Jeremiah 16 & 17

by Katrina

LINK: Jeremiah 16-17

BACKGROUND
God forbid Jeremiah to marry and have children, to mourn with the people, and to feast with the people, because the disaster is coming in Jeremiah's time. He will see it. The people will ask why God is going to judge them, and Jeremiah is to answer it's because of their forefathers have turned from God and to idols, they did not keep the law, and Jeremiah's generation was even worse in stubbornness against God. The calamity will be so great that it's end will amaze all the world.

God spoke more on the sins of Judah. Some scholars think that verses 5-11 is a poem that was already written earlier and included here because of its relevance to what God was saying in the first four verses.

Jeremiah spoke to God in verses 12-18. He recognized God's authority and begged to be delivered from the persecution he was suffering.

Verses 19-27 speak of honoring the Sabbath. Scholars aren't sure when this message was given to Judah. It would have been appropriate at any time during Jeremiah's ministry. (Remember the messages in this book are not recorded in chronological order.) The Sabbath was a key part of the Law and a major part of the Covenant. It was a day for the people to remember that God had brought them out of slavery in Egypt. (Deut. 5:15).

REFLECTION/APPLICATION
There is much to reflect upon in these two chapters. Let's look at verses 7-10. I see a parallel contrast between the man who trusts in the Lord (vs 7-8) and the man who trusts his own heart (vs 9-10). Let's reflect on these verses today and examine our own hearts. In whom do we trust?

PRAYER
Lord, help us to learn to trust wholly in You. Our own hearts will lead us astray, but You plant us firmly in the ground where we can grow. You strengthen us for the hard times that come. And You cause us to bear fruit. Teach us not to trust our own hearts but to trust in You. Amen.