We love to hear good words. We love to hear good news. We love to hear “Hey, we’re in trouble, but it’s gonna be all right. We can make it.” And you know what? That is wonderful to hear and that is wonderful to believe unless they are deceptive words, unless they are words that gloss over where you are, that do not deal with the problem. We’re gonna talk about words that deal with the problem and bring healing.
In Jeremiah you find that the people were loving what they were hearing. They were hearing, “Peace, peace,” and there was no peace. (See Jeremiah 6:14) Judgment was coming. Judgment had to come because the people had forsaken God and they refused to return. But the people didn’t know it. The people simply listened to the false prophets instead of listening to this one lone voice of Jeremiah who was living right among them. They preferred the, the voice of the multitude.
Listen to what it says in Jeremiah chapter 5, verse 30. .=[An appalling thing has happened, it’s happened] in [our] land: the prophets prophesy falsely…the priests rule on their own authority; and [the] people love it so…!‘. He says, .=…But what will [they] do at the end of it?‘. (Jeremiah 5:30-31)
They love it, but what are they going to at the end? Why? Because what’s happening is instead of ruling according to God’s authority, according to the plumb line of God’s Word, which the people don’t want to hear, they .=…rule on their own authority….‘. (Jeremiah 5:30)
And this is why, believe it or not, this is why, Beloved, there are so many in America that are trying to silence the voice of Christians. They don’t want Christians bringing up God. They don’t want them to talk about Him or holiness or righteousness or judgment. And you know what? God’s judging us, and how many people have heard the warning of God that this judgment was coming?
I’ve been telling people, not because I’m some great prophet. But I’ve been telling people because I read the Word of God. Joel Rosenberg is a dear friend of mine. He and Lynn are dear friends. And he’s been writing these novels, and he’s been telling people, and they think he’s another Nostradamus. But he’s reading the same Book that I’m reading. We did programs together. Many of you commented on how blessed you were by those. And, and you can go online to “preceptsforlife.com” and you can order those. But I’m telling you that people do not want to hear truth. They love deception.
And so this is where we left off. In Jeremiah chapter 9, in verse 5 it says .=Everyone deceives his neighbor and does not speak the truth, they have taught their tongues to speak lies; [and] they weary themselves committing iniquity.‘. (Jeremiah 9:5) He says, .=Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit….‘. There’s deceit all around you. .=…Through deceit they refuse to know Me….‘. (Jeremiah 9:6)
They don’t want to know God. And you see it’s knowing God that delivers you from deception. It’s knowing the Word of God that sets you free from that deception.
So now we come to a “therefore”in verse 7. Because through deceit they refuse to know Him, .Therefore thus says the LORD…=Behold, I will refine them and assay them; for what else can I do, because of the daughter of My people?‘. (Jeremiah 9:7) What else can I do? I can only assay them.
Now to assay them means, I’m going to take them and I’m going to put them in the fire. That’s the way silver is refined. In my book “As Silver Refined: Learning to Embrace Life’s Disappointments,” I open with this illustration of how silver is refined. Now remember he uses that same illustration in Jeremiah chapter 6 in verse 27 when He says, .=I have made you and assayer and a tester among My people….‘. (Jeremiah 6:27)
He says in verse 29 .The bellows blow fiercely, the lead is consumed by…fire; [but] in vain the refining goes on, [because] the wicked are not separated.. (Jeremiah 6:29) And so he says .They call them rejected silver….. (Jeremiah 6:30) And he’s saying “Because you’re dwelling in the midst of deceit then I’m going to have to assay you. There’s nothing else that I can do. I’m going to have to put you in the fire.”
He says .=Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceit; with his mouth one speaks peace to his neighbor, but inwardly [he’s setting] an ambush for him.‘. (Jeremiah 9:8) He’s going after him. And God asks the question .=Shall I not punish them for these things?‘ declares the LORD. =On a nation such as this shall I not avenge Myself?‘. (Jeremiah 9:9) Answer Me. I’m God. I’m righteous. I’m lovingkindness. But I am righteous, and I am justice. And I’m gonna have to do it. I’ve got to avenge Myself, My character on a people like this.
And you know what’s so amazing about this. On Tish B’Av every single year in every Jewish synagogue around the world, do you know what they read? Tish B’Av, the ninth of Av, according to the Jewish calendar, not the Gentile calendar. But according to the Jewish calendar, on the ninth of the month of Av, which falls every time the same time, they stand in the synagogues, and they read Jeremiah chapter 8, verse 13 that begins .=I will surely snatch them away…,‘. (Jeremiah 8:13) and then talks about the destruction that’s going to come on the land. And they read all the way through chapter 9, which is what we’re studying right now, all the way to verse 22. And 22 says this, .Speak, =Thus says the LORD, .The corpses of men will fall like dung on the open field, and like the sheaf after the reaper…no one will gather them..‘. (Jeremiah 9:22) The sheaves just laying in the field because the reaper has gone through. They read that every Tish B’Av. Now you say, well, what’s Tish B’Av? It’s the day when the temple was destroyed. Jeremiah was there. Jeremiah saw it. It was the day when the temple was brought down. Solomon’s temple was taken to the ground on Tish B’Av.
But you know what’s so incredible? Eventually the temple was rebuilt. It came to be known as Herod’s temple. It was the temple where Jesus went as a child. It was the temple where He went as an adult. It was the temple where He healed people. That temple, Herod’s temple was destroyed also. Not by the Babylonians. It was destroyed by the Romans. And do you know when it was destroyed? On the very same day of the very same month Tish B’Av, God is sovereign. He’s in charge of history.
And they didn’t realize as they were hearing these words from Jeremiah pre-586 B.C. They didn’t realize that someday that those words would be read over and over and over again, year after year as a reminder of the holiness of God, of the lovingkindness of God, of the justice of God, of the righteousness of God, and of their great sinfulness and the deception by which they were deceived. It’s amazing, isn’t it?
Well, let me go on. He says, verse 10 .=For the mountains I will take up a weeping and [a] wailing…for the pastures of the wilderness a dirge…,‘. a funeral song, .=…because they [have] laid waste so that no one passes through, and the lowing of…cattle is not heard; both the birds of the sky and the beasts have fled; they are gone.‘. (Jeremiah 9:10) In other words, it is devastation. There’s no life there, no life there. .=I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins….‘. (Jeremiah 9:11) Now listen, deception ruins a land. Deception ruins a nation. .=…A haunt of jackals…I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.‘. (Jeremiah 9:11) He says, .=Who is the wise man that [he] may understand this…?‘. (Jeremiah 9:12) Is there anybody out here that’s wise that might understand this? .=…Who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD has spoken, that he may declare it? Why is this land ruined, laid waste like a desert, so that no one passes through?‘. (Jeremiah 9:12) Where’s somebody to pronounce this? Where is somebody to say this? Why is this land this way?
And then he says as he asks why is the land ruined, .The LORD said, =Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, [they] have not .obeyed. My voice….‘. (Jeremiah 9:13) Circle it with a blue circle. Put a slash around it. They .=… have not obeyed My voice nor walked according to it.‘. (Jeremiah 9:13) They’re deceived. They’re hardened. They’ve got their heels dug in. This is why it’s a desolation.
Listen, deception leads to destruction and desolation. And you see it just mirrored over and over and over in the lives of so many, many people. He says .=…they have forsaken [Me] My law which I set before them…[they] have not obeyed My voice nor walked according to it, but [they] have walked after the stubbornness of their heart and after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.‘. (Jeremiah 9:13-14) They were not taught about the Lord. They were not taught about the Lord.
I want to ask you a question young person. Were you taught about the Lord? Did your daddy know the Word of God? Did your daddy teach you the Word of God? Did you sit as a family and hear the Word of the Lord? Did you discuss it when you went over and when you sat down, and when you rose up? Did you discuss it? Was it taught to you? He says, oh, .Therefore…the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel [says] =…I will feed [these]…people…wormwood….‘. (Jeremiah 9:15) Bitterness, bitterness. We’ll talk about and there’s good news at the end.
Has this been a hard week, Beloved? I mean we’ve been talking about deception. Doesn’t it break your heart? Understand. Listen to what he says. .…Why is the land ruined [and] laid waste like a desert, so that no one passes through? The LORD said, =Because they have forsaken My law…, [they] have not obeyed My voice nor walked according to it, but [they] have walked after the stubbornness of their heart…after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.‘. (Jeremiah 9:12-14)
Therefore, now catch this, because of the deception, because they trusted in the fact that they had the temple and they trusted in the fact that they had the law, but they didn’t know God and they didn’t pay attention to the ordinances of God, and they didn’t walk in the right way, .Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, =Behold, I will feed…this people, with wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.‘. (Jeremiah 9:15) I’m gonna do it, why?
Listen, He was the fountain of living waters. They could have had living water, but what did they do? They forsook Him. He’s called to them to return. They have refused to return. They have refused to repent. They have held continually to their apostasies. They love the deception. They love the false teaching. They love ear-tickling news. They love it, and so God is going to give them, poisonous water to drink. Imagine a person grasping their throat after they’ve drunk the water, and they know, and it’s down, and it’s poison. He says, .=I will scatter them among the nations [where] neither they nor their fathers have known….‘. (Jeremiah 9:16) I’m gonna send them to lands that they have never seen. .=…And I will send the sword after them until I have annihilated them.‘. (Jeremiah 9:16)
You know as I think about that I think about novel that I wrote, “Israel, My Beloved”. It begins with the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., before Christ. It’s a book that Jews have loved and they have understood. And it’s revealed to them their history because I take them from that to the scattering all around the world. And what you see is they go to Spain, and there’s a Spanish inquisition. You go to Russia, and there are Pogroms. You go to Germany, and to Poland and there’s the Holocaust. Constantly they are fleeing, and God is going after them with the sword to devour them. I think it was a third of the population of the Jews perished in the Holocaust? And you Jews may be saying to me, “I’ve been listening to this program, but you make me mad.”
Listen, Precious One, I didn’t say this. God’s got His arms open to you. He wants you to return to Him. He wants you to believe Him. He wants you to get into His Word. If Israel would repent right now, if Israel would return to the Lord, my goodness, things would change in Israel and in the Middle East. But they fear man more than they fear God.
Thus says the LORD of hosts, =Consider and call for the mourning women, that they may come…send for the wailing women, that they may come! Let them make haste [let them]…take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may shed tears and our eyelids flow with water. For the voice of wailing is heard from Zion, .How we are ruined…!.‘. (Jeremiah 9:17-19) Deception ruins you. It says .=.…We are put to shame…..‘. Deception brings shame. .=.…For we have left the land…..‘. Deception brings judgment. .=.…Because they have cast down our dwellings..‘ Now hear the word of the LORD, O…women, and let your ear receive the word of His mouth….. (Jeremiah 9:19-20) This is what I want you to do, I want you to .…Teach your daughters [how to] wail….. (Jeremiah 9:20) I want you to teach them how to cry. I want you to teach your .…neighbor a dirge. For death has come…through our windows; it has entered our palaces to cut off the children from the streets, the young men from the town squares. Speak, =Thus says the LORD, .The corpses of men will fall like dung on the open field, and like the sheaf after the reaper, [and] no one will gather them..‘. (Jeremiah 9:20-22) And the scroll is closed on Tish B’Av. That’s where it stops on the day of the destruction of the temple.
But I want to take it a little bit farther. In verse 23 it says, .Thus says the LORD, =Let not [the] wise man boast of his wisdom….‘. (Jeremiah 9:23) So many men are haughty because of their education, because of their P.H.D.’s and their other things that they have achieved, because of their wisdom. He says “Don’t boast in your wisdom.” He says, .=…let not the mighty man boast of his might….‘. (Jeremiah 9:23)
Don’t boast because you’re in this place of power. Don’t boast because you’ve finally been elected, and you’ve finally been chosen, and you’re there, and you’ve arrived. .=…Let not a rich man boast of his riches,‘. (Jeremiah 9:23) and all that you have accumulated while those poor people have nothing. Don’t boast in that. .=But let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me….‘. (Jeremiah 9:24)
Now, that is something to really boast about that you understand God, that you know Him. That word “know” is “yada”. That word is, “know in an intimate way.” He says rejoice in the fact that you know Me. He says .=…that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth….‘. (Jeremiah 9:24) You’re not deceived. If you’re not boasting in your wisdom, if you’re not boasting in your strength, if you’re not boasting in your riches, but if your only boast is hey, I know God. I know God. I know that He’s filled with lovingkindness. It’s gonna be a key word in Lamentations after Jerusalem is destroyed. I know God. He’s a God of justice. We got what we deserved. I know God. He’s a God of righteousness, declares the LORD, .=…I delight in these things….‘. (Jeremiah 9:24)
Do you know that in Jeremiah chapter 23, and this is so neat, but in Jeremiah chapter 23 in verse 5 he takes us all the way and he fast forwards us to the future, the future of Israel. And it says, .=Behold…days are coming…when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch…He will reign as king and act wisely [He] will do justice and righteousness in the land.‘. (Jeremiah 23:5) On the earth; who is this? This is Messiah. .=In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel [shall] dwell securely; and this is His name by which he will be called, .The LORD our righteousness..‘. (Jeremiah 23:6)
Jehovah-Tsidkenu, the Lord our righteousness, Precious One, this is what’s coming. This is the healing that is coming. But it will be coming as God executes justice, and righteousness, and lovingkindness in the earth through Messiah. So what are the very last words of chapter 9?
It’s this, .=Behold…days are coming,‘ declares the LORD, =that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet uncircumcised—Egypt and Judah, [even some of those circumcised] and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all [of the inhabitants of] the desert who clip the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart.‘. (Jeremiah 9:25-26) They’re deceived. They’re deceived. Beware of deception.
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