Written with a Diamond
Jeremiah 17
I. The Problem—Intrinsic Sin
A. Judah’s sin was as hard to hide or ignore as a monument engraving done with professional, diamond tipped instruments; the inner nature had been tattooed with sin. “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;” (Jeremiah 17:1)
B. Rather than remembering God and the great stories of redemption, the children remembered the pleasures of sin. “Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills.” (Jeremiah 17:2)
C. Though Judah should stand out as a mountain before the world, sin has made it so corrupt that the only solution is to tear it apart until the sin is carted away. “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.” (Jeremiah 17:3)
D. When the church refuses to serve God, it must serve infidels. “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.” (Jeremiah 17:4)
II. The Principles at Work—Biblical Presuppositions
A. When people substitute human wisdom for divine, the consequences are devastating. “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. 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.” (Jeremiah 17:5,6)
B. God arranges for the faithful to obtain what they need. “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 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.” (Jeremiah 17:7,8)
C. No one can grasp the full measure of evil in the human heart. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
D. God knows the human heart without limit and fully understands the true intent of every thought; idolatry cannot be hidden or excused. “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.” (Jeremiah 17:10)
E. No matter how devious and sinful the evil heart may be, it cannot prevail against God in the end. “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.” (Jeremiah 17:11)
F. No matter how things seem to be developing, God is king and He is reigning right now. “A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.” (Jeremiah 17:12)
G. There is no happy ending for people who abandon God. “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.” (Jeremiah 17:13)
III. The Plea for Help—Turn to God
A. The disaster can be set right by God. “Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.” (Jeremiah 17:14)
B. People want an immediate solution. “Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now.” (Jeremiah 17:15)
C. Jeremiah wanted to be a pastor rather than a doomsayer, but God’s servant must deliver the message God sends. “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. Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil. 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.” (Jeremiah 17:16-18)
IV. The Path Back to God—Observe the Sabbath
A. Start with the message of grace—rest in the Redeemer. “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; 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: 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; 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. But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.” (Jeremiah 17:19-23)
B. Then move on to follow the other principles of Biblical faithfulness—the culture will begin to renew itself. “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; 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. 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. 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.” (Jeremiah 17:24-27)
