The Book of Jeremiah - Part 10

So, good evening, everyone! We are starting in Jeremiah 16 this evening. Once again, I want to remind you, which I refer to this tangentially in the opening prayer with regard to what the Bible is all about. Sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees or the trees for the forest, whichever way you want to look at it. What the Bible is all about, what is the theme of the Bible? The Bible theme is that God is bringing sons and daughters to glory in his family.

And there's so much material that points to that. At the same time, we see the foibles, the sins, the shortcomings of people around the world. And yet, at the same time, we see your long-suffering, your mercy, your grace, and your great love for humanity. And to understand that we were created in the first place to become your sons and daughters. So let us not forget that what the Bible is about is the plan of salvation, that God is bringing sons and daughters to glory in his family, and that God is faithful to his Word. And he is going to keep his Word, and for his name's sake, he is going to accomplish everything that he has promised to us.

So let's begin now in Jeremiah 16, verse 1. Jeremiah 16, verse 1, is really a continuation of the prophecy that was in chapter 15. The Word of the Lord came unto me saying, so Jeremiah is receiving this from God. He is inspired by God. As we said in the opening prayer, he had the Holy Spirit from birth. And sometimes Jeremiah was a bit reluctant in his mission, but he continued to faithfully deliver the message and accomplish the mission that God had given him to do. Verse 2, you shall not take you a wife, neither shall you have sons or daughters in this place.

There are times in which the situation is so dire on the face of the earth that it is recommended that people not take sons or daughters at that time. In 1 Corinthians 7, verse 26, Paul wrote of a time like that in 1 Corinthians 7, verse 26, in which he says that it is best not to be married. And the reason he says that is because of the present distress, as he says, because of the present distress.

And earlier in the chapter, Paul had even said it is better to marry than to burn. So there are times, though, when the situation is so difficult and so uncertain that people delay marriage. A lot of marriages were delayed, and some are still delayed because of the pandemic that has gripped the world. In Jeremiah 16, 3, continuing, For thus says the Lord, concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bear them, and concerning their fathers that beget them in this land.

So it is all inclusive. Everyone is included in this. And he says in verse 4, They shall die of grievous deaths, grievous deaths, grievous deaths, and some of the translators translate this as deadly diseases. They shall die of deadly diseases. They shall not be lamented. No one is going to grieve for them. In fact, as we shall see, not even be buried, and neither shall they be buried, but they shall be done upon the face of the earth.

And they shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their carcasses shall be meat, food for the fowls of heaven, and for the beast of the earth. Similar to the destruction that is going to occur when Jesus Christ comes again and fights the battle of the great day of God Almighty in the valley there together at Armageddon and go down into the valley of Jezreel. In verse 5, For thus says the Lord, enter not into the house of mourning. So it was customary for people to mourn into lament.

In fact, in ancient Israel, the custom and in the Orient, the custom was when you heard of someone's death, you would generally mourn, and they would have a feast of mourning, and they would also, after things were said and done, as it were, they would have a feast of joy or happiness with regard to life had to continue, it had to go on. Neither go to lament nor bemoan them, for I've taken away my peace from this people, says the Lord, loving kindness and mercies.

So when God takes away His peace, His loving kindness and His mercies, we're left to our own imaginations. We're left alone to fend for ourselves, and it is a terrible condition to be in. And a lot of people don't realize, because they have rejected God, that that is the situation that they are in.

More and more, I think about those first two verses there in Ephesians chapter 2, where it talks about that we all walked according to the prince of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience, and that we were all in sin and subject to sin and death, and the death penalty was on our head until we were called and delivered from that. In verse 16, both the great and the small shall die. It doesn't matter what your socio-economic status is or any other status that you might hold. Those who have sinned against God and the great sins will have to pay the price.

Both the great and the small shall die in this land. Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever man sows that shall he also reap. In Galatians 6 we read that they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor tear them, nor make themselves ball. Of course, the Bible is against cutting. It is against marking the skin. It is against cutting, and God makes that clear in a lot of places, especially in the book of Leviticus.

To cut themselves, to make themselves ball, these practices were strictly forbidden in the law, probably as being because they were pagan customs, because they seemed to have remained in common use even by the Israelites. By making ball is meant shaving a bare patch on the front of the head, which was oftentimes done when people were in mourning. So they're not going to lament, and they are not going to do the physical things that are reflective of mourning. Neither shall they tear themselves. Now, if you'll notice that themselves is in italics. Really, what they would be tearing would be breaking bread, because they would fast, usually initially. Also, they would have eventually a meal, and what they would be, as we'll see from the parallelism, clearly this has to do. Neither shall men break bread for them in mourning to comfort them. For the dead, neither shall men give the cup of consolation to drink. So they're not going to have bread. They're not going to have anything to drink for their father or for their mother. There will be nothing left as this destruction takes place. You shall also go into the house. You shall not go into the house of feasting. The house of feasting of any kind, whether it is the house of feasting for the dead or for a joyous feast, because the carnage is going to be so great that there will be no feasting. You know, when Nebuchadnezzar finally came against Jerusalem, not only did he burn the houses, he burned the temple, and Jerusalem was laid flat, as you might say, burned to the ground.

You shall not also go into the house of feasting to sit with them to eat and to drink, for thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel. Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth, the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride. There's a parallel scripture to this and revelation when God destroys Babylon, and you'll read in Revelation chapter 18, this destruction of Babylon.

In the first part, we had managed to come out of Babylon. In verse 15 of Revelation 18, the merchants of these things which were rich by her shall stand afar off for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, for in one hour so great riches has come to naught, and every shipmaster, and all the company of ships and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off. Why did they stand afar off? Because she was on fire. And of course, as I've already said, Jerusalem was sacked and burned. They took the precious things out of the temple and carried them away to Babylon, as we've already mentioned, and Belchachasir's feast that he was holding. He brought out some of those things that were taken from the temple, and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like into this great city? And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, O last, alas!

That great city wherein were made rich, all that had ships in the sea, by reason of her coastlines, for in one hour is she made desolate. I said, coastlines, it's costliness, not coastlines, for her costliness, for in one hour is she made desolate. Rejoice over her, you heathen, and you holy apostles, for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone with a great mealstone, and cast it into the sea. Thus with violence shall that great city, Babylon, be thrown down, and it shall be found no more, on fire and cast down by this great stone. I think sometimes we tend to overlook that. In Revelation 16, it talks about a great stone fell upon the city, and the whole man, and the voice of harpers, musicians, and of pipers, and of trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in you, and no craftsmen whatsoever. Craft shall be found any more in you, and the sound of the mealstone shall be heard no more in you, and the light of the candle shall shine no more at all in you, and the voice of the bridegroom. Just like in Jeremiah, when this destruction comes in Jeremiah's day, the voice of the bridegroom will not be heard. When this destruction comes at the end of the age, there will be the voice of the bridegroom will not be heard. The voice of the bridegroom shall not be heard no more at all in you, for your merchants, were the great men of the earth, for by your sorceries, and that word for sorceries, is pharma kia, by your drugs. And of course, so many people are hooked not only on what we term as illegal narcotics, but also on what is prescription drugs.

By your sorceries, were all nations deceived by your pharma kia, and also pharma kia also has to do with deceit, deceit and seduction. As people search for remedies, they turn to the things they cannot deliver, which might give temporary relief, but then in the end causes them to die, destroys them. So the voice of Mirth, back in Jeremiah 17 verse 6, I'm sorry, back in Jeremiah 16 verse 9. Jeremiah 16 verse 9, the voice of Mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, will not be heard any more in her. And it shall come to pass, when you shall show this people all these words, and they shall say unto you, Wherefore hath the Lord pronounce all this great evil iniquity, this lawlessness? For what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?

So why are you doing this? We're good people. We have made God over into our own image. We're trying to do the right thing, yet we have built idols, and we worship idols, and we profane the Sabbath, and we do all kinds of things. We're following in the steps of the fathers and even worse. And notice this, verse 11, so important, because sin has to be accounted for.

And even sometimes when we repent of sin, still there is a price to be paid. Yes, God can forgive you, but yet at the same time, you may have to pay the price. People may have received great damage to their bodies for smoking, and they go to God, and they cry out, and they gain. They are granted repentance, and God in His mercy forgives them, but yet at the same time, He doesn't necessarily heal their bodies, and they may be subject to cancer or any number of things because of their sins. And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, you walk everyone after the imagination of your heart. That's down to verse 17. But I want to continue back in 11 now, because your fathers have forsaken me, says the Lord, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law. So God was long-suffering and merciful to Israel from the days of the golden calf when they came out of Egypt, all the way. We're down the road now some 400 years, and yet they're walking in the way of their fathers who sinned from the golden calf to the present time. They have sinned and done those things. Verse 12, and you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, you walk everyone after the imagination of his evil heart. The imagination of the evil heart. Of course, we'll read in Jeremiah 17.9 that the heart is desperately wicked, wicked above all things. Who can know it? Of course, God can know it, as we'll see in chapter 17.

The imagination of the evil heart, that they not hearken unto me. The imagination of the evil heart time after time. I've talked about in this age and what people are doing. They're making God over into their own image. They are profaning the Sabbath, yet claiming that they believe in God. They are breaking God's law in many other ways as well, and yet somehow they believe that God is with them, and they talk about praying to God and all of that, but yet God says that he hears not sinners. But God does hear a repentant heart. Now I want us to look at Psalm 106, to get a summary of the wicked ways in which Israel walked in their sins. Psalm 106. I want to say about the book of Psalms. If you've never really studied the book of Psalms, I would encourage you to do so. There are probably more prophecies in the book of Psalms. Of course, it's the longest book in the Bible than any other book in the Bible. Of course, you can read this whole chapter. This is just a few verses that really summarize how wicked Israel had become. Psalm 106, verse 35. But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works, and they served their idols, which were a snare unto them. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons, and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. As we have noted and mentioned before, mark it well that God puts up with a lot of things in His long suffering. But when people began to shed innocent blood, innocent blood day after day, month after month, year after year, decade after decade, as has been done in this country, and with Israel, it was done yea for centuries. And so, innocent blood being shed, God cannot take it any longer. Verse 39, Thus were they defile with their own works, and went a-whoring with their own inventions. Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindle against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance. Of course, Israel is his inheritance, and eventually those who live over into the millennium, and those who are born in the millennium of Israelite descent. Of course, God is going to restore physical Israel. He's not through with them, but the greatest inheritance belongs to the Israel of God. The Israel of God, they will inherit eternal life. Remember what it says in Romans 8 and 17. Romans 8, verse 17 says that we are inheritors of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. He gave them over to the hand of the heathen, and they that hated them ruled over them. Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand. Many times did he deliver them, but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity. Nevertheless, he regarded their affliction when he heard their cry. Psalm 106 summarizes a lot of things. There's another psalm that is somewhat like that, and that is Psalm 78, which summarizes, to a large degree, the history of Israel from coming out of Egypt, to coming into the Promised Land, and also to the days of David. So I recommend highly reading Psalm 106 and Psalm 78. So now we go back to Jeremiah 16. We read 12 again. And you have done worse than your father, for behold, you walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me. Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that you know not, neither you nor your fathers, and there shall you serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.

Now there is a tremendous turn, as in with the prophets. This is more noticeable with the minor prophets, but with the major prophets it is also true as well, because in the midst of showing graphically the sins of the people and the price they're going to have to pay, then God inspires Jeremiah to turn to the ultimate restoration of Israel, the ultimate restoration back into the land. There is a restoration of Israel going on at the present time, and it is largely motivated by Zionism and some of the Orthodox Jews as well, hearkening back to 1947 and the UN resolution that gave Israel state status. In fact, that resolution called for an Israeli state and an Arab state in the land of Palestine.

The Israelis accepted the resolution, the Arabs did not, and they launched in May of 1948, the what is called the 1948 war, and in short order Israel defeated the Arabs and drove many of them into Jordan. Many, many Palestinians, as they are called, reside in Jordan. Of course, the resolution was not their native homeland. God gave Israel the land. I'm talking about the land of Israel. Initially, to Israel, of course, they came into the Promised Land and they were to drive out the Canaanites and the other tribes that were there. And God promised them the land from the Great River all the way down to the Great River, the Great River of Tigers, Euphrates, up north, all the way down to Egypt and the Nile to the south.

Okay, here we are at Jeremiah 1614. Therefore, behold, the days come, says the Lord, that it shall no more be said, the Lord lives that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. As you read the Old Testament, you'll find time after time after time it will say, I am the God that delivered you from Egypt. I am the God that brought you up out of Egypt.

Now, in contrast to that, look at verse 15, but the Lord lives that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and there was a restoration. They went into captivity, the land of the north, under the hands of the Babylonians, and they were there for some 70 years, and then they continued to them, led by Zerubbabel and Joshua the high priest, were allowed to come back, and they built what is called the Second Temple or the Restoration Temple, which points to the Temple of God, the ultimate temple wherein God dwells in human beings and not buildings made by hands. When God brought them back to the land, it was necessary to bring them back to the land and to preserve Judah, because the prophecy said in Genesis that the scepter shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh come until Jesus Christ is born, the Messiah. And of course, Judah, the Jews, to a large degree, have maintained their identity through the ages. Now, the book of Revelation talks about a synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not, but what I'm talking about now those who are Jews and the restoration that has taken place in the Holy Land in Palestine in the present day. In order for prophecy to be fulfilled, as we understand it, that had to take place. But that is not the ultimate restoration, because this restoration, they're not looking on him whom they have pierced. They're not repenting of their sins and exercising faith in the sacrifice of Christ for their mission of sins that are passed to remove the death penalty upon their head. They're not being baptized. They're not receiving the laying on of hands, but they are trying to restore temple worship. And according to Daniel 1131 and the reference that Jesus Christ makes in Matthew 24, eventually the abomination of desolation is placed in the holy place. So there is a restoration, both at that time, that time being the time in which after the Babylonian captivity, Judah, Benjamin, and some of the other residue of the tribes. You remember that Anna of the tribe of Asher had prayed for about 80 years that she would live to see the Messiah, the land of the north and from all the lands where he had driven them. And I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.

You know, that day is coming. That day is coming. And that day is prophesied in Scripture. Let's look at Hosea. What a wonderful book is the book of Hosea. Hosea, one of the minor prophets, it's the first of the minor prophets. Hosea means salvation. Hosea was a type of Christ.

And we'll pick it up there. We're just hitting highlights here in verse 4 of chapter 1, and the Lord said unto him, Call his name Jezreel, one of the sons that Diblium conceived and bear him a son, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel.

This word Jezreel is very important in Scripture because Jezreel literally means God sows. And of course, God can sow destruction. He was about to sow destruction upon Judah and Benjamin at that time. And God, in this case, of Hosea, about to sow destruction as well. I will break, I'm sorry, I will avenge the blood of Jezreel. So God can sow destruction. He can sow restoration upon the house of Jehu, and I will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. So Hosea sent primarily to the northern ten tribes, but Judah is also in the prophecy as well. And it shall come to pass at that day that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel. And so God initially sows destruction, and Israel is taken into captivity. But he will have mercy on Judah, verse 7, will save them. And so Judah was spared for about 120 years, and then Messiah was born, and then in 70 AD the Romans came and sacked Jerusalem and took it over. And the Jews were cast out of Jerusalem until the Balfour Declaration in 1917, and then statehood in 1948. Now the point that I want to get to out of this has to do with God sowing restoration. Now when she had weaned Lo Rohama, Lo Rohama means not obtained in mercy, she conceived and bear a son, then said God, call his name Lo Ami, for you are not my people, and I will not be your God. So Rohama means, in Hebrew, is mercy. Ami in Hebrew is people. So God says because of your sins, you're going to become Lo Rohama, not having obtained mercy, and Lo Ami, not my people.

Yet, notice this, even here there is restoration promise. Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as a sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered. And it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, you are not my people, Lo Ami. There it shall be said unto them, you are the sons of the living God. To be the son of the living God, you have to be of the Spirit. We are not only born of blood, but born of the Spirit. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together and appoint themselves. In the correct translation, there is a recognized one head. Of course, Jesus Christ is going to sit on the throne of David over the tribes of Israel and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land. For great shall be the day of Jezreel, God sows restoration. Then in chapter 2, it continues. I encourage you to read chapter 2. I'm just going to show you the highlights of the highlights, and once again showing the long suffering and mercy of God. That even though He deals with people according to their sins, yet those promises of restoration and forgiveness are in the Word of God. And notice this. In verse 18 of chapter 2, In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beast of the field, the fowls of the heaven, the creeping things of the ground. I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. You see, that is a millennial scripture that's similar to what you read in Isaiah 11 about the lion lying down with the kid, and so on. And I will betrothed you unto me forever, and I will betrothed you unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving kindnesses, and in mercy, and I will even betrothed you unto me in faithfulness. And you shall know the eternal, and it shall come to pass in that day, that I will hear, says the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth. That word here, actually in Hebrew it means respond. I will respond to the earth. The earth will be bountiful, be fruitful, it will bring forth crops, in which the reapers shall not be able to keep up with the sowers. And the earth shall respond the corn and the wine and the oil, and they shall hear Jezreel. They shall hear Jezreel, what God sows. And I will sow her unto me in the earth, that is Israel. And I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy. And I will say to them, which were not my people, you are my people, and they shall say, you are my God. How beautiful is the Bible! How wonderfully is the Scripture woven together!

And sometimes we read various passages in a sermon. Generally, what the minister is doing is trying to get across a point, and he reads a few passages from here and there. But the beautiful whole of the Bible must not be discounted. The beautiful whole of the Bible. Now let's pick up on what we have just read about God sowing and Ruhama and Ami in 1 Peter 2. In 1 Peter 2. We will start in verse 9.

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood. When God brought Israel up out of Egypt in Exodus 19, he talks about them being a royal priesthood, a chosen people, and their job of what God hoped that Israel would do would bring the nations into a relationship with him. But they failed. There was not such a heart in them. But you are a chosen generation. This is a church, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people, that you should show forth the praises of him who's called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. So this job of taking the gospel to the whole world is now passed on to the Israel of God, and even natural Israel will have to be grafted back into the olive tree, as you read about in Romans 11.

Dear Lord beloved, I beseech you as strangers in pilgrims that stain from fleshly lusts. I had them myself. Need to read verse 9. Show forth the praises of him who's called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, which in times past were not a people, you were low Ami, but are now the people of God. Ami, that's who you are. You are the people of God, which had not obtained mercy. You are low Ruhama, not having obtained mercy, but now you have obtained mercy. Dear beloved, I beseech you as strangers in pilgrims abstained from fleshly lusts, which wore against the soul. How beautiful is the Bible! How beautifully is the Bible woven together in a tapestry that when put together, you stand in awe of the magnificence of the Bible and the harmony of it, which can not be possibly done through any device that man can think of. That is, people writing centuries ago, and then it paralleled and fit perfectly with people writing much later. Why? Why is it possible? Because it came from the inspiration, came from the same spirit mind of God. That's how it's possible. So, 15, once again, of Jeremiah.

Brother, I hope you will follow up on what I've just talked about there. It is wonderful to contemplate.

But the Lord lives that brought up the children of Israel from the land. In other words, you're not going to say, they brought up the children out of Egypt, but you're going to say, the Lord lives that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands, whether he had driven them. A type of that happened when Judah returned from Babylon, but the greater happening is what I've just read from Hosea and from Peter. And I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. Behold, I will send for many fishers, says the Lord God.

See, Jesus, when he started his ministry, said unto the apostles, Come and follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. See, they were fishermen of fish. I will make you fishers of men. And that's what he's talking about here. Fishers of men. Behold, I will send for many fishers, says the Lord, and they shall fish them. And after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and from every hill and out of the rocks and holes of the earth. Because, as you know, it talks about in Revelation 6, when God begins to pour out his wrath, that the rich man throw their silver and gold away, and they hide in the dens and crevices of the rocks. Now, look at this, about the fishers and the hunters going out. We go to Isaiah 66. Isaiah 66 is a millennial prophecy.

And we'll see here the fishers, the hunters, going out. I want to just bring to your attention, this past Sunday morning, I surf sometimes on Sunday morning and see what others are saying, especially those who claim to be messianics, and they talk about the great restoration of Israel at the present time. The great restoration of Israel at the present time is necessary, but it is a physical restoration. It is void of recognizing the Messiah and anything to do with the Messiah. Now, we have those messianic Jews who are trying to make it into that. And so, they read Isaiah 66 in verse 7. Before she surveilled, she brought forth. Before her pain came, she was delivered of a man-child. Of course, that delivered of a man-child is quoted also in Revelation chapter 12, where Jesus Christ was born. He is the Savior of mankind. He is the one who raised up the church. He is the one through the Father who is going to bring to birth the church and the resurrection. At the resurrection, we are born into the kingdom of God. Notice verse 8, who hath heard of such a thing, who has seen such a thing, shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? And so, they try to say, well, that was 1948. For as soon as Zion surveilled, what does Paul say about Zion in Hebrews 12, 22, 23, you will come to Mount Zion to the city and church, to the city of the living God, to the general assembly of the church of the firstborn. For as soon as Zion travail, she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth and not cause to bring forth? Says the Lord, shall I bring shall I cause to bring forth and shut the womb? Says your God, yes, this is talking about us being born into the kingdom of God. Rejoice you with Jerusalem and be glad for her. All you that love her, rejoice for for joy with her. All you that mourn for her. Verse 12, for thus says the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles, like a flowing stream, then shall you suck. You shall be born upon her knees and dandled upon her knees. Yes, all nations. You remember in Zachariah chapter 8, where he talks about the people from all nations, grab hold of the skirt of the Jew and say, we have heard that God is with us. Show us your God. As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you, and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. And when you see this, your heart shall rejoice, your bones shall flourish like an herb, and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies. Now notice this.

Verse 19, and I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape.

Of course, that's those who live over into the millennium. I will send those that escape of them unto the nations. Remember, we just read from Jeremiah that I will send out fishers and hunters. I will send those that escape of them unto the nations to Tarshish, Paul, Ludd, that draw the bowl to Tubal, Javen, to the Isles of Faroth, and have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory, and they shall declare my glory among the nations, among the Gentiles. And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord, out of all nations, upon horses and chariots and litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, as the children bring an offering in a clean vessel of the house of the Lord. What a wonderful time that is going to be, once again showing the great unity of the Bible and the wonderful parallelism and the language that is there, which can be easily overlooked. Now verse 17 in Jeremiah 16, For mine eyes are upon all their ways, they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes. Of course, God sees and knows everything that we do.

Not only does he see and know everything, he knows the innermost thoughts, the thoughts and intents of your heart. And first, I will recompense their iniquity, lawlessness, and their sin double, because they have defiled my land. This is going to happen before what I just talked about. They have filled mine inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable things. O Lord, my strength and my fortress and my refuge, and the day of affliction, the Gentile shall come unto you from the ends of the earth. And I just read about that from Isaiah 66.

Many verses in the Psalms talk about the nation's coming, the nation's being gathered together, and they praise God, and they worship God, and shall say, Surely your fathers have inherited lies, vanity in things wherein there is not profit.

Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know mine hand, and they shall know that my name is the Eternal. So God, through his long suffering, his mercy, he has a plan. He's working out that plan. And no matter what people do, it can look like the direst circumstances. As we mentioned in the sermon this past Sabbath, where Paul was in prison, and some people were drawing back because Paul was in prison.

And Paul says, Well, it's turned out to the furtherance of the Gospel. So the old saying about God can turn lemons into lemonade as ever before us. Now, chapter 17. In Jeremiah 17 in verse 1, the sand of Judah is written with a pin of iron and with a point of a diamond, and is graven upon the table of their heart and upon the horns of your altars. While they're God, remember their altars and their graves grows by the green trees upon the high hills.

Now, you look at that verse 1. This stands in great contrast to the fact that God is writing his laws upon our hearts and minds today. But at that time, he's in the figurative sense, he is writing with an iron pin with a point of a diamond. It is graven upon the table of their heart and upon the horns of your altars.

And so, the children there remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills. See, they see at every turn that which they have done in setting up these false idols and these false gods that they are they are worshiping.

In verse 3, O my mountain in the field, I will give your substance, and with all your treasures to the spoil and your high places for sin throughout all the borders. And you even shall, I'm sorry, and you even yourself shall discontinue from your heritage that I gave you, and I will cause you to serve your enemies in the land which you know not, for you have kindled a fire in mine anger and shall burn forever.

Thus says the Lord, cursed be the man to trust in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the Lord. Now that's one of the things that Israel did. The northern ten tribes and also Judah did. They paid tribute to various Gentile kings and did not really turn unto God and trust him for their deliverances. And so they entered into alliances with the nations of other countries, and for he shall be like the the heath in the desert, and shall not see you when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, and assault when not inhabited.

And so it's perhaps an allusion to their sacrifices to Moloch, their sacrifices to the children of Moloch. Perhaps at some such bloodstain rite, its horrors would be engraven forever upon their memories, and they would not be able to forget it. And when they are punished, as in verse 6 of Jeremiah 17, by analogy and by metaphor, they are in parched places in the wilderness in assault land.

And of course, in assault land, like the heath, it's like a destitute man. It's a destitute man. In assault land, nothing grows. You cannot grow anything in assault land.

Verse 7, Blessed is a man that trusts in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. That is, of course, one of the great memory verses. There are similar verses to this one scattered throughout the Bible. In one place, the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 8 says that we are saved by hope. And one of the things that we're admonished to take in the armor of God is hope. And several times I have pointed out what the definition of hope is. The definition of hope is given in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 8. Let's just turn there and read 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 8. And maybe it will be engraven with an iron pen and a diamond point upon our minds forever.

For let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. So hope is the helmet of salvation. What does a helmet do? A helmet covers the whole head. The helmet protects the head. So in things like auto races and football and sports like that, they put a helmet on their head. Motorcyclists put a helmet on their head to protect the head. It's supposed to, as much as possible, cover the whole head. So put on for a helmet the hope of salvation. And the way I framed that through the decades that Ambassador College teaching there was to keep the big picture burning brightly in your mind. The hope of salvation, that which lies before you, that which no man can take from you. You're the only one that can destroy that hope, the hope of salvation, which is salvation. Keep that big picture burning brightly in your mind. Verse 8, for he shall be as a tree planted by the waters. What verse does this remind you of? Immediately a verse should pop into your mind with regard to this verse here.

It is very much akin to Psalm chapter 1. So, where he shall be as a tree planted by the waters. Is that what we are?

In Psalm chapter 1, blessed is a man that walks not in the counsel of the young godly, nor stands at the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, for his delight is in the law of God. And in his law does he meditate day and night, and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth his fruit. In his season his leaves shall not wither, and whatsoever he does shall prosper. When I think of this, I don't know if any of you are, perhaps some of you are familiar with cypress trees. I have two cypress trees on my property.

It's on the dam of the pond, and cypress trees put out what's called knees.

Looks sort of like a human knee, and they may, one cypress tree might put out 20 or more knees. These go back to the very root and trunk of the tree. It is almost impossible to root a cypress tree, and those who are trusting in God are like a tree planted by the waters that spread out her roots by the river, and that's what a cypress tree does. You ought to see it, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaves shall be grain, and shall not be careful in the year of drought. Neither shall cease from yielding fruit, because they are rooted, they are grounded. They have tapped into the source of water. Of course, our source of water is the living water, which is talked about in this chapter as well, the living water that comes from God.

In verse 9, the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked who can know it. So the very nature of man, this word here, is the Hebrew word for heart, lebe. It is spelled in Hebrew. The English spelling of it is leb. Leb is the, I guess you call it transliteration of it into Hebrew. The English spelling is labe.

It is used figuratively for the feelings, the will, the intellect, the very center and heart of consciousness. And so the heart left to itself apart from God. We're admonished in Proverbs 4, verse 23, to keep your heart. Now it's verse 16. I better turn there and make sure of my memory on this in Proverbs 16, and Proverbs 4, and verse 16. That's what I want. Proverbs 4, verse 16.

That's not what I want. Verse 23, I was right in the first place. In Proverbs 4, verse 23, keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. And so the natural man apart from God, the very heart and core of his being, according to Jeremiah's inspired word, is evil. The heart is deceitful above all things, desperately wicked, who can know it.

When we are born, we are strictly egocentric. And of course, as we mature, we are to become less and less egocentric.

And as we mature, we turn more and more to God for his healing and for his word and for his comfort.

But the heart and the parents have to train the heart, so it will not be desperately wicked. I have something that's come up on my screen that I didn't ask for, and I can't now get rid of it. Now I've got to go back and find my place here.

Jeremiah 17.9. Heart is desperately wicked, who can know it? But we see in verse 10 of Jeremiah 17, the Lord searches the heart. So who can know the heart? Well, God knows the heart.

And the Word of God is the spiritual mirror, the Hebrews 4, 12. The Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword, dividing us under the thoughts and intents of the heart of man. So the Word of God lays bare the heart. The eternal searches the heart. I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. So once again, the scripture that is ever before us, be not deceived, God is not mocked, but whatsoever man sows, that shall he also reap. It is true in the national sense and in the international, for that matter the whole world, which will eventually be brought into judgment. And it is, of course, true in the individual sense in our own lives. In verse 11, as the partridge sits on eggs and hatches them not, of course, the partridge, the old Bob White has largely left our country. When I was a boy, we used to hunt the Bob White. Very wonderful type of sporting and hunting and would really make good food. But now because of fire ants, because of coyotes, because of opossums, because of skunks, because of, and you can keep on naming and naming and naming those things that are the natural enemies, so you don't see them in the wild or hear that call like you used to, as the partridge sits on eggs and hatches them not. So he that gets riches and not by right shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool. And, of course, you may, a person may die in their riches and not have to give an account for what they have done in their lives, but they will upon the judgment. Verse 12, a glorious high throne from the beginning is a place of our sanctuary. Of course, God's sanctuary at the present time is in the heavens and we read in Revelation chapter 4, a description of God's throne, but at the time of building of the tabernacle, remember God, from time immemorial, what is God's desire to do with man? He's desired that he be their God and that they be his people, and he is wanted to dwell with them, and eventually end them. And so, when Israel came out of Egypt, he instructed them on building the tabernacle, and they built the tabernacle and the mercy seat, and above the mercy seat, God placed his presence, and that was a type of his throne upon the earth.

And in Jerusalem, of course, was the place where he had placed his presence when the temple was built. Now, here it is. When the Restoration Temple was built, the glory of God, what the Jews called the Shekinah glory, did not fill that temple. It did not fill that temple. But Haggai says that the glory of the Second Temple shall exceed that of the former, and he is talking about that temple which is not made by hands, which the Lord pitched. Look at Hebrews chapter 8. Hebrews chapter 8, and we see here what we are. We are that temple, and God is dwelling in us today. Of course, God is still on his throne in the heavens, and John saw a vision of that. Now, listen to this. Hebrews 8.1. Now, the things which we have spoken, this is the sum. We have a high priest who has said on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens a minister of the sanctuary, and the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man, for every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices, wherefore it is a necessity that this man have someone also to offer. But God offered his only begotten son, and so once we are reconciled to the Father and have our sins forgiven through repentance, faith, and the sacrifice of Christ's baptism and laying on of hands, God is dwelling in us. But he is going to dwell once again in Jerusalem in due time. A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. God is in his holy sanctuary, and God has placed his very presence in each one of us. O eternal, the hope of Israel, all that forsake you shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth. See, written in the earth versus written in the Lamb's Book of Life. In Revelation 13, verse 8, it talks about everybody's going to be deceived by the beast power, except those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. If you're written in the earth, see, the wind can come, the rain can come, and blow away that which is written in the earth. But those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life will never be erased. Thieves cannot break through and steal. No one can rob you of your inheritance.

But they will be like those written in the earth because they have forsaken the eternal and the fountain of living waters. Who is the fountain of living waters? In John chapter 8, Jesus Christ says, Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. I don't want to go into long discourse now on the Holy Spirit, but things that we should, we must understand that in John 15 verse 26, when the comforter is come, and the comforter is the Holy Spirit, when the comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, who sends the Holy Spirit, I will send him unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceeds from the Father, it shall testify of me. So the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. Now notice in John 14.26 and John 14.26, but the comforter of which is the Holy Spirit, which the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your members whatsoever I've said unto you. Jesus Christ plays a role in sending the Holy Spirit to us. Now on that great day of the feast, that day in which they did the water observance, the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, and they brought the pictures from the pool of Siloam and filled them up, and they came up to the temple, and Jesus Christ took that opportunity to teach them about the living water. And so now we're in John 18. We've seen that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, and it is said to us through Christ that Christ plays a role in it. And so Jesus Christ says that out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. And so God says that that they have forsaken the fountain, the source of living waters, and the living waters have to do with the very Spirit of God. Out of his belly flows the living waters.

So we continue now in verse 14. Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed. Jeremiah now prays, Save me, and I shall be saved, for you art my praise. Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come now. As for me, I am not hastened from being a pastor, from one under you, to follow you. Neither have I desired the woeful day. You know that which came out of my lips was right before you. In other words, Jeremiah is saying, Look, remember me, everything that I've done is because of what you have taught me and what you have said.

Be not a terror unto me. You are my hope in the day of evil. Let them be confounded, that persecute me. But let not be confounded. Let them be dismayed. But let not me just be dismayed. Bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.

Thus says the Lord unto me, Go and stand in the gate. Now, of course, the gate here is talking about the main thoroughfare in some places. This is called the king's gate or the Jaffa gate, in which people would come and go to and fro from the temple. Thus says the Lord unto me, Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem. So Jeremiah was to stand in these gates and was to deliver the message, and say unto them, Hear you the word of the Lord, the kings of Judah and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates. Thus says the Lord, Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath, they nor bring it by the gates of Jerusalem. Now I'm telling you up front what is happening here. Bring no burden through the gates. What they were doing, those that live in the countryside, that had farms were bringing produce in. Yeah, they were ostensibly going to services, some of them. Of course, you know about Jesus Christ chasing out the money changers out of the temple, and some of the merchants were keeping their shops open on the Sabbath day.

And what he's talking about here is that they were bringing these, this produce in and selling it on the Sabbath day. Now it is said, and many say that the main reason, if you had to say what was the main reason why Israel went into captivity. I think there are two main reasons. One, profaning the Sabbath day and failure to exercise judgment, mercy, and faith with God and the Word and with their brethren. So 21, thus says the Lord, take heed to yourselves and bear no burden on the Sabbath day. Now bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. Neither carry forth burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day. Neither do you any work but hallow you the Sabbath day as I commanded your fathers. And of course, that goes way back to remember when they were coming out of Israel. I mean, when Israel was coming out of Egypt and they complained about the food, and God said, I will rain down manna from heaven. And they were together on the sixth day, enough for the seventh day, to do no work on the Sabbath day. And we have talked and talked about the Sabbath being a sign between God and his people. So many commentators, many people, and it seems from Scripture that the main reason for going into captivity and for God executing the judgment he did upon the nation of Israel and then upon Judah and Benjamin was the profaning of the Sabbath. Verse 23, But they obeyed not neither inclined their ear, but made their next stiff that they might not hear nor receive instruction, and it shall come to pass. If you diligently hearken and me says the Lord to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallowed the Sabbath day to do no work therein. So repeating it, repeating it.

Verse 25, Then shall ye enter into the gates of this city, and the kings and the princes, sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city shall remain forever. Of course, that is going to happen in the millennium as well, because in that day the Sabbath will be honored, and that which comes into Jerusalem will not profane anything or anybody. So when that day comes to pass, of course, will be in the millennium.

And that's going to require, of course, repentance of both Israel and Judah, and then for that matter the whole world. Then shall they enter into the gates of this city, kings and princes, sitting upon the thrones of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city shall remain forever.

Already it is called the eternal capital of the Jews. And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices and meat offerings, and incenses, and bringing sacrifices of praise into the house of the eternal. And once again, you can read much about this in the book of Psalms. Verse 27, But if ye will not arketh unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden even entering in at gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then will I tendle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. And of course they did not heed at that time, and the fire was not quenched.