Call To A Collapsing Country
Text: Jer.8: 1-12
Intro: The nation of Israel had enjoyed God’s blessings in an unprecedented way. God had personally chosen them to be His people from among all the peoples of the earth. According to the Scriptures, this was not due to any special attractiveness or merit on their part. God, in His infinite wisdom, chose this insignificant people as the vehicle through whom He would show His love, mercy and grace, and fulfill His eternal purposes. Deuteronomy 7: 6 and 7 says of Israel, “…The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people.”
Yet, in spite of the fact that God chose, cared for, and cherished Israel, they betrayed Him over and over again, by turning to false gods. God Himself referred to the children of Israel as a “stiffnecked people” (Deut.9: 13b). That simply meant that they were rebellious and stubborn. The accuracy of God’s evaluation of Israel has been verified numerous times throughout their history. However, in spite of Israel’s failures and foibles, God remained faithful.
In Jeremiah chapters 7-10, Jeremiah bemoans the spiritual condition of his people. He did not mince words when describing their waywardness and corruption. As one examines Jeremiah’s sad account of Israel’s backslidden condition, the similarity to our own nation is readily seen. For instance, one of the issues that Jeremiah addressed was the futility of religious activity apart from obedience (Jer.7: 21-28). Like many modern-day Christians in America, Israel of old had the mistaken idea that, as long as they went through the motions of religious activity, God would somehow overlook their disobedience. The judgment that God pronounced upon Israel through Jeremiah, proved that idea to be a tragic miscalculation on their part.
As we examine the words of “the weeping prophet,” I want us to not only notice the similarities between Israel’s condition and that of our churches and nation, but also realize that if we are to experience revival and the presence and power of God, we will have to be willing to do what God told Israel—stop trusting the efforts of the flesh, and start seeking God.
Theme: As God issues His call to repentance to Israel, we notice…
I. THE CONCERN OF JEREMIAH’S HEART
A. His People’s Folly.
1. Jeremiah foresees the captivity of his people, and their inquisitive response.
Jer.8: 18 “When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.
19a-b Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her king in her?”
2. Jeremiah foresees God answering their impetuous query with an inquiring reply.
Jer.8: 19c “…Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?”
3. Jeremiah concludes that all hope of deliverance is gone, due to Israel’s ignoring repentance.
Jer.8: 20 “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”
NOTE: [1] Jeremiah is using the harvest time to illustrate the hopelessness of Israel’s condition. The picture being given here is of one who has not taken the opportunity to harvest any crops from April to October, and thereby has nothing stored for the winter months. There would be no way to survive. Jeremiah’s proverbial statement simply means, “…the people had lost every opportunity given them by God, and now they were entirely without hope. One favorable time after another went unheeded.”(i) Like Israel, many people of our day aren’t serious about repentance.
The sure test of the quality of any supposed change of heart will be found in its permanent effects. “By their fruits you shall know them” is as applicable to the right method of judging ourselves as of judging others. Whatever, therefore, may have been our inward experience, whatever joy or sorrow we may have felt, unless we bring forth fruits meet for repentance, our experience will profit us nothing. Repentance is incomplete unless it leads to confession and restitution in cases of injury; unless it causes us to forsake not merely outward sins, which others notice, but those which lie concealed in the heart; unless it makes us choose the service of God and live not for ourselves but for Him. There is no duty which is either more obvious in itself, or more frequently asserted in the Word of God, than that of repentance.(ii)
[2] Folks, the Bible says that God is merciful and longsuffering. But that same Bible also indicates that there comes a time when God’s patience runs out. When that happens, judgment is inevitable. I fear that our nation and its backslidden churches are quickly reaching the end of God’s patience.
[3] James Nankivell has written a piece called, “Some Things We Can’t Do.” He says that we can’t:
Sow bad habits and reap a good character; Sow jealousy and hatred and reap love and friendship; Sow wicked thoughts and reap a clean life; Sow wrong deeds and live righteously; …Sow dishonesty and reap integrity; Sow profane words and reap clean speech; …Sow cruelty and reap kindness; …Sow neglect of the Lord’s house and reap strength in temptation; Sow neglect of the Bible and reap a well-guided life…”(iii)
[4] God doesn’t always pay up every Friday at 5:00 p.m., but He never fails to settle His accounts. Payday is coming. The only thing that will avert God’s judgment is for God’s people to repent and seek God’s face with their whole heart.
B. His People’s Foolishness.
Jer.8: 22 “Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?”
NOTE: [1] Gilead was a mountainous region just east of the Jordan River, famous for the resin of the storax tree, which was used medicinally to heal sores and sicknesses. Jeremiah is speaking metaphorically of Israel’s spiritual malady. He wants to know why they have not recovered spiritually when there was a remedy available, and physicians to apply it. The problem was not that there was no cure, but that there was no concern; only callousness on the part of the people. It was simply foolishness on the part of the people not to avail themselves of God’s remedy for their spiritual sickness.
[2] Could we not ask the same question today?
[2a] Why are our churches cold and indifferent and in need of revival? Is it because we don’t have the remedy of the Word of God available to us? Is it because there are no preachers, evangelists, and other saints of God who know about the remedy, and are available to administer it? Since the answer to all of these questions is, “No,” then why are we in this condition?
[2b] Why is our nation in the shape its in? Why is it okay in our nation to display a picture of Jesus hanging on the cross, drowning in a sea of urine, but wrong to display a copy of the Ten Commandments in our courtrooms? Why is it okay to kill a child in the womb, but wrong to kill a child outside the womb (over 50,000,000 babies aborted to this point)? Why is it okay to scream four letter words and make obscene gestures during a ball game, but wrong to pray to God before the game? Since we have Bibles in millions of homes, and churches on almost every corner in America, why is our nation in this condition?
C. Jeremiah’s Passionate Feelings.
Jer.8: 21 “For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.
Jer.9: 1 Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!”
NOTE: [1] Jeremiah didn’t gloat over the fact that his predictions of judgment were coming to pass. He was brokenhearted over the things that were befalling his people, even though they had vigorously opposed him.
[2] Folks, if we really want to see God’s presence and power fall upon our church and this area in mighty revival, we’re going to have to be willing for God to give us a broken, agonizing heart over the situation.
Not Anger but Anguish
What we need today is not anger, but anguish, the kind of anguish that Moses displayed when he broke the two tablets of the law and then climbed the mountain to intercede for his people, or that Jesus displayed when He cleansed the temple and then wept over the city. The difference between anger and anguish is a broken heart. It’s easy to get angry, especially at somebody else’s sins; but it’s not easy to look at sin, our own included, and weep over it.(iv)
[3] If we want to see unconcerned and hardened sinners saved, we’re going to have to be willing for God to give us a compassionate heart that is broken for their condition. Spiritual aloofness will not produce spiritual alterations.
II. THE CORRUPTION OF THE NATION
A. Unfaithfulness.
Jer.9: 2 “Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.”
NOTE: [1] Jeremiah refers to Israel as, “…adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men” (v. 9b). Though the people were no doubt practicing the physical sin of adultery, Jeremiah’s primary thought here is probably the nation’s unfaithfulness to God, via idolatry.
[1a] In Jer.8: 1-2 and 10: 2, reference is made to “the host of heaven” and “the signs of heaven,” which is a reference to the worship of the sun, moon, and stars. The practice of guiding one’s life by the stars, or signs of the zodiac is centuries old.
[1b] Also, Jer.10: 3-5 speaks of the facts that Israel’s gods were of their own making. When man rejects the one true God, he will usually begin to worship gods of his own making. Man has an innate desire to worship something, even if it’s himself.
[2] The first part of verse two seems to be 180 degrees from the sentiments that Jeremiah expressed in verse one, where he spoke of his great sorry over what his people were going to endure. Here in verse two, he speaks of his revulsion at Israel’s great wickedness. The “lodging place of wayfaring men” that he speaks of here is a reference to a small, crude building that was used as a layover for those who were traveling in remote areas of the desert. “Though a lonely and often filthy dwelling, Jeremiah would prefer even it to the comforts of Jerusalem, so as to be removed from the pollutions of the capital.”(v) Sin was literally bringing his nation to ruin, and Jeremiah did not want to have to see their putrid corruption.
[3] There was a time when America was known as a Christian nation. There was a time once, when America was strong, possessed of character, morality, and determination. But since America has turned her back on God, she is on the verge of collapse. The following poem illustrates how our country has turned on God:
THE LITTLE LAMB
Mary had a little lamb,
His fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went,
The Lamb was sure to go.
He followed her to school each day,
T’wasn’t even in the rule.
It made the children laugh and play,
To have a Lamb at school.
And then the rules all changed one day,
Illegal it became,
To bring the Lamb of God to school,
Or even speak His Name.
Every day got worse and worse,
And days turned into years.
Instead of hearing children laugh,
We heard gunshots and tears.
What must we do to stop the crime,
That’s in our schools today?
Let’s let the Lamb come back to school,
And teach our kids to pray!(vi)
[4] One indicator of how America has turned its back on God is the importance given to spiritual matters, such as church attendance. For instance, the Barna Research Group has found that:
40% of American adults attend church in a typical weekend (2000). From the mid-eighties to the mid-nineties, church attendance was on a roller coaster ride. In 1986, 42% of adults attended a church service during a typical week in January. Attendance rose steadily, reaching a peak of 49% in 1991, before beginning a very slow but steady descent back to 40% in January 2000.(vii)
B. Untruthfulness.
Jer.9: 3 “And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord.”
NOTE: [1] My dad used to have a saying: “Some folks will tell a lie when the truth sounds better.”(viii) The basic idea of that statement is that some people are compulsive liars. Jeremiah says that his people had become consummate liars.
The picture here is vivid: the tongue is the bow and the lying is the arrow…They had completely abandoned moral and social standards. Mutual trust had vanished. The inner cohesiveness of the nation had broken down. Judah was laden with deceit…Willful ignorance of God was the root of their sin. They did not care to know or recognize him.(ix)
[2] America of today isn’t much better. According to Barna Research:
Intentional deceit is another plague riddling our society. One-third of all adults (32%) claim that “the way things are these days, lying is sometimes necessary.”(x)
[3] A man’s word used to be his bond, in America. Now-a-days that’s only true if it doesn’t put one in a bind. Like Israel, many Americans have begun to use their tongue as a weapon against what they fear, rather than faith in God.
C. Untrustworthiness.
Jer.9: 4 “Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.
5a And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth…”
NOTE: [1] The whole atmosphere of the country was one of distrust. When a country ceases to operate upon godly standards for their actions and relationships, that’s exactly what happens—distrust, due to the likelihood of exploitation.
[2] Look at our own situation here in America.
[2a] Children used to be able to trust adults, on the whole. Now we have to teach children how to protect themselves from perverts, who would think nothing of preying upon an innocent child.
[2b] Think also of the fact that respect for the elderly used to be a common practice in our country. Now however, it is not uncommon to hear of many elderly folks being scammed out of their entire life savings, by some unscrupulous crook.
[2c] Most people of our day are skeptical of almost everything and everybody with which they are not familiar, because of the fact that the rule of the day seems to be, “Every man for himself. I’m going to get you before you can get me.”
D. Ungodliness.
Jer.9: 5b “…they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.
6 Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the Lord.”
NOTE: [1] In verse 5 Jeremiah speaks of the unnaturalness of Israel’s sin. Not only did they sin, but they worked at it. The people trained their tongues to lie. When you think about it, lying takes more effort than telling the truth. When you tell a lie, you have to be sure to tell it exactly the same way every time, so that you don’t get caught in your lie. Jeremiah went so far as to say that the people wore themselves out in their efforts to commit wickedness.
[2] Folks, our nation has become increasingly corrupt; and just plain wicked.
[2a] Would it surprise you to know that, “…among the people who had an opinion on the subject, 46% stated that ‘Christian churches should accept gay people as church leaders’”?(xi)
[2b] Would it also surprise you to know that “…one-third of adults (33%) say that the acceptability of viewing pornographic images is a matter of taste, not morality”?(xii)
[2c] Would it surprise you to know that of the adults asked about the importance of truthfulness, “…32% hold the perspective that lying is sometimes necessary”?(xiii)
[2d] Would it surprise you to know that in 1997, 62% of all adults believed that Satan was only a symbol of evil, but not a real entity; or that 61% of all adults believed that likewise, the Holy Spirit was only a symbol of God’s presence and power, but not a real entity?(xiv)
[3] Our nation is every bit as corrupt as Israel, in the days of Jeremiah the prophet. The only hope for our survival is revival.
III. THE CALAMITY OF JUDGMENT
A. God’s Judgment Was Required.
1. The Lord indicates that, due to Israel’s refusal to repent, judgment could be expected.
Jer.7: 28 “But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.”
Jer.9: 7 “Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do (“what could be more fitting or proper”) for the daughter of my people?
8 Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.”
NOTE: [1] God never rushes to judgment. Ps.103: 8 says, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.” Likewise, II Pet.3: 9 says that God “…is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” God had patiently tried to correct His people, but they rebelliously refused correction (Jer.7: 28).
[2] God’s patience having worn thin, He proclaims in Jer.9: 7 that judgment will now commence. The NIV translates this verse, “See, I will refine and test them, for what else can I do because of the sin of my people?”(xv) When correction fails, calamity follows. Count on it.
2. God then explains that His judgment upon His people would be extensive.
Jer.9: 9 “Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
10 For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.
11 And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons (jackals); and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.”
B. God’s Judgment Was For A Reason.
Jer.9: 12 “Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?
13 And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;
14 But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:”
NOTE: [1] God’s general indictment against His people was simply that they had turned away from His Word (“my law”) in disobedience, and “instead, they…followed the stubbornness of their hearts…”(xvi)
[2] When one examines the following facts from Salt & Light, a newsletter of the Mississippi Baptist Christian Action Commission, it becomes obvious that America is living according to her own stubborn will:
[2a] Profanity used during prime-time television has increased dramatically from 1989 to 1999.
In terms of the number of incidents per hour, in 1999 there were three times more sexual references than in 1989. Foul language occurred 5.5 times more often. Genitalia were mentioned seven times more frequently and homosexuality 24 times more often than 10 years ago.(xvii)
[2b] Teens in America have a serious alcohol problem.
Pacific Institute, a non-profit health research center, discovered that adolescent deaths due to underage drinking outnumbered deaths from illicit drug use 6 to 1. These disturbing stats are not commonly recognized as a major public health hazard although a study has estimated that the overall costs to society of teenage drinking are $58 billion dollars.(xviii)
[2c] Check out these stats on the A.I.D.S. epidemic:
5.6 million new cases in 1999; 2.6 million deaths in 1999; 16 million have died since 1981; 33.6 million currently have AIDS.(xix)
[2d] Teen gambling is at epidemic proportions in our nation.
Between 76 percent and 91 percent of all teens will have gambled by the time they are seniors in high school, according to a study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics on Pediatrics electronic pages, researchers from Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston…Of nearly 17,000 8th-12th grade students, 53 percent reported gambling in the last 12 months and 7 percent reported that gambling caused problems with their families and friends.”(xx)
[2e] According to a survey conducted by the University of Chicago:
…Only 56 percent of adults were married in 1998. Because of higher divorce rates and more single-parent homes, it is estimated that just a little over half of America’s children will live in two-parent homes. Compare this to the 75 percent of adults who were married in 1972, back when three-fourths of America’s children were part of a traditional two-parent household.(xxi)
[2f] Earlier I mentioned teen drinking, but are you aware that, “…the average amount of beer consumed per person per year in the U.S. is 22 gallons or 235 bottles,”(xxii) according to USA TODAY for July 12, 2000.
C. God’s Judgment Would Have A Devastating Result.
Jer.9: 15 “Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
16 I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.”
IV. THE CHANGE THAT WAS NEEDED
A. They Needed To Put Away Fleshly Confidence.
Jer.9: 23 “Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:”
B. They Needed To Put Their Faith In God’s Character And Compassion.
Jer.9: 24 “But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.”
Jer.10: 10 “But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.”
Theme: As God issues His call of repentance to Israel, we notice:
I. THE CONCERN OF JEREMIAH’S HEART
II. THE CORRUPTION OF THE NATION
III. THE CALAMITY OF JUDGMENT
IV. THE CHANGE THAT WAS NEEDED
i. Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Zondervan Publishing House: Grand Rapids, Michigan, pg. 438.
ii. Charles Hodge.
iii. From an e-mail devotion by Timothy A. West at westmin@theinnet.net.
iv. Warren W. Wiersbe, The Integrity Crisis, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991, pp. 75-76.
v. Jamison, Fausset, Brown Commentary, acquired from Crosswalk.com, Jeremiah chapter 9.
vi. Taken from http://www.good4asmile.com/heartsoul/little_lamb.htm.
vii. Obtained from www.barna.org.
viii. Lelond L. Martin.
ix. Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Zondervan Publishing House: Grand Rapids, Michigan, pg. 441.
x. Obtained from www.barna.org.
xi. Ibid.
xii. Ibid.
xiii. Ibid.
iv. Obtained from Barna Research at http://www.barna.org.
xv. NIV.
xvi. Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Zondervan Publishing House: Grand Rapids, Michigan, pg. 442.
xvii. Compiled by Rita Wood, Salt & Light: September/October 2000, Vol.13, No.5).
xviii. Ibid.
xix. Ibid.
xx. Ibid.
xxi. Ibid.
xxii. Ibid.
