Author: Dan

There was a movie back in 1992 called, “A Few Good Men”. The story was about a young Marine who wasn’t keeping up with the rest of the unit during his basic training, and he wanted to quit. Hearing news of this, the base commander orders a “code red” which meant, in this case, two of the young Marine’s cohorts were to “discipline” him to get him back in line. The disciplining goes very wrong, and the young Marine dies. The two cohorts are brought up on charges, and they are court martialed.

The climactic scene in the courtroom is when the Defense Attorney played by Tom Cruise enters into an exchange with the Marine base commander played by Jack Nicholson. This is one of the better scenes in movie history, in my opinion. Tom Cruise’s character is trying to goad Jack Nicholson’s character in confessing that he ordered the “code red” in hopes such an admission would dismiss the claims against the two cohorts as they were just following orders.

Cruise’s character ups the tension when he demands answers from Nicholson’s character with some of the discrepancies in his story. Nicholson fires back, “You want answers?”. Cruise barks, “I want the truth!” Nicholson then utters this famous line – wait for it…. “You can’t handle the truth”!

You’re probably wondering why I’m starting off with this trip down memory lane at the movies. The statement Nicholson barks is actually very apropos for today’s lesson. It’s also one in which all we Christians need to ask ourselves about our real motivations in our relationships with God. Many of you have heard me say this before  “The truth does indeed hurt if you’re not living in the truth.”

There’s a key verse that we need to remember as we go through this lesson – it is actually from last week’s lesson. In chapter 41, we learn of Johanan an army officer, and he is leading the remnant from the land of Judah. Verse 17 tells us  “And they departed and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is near Bethlehem, as they went on their way to Egypt..” The reason this verse is so important is it tells us where Johanan’s and the rest of the peoples’ hearts already were as we lead into the initial exchange between them and Jeremiah in today’s lesson.

So the people ask Jeremiah in verse 2, “Please hear our petition and pray to the Lord your God for this entire remnant. For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few are left. Notice the people don’t call the Lord their God – they refer to the Lord as Jeremiah’s God. Such is the attitude of those who are opposed to the Lord. Also, shouldn’t they have a hint of the ramifications of their rebellion based on what has happened already? “we once were many, now only a few are left.”

Their request of Jeremiah continues in verse 3, Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.” They claim they will obey whatever Jeremiah will them what the Lord says, but their hearts have already been revealed in Jeremiah 41:17 – they were already set on what they’re going to do – go to Egypt. Whether you are a believer or not, God will examine your heart to test whether or not a prayer or supplication is sincere  – prayer is meant to get us in line with God’s will – not for God to get in line with ours. If our heart is already set on what we want to do, we shouldn’t bother praying – God knows our intentions. Therefore, should God not bless our predetermined plan, whom do we have to blame? Ourselves.

Jeremiah’s response to the people is worth commenting on, “I have heard you,” replied Jeremiah the prophet. “I will certainly pray to the Lord your God as you have requested; I will tell you everything the Lord says and will keep nothing back from you.”

Notice Jeremiah reminds them that he not only is praying to the Lord his God but also to the Lord their God. You see his heart for them – they may not recognize the Lord is their God, but Jeremiah does. He also promises to tell them the whole truth and nothing but the truth. That is what a witness is supposed to do under oath, that is what Jeremiah did, and it is what we are to do as witnesses of Jesus Christ.

What does that mean? We need to tell the whole story. The easy part of witnessing for Jesus is that He loves them, and He died on a cross for them. The hard part of the process of witnessing is telling people they’re sinners and without repentance and faith in what Jesus did on the cross, they’re sentencing themselves to hell. Just like the stories where we hear “they lived happily ever after”, getting to that point involved going through some challenges and difficult times. When we get to the tough part of telling people of their sinful state, we can let them know that God already knew this and made a provision for them to be reconciled to Him through Jesus. There is a “Happily ever after” story to the Gospel, but we must tell the whole story as witnesses.

Verses 5 and 6 offer their response to Jeremiah’s promise to tell everything the Lord says. They’re, in effect, sentencing themselves to God’s condemnation for the disobedience they already know in their hearts they’re going to do. Can you see the grip the enemy has on them? They’re so deceived – remember what was said in chapter 17:9? “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”

Our hearts are deceitful, easily deceived, and beyond cure – on our own efforts. However, since with God all things are possible, God can cure and change our hearts. How does He do this? By revealing the truth of Who He is and His power to fully redeem you from the lies and deceit your heart has been subjected to.

So Jeremiah prays, and it takes how long for him to get an answer? 10 days. Anyone here ever put a time constraint on a prayer to God? ‘God I need you to get back to me on this request – tick tock? Do you need a reminder of the predicament I’m in? Should I text you?’ How hard is it to wait on the Lord? I don’t know about you, but I need a lot of work in this area. Peter said in the 8^th verse of the third chapter of his second epistle  “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day.”

God’s timing is rarely ours – we want answers – we want responses. But, as we were confronted in A Few Good Men, do we really want the truth? Can we handle the truth? Since God is good and, therefore, His intentions are good – and He knows all things and has an eternal perspective – He dictates the circumstances of our lives with a purposefulness based on His timing. My family and I went through a very difficult period for 5 years, and we spent the majority of our prayers during that time requesting immediate deliverance and healing. Being where we are now, there’s no way we would be where we are had the Lord complied with our timing – it was only in His timing that we are in the blessed place we are with Him today.

Jeremiah goes on to recite what the Lord has communicated to him and tells them if they obey his word, He will build them up – not tear them down; and plant them – not uproot them. He then goes on to offer this familiar promise in Scripture in verse 11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands.

The key phrases in this verse are  “Do not be afraid”, and “I am with you” Jesus or an angel of the Lord used the phrase “Do not be afraid” 15 times in the Gospels. As for the people whom God said that He was with, it’s an impressive group. Isaac, Jacob, Nation of Israel, Jeremiah, Zerubbabel, the Apostles, and Paul. Emannuel – God with them is God with us.

Is there anyone in this room right now that is afraid of something – something going on in your life that is gripping you? Does anyone in this room need to hear God is with you right now? Just as He was with these people, so is He with each of you. Here’s the better news. For those of you whom have confessed Jesus as your Lord and Savior, not only is He with you, but also He is in you. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 confirms this, “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” Upon your receiving the gift of salvation, you were given the Holy Spirit. He is your “down payment” – the seal of the redemptive deal Jesus accomplished for you at the cross. You belong to Him, and to prove that, He now lives in you.

I may not understand your fear, but I do understand fear. I’m here to tell you God is with you, He’s in you, and He loves you more than you can imagine. I know this is hard to grasp when it feels like the walls are closing in, and you’re suffering. I promise you, though, when you take that leap of faith and begin to believe with all your heart the truth of God living in you, the fear will start to melt away, and you will obtain a peace that surpasses all understanding – despite your circumstances. Praise the Lord, right??!?!?!

Verses 13-16 offer several “If…..then…..” statements.  I’m going to several times during this message to ask you to consider God’s tone of voice when we read what He is saying. In order to get a sense of God’s tone of voice, we need to understand what God’s true character is because it is our character that sets the stage for how we approach life and the tone to which we respond to things. Consider verses 11-12 shown on the screen and key words underlined which provide details of His character – and then think of His tone – He’s not saying these “if…then” statements with any joy or condition to it. He gives us guidelines because He wants to protect us and care for us. However, because He is holy and just, He must respond to disobedience. He doesn’t give Himself an option to respond to disobedience.

Egypt in Scripture is symbolic of the secular world, so the intent of going to Egypt is a symbol of denying God and disobedience. Disobedience is sin, and the wages of sin is death. Beginning with Adam and Eve and their sin, sin has caused separation from God and death (they were covered in skins by the Lord – something had to die to provide the skin). God has been faithful from the beginning warning us of the consequences of sin. The good news is His faithfulness didn’t stop with the warning of the consequences but it continued with the mechanism for us to be forgiven of our sin once and for all – by the blood of His Son.

Up until verse 19, God is warning people if they go to Egypt, they will perish and suffer His wrath. Here, the LORD steps up from a warning to a command, “Do not go to Egypt”. Again – think of the tone – is He saying this out of anger or out of a loving parent telling a child not to do something because the parent knows the child is going to get hurt if he chooses to do what he is told not to do.

Notice God calls them out for their false promise of obedience to His instructions. God is not mocked and isn’t fooled when we’re not sincere. We need to be careful what consequences we will agree to should we not be sincere in our approaches and promised obedience to God. He will call us on it.

What’s the people’s response to Jeremiah’s message? He is lying. Have you ever been warned by God or someone you believe is speaking for God and then, because you didn’t like the message, decided the message must be a lie or not from God? Again, we learned earlier that the people had already decided they were going to go to Egypt, so Jeremiah’s message to tell them to stay put was not what they wanted to hear.

To be fair, they’ve seen a lot of disaster come upon their people because of the Babylonians, so the thought of staying put to potentially be the final course of destruction, I can see the difficulty of hearing a message to not run.

How does this apply to us today? ‘Lord, I’m in a marriage that is going nowhere – he treats me terribly, and there is no love.’ Or ‘I can’t stay in this job one more day – the owner is a tyrant and manages with no godliness whatsoever.’ Yet, someone you trust or you hear from God through Scripture or prayer tells you to hang in there. That’s really hard to agree to, isn’t it?

We need to remember God allows people and circumstances into our lives that cause us pain to accomplish a good purpose. Remember, ALL, (including the good AND the bad) things are working together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Remember what Joseph said to his brothers in the book of Genesis? What they meant for evil, God meant it for good.

I’m not telling you that you should blindly remain in a painful situation – please always seek the Lord and maybe even a trusted Godly friend for counsel. However, don’t bother doing this if you have already made your mind up your getting out. You’re wasting your time and God’s time if you’re not sincerely seeking God’s guidance.

The people then claim Jeremiah is being influenced by Baruch. Baruch was the scribe to Jeremiah who wrote the scroll that Jehoiahkim burned. He was just God’s messenger, but He is grouped in as Jeremiah’s co-conspirator against the disobedient people. When we publically align ourselves with the teachings and warnings of God, we will be linked and persecuted. Remember what Jesus said in John 15:20a: Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.

In verses 4-6 we read of Johanan and the other army officers disobeying the Lord’s instructions and lead the people off to Egypt and bringing others in tow including Jeremiah and Baruch.  Those who choose to take on a position of leadership, the level of accountability for their actions become much more intense. Think of what Harry Truman must have went through when he gave the go ahead to release atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. His decision alone cost the lives of approximately 220,000 people – less than 4 months after taking office.

The concept of accountability in leadership is true in all aspects of life, but it is especially true in the spiritual realm. Carol, all the other lecturers and myself take our teaching very seriously because the Bible is very clear about our accountability to you. James 3:1 says, Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. When I hear of pastors or men and women in positions of spiritual leadership not providing the full counsel of God or distorting the truth of God’s Word, I am grieved for the people who are listening to them, but I am terrified of how God is going to deal with the leaders when they breathe their last breath for not presenting the full counsel of God. Paul said that he was blameless before God because He told them everything. May all men in the church leadership be able to say the same.

If you are in a position of leadership, please cling to the Lord to make sure you have His heart and His wisdom to lead in a manner that is pleasing to Him – but not necessarily pleasing the people. I know some of the things I say up here you may not like or agree with, but I can assure you they are the truth according to God’s Word as I understand it. I encourage you to ask questions – I’m happy to have a discussion with you any time.

In verses 7-13 of chapter 43, the people are now entering Egypt. The Lord instructs Jeremiah to take some large stones with him and bury them in clay in the brick pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes. This would be a symbol of what is going to happen to them as they will be overtaken by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian forces in judgment for their denying God’s instructions.

So because of their disobedience and going to Egypt, they are now bringing judgment on Egypt. We need to remember that when we deliberately disobey God and choose to sin, not only are we going to suffer, but those who had nothing to do with our sin but had the misfortune of being close to us, they end up paying a price for our sin. When I look back on the bigger sins in my life, the pain of what happened to me was nowhere near as devastating to me as was the pain that happened to those closest to me – to those I love. There’s a ripple effect to sin, and we need to remember that when we’re tempted.

In the first 3 verses of chapter 44, we hear God giving the people a history lesson on what happened to Jerusalem and the all the towns in Judah because of their idolatry – they were all in ruins. Want to know where God is most sensitive in how we live? What’s #1 and #2 on God’s Top Ten? #1 – You shall have no other Gods before me. #2 – “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; ⁵ you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, ⁶ but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Idolatry is a BIG deal to God. If our attention and worship is not on Him, it’s on someone or something else. Let’s think again about His tone. Is it ‘don’t do this or don’t do that’ out of anger – like pointing a finger at someone. Or is it from a loving parent to a child saying ‘listen to me because you’re my child, and I care more for you than anyone else. What I’m telling to you to do or not to do is solely based on my love for you and desire to protect you from the consequences of doing what you’re thinking of doing.’

Do you hear the difference? One tone is from a position of judgment – the other is from a position of love and concern. Although there will be judgment for disobedience, judgment is not God’s preference – but it is His duty to deliver judgment as it is a demonstration of proof that He is holy and just.

In verse 4 we read of a word that we don’t hear from God very often – the word “hate”. Out of our desire to please God, seems we should be sensitive to those things He clearly states He hates. In Proverbs 6:16-19 we learn of 7 things that God hates:

1. A proud look
2. A lying tongue
3. Hands that shed innocent blood
4. A heart that devises wicked plans
5. Feet that are swift in running to evil
6. A false witness who speaks lies
7. One who sows discord among the brethren

It would appear that the people were guilty of the first two commandments as well as #4 on the list of things He hates. Idolatry is something all of us need to ask God to reveal to us if we are at all guilty and then repent and ask for forgiveness immediately. If you do this, your relationship with God will immediately improve.

Verses 7-8 show God asking why they are doing these things that are provoking Him and forcing Him to judge them. Do you hear God’s heart in these questions? This is the voice of a loving parent asking his wayward child, ‘Why are you doing this – you’re setting yourselves up for disaster.’

But the hearts of the leaders of the people and the people were set – they were going to do what they wanted to do – regardless of Jeremiah’s warnings. We need to be careful when we close our minds off to things that God may be trying to convict us. There is a point where God will honor our choice, and then we have no one to blame but ourselves when the eventual judgment comes.

Verses 17-18 are important verses. We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine.”

Now we get to the source of what is motivating their disobedience. It was their flesh – living in their sin they had plenty of food; they were well off; they suffered no harm. When they chose to stop their sinning, they were subjected to pain and suffering.

This is a classic spiritual warfare scenario – we’re cruising along in our sin and things are going pretty well. Who are we serving when we’re in sin? Satan. He’ll leave us alone and let us slowly self-destruct. However, when we choose to follow Jesus, we immediately become an enemy of Satan, and he’s no longer going to leave us alone – he’s going to harass us. He can never take us from Jesus’ grip, but he can make our lives miserable. He’ll seek to remind us of “the good old days” and put doubt in our minds of God’s character to provide and protect in a manner that we’re used to or the way we believe we “deserved to be treated”.

We need to remember Satan can’t do anything unless God allows it, so why does God allow Satan to harass us even after we’ve received the gift of Jesus? It’s a matter of letting us know where we are in our trust and faith in the LORD’s true character. Do we really believe His grace is sufficient for us? Do we really believe He is going to provide for us or protect us?

It comes down to whether or not we’re going to base our faith on the spiritual promises from God or the fleshly temptations of the world, which is currently run by Satan. The people here have made their choice – they have been deceived by their flesh and have chosen to deny God. It’s so sad. Here’s the thing – no one is more grieved by this than God.

So the people have made their choice, and in verse 26, God makes an interesting statement. But hear the word of the Lord, all you Jews living in Egypt: ‘I swear by my great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that no one from Judah living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name or swear, “As surely as the Sovereign Lord lives.”

Why would God include this statement? He knows where their hearts are, and they are not with Him. Therefore, to swear in His name would be, in effect, using the Lord’s name in vain. That’s #3 on God’s top ten of His commandments.

Verse 27 of chapter 44 offers a word that should be troubling – and maybe contradictory to an earlier verse in the book of Jeremiah “For I am watching over them for harm, not for good; the Jews in Egypt will perish by sword and famine until they are all destroyed.”

How does this verse compare to 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” What’s the difference? One group is living in disobedience and one is in obedience. Which viewpoint of God’s do you prefer?

Summary

Once again, we hear in today’s lesson of an obstinate and defiant people – lulled to sleep in their sin because of the comforts of the flesh. Someone comes along and tells them to wake up to the truth that there is a price to pay for their disobedience, and unless they repent and obey the word of the Lord, disaster is going to come.

Does any of this sound familiar in today’s times? All this coming judgment should indeed lead us to examine our hearts, but the truth of the matter is – just as it was back in Jeremiah’s days – our hearts are going to lie to us. Our hearts are going to choose what is easy – what is comfortable. Thank God Jesus didn’t choose that path when He went to the cross. That is why we need to ask God to examine our hearts – He will tell us the truth because He cannot lie.

When you choose to believe in Jesus and all He did at Calvary, you are no longer under the judgment of God. Jesus willingly allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross, so He could take the judgment for my sin and your sin. When He said it was finished on the cross, there was nothing more for us to do to be forgiven and be declared not guilty of God’s judgment.

I am speaking of eternal judgment. Sin is sin, and continuing in it will produce a fleshly judgment. Even though we are living in the grace of God, it doesn’t mean we should be getting in the face of God with our bad behavior. God is merciful, but there are consequences to sin. He will respond to our sin, but His response is purposeful – not punitive. He is our heavenly Father, and we are His children. No one knows more about the cost of sin than God – just look at the cross. He doesn’t want me to sin, and He doesn’t want you to sin because He knows the pain it is going to cause us. He dictates the consequences of our sin in a manner to discipline us with a desire that we will no longer sin. God is so good.

I’ll end this lecture with a couple of invitations. First, I invite each of you to take some time out, mediate, and reflect on the truth that you are free from God’s judgment once and for all if you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. There is nothing more for you to do – just believe.

I also invite you to give God permission to examine your hearts and minds to reveal any sin or any lies you may be holding onto. Just as Jack Nicholson said, you may not be able to handle the truth of what is revealed, but God certainly can handle the truth. More importantly, what He’ll do with what He finds will bring you a healing, freedom, peace, and joy that will change your lives – if you ask Him with all sincerity. He’s ready. Are we? Let’s pray.

Welcome! It’s great to see so many new faces and such a blessing to see the familiar ones. We heard from Carol in the first week that one of the things we’re not going to do in this study is to spend a lot of time taking the prophecies we’re going to read and apply them to today’s world events. We can go “Peter Cotton Tail” and hop down a vast number of bunny trails of speculation and discussion, but, while that may be at times fun and even a little thrilling, it diverts us from the true focus of this Bible study –getting to know the true character of God and applying these truths to our lives for the purpose of Him changing us into the image of His only begotten Son, Jesus, and thereby living our lives to glorify Him.

Most of us have heard the phrase, ‘history repeats itself’, and though the actual events and characters will change, the core issues that lead to personal suffering, conflict, and the rise and fall of nations and empires have never changed. I believe that is why the Bible has remained so relevant since its inception to this very day. Our tendency is to point to various political players, military leaders, and even religious leaders as “the cause or causes of the problems” for the day, but they are not the core issue. The centerpiece of every issue in history has been the conflict between man’s understanding of the truth of who God is and the lies of who He is not which are relentlessly presented to us by Satan and his evil forces.

The evidence is without exception – when people and ultimately enough people that comprise a material representation of a nation or a country believe Satan’s lies and move away from God – meaning denying the truth of who God is, then the future of those people as individuals and the nation or country they live in is in serious peril of demise and destruction. It is for this very reason that it is impossible for us not to see what we’re reading in Jeremiah that happened roughly 2,700 years ago is transpiring before our very eyes today in our nation and in this world. I understand what I am saying here is not terribly comforting – I’m just giving you the facts. However, and this is very important folks, my statement does not end here. There is hope, but hope only exists with God.

For those of you who have heard me lecture before, I typically like to go line by line and provide insights and commentaries as we go through the reading. There are 6 chapters and 168 verses to cover, so that would mean we would have to get through 5 verses/minute to get finished in 30 minutes. Since I’ve already been blustering for a few minutes, there’s no way all of the reading can be covered in this manner. As I read these 6 chapters, I found a progression of themes that I believe are fully applicable and relevant to our lives today. They are:

1. The truths of the spiritual condition of the people
2. A critical question from God
3. God’s answer to the question
4. The truths of Who God is
5. Key warnings from God
6. What is God looking for in us today and how do we respond?

As I go through this progression, I’ll be referencing mostly Scriptures from our reading, and I’ll provide additional support from other Scripture. For those of you who are taking notes, don’t freak out if I’m going too fast – the lecture will be up on my website tomorrow morning – I’ll provide the address of it at the end of the lecture. Fair enough? Let’s get started.

I. The Condition of the People

Throughout the six chapters God offers a detailed and broad indictment to the spiritual condition of the people of Judah. There are no less than 20 verses that provide pointed statements, so I’ve attempted to categorize them into 7 areas.

1. Stubborn (5.3c; 5.23; 6:16; 7:24; 7:26)
2. Rich and Covetous (5:8; 5:27; 8:10)
   
3. Foolish & Senseless (5:21; 9:8; 9:14)
4. Wicked-seeking evil (5:26)
5. Practicing idolatry (7:18; 7:30; 7:31)
6. Liars (7:9; 9:3-4; 9:6)
7. Utterly unfaithful (5:11)

Not a pretty picture is it? As I said earlier, as we examine the true spiritual condition of the people as presented by God from 2,700 years ago, it is impossible for us not to see parallels of the spiritual condition of our society today, right? Here’s a confession – I see myself guilty as charged – in my flesh – of each and every one of these areas. I’ve got some tough news for each of you – so are you. HOWEVER, please remember that I said it was the flesh that was guilty. I’ll get back to this point in a few minutes.

II. A critical question from God

Frankly, it’s a little depressing reading all of these truths of the people’s condition. Imagine what it does to God? Well, He offers an important question that all of us must consider for ourselves in chapter 8 verse 5a:

“Why have these people turned away?”

I don’t know about you, but I have turned away from God far more times than I would like to admit. I spent the more than the first half of my life oblivious to the existence of God, although now that I look back on my life – or at least what I can remember – I can see His presence and involvement providing mercy and grace. Even after I received the gift of salvation, I have turned away from God – especially when the heat was on or I was in pain. Some of you may not like this next statement, but sometimes I think it’s almost worse being a Christian when you’re suffering because you know God has the power to heal and deliver you. When He doesn’t respond quickly, we wonder if He’s really there, or if He is, why doesn’t He care enough to eliminate our pain and suffering? Have you ever turned away from God? Have you thought about why?

III. God’s answer to the question

God, being God, knows our frailties and limitations, so He’s kind enough to give us an answer to His question of why these people turned away from Him – why we turn away from Him at the end of chapter 8 verse 5:

“They cling to deceit”

In reviewing these chapters, I found no less than 17 references to lying and deceit. One of the greatest gifts God gives to us is the freedom to choose – or free will. We all want the privilege to choose. However, what we don’t like about free will is that with our choices, consequences follow them. Our choices typically reflect what we believe to be true and what we believe not to be true. More often than not, but not always, when we make good choices, good things, or consequences develop. On the other hand, when we make poor choices we ultimately will suffer adverse and painful consequences.

The centerpiece choice each human being must confront, is whether or not we choose to receive and believe the truth of Who God is as described in the Bible. He gives us a choice because when we choose to believe Jesus is Who He is, what He did for us on the cross, and, therefore, pursue an intimate relationship with Him the potential for that relationship is greatly enhanced because we choose to love Him as opposed to being forced into the relationship. It’s no accident that we as believers are viewed in Scripture as the “Bride of Christ”. Jesus is the bridegroom, and we are His beloved and betrothed. In other words, an arranged marriage – absent of choice by the bride and groom-to-be offers nowhere near the potential for realizing the love and intimacy that God designed for a marriage by choice.

When we choose to not believe the truths of God, we, by definition, are accepting and believing in lies about God. This is what God is saying about why the people have turned away from Him – they cling to deceit, or the lies that Satan has convinced them of. Jesus provides the true description of who Satan is in John 8:44: You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

So how do we escape clinging to the lies and deceit so endlessly presented to us by Satan and his evil forces? By doing what we’re doing here – studying the Word of God, which is the truth. Again, Jesus enforces this foundational fact about Himself – the Word of God – in John 14:6: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” He continues this message in his reply to Pilate in His fateful meeting with him in John 18:37b: In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” So how do we either avoid or respond to Satan’s lies and deceits about God?

IV. The truths of Who God is

Throughout our reading, God presents us no less than 28 verses that speak to the truth of His character, His love, and His mercy and grace. As I did with the condition of the people’s spiritual condition, I’m going to condense these verses into several key truths about Who God truly is:

1. God is the creator, and He is to be feared (5:22)
2. God sees all things (El Roi) (6:2; 7:11)
3. God does not comprehend evil thoughts (7:31)
4. God restrains the enemy (5:6)
5. God is merciful (5:10; 6:11-12)
6. God forgives (5:1; 5:7)
7. God disciplines those He loves out of His goodness for their good (5:3)
8. God is just and will respond to injustice (5:9; 8:14)
9. God is in control of all things (5:24)
10. God knows what is best for us (7:19)
11. God is persistent in His love for us (7:13)
12. God wants all to repent and be spared from sin’s consequences (6:21; 7:5-7; 2 Peter 3:9)
13. M. God gives and takes away (8:13; Job 1:21)
14. God listens (8:6; 1 Samuel 16:7b)

A good summary verse of who God is comes from chapter 9 verse 24: but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.

We MUST be vigilant in our pursuit of not just studying the truths of Who God is, but believing and living these truths. We are either blatantly or subliminally confronted with relentless lies about God’s perfect and complete love for us. We are living in a constant battle for possession – God created us for His good pleasure, but Satan is seeking to steal us away from God. We cannot be ignorant of this ongoing battle, which, in my opinion, is intensifying by the moment.

V. Key warnings from God

Out of God’s love, mercy, and kindness, He offers some important warnings to these spiritually bankrupt people. Once again, I’ll focus on the key ones and provide Scripture references to support.

1. A.  There is judgment to those who will reject God; He will take action
   1. 5:6:
   2. 6:1; 6:22: Babylonian Empire invasion and captivity
   3. 10:22
2. B.   Prophecy will be fulfilled
   1. 5:15: Babylonian Empire invasion and captivity
3. C.  Sin deprives us of goodness
   1. 5:25
4. D.  We are to heed God’s Word
   1. 6:1: “Flee”
   2. 6:17: “Listen to the sound of the trumpet”
5. E.   God will turn away for good at a certain point
   1. 6:8
   2. 7:16: “So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you.”
   3. 8:20: “The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.”
6. F.   God is not interested in religious acts
   1. 6:20: What do I care about incense from Sheba or sweet calamus from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please me.
7. G.  God will test our faith
   1. 5:3: “You struck…You crushed”
   2. 6:29: “The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire”
8. H.  God will respond positively to true repentance
   1. 7:5-7: “if you……., then I will let you live in this place”
9. I.    God will send multiple warnings in advance of judgment
   1. 7:13: “I spoke to you again and again”
   2. 7:25: “again and again I sent you my servants and prophets”
10. J.    God will consent to our decision to follow our fleshly desires
    1. 8:1-2
    2. Romans 1:24-32
11. K.  Be aware of false prophets
    1. 8:11: They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. “Peace, peace,” they say, when there is no peace.
    2. 1 John 2:22: Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son.
12. L.   Don’t be deceived
    1. 9:4

There’s that word again – deceived. The essence of God is love, and out of His incredible love for us, He’s honest with us.

• He reveals the truth of Satan’s endless attempts to convince us of lies about God
• He reveals the truth of Who He is which, if we choose to believe it, is life changing
• He warns us of the truth of the pain and suffering it causes both Him and us when we choose to believe the lies and not repent and turn to God.

VI. What is God looking for in us today and how do we respond?

We cannot deny that man’s spiritual condition today is no better than it was 2,700 years ago – one might argue it’s worse – we haven’t changed. The good news, neither does God. Our reading provides some verses of what God was looking for back then in His people. Notably, He’s looking for the same things in us today. Let’s go over a few of them:

5:1b: If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city.

This means to us God is looking for people who are genuinely, sincerely, and honestly seeking Him. If we do this and acknowledge Him for Who He is and what His Son did for us, He will forgive us.

5:28b: They do not promote the case of the fatherless; they do not defend the just cause of the poor.

Jesus told us that for those who have been given much, more will be required. If we are brutally honest with ourselves, God has given us an abundance – living in this country, living in this area of the world, our freedom to worship Him…. we could go on and on. Please know I’m not trying to guilt or shame any of you into doing something with what you have. All I ask is that you present your thanks to God for what He has provided you and ask Him if there’s something you can do for those who are less fortunate. That’s between you and God, but you need to have that conversation.

6:16a: This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.

In other words, “the good old days”, in God’s mind, are the days when we first fell in love with Jesus and were fired up about living our lives for Him. Today’s world looks at the old days of higher moral standards and little or no resistance to those who want to honor God publically as if this was a less developed type of thinking – today’s world wants to be progressive and let anything be acceptable – except for the things that I just mentioned that amounted to the foundation of what built this country into what it is – or at least was. God pleaded for the people to come back to Him 2,700 years ago, and He’s doing the same today.

7:5-7: ⁵ If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, ⁶ if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, ⁷ then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever.

God is referencing the people’s false hope in the “temple” – instead of Him. His point was their religious practices of offerings and sacrifices being performed at the temple meant nothing to Him because He knew their hearts were not in the right place. God does not want religion – He wants relationship. He wants it real, He wants it raw, and He wants it honest. God isn’t mocked, folks, He knows every single thing that is in you and in me that needs cleansing and forgiveness. He’s just waiting for us to own it, confess it, and give Him permission to clean it up. Remember, He started the process of a loving relationship – while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

7:23b: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you.

While salvation is by grace, not of works, we are accountable for our actions as Christians. Christian means “little Christ”, so we are to be reflections of the Lord to those around us. The way we go about doing this is doing what the Lord asks of us in conducting our lives in loving God and loving others. If we are truly and sacrificially loving God and others, then we are obeying His commandments.

Final Comments

For those of you still awake, you may remember I confessed that my flesh and your flesh were guilty of the things that God said the people were guilty of 2,700 years ago. What I’m about to say is not only important for this lecture, but also for this entire study. Jesus willingly went to the cross to sacrifice Himself for the punishment of my sins and your sins. His resurrection was the stamp of approval from the Father that His Son’s sacrifice was totally sufficient to meet His judgment for the past, present, and future sins to those who would come to believe in the truth of Who Jesus is and what He did for us. That old self in us – the flesh serving self – the guilty as charged flesh – died with Jesus on the cross.

Romans 6:6 confirms this, “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” In other words our faith in Jesus’ atoning work makes us a new creation that is “not guilty” of our sin – we are completely forgiven.  It is with this truth that we can find peace – the peace that passes all understanding – with God and with life. The judgments and consequences that we have been and will read about through this year’s study do not apply to those who confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I strongly encourage you to remember this as you go through this study and offer thanks and praise to God for the gift of Jesus.

Today’s reading revealed that for a very long time there’s been a raging war against mankind engineered by Satan, and his primary weapon is deception. The only defense against deceit and lies is the truth. My prayer for each of you here is that you have chosen to believe the truth of who God is. I encourage you each to ask God to reveal the lies you’ve been holding onto about Him, His love, and His desire to heal you with the truths of Who He really is. As this happens, may we each develop a heart like Jeremiah that truly cares about the lost. The truth is the lost have been deceived and believed the lie. It may be painful for them to hear the truth of their spiritual condition – the truth hurts for those who aren’t living in the truth. But you must at the same time tell them the truth of who God is, the love He has for them, and how His love has changed each of you. Then, it comes down to their choice – to believe the truth or to believe the lie. If they believe the truth, as Jesus said Himself, the truth will set them free. Amen?