WEBVTT 00:00:00.460 --> 00:00:04.360 Before I jump into the sermon, I just want to expound a little more on what Taryn shared. 00:00:04.660 --> 00:00:09.560 My name is Steve. I'm one of the pastoral interns here at Trinity Cambridge. 00:00:09.700 --> 00:00:10.759 I'm trying to remember the name of our church. 00:00:12.599 --> 00:00:16.460 And so what that means is we're part of a denomination called Sovereign Grace Churches, 00:00:16.580 --> 00:00:20.240 and Sovereign Grace Churches takes the ordaining of its pastors pretty seriously. 00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:26.160 And so they have a curriculum of books about this high or so that I have to work through 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:27.240 that maybe I'm about here too. 00:00:27.979 --> 00:00:30.119 And then they have different tests and different things like that. 00:00:30.179 --> 00:00:34.659 And so part of the time of being an intern is both testing for knowledge but also testing for character too. 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:36.899 And so I'm in the midst of that process. 00:00:37.019 --> 00:00:41.420 I'm in that with Taryn, who's also going through it, Matt, who's probably in Children's Church, 00:00:41.820 --> 00:00:43.219 and Ray, who I don't think is here today. 00:00:43.259 --> 00:00:45.359 And we're all pastoral interns kind of going through that walk. 00:00:46.159 --> 00:00:49.259 The short way to describe this is that this is our side hustle, right? 00:00:49.259 --> 00:00:51.359 Like we are all full-time somewhere else. 00:00:52.280 --> 00:00:55.439 I think Ray, Matt, and I are all consultants of various kinds, 00:00:55.439 --> 00:01:00.299 and Taryn does like 15 different things, including teaching and working for the church 00:01:00.299 --> 00:01:01.879 and summer camp and stuff like that. 00:01:02.599 --> 00:01:03.500 So that's kind of who we are. 00:01:04.019 --> 00:01:06.620 Sean's out for a couple weeks. 00:01:07.259 --> 00:01:09.599 A couple weeks ago, he said, I'm tired. 00:01:10.060 --> 00:01:13.159 And I said, well, and I thought that's probably because you haven't taken vacation in a year. 00:01:13.879 --> 00:01:16.579 So Sean takes two weeks of vacation around this time every year. 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:18.239 This is the only time he takes off. 00:01:18.379 --> 00:01:20.219 He was texting me yesterday, like, can I help with anything? 00:01:20.219 --> 00:01:22.700 I was like, I think you're on vacation, if I remember that correctly. 00:01:23.879 --> 00:01:27.539 So he doesn't take a lot of time off, and we're hoping that he enjoys the time he takes. 00:01:29.099 --> 00:01:30.799 So that said, I'm going to jump into the passage. 00:01:32.579 --> 00:01:36.000 And a traditional saying that this passage reminded me of when I was looking at it 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:40.099 is that the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:42.579 And so there's a phrase that goes around like that. 00:01:42.659 --> 00:01:43.819 It's varied a couple different ways. 00:01:44.039 --> 00:01:45.280 It's attributed to a few different people. 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:51.400 So it's a general idea of, like, I wouldn't overanalyze it, but in, like, a general relational 00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:55.599 sense, like, when you hate something or somebody, usually that's, like, the impression of, like, 00:01:55.620 --> 00:01:58.060 well, you have arguments or you have, like, flare-ups or disagreements. 00:01:58.280 --> 00:02:03.020 Or maybe it's, like, really bad hatred, but at least, like, you're openly communicating 00:02:03.020 --> 00:02:06.219 and saying, I don't like this, and there's a potential for discussion and turnaround, 00:02:06.439 --> 00:02:07.520 and you're, like, trying to take activity. 00:02:07.640 --> 00:02:09.900 There's some semblance of care behind hate still. 00:02:11.259 --> 00:02:12.780 Indifference is a little bit different. 00:02:12.780 --> 00:02:17.560 But often when somebody is indifferent, it becomes the end of things like communication 00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:18.599 or affection, right? 00:02:19.379 --> 00:02:23.199 So a friendship or relationship where there's indifference becomes quickly cold and possibly 00:02:23.199 --> 00:02:26.860 unbearable, and often it leads to just dropping out of somebody's life entirely. 00:02:27.960 --> 00:02:31.560 I imagine that at this point in most of our lives, we've all been cut out of somebody else's 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:32.639 life in some way or another. 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:34.979 It's usually a bit unceremonious. 00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:40.080 Either we make a mistake or they do, or we move and the relationship just doesn't, like, 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:41.840 continue because you're in different spots. 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:45.400 I have a funnier example of this that's a little bit lighter. 00:02:46.219 --> 00:02:50.300 I was friends with somebody all through college, and then we stayed in touch after college for 00:02:50.300 --> 00:02:54.300 a little bit, and they were getting married, and I knew the person they were getting married 00:02:54.300 --> 00:02:56.340 to, and so we emailed back and forth occasionally. 00:02:57.039 --> 00:03:00.759 And I said something a few months before their wedding, like, oh, really looking forward to 00:03:00.759 --> 00:03:01.060 the wedding. 00:03:02.759 --> 00:03:05.719 And they wrote back, and they were, like, actually, you're not invited. 00:03:05.719 --> 00:03:09.000 And I was like, oh, okay. 00:03:10.139 --> 00:03:13.819 And so my perception of the friendship was a little bit different than their perception 00:03:13.819 --> 00:03:15.060 of the friendship, which was totally fine. 00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:17.680 And also wedding invite lists are pretty short. 00:03:19.219 --> 00:03:22.680 But after that, the communication kind of fizzled out, and I was like, okay, like, our friendship 00:03:22.680 --> 00:03:25.039 logically at this point is over, and that's totally, that's fine. 00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:28.419 I don't think that there was any, like, true offense done in that situation. 00:03:28.539 --> 00:03:32.620 I think that there was just some miscommunication, and, like, friendships don't last forever. 00:03:32.840 --> 00:03:39.139 But in the moment, the feeling of, like, indifference was there a bit, of, like, oh, like, I thought 00:03:39.139 --> 00:03:42.060 our friendship was good enough that, like, I'd be at the wedding, but I'm not, basically. 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:44.879 And so there's a bit of a shock of, like, being cut off, right? 00:03:44.979 --> 00:03:46.139 It's like, well, you're not going to be there. 00:03:46.139 --> 00:03:52.099 And so I think that that feeling of, like, abandonment on a small scale that I experienced 00:03:52.099 --> 00:03:56.779 in a moment is kind of what the Israelites are, or the, yeah, the Israelites are experiencing 00:03:56.779 --> 00:03:58.719 in this passage to a much larger extent. 00:03:58.959 --> 00:04:03.079 That feeling of being cut off, that God feels indifferent, that the communication with him 00:04:03.079 --> 00:04:05.619 has stopped, that he's not listening to the appeals of the Israelites. 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:08.879 And so that's a big question that hangs over this passage specifically. 00:04:09.779 --> 00:04:12.259 Why doesn't God help his people in their distress? 00:04:12.259 --> 00:04:16.120 And why doesn't he answer their prayers in this scenario? 00:04:17.480 --> 00:04:21.980 And I think that the answer to that is that God will always fulfill his promises, right? 00:04:22.420 --> 00:04:26.139 God fulfills both his promises of judgment and his promises of grace. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:32.500 And we're going to see both judgment and glimpses of grace throughout this passage, and all of 00:04:32.500 --> 00:04:34.519 them come from previous promises that God has made. 00:04:34.519 --> 00:04:39.819 It's a very, it's a logical progression from where they've ended, essentially. 00:04:39.819 --> 00:04:45.139 The basic outline of the passage is kind of cyclical, so I'll explain it up front, and 00:04:45.139 --> 00:04:47.019 I'll kind of point out where we are as we go, too. 00:04:47.740 --> 00:04:50.240 So we're going to go through the same cycle three times, basically. 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:56.439 There's going to be a lament over the state of Judah and where they're at and the suffering 00:04:56.439 --> 00:04:57.139 they're going through. 00:04:57.699 --> 00:05:02.000 And then there's going to be a petition for, oh, please relieve us from this pain. 00:05:02.219 --> 00:05:04.379 And then there's going to be an answer by God. 00:05:05.060 --> 00:05:08.360 The first two times are all very, God rejects in the answer. 00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:10.240 And then the third time through, it's a little bit different. 00:05:10.900 --> 00:05:17.100 Jeremiah makes an appeal for himself, and then God answers him in a more offering grace 00:05:17.100 --> 00:05:18.180 to Jeremiah specifically. 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:20.699 So I'll try to keep tabs as we go through the cycle. 00:05:21.160 --> 00:05:26.040 So the first part of the cycle, or the first lament, is Jeremiah 14, 1 through 6. 00:05:27.560 --> 00:05:30.540 And this lament is all about famine, right? 00:05:30.900 --> 00:05:35.439 And the completeness of the drought or the famine is stressed through contrast. 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:38.040 So in verse 2, it says, 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:41.600 her people lament on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up. 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:46.319 And the nobles send the servants out for water, and they come back with no water. 00:05:46.680 --> 00:05:48.800 And then there's kind of a spatial movement, right? 00:05:48.860 --> 00:05:54.079 It goes from the city where the nobles live, out to the country where the farmers are affected 00:05:54.079 --> 00:05:54.620 by the drought. 00:05:54.819 --> 00:05:57.579 And then it goes out further to where the wild animals live, essentially. 00:05:57.579 --> 00:06:02.879 And both deer, which are less hardy animals, and the wild donkeys, which are considered 00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:07.939 like some of the most hardy animals, essentially, in that area, all of them are suffering from 00:06:07.939 --> 00:06:08.120 this. 00:06:08.199 --> 00:06:12.379 So it's kind of a wholesome dimension of like, this is a really bad drought. 00:06:12.479 --> 00:06:13.519 This is a really bad famine. 00:06:13.599 --> 00:06:14.959 And that's what he's capturing through that. 00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:20.939 This is specifically a sign of God fulfilling his promise of judgment to those who break 00:06:20.939 --> 00:06:21.319 his covenant. 00:06:22.339 --> 00:06:25.180 We spent a lot of time the last few weeks digging into idolatry. 00:06:25.259 --> 00:06:25.879 What's that mean? 00:06:25.979 --> 00:06:26.799 What's it look like? 00:06:27.419 --> 00:06:28.859 What did it look like for the Israelites? 00:06:29.079 --> 00:06:30.240 What's it look like for us? 00:06:30.659 --> 00:06:34.139 And this passage talks a lot about the judgment that stems from that idolatry. 00:06:35.620 --> 00:06:36.459 So I think it's important. 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:40.899 I'm going to mention a few of the contexts, essentially, where the judgment comes from, because I think 00:06:40.899 --> 00:06:43.399 it's important for us to understand that God's not arbitrary. 00:06:43.399 --> 00:06:48.839 It's not like the Israelites were doing fine, and then they do some bad things, and God's 00:06:48.839 --> 00:06:49.519 like, oh, it's okay. 00:06:49.659 --> 00:06:50.899 And then just one day God snaps. 00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:51.819 He's like, I can't believe this. 00:06:51.859 --> 00:06:52.719 I'm done with this, right? 00:06:52.759 --> 00:06:54.699 That's not how God is reacting in this scenario. 00:06:56.219 --> 00:06:59.399 And I think that that's kind of, we think that way, because like, that's kind of like 00:06:59.399 --> 00:07:00.459 the two aspects. 00:07:00.639 --> 00:07:02.439 There's two aspects of parenting. 00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:05.079 I was going to say two ways to parent, but I feel like every parent does these different 00:07:05.079 --> 00:07:05.939 aspects, right? 00:07:05.979 --> 00:07:09.259 So one is like, you just snap at your kid because they're being annoying. 00:07:09.259 --> 00:07:12.899 And the other is like, you lay out clear ground rules, and you're like, okay, we got to 00:07:12.899 --> 00:07:13.459 leave in 10 minutes. 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:14.639 Okay, we got to leave in five minutes. 00:07:14.819 --> 00:07:15.779 Okay, we're leaving now. 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:17.919 And if they are like, why are we leaving now? 00:07:17.939 --> 00:07:19.539 It's like, well, I told you four times beforehand. 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:23.699 And so God in the scenario is more like the, he's given preface. 00:07:23.799 --> 00:07:24.599 He's given warning. 00:07:25.019 --> 00:07:27.139 He's shown grace, and now he's bringing judgment. 00:07:28.539 --> 00:07:33.579 In this case specifically, one of the curses of not keeping God's covenant is drought. 00:07:33.979 --> 00:07:38.879 There's a long section in Deuteronomy in chapters 28 and 29 that talk through the curses 00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:42.060 that will come to Israel if they don't keep their side of the covenant, basically, if 00:07:42.060 --> 00:07:43.219 they don't obey God. 00:07:44.319 --> 00:07:49.839 And this specific passage that I'm reading here is from Deuteronomy 28, 22 through 24. 00:07:50.219 --> 00:07:50.899 And it says, 00:07:50.899 --> 00:08:15.519 So this is something that was promised far in advance. 00:08:15.719 --> 00:08:17.719 If you don't keep my covenant, this is what's coming. 00:08:17.720 --> 00:08:21.160 And so they're lamenting specifically, I think they know too, they're lamenting specifically, 00:08:21.300 --> 00:08:23.000 hey, like, we've messed up. 00:08:23.380 --> 00:08:25.040 We see this judgment on us. 00:08:25.100 --> 00:08:27.440 And so they turn to plead to God. 00:08:28.860 --> 00:08:32.620 What's interesting is actually Jeremiah is appealing on behalf of the people, right? 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:36.700 So his appeal is in verses 7 through 9 of chapter 14. 00:08:38.040 --> 00:08:39.660 I'm going to read verse 7 again. 00:08:39.660 --> 00:08:44.139 Though our iniquities testify against us, act, O Lord, for your name's sake. 00:08:44.420 --> 00:08:45.800 For our backslidings are many. 00:08:46.100 --> 00:08:47.639 We have sinned against you. 00:08:48.300 --> 00:08:51.639 And a small thing to note here, you'll see Jeremiah is saying, we have sinned against 00:08:51.639 --> 00:08:56.500 you, even though arguably Jeremiah is one of the more obedient people in Judah at this 00:08:56.500 --> 00:08:56.779 time. 00:08:58.500 --> 00:09:01.680 And so he's not saying, like, all these people have sinned, please help them. 00:09:02.460 --> 00:09:06.500 I think that praying on behalf of other groups is pretty common in the Bible. 00:09:06.779 --> 00:09:08.139 It's something that we see frequently. 00:09:08.139 --> 00:09:14.559 And so there will often be, like, a corporate confession of we have sinned led by the more 00:09:14.559 --> 00:09:17.580 righteous members of the community, like, confessing on behalf of others. 00:09:18.259 --> 00:09:22.439 I think that just as, like, a small side note, I think this is worth something worth us emulating 00:09:22.439 --> 00:09:22.980 and following. 00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:28.860 This can be on a bigger scale for when we advocate for people that are perhaps in a worse situation 00:09:28.860 --> 00:09:31.259 than we are or marginalized or oppressed. 00:09:31.259 --> 00:09:34.460 I think that that reflects some of what God's looking at here of, like, standing up for other 00:09:34.460 --> 00:09:34.779 people. 00:09:35.179 --> 00:09:38.399 And it can happen on a really small scale of, like, if someone asks you for prayer for 00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:42.360 something they're struggling with, pray with them, not for them. 00:09:42.919 --> 00:09:47.379 You probably have had experience with whatever they're struggling with, too, unless it's, 00:09:47.459 --> 00:09:48.699 like, a really severe thing. 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:52.459 And so it's often worth—I know it's been helpful for me when I've brought, like, I've 00:09:52.459 --> 00:09:55.980 said, hey, I'm really bitter about a certain situation or I'm bitter towards God for something 00:09:55.980 --> 00:09:56.500 in a scenario. 00:09:57.220 --> 00:10:01.819 It's helped me when people have sat and prayed, like, oh, like, we ask for, you know, forgiveness 00:10:01.819 --> 00:10:03.860 and we ask for understanding of your love. 00:10:03.860 --> 00:10:06.419 Like, that small—I feel like that small thing helps people a lot. 00:10:07.720 --> 00:10:13.519 The passage in this case, backing up a little bit to this, is really a desperate appeal matching 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:14.659 the famine and drought, right? 00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:17.940 So not only is there severe sin, but there's also severe drought. 00:10:18.700 --> 00:10:19.740 I find it interesting. 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:24.419 The Hebrew word for hope that's used here is in a few other places used for, like, pool 00:10:24.419 --> 00:10:24.960 of water. 00:10:25.159 --> 00:10:28.039 And I feel like that's kind of the reaction you have when you're thirsty. 00:10:28.100 --> 00:10:30.399 It's just like a subliminal slip, right? 00:10:30.799 --> 00:10:34.379 It's like, when you're thirsty, all you can think about is that you need to drink water 00:10:34.379 --> 00:10:34.980 right now. 00:10:35.059 --> 00:10:36.059 And so it's like, it just slips out. 00:10:36.139 --> 00:10:36.819 It's like, hope. 00:10:36.959 --> 00:10:38.759 I mean, pool of water, of Israel. 00:10:38.899 --> 00:10:40.000 Like, it's there. 00:10:40.100 --> 00:10:40.779 They're craving it. 00:10:40.779 --> 00:10:47.500 And the questions that they ask God in verses 8 through 9, particularly about being a stranger 00:10:47.500 --> 00:10:53.379 or a traveler in the land, basically it's like, God, we thought you were ruler of this 00:10:53.379 --> 00:10:53.679 land. 00:10:53.779 --> 00:10:57.379 Instead, you're acting like, I'm only living here for a little bit or I'm really just passing 00:10:57.379 --> 00:11:00.299 through for a night because you don't seem to care about the suffering that's going on 00:11:00.299 --> 00:11:01.519 in our land specifically. 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:03.659 And so that's why they ask that question. 00:11:03.659 --> 00:11:10.259 And the main reason they give God for this appeal, like, God, why should you do this, 00:11:10.539 --> 00:11:13.539 is one that is commonly appealed throughout Israel. 00:11:13.659 --> 00:11:15.299 It's for God's namesake. 00:11:16.600 --> 00:11:21.600 And so not for, because the people are awesome because they realize they're not, but because 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:24.299 God is great and that he is the defender of his people. 00:11:24.399 --> 00:11:26.759 And they're saying, you know, uphold your side of the covenant to us. 00:11:26.819 --> 00:11:29.059 Don't put us to shame in front of other nations, basically. 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:32.539 An example of where this does happen, there's a number of them. 00:11:32.539 --> 00:11:35.619 One's from Isaiah 48, verses 9 through 11. 00:11:35.959 --> 00:11:36.919 I'll just read verse 9. 00:11:37.019 --> 00:11:37.399 It just says, 00:11:37.639 --> 00:11:39.739 For my namesake, I defer my anger. 00:11:40.219 --> 00:11:44.099 For the sake of my praise, I restrain it from you, that I may not cut you off. 00:11:45.279 --> 00:11:48.179 And so the appeal is almost God save face, right? 00:11:48.359 --> 00:11:49.699 Like, we're your people. 00:11:50.099 --> 00:11:50.919 We're suffering. 00:11:51.259 --> 00:11:53.339 Doesn't look good for you for this to be happening. 00:11:54.079 --> 00:11:57.299 Which in some cases with genuine repentance is a good reason, right? 00:11:57.299 --> 00:12:01.039 Like, God does want to be, that God is the defender of his people and the protector of 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:01.399 his people. 00:12:02.579 --> 00:12:07.539 In this scenario, though, the problem is that Judah isn't really upholding their side of 00:12:07.539 --> 00:12:08.059 the situation. 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:11.240 Like, they've already rejected God and they're not truly repentant. 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:16.759 One commentary says that the sense of estrangement they experienced is sort of like misplaced, 00:12:16.819 --> 00:12:17.019 right? 00:12:17.299 --> 00:12:21.659 They feel like they're estranged from God because God is neglecting them, when in reality 00:12:21.659 --> 00:12:25.079 it's from their own neglect and from their own guilty conscience. 00:12:25.080 --> 00:12:27.780 So they walked away from God, not the other way around. 00:12:28.040 --> 00:12:31.759 So the real desire of like, honor your name is really just like, God, help us, right? 00:12:32.420 --> 00:12:35.100 We don't really want to change anything, but I just want you to get us out of this bad 00:12:35.100 --> 00:12:35.480 scenario. 00:12:36.900 --> 00:12:42.860 So God gives his answer to sort of that sideways appeal in verse 10 through 12 of chapter 14. 00:12:43.560 --> 00:12:44.100 He says, 00:12:44.100 --> 00:13:13.879 So God explicitly says, like, I don't accept your petition. 00:13:14.139 --> 00:13:15.960 Like, I'm not taking this request. 00:13:16.620 --> 00:13:20.720 And the reasons that he gives is because that they wander and that their feet are not restrained. 00:13:21.460 --> 00:13:25.679 And so what wandering in this scenario means, like, wandering after other gods, like we've 00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:31.279 talked about, or possibly to, like, alliances with other foreign military powers, which is 00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:32.299 kind of an affront to God too. 00:13:32.659 --> 00:13:37.179 It's like, well, God has explicitly said with Israel, like, you don't need other nations 00:13:37.179 --> 00:13:37.679 to help you. 00:13:37.740 --> 00:13:39.179 I will fight your battles for you. 00:13:39.480 --> 00:13:41.259 And that's supposed to be one of their distinguishing aspects. 00:13:41.259 --> 00:13:44.439 And so Israel's like, ah, I'm just kind of wandering from here to there, trying out different 00:13:44.439 --> 00:13:44.840 things. 00:13:45.259 --> 00:13:47.039 And then the feeling of their feet is not restrained. 00:13:47.080 --> 00:13:49.539 It's kind of like the bad habits that get ingrained from that. 00:13:50.179 --> 00:13:53.759 So it's like, they've wondered so persistently that the paths are, like, well-worn, that their 00:13:53.759 --> 00:13:54.460 feet are not restrained. 00:13:54.519 --> 00:13:55.340 They just keep going in them. 00:13:55.340 --> 00:13:59.660 So it's like when you, if you've ever changed jobs in the same area and you had a commute 00:13:59.660 --> 00:14:03.340 that you had before, and then you accidentally keep driving the wrong way because, like, you 00:14:03.340 --> 00:14:06.100 took that way so many times, like, because your brain just, like, checks out and it's 00:14:06.100 --> 00:14:07.879 like, oh, shoot, I'm off the wrong exit now. 00:14:08.160 --> 00:14:12.019 That's the kind of the feeling there of, like, this is really well ingrained into them. 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:13.000 Their feet are not restrained. 00:14:13.060 --> 00:14:14.180 They just kind of go with instinct. 00:14:14.179 --> 00:14:21.559 So prayer, fastings, and offerings don't work either because these things are really 00:14:21.559 --> 00:14:25.059 designed to work alongside obedience and have their origin in obedience. 00:14:25.620 --> 00:14:30.139 So without that foundation of obedience, prayer and fasting and offerings all kind of fall 00:14:30.139 --> 00:14:31.620 apart and they become meaningless to God. 00:14:32.479 --> 00:14:36.239 I think it's significant that God says, do not pray for the welfare of these people. 00:14:36.599 --> 00:14:39.240 It shows, like, the severity of the situation that they're in. 00:14:39.240 --> 00:14:43.759 There's only a few times that God, or the Bible suggests that God's not listening to prayer 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:44.419 in some aspect. 00:14:44.559 --> 00:14:46.700 It's very, very limited, and this is one of them. 00:14:48.120 --> 00:14:52.460 And I think that it's because God has decided on the judgment that he's going to give at 00:14:52.460 --> 00:14:52.879 this point. 00:14:53.319 --> 00:14:55.879 So he says specifically, don't pray for the welfare of these people. 00:14:55.960 --> 00:14:57.319 He doesn't say stop appealing for them. 00:14:57.759 --> 00:15:02.200 He doesn't say don't pray judgment on them because he does call Jeremiah to pray and prophesy 00:15:02.200 --> 00:15:02.980 judgment on them. 00:15:03.340 --> 00:15:06.980 But he's basically saying, like, at this point, I'm not going to hear any more appeals for the 00:15:06.980 --> 00:15:07.720 welfare of these people. 00:15:08.860 --> 00:15:11.100 They've been disobedient for too long and too severely. 00:15:11.100 --> 00:15:16.300 Um, so instead of welfare, people get soared in famine and pestilence. 00:15:16.519 --> 00:15:19.580 And these three words are brought up a lot in Jeremiah and also in this passage. 00:15:19.899 --> 00:15:21.379 So I'm going to dive into them a little bit. 00:15:21.700 --> 00:15:25.320 I talked a little bit about famine already, just like the severity of that and the pain 00:15:25.320 --> 00:15:25.680 of that. 00:15:25.960 --> 00:15:27.940 So I'm going to brush past that for now. 00:15:28.920 --> 00:15:30.440 I'm going to talk a little bit about pestilence. 00:15:30.759 --> 00:15:35.840 I feel like pestilence is, if you were raised in a first world or Western country, like, we 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:37.379 don't really know what pestilence is, right? 00:15:37.379 --> 00:15:40.679 We've seen people suffer from, like, severe disease that can even be mortal. 00:15:41.220 --> 00:15:43.100 Um, but usually it's, like, isolated instances. 00:15:43.460 --> 00:15:46.860 There's a lot of medical help and doctors that can bring you through things that would 00:15:46.860 --> 00:15:48.740 be otherwise lethal without medical assistance. 00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:53.259 And the big thing is, like, we don't see anything on, like, a zombie infection-like scale. 00:15:53.340 --> 00:15:56.000 I'm just, like, spreading everywhere and being, like, deadly. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:16:02.120 Um, but if you take out, like, hospitals and modern medicine and you plop a bunch of people 00:16:02.120 --> 00:16:06.480 into a city like Jerusalem, uh, pestilence looks really bad all of a sudden because it's 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:10.100 something that easily spreads and it's uncontrollable and no one understands it in the sense of, 00:16:10.179 --> 00:16:11.700 like, they don't understand how to really treat it. 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:14.600 Um, and it can take simpler things to take lives. 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:19.639 Uh, there's a good description from, uh, Thucydides, whose name I didn't try to pronounce 00:16:19.639 --> 00:16:20.440 before this, apparently. 00:16:20.440 --> 00:16:25.300 Uh, he was, he took part in the, or he wrote about the Peloponnesian War, uh, which was 00:16:25.300 --> 00:16:26.680 about 100 years after Jeremiah. 00:16:27.080 --> 00:16:28.360 Um, so that's over in Greece. 00:16:28.520 --> 00:16:31.220 And so he wrote about a city that was suffering from pestilence. 00:16:31.260 --> 00:16:33.820 And so I'll share a few just snippets from, from his writing. 00:16:33.820 --> 00:16:38.280 Uh, he said, people in good health were all of a sudden attacked by violent heats in the 00:16:38.280 --> 00:16:42.880 head and redness and inflammation in the eyes, the inward parts, such as the throat or tongue, 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:45.680 becoming bloody and emitting an unnatural and fetid breath. 00:16:46.180 --> 00:16:49.660 Their symptoms were followed by sneezing and hoarseness, after which the pain soon reached 00:16:49.659 --> 00:16:51.639 the chest and produced a hard cough. 00:16:51.879 --> 00:16:56.019 When it fixed in the stomach, it upset it and discharges a bile of every kind named by 00:16:56.019 --> 00:16:58.740 physicians ensued, accompanied by very great distress. 00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:03.539 In most cases, also an ineffectual retching followed, producing violent spasms in which 00:17:03.539 --> 00:17:06.119 some cases cease soon after and others much later. 00:17:06.700 --> 00:17:10.460 For the disorder first settled in the head, ran its course from thence through the whole 00:17:10.460 --> 00:17:10.920 of the body. 00:17:11.259 --> 00:17:15.399 And even where it did not prove mortal, it still left its mark on the extremities for it settled 00:17:15.399 --> 00:17:17.220 in the privy parts, the fingers and the toes. 00:17:17.220 --> 00:17:20.720 And many escaped with the loss of these, some too with that of their eyes. 00:17:21.240 --> 00:17:24.120 Others, again, were seized with an entire loss of memory on their first recovery. 00:17:24.519 --> 00:17:27.039 And so they did not know either themselves or their friends. 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:31.539 Um, and so pestilence, the curse of pestilence in this case is like, that's the kind of severity 00:17:31.539 --> 00:17:32.480 of scale that we're talking about. 00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:36.000 A whole city of people that are sick, wondering whether they're going to die, lose their memory, 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:36.960 lose body parts. 00:17:37.339 --> 00:17:38.799 Um, it's not a pretty picture. 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:42.740 And then pestilence and famine often come alongside war or the sword. 00:17:42.740 --> 00:17:45.819 Um, and I feel like war can also be difficult for us to understand. 00:17:46.380 --> 00:17:51.579 Um, the war that's coming for Judah specifically in this instance is the invasion of Babylon. 00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:55.940 Um, likely what we read about here is Babylon invaded Judah twice, basically. 00:17:56.259 --> 00:18:00.960 Once they basically, they essentially came through and wrecked everything and left the 00:18:00.960 --> 00:18:01.539 city defenseless. 00:18:01.660 --> 00:18:05.140 And the second time they came back and, and established full dominance and captured everybody 00:18:05.140 --> 00:18:05.900 in the city, essentially. 00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:07.380 So this is the first time. 00:18:07.380 --> 00:18:12.620 Um, now we don't have a ton of people here that I know of, uh, that are either like have 00:18:12.620 --> 00:18:16.960 vivid memories of the most recent, like catastrophic war for America, which would be the Vietnam 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:17.280 war. 00:18:17.800 --> 00:18:22.920 Um, and we also didn't have a ton of like military or ex-military in the congregation here. 00:18:23.020 --> 00:18:27.420 So I feel like the thing that like is the closest analogy for us is probably actually 9-11. 00:18:28.080 --> 00:18:33.780 Um, it was a really tragic and shocking day where a lot of us were totally, totally blindsided 00:18:33.780 --> 00:18:35.600 by it because it was on American soil. 00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:38.059 Uh, we felt entirely and totally safe. 00:18:38.500 --> 00:18:42.759 Um, if you were a U.S. citizen at that point or born in America, you probably like me remember 00:18:42.759 --> 00:18:44.740 exactly where you were and what was going on. 00:18:45.179 --> 00:18:49.379 Um, it was 3,000 people dying in a terror attack is no small thing. 00:18:49.459 --> 00:18:52.799 And it's going to be something that's in my memory for the rest of my life that I'm not 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:55.319 going to forget just from the shock and the terror of it. 00:18:55.819 --> 00:18:58.480 Um, and I don't use that analogy lightly, right? 00:18:58.500 --> 00:18:59.679 I'm not just like pulling that out of the air. 00:18:59.799 --> 00:19:03.480 Like, I think that that's legitimately analogous to what Judah went through. 00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:06.559 Like, I think that that feeling is part of what they felt too. 00:19:07.140 --> 00:19:09.000 Um, and I think it makes sense, right? 00:19:09.079 --> 00:19:13.299 So in verse 13, it says that the preachers or the other prophets, pretty much everyone 00:19:13.299 --> 00:19:17.279 except Jeremiah was talking about peace and safety and things are going to be fine and 00:19:17.279 --> 00:19:18.000 don't worry about it. 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:19.299 Like God's, God's got this. 00:19:19.299 --> 00:19:25.899 Um, and the people were buying into it, which makes the shock of actual war coming upon them 00:19:25.899 --> 00:19:29.180 and destruction coming upon them, just blindsiding them basically. 00:19:29.819 --> 00:19:35.059 Um, and it's so brutal that in verse 16, it describes people are just left dead in the 00:19:35.059 --> 00:19:36.240 streets essentially, right? 00:19:36.619 --> 00:19:39.919 So war and famine and pestilence just, just absolutely wrecked Jerusalem. 00:19:40.539 --> 00:19:46.279 Um, and so this leads us back to the second cycle of where Jeremiah launches into lament 00:19:46.279 --> 00:19:51.039 from this, uh, because it is so severe and in this, he literally weeps for the people. 00:19:51.539 --> 00:19:56.980 Um, and it says in verse 17, uh, you shall say to them this word, let my eyes run down 00:19:56.980 --> 00:20:01.920 with tears night and day and let them not cease for the virgin daughter of my people is shattered 00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:04.660 with a great wound, with a very grievous blow. 00:20:04.879 --> 00:20:08.319 If I go out into the field, behold those pierced by the sword. 00:20:08.319 --> 00:20:13.879 And if I enter the city, behold the diseases of famine for both prophet and priest ply their 00:20:13.880 --> 00:20:16.180 trade through the land and have no knowledge. 00:20:17.180 --> 00:20:19.160 Um, a commentator put it this way. 00:20:19.220 --> 00:20:23.740 I thought it was just really concise that mass killings, whether from war or terrorism, shock 00:20:23.740 --> 00:20:27.800 the imagination and render numb the sensibilities of those who come upon such horrors. 00:20:28.560 --> 00:20:33.720 Um, once again, though, even though this, these are atrocious things, um, these were things 00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:35.960 that God warned about long ago in Deuteronomy. 00:20:35.960 --> 00:20:42.880 Um, Deuteronomy 28, 16 says, cursed shall you be in the city and cursed shall you be in the 00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:43.160 field? 00:20:43.600 --> 00:20:47.120 Um, that's in the context of like war and famine in Deuteronomy 28 as well. 00:20:47.540 --> 00:20:50.820 Um, which is exactly where Jeremiah finds his country, viewing it in tears. 00:20:51.020 --> 00:20:56.220 You can kind of picture him almost like stumbling around in a daze of looking through the city 00:20:56.220 --> 00:21:00.100 and everyone there is sick and dying and looking through the field and the armies are gone and 00:21:00.100 --> 00:21:01.680 dead and there are dead bodies piled up. 00:21:02.260 --> 00:21:05.860 Um, you know, I remember we're in the second cycle of lament, petition judgment. 00:21:05.860 --> 00:21:07.420 So this is the first part of that lament. 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:10.280 Um, I spent the first kind of explaining the cycle. 00:21:10.279 --> 00:21:13.519 So I'm going to try to like the, through the second cycle, I'll try to wrap around and 00:21:13.519 --> 00:21:14.539 apply it a little bit more. 00:21:14.660 --> 00:21:15.220 And what's it mean? 00:21:15.799 --> 00:21:20.000 Um, so that's 17 through 19 is the, is the second lament. 00:21:20.359 --> 00:21:26.259 Uh, 20 through 22 is, is the second petition, uh, where Jeremiah prays again on behalf of 00:21:26.259 --> 00:21:26.639 the people. 00:21:27.059 --> 00:21:32.279 Um, I'm going to highlight from that verse 21, uh, where he says, do not spurn us for your 00:21:32.279 --> 00:21:32.980 name's sake. 00:21:33.119 --> 00:21:35.039 Do not dishonor your glorious throne. 00:21:35.039 --> 00:21:37.799 Remember and do not break your covenant with us. 00:21:38.279 --> 00:21:41.000 Um, that again is pulling from that Deuteronomy passage. 00:21:41.139 --> 00:21:46.440 Deuteronomy 31, 20 discusses the people spurning and breaking their covenant with God. 00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:53.200 Um, where he says basically, uh, when I brought them into a land that's so good and when they're 00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:57.639 blessed, they're going to, uh, they'll turn to other gods and serve them and despise me 00:21:57.639 --> 00:21:58.920 and break my covenant. 00:21:58.920 --> 00:22:03.039 Um, so they're kind of like appealing, like, oh, we're aware of what we did. 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:06.680 Um, don't actually commit this thing that you promised a long time ago. 00:22:06.759 --> 00:22:08.440 Don't spurn us or break the covenant with us. 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:12.880 Um, what's interesting though, is that there's a strange inconsistency in this plea. 00:22:13.320 --> 00:22:19.740 Uh, it lays stress on God's obligations and overlooks the strong obligations of Judah back 00:22:19.740 --> 00:22:20.519 to God, right? 00:22:20.539 --> 00:22:22.160 So it's like, oh, hold up your side of the covenant. 00:22:22.620 --> 00:22:25.360 Uh, but we're going to keep worshiping some gods over here on the side. 00:22:25.700 --> 00:22:27.039 Um, but you said you do this. 00:22:27.039 --> 00:22:31.559 Um, I feel like it's a little bit like the, if there is an unbalanced, like friendship 00:22:31.559 --> 00:22:33.700 or relationship, those things tend to fall apart, right? 00:22:34.200 --> 00:22:38.200 Um, like if you, if, if someone isn't different towards you and you care a lot towards them, 00:22:38.420 --> 00:22:40.200 that's just, that's not going to last forever essentially. 00:22:40.659 --> 00:22:44.339 Um, and so there's that aspect of like, uh, you hold up your side of the deal, but I'm 00:22:44.339 --> 00:22:45.839 just going to, I'm going to mess around over here. 00:22:46.359 --> 00:22:51.099 Um, and so to that God gives his most dramatic answer yet. 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:53.180 And this is chapter five, verse one. 00:22:53.180 --> 00:22:59.299 Uh, the Lord said to Jeremiah, though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would 00:22:59.299 --> 00:23:03.220 not turn towards these people, send them out of my sight and let them go. 00:23:04.039 --> 00:23:08.360 Um, and standing before, standing before God in this case means interceding on behalf of 00:23:08.360 --> 00:23:08.700 the people. 00:23:09.140 --> 00:23:13.940 Uh, this kind of idea reminds me, interceding reminds me of kind of like a college, uh, 00:23:14.140 --> 00:23:16.100 advisor or like a business mentor, right? 00:23:16.099 --> 00:23:18.419 Like you're connected to someone who's greater than you. 00:23:18.819 --> 00:23:21.740 Um, and you go to them for advice and they often appeal on your behalf. 00:23:21.939 --> 00:23:25.000 So if you have good connections in the business world, you might have a mentor that goes and 00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:26.079 appeals and gets you a job. 00:23:26.659 --> 00:23:31.240 Um, or if you are in college or in school, you have an advisor and this person makes the 00:23:31.240 --> 00:23:34.859 right connections for you to move to grad school or to, through your PhD program to get the 00:23:34.859 --> 00:23:35.539 right research. 00:23:36.159 --> 00:23:39.959 Um, so that's kind of like interceding in the sense, like there's someone greater interceding 00:23:39.959 --> 00:23:40.959 on behalf of the people. 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:46.600 Um, and Moses, Moses and Samuel were two, two of the greatest intercessors before God 00:23:46.600 --> 00:23:47.039 in the Bible. 00:23:47.579 --> 00:23:53.860 Um, Moses actually at one point averts God's judgment, uh, when all of Israel, they're out 00:23:53.860 --> 00:23:58.519 of Egypt, they make a golden calf, uh, cause Moses is gone for like three days and they're 00:23:58.519 --> 00:23:59.100 like, God's gone. 00:23:59.180 --> 00:24:00.240 So we got to make our own God now. 00:24:00.319 --> 00:24:03.240 Uh, and they all worship it and it's a, it's a total mess. 00:24:03.539 --> 00:24:08.319 Uh, and so God and Moses are talking basically on God, Moses has been away talking with God on 00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:10.940 the mountain, receiving the commandments he's going to pass to the people. 00:24:11.160 --> 00:24:15.079 And God's like, yeah, so I see the people down there and they're all worshiping a golden 00:24:15.079 --> 00:24:16.940 calf now and this is over. 00:24:17.400 --> 00:24:21.519 And Moses appeals on behalf of the people and says, do not strike them down, show us 00:24:21.519 --> 00:24:21.900 grace. 00:24:22.299 --> 00:24:23.740 Uh, and God actually relents. 00:24:24.140 --> 00:24:27.299 Um, and there's still judgment shown, but he doesn't totally wipe out the people like 00:24:27.299 --> 00:24:28.140 he was planning to. 00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:32.259 Um, similarly, Samuel, uh, appeals on behalf of the people. 00:24:32.360 --> 00:24:36.579 He was a, one of the first prophets in the times that, uh, Israel and Judah had kings. 00:24:37.059 --> 00:24:40.840 Um, and there were multiple times that he basically, there's a battle going on. 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:42.940 And Samuel comes in and prays or makes an offering. 00:24:42.940 --> 00:24:47.079 And then the battle turns in the way of Israel because Samuel, like God hears Samuel. 00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:52.579 Um, and so what's striking about this is like, God's like, look, if you had both Moses and 00:24:52.579 --> 00:24:55.799 Samuel standing in front of me, I wouldn't listen to both of them in this instance. 00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:59.600 Um, and so this argument's really like an argument from the greater to the lesser, right? 00:24:59.600 --> 00:25:02.420 It's like, okay, if I have the two greatest intercessors in the history of Israel standing 00:25:02.420 --> 00:25:04.860 in front of me, I'm not listening to you, Jeremiah. 00:25:04.859 --> 00:25:05.379 I'm sorry. 00:25:05.759 --> 00:25:07.740 Like it's not going to happen at this point. 00:25:08.199 --> 00:25:11.419 Um, and then after that, he immediately turns around and uses language. 00:25:11.539 --> 00:25:15.519 It's sort of like when God brought his people out of Egypt, out of slavery. 00:25:16.139 --> 00:25:21.699 Um, when the appeal to Pharaoh is let my people go, like send them out of the land. 00:25:21.700 --> 00:25:25.000 And this now God says, send them out of my sight and let them go. 00:25:25.740 --> 00:25:29.180 Um, and so in verse two, the people ask, where should we go? 00:25:29.720 --> 00:25:33.279 Uh, and this, this appeal has very much the same concern as like Cain and Abel. 00:25:33.620 --> 00:25:37.420 Uh, Cain is the, uh, Cain and Abel are sons of Adam and Eve. 00:25:37.600 --> 00:25:40.319 Uh, and Cain's the one that murders his brother Abel. 00:25:40.759 --> 00:25:45.200 Um, and when God disciplines him, it, Cain says like, where will I go? 00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:46.360 Like you've, you've cast me out. 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:46.920 Where will I go? 00:25:47.420 --> 00:25:51.480 Um, and they get a much less gracious answer than, than Cain does, right? 00:25:51.480 --> 00:25:52.880 So you've got some places you can go. 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:56.120 There's pestilence, there's sword, there's famine, and there's captivity. 00:25:56.759 --> 00:25:59.180 Um, and those are the places that I will send you out to. 00:25:59.779 --> 00:26:04.039 Um, he points out that there's four kinds of destroyers, uh, that are kind of shameful 00:26:04.039 --> 00:26:04.620 destroyers. 00:26:04.620 --> 00:26:06.799 It's like the sword, like your enemies are going to kill you. 00:26:06.960 --> 00:26:10.480 And then there's just going to be animals that basically devour you like vultures and 00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:12.500 dogs in the street eating your meat essentially. 00:26:12.759 --> 00:26:17.860 Like this, um, and it Calvin, uh, John Calvin points out the, this like turns the natural 00:26:17.860 --> 00:26:18.559 order on its head. 00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:19.660 It's like, this is really shameful. 00:26:19.660 --> 00:26:23.519 Like, first of all, you're gonna get beat by your enemies and then the animals that 00:26:23.519 --> 00:26:26.240 you're supposed to have dominion over and have control over, like they're just gonna, 00:26:26.560 --> 00:26:27.680 they're gonna be what curses you. 00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:32.560 Um, and then in verse four, he says, I will make them a whore to all the kingdoms of the 00:26:32.560 --> 00:26:36.279 earth because of what Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah did in Jerusalem. 00:26:37.060 --> 00:26:41.340 Um, so outside of general idolatry that we've seen, uh, we now get to a specific reason for 00:26:41.340 --> 00:26:42.480 the judgments given so far. 00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:46.920 Uh, and I think this is where we'll particularly fuel God's judgments being justified. 00:26:46.920 --> 00:26:50.160 Uh, so God's not like arbitrarily punishing or just like going overboard. 00:26:50.160 --> 00:26:53.220 Uh, and I'm going to read from second Chronicles 33. 00:26:53.600 --> 00:26:57.860 Uh, and these are some verses about what Judah did under Manasseh essentially. 00:26:58.539 --> 00:27:03.920 Um, so Manasseh was 12 years old when he began to reign and he reigned 55 years in Jerusalem. 00:27:03.920 --> 00:27:08.100 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the 00:27:08.100 --> 00:27:10.820 nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 00:27:11.120 --> 00:27:16.420 For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had broken down, uh, so like idols. 00:27:16.700 --> 00:27:21.759 Um, and he erected new altars to the Baals and made Asheroth and worshiped all the host 00:27:21.759 --> 00:27:22.720 of heaven and serve them. 00:27:23.080 --> 00:27:27.720 And he built altars in the house of the Lord of which the Lord said in Jerusalem shall my 00:27:27.720 --> 00:27:28.500 name be forever. 00:27:28.500 --> 00:27:32.740 And he built altars to all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 00:27:33.119 --> 00:27:37.599 And he burned his sons as an offering in the valley of the son of Himon and used fortune 00:27:37.599 --> 00:27:40.599 telling and omens and sorcery and dealt with mediums and necromancers. 00:27:40.819 --> 00:27:44.019 He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 00:27:44.660 --> 00:27:50.440 Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray to do more evil than the nations whom 00:27:50.440 --> 00:27:52.519 the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel. 00:27:53.339 --> 00:27:57.519 Um, so not only does Manasseh show up and kind of endorse reestablishing idol worship, 00:27:57.519 --> 00:27:59.039 he puts up his own idols. 00:27:59.359 --> 00:28:03.119 Not only does he put up his own idols, he puts up idols inside of God's temple, which 00:28:03.119 --> 00:28:06.279 is where like God's, the place that God's presence was on earth. 00:28:06.559 --> 00:28:11.019 Uh, not only does he put up idols in God's temple, he puts it like in the inner sanctuary. 00:28:11.139 --> 00:28:12.779 He says in like the, the two different courts. 00:28:12.859 --> 00:28:15.740 So it's talking about like the place that they specifically believed God abided. 00:28:15.960 --> 00:28:20.160 Uh, not only does he do that, he puts up idols to all the hosts of heaven inside of the 00:28:20.160 --> 00:28:20.420 temple. 00:28:20.920 --> 00:28:25.079 Um, not only does he do that, he sacrifices his own kids to a God. 00:28:25.400 --> 00:28:27.460 Not only does he do that, he enlists basically. 00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:31.220 Every help of every kind of magic that you're not allowed to in Israel. 00:28:31.940 --> 00:28:37.339 Um, so that's why in verse nine, it says he did more evil than he led Israel to do more 00:28:37.339 --> 00:28:41.000 evil than the nations that the Lord had punished before for other evils. 00:28:41.680 --> 00:28:46.240 Um, now you might be wondering, okay, Jeremiah, why didn't you lead with this? 00:28:46.279 --> 00:28:47.980 This feels like a chapter one, verse one kind of thing. 00:28:47.980 --> 00:28:51.920 Like the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, you killed some kids. 00:28:51.920 --> 00:28:53.019 And so judgment is coming. 00:28:53.019 --> 00:28:55.339 Like that feels like the easy lead in, right? 00:28:55.420 --> 00:28:57.920 Like, why is that not the main reason? 00:28:57.920 --> 00:29:00.019 Cause I feel like it's easy for me to feel justified. 00:29:00.019 --> 00:29:03.980 Like, yeah, if there's literal child sacrifice going on, like this makes sense. 00:29:04.400 --> 00:29:09.680 Um, and I, I think that, um, there's a couple reasons. 00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:13.820 Um, one is it's probably already implicitly known what's going on. 00:29:14.240 --> 00:29:18.240 Uh, Jeremiah started prophesying in the reign of the king, like immediately after Manasseh. 00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:22.279 And that king was more righteous and tried to like reverse some of what Manasseh had done. 00:29:22.839 --> 00:29:25.759 Um, and so it's probably known like what's going on. 00:29:25.799 --> 00:29:28.160 Jeremiah probably doesn't have to say it explicitly in a lot of his prophecies. 00:29:28.660 --> 00:29:33.799 Um, and then the second point though, is that idol worship is offensive to God in and of itself. 00:29:34.359 --> 00:29:37.579 Um, now I don't want to equivocate child sacrifice with idol worship. 00:29:37.799 --> 00:29:43.140 If you're debating today between sacrificing a kid to Molech or going home and watching too much TV, 00:29:43.240 --> 00:29:43.839 go watch TV. 00:29:44.099 --> 00:29:45.680 Like there's not even a question there. 00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:47.839 The consequences of those two things are extremely different. 00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:52.399 And I do think that God values children in a higher aspect because he cares for the poor 00:29:52.399 --> 00:29:53.319 and the oppressed and the weaker. 00:29:54.099 --> 00:29:59.339 In Matthew 18, six says, whoever causes one of these little ones to believe in me to sin, 00:29:59.619 --> 00:30:03.819 it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned 00:30:03.819 --> 00:30:04.819 in the depth of the sea. 00:30:05.259 --> 00:30:07.519 So like God cares for that. 00:30:07.859 --> 00:30:11.279 Um, but I do want to back up and clarify a little bit of what Christianity is all about, 00:30:11.519 --> 00:30:13.139 particularly if you're not religious or you're skeptical. 00:30:13.619 --> 00:30:17.119 Um, at this point, you're wondering why worshiping a specific God is so important. 00:30:17.119 --> 00:30:22.479 Um, I think a common and acceptable viewpoint of religion generally today is that it's good 00:30:22.479 --> 00:30:23.599 for a few reasons, right? 00:30:23.639 --> 00:30:24.659 It's like self-improvement. 00:30:24.779 --> 00:30:26.319 You get, you show commitment. 00:30:26.619 --> 00:30:27.779 Uh, you get to be part of community. 00:30:27.879 --> 00:30:29.539 Like, so religion is good in those aspects. 00:30:29.959 --> 00:30:31.319 Um, these are all benefits. 00:30:31.759 --> 00:30:36.019 Um, but I want to be clear that Christianity isn't mainly about being good people. 00:30:36.019 --> 00:30:37.079 It's about knowing Jesus. 00:30:37.759 --> 00:30:42.200 Um, there are lots of ways to try to be good people and to try for self-improvement, but 00:30:42.200 --> 00:30:44.139 there is only one true God. 00:30:44.619 --> 00:30:46.559 Uh, character improvement stems from that. 00:30:46.900 --> 00:30:50.240 Uh, but I don't believe that we're here just to, just to be good people. 00:30:50.240 --> 00:30:53.700 The first commandment that Jesus gives, the most important thing is to love the Lord, 00:30:53.759 --> 00:30:57.500 your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength. 00:30:57.500 --> 00:31:03.140 Um, and knowing Jesus is important because we believe God actually empowers us to become 00:31:03.140 --> 00:31:03.599 better people. 00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:04.720 Like that's where it stems from. 00:31:05.180 --> 00:31:08.259 Uh, there's a large self, like I said, there's a large self-improvement movement. 00:31:08.579 --> 00:31:12.460 Uh, a lot of that movement is like a billion books and like, none of them are like, you 00:31:12.460 --> 00:31:15.099 should be a better person or this is what it's like to be a better person. 00:31:15.200 --> 00:31:17.160 They're all like, how do I become a better person? 00:31:17.160 --> 00:31:18.700 Cause that's what everybody's really interested in. 00:31:18.700 --> 00:31:20.259 Like, how do I get from point A to point B? 00:31:20.259 --> 00:31:26.099 Um, and we believe that that's, as Christians, we believe Jesus works that change in us. 00:31:26.519 --> 00:31:31.140 Um, and if you're focused on a God or different gods than Jesus, then he won't be affecting 00:31:31.140 --> 00:31:33.339 that in your heart because you're focused on other things. 00:31:33.839 --> 00:31:38.720 Um, I think a good example of like what Jesus can do past typical self-improvement is the 00:31:38.720 --> 00:31:39.500 concept of forgiveness. 00:31:40.099 --> 00:31:44.799 Um, so if you read self-help books or listen to, um, like people who are more agnostic talk 00:31:44.799 --> 00:31:48.480 about forgiveness, often the focus of that is kind of like an internal freedom. 00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:52.460 Like if you're offended by somebody or hurt by somebody and you go and you forgive them, 00:31:52.740 --> 00:31:56.339 um, then you're sort of released and at peace because you're not holding something against 00:31:56.339 --> 00:31:57.099 anybody anymore. 00:31:57.099 --> 00:31:59.740 And so you don't have to feel the pain that they've put on you. 00:31:59.740 --> 00:32:03.380 Basically, that's a lot of like the forgiveness, self-improvement, uh, language. 00:32:03.900 --> 00:32:07.120 Um, Christianity provides deeper forgiveness, right? 00:32:07.559 --> 00:32:11.599 Uh, Jesus doesn't say, forgive your, forgive your enemy so that you feel better. 00:32:11.599 --> 00:32:15.259 He says, love your enemy and pray for those that persecute you. 00:32:15.400 --> 00:32:18.380 And so when I forgive as a Christian, my goal is not just my good. 00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:23.279 My goal is literally my enemy's good because I once stood as an enemy to God and he forgave 00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:23.620 me. 00:32:23.980 --> 00:32:27.160 Um, so it opens up a whole new aspect of, of self-improvement. 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:28.019 That's not just about me. 00:32:28.079 --> 00:32:29.360 It's about God in that aspect. 00:32:29.880 --> 00:32:34.420 Um, and I think more importantly than just like, I should be a Christian for self-improvement, 00:32:34.740 --> 00:32:40.180 uh, the importance of knowing Jesus and the centrality of that is because this is a relationship 00:32:40.180 --> 00:32:40.980 with God, right? 00:32:41.240 --> 00:32:44.960 God's not some like habit building miracle bystander that's like, oh good, you prayed to me three 00:32:44.960 --> 00:32:45.240 times. 00:32:45.240 --> 00:32:47.519 Now I'm going to make you a little bit more disciplined and you're good to go. 00:32:47.519 --> 00:32:52.660 Like we're actually in a relationship with a being who loves us and wants us to love him 00:32:52.660 --> 00:32:53.039 back. 00:32:53.759 --> 00:32:58.019 Um, and it's, it's, it's sort of analogous to marriage where there's like the, the single 00:32:58.019 --> 00:32:59.400 commitment to a single person. 00:32:59.779 --> 00:33:04.440 Um, but instead of like the marital love being the focus, it's, it's worship is being the 00:33:04.440 --> 00:33:04.680 focus. 00:33:04.680 --> 00:33:07.799 Cause he is God and he alone is worthy of worship. 00:33:07.799 --> 00:33:13.779 Um, and so when we give ourselves to other things besides God spiritually, we're cheating 00:33:13.779 --> 00:33:15.220 on God and ourselves essentially. 00:33:15.720 --> 00:33:19.339 That's why God is so upset over worshiping other gods because it hurts our committed and 00:33:19.339 --> 00:33:21.000 exclusive worship with him. 00:33:21.759 --> 00:33:28.539 Um, and so all of that is why I say the idolatry and the, and the actual like mortal sins against 00:33:28.539 --> 00:33:30.759 other people are both significant in God's eyes. 00:33:30.759 --> 00:33:34.799 Um, they compile to bring God to this point of, yes, I am bringing judgment upon you. 00:33:34.839 --> 00:33:36.379 I'm going to fulfill my promises of judgment. 00:33:37.019 --> 00:33:41.180 Um, so given that Judah has been worse than the other nations, God has judged before the 00:33:41.180 --> 00:33:46.019 third time Jeremiah comes back to lament, um, he doesn't follow that up with a petition. 00:33:46.200 --> 00:33:53.079 Um, so verses, uh, five through nine or like the third lament, uh, in verse five says, 00:33:53.200 --> 00:33:56.920 who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem, or who will grieve for you? 00:33:57.039 --> 00:33:59.240 Who will turn aside to ask about your welfare? 00:33:59.240 --> 00:34:01.299 You have rejected me, declares the Lord. 00:34:01.420 --> 00:34:02.519 You keep going backwards. 00:34:02.759 --> 00:34:05.380 So I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you. 00:34:05.539 --> 00:34:07.059 I am weary of relenting. 00:34:07.839 --> 00:34:09.380 And so he asked like, who's going to pity you? 00:34:09.420 --> 00:34:10.579 Sort of rhetorically, nobody. 00:34:11.159 --> 00:34:15.559 Um, one commentator kind of explains it in the sense that mourners experience a loss of 00:34:15.559 --> 00:34:19.659 wellbeing, uh, but like comfort and neighborly concern is, can really help with that. 00:34:19.739 --> 00:34:22.099 So when you ask somebody that's going through something rough, like, how are you doing? 00:34:22.539 --> 00:34:25.099 Um, can I pray for you when you offer specific ways to help? 00:34:25.099 --> 00:34:27.679 Like those are things that are part of the restoration through mourning. 00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:31.379 Um, and when nobody's doing that, then you're truly lost, right? 00:34:31.399 --> 00:34:32.619 You're truly on your own. 00:34:33.179 --> 00:34:36.779 Um, what's happened is finally after enough rejection and after enough severity of sin, 00:34:37.059 --> 00:34:38.639 God is weary of relenting. 00:34:38.639 --> 00:34:42.339 So he's, he's tired of giving more and more grace and letting these things slip. 00:34:42.819 --> 00:34:44.859 Um, he's shown a lot of mercy up to this point. 00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:47.319 Many kings before Manasseh have done sinful things as well. 00:34:47.399 --> 00:34:48.960 Israel has strayed away many times. 00:34:49.419 --> 00:34:53.679 Um, but this persistent and escalating evil has finally brought him to the point of judgment. 00:34:53.679 --> 00:34:58.819 Um, and I think the logical question for us is like, how do we make sure that God doesn't 00:34:58.819 --> 00:35:00.500 grow weary of relenting with us, right? 00:35:00.519 --> 00:35:02.379 That should be kind of like the next question that pops into your head. 00:35:02.539 --> 00:35:04.279 Like, uh, this is concerning. 00:35:04.379 --> 00:35:05.579 Like, can I get to this point? 00:35:05.619 --> 00:35:06.379 What's going on here? 00:35:06.859 --> 00:35:11.440 Um, and I think that this is what makes the work of Jesus on the cross so significant, 00:35:11.440 --> 00:35:12.099 right? 00:35:12.339 --> 00:35:16.819 His promise is through Jesus, God is infinitely patient with us. 00:35:16.820 --> 00:35:22.960 Um, and so in Galatians three, uh, Paul actually talks about the curses that we've been reading 00:35:22.960 --> 00:35:24.400 about from Deuteronomy, right? 00:35:24.519 --> 00:35:28.480 So he actually talks about how Jesus takes those curses that we've been reading about 00:35:28.480 --> 00:35:31.140 in these past, past few passages on himself. 00:35:31.380 --> 00:35:37.260 So Galatians 3 10 says, all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse for it is 00:35:37.260 --> 00:35:41.039 written, cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the 00:35:41.039 --> 00:35:42.260 law and do them. 00:35:42.260 --> 00:35:46.940 And so the curses that we've seen Israel take today, Jesus takes those curses for us, 00:35:46.980 --> 00:35:47.160 right? 00:35:47.460 --> 00:35:48.160 He was famished. 00:35:48.520 --> 00:35:49.060 He was beaten. 00:35:49.540 --> 00:35:50.900 He died for us on the cross. 00:35:51.120 --> 00:35:55.420 And so in verse 13 of Galatians three, Paul can say, Christ redeemed us from the curse 00:35:55.420 --> 00:35:57.360 of the law by becoming a curse for us. 00:35:57.780 --> 00:36:02.180 For it is written, cursed is everyone who was hanged on a tree so that in Christ Jesus, 00:36:02.300 --> 00:36:06.420 the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we might receive the promised 00:36:06.420 --> 00:36:07.320 spirit through faith. 00:36:07.840 --> 00:36:11.480 Um, now Galatians three is far more complex than the couple of thoughts I've shared here. 00:36:11.480 --> 00:36:15.659 Uh, but what's significant is really that the curses described here are taken in Jesus's 00:36:15.659 --> 00:36:16.260 death, right? 00:36:16.320 --> 00:36:19.719 And instead of those curses, we now receive blessings through the spirit. 00:36:20.139 --> 00:36:26.139 Um, and for most of us who aren't like ethnic Jews, um, this is the ability to even be part 00:36:26.139 --> 00:36:27.460 of the family of God comes through Jesus. 00:36:27.460 --> 00:36:29.240 That's part of that redemption he's offering there. 00:36:29.820 --> 00:36:34.079 Um, if you believe in Jesus, the fact is God's already relented in many things against you. 00:36:34.719 --> 00:36:39.860 Um, and as Christians, I think the best way for us to check and say, like, how do we 00:36:39.860 --> 00:36:43.579 know we're on this path of like, uh, how do we avoid idolatry? 00:36:43.820 --> 00:36:47.240 Um, so that we avoid God's discipline, which I think still is in play because God will discipline 00:36:47.240 --> 00:36:48.240 those he loves his sons. 00:36:48.900 --> 00:36:54.099 Um, and really like the check for idolatry is like, what do our time and money reflect 00:36:54.099 --> 00:36:54.920 for priorities? 00:36:54.920 --> 00:36:58.720 Because those are like our two most expendable things, probably first time and then second 00:36:58.720 --> 00:36:59.039 money. 00:36:59.039 --> 00:37:01.660 Because you can, there are ways to generate more money, but there's not really ways to 00:37:01.660 --> 00:37:02.320 generate more time. 00:37:02.320 --> 00:37:08.220 Um, so do you say you follow Jesus, but work 80 hours a week in a scenario where you're not 00:37:08.220 --> 00:37:09.340 really forced to work that much? 00:37:09.780 --> 00:37:13.660 Uh, do you say you follow Jesus, but give away like the remainder of your paycheck to 00:37:13.660 --> 00:37:17.340 people, uh, rather than like slicing out a chunk to say specifically, like I'm giving 00:37:17.340 --> 00:37:19.800 this towards charity or towards the poor or towards the church. 00:37:20.480 --> 00:37:22.840 Um, you shouldn't ask me for financial advice. 00:37:22.920 --> 00:37:27.200 I told one of you recently who said, I want to like manage my money better that you should 00:37:27.200 --> 00:37:27.920 give more money away. 00:37:27.920 --> 00:37:31.740 So if that's probably going to be my advice for you, unless you are literally living day 00:37:31.740 --> 00:37:33.039 to day, then come talk to us. 00:37:33.059 --> 00:37:33.880 Cause we'll help you with that. 00:37:33.920 --> 00:37:35.159 Like I'm, I'm serious about that. 00:37:35.180 --> 00:37:37.180 If you're financially struggling, let the church know we can help. 00:37:37.800 --> 00:37:42.760 Um, and so I want to share, I, we've shared a lot of examples of like what idolatry is. 00:37:42.760 --> 00:37:47.019 And I want to share an example that I've seen recently of what I like idolatry pivoted 00:37:47.019 --> 00:37:48.000 towards God looks like. 00:37:48.400 --> 00:37:52.180 Um, and so like worshiping God with time and money and really pouring those things into him. 00:37:52.500 --> 00:37:57.840 Um, so I met someone, uh, I describe as an entrepreneur recently who is kind of, uh, like 00:37:57.840 --> 00:37:58.079 I am. 00:37:58.140 --> 00:37:59.600 He's an intern in a sovereign grace church. 00:38:00.180 --> 00:38:03.180 Um, and so he's got classic traits of a strong businessman. 00:38:03.480 --> 00:38:05.640 Uh, he knows how to invest money and where to put it. 00:38:05.720 --> 00:38:08.620 He knows what people to invest time into and when to invest that time. 00:38:09.079 --> 00:38:11.220 Um, what's interesting though, is that he's not an entrepreneur. 00:38:11.220 --> 00:38:15.519 I don't think he started a single company, uh, sort of, um, he's actually a chemical engineer 00:38:15.519 --> 00:38:16.240 and is nine to five. 00:38:16.340 --> 00:38:18.140 And so he manages a lot of plants. 00:38:18.460 --> 00:38:22.320 Uh, but when he comes home, he's exercised a lot of that entrepreneurship through the church 00:38:22.320 --> 00:38:23.079 and through the community. 00:38:23.539 --> 00:38:27.720 Um, so he talked very freely with me, uh, about the amount of time he spent working with 00:38:27.719 --> 00:38:28.279 college kids. 00:38:28.379 --> 00:38:29.399 He lives in urban Philadelphia. 00:38:29.839 --> 00:38:33.159 Uh, and he spent years and years and years just funneling college kids through basically 00:38:33.159 --> 00:38:35.119 who came and said, I want to help, uh, this community. 00:38:35.119 --> 00:38:36.079 Like I want to help the poor. 00:38:36.179 --> 00:38:37.299 I have a heart for this or that. 00:38:37.459 --> 00:38:41.299 And he's facilitated and made connections for them and, and help start up whole ministries 00:38:41.299 --> 00:38:41.579 for them. 00:38:41.639 --> 00:38:45.319 He told me that he literally, he saw a need for what he had the college kids coming in. 00:38:45.399 --> 00:38:47.819 And so he's like, oh, well I'll just buy housing for them. 00:38:47.819 --> 00:38:48.799 And so he invested in that. 00:38:49.219 --> 00:38:53.000 Um, and then he saw the need for these college kids who are here for the summer to have a job, 00:38:53.000 --> 00:38:53.779 to sustain themselves. 00:38:53.780 --> 00:38:56.320 And also for people coming out of rehab to have a job. 00:38:56.440 --> 00:38:59.519 And so he's got all these different connections and he's like, oh, I'll, you know, I'll spin 00:38:59.519 --> 00:39:00.240 up a coffee shop. 00:39:00.620 --> 00:39:04.320 Um, and we'll employ people there and we'll sell coffee in this main spot on the street. 00:39:04.680 --> 00:39:07.560 Um, there's a lot of background to this of like God giving these things to him in many 00:39:07.560 --> 00:39:07.980 ways too. 00:39:08.460 --> 00:39:10.240 Um, but it was just amazing to me. 00:39:10.260 --> 00:39:13.880 It's just like, I talk with, I work at a tech medium sized tech company. 00:39:13.940 --> 00:39:17.640 I talk with pretty impressive entrepreneurs pretty frequently who use these efforts to like 00:39:17.640 --> 00:39:20.080 spin up worldly things that aren't necessarily bad, right? 00:39:20.080 --> 00:39:20.980 You're still employing people. 00:39:20.980 --> 00:39:25.420 Um, and when I asked him, I was like, why and even how did you start doing? 00:39:26.099 --> 00:39:29.860 Um, he told me that when he was around my age, uh, he read a short book by John Piper, 00:39:29.860 --> 00:39:31.920 uh, with his pastor called Don't Waste Your Life. 00:39:32.539 --> 00:39:37.480 Um, which I obviously didn't read closely enough based on how intensive he is that I've read 00:39:37.480 --> 00:39:37.740 it too. 00:39:38.179 --> 00:39:42.820 Um, and he realized like, he's like, I don't want to squander another moment on these things. 00:39:42.820 --> 00:39:44.780 Like I'm going to make every moment count. 00:39:44.840 --> 00:39:49.320 And so we even talked about like how he analyzes his individual days and how he's invested in 00:39:49.320 --> 00:39:50.600 people and how he's weighed time. 00:39:51.059 --> 00:39:53.600 Um, and just how it can be used best for Jesus. 00:39:53.940 --> 00:39:57.580 And I'm not saying like, we all have to do what he does, nor am I saying this guy's perfect. 00:39:57.820 --> 00:40:00.640 I think we all have like different paths to follow Jesus on in that sense. 00:40:00.860 --> 00:40:04.000 But I just wanted to share like an example of like the positive side of like, we've been 00:40:04.000 --> 00:40:06.820 talking about the negative of idolatry and what this can bring on you. 00:40:06.940 --> 00:40:11.860 What does it look like when you follow Jesus with the same passion that the Israelites 00:40:11.860 --> 00:40:12.620 followed idols? 00:40:13.080 --> 00:40:16.720 Um, and if you're interested in talking to people like this, like that really strikes your heart. 00:40:16.719 --> 00:40:19.719 Uh, there are a few people like that in this church too, and I'd be happy to like connect 00:40:19.719 --> 00:40:20.639 you to talking with them. 00:40:21.119 --> 00:40:26.299 Um, and so that's, uh, if you don't believe in Jesus, uh, and instead find yourself in 00:40:26.299 --> 00:40:30.039 the spot where it's like, yeah, I guess I kind of do like place my ultimate trust in 00:40:30.039 --> 00:40:33.759 like the money I make, or like I really find benefit from work or you're, you know, you 00:40:33.759 --> 00:40:34.779 are in another religion. 00:40:35.199 --> 00:40:38.679 Um, I'm, I want to be playing with what this passage says and what the Bible is saying, 00:40:38.799 --> 00:40:39.019 right? 00:40:39.079 --> 00:40:43.299 You sit under the potential of the same judgment, um, that Jeremiah has listed here. 00:40:43.300 --> 00:40:47.060 Uh, I, God still takes seriously whether people worship him or not. 00:40:47.500 --> 00:40:49.480 Um, I'm not going to park too long on that. 00:40:49.640 --> 00:40:50.700 That's a quick intro to Jesus. 00:40:50.800 --> 00:40:54.000 I'd be happy to talk with anybody after the service about that too, and what that looks 00:40:54.000 --> 00:40:54.680 like to follow him. 00:40:55.160 --> 00:40:59.720 Um, I want to hit up the last part of the passage here, uh, which is really of Jeremiah. 00:40:59.920 --> 00:41:02.960 And so he pleads to the Lord and then the Lord, uh, talks back to him. 00:41:03.519 --> 00:41:09.640 Um, and so Jeremiah's plea in verses 10 and then 15 through 18, uh, is basically like, 00:41:09.639 --> 00:41:14.940 Jeremiah says like, woe is me in verse 10, my, my mother that you bore me a man of strife 00:41:14.940 --> 00:41:16.319 and contention to the whole land. 00:41:16.599 --> 00:41:19.579 Uh, I have not lent nor have I borrowed yet all of them curse me. 00:41:20.019 --> 00:41:22.980 Um, and Jeremiah's saying like, what's going on here? 00:41:23.359 --> 00:41:26.579 Jeremiah's whole ministry has been strife and contention essentially, because he's saying 00:41:26.579 --> 00:41:29.079 things that nobody else is saying or that very few people are saying. 00:41:29.239 --> 00:41:32.779 And so I'm not going to park along on that either because there's stories later in the 00:41:32.779 --> 00:41:36.279 book that we'll look at of like where this happens, but there's like formal charges. 00:41:36.280 --> 00:41:37.900 Like he's, they tried to throw him in jail. 00:41:38.019 --> 00:41:39.680 There's informal, like yelling at other prophets. 00:41:39.880 --> 00:41:40.620 There's disagreements. 00:41:40.800 --> 00:41:42.460 Uh, there's like prophecy show-offs. 00:41:43.000 --> 00:41:47.260 Um, this is not like Jeremiah's life is not fun basically is what he's saying. 00:41:47.660 --> 00:41:53.260 Uh, and so God reassures him in 11 through 14 and says like, you know, I care for you. 00:41:53.340 --> 00:41:54.200 I'll make you strong. 00:41:54.300 --> 00:41:56.320 And the prophecies you're saying are true, right? 00:41:56.360 --> 00:41:57.640 This judgment's going to come on Israel. 00:41:57.980 --> 00:42:02.620 Uh, but Jeremiah comes back in 15 and says, you know, Lord, you know, remember me and 00:42:02.620 --> 00:42:05.200 visit me and take vengeance for me on my persecutors. 00:42:05.199 --> 00:42:08.239 Um, in your forbearance, take me not away. 00:42:08.619 --> 00:42:11.039 Know that for your sake, I bear reproach. 00:42:11.559 --> 00:42:15.980 Um, and then he talks about basically verse 16. 00:42:16.099 --> 00:42:18.359 He says, your words were found and I ate them. 00:42:18.460 --> 00:42:22.739 And so he's talking about when he was originally called to be a prophet back in, um, like chapter 00:42:22.739 --> 00:42:23.559 one that we looked at. 00:42:24.039 --> 00:42:26.439 Um, and God says, I'll put my words in your mouth. 00:42:26.799 --> 00:42:29.719 Uh, and Jeremiah is saying, you know, this was a joy and a delight. 00:42:30.139 --> 00:42:34.139 Uh, when I started out in prophecy and verse 17, I didn't sit in the company of revelers. 00:42:34.139 --> 00:42:36.099 I sat alone because your hand was on me. 00:42:36.480 --> 00:42:40.299 Uh, there's often with prophets, like they had to sit, uh, they had to like distance themselves 00:42:40.299 --> 00:42:41.579 from the people after they were called. 00:42:42.000 --> 00:42:45.879 Um, I think specifically in this case too, like Jeremiah was called at almost the exact 00:42:45.879 --> 00:42:49.519 same time that Josiah was doing some restorations. 00:42:49.519 --> 00:42:52.139 And like, they found part of the, part of the word of the Lord. 00:42:52.259 --> 00:42:55.559 They hadn't, that the people hadn't seen a long time and everyone's celebrating and 00:42:55.559 --> 00:42:58.019 they're doing a Passover for a first time and doing a lot of things again. 00:42:58.019 --> 00:43:00.119 So there's a lot of celebrations that are positive going on. 00:43:00.119 --> 00:43:04.000 Um, and Jeremiah is sitting over in the corner, like receiving, beginning to receive words 00:43:04.000 --> 00:43:05.920 from the Lord of like, there's punishment coming. 00:43:06.480 --> 00:43:10.119 Um, and so like, I think that's part of what kept him sitting alone too. 00:43:10.719 --> 00:43:17.139 Um, so Jeremiah has got one of the like worst prophetic gig gigs, I think in the Bible looking 00:43:17.139 --> 00:43:20.739 at this, like he gets to sit there and he wrote lamentations too. 00:43:21.239 --> 00:43:25.940 Um, so he gets to sit there and like talk about all the bad stuff that's coming basically. 00:43:25.940 --> 00:43:27.800 So like, I get that, right? 00:43:27.860 --> 00:43:29.240 Like this looks really cool. 00:43:29.320 --> 00:43:30.320 God's going to speak through me. 00:43:30.440 --> 00:43:31.400 He gave me his word. 00:43:31.500 --> 00:43:32.019 This is great. 00:43:32.340 --> 00:43:32.700 Oh great. 00:43:32.780 --> 00:43:35.119 All of his words are judgment upon people and everyone disagrees with me. 00:43:35.619 --> 00:43:39.679 Um, I think that we can sympathize with that in like smaller levels. 00:43:39.860 --> 00:43:42.579 Um, I think of like people who joined the church plant early here. 00:43:42.920 --> 00:43:46.460 Uh, I feel like joining a church plant, like right when it starts, uh, is always pretty 00:43:46.460 --> 00:43:46.700 cool. 00:43:46.780 --> 00:43:47.760 It's like we're on the ground level. 00:43:47.920 --> 00:43:48.980 This is all new things going on. 00:43:49.000 --> 00:43:53.599 And then you unload boxes for a straight year every Sunday morning and every Sunday afternoon. 00:43:53.599 --> 00:43:56.159 And all of a sudden you're like, this isn't so fun anymore. 00:43:56.360 --> 00:43:57.579 Like what's going on here? 00:43:58.099 --> 00:44:01.920 Um, so there's like, I think there's like shadows of this kind of effort and this kind 00:44:01.920 --> 00:44:04.339 of calling in our lives too, uh, that God calls us to. 00:44:04.920 --> 00:44:08.940 Um, and so God's response, uh, hear his response. 00:44:09.159 --> 00:44:12.519 It's not exactly what Jeremiah wanted to hear or exactly what he asked for. 00:44:12.920 --> 00:44:14.940 Um, but I think it's good because it's from the Lord. 00:44:15.480 --> 00:44:20.719 Um, and so he says, if you return, I will restore you and you shall stand before me in verse 00:44:20.719 --> 00:44:21.179 19. 00:44:21.739 --> 00:44:26.519 Uh, and he also says in verse 21, I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked and redeem 00:44:26.519 --> 00:44:27.839 you from the grasp of the ruthless. 00:44:28.579 --> 00:44:32.119 Um, another thing I want to highlight too is at the end of verse 19, he says, they shall 00:44:32.119 --> 00:44:33.819 turn to you, but you shall not turn to them. 00:44:34.539 --> 00:44:38.319 Um, and I think what's probably going on here, God's like, okay, cool. 00:44:38.399 --> 00:44:41.119 We're going to keep doing this prophecy thing, but you got to come back to me. 00:44:41.139 --> 00:44:42.879 You got to meet me where the prophecy is. 00:44:43.019 --> 00:44:47.019 And so I think the temptation Jeremiah is going through is like, this sucks. 00:44:47.019 --> 00:44:48.599 Like I don't want to prophesy anymore. 00:44:49.079 --> 00:44:51.480 Um, or I kind of want to like acquiesce to the people. 00:44:51.599 --> 00:44:53.800 I want to give them something that's like, sounds a little bit better. 00:44:54.320 --> 00:44:57.500 Um, so I don't know whether we don't know whether he actually did that or not. 00:44:57.619 --> 00:44:59.059 There seems to be some callback of God. 00:44:59.139 --> 00:45:01.219 Like you got to turn back to me here. 00:45:01.239 --> 00:45:02.079 You got to return to me. 00:45:02.480 --> 00:45:05.659 Um, and then I'll give you words and then you'll see like you are strong again. 00:45:05.659 --> 00:45:08.280 Like the people will turn to you, but you won't even care what they think. 00:45:08.280 --> 00:45:09.340 You'll turn away from them. 00:45:09.960 --> 00:45:12.880 Um, and this is good advice generally, right? 00:45:12.880 --> 00:45:16.000 I do consulting with customers who pay my business a lot of money. 00:45:16.480 --> 00:45:20.260 Um, my experience telling good news early is actually good thing to do. 00:45:20.300 --> 00:45:24.380 Even though people don't like you in the moment when a serious crisis is averted that costs 00:45:24.380 --> 00:45:26.820 a lot of money down the road, they appreciate it then. 00:45:26.820 --> 00:45:27.220 Right? 00:45:27.539 --> 00:45:31.300 So spreading bad news is not necessarily a bad thing. 00:45:31.380 --> 00:45:32.880 It's just not a fun thing. 00:45:33.300 --> 00:45:38.160 Um, and so the disappointing part for Jeremiah too, is probably like, even if he says the hard 00:45:38.160 --> 00:45:42.860 truths, like he's like, yeah, you will notice Jeremiah is like squash my enemy. 00:45:42.980 --> 00:45:45.220 And God's like, I'm going to deliver you from your enemies. 00:45:45.360 --> 00:45:47.079 And Jeremiah is probably like, come on, man. 00:45:47.140 --> 00:45:49.300 Like, can you give me something a little more here? 00:45:49.880 --> 00:45:56.160 Um, and so I think that, uh, what we, what Jeremiah hears is something that we often hear 00:45:56.160 --> 00:45:59.860 or often need to hear and is reflective of like things that Christians wrestle with today. 00:46:00.420 --> 00:46:05.980 Um, so there are difficult things that God calls us to, um, including like specifically 00:46:05.980 --> 00:46:06.820 what we believe. 00:46:07.200 --> 00:46:09.700 Uh, and then there are difficult people that we have in our lives too. 00:46:09.800 --> 00:46:11.619 And I think that carries over well to us. 00:46:11.619 --> 00:46:16.219 Uh, and I, Jeremiah likely has more of these than any of us ever will, but that makes him 00:46:16.219 --> 00:46:18.000 a good person to learn from in this instance. 00:46:18.619 --> 00:46:24.319 Um, as far as difficult things, God calls us to and calls us to believe, uh, as a Christian, 00:46:24.319 --> 00:46:27.199 there's a lot of things like there's some things that fit well within our culture. 00:46:27.199 --> 00:46:29.319 And then there's some things that don't fit so well within our culture. 00:46:29.320 --> 00:46:34.320 Uh, and I feel like in conversation with each other, uh, it's easy to like, if someone's 00:46:34.320 --> 00:46:37.220 like, I'm struggling with something, it's easy to be like, oh, that's fine. 00:46:37.220 --> 00:46:38.900 Rather than kind of pushing back and encouraging. 00:46:39.440 --> 00:46:42.980 Uh, I feel like in conversations with other people about, oh, you're go to church. 00:46:43.019 --> 00:46:43.539 What's that about? 00:46:43.559 --> 00:46:46.840 It's easy to kind of like smooth that over and just talk about the parts that are like 00:46:46.840 --> 00:46:48.539 acceptable rather than Jesus. 00:46:48.539 --> 00:46:53.659 Um, and so I think it's easy to like cheapen what we believe in that sense and like kind 00:46:53.659 --> 00:46:54.579 of take the edge off. 00:46:55.059 --> 00:46:57.920 Um, and so we have the same temptation Jeremiah does in that aspect. 00:46:58.440 --> 00:47:03.420 Um, and so I think that the irony of softening any message that we have to say is that it 00:47:03.420 --> 00:47:04.199 cheapens it. 00:47:04.199 --> 00:47:04.559 Right. 00:47:04.639 --> 00:47:08.619 So the real value, like the real reason I'm a Christian is because of all the complexities 00:47:08.619 --> 00:47:09.199 of God. 00:47:09.699 --> 00:47:13.519 Um, and the beauty of the church and like the history and tradition. 00:47:13.519 --> 00:47:15.500 And like, there's so much that goes on behind that. 00:47:15.500 --> 00:47:20.340 And how do I expect somebody else to be a Christian if I'm like hiding part of that from them that 00:47:20.340 --> 00:47:22.579 I think is going to hurt them or offend them or something like that. 00:47:23.059 --> 00:47:27.179 Um, and so I think that that call to be, to be robust in how we talk about Jesus and what 00:47:27.179 --> 00:47:28.820 we believe is really important. 00:47:29.380 --> 00:47:32.619 Um, and then the other pieces is difficult people we have in our lives. 00:47:33.019 --> 00:47:34.579 Um, God doesn't promise to get rid of them. 00:47:35.059 --> 00:47:36.300 Um, sorry about that. 00:47:36.300 --> 00:47:40.719 And I think that specifically we don't, we don't really have like, uh, what I'd call institutionalized 00:47:40.719 --> 00:47:41.860 persecution in the United States. 00:47:41.860 --> 00:47:43.900 So like there, our church doesn't have to meet underground. 00:47:43.900 --> 00:47:45.660 Uh, there's no state sanctioned church. 00:47:45.980 --> 00:47:48.139 Uh, there's no like talk track that we're supposed to go through. 00:47:48.660 --> 00:47:52.820 Um, but there are instances, and I know I've talked with some of you of like people that 00:47:52.820 --> 00:47:56.760 you work with or live with or know are like pushing back on you or give you a hard time 00:47:56.760 --> 00:48:00.320 about being a Christian, um, or give you a difficult time at your work and moving up 00:48:00.320 --> 00:48:00.820 or in school. 00:48:00.940 --> 00:48:03.300 There's a lot of like individual things that can happen. 00:48:03.840 --> 00:48:09.539 Um, if you feel like you're in that spot, like trust God that he will deliver you out of 00:48:09.539 --> 00:48:10.780 that hand, the hand of that person. 00:48:10.780 --> 00:48:12.000 I really encourage you that. 00:48:12.780 --> 00:48:18.160 Um, and I, I think probably the, the best way to wrap this up of like the difficulty 00:48:18.160 --> 00:48:23.140 of this is like, what we're really struggling with is like, is God good some of the time 00:48:23.140 --> 00:48:24.080 or is he good all the time? 00:48:24.640 --> 00:48:28.140 Um, and when he doesn't look good, how do we react to that essentially? 00:48:28.800 --> 00:48:31.660 Um, so I'll close with a quote from C.S. 00:48:31.700 --> 00:48:32.920 Lewis from the Screwtape Letters. 00:48:33.540 --> 00:48:38.080 Um, Screwtape Letters just for context is a discussion of a fictional discussion between 00:48:38.079 --> 00:48:42.119 demons basically of like how to tempt people and how to draw people away from God and like, 00:48:42.259 --> 00:48:42.860 what's dangerous? 00:48:42.960 --> 00:48:44.159 What would draw people back to God? 00:48:44.819 --> 00:48:48.519 Um, and so one demon says to another, don't be deceived. 00:48:48.940 --> 00:48:54.340 Our cause is never more in danger than when a human no longer desiring, but still intending 00:48:54.340 --> 00:48:59.279 to do our enemy's will looks round upon a universe from which every trace of him seems to have 00:48:59.279 --> 00:49:01.619 vanished and asks why he has been forsaken. 00:49:01.619 --> 00:49:03.139 And yet he still obeys. 00:49:04.579 --> 00:49:08.139 Um, so at this time, uh, we'll move into prayer in just a minute. 00:49:08.480 --> 00:49:10.339 Um, we take a time of silent reflection. 00:49:10.719 --> 00:49:14.380 Um, so I'm going to ask everyone to silently reflect on the message, uh, and consider what 00:49:14.380 --> 00:49:16.299 God might have for you, for you from this.