THE SIN OF JUDAH

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH

The Prophet of Judah’s Downfall and Restoration

DENUNCIATION OF JUDAH, Jeremiah 1-33

  1. 2. The Nation’s Apostasy, Jer_2:1-37; Jer_3:1-25; Jer_4:1-31; Jer_5:1-31; Jer_6:1-30; Jer_7:1-34; Jer_8:1-22; Jer_9:1-26; Jer_10:1-25; Jer_11:1-23; Jer_12:1-17; Jer_13:1-27; Jer_14:1-22; Jer_15:1-21; Jer_16:1-21; Jer_17:1-27; Jer_18:1-23; Jer_19:1-15; Jer_20:1-18

Jeremiah 17:1-13

THE SIN OF JUDAH

The sin of Judah is written down with an iron stylus; With a diamond point it is engraved upon the tablet of their heart And on the horns of their altars.

As they remember their children, So they remember [in detail] their [pagan] altars and their Asherim Beside green trees on the high hills.

O [Jerusalem] My mountain in the countryside, I will give [to the Babylonians, as the cost of your sin] your wealth and all your treasures as plunder, And throughout your territory, your high places of sin.

And you will, through your own fault, let go of your [grip on your] inheritance That I gave you; And I will make you serve your enemies In a land which you do not know; For you have kindled a fire in My anger Which will burn forever.

Thus says the LORD, “Cursed is the man who trusts in and relies on mankind, Making [weak, faulty human] flesh his strength, And whose mind and heart turn away from the LORD.

“For he will be like a shrub in the [parched] desert; And shall not see prosperity when it comes, But shall live in the rocky

“Blessed [with spiritual security] is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the LORD And whose hope and confident expectation is the LORD.

“For he will be [nourished] like a tree planted by the waters, That spreads out its roots by the river; And will not fear the heat when it comes; But its leaves will be green and moist. And it will not be anxious and concerned in a year of drought Nor stop bearing fruit.

“The heart is deceitful above all things And it is extremely sick; Who can understand it fully and know its secret motives? [Mat_13:15-17; Mar_7:21-23; Eph_4:20-24]

“I, the LORD, search and examine the mind, I test the heart, To give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.

“Like the partridge that hatches eggs which she has not laid, So is he who makes a fortune in ways that are unjust. It will be lost to him before his days are over, And in the end he will be [nothing but] a fool.”

A glorious throne, set on high from the beginning, Is the place of our sanctuary (the temple).

O LORD, the hope of Israel, All who abandon You will be shamed. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, Because they have abandoned the LORD, the fountain of living waters.

F.B.Meyer
Jeremiah 17:1-13

The Jews were always seeking alliance either with Egypt or Babylon. What was true of them applies to us all; but we cannot depend upon human aid, without departing from the Lord. The heath is probably the juniper, a lonely tree, dwelling in arid wastes, unvisited by dew. The soul that rests on God is watered from His throne. The roots of such are fed from the hidden springs of Eternity. The heart is deceitful; it tends constantly to substitute the arm of flesh for the living God. Desperately wicked means “incurably sick.” It was the ancient notion that the partridge stole the eggs of other birds and hatched them as her own. The covetous man is sure to reap disappointment. He steals other people’s goods, but is driven off the nest before they hatch out for the benefit of himself. God’s glorious throne is a defense to all who trust Him; while those who depart from Him shall be forgotten, as a sentence written in the sand is obliterated by the next puff of wind. Contrast Job_19:23-24.

By Philippus Schutte

New Covenant Israelite! "And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;  Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee."  Rom 11:17 -18