Jeremiah 7-10 "What Are You Trusting In?"

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Have you ever been lulled into a false sense of security?  

Many people have!  I once overheard someone who said they felt safe because they could finally carry a gun on their person with their conceal and carry permit. Another person felt safe because they had installed a high-tech security system in their house, which was prior to them getting robbed. And yet another person who once told me he felt secure in his billions of dollars he made from the oil industry, only to end up losing everything he had a few years later when the oil industry went belly up. 

This is exactly what happened to the nation of Judah! In chapter 7 God condemns them for feeling a fall sense of security. The people of Judah, who were sinful before the Lord, thought God would never harm His people because of several false security ideas. Notice what they were...

1) In 7:4, they were fooled by the priests and prophets who prophesied that nothing harmful would happen to them. They put their trust in their priests and prophets.

2) In 7:8-11, they were fooled by thinking God would never allow harm come to His glorious Temple in Jerusalem.  They were wrong! God didn't care about the building, He cared about how His people lived their lives.

3) In 7:21-23, they were fooled into thinking that their sacrifices to the Lord would appease Him. But, what God wanted was obedience!  God is trying to tell them that "Obedience is better than sacrifices."

4) In 8:8, they were fooled into thinking they were wise because they had the Law of God. But here's what God said about that, "How can you say, “We are wise because we have the word of the Lord,” when your teachers have twisted it by writing lies? These wise teachers will fall into the trap of their own foolishness, for they have rejected the word of the Lord. Are they so wise after all?"

Satan has a way of fooling us. He lulls us into a false sense of security. He likes to make you think that just because you go to church then God is pleased with you!  Or just because you feel a closeness with God, then God must be pleased with you. He'll even cause you to think that just because you're in the ministry God is pleased with you. The truth is, God doesn't want a little part of you, He wants ALL of you! 

The truth is, even though we may be sincere in our faith or serving in the ministry, if we're not living a righteous life in the eyes of God, He's NOT pleased with us at all.  Remember, God desires obedience over sacrifice! His desire is that we live a holy life before Him. Actions speak louder than words. And even though you may be sincere, if you're sinning then you're sincerely wrong!  We might want to heed what God told the people of Judah to do in 7:5-7...

1) Stop your wicked thoughts

2) Stop your wicked deeds

3) Start being fair and honest with others

4) Stop exploiting and using others for your own personal gain

5) And stop worshiping false idols like money, work, or even your favorite hobbies.

What Are You Trusting In?

In fact, one of my favorite verses tells it best. It's found in 9:23-24. Here's what God says, "Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!"

Judah had all the trappings of religion. They had God's Temple. They had God's Law. They were God's chosen people. They had all these things, but they didn't know their God at all. Worse yet, they didn't care!  They only went through the motions of their religious faith. Their hearts, however, wasn't in it.

Do you know anyone like this?

God Begins To Weep!

It's hard to imagine God weeping, but He says He does!  While some scholars think this might be Jeremiah interjecting his personal thoughts, I believe it's probably a little of both - Jeremiah and God! Notice what is said at the end of chapter 8 and the beginning of chapter 9 - "I hurt with the hurt of my people. I mourn and am overcome with grief. Is there no medicine in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people? If only my head were a pool of water and my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night for all my people who have been slaughtered."

However, in chapter 10:6-16, Jeremiah does get his two-cents worth in.  He cries out to God declaring Him the only God of the entire universe - the only true God. It's a beautiful cry of worship before God.

So, Who Does God Blame?

I once heard a leadership expert share this thought - "Everything rises and falls on leadership. No one is better than its leaders."

To a great extent that statement is TRUE!  Notice who God blames in creating the path that led to the destruction of their walk with God - it was the priests and prophets - the leaders of Judah and Israel.  In 10:21 God says, "The shepherds of my people have lost their senses. They no longer seek wisdom from the Lord. Therefore, they fail completely, and their flocks are scattered."

God holds leaders accountable. The influence they have over those they lead is important to God. In the case of Judah, their spiritual leaders began to fall away from God, and subsequently so did the rest of the people of Judah whom they taught.

If you're a pastor or spiritual leader, are you leading people closer to God or into the mud pits of mediocrity. Think about it!