The Agony of Apostasy
Jeremiah 17, verse 1. “Cursed is the man who puts his hope in man, and who will strengthen the flesh of his arm in him, and withdraws in his heart from the Lord. Jeremiah 17, verse 2. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert. He shall not see when good things come, but shall dwell in salt lands along the sea and in the desert, in a salt land where no one dwells. Jeremiah 17, verse 3. But blessed is the man who puts his trust in the Lord, for the Lord shall be his hope. Jeremiah 17, verse 4. He shall be like a flourishing tree alongside the waters which spreads its roots toward the moisture. He will not fear when the burning heat comes, for He shall be like the root in a grove in the year of drought. He shall not fear, for he shall be like a tree that does not cease yielding its fruit. Jeremiah 17, verse 5. “The heart is deep beyond all things, and it is the man. Even so, who can know him? Jeremiah 17, verse 6. I, the Lord, examine hearts and test minds, to give each man according to his ways and the fruits of his practices. Jeremiah 17, verse 7. A partridge coos and collects eggs she did not lay. So is a man who obtains his wealth, but not with judgment. In the midst of his days his riches will forsake him, and at the time of his end he will be foolish.” Jeremiah 17, verse 8. An exalted throne of glory is our sanctuary. Jeremiah 17, verse 9. O Lord, the patient endurance of Israel, let all who forsake You be ashamed. “Let those who fall away from Me in apostasy be written in the earth, that they forsook the Lord, the fountain of life.”
Jeremiah's Prayer for Protection
Jeremiah 17, verse 10. Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed. Save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my boast. Jeremiah 17, verse 11. Behold, they say to me, “Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come.” Jeremiah 17, verse 12. But I have not become weary in following after You, nor have I desired the day of man. You know the words that proceed from my lips are before Your face. Jeremiah 17, verse 13. Do not be as a stranger to me, and spare me in the evil day. Jeremiah 17, verse 14. Let those who persecute me be put to shame, but may I not be ashamed. May they, but not I, be terrified. Bring upon them an evil day and crush them with a double destruction.
Sanctify the Sabbath
Jeremiah 17, verse 15. Thus says the Lord: “Go and stand in the gates of the sons of your people through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 17, verse 16. You shall say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all Judea, and all of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. Jeremiah 17, verse 17. Thus says the Lord: “Guard your souls, and take up no burdens on the Sabbath days, neither go out through the gates of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 17, verse 18. On the Sabbath days, carry no burdens with you from your houses, nor do any work. Instead, sanctify the Sabbath days, as I commanded your fathers. But they did not hear, and did not incline their ears. Jeremiah 17, verse 19. They stiffened their neck more than their fathers, so as not to hear Me or receive instruction. Jeremiah 17, verse 20. “Thus it shall come to pass that if you hear Me,” says the Lord, “so as not to carry burdens through the gates of this city on the Sabbath days, but to sanctify the Sabbath days and do no work therein, Jeremiah 17, verse 21. then there shall enter through the gates of this city kings and rulers, sitting on the throne of David and riding in their chariots and on their horses, they and their rulers, men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. This city itself shall be inhabited forever. Jeremiah 17, verse 22. They shall come from the cities of Judah, and from around Jerusalem and the land of Benjamin, and from the lowlands and the mountains, and from the south, bringing whole burnt offerings and a sacrifice, and incense, manna, and frankincense. They will bring praise to the house of the Lord. Jeremiah 17, verse 23. “But it shall come to pass that if you will not hear Me so as to sanctify the Sabbath days, and bear no burdens, nor enter the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath days, then I will kindle a fire in her gates. It will consume the streets of Jerusalem and will not be quenched.”’”