Bible Passage: Jeremiah 8:4-12
Once again, we find ourselves in a heavy passage filled with rhetorical questions, graphic imagery, fierce accusation, dire predictions of invasion, & anticipated mourning for a doomed society. I know by now that some of us are thinking, “Can’t we skip forward past the rest of the messages of GOD’s judgment to something a little lighter & brighter?” But friends, I assure you, that would be a mistake. You see, these many warnings given to us in Jeremiah are recorded as a great benefit for us like a warning label on a bottle of poison or a sign which reads “danger – road closed ahead.” As we study these Scriptures we should be alerted to the serious consequences of sin & also encouraged not to follow Judah’s bad example in rebelling against GOD. The New Testament tells us that the mistakes of those in the Old Testament are given to us so that we can learn from those mistakes & not commit them ourselves. So, these heavy passages are very profitable for us if we will heed them. Beloved, we must never treat these Scriptures or any text as something other than what they are – GOD’s own Word from His heart & mind. To hear them & yawn or dismiss them as no big deal is to harden your heart. That’s exactly what Judah did which ultimately led to her demise. In this message, we’re going to see The Anatomy of a Hard Heart.
