“The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars, 2 while their children remember their altars and their Asherim, beside every green tree and on the high hills, 3 on the mountains in the open country. Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your high places for sin throughout all your territory. 4 You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”
5 Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
8 He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
9 The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
10 “I the Lord search the heart
and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”
11 Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch,
so is he who gets riches but not by justice;
in the midst of his days they will leave him,
and at his end he will be a fool.
12 A glorious throne set on high from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O Lord, the hope of Israel,
all who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth,
for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.
Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance
14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
save me, and I shall be saved,
for you are my praise.
15 Behold, they say to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come!”
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd,
nor have I desired the day of sickness.
You know what came out of my lips;
it was before your face.
17 Be not a terror to me;
you are my refuge in the day of disaster.
18 Let those be put to shame who persecute me,
but let me not be put to shame;
let them be dismayed,
but let me not be dismayed;
bring upon them the day of disaster;
destroy them with double destruction!
Keep the Sabbath Holy
19 Thus said the Lord to me: “Go and stand in the People's Gate, by which the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21 Thus says the Lord: Take care for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. 22 And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. 23 Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.
24 “‘But if you listen to me, declares the Lord, and bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, 25 then there shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall be inhabited forever. 26 And people shall come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the Negeb, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not listen to me, to keep the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched.’” Jeremiah 17 ESV
Jeremiah 17: 1-13 The Sin of Judah
Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.
12 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3: 1-18 ESV
1-4. The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron - This is deeply etched into hard material, and it will weather much for many generations. They have with it a surface etching of the law, and only pay it outward, superficial reverence, which they have blended with other religions in the high places. These high places have stood so long that their children believe this is the look of true religion, seeking feelings, experiences and their own way.
As the price of your high places - They held wealth, superstitions and religious novelty above obedience to God's word, and their children would pay dearly for it. They would be taken to a land far away, lose their properties, because they were too stubborn to give up their high places. It is so engrained that even outsiders, like the war diplomat of Assyria, thought God would be on his side when one good king of Judah, Hezekiah, removed the high places. God did not approve of their quasi, self styled Judaism. It is the same today, we have no right to invent or preach another gospel.
5-6. Cursed is the man who trust in man - It's like building your house on the sand, not a stable or firm foundation, it is easily influenced by outside forces. All men are in a fallen state, and all are dying, so to trust men above what God says is certain disaster. God is eternal, and so the choice carries immeasurable weight. One need only look at history, which men like to get rid of or spin to their favor, but one certain thing from it, many kingdoms have come, grown large, had much land and power, but then were replaced. There have been so many that the world held up as saviors, political, economic, social demigods, that people followed in error.
4Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come.… Matthew 24: 4-6
He shall be like a shrub in the desert: Jeremiah pictured a weak, dry shrub in the desert about to die from drought. This is the picture of the one (believer or not) who trusts in man instead of the LORD; they are dry and unsustainable. - EW
i. “The ‘shrub’ of Jeremiah 17:6 could be the dwarf juniper, stunted and barely alive in an area of low rainfall and poor soil.” (Cundall)
7-8. Who trusts in the Lord - In contrast to the drought ruined tree of the high desert, this tree is by a permanent source of water, and though the skies are sealed up against it, yet this tree will still bare fruit.
…1Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. 2But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. 3He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.… Psalm 1: 1-3
9-10. The heart is deceitful above all things - Like the man who puts his trust in man, so is he who puts his hope in himself. Neither have come to understand the doctrine of total depravity so well as to apply it's discernment. This is a wisdom that will only come by humility, and so it is out of reach to us when we are proud. You may recognize that others are evil, but if you can't see it in yourself, then you will still be deceived. You must come to the mirror of God's word, judge yourself not by your standard, but holding up Christ, learning of and speaking to, all the while being more conformed to His image.
…14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I admit that the law is good.…
…17In that case, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do.…
…20And if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21So this is the principle I have discovered: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law.…
…23But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I serve the law of God, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.… Romans 7: 14-25
11. Like the Partridge who gathers a brood that she did not hatch - This hits those who have put their trust in wealth, especially those who have put so much hope there that they disobeyed God's law in order to obtain it. This bird did not lay, nor sit till the eggs hatched, yet gathered up the brood as if it were her own. The Bible is clear that a work man is worth his wages, that it is honorable not to muzzle the ox, but also it is very clearly against ill gotten gain. I have heard many a drug dealer, when I was an addict, tell me how religious they were and their excuse for dealing was that I all other users were going to buy it anyway. I have had strippers tell me they had no other means and that God was okay with it, but God has stood clearly against immodesty, and against men like I was, who paid them to dishonor their bodies. I have had a "Christian" boss when I was young, twice actually, that always hated pay day, and even tried to get out of the agreed upon money. Jesus went after the Pharisees who took advantage of widows and orphans, and we are commanded to use a just weight and balance.
…10A divine verdict is on the lips of a king; his mouth must not betray justice. 11Honest scales and balances are from the LORD; all the weights in the bag are His concern. 12Wicked behavior is detestable to kings, for a throne is established through righteousness.… Proverbs 16: 10-12
12-13. Those who turn away from You shall be written in the earth - Left to what is passing. A name written in dust, as ashes to ashes, like footprints in the sand, easily washed or blown away. It is preferable to have ones name in heaven, the Lamb's book of life, to have God's law written upon a new heart. It is interesting in Luke 10, that the miraculous, the experiential, those things which much of the church today seeks, the disciples were given, yet told not to elevate to an improper place. So what if a cobra bites you, a middle eastern death stalker scorpion stings you to no avail, sickness and all of hell flees from before you, so what, rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Rejoice in the greater miracle of being born again.
…19Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. 20Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” 21At that time Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.… Luke 10: 19-21
