Read Jeremiah 19
19 This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people and of the priests 2 and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you, 3 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. 4 For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned incense in it to gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. 5 They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind. 6 So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.
7 “‘In this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds and the wild animals. 8 I will devastate this city and make it an object of horror and scorn;all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds. 9 I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemies will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them.’
10 “Then break the jar while those who go with you are watching, 11 and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 12 This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth. 13 The houses in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth—all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs to all the starry hosts and poured out drink offerings to other gods.’”
14 Jeremiah then returned from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court of the Lord’s temple and said to all the people, 15 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on this city and all the villages around it every disaster I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked and would not listen to my words.’”
Go Deeper
The Lord opens by giving Jeremiah a unique command: “Go buy a potter earthenware flask”. In Jeremiah 18 God taught Jeremiah at the potter’s house and now the Lord will use pottery as a visual image. Jeremiah is told to round up the elders of the people and the elders of the priest as he prepares to declare God’s Word. God also ordains a unique place for Jeremiah: the Valley of the Son Hinnon. Why would God choose this specific place? This place was a garbage dump where children were at times sacrificed. This is where King Ahaz had sacrificed his kids (2 Chronicles 28:3).
This text reveals a motif we see throughout scripture. They forsook God and His commands and are now sacrificing their kids as burnt offerings to Baal. Sin is never isolated into one nook of our lives–it spreads. Sin is either being killed or it is killing you; it is never neutral. Sadly, no one will ever attempt to kill something they do not know is growing. This text is a reminder that Satan is not trying to get us to “sacrifice our kids” at the beginning; he wants us to “forsake God’s ways” (Jeremiah 6:16). He plays the long game with us, and we are not even aware of that fact. He loves what we call “small compromises” (also known as “sin”) because he knows there is no such thing. All sin leads to death.
Jeremiah delivers God’s message and then is commanded to break the flask as a visual image of how the Lord will break the people. The impending disaster was inevitable and as if they needed a reminder for the reason, God reminds them. The people had “stiffened their necks”, but how? By “refusing to hear God’s Words”. In humility, we must remember that God is the Potter and we are the clay. As the Apostle Paul said, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies” (2 Corinthians 4:7-10).
Questions
Is there any sin in your life that you were not previously aware of that you need to wage war against?
How can we foster obedience like Jeremiah to do whatever God asks?
Where in your life do you need to release control and let the Potter form you?
A Quote
Ignatius of Loyola once described sin as an “unwillingness to trust that what God wants for me is only my deepest happiness.”
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4 thoughts on “Jeremiah 19”
Last night, a group of women commenced at Re:Generation after completing 52 weeks of an intense 12 step program for addiction. Listening to their testimonies and hearing of the freedom they found from bondage through Christ was a truly beautiful experience. It was holy ground for sure. At any moment we can choose to turn away from our sin, rebellion and shame and proclaim that through the SACRIFICE of Christ we can be made righteous before God. Israel refused to follow God’s precepts which led them into all sorts of detestable, cringeworthy practices such SACRIFICING their own children on pagan alters. It makes me shudder to think of it. Oh, the depravity of the human heart apart from God! Today, while there’s time, let’s take inventory of our lives and follow the path that leads us from death to life.
The reminder today that “sin is either killed or killing you – it is never neutral” is such a great reminder that we need to turn from our sin now (not waiting another day). That’s why ministries like re:generation are so crucial. We are forced to acknowledge our sin and decide whether to follow Christ or remain tethered to a world that does so much evil.
In order to not be where these people were we have to offer God our brokenness and bondages that have us trapped. ESV for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. NIV for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. NASB for it is God who is at work in you, both to desire and to work for His good pleasure .Phil 2:13 Daily consistently I have to offer my sins, conscious and unconscious to God. Then to have faith, believe Him, His word so that I can resist temptations to stop doing what I do not truly want to do. BUT GOD has given us the chance to fight and resist these compromises through the Holy Spirit within, through His grace. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; BUT GOD is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able .1 Corinthians 10:13 BUT GOD demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us .Romans 5:8 His plan. His joy in my life to overflowing, as I resist, through Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit within.
Thank God for the BUT GOD moments. Thank You for helping me fight and resist temptation. Thank You for Your love that has set me free and that I am willing to walk in that freedom. God give me the strength to see, listen and know those “unconscious” temptations that I can work with You on being free. God help me in these minutes, of this day to see Your people through Your love goggles. Thank You for listening ears to hear Your voice in these minutes and the willpower to resist what I want to do and follow You in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!
Wow! Wonderful to hear!
15 “because they were stiff-necked and would not listen to my words.’”
Lord, help me to turn from being stiff-necked and not listening to your words.