Lord of the Heart: Jeremiah 16, 17 (1)

Pray Psalm 33.13-17.
The LORD looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men.
From the place of His dwelling He looks
On all the inhabitants of the earth;
He fashions their hearts individually;
He considers all their works.
No king is saved by the multitude of an army;
A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for safety;
Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

Sing Psalm 33.13-17.
(Truro: Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns)
God from His throne looks down on men; He knows our works and made our hearts.
Let not Your Church, let none depend on strength or skill or human arts.

Read and meditate on Jeremiah 16.1-13.

Prepare.
1. How did God show His love for Jeremiah?

2. What were the people following instead of God?

Meditate.
The problem Paul faced in dealing with the Church in Corinth was only superficially about all the issues and troubles they presented to him. Their problem was deeper: Misguided affections were leading them astray (2 Cor. 6.12). Put another way, their hearts were in the wrong place.

This is precisely what God was dealing with in the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Their hearts were in the wrong place (v. 12). They had allowed their interest, desire, and devotion to drift from the Lord and become relocated in the false gods of foreign nations (vv. 10-13). And because they had not guarded their hearts, but allowed them to become corrupt, God would now remove His favor from them and leave them to the error of their ways (v. 13).

Surely the hearts of the people of Judah would break with sorrow when they saw the destruction that was to come upon them (vv. 1-8). All the mirth and frivolity they had enjoyed while worshiping the false gods would be removed (v. 9); instead, horror and violence and mourning for the dead would be their lot (vv. 6, 7).

So God warned Jeremiah not to take a wife nor have any children, because they would surely fall under the same wrath the ruthless Babylonians would exact on every other household in Judah and Jerusalem (vv. 1-4). The evil hearts of God’s people would be judged by the evil hearts of vicious Babylonian soldiers; and God loved Jeremiah – and his heart (Jer. 15.16) – too much to allow him to fall to this horrible fate.

In our relationship with God, within the covenant of His love, the heart is the heart of the matter. Either our hearts rejoice in the Lord and His Word, or they will stray until His judgment catches up to them.

Reflect.
1. Why were the hearts of the people of Judah wicked? What did these wicked hearts look like in practice?

2. Jeremiah was given a short-term disappointment to spare him long-term grief and sorrow. Explain. What should we learn from this?

3. What was Jeremiah supposed to say to the people when they asked him about why God was judging them? Should we warn people about God’s judgment to come?

The heathens indeed vainly boasted of their idols, and spread abroad many fables to allure unhappy men to false and corrupt worship, but the Jews knew who the true God was. To believe the fables of the heathens, rather than the law and their own experience, was not this the basest impiety? This then was the reason why God complained that foreign gods were worshipped by them. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Jeremiah 16.10-13

Cleanse my heart, O God, so that today I will…

Pray Psalm 33.18-22.
Ask God to guard and keep you through all temptation and every trial. Put on the full armor of God in prayer (Eph. 6.10-20).

Sing Psalm 33.18-22
Psalm 33.18-22 (Truro: Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns)
God watches those who fear His Name, who hope upon His grace and love;
He keeps their souls from death and shame who trust in Him Who reigns above.

God is our Helper and our Shield; upon us let Your grace descend!
We hope in You; to You we yield; we trust in Jesus to the end.

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).