Sermon Tone Analysis

My heart is broken for the Jewish people.

I am crying that they would know their Messiah, Yeshua HaNatzari.

How long, O Lord?

In some sense I have felt Jeremiah’s cry, his longing for them to return to Adonai.

Let us begin in Jer.

6

A People Under Siege

This passage, like many other in Jeremiah, has multiple changes in speakers as well as audience.

The first passage reminds us from Adonai that Jerusalem will be destroyed by siege.

Jeremiah issues a warning to the children of Benjamin, the city of Tekoa and Beth-cherem, that Judgement is coming from the north.

Tekoa (the modern city of Khirbit Tequa) is about 16 Km south of Jerusalem, the city of Beth-cherem is between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and the Tribe of Benjamin was in the region directly north of Jerusalem.

Adonai is warning all of the surrounding area that judgement is coming to Jerusalem, whom He calls the lovely, delicate Daughter of Zion.

Even in this declaration of judgement we see that Adonai mercifully warns the people, and seeks to save any who will listen.

Divine Orders to the Attackers

Adonai has declared from the beginning, that He is ultimately responsible for this destruction of Jerusalem.

Here again in vs. 6, we see that Adonai directs the armies to build siege weapons and punish Jerusalem for Her wickedness, violence and havoc.

The judgement will be complete, just as a gleaner of grapes goes over the vines a second time, so no one will escape.

Jeremiah’s Cry to God

Will anyone listen?

Is there anyone who can hear of this coming judgement and mourn and repent?

To Jeremiah, no one is even able to hear, because the Word of Adonai has become scornful to them.

And so, the anger of Adonai that Jeremiah has been trying to hold back now comes pouring out.

And just like before, halfway through the thought, it is no longer Jeremiah speaking, but Adonai tells Jeremiah to pour out the anger on all people.

The judgement that is coming will affect everyone, young and old, men and women, rich and poor.

Why will no one listen?

Why will no one listen?

Last week we touched on how the Prophets prophesied falsely, and the Priests ministered based upon that false word.

Now Adonai shows why these Prophets and Priests were corrupt.

From the least of them to the greatest of them they are filled with financial greed, and all of them do so deceitfully.

So, the sake of wealth the prophets are telling people, ‘Shalom, shalom!’ when there is no shalom.”

The people had forgotten how to blush, and when asked by Adonai to follow the ancient paths, the people said “We won’t walk in it.”

We don’t want to follow those old traditions.

We don’t want to hear your warnings anymore.

Later in his life Jeremiah would write:

Therefore...

Because the people refuse to listen, and return to Adonai, the earth, the nations, the entire congregation will see their disaster from the north.

Jeremiah’s Cry to the People

The time for repentance is now!

Verse 26 we see Jeremiah calling out for the people to repent now, before judgement comes.

The only reason that he would say this, is if there was a chance that Adonai would relent, and pour out forgiveness instead of wrath.

But instead, Adonai tells Jeremiah that he is a metal inspector and will see just how stubborn, rebellious, slanderous and corrupt the people actually are.

Application

So how do we apply this passage to our lives today?

Trust Adonai

In all of these judgements, whether it be war, famine or pestilence, we must remember that Adonai is in control.

Yeshua, when speaking with his Talmidim, said Lk. 21:10-13

Yeshua then continued and shares what we should do.

Lk. 21:14-19

Now I have a bad habit of talking to myself, and even arguing with myself about what I would say.

The good news is that I win most of the arguments, the bad news, is that it distracts me, angers me and ultimately puts worry in my mind.

Yeshua tells us not to defend ourselves, but rather to rely on the speech and wisdom that He will give us.

In my case, this means focusing more on reading His word, and less on worrying what the world is doing.

Yeshua calls us to patiently endure.

He warns us that we will be hated because of Him.

But in all of this, we can remain confident in Him because He has overcome the world.

Blush over sin

One of the verses that stood out to me in the passage was, Jer.6:15 ““Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?

No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush.”

We live in a culture is that has forgotten that there are things we ought not do, there are things we ought not say, and there are places we ought not go.

Embarrassment of sin is a very good thing.

It used to be that most sins were culturally embarrassing, however today our culture wants many sins to be accepted so that people will not feel embarrassed doing them.

We live in a culture that is forgetting how to blush.

The question that we can ask ourselves is, “Do we still blush?

Or have we desensitised ourselves to the dark, twisted nature of sin?”

If we find ourselves no longer being embarrassed, then maybe we need to get back into God’s Word, and be reminded of how He sees sin.

Repentance is a Gift

A good friend of mine, Rella Shipman, once said, “Repentance is a Gift!”

The ability to repent and Adonai’s willingness to forgive, is what sets the God of the Bible apart from all other gods.

When the Lord reveals sin in our lives, it is to bring us to repentance so that He can forgive us.

Rav.

Sha’ul wrote to the congregation in Corinth, 2 Cor.

7:8-10

Paul’s previous letter had pointed out many sins going on in the congregation, and here he is pointing out that the grieving of the people had led them to repentance, and that repentance leads us to salvation, leaving no regret.

Paul does point out that there is a right kind of sorrow, that leads us to repentance, and there is a wrong kind of sorrow that leads us to a rejection of God.

I have seen the difference between being sorry for myself, verses being sorry over my sin.

The self-centred sorrow has led me toward depression, whereas the godly sorrow has led me to repentance.

And repentance always leads to healing and freedom in Messiah.

We are all called to live a humble life.

This means that like King David we need to be quick to repent.

This does not mean that we should deliberately sin just so that we can get forgiven.

This is what Paul was talking of to the congregation in Rome.

Rom.

6:1-4

Yeshua said this.

Lk. 17:3-4

If this is how Yeshua commands us to be with each other, how much more will Adonai be this way with us?