Healthy Independence-1

HEALTHY INDEPENDENCE-I—Jeremiah 17:1-14

Attention:

Play Ball!

A father introduced his 5-year-old son to the game of baseball by taking him to several games.

The Star-Spangled Banner was sung before the start of each game, & the little fellow got to where he had memorized the patriotic song.

Then the father & son attended church on a Sunday shortly before Independence Day. Lo & behold, the congregation sang The Star-Spangled Banner. The little guy was so excited that he could hardly contain himself & sang along with great glee.

As the preacher got up to preach, the little boy did what he’d always done after the Star-Spangled Banner. He suddenly jumped to his feet & yelled out, at the top of his lungs, "PLAY BALL!!!”

The little guy’s ‘independence’ brought a very different—unwanted/unneeded—focus to the church service!

In contrast, God’s people must exhibit a ‘Healthy’ independence.

?Are you living INDEPENDENTLY of what will destroy you?

The prophet Jeremiah contrasted two major aspects of Independence—Independence from God versus independence from the world.

*Dependence upon YHWH brings independence from worldly influence.

What can be gleaned by contrasting healthy & unhealthy independence?

*How can I be independent of worldly influence?

1—A Healthy Independence Engages(deals with/handles/manages)...

A RESIDENT REBELLION(:1)

Explanation:(:1)

:1—“The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron;

With the point of a diamond it is engraved

On the tablet of their heart,

And on the horns of your altars,”

Both the heart & the outflow of the heart are addressed.

That is, “the horns of your altars” represent rather the religious manifestation of the heart.

Rom. 3:23—“for all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God,”

Rom. 6:23—“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

1Jn. 1:8—“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, & the truth is not in us.”

Heb. 13:8-10—“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, & forever. Do not be carried about with various & strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them. We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.”

“Only when God wrote his law on his people’s heart could obedience replace rebellion.”(Thompson)

“Pen/Tool”—je at—Noun Masc.—1) Stylus—1a) Iron stylus with diamond tip used to write on stone or metal, 1b) Reed pen used on a roll. Strong—a stylus or marking stick. Used 4X--Job 19:24; Ps. 45:1; Jer. 8:8; Jer. 17:1.?From—jye ‘eeyt—(contracted) in the sense of swooping, i.e. Side-long stroke. To swoop down upon (literally or figuratively); a primitive root.

“Iron”—lzrb bar-zel’—Noun Masc.—1) Iron—1a) Iron—1a1) Iron ore, 1a2) As material of furniture, utensils, implements; 2) Tool of iron; 3) Harshness, strength, oppression(fig.). Strong—Iron(as cutting); by extension--An iron implement.?‘Barzillai’=‘Iron-hearted’

“Point”—Nrpu tsip-po’-ren—Noun Masc.—1) Fingernail, stylus point—1a) Finger-nail, 1b) Point(of a diamond). Strong—properly--A claw, i.e. (human)Nail; also--The point of a style(or pen, tipped with adamant). Used 2X--Deut. 21:12; Jer. 17:1.?From—rpu tsaw-far’—To skip about, i.e. Return(in the denominative sense [from rwpu tsip-por' -OR- rpu tsip-por’—a little bird(as hopping)] of scratching); a primitive root.

“Diamond/Flint”—rymv shaw-meeyr’—Noun Masc.—1) Thorn(s), adamant, flint—1a) Thorns, thorn-bushes, 1b) Adamant(as sharp), 1c) A sharp stone, flint—1c1) Perhaps a diamond. Strong—A thorn; also(from its keenness for scratching)--A gem, probably the diamond. Used 11X.?From—rmv shaw-mar'—in the original sense of pricking—properly--To hedge about(as with thorns), i.e. Guard; generally--To protect, attend to, etc.; a primitive root.

“Engraved”—vrx khaw-rash’—Qal Participle Passive—1) To cut in, plough, engrave, devise—1a) (Qal)--1a1) To cut in, engrave, 1a2) To plough, 1a3) To devise; 1b) (Niphal)--To be ploughed; 1c) (Hiphil)--To plot evil; 2) To be silent, be dumb, be speechless, be deaf; 2a) (Qal)--2a1) To be silent, 2a2) To be deaf; 2b) (Hiphil)--2b1) To be silent, keep quiet, 2b2) To make silent, 2b3) To be deaf, show deafness; 2c) (Hithpael)--To remain silent. Strong—To scratch, i.e. by implication--To engrave, plough; hence(from the use of tools)--To fabricate(of any material); figuratively--To devise(in a bad sense); hence(from the idea of secrecy)--To be silent, to let alone; hence by implication--To be deaf(as an accompaniment of dumbness); a primitive root.

“Tablet”—xwl loo’-akh, OR--xl loo’-akh—Noun Masc.—1) Board, slab, tablet, plank—1a) Tablets(of stone), 1b) Boards(of wood), 1c) Plate(of metal). Strong—A tablet(as polished), of stone, wood or metal; from a primitive root; probably meaning to glisten. Used 43X.

“Heart”—bl lab—Noun Masc.—1) Inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding—1a) Inner part, midst—1a1) Midst(of things), 1a2) Heart(of man), 1a3) Soul, heart(of man), 1a4) Mind, knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory, 1a5) Inclination, resolution, determination(of will), 1a6) Conscience, 1a7) Heart(of moral character), 1a8) As seat of appetites, 1a9) As seat of emotions & passions 1a10) as seat of courage. Strong—The heart; also used (figuratively) very widely for--The feelings, the will & even the intellect; likewise for--The centre of anything.