Transcript Slide 1

BELIEVER IN A DARK
TUNNEL
The Confessions of Jeremiah
Lesson 1
First Indications of
Self-Pity
Jeremiah 11:18-12:6
INTRODUCTION
1. Most believers pass through dark tunnels in their lives—
times of despair, discouragement, and even doubt.
2. Jeremiah had five such personal and spiritual crises in his
life which we will explore in this series.
3. They occurred about mid-way in his ministry. In each case
God dealt with his brooding prophet in a slightly
different manner.
4. The great philosopher Popeye said “I’as had allz I can take
and I can’t takes me no more”.
5. The first dark tunnel was triggered by the revelation that
there was a plot against the prophet in his own
hometown.
Plot against Jeremiah
11:18-19
1. At times Jeremiah’s enemies almost got the best of him.
a. God, however, kept his promise to deliver Jeremiah.
b. In the present paragraph Jeremiah experienced his
first personal crisis.
c. Probably this material is to be assigned to the early
years of wicked King Jehoiakim.
18 Because the LORD revealed their plot to me, I knew it,
for at that time he showed me what they were doing. 19a I
had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not
realize that they had plotted against me…
2. Through special revelation Jeremiah learned that the
men of his hometown were plotting against him (v
18).
a. He never suspected that his neighbors were plotting
against him.
He was as unsuspecting as a lamb being led to
the slaughter.
b. Against me is emphatic in the Hebrew sentence.
19b saying, "Let us destroy the tree and its fruit; let us
cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be
remembered no more."
c. Jeremiah had been comparing Judah to a tree that
God will destroy (vv 16-17).
Behind his back the men of Anathoth referred to
Jeremiah as the tree that must be destroyed.
d. They wished to rid themselves of that tree and its
fruit.
1) Tree probably refers to his work, i.e., his
prophetic ministry.
2) The conspirators plotted in an effort to find an
opportunity to assassinate Jeremiah or have
him publicly executed.
If the men of Anathoth could slay Jeremiah
there would be no descendant to
perpetuate his name.
PRAYER TO GOD
11:20-21
20a But, O LORD Almighty, you who judge righteously
and test the heart and mind…
1. Yahweh had the power to deal with those who
opposed Jeremiah (11:20a).
a. The prophet clearly saw himself as an innocent
victim who was entitled to divine intervention.
b. He believed that the Judge of all the earth will
always do what is right (Gn 18:25).
c. God alone can test or try the innermost feelings
and thoughts of a person.
d. Yahweh knew that Jeremiah was utterly sincere in
his ministry. There had been no guile or
bitterness in his heart.
20b let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I
have committed my cause.
2. God knew the hypocrisy and the evil intent of the men
of Anathoth (v 20b).
a. Jeremiah was confident of the verdict that the
righteous Judge will render in his behalf.
b. Divine vengeance will be poured out upon the evil
schemers. Thus the cause of God and his prophet
will be vindicated.
c. Vengeance comes from a root that refers to the
exercise of sovereignty.
By challenging the credibility of Jeremiah the
conspirators were attacking the sovereign
appointment of Yahweh.
d. Therefore their conduct called for divine action to
punish their brazen rebellion against the
sovereign Lord.
e. Jeremiah needed only to reveal his case to God and
the just verdict will be rendered.
f. God, of course, was aware of the plight of the
prophet; Jeremiah was not telling God
something that he did not already know.
g. To reveal one’s case is to plead formally before the
bar of justice.
21 "Therefore this is what the LORD says about the men
of Anathoth who are seeking your life and saying, 'Do not
prophesy in the name of the LORD or you will die by our
hands'-3. The guilt of those who were scheming against
Jeremiah is established in v 21.
a. When the conspiracy against Jeremiah was
exposed the men of Anathoth openly began to
threaten the life of the prophet.
b. They were guilty of trying to silence Jeremiah, a
covenant ambassador of the Great King.
c. Only if Jeremiah ceased to prophesy in the name of
Yahweh would his life be spared.
The threats made by the men of Anathoth were
not idle. These men meant business.
d. From this day forward Jeremiah put his life on the
line every time he uttered an oracle in the name
of Yahweh.
VERDICT OF THE JUDGE
11:22-23
22 therefore this is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I will
punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their
sons and daughters by famine.
1. Therefore is the traditional introduction to a divine
sentence in a covenant courtroom.
2. Punishment was about to fall upon the plotters of
Anathoth.
3. The verdict confirmed that Jeremiah was a genuine
prophet.
He had the full support of the Great King.
4. The young men of military age will die by the sword of
the enemy.
Younger children will die in the famine which resulted
from prolonged siege.
23 Not even a remnant will be left to them, because I will
bring disaster on the men of Anathoth in the year of their
punishment.'"
5. No remnant of the Anathoth conspirators will survive
the calamity that God was about to bring upon the
land.
6. The year of their visitation or punishment had come.
They will not be able to escape the ruthless armies of
Nebuchadnezzar.
A COMPLAINT TO GOD
12:1-4
1. Some time elapsed after Jeremiah confidently
submitted his case to God (11:20).
a. The verdict had been rendered in favor of the
prophet (11:22-23); but the sentence had been
delayed.
b. The enemies of the prophet continued to prosper.
c. They lived a life of ease while Jeremiah’s
circumstances became ever more difficult.
d. Jeremiah reopened his case in the heavenly
courtroom.
1 You are always righteous, O LORD, when I bring a case
before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice:
Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the
faithless live at ease?
2. Jeremiah built his prayer on the fundamental premise
of faith, viz. God is righteous (v 1a).
a. This means that Yahweh will keep his promises.
b. He will intervene in powerful ways when a promise
appears to be failing.
c. Yet Jeremiah was perplexed. He wished to inquire
concerning Yahweh’s judgment, i.e., his dealings
with the sons of men.
d. The term judgment in this context is essentially
equivalent to the term “government.”
3. Jeremiah’s case had to do with the issue of theodicy,
i.e., why the wicked prosper (v 1b).
a. His first question assumed that the wicked do
prosper. This assumption is not disputed
anywhere in Scripture.
b. Live peacefully is used of what a believer
experiences (Ps 122:6) or should experience.
1) Job, however, complained that he lacked peace
(Job 3:26).
2) Even robbers (Job 12:6) and Jerusalem’s
enemies (Lam 1:5) enjoy peace much to the
chagrin of the devout.
c. In reality he was making an accusation against
Yahweh as the next verse clearly shows.
2 You have planted them, and they have taken root; they
grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from
their hearts.
4. Jeremiah concluded that evil men prosper because
God blesses them (v 2).
a. God had planted them, and they had taken root;
they continued to grow (Hebrew imperfect),
ever expanding into new areas of influence.
b. They had produced fruit, i.e., their plans seemed to
be successful.
c. While it was true that these men were outwardly
pious, God was far from their hearts.
3a Yet you know me, O LORD; you see me and test my
thoughts about you.
5. Jeremiah presented himself as a righteous petitioner
seeking redress of grievances from a righteous God
(v 3a).
a. Yahweh knew his prophet (cf. 1:5); he observed him
continuously (Hebrew imperfect).
b. God knew that Jeremiah was not hypocritical when
he spoke about God.
c. How then can God allow his faithful servant to
continue to be harassed by his adversaries?
3b drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart
for the day of slaughter!
6. The prophet had no doubt what he would do if he
were the judge.
a. He wanted the adversaries removed from the
scene (v 3b).
b. What his adversaries were plotting against him he
desired for them.
c. This imprecation may not quite be as bad as it
appears on the surface.
God already had pronounced sentence against
these wicked men (11:22-23).
d. Jeremiah then is simply asking that the sentence
be executed speedily.
4a How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every
field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked,
the animals and birds have perished.
7. The rhetorical question how long is a complaint (v 4a).
a. The reference is probably to some disciplinary
drought that God had sent upon the land in
order to cause the people to realize the folly of
sin.
b. Nature itself—the land, the vegetation, the cattle
and the birds—suffered because of wicked
people.
4b Moreover, the people are saying, "He will not see what
happens to us."
8. One example of the wickedness of his opponents is
their taunting of God’s messenger (v 4b).
a. At the very least the adversaries were confident
that they would outlive Jeremiah.
b. Perhaps they will see to it that they outlived
Jeremiah, i.e., they will get rid of him.
GOD’S RESPONSE
12:5-6
1. God replied to his prophet, but not in the way that
Jeremiah anticipated.
a. He had received supportive responses to his past
complaints (1:8, 9); but this hard-nosed
response was a reprimand.
b. God did not explain the delay in the execution of
the sentence against the ungodly.
c. He did not promise any cessation of hostilities
against his servant.
d. The divine reply is designed to correct the
impatience of Jeremiah.
5a "If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn
you out, how can you compete with horses?
2. Yahweh revealed further difficulties ahead for the
prophet.
a. Things had been bad for the prophet; but they
were going to get worse (v 5).
b. God compared Jeremiah’s present problems to
running with foot racers.
The future adversity he faced will be like
running a foot race against horses.
c. If Jeremiah could not cope with the relatively
minor hostility of the present how would he
endure the severe trials of the future?
5b If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in
the thickets by the Jordan?
d. Jeremiah was currently passing through a peaceful
land, i.e., a land where one is secure; but
shortly he will be forced to fight his way
through tangled brush.
1) The pride of Jordan is that ribbon of lush
vegetation that grows on either side of the
twisting, winding Jordan River.
2) This area was infested with vicious wild animals
and dangerous outlaws.
e. Days were coming in comparison with which the
present troubles of the prophet will appear as
days of peace.
6a Your brothers, your own family-- even they have betrayed
you; they have raised a loud cry against you.
3. As one example of what was ahead for the prophet
God revealed to him that even the members of his
own family could not be trusted (v 6).
a. Brothers are kinfolks in a broad sense; house of
your father refers to more immediate family
members.
b. These relatives have plotted against him. They
have cried aloud after Jeremiah as one cries
after a criminal who is being hunted down.
6b Do not trust them, though they speak well of you.
c. Even though they speak kind words to the
prophet’s face he should not be deceived.
Such outward manifestations of cordiality were but
a cloak for their nefarious schemes.
4. God goes on the paragraph that follows to reveal his
personal pain at the unfolding circumstances in
Judah.
CONCLUSION
So God responded to Jeremiah’s first tunnel
experience in two ways.
1. God told him that worse was yet to come.
2. God revealed to the prophet that compared to the
divine pain, his pain was relatively insignificant.
Application
Sometimes we become so focused on ourselves that we
forget that God experiences pain when he is rejected and
forced by his justice to punish that rejection.
NEXT LESSON
Calling God Names
Jeremiah 15:10-21