Sunday, September 20, 2015

9/20/15 The Tree & Its Fruit - Jeremiah 11




Psalm1 teaches us wonderful truths about the wicked and the righteous
life does not always reveal itself like the Psalm – let us observe this fact
Jeremiah will represent the righteous & Judah will represent the wicked
Jeremiah – the weeping prophet... this is one of the first sections of “weeping”


The Way of the Righteous: Jeremiah – 11:18-20 (Psalm 1:1-3)

v.19 like a lamb led to slaughter – image of the future Christ
similar reason they both find themselves in same situation
'gentle lamb' would have been a pet lamb (Keil & Delitzsch commentary)

v.20 element of redemption & hope (only for the righteous)
the Lord judges righteously & He knows who belongs to Him


The Way of the Wicked: Judah – 11:21-23, 10-17 (Psalm 1:4-6)

v.21-23 the punishment for those against Jeremiah – those from his own town (1:1)
Why is God so harsh against His chosen people? → they have rejected Him

v.10-11 when enough is enough
We are each given a time to follow God – what will we do with our time?

v.13-17 the seriousness of this issue
“Do not pray for this people...” - already past that point → now must face punishment

v.16 called to be a thriving tree → sin led to being set on fire (in a bad way!)
Avoiding this sin was the reason for the destruction of the inhabitants of Canaan
John the baptist – ax already at the root of the tree (Matthew 3:7-10)
the ones from the destroyed tree threatened Jeremiah with similar language v.19


Conclusion:
Like Jeremiah, we might face hardships if we follow God. God has never promised us a smooth road if we follow Him, but He has promised to be there every step of the way. Meditate on Psalm 1 and think of ways you have seen this psalm live out in your life.

No comments:

Post a Comment