Lessons From Jeremiah – Part 5 – Injustice Against God; Treachery And Demonism Series

LESSONS FROM JEREMIAH – PART 5 – INJUSTICE AGAINST GOD; TREACHERY AND DEMONISM

PART 5 - Jeremiah 2:4-12

CHAPTER 2

[A]. THE ADDRESS TO THE NATION; THE LORD PLEADING WITH THEM

{{Jeremiah 2:4-8 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. Jeremiah 2:5 Thus says the LORD, “WHAT INJUSTICE DID YOUR FATHERS FIND IN ME, that they went far from Me and walked after emptiness and became empty? Jeremiah 2:6 They did not say, ‘Where is the LORD who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought and of deep darkness, through a land that no one crossed and where no man dwelt? Jeremiah 2:7 I BROUGHT YOU INTO THE FRUITFUL LAND to eat its fruit and its good things, BUT YOU CAME AND DEFILED MY LAND, and My inheritance you made an abomination. Jeremiah 2:8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ and those who handle the law did not know Me. The rulers also transgressed against Me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal and walked after things that did not profit.”}}

Now we come to the serious message delivered through Jeremiah to a wide audience. It seems he is addressing the whole of the descendants of Jacob and not just the people of the southern kingdom of Judah. He is inclusive in “house of Jacob” and specific in “families of the house of Israel” but the message is from the Lord and he proceeds with it. A man of courage will speak for God when he knows there is fierce opposition, as did all the Old Testament prophets and so many in the New Testament. In our own day we seem to have too many wimps in church leadership who won’t upset the apple cart. They are more interested in image and popularity, money and acceptance, rather than in faithfulness to the Lord.

There is a Sunday School chorus the older ones might know called “Dare to Be a Daniel” – “Dare to be a Daniel; Dare to stand alone; Dare to have a purpose firm; And dare to make it known.” The same could be said for Jeremiah. Could it be said of us?

WHAT INJUSTICE? In verse 2 God recalls their former devotion but evil came upon them commensurate with their deliberate departure from their life source. God asks them what injustice did they find in Him. In fact Israel became self-willed and separated itself from God. They pursued their own endeavours and saw any restraint from God, or any leading of God as injustice.

This is the problem with the human heart. It is so corrupted it can never pursue a level path with God. Sin has caused so much distortion that man can not separate right from wrong. The first casualty in this is justice. Over and over again the Old Testament, prophets decried the injustice of the land and that included unjust judges.

For those of you who live in the United States, you may or may not follow what is happening in your law courts in 2023 and 2024 with the multitude of trials against Donald Trump, trumped up charges to discredit him in the Presidential election. There is no justice in New York State, none whatever. Blatant injustice is there, and corrupt judges and juries and District Attorney. The whole system is sick and putrid from head to toe. Don’t believe me. Go and read it for yourselves. In fact throughout the bible the abuse of justice make God very angry. His judgement most certainly will fall.

The nation of Israel was to live in submission to God but refused to do that and rebelled. God has established this headship through all of creation. Man was designated head over the woman in the original creation. The husband is designated as head of the family in marriage. Christ is Head of the Church His body, and of course, Jehovah is Head and husband of Israel. Wherever there is rebellion, it will destroy God’s order and God’s institution. The stark truth of self-will had to be made known to Saul – {{1 Samuel 15:22-23 Samuel said (to Saul), “Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed, than the fat of rams, for REBELLION is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king.”}} Rebellion is compared with divination (NASB) or witchcraft (KJV). It is very evil and the whole of Israel is guilty of it.