Jeremiah 14-15 When God is Weary of Relenting

When God Is Weary of Relenting

Jeremiah 14-15

Introduction: Will God always forgive when we repent? Will he change his mind about bringing judgment on us? In our study of Chronicles, we learned that when Solomon finished the temple he prayed that at any time Israel fell into sin and was being punished either by drought or captivity from the nations, they could always repent and pray to God and he would forgive them and restore their prosperity.

The same is true for us today, isn’t it? Sure! We easily have in the back of our minds that we can always come back and God will always forgive us.

Jeremiah 14-15 says differently!

1. The Drought: 14:1-12
   1. Most of us already know the reason for a drought in Israel. God had warned in Deuteronomy 11 that he was the provider of rain, and if the rain did not come it was because Israel was in sin.
   2. Verses 2-6 give us a description of the severity of the drought: no water (3), no rain (4), no grass (5), and no vegetation (6). Whether rich or poor, man or beast, all were suffering. 
   3. Reaction of the people: 7-9: We have seen how wicked these people are in the past chapters. But when suffering is at its worst, just about anyone will finally turn to the Lord and ask for help. And that is what Israel does.
      1. Vs. 7: They begin with confession. Wow! They admit their sins. That’s a new twist.
      2. Vs. 8-9: They plead to God as the only one who can save them. God is the “hope of Israel!” But they are confused. Why is God acting like a stranger and like a mighty man who cannot come to their aid? After all we are called by your name! 
      3. When we hear their confession and plea, we immediately think, okay, God is going to forgive them. 
   4. But God does not forgive them. Why? Because they love to wander away from him. They love their sins and their lifestyle. In other words, if he sent them rain, they would immediately go back to their wickedness. They do not love God, they love to wander.
   5. The last words of verse 10 are an amazing contrast to the God we know: “…now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.” 
   6. Vs. 11-12 God turns to Jeremiah and gives him his final decree. For the third time, God tells Jeremiah, “Do not pray for the welfare of this people!” Fasting won’t help them. Praying won’t help them. Sacrifices won’t help them. I not only won’t help them, I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.
   7. Lesson: Don’t turn to God when you haven’t even looked at yourself. James 4:8-9, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.” Did you notice that Israel did not exhibit any of the above attitudes?
2. Jeremiah the Intercessor! (14:13-22)
   1. We are accustomed to God’s faith leaders interceding for the people when they are under the threat of judgment. Even though God told Jeremiah for the third time not to pray for the people, Jeremiah still finds a reason he should intercede and hopefully save the people. 
   2. Jeremiah’s argument is that the people have been listening to the prophets and the prophets have been telling them they are assured of peace. God’s answer is somewhat surprising: 
      1. The prophets are prophesying lies. Though they claim their words are coming from God, it is really coming out of “the deceit of their our minds.” 
      2. The Lord goes on and states that not only will these prophets be consumed by sword and famine, so will the people who listen to their words will also be victims of famine and sword with none to bury them!
   3. We may be shocked by God’s answer, but we shouldn’t be. God warns about lying teachers from the beginning of scripture to the very end. If you asked me what is the greatest mistake Christians and religious people have repeatedly made throughout history, and especially today, it would be not considering the Satan’s goal to deceive us concerning what God teaches. 
      1. God says that even these prophets are “deceived.” They speak from the “deceit of their own minds.” In other words, we need to understand that even for a teacher, it is just plain easy to get enamored with our own thoughts and desires and come up with teachings that are contrary to scripture. If we are not careful, we can have a strong desire to justify our lifestyle by misusing scripture.
      2. In 2 Peter 3:16, Peter warned about being carried away with how some were teaching Paul’s writings: “There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.” Peter’s use of “ignorant” is not intended as derogatory; they are speaking from a lack of knowledge and a desire to fit scripture into their own desires.
      3. Further, Paul identified the preachers at Corinth this way: “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). 
   4. Therefore, it is imperative that each Christian is passionate about knowing the scriptures! Don’t be a casual reader. Don’t accept anything told you without proving it by God’s word.
   5. Vs. 17-22 Summary:
      1. 17-18 The tears of God and Jeremiah over the judgment that cannot be averted. 
      2. 19-22 Again we see the confusion of Jeremiah and the people over God’s unwillingness to change his mind. “Have you utterly rejected Judah? — Why have you struck us down and no way to be healed? — We acknowledge our wickedness! — You are the only God who can bring rain! — We set our hope on you!” 
3. God Will Not Relent! (15:1-9)
   1. 1: “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me…” Shocking! These are two of the greatest at interceding for the people. God had repeatedly listened to their prayers. But in this case, not even they could sway God. “Tell the people to go away!” Where? To pestilence, sword, famine, and captivity.
   2. 4: The reason God will not relent is because of King Manasseh and the blood he shed. But wait, that’s not fair to these people!
   3. 6: 
      1. “You have rejected me…You keep going backward…I am weary of relenting. God had not rejected them; they rejected God! Oh how this happens today. Sin is such a pattern in people’s lives that they cannot figure out why God would reject them. They can’t identify their sin as being serious before God. 
      2. We have seen a pattern throughout Israel’s history that is just as true today: wicked leaders reinforce and spread wicked people. And even when a righteous king like Josiah came, the people were too accustomed to evil to change. 
      3. Therefore, God’s answer is, “I am weary of relenting.” God is weary of hoping beyond hope that they would change. Look at your own life. What is it that years and years ago you knew you should change, but you still have not changed?
4. Lesson and Conclusion (15:10-21)
   1. As we have seen previously in the book, Jeremiah is struggling with what is happening. The prophet obviously believed that he would preach and the people would repent. Not so. Instead, the people were cursing him and he was suffering because of them. In verses 15-18, Jeremiah proclaims his righteousness in spite of his “unceasing pain.” If Israel is shocked that God would not relent, Jeremiah is shocked that he must suffer as he preaches, and God will not relieve him.
   2. 19-21 God’s answer is basically, “You need to get your mind back on me and my purposes in teaching these people. I will take care of you, but you need to return to me!”
   3. Lesson:
      1. Living righteously and getting rid of sin is not easy, and can be painful, especially in how family and friends may react. Oh, but we want it to be easy. We don’t want to deal with the consequences of telling others about the dangers of living in sin. Well, get over it. This is not about us, it is about God and his kingdom. 
      2. As God answered Jeremiah, “I am with you to save you and deliver you.” 
      3. Now listen to what God says, “If you return, I will restore you and you will stand before me.” What do you need to do to return to God? The time is now. Do not be like Israel who was shocked by the judgment that came against them. At some point, God will be “weary of relenting!” 

Berry Kercheville

Podcast: Download (14.1MB)