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All right, let's take our Bibles
and look together in Jeremiah chapter five for our scripture
reading. Jeremiah chapter five. Here in this chapter, of the Jewish nation. Religious, but in their religiosity,
they were hypocrites. And how the Lord purposed to
take them into captivity for their idolatry. Oftentimes the
Lord will chasten a nation based on those things that the nation
desires and seeks. And so here was this Jewish nation
that had been given the truth through the sacrifices and through
the priesthood as a type of picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, but
they made light of what God had given as that one way of worship.
And they assimilated all other sorts of practices within their
worship. And so the Lord, in essence,
said, if you enjoy idolatry so much, how about spending 70 years
in a foreign nation where there's nothing but idolatry? And so
he brought in the Babylonians and put them away into captivity. So this is what Jeremiah is foretelling. There had already been 10 nations
that had been taken away by the Assyrians a couple hundred years
previous. And now these last two tribes
of the south, Benjamin and Judah, the Lord would take them into
captivity. And Jeremiah lived through this
time. The Lord preserved him and took him back down to Egypt
rather than go into captivity. But he was raised up to announce
this impending judgment. So we see that in this chapter.
And the reason for that was their apostasy and their idolatry. It's a message of warning, even
for us today. Read about the churches that
are mentioned in Revelation, the warnings that were given
them, lest the candlestick be removed, lest the gospel be removed. How precious is the gospel to
us here gathered? I trust that the Lord has made
Christ and his work precious to us and that we would be kept
looking to him and him alone. Here in verse one of Jeremiah
five, you see that none could be found
who was looking to the Lord. Run ye to and fro through the
streets of Jerusalem and see now and know and seek in the
broad places thereof. If ye can find a man, if there
be any that execute judgment, that seeketh the truth, and I'll
pardon him. This reminds us a little bit
of Abraham beseeching God on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah.
We got down to 10. and two daughters, and his wife
turned back. In the days of Noah, there were
eight that were preserved alive, and the rest of the world perished. Again, we see that here, and
often we may wonder how many are there truly today in this
world, in this city, where they seek the truth, It says there,
and I will pardon him. It's talking about God being
merciful. The elects it. He'll bless an entire company,
I believe, many times for one of his election. It'll cause others to perish
and to go away. And though they say the Lord
liveth, that's the way it is today. Everybody's got the Lord
on their lips. God be praised. Surely they swear
falsely. In other words, speak of a God
they do not know. O Lord, are not thine eyes upon
the truth? Again, as in the New Testament,
here in the Old, the truth is upon His Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, that's the truth. Thou hast stricken them, but
they are not grieved. Thou hast consumed them, but
they have refused to receive correction. They have made their
faces harder than a rock, they have refused to return. That's
how you can tell the difference between a mere profession and
one who's true to the Lord, because one who's the Lord's, when they're
chastened, corrected, it brings forth fruit under repentance. Where you see a heartening, bitterness
because of the Lord's afflictions, that's an indication of deadness.
Therefore I said, surely these are poor, they're foolish, for
they know not the way of the Lord. or the judgment of their
God. I will get me unto the great men and will speak unto them,
for they have known the way of the Lord. Who are the great men?
Those would be God's elect, those would be his preachers. And the
judgment of their God, but these have altogether broken the yoke
and burst the bonds. We will not have this God or it says in Psalm 2, they spoke
against and rose up against the Lord and his anointing, that
is God and his anointing, which is Christ. Wherefore a lion out
of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evening shall
spoil them. A leopard shall watch over their
cities. Everyone that goeth out thence
shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many,
and their backslidings are increased. How shall I pardon thee for this?
Thy children have forsaken me and sworn by them that are no
gods. When I had fed them to the full,
they then committed adultery and assembled themselves by troops
in the harlot's houses. This is talking about false worship
and spiritual adultery. The harlot's houses were those
false places of worship which they had built up versus the
one place where God had caused his name to be put, and that
was in Jerusalem, at that temple. With those sacrifices, that priesthood,
how it pictured his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. But they went
a-whoring. These harlot's houses are places
of worship, even like today, don't call them churches. They're
places of worship where Christ is not honored. Oh, they, just
like here, they'll say the Lord liveth, but they swear falsely.
They'll use the name of Christ without even knowing who he is,
what he accomplished for his people. They were as fed horses
in the morning, everyone made after his neighbor's wife. Shall
I not visit for these things, said the Lord, and shall not
my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? As far as God's concerned,
you're either in Christ or His wrath abides upon you. And here's
the warning to all those that play the hypocrite when it comes
to this matter of worship before a holy God. There's only one
way to be justified before Him, and that's in His Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ. And every other way shall be
punished. Go ye up upon her walls and destroy,
but make not a full end. Take away her battlements, for
they are not the Lord's. This is talking about looking
to ways to find peace and security other than in the Lord. And the
nation of Israel at this time, they were looking for alliances
with some of these other nations, thinking they would be protected.
It says, for the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt
very treacherously against me, said the Lord. Again, what was
their sin but idolatry? Going another way in worship
other than what God had revealed. They have belied the Lord and
said, it is not he, neither shall evil come upon us, neither shall
we see sword or fan. And the prophets shall become
wind, and the word is not in them, thus shall it be done unto
them. We have the word today declares
clearly who God is, who Christ is, his judgments, his salvation,
and yet men in their rebellion and ignorance will still deny
that it is so, and say they'll be okay. Evil shall not come
upon us. Wherefore thus saith the Lord,
verse 14. Notice, God opposes, because
ye speak this word, Behold, I will make my words, and thy mouth
fire, and this people would, and it shall divide. People say,
well, they don't understand how a loving God could send people
to hell. Well, he loves his righteousness
more than the creatures that he has created. He said, I will
make my words, and thy mouth fire, and this would people This people would, and it shall
devour them. That wrath of God has not fallen on the Lord Jesus
Christ on a sinner's behalf. It is nothing for God to put
people in eternal condemnation for their sins, and it is eternal. That's the thing to consider
here. It shall devour them. Lo, I will bring a nation upon
you from far, House of Israel, this would be Babylon, said the
Lord, it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation
whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they
say. This is the part I was saying,
you wanna follow their ways, their idolatry, all right, I'll
put you right there in their midst. Their quiver is an open
sepulcher, they're all mighty men, and they shall eat up thine
harvest and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should
eat, they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds, they shall eat
up thy vines and thy fig trees, they shall impoverish thy fenced
cities wherein thou trustest with the sword. That was the
key there, wherein thou trustest. They were claiming all of this
as their doing, the works of their hand. The Lord said, all
right, let's see how well you can defend it. Nevertheless,
in those days, said the Lord, I will not make a full end with
you. There's God's grace and his remnant. Why did God not utterly wipe
out these nations, particularly Judah? That's where the seed
of Christ was to come, that tribe. So it wasn't for their sake that
he says, I will not make a full end of you, but it was for Christ's
sake And it's always that way. If any are spared, it's always
for Christ's sake. It shall come to pass when
ye shall say, wherefore doth the Lord our God all these things
unto us? Isn't it amazing that the hardness
of the heart always blames God? People think that they don't
deserve such condemnation. But when they say, it shall come
to pass when ye shall say, wherefore doth the Lord our God all these
things unto us, then thou shalt answer them. Like as ye have
forsaken me and serve strange gods in your land, so shall ye
serve strangers in a land that is not yours. There's the equivalency. You like the way they worship,
give you a one-way ticket, go dwell a month. declare this
in the house of Jacob and publish it in Judah, saying, hear now
this, O foolish people, and without understanding, which have eyes
and see not, which have ears and hear not. That's an unconverted
soul. They had the gospel and type
and picture of prophecy and promise, and yet it meant nothing to them. Like people sitting here. They
hear with ears, but don't hear. They see, they don't see. That's
a judgment, that's a condemnation. Fear ye not me, verse 22, sayeth
the Lord. Will ye not tremble at my presence,
which hath placed the sand for the bow of the sea by perpetual
decree, that it cannot pass it? And though the waves thereof
toss themselves, yet they cannot, can they not prevail? Though
they roar, yet can they not pass over it? It will stand on the
edge of the ocean. You feel safe just watching those. Everybody likes the water coming
in, going out, water coming out. Think about the volume of water. What's restraining that water
from just completely overtaking you and the land behind you?
It's the Lord. But what he's pointing out is
if he ever takes his hand off it, He's saying, what restrains
these nations all around you right now? It's his hand. But this people, verse 23, have
a revolting and a rebellious heart, and they are revolted
and gone. Neither say they in their heart,
let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth reign, both
the former and the latter in his season. Notice, in his season. All of creation is His. He reserveth
unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. The predictability
of planting, sowing, and harvest, where does that come? From the
hand of the Lord. Your iniquities have turned away these things. And your sins have withholden
good things from you. For among my people are found
wicked men. They lay wait, It's he that set
a snares, they set a trap, they catch men. What's he talking
about here? He's talking about false leaders.
He's talking about false preachers and false prophets. This is where
we're reading this in connection with what we're gonna see about
Absalom. Where the scriptures say that he stole their hearts
by his devious deeds. Here it's described as men laying
wait Let's talk about preachers in our day. They don't seek men's
good and God's glory. They lay wait, they set snares,
they set a trap to catch men. They call it evangelism. Christ
said that once they've crossed land and sea to make one proselyte,
they become twice full, a child of the devil. As a cage is full
of birds, so are their houses full of deceit. Talk about religious
houses. All these places of worship they've
set up, therefore they're become great and waxen rich. They're waxen fat, they shine,
yay, they overpass the deeds of the wicked by giving them
a false sense of hope, false assurance. Overpass the deeds,
they tell them, do certain things in order to have their sins forgiven,
yet it's not pointing them to the cross or the work of Christ.
They judge not the cause, the cause of the followers, yet they
prosper. And the right of the needy, do
they not judge? Shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord?
Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? A wonderful,
that's not in a good sense, This would be in a sense of judgment,
which causes a wonder, a wonderful and horrible thing is committed
in the land. In other words, when God brings
his judgment. Here it is in verse 31. The prophets
prophesied falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means. I know
some will argue and say, well, we can't help it if they're not
preaching the truth. What does it say here? And my
people love to have it so. Those that follow these pretenders
and these false preachers are just as guilty as the ones preaching
for them, because they continue to support them. It says, what will ye do in the
end thereof? So trust it, it helps us see
the seriousness meet with other people that call
themselves Christian. We're just stuck up. No, we're
here because of one thing. The Lord has taught us by his
grace. And his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, we can never compromise
what he's taught us. Let's have a word of prayer.
Gracious Father, thank you for your word to consider that you
could just have easily left any one of us to ourselves. to be
taken away with the way of the world, the pursuits of this world
and religion, false worship. I pray, dear Father, that you
would instill in each of your own here, gather that fear of
who you are, to know of your holiness and justice, wrath,
It took the very death of your son to put away the sin of your
people. How great is that sin, that sinfulness. Oh, how great is that work of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Ready to ignore that, ignore
the glory of your son, and to follow after any other way. And
do nothing but continue to build up wrath against the day of So
I pray, Father, for us to look to Christ alone. Cause us, as
we hear your word, to be strengthened in our inner man, and to cause
us to run to Christ and to seek our refuge in him alone. I give
you the thanks and praise and honor and glory in your Savior's
name, amen. you
Scripture Commentary Jeremiah 5
Series Scripture Commentary
Why did the LORD make them to defend their own works? What restrains anything from destroying us? How is evangelism a snare for men? How do these false preachers shine in the eyes of men?
| Sermon ID | 28181049562 |
| Duration | 21:22 |
| Date | |
| Category | Midweek Service |
| Bible Text | Jeremiah 5 |
| Language | English |
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