A Heart for God & A Heart for Man

Jeremiah 9:1-2

If we were to measure the prophet Jeremiah by the standard of our current evangelical climate he would not rate very high. It can be argued that he had at the most two converts. One of those was his amanuensis, Baruch, and the other was an Ethiopian eunuch (39:15-18). That doesn’t seem like much fruit for a fifty year ministry.

Jeremiah’s books wouldn’t been on any best seller list.

His social media page would not be flooded with followers.

He wouldn’t be speaking at the conference that costs hundreds of dollars for us to attend.

We would look at this man and wonder “What does he have to teach me?”

He’s not married so he can’t help me be a better spouse (16:1-4).

He doesn’t have kids so he can’t teach me how to be a better parent.

He doesn’t have any followers so he can’t teach me how to grow a church or influence people.

Yet Jeremiah was a man God recognized. Before Jeremiah was born God knew Him. God formed him in the womb and designated him as a prophet. The Bible says the Lord touched the lips of Jeremiah and put His words in Jeremiah’s mouth. He told Jeremiah He set him over nations and kingdoms, to build up and to tear down.

This man who spent his life being ridiculed and persecuted. This man who lived in continual sorrow.

This man who had virtually no family and even fewer friends.

This man who simply said what God told him to say is a great example for the believer. There is a simplicity about Jeremiah. A simplicity that is not difficult to identify. He had a heart for God and a heart for man.

Is that not enough? Is that not more than likes and followers? Is that not more than decisions and invitations? Is that not more than best sellers? It is more. It is more because it is the fulfillment of the great commandment to love God and love people (Matt. 22:37-39). Jeremiah did what Christ tells us to do. He loved God and He loved people.

We’re going to look at three things from this text: the tension in which Jeremiah lived, Israel’s history and Jeremiah’s heart.

The Tension in Which Jeremiah Lived (9:1-2)

In these verses we see two great emotions of Jeremiah.

We see sorrow over the situation in verse 1.

We see disgust over the sin in verse 2.

In verse 1 he wants to lament.

In verse 2 he wants to leave.

In verse 1 he feels sorry for them.

In verse 2 he is disgusted by them.

In verse1 he wants to intercede for them.

In verse 2 he wants to be far away from them.

He wants to cry and he wants to fly!

Have we not experienced some measure of that? We look at the sin in our culture and we cry out “Come Lord Jesus!” Then we see faces and we cry out “Lord, be patient!”

A heart for the glory of God and a heart for the salvation of man creates a tension that is often emotionally and theologically difficult.

That tension is healthy.

That tension is Biblical.

There ought to be both a desire for the salvation of man and for sin to be eradicated.

The mature Christian will experience this tension throughout his or her pilgrimage on this earth. We remember the words of Paul to the Philippians when he said

“For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.”

This tension is what makes Jeremiah a great prophet and a great man of God. It’s why he weeps and why he preaches.

There are the dangers of the two extremes:

Those who merely weep over humanity. These are humanitarians. These are folks who want to feed, clothe, embrace and ultimately accept all that humanity becomes.

Those who merely preach to humanity. There is no love just anger. They are like Jonah preaching what God says but secretly longing that judgment still falls.

When God looks at you He doesn’t consider your resume. He doesn’t care about clout, followers or likes. He looks on the inside. He is looking for a heart that beats for the glory of God and the salvation of man. That’s what pleases Him.

Israel’s History

I’m not going to give you an exhaustive history of the nation. I want to look at an immediate history. What was Jeremiah dealing with?

1. The people were foolish (8:4-7).

The Northern Kingdom had already fallen to the Assyrians. The Southern kingdom was about to fall to the Babylonians. God’s people would be taken captive and held as slaves. They had earned this with their sins. Despite the warnings of God the people would not repent.

What they needed to do was so simple. Look at verse 4. We see some very simple questions asked.

When a person falls do they not get back up?

When a person leaves the right path do they not get back on the right one?

This is simple stuff. When you fall down you get up. When you realize you’re headed in the wrong direction you get back on the right road.

Israel had fallen in her sin but was simply lying on the ground.

She had departed from the road but just kept going in the wrong direction anyway.

In verse 8:6 we see another example of their foolishness. They are compared to horses running into battle. The reference here is to war horses. Warfare was different in that day than in ours. Horses were used and therefore they became a target. Sharpened spears were positioned by the enemy to pierce the soft underbelly of horses as they charged forward. Ropes were used to trip the horses. Once the horse is wounded or killed the rider has to dismount.

In fact, horses were larger targets for the enemy. They were easier to hit with an arrow. The horses had no idea what they were doing. They just rushed into battle not even thinking that they were risking their lives.

Horses were used in the Civil War. General J.O Shelby had twenty four horses shot from beneath him. Nathan Bedford Forest holds the record with twenty- nine horses losing their lives beneath him.

In WW I Great Britain sent one million horses into battle and only about 62,000 returned. The horses had no idea they were giving their lives. They were simply responding to their nature and their training.

Jeremiah’s audience was like those horses. They were blindly rushing to their own deaths.

In 8:7 the illustration of birds is given. Several species are mentioned. They all follow the migration patterns. They did what they were supposed to do.

The people were more foolish than birds or horses. Obeying God was as easy as getting up when you fall or turning around when you realize you’re going the wrong way.

2. The people were quick to believe false teaching (8:8-11).

They had plenty of scribes and priests. They even had the Law of the Lord. But the religious leaders were twisting the Word of God to allow for idolatry and immorality.

Look at the end of 8:10. Everyone from prophet to priest was corrupt. In verse 8 it says the scribes made the truth of God into a lie.

Look at 8:11. It says the teaching of the false teachers healed the people slightly or lightly. The idea is there was no a complete healing. Perhaps they were teaching things that helped make life easier in this world but not the next. Such as, embrace the other religions and you won’t experience persecution.

They were telling the people everything was ok. “Peace, peace” means don’t worry. It’s like a doctor giving a person with cancer a pain pill and sending them home saying “You’ll be ok.”

Israel should have recognized the false teaching. They knew better. They would see it eventually. Look at 8:1-3. When the invaders came they would dig up the bodies of Jewish kings, prophets, priests. They would spread their bones all over the ground beneath the sun the moon and the stars.

What was the point of this? Well, they had been worshipping these things. The enemy is showing the gods Israel worshipped what they were doing to them. But those gods would do nothing to help. Judah’s ancestors would be like fertilizer on the ground. To dishonor the dead was a great slap in the face to the Jewish people. How foolish it was for the people of God to so quickly adopt false teaching. But they did.

3. The people were bold in their sin (8:12). A question is asked. “Were they ashamed?” The answer is given. “No.” They had forgotten how to blush. There was pride in their sin. In 9:6 it says they refused to know the Lord. There was a boldness in their sin.

They would not repent.

They would not blush.

They would not come to the Lord.

This is Jeremiah’s mission field.

A people more foolish than brute beasts.

A people who embrace false teaching and reject truth.

A people bold in their sin.

We would hardly cast our pearls before these swine.

Jeremiah’s Heart

The transition from Israel’s history to Jeremiah’s heart begins with 8:18. In this section we see the heart of Jeremiah. This is one of the main sections of Scripture that inspire the title of Jeremiah as the weeping prophet. Let’s look at his heart.

A heart that could not be comforted (18-20).

There are three voices speaking in verses 18-20. Together they create a somber choir.

We see the voice of Jeremiah in verse 18. Jeremiah is looking forward to the actual Babylonian captivity. As he sees the prophetic truth his heart is beyond comfort. He is sick within.

In verse 19 he points to the cry of the people while in because of the invaders. God does not step in to save them. He wonders why. “Is not the LORD in Zion? Is not her King in her?”

We see the voice of God at the end of verse 19. “Why have they provoked Me to anger with their graven images?”

They had covenanted with God in Exodus 20:3 to have no other gods. Yet look back at 8:2. Notice all they did to these false gods.

They loved them.

They served them.

They walked after them.

They sought them.

They worshipped them.

We see the voice of the people in verse 20.

They say the harvest is past, the summer is ended and we are not saved. What does that mean? It’s a proverb. It means if they were going to be saved they would have been saved by now. They realize God isn’t going to intervene. Babylon is going to overtake them. The day of salvation has passed. They seem to be astonished at this. As if they thought they would be saved.

So we have Jeremiah asking “Why did the King not rise from His throne?

God asking “Why have you provoked Me to anger?”

The people asking “Why are we not saved?”

We all know that the question that brings no comfort to a hurting heart is “Why?”

Please understand Jeremiah knows why. He wrote this book. It’s more of an emotional thing. I think it can be a healthy thing. When we think of the lost there should be great discomfort in our hearts. We should not be satisfied as long as we live among the lost.

Despite their rebellion.

Despite their depravity.

Despite their boldness.

Their condition as lost sinners should make us sick. Our hearts should be broken over the lost.

A heart that hurt (21-22).

Notice three descriptions of Jeremiah in 8:20.

I am hurt. The hurt of his people hurt him. The word Jeremiah uses means crushed. It’s actually the same word used in Exodus 32:19 to describe the shattering of the tablets the Ten Commandments were written on.

Jeremiah feels completely broken inside. There is an emotional pain couple with his preaching.

I am black. This refers to funeral garments. Black was the color of mourning. We have all experienced the sorrow of a funeral. When a family member passes there is a heaviness, a darkness about us. Jeremiah is clothed with grief. It’s as if he is attending the funeral, not of one person, but of an entire nation.

Astonishment has taken hold of me.

This word is used to describe the extreme dismay people can feel at seeing destruction. Do you remember when 9/11 happened? Do you remember the feeling you had inside when you saw those buildings falling? I remember that. That’s what this word describes.

Jeremiah is hurt. His heart is shattered to pieces. It’s as if he is at a perpetual funeral. He is watching destruction that causes great shock within him.

He is hurt by this. There’s no “I told you so.” There’s no gloating.

He wants them to be saved. Look at verse 21. This is a well-known verse. Jeremiah asks “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?”

He knew there was a balm. He knew there was a physician. He preached it for fifty years.

The balm was repentance.

The physician was God.

The people simply did not want the balm nor the physician. This broke Jeremiah’s hurt.

Listen folks if the people do not desire salvation let us desire it for them. If they will not pray for themselves let us pray for them.

A heart that could not be fully expressed (9:1).

This is a prayer request of Jeremiah. A strange request it is. Jeremiah’s personal need is to weep more than he is weeping. It’s as if he’s saying he wants his head to be transformed into a waterfall so he could weep as much as his heart wants to weep.

He wants to weep day and night. He wants the tears to flow constantly for the salvation of his people. While 8:18 says he can’t comfort himself 9:1 says he can’t fully express himself.

Our first response is usually “I need to be like Jeremiah.” That’s true to a degree. But remember Jeremiah is frustrated because he can’t cry enough. There must be a greater grief inspiring the grief Jeremiah has. Where is this grief coming from?

What he says is much like what Paul said. Paul said in Romans 9:2-3 “I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren…”

Paul wanted to do something he could not physically do to save his people. He wanted to go to hell for them. He couldn’t do that and he knew he couldn’t.

Where do these great desires for salvation come from?

This is the grief of God. This is the grief of God experienced by some measure in Christians. When I was preparing this sermon I was reminded of Paul’s grief for salvation. Our family devotion was in Philippians. In Philippians 3:18 Paul said

“For many walk, of whom I have told you often and now tell you weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.”

Why did Jeremiah weep over the lost?

Why did Paul weep over the lost?

The grief of God over the lost is communicated to some degree to us. God is greater than us. He is greater than us even in His emotions.

He loves more than us, He hates more than us, He rejoices more than us, and He grieves more than us.

We could never be as happy as God is over the saved.

We could never be as grieved as God is over the lost.

What can we learn from Jeremiah? Here it is-

I need to weep more over the lost. I don’t weep enough. I don’t care enough. No matter how much I weep, no matter how much I care it is but a dim reflection of the great love Christ has for His people.

My tears won’t cleanse a single sinner. But my tears will reveal this sinner is being sanctified.

You say, “I want to be like Jesus!” Ok, Jesus wept. There’s a simple verse to start with.

The wickedness of our world should cause us to weep.

The lostness of our world should cause us to weep.

We ought to pray like Jeremiah prayed “Lord I need to weep more.”

Let us seek to have a heart for God and a heart for man. That is what it means to be like Christ. That is what missions is.

Let us remember the old African American spiritual inspired by these passages

There is a balm in Gilead

To make the wounded whole;

There is a balm in Gilead

To heal the sin-sick soul.

If you cannot sing like angels,

If you can’t preach like Paul,

You can tell the love of Jesus,

And say He died for all.

There is a balm in Gilead

To make the wounded whole;

There is a balm in Gilead

To heal the sin-sick soul.