Rejection Brings Deception

Transcript

GR 456
9/12/1982
Rejection Brings Deception
Jeremiah 7:29-8:22
Gil Rugh

Remember that this section, chapters 7 through 10, focuses around the messages that Jeremiah gave in the temple at Jerusalem. At the heart of this thrust is a condemnation of worship that is contrary to the worship that God demands. The people are involved in religious activity but not according to the directions that God has given. Their worship is not offered from a heart of faith in Him as Savior. Without that relationship of faith, their acts of worship are unacceptable to God.

Jeremiah 7:1-28 charges the Jews with false worship of pagan deities. The remainder of the chapter discusses judgment that is coming on Israel. Verse 29 gives some signs of mourning and lamentation: “Cut off your hair and cast it away.” Verse 30 gives the reason: “‘For the sons of Judah have done that which is evil in My sight,’ declares the Lord, ‘they have set their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it.’”

It is interesting the amalgamation of truth and error that takes place here. Israel is going to the appointed place, the temple, to carry out their worship. If they wanted to worship other gods or goddesses, why did they not start a new place? Instead, they still come to the temple as God had instructed, but it is to worship contrary to His instructions. This is a strange mixture--coming to the appointed place for worship in an unacceptable way.

Verse 31 continues with the reasons for judgment, “They have built the high places.” We have noticed earlier in Jeremiah how serious these people are about their worship. The pagans often put Christians to shame. It was true in Jeremiah’s day as well. The zeal of these Jews in their pagan worship is awesome. The middle of verse 31 says, “to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire.” That means they offered their own children as human sacrifices. You who are parents should stop and think about the level of commitment that this involved. These people are not superficially involved in a pagan system. They are totally committed to it without reservation, even to the point of being willing to make human sacrifice of their own children to their pagan gods. Total commitment, yes, but it is abhorrent to the true God. At the end of verse 31 God says, “I did not command, and it did not come into My mind.” In other words, God says, “This was never My idea or plan for worship.” Where did it come from? Not from God.

Are the people earnest and sincere in doing this? Ask yourself, how earnest and sincere would you have to be before you would offer one of your children as a human sacrifice to a god or goddess? God says, “I never conceived of such a thing. It never even came into My mind that this would be the way that I would want to be worshiped.” It is indeed amazing how far away from reality people can be. They can be so earnest, driven by a desire to please God, and yet be doing that which He says He never even dreamed of.

Therefore, it brings judgment upon them. If you do not worship God in God’s way, He judges you. He does not say, “Look at the commitment and sincerity of those people. They are even willing to offer their children! I have to at least admire their earnestness.” Not at all. He has to judge them because they will not listen to His Word. God says that people offering their children to gods and goddesses is repulsive.

“‘Therefore, behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when it will no more be called Topheth, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of the Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place.’” Jeremiah 7:32. This place will become a cemetery. There are going to be so many bodies around that this will be a burial ground for the people. According to verse 33 the birds will feed on the bodies.

Verse 34 tragically drives home the ruin and tragedy of it all: “Then I will make to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land will become a ruin.” The wedding, which pictures joy and happiness, will be no more in Jerusalem. There will not be any more laughter or happiness. There will be only ruin and destruction.

Why are people so earnest in their pursuit of their gods and goddesses? They want to satisfy themselves. The very things they are looking for--peace, pleasure and happiness--are removed from them, and they are left with ruin. Sin always moves to destruction, but sometimes not so obviously. These people never did catch on. When Jerusalem was finally destroyed, as we saw in our last study, the people fled as a remnant to Egypt. From their exile they were still saying, “Oh, we were better off when we worshiped pagan gods.” They still did not understand the point of the judgment.

Chapter 8 continues with the same theme. In the opening verses, the bodies that have been buried are going to be dug up and cast out on the ground. No greater desecration could be imagined among the peoples of that time than to take the bodies and cast them out on the ground. This was a humiliating tragedy. Even those who have been buried will be cast out.

Verse 2 is ironic: “And they will spread them out to the sun, the moon, and to all the host of heaven, which they have loved, and which they have served, and which they have gone after, and which they have sought, and which they have worshiped. They will not be gathered or buried; they will be as dung on the face of the ground.” This shows the seriousness of the matter. The irony is that they have worshiped the hosts of heaven, including the queen of heaven, and now their dead bodies are just like dung cast out before that which they worshiped--a fitting judgment for such a people.

Those who survive are going to wish they were dead. Their lives are going to be so miserable that they would choose to be dead rather than alive. “‘And death will be chosen rather than life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family, that remains in all the places to which I have driven them,’ declares the Lord of hosts.” verse 3. It is important that we see how serious the matter of true and false worship really is. God says, “When I am done, those who have followed false worship would rather be dead than alive.” That is the outcome for the nation Israel.

We come to one of the more familiar sections of Jeremiah from verse 4 through the end of chapter 8. God speaks about the stubbornness and stupidity, if you will, of this people who refuse to turn back to God no matter what He does. He reaches out in love and woos them. He applies the pressure of judgment. He uses the example of the Northern Kingdom. He sends the prophets. Then He says, “Oh, what a stupid people. In spite of all this, they still will not turn back to Me.” What alternative does God have but to bring judgment on the people?

This section begins, “And you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Do men fall and not get up again? Does one turn away and not repent? Why then has this people, Jerusalem, turned away in continual apostasy? They hold fast to deceit, they refuse to return.”’” Jeremiah 8:4-5. The picture here is of someone who falls down; if he falls, he gets up again. If you go the wrong direction, you turn around and set it right. But here is a people who are continually moving in apostasy. “They hold fast to deceit, they refuse to return.” verse 5. Their deceit is going to come up later. They hold on to that which is deceit and will not be turned back to God. The picture here is of the god and goddesses they are worshiping. People hold on to that deceit and will not be turned away. You may witness and share the gospel with people who are so religious that they hold on to their deceitful activity. They will not be turned back to worship the true God.

Verse 6 is very picturesque, “I have listened and heard, they have spoken what is not right; no man repented of his wickedness, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turned to his course, like a horse charging into the battle.” These people are so given to the pursuit of their own worship that they are just like a horse charging into battle. There is no turning them around. They are committed to this course.

“Even the stork in the sky knows her seasons; and the turtledove and the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration; but My people do not know the ordinance of the Lord.” verse 7. Even the animals follow the appointed route of God. That is amazing! The birds know when to go north and when to go south. The animals know to move from this place to that place. What is God saying? The animals follow His appointed activity, but His people will not. They refuse to know Him. They do not know the ordinance of the Lord. This becomes the crucial point.

The last statement of verse 7 moves us into the next paragraph. “But My people do not know the ordinance of the Lord.” That is the problem. The people of God are ignorant of the Word of God. Without knowledge of the Word, they do not function in a way that is pleasing to God.

These people profess loyalty to the Word of God. But note God’s question in verse 8, “How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us’?” One of the dangers in reading Jeremiah is in thinking that these people are out-and-out pagans, so far removed from reality. These are people who profess wisdom, who profess to have in their possession the Word of God. So, we have to see these people as they really are. They are Jews who said, “Yes, we have the Law of God. Yes, we are a people who obey the Law of God. Yes, we know what God says, and we do it.” Now that is amazing. We say they obviously are not doing it, but is that any different from so many people today? Many professing Christians say, “Yes, I have the Bible. I am a Christian.” and yet they are not doing what God says. It is the same situation.

Note what has happened as we zero in on the cause of the problem. “But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie.” verse 8. The Bible continually takes us back to a focal point. That focal point is the religious leaders. The masterstroke of the devil has been to take religious leaders who have no true relationship with God and use them to lead the people of God astray. Here, it is the scribes, “The lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie.” verse 8.

This is one of the earliest references to scribes in the Scripture. Perhaps the most famous scribe is Ezra. He was a loyal, true scribe. Scribes were responsible for the recording of the Scripture, and also for its interpretation and presentation. And in the Book of Ezra we see him presenting the Scripture to the people, giving them the interpretation. But these religious leaders, those entrusted with the Law, have corrupted what the Scripture says and turned it into a lie. They claim to be telling people what God says, but they have corrupted the Scripture.

In the New Testament Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 2 that we are not ignorant of the schemes of the Devil, therefore we act in such a way that he does not get an advantage over us. The context is different, but the idea is that Satan is not to get an advantage over us because we are not ignorant of his schemes. Do you know what makes the difference? We know how Satan works.

Do you know what I think has happened in the church? We have become ignorant of the message which the prophets like Jeremiah presented so clearly. Many religious leaders today are corrupted; they present to the people a corrupted message, and so many people are ready to follow. Well, he claims to be a Christian. He has a great education. He is an authority. The scribes have lied concerning the Word of God, and the people have heeded their voice.

God continues His indictment in Jeremiah 8:9: “The wise men are put to shame, they are dismayed and caught; behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord, and what kind of wisdom do they have?” If you do not have the Word of God, what kind of wisdom do you have? Where do you get wisdom? Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” It comes through that right relationship with Him, a relationship of faith, of trust in Him. As a result, we have the ability to know and understand the Word of God. What kind of wisdom does a person have who has rejected the Word of God? Do they have any true knowledge of God or of humanity? about why we are here? where we are going? the purpose of life? the meaning of life? If they have rejected the Word of God, what kind of wisdom do they have? They have no real, true wisdom.

I do not believe that all of these religious leaders are consciously deceiving, but rather, because they do not know the Lord, they do not have the ability to understand the Word of God. They have often rejected it without even understanding that they are rejecting it. They twist it in their own ignorance.

In 2 Corinthians 3:15-16, Paul contrasts our service under the New Covenant with service under the Old Covenant, the Law. “But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” A person who is an unbeliever reads and studies the Scripture but does not understand it. He misses the point. It does not have anything to do with how much training or what kind of intellect he has. When a person comes to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, that veil that has covered his inner man and blocked his understanding is removed, and for the first time he has the ability to perceive and understand the truths of the Word of God.

In the Book of Jeremiah, we have the lying scribes, men who themselves do not understand the Word of God, standing and teaching people the Scriptures. They have rejected the Word of God because they do not understand it. They are teaching what they do not comprehend.

In Jeremiah 8 God has described the activity of these spiritually blind people. As a result of their activities, judgment is determined for them in verses 10 and 11: “Therefore I will give their wives to others, their fields to new owners; because from the least even to the greatest everyone is greedy for gain; from the prophet even to the priest everyone practices deceit. And they heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace.” Jeremiah 8:10-11. This important section is repeated almost verbatim from chapter 6. “‘And their houses shall be turned over to others, their fields and their wives together; for I will stretch out My hand against the inhabitants of the land,’ declares the Lord. ‘For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for gain, and from the prophet even to the priest everyone deals falsely. And they have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, saying, “Peace, peace,” but there is no peace.’” Jeremiah 6:12-14.

Note some of the characteristics of these false prophets and priests. Note also the emphasis on the fact that they are religious leaders. They are part of the same group of whom Jesus says the harlots of this world will precede them to the kingdom. Jeremiah says that “from the least even to the greatest everyone is greedy for gain” Jeremiah 8:10. One of the marks of false teachers is greed.

The second characteristic is deceitfulness. “From the prophet even to the priest everyone practices deceit.” Jeremiah 8:10. They are not handling accurately and truthfully the Word of God.

The third characteristic is in verse 11: “And they heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially.” They are superficial in their message. They are greedy, they are deceitful, and they are superficial. What do we mean by superficial? He gives an example, “‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace.” They are practicing deceit in offering a superficial message. They tell you that you are okay, I am okay and all the other slogans and words that go along with that, when in truth you are not.

Do you want to evaluate teachers? Here is a very quick way. Are they greedy regarding money? How many questions revolve around them in this area? Secondly, do they practice deceit with the Word of God? You will have to know something about the Word of God yourself to evaluate them on this. There are many gullible Christians today. If anybody stands up and says something well and persuasively, they go toddling along after him. If it is deceitful, that means there is something clever about it. You are going to have to be able to perceive the deceit. Thirdly, and probably most obvious as you listen, are they superficial? Are they implying that everything is all right? How many times do they talk about the reality of sin, judgment and the condemnation of God? How much do they talk about personal responsibility for sin before God and the need for a Savior, Jesus Christ? Is that part of their message?

How many are talking about how good everyone is, the positive emphasis? There is a place for being positive and being up-beat, but I do not believe that is the whole message. The two sides must be put in balance; if the negative side is not presented, it is a superficial message.

What was the message of these false prophets and lying scribes? “Peace, peace.” They did not want to tell the people about their sin or of judgment and condemnation. It was not popular to tell people about their sin, their flaws or their faults in their religious activity. People have not changed in 2500 years. They do not want to hear that today either.

Evaluate religious leaders today. Are they greedy? Are they deceitful? Is their message a superficial one that just glosses over saying, “Peace, peace,” when there is no real peace? If you have been a believer very long, you know what I am talking about. I have received so much of this kind of literature in the mail that I keep the garbage man busy. They never write and imply I am a sinner, that I need salvation by faith in Christ. But they do write and imply that I could give to support them. They do imply that something good will happen to me if I will plant that seed and give them something. They do imply peace, peace, without ever dealing with the issue of what is necessary for peace.

One of the strongest condemnations of false teachers anywhere in Scripture is in 2 Peter 3. Peter tells the believers to “regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.” 2 Peter 3:15-16. Jeremiah had to contend with the ignorant, unlearned unbelievers taking the Law of God and interpreting it in a wrong sense. And the people wanted to hear it. Peter and Paul had to contend with the same situation--untaught and unlearned teachers taking the Scriptures and twisting them to their own destruction.

The point to note is that they are still using the Scriptures. Just because a man gets up and quotes a verse of Scripture does not mean he is a spokesman from God. There needs to be perception on the part of the people of God. The Devil presents himself as an angel of light. So, Paul says not to be surprised that his servants present themselves in the same way. That is what we ought to expect. Do you know what I expect from false teachers, from the servants and messengers of Satan? That they are going to be very adept in the Scriptures, in twisting and distorting them to their own ends. Christians are not to tolerate it or be susceptible to it.

The Book of Jude and 2 Peter chapter 2 contain basically the same material. Let us look at it in Jude, verse 3: “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” This is a cry to battle. With whom? Verse 4 identifies them: “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed” Jude is concerned about those who have infiltrated among believers, who have masqueraded and presented themselves as believers and as teachers, but they are presenting false doctrine and false teaching. “those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Note verse 12 of Jude, “These men are those who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear” Do you know what is condemned here? A tolerance among believers for these people when they met together in their love feasts. Jude says they are hidden reefs, places where Christians crash. Any Christian who exposes himself to this kind of activity very long is going to find himself running aground. He will not be able to function as God wants him to function.

Jude continues his description of these false teachers as those who care for themselves, ‘clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.” verses 12-13. Verse 16 continues, “These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.” We are back to the same issue--flattering people. They say what you want to hear--” Peace, peace, but there is no peace.”

One of the major problems in the church of Jesus Christ today is a basic lack of scriptural discernment among believers. We must sift teaching carefully through the Word of God to be sure that those who present themselves as teachers of the Scriptures are indeed what they claim to be. Or are they just greedy, deceitful individuals who function superficially with the Word of God for their own gain?

Continuing in Jeremiah 8:12, God says, “‘Were they ashamed because of the abomination they had done? They certainly were not ashamed, and they did not know how to blush; therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time of their punishment they shall be brought down,’ declares the Lord.” You may wonder, Do you think a person could really do that? Would they not feel guilty? Well, here is God’s evaluation. Were they ashamed of the abomination they had done? They did not even know how to blush. I have to admit as I listen to or read what certain people say, that I wonder, How could they do that? You would think they would be overwhelmed with guilt. They look you right in the eye and say that which is deceitful, implying one thing and often even knowing that it is not the case. They do not even know how to blush. They are arrogant about it.

God’s judgment is described in verse 13: “‘I will surely snatch them away,’ declares the Lord; ‘there will be no grapes on the vine, and no figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall wither; and what I have given them shall pass away.’” The people respond in verses 14-16, “Why are we sitting still? Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities, and let us perish there, because the Lord our God has doomed us and given us poisoned water to drink, for we have sinned against the Lord. We waited for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror! From Dan is heard the snorting of his horses.” As we have noted, Dan is in the north, and the enemy comes down from the north. So, when you get the word from Dan, you know the enemy has entered the region. Their hopelessness is described in verse 16 and 17: “At the sound of neighing of his stallions the whole land quakes; for they come and devour the land and its fulness, the city and its inhabitants. ‘For behold, I am sending serpents against you, adders, for which there is no charm, and they will bite you,’ declares the Lord.” The enemy is coming, and there is nothing they can do to protect themselves.

The last section of chapter 8 tells us how Jeremiah feels about these people he is preaching to. He has preached against false teachers and warned the people of judgment, but Jeremiah never loses his heart for the people. We have to be careful of two things--one, that we do not lose our discernment; and two, that we do not become hard in our discernment. Some Christians have no ability to discern. They just accept everything and gulp it down. Other Christians are so proud in their discernment that they become hard and lose any concern and compassion for the lost. The fact that people are under judgment and are on their way to hell moves them not at all. But Jeremiah maintained that balance from God.

Look at the ache Jeremiah feels for these rebellious people: “My sorrow is beyond healing, my heart is faint within me! Behold, listen! The cry of the daughter of my people from a distant land: ‘Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not within her? Why have they provoked Me with their graven images, with foreign idols? Harvest is past, summer is ended, and we are not saved.’ For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am broken; I mourn, dismay has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has not the health of the daughter of my people been restored? Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!” Jeremiah 8:18-22; 9:1.

Jeremiah is moved for his people. He says, “O, I cannot cry enough for them. I do not have enough tears to express my sorrow for these people.” Jeremiah is not standing back saying, “Ah-ha, they did not listen to me. Wait until they get what is coming to them. Just wait. They will find out I was right and they were wrong. They deserve everything God gives them, and it cannot come soon enough!”

It is so easy to become hardened. Have you ever witnessed to someone and really been rebuked or stepped on? It is easy to allow resentment to well up. That selfishness so easily enters in. But not with Jeremiah. He is moved for the people with sorrow and aching. These are the people that God has chosen and called for Himself. Because of their stubborn, rebellious heart God must judge them. Jeremiah knows the judgment is necessary, but he pronounces it with a broken heart and with an earnest desire that they would be saved.

Verse 20 of chapter 8 is so tragic, “Harvest is past, summer is ended, and we are not saved.” The harvest was when the fruit from the summer would come in. But now all hope of a harvest is gone. This shows that the time for salvation is past, and they are not saved. The opportunity was there, but they would not have it.

Jeremiah’s lament continues in verse 21, “For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am broken; I mourn, dismay has taken hold of me.” Note Jeremiah’s identification. It would make a tremendous difference in our ministry if we viewed people who are under the judgment and condemnation of God with the same compassion and burden that Jeremiah did. That is why Jeremiah was moved to tell them the truth--because of his love and compassion for them.

Verse 22 is perhaps the most familiar verse in Jeremiah because its words were put in a song. “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has not the health of the daughter of my people been restored?” The balm of Gilead was famous in that day. Back in Genesis 37:25 you find that a balm is being brought from Gilead, a city to the east of the Jordan. This extract from a certain tree there was believed to be a great help in bringing about physical healing. “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has not the health of the daughter of my people been restored?”

Obviously, the emphasis is on the spiritual sickness. That is the whole context of the chapter. In other words, why has not the spiritual health of Israel been restored? Is there no balm? Is there no physician? Well there is--God Himself is the physician of Israel. God Himself has sent His prophets with the healing message, with His word, which when believed and obeyed would bring restoration. So, the question comes, If there is a balm, if there is a physician, why is there no healing?

Look at what Jeremiah goes on to say in the first verse of chapter 9: “Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!” Jeremiah 9:1. The reason they are not healed is very simple. They will not accept healing. The priests and prophets have distorted and corrupted the message so that it no longer brings healing. When the Word of God has been corrupted, it does not bring healing. We have seen this also in Galatians, particularly the opening chapter. When the gospel of Jesus Christ is mixed with the Law, it no longer produces healing; it brings a curse. When these deceitful scribes, prophets and priests have distorted the Word of God, it no longer brings healing. We need the Word of God presented to us in purity. When it is presented in purity and believed, God Himself brings about supernatural, spiritual healing.

What breadth is covered in this chapter. We have covered judgment and condemnation. We have also covered the issue of their healing. The cure is still there. The issue is unchanged today. I ask the same question, Is there no provision for the salvation of the lost today? Has not God in grace by the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, provided salvation for the spiritual cure of sin? Why are people not healed? Because they would rather hear the message of deceit or of superficiality. They would rather not be told that they are sinners. They are unwilling to obey God. He commands that all men everywhere repent, change their minds and believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. But they will not. They go to the physician but are unwilling to have him tell them what to do. They ignore him. They would rather go to a quack. So they go to religious quacks who say what people want to hear anyway. Oh, you are not sick. There is nothing wrong with you. God is a God of love, and we are all okay. Just expect a miracle, and get on with your life.

That is not the message of the Word of God. God’s message is, you are sick, seriously ill. In fact, you have an eternal disease that will ruin you and will result in your condemnation in hell for eternity. That is the message of God.

Why does he belabor this point so much? Because it is so important. The only cure or remedy is the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. He died to pay that penalty so that you might be made well spiritually. Your spiritual healing hinges on your response to that message. Have you believed in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as your Savior? The provision has been made. The balm is there. There is a physician. Why are you not well? If you have not believed in Jesus Christ, it is because of the stubbornness and arrogance of your heart. You think that you can be all right on your own. You are unwilling to hear and to heed the message of God. If that is the case, what alternative does God have but to bring you into judgment?

If you are a believer, how do you see people in this lost condition? Have you ever wept for the lost in this city? Have you really been burdened for their salvation? Is that something that grips your heart as you think of those people under judgment and condemnation? They are moving out into a hopeless eternity. Does that really move us as it did Jeremiah? In spite of the opposition, in spite of the obstacles, are we so burdened for them that we carry the message to them regardless of the response?