Jeremiah:Jeremiah:Profile of CourageProfile of Courage

Chapters 16-17Chapters 16-17

““Sin Carved on the Heart”Sin Carved on the Heart”

Jeremiah - Spring 2013 Week Topic

Mar 6 Dark Prophecies: Introduction and Jeremiah 1-6

Mar 13 Dark Prophecies: Jeremiah 1-6 continued

Mar 20 False Worship: Jeremiah 7-10

Mar 27 Broken Promises, Shattered Pride: Jeremiah 11-15

Apr 3 Sin Carved on the Heart: Jeremiah 16-17

Apr 10 The Potter, Pot, and Fire: Jeremiah 18-20

Apr 17 A Scattered Flock: Jeremiah 21-24

Apr 24 God’s Law on the Heart: Jeremiah 25-33

May 1 Broken Covenants: Jeremiah 34-35

May 8 God’s Indestructible Word: Jeremiah 36-38

May 15 Judgment and Justice: Jeremiah 39-45

May 22 God’s Justice Among Nations: Jeremiah 46-52

May 29 Summary of Jeremiah

Review of Chapters 11-15• Historical setting• Breaking of the covenant in Judah • Plot to end Jeremiah’s life• Covenant• Grasp the significance of Jeremiah’s visions:

– Linen belt – Filled wineskins

• Maturing of Jeremiah’s faith• Appreciate the importance of obeying God’s will,

even when all others fail

Historical Review• Prophecy is placed sometime between 626-586 B.C.

• Political background– Assyria was the regional power rising to dominance in

911 B.C. until around 612 B.C. – Samaria fell to the Assyrians in 722 B.C. – Babylon, subject to Assyria, began to become a

dominate regional power in 625 B.C.

– Nineveh (Assyria) fell in 612 B.C. against a coalition of Medes (Persian precursor), Babylonians, and Scythians

– Egypt attempted to regain regional power until 605 B.C.,

allying with Assyria against Babylon – Persia captured Babylon, Greeks captured Persians

Key People• Jeremiah

– Served the last five kings of Judah

– Confidant of King Josiah (639-609 B.C.), King Jehoiakim (609-597 B.C.), and King Zedekiah (597-586 B.C.)

– Member of a priestly family and was from Anathoth

– May have descended from Abiathar, a distrusted priest

– Fled to Egypt with Beruch upon destruction of Jerusalem

• King Josiah – “Great Reform” (2 Ki 22-23, particularly 2 Ki 23:3)– 639-609 B.C.

– Foremost among all the kings for unswerving loyalty to God

– Rebuilding of the temple

– Discovery of the law of Moses (Book of Deuteronomy)

Key People• King Jehoiakim

– King of Judah, 608-597 B.C., corrupt and wicked

– Carried off in first Babylonian captivity (2 Ch 36:6)

• King Jehoahaz and King Jehoiachin – Two kings of Judah with short reigns before and after Jehoiakim

• Nebuchadnezzar– Babylonian King from 605-652 B.C.

– Military commander that defeated Egypt in 605 B.C.

– Conquered Judah and destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C.

• Baruch– Jeremiah’s scribe who read Jeremiah’s prophecies in the temple

• King Zedekiah– Last king of Judah

The Stubborn Heart (16:1-13) 1 of 3

• Paying a high price as a prophet for God (15:17)

• God’s prohibitions for Jeremiah– Marrying (vs. 2)

– Fathering children (vs. 2)

– What did this mean personally to Jeremiah?• Would not pass on his father’s name or lineage• Negative reflection on his father’s name and

reputation• Brought criticism by people upon Jeremiah

• Why did God establish such prohibitions upon Jeremiah? (vss. 3-4)– Sent a message that it is no longer wise to marry or bear

children– Disease and death awaited women and children as well as

the men – Carnage so great that mourning and burial would be

impossible

• Further instructions (vss. 5-8)– Don’t visit or mourn with the family suffering death– Don’t bring food or even step in their house

The Stubborn Heart (16:1-13) 2 of 3

• Jeremiah charged to warn the people of Judah (vss. 9-13)– End to wedding parties and celebrations

– People would naively ask, “Why?”

– “Ancestors turned away from me and rejected my laws and teachings”

– “Do whatever evil comes to your mind”

– Progressively worse generation by generation– Imagination – Stubbornness (sher-ee-rooth) ׁשרירּות

– People expelled from the land

The Stubborn Heart (16:1-13) 3 of 3

• Message of hope (vss. 14-15)– Introduction of new promise by God

• No longer call Me the Living God who rescued Israel from Egypt

• Instead, you will call Me the Living God who rescued you from that country in the north

• Ray of hope for Jeremiah

• Foreshadow Babylon’s incursion into Judah (vs. 16)– Metaphors of fishermen and hunters

– Babylonians, Arameans, Moabites, Ammonites

The Purified Heart (16:14-21) 1 of 2

• Idolatry still filled and defiled the land– Repay double for their wickedness (vs. 18)– Full or ample payment

• Affirming Jeremiah’s hope– Calls God his strength, fortress, and refuge in times of

trouble (vss. 19-20)

• Nations would know the strength of God (vs. 21)

The Purified Heart (16:14-21) 2 of 2

• Jeremiah examines the current condition of Judah– Sins permanently engraved upon their hearts and alters

(vs. 1)– Children trained in pagan rituals (vs. 2)

• My mountain in the land– Zion (vs. 3)– God would subject Zion and all of Judah to desecration

and plunder in order to purge the land– Residents of Judah faced God’s wrath (vs. 4)

• Curse versus blessings (vss. 5-8)– Comparing trust in human resources versus God– Nation who trusts God is like a tree in a fertile valley

The Cursed Heart (17:1-8)

The Deceitful Heart (17:9-18)

• Jeremiah questions, “Who can know a heart” (vs. 9) – The heart is deceitful above all things– Heart represents the inner source of our choices and

actions

• God answers, “I can” (vss. 10-13)– God can search the heart and examine the mind to

prescribe the appropriate remedy– Comparing those that scheme to gain wealth with a bird

that hatches eggs it did not lay

• Jeremiah’s appeal to God (vss. 14-18)

Further Instructions from God (vs. 17:19-27

• Visit each of the city gates of Jerusalem and call upon people to honor the Sabbath– Honor the Sabbath and the kingdom will last– Dishonor the Sabbath and the kingdom shall fall

• Reverting back to elements of the old Covenant?– Really criticizing insincere religious observance– Breaking of the Sabbath revealed as an element of this

insincerity

Review

• Reviewed last weeks lesson, including historical setting

• Developed a better understand of why Jeremiah withdrew from common societal practices

• Developed a deeper understanding of why judgment was coming on Judah

• Appreciate the subtleties of self-deception• Identify sources of water that strengthens your

faith• Next week: Jeremiah 18-20