The Desperately Wicked Heart

The Desperately Wicked Heart

?

Jeremiah 17:5–10 NKJV

Thus says the Lord:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man

And makes flesh his strength,

Whose heart departs from the Lord.

For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,

And shall not see when good comes,

But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,

In a salt land which is not inhabited.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

And whose hope is the Lord.

For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,

Which spreads out its roots by the river,

And will not fear when heat comes;

But its leaf will be green,

And will not be anxious in the year of drought,

Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

“The heart is deceitful above all things,

And desperately wicked;

Who can know it?

I, the Lord, search the heart,

I test the mind,

Even to give every man according to his ways,

According to the fruit of his doings.

?

This morning’s Old Testament passage for study comes from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah who lived in the time of the Babylonian exile. Jeremiah lived in difficult times. The Northern Kingdom of Israel had been taken into captivity in Assyria about one hundred years earlier for their forsaking of the LORD and cleaving to idolatry and acts of wickedness. Rather than taking a lesson from this, the Southern Kingdom of Judah would not repent of their evil ways. there were attempts at reform such as during the reign of Josiah, but the general direction was to become even more wicked.

?

The LORD sent Jeremiah to Judah and its capital Jerusalem to warn them of the LORD’s displeasure with them. They had committed apostacy and clung unto other gods and practiced their abominable acts in the name of worship of other gods. As a result, the LORD threatened to divorce Judah as He had Israel for their unfaithfulness. By the way, the word “apostasia” in Greek means “divorce.”

?

We read in Jeremiah 3:8-11

?

?Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the Lord.

Then the Lord said to me, “Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.

?

We also read in Ezekiel 16:51

?

“Samaria did not commit half of your sins; but you have multiplied your abominations more than they, and have justified your sisters by all the abominations which you have done.

?

Jeremiah who was called from his mother’s womb suffered a long prophetic career with much abuse. Yet, in spite of the evil treatment he received, continued to love and intercede for his people. This reflects well on the character of God who pleaded again and again for Judah and Samaria to reform. But the people preferred to listen to false prophets who told them what they wanted to hear. they said that the LORD was about to bless Israel. They claimed that God would or could never forsake His people. This provides a little context to this morning’s passage.

?

Jeremiah 17:5-10 is in the the form of a psalm. A psalm is a type of song or poetry. God was singing this oracle out through the lips of Jeremiah. It is similar to the 1st psalm in that it contrasts the conduct of the good man and the evil man, except the order is reversed and the wicked man;s ways are mentioned first.

?

The wicked man trusts in man and not in the LORD. The contrasting idea is that the righteous man trusts in the LORD and not man. The wicked man is cursed and the righteous man blessed. the second line gives further elaboration to the way of the wicked. He makes flesh his strength rather than the LORD. Judah was trusting in the strength of the walls and army which guarded the city. they trusted in the abilities of their king. Sometimes judah had made alliances with other nations to protect them. Even the “good” king Josiah had made alliances with Assyria and went out to battle against Egypt which resulted in Josiah’s death. Years earlier, another “good” king, Hezekiah made the mistake of showing all the riches of the kingdom including the LORD’s house to the ambassador of Babylon. Isaiah said that this would lead to further disaster for Judah. But at least Hezekiah placed his entire trust in the LORD to defend Jerusalem against the Assyrian king. And the LORD delivered Judah.