Don't Forgive Them

Introduction:

Focus Passage:

Jeremiah 18:18–23 (AV)18 Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words. 19 Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me. 20 Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them. 21 Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle. 22 Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet. 23 Yet, LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger.

Outline:

The plot against God’s Messenger (v.18)

Jeremiah 18:18 (AV)18 Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.

I. Jeremiah had revealed the condition of Judah

He had revealed to them their depraved and deceptive heart, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it (Jeremiah 17:9). Jeremiah had revealed to them that they were not in charge as they thought they were. That they were clay within the potter’s hands, God Himself, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel (Jeremiah 18:6). Jeremiah continued to reveal to Judah that due to their depraved and reprobated spiritual condition, they were called of God to repent, Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good. (Jeremiah 18:11). Jeremiah had went as far as telling them they had truly lost all common sense through their rebellious actions, Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing (Jeremiah 18:13).

How do the people react to these revelations given about their conditions? It is not good, as you would suppose. No one wants to hear they are wrong. No one wants their failures and short coming pointed out to them. Society itself never wants the light of God shined into the darkness of its depravity.

II. Judah devised her plot against God’s messenger

It was not just anyone plotting against Jeremiah. It was the religious leaders, the political leaders that began to plan the plot against Jeremiah. Why not? If they did as God was calling them to do, it would mean losing power, losing influence, and admitting their guilt before God. As they themselves state, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Sound familiar? It should. It was the religious leaders that plotted against Jesus and for the same reasons.

Matthew 12:14 (AV)14 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.

No only did the religious and political leaders of Jeremiah’s dad plot to kill him like the pharisees did Jesus, but they began the process with the same plan, rumors and false testimony, Come, and let us smite him with the tongue. In their response, they proved the ultimate condition of their heart.

III. Judah revealed the condition of their heart

After the religious leaders chose to plot the demise of Jeremiah and begin with a character assassination, they ultimately reveal the truth of the heart they were choosing to follow, And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart (Jeremiah 18:12). Their heart was as hard and rebellious as ever, and let us not give heed to any of his words.

Jeremiah’s Plea and Position (vv.19-20)

Jeremiah 18:19–20 (AV)19 Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me. 20 Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.

I. Jeremiah plead with God to take notice of the plot

Jeremiah pleads with God, hear their words, Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me. This wasn’t the first time that he plead to God to hear what was being said and the plans that were being made. This is now the second time that he has come before God and asked God to intervene. We find earlier within his ministry the following:

Jeremiah 12:1 (AV)1 Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?

Every time that Jeremiah came to his people with a message of repentance, he came with the hope that they would repent. Each time they would reject his please. They would reject God’s call to repent. They would plot against Jeremiah. Why? Because society does not want to change. It is depraved at its core. Jeremiah pleads for God to take notice and he also sought for God to see his position with the people.

II. Jeremiah claimed the position of intercessor

As he called God to see the plot against him, he also says, why? What I have I done? Why would they want to slander me, reject me, plot my death, Shall evil be recompensed for good. I have done nothing more than intercede on these people’s behalf, Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them, and this is the response. They plot against me. They attempt character assassination. In current terminology, they wanted to cancel Jeremiah, for they have digged a pit for my soul.

How does Jeremiah continue this plea. He responds in the only way he knows, prayer. He understood that his only answer was God.

Jeremiah’s honest prayer (vv.21-23)

Jeremiah 18:21–23 (AV)21 Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle. 22 Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet. 23 Yet, LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger.

At first glance, it may be hard for us to read this prayer. It may feel like this prayer is not honorable. However, I wish for us to see some characteristics of Jeremiah’s prayer.

I. Jeremiah’s prayer revealed his own broken nature

Jeremiah’s prayer was in the flesh. He was crying out of the flesh and wished pure violence on those plotting against him, deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle. Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them. His prayer was honest. He talked to God as he would others. He poured his heart out to God. We need this same passionate prayer today. We don’t need the call for violence. The call for violence and destruction revealed Jeremiah’s own broken nature. However, in that nature, he was also honest with God. He spoke his heart to God. We must all learn to be honest with God. Even David, as man after God’s own heart, prayed for judgment and violence against his enemy. He was not considered a man after God’s own heart due to his perfection, for he was far from perfect, but do to his honesty toward and faith in God.

II. Jeremiah’s prayer was personal

“...for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet...”

III. Jeremiah’s prayer called upon God

A. Jeremiah’s prayer called upon God’s knowledge of the situation

“...Yet, LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee...”

B. Jeremiah’s prayer called upon God’s judgment according to God’s timing

“...deal thus with them in the time of thine anger...”

Jeremiah realized that he could not act on his own. He realized he could not take judgment into his own hands. It would go against all that God was trying to teach His people. It would ruin his testimony and any form of influence he would have on his people to follow God and repent. In this truth, he called upon God to handle the situation, to handle the people plotting against him.

Conclusion:

What do we take from this? We will all face rejection and rebellion when standing on the principles of God’s word. As we stand out in society and preach the truth, we will face rejection. We will face those that plot against us. We will be angry. We will feel the pressure and we will want to take vengeance into our hands. We want to get back at those that hurt us. However, the only answer, the only solution is for God to handle it. He knows the situation. He knows the plots, the rumors, the gossip. He sees the pain, the hurt, and the unknowns. He is the one that fights and wins the battles for us. We cannot do it on our own. To respond in kind as the lost react us, is to ruin our testimony. We are to be faithful to God and faithful to His message.