Sermon Tone Analysis

Review of Jeremiah

Last week we started into a new section of oracles that seems to have been given during the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah that Pharoah Necho installed as king.

This section goes from Chapter 7 up until Chapter 26 and today’s passage looks at the backsliding of Judah, the refusal to repent, and then if followed by Jeremiah’s weeping over Jerusalem.

Or is it Jeremiah?

Backsliding

Jer.

8:4-5 “Do men fall and not get up again?

Does one turn away and not return?

Why then has this people—Jerusalem— turned away in perpetual backsliding?

The concept of backsliding, or falling away from God, is deeply founded in the writings of the prophets.

Why have these people, who knew the ways of Adonai, decided to walk away?

Why have they fallen and refused to stand back up?

Solomon said in Prov.

24:16

This passage, along with the verse we read in Jeremiah, uses the natural to point to a spiritual meaning.

When we physically fall over, it is completely natural to stand back up.

God is asking, why do the people stay in sin, instead of immediately repenting?

Adonai was longing to hear the people repent, so that He could turn and forgive, but there was no repentance, and no one even asked, “What have I done wrong?”

Know the Times

Adonai then point to nature, and how the birds know when to migrate and when to return, but the people can not figure out that now is the time for repentance.

Yeshua said a similar thing in Matt.

16:1-4

I remember hearing Reinhart Bonke speak about this passage.

Here the Pharisees and Sadducees were demanding a sign, and yet THE SIGN, the Messiah of Israel, who had just fed 4000 men plus women and children, was standing right in front of them.

How is it, that we can figure out the weather by looking at the signs, but we can’t figure out that we are under God’s judgement by reading the news paper?

Lying Scribes

Adonai points to one of the causes as being the “Lying pen of the Scribes.”

The scribes, primary role was to copy the Scriptures, word for word, and letter for letter.

They were supposed to be completely faithful to the text of God’s word.

But just like the Prophets mentioned in chapter 6, we see that people were trusting in the lies of those who were writing Scripture.

In response to this, we see that Verses 10 to 12 are almost an exact copy of Jer.

6:12-15.

A lying spirit in the Prophets, Priests and now Scribes is causing the people to believe that nothing is wrong.

They are making the people feel better, but it is only superficial, they are saying, “Shalom, Shalom”, but there is no Shalom.

Therefore, the same judgement that was being applied to the Prophets and the Priests earlier, is now being applied to the Scribes, and Adonai declares that He will utterly consume them, the vine, the fig, and every leaf of the trees.

People’s Response

We see the people responding in verses 14 to 15.

We need to remember what was going on at this time.

In 612 B.C.

The combined forces of the Babylonians, Medes and Scythians captured Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire.

The Assyrians then moved their capital to Harran, but the Babylonian army then captured Harran in 609 B.C. King Josiah died in 609 B.C because he tried to stop Pharoah Necho II from assisting or attacking Assyria (depending on the historical source).

Jehoahaz, Josiah’s son, is crowned king but only lasts for 3 months.

Necho, on his way back to Egypt after loosing to Babylon, decides that he prefers Eliakim (who he renamed Jehoiakim), and installs him as king in Jerusalem.

It is just after Jehoiakim becomes king (around 608 B.C.) Adonai gives this series of oracles to Jer. 7-23.

It is in this context, as the combined armies under Babylon, are waging war and getting closer and closer, that the people cry out, “Why are we sitting here?

Let’s go hide in the fortified cities!” As the people are running to hide, Adonai warns them that there is nowhere that they can run where the armies will not find them.

Jeremiah Weeps … Or is it Adonai?

The heart of Jeremiah is overcome with sorrow.

His people will be carried off to Babylon and there is nothing that he can do about it.

There is no healing, there is no physician, there is no hope for the people.

But the cry bounces back and forth between the words of Jeremiah and the words of Adonai.

Why do we think that Adonai does not feel?

Where does it say that the Lord God is stoic and unemotional?

It says, “My joy… my heart … my people.”

And goes on to ask, “Why have they provoked Me with their graven images?”

Jer.

8:23 “If only my head were water and my eyes a fountain of tears, then I would weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!”

Application

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

Backsliding

Firstly, if we have walked away from God, then walk back!

Today is the day of salvation, today is the day to get right with God! Come back into fellowship with the Lord.

Yeshua tells his talmidim, Lk. 17:3-4

How much more will your Father in Heaven forgive you if you sincerely ask Him?

What time is it?

Do we know the times?

Paul tells Timothy, 2 Tim 3:1-5

Does this sound like today?

Well Paul tells us what to do: 2 Tim.

3:10-17

Lying Scribes

How do we know that the English Translation we read is good?

How do we know that the Scripture we are reading is what was originally written?

Well there is good news with regards to this.

Because the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Covenant were copied so many times, and we have so many copies we can verify the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts and ensure that what we have is the original.

For example, we are able to say with absolute certainty that the New Covenant is 99.5% exactly what was originally written and we know exactly where the 0.5% is and none of it touches on any doctrinal issues.

But what about English Translations?

To cover that, I am going to play a video from Dr. Michael Brown:

https://askdrbrown.org/library/what-best-english-bible-translation

As you may all be aware I use the Tree of Life Version, but I know that many also like The Complete Jewish Bible.

I just find the TLV easier to read and preach from.

Do we weep?

Finally I want to ask, “Do we weep over our city, and nation?”

Do we mourn over the wickedness that we see?

Ezekiel saw the following:

And Yeshua cried out, the week before he was killed: Matt.

23:37-39

Do we cry out for our city and for our nation?