Daughters of God, April 3)
But I was like a docile lamb brought to the slaughter; and I did not know that they had devised schemes against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more. (Jeremiah 11:19) People in Anathoth tried to kill Jeremiah to stop him prophesying, just like people in Nazareth and Jesus. Jeremiah hoped that his family, his brothers and the priest would support him as he rebuked the sins of Judah. But God showed him that those near him were the ones wanting his death. When Jeremiah realized that, he understood the attitude of those who don t want to correct their sins.
Righteous are You, O Lord, when I plead with You; yet let me talk with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? (Jeremiah 12:1) If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, in which you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan? (Jeremiah 12:5) Although Jeremiah was doing God s will, sinners thrived while he suffered. He was almost killed and nobody wanted to listen to him. Jeremiah asked God about injustice, just like Asaph did in Psalm 73. How can we learn to trust God despite all the injustice and evil around us? God answered Jeremiah. His answer may seem harsh, but it s a promise actually: If you trust me, I ll give you strength to resist greater difficulties.
E.G.W. (The Great Controversy, cp. 2, pg. 48) God permits the wicked to prosper and to reveal their enmity against Him, that when they shall have filled up the measure of their iniquity all may see His justice and mercy in their utter destruction. The day of His vengeance hastens, when all who have transgressed His law and oppressed His people will meet the just recompense of their deeds; when every act of cruelty or injustice toward God s faithful ones will be punished as though done to Christ Himself.
THE PROBLEM Because the THE PRAYER ground is parched, O Lord, though our iniquities for there was no rain testify against us, do it for in the land, the plowmen were Your name s sake; for our backslidings are many, we ashamed; they have sinned against You. covered their heads. (Jeremiah 14:7) (Jeremiah 14:4) Why didn t God accept Jeremiah s mediation? Jeremiah understood the root of the problem (the sin), but the people only requested to be delivered from the consequence (the drought). There was no true repentance. They didn t want to change. We cannot ask for God s favor and live our own way. THE ANSWER Then the Lord said to me, Do not pray for this people, for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them (Jeremiah 14:11-12)
Sin sticks to and pervades every aspect of human existence. Jeremiah experienced that drastically when his own life was threatened because of the message he preached. He expressed his struggles of faith to God, but God gave him a new perspective: you can run with horses! Imre Tokics (Sabbath School Study Guide, Teacher s edition)