JEREMIAH - CHAPTER 17 - NO MORE CURSE FOREVER
Jeremiah – Chapter 17
NO MORE CURSE FOREVER
Tuesday, May 4, 2021, the year of our Lord
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Jeremiah 17: 1-2: The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; and with the point of a diamond. It is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of your altars, while their children remember their groves (altars) by the green trees upon the high hills (K.J.V.).
Judah’s heart was like a rock. Their sin is indelibly marked upon their personal and religious life. The engravings witness against them when they approach their altars. Their sins were written on the horns of the altar. Their offspring were also affected by seeing their parents and their countrymen bowing before idols, yet pretending to worship God.
They were excessively wasteful and extravagant with their finances.
Jeremiah 17:3-4: O’ My mountain in the field, I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures, and your high places of sin within all your borders. And you, even yourself, shall let go of your heritage which I gave you. I will cause you to serve your enemies in the land which you do not know. For you have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever. (N.K.J.V.)
God declares He will take away their wealth, their treasures and their favorite places of sin. “Even yourself shall let go of your heritage.” Since Judah would not be able to maintain or protect their heritage---they would just let it go. Something is now added to the ingredients of the wine of wrath. It was the fire of God’s anger.
Jeremiah 25:15: Thus says the LORD God of Israel to me: “Take this wine cup of fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it.
In the latter days, those who worship the beast and his image; and receive the mark of the beast will experience the wine of the wrath of God.
Revelation 14:10: The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Also, the great Babylon will drink of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. One of the prophets has said the great Babylon is Washington, D.C., Rome and London. It is interesting that Revelation 16:19, revers to the spirit of Babylon being divided into three parts, i.e. three cities.
Revelation 16:19: The great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
The wrath of God’s judgment on the curse, and the blessing for the righteous are here sealed FOREVER. Forever is a very long time!
Speaking from the flames of the fire of His anger, the Lord issues a curse and a blessing. He challenged Judah to choose. He offers us the same choice today.
Jeremiah 17:5: Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD.
(The teachings of leftist, Saul Alinsky, purported a society run by government for the “combined good” of the people. That would be a government of men where other men trade their liberty for some form of security. “Our Government” was the phrase most used in my visit to China, the world’s foremost communist regime. The Bible says a curse lies upon “the man who trust in man” for they are made to resemble a “shrub in the desert” Dr. C.R. Oliver). (Jer. 17:5)
Jeremiah 17: 6-7: For, he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
In a salt land which is not inhabited. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor, will cease from yielding fruit.
Oh, what a blessed promise for the righteous in a book so full of judgment! David sang this in Psalm 1.
Psa. 1:3: And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Ezekiel saw it in the glorious gospel temple:
Ezekiel 47:12: By the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
John saw it in the River of God and the Tree of Life in New Jerusalem.
Rev. 22:1-5: He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: They shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. There shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
The curse and blessing here given to Jeremiah are indeed forever. It is sealed by David, Ezekiel and the Apostle John. The forever blessing flows from heaven to man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord. This man will not fear in the times of judgement and drought. The wrath of God was indeed poured out on Jesus Christ at the Cross, but only for those who will receive Him as Savior.
Jeremiah 17:8: He will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.
Deeply rooted in the flow from the throne of God (Ezekiel 46) and radiating to the example of Philippians 4: 6-7, this man is not numbered among those who have wicked hearts.
Philippians 4:6-7: Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
God searches the heart and mind of man. God found Judah to be like a partridge that sits on her eggs which would never hatch.
Jeremiah 17: 9-11: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart. I test the mind. even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. As a partridge that broods but does not hatch, so is he who gets riches, but not by right. It will leave him in the midst of his days; and at his end he will be a fool.
A peculiar exchange now takes place between Jeremiah and the LORD. Jeremiah is prophesying from the throne of God because He has seen the glorious overcoming church as trees planted by the water and its roots spread out…
Jeremiah said:
Jeremiah 17: 12-13: A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake You shall be ashamed. They that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.
Jeremiah says, “our sanctuary.” He knows the sanctuary of God is the place of His throne. The place of God’s throne is where He dwells. Jeremiah is preaching from the realm of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Hebrews 8:1: Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such a high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
Revelation 7:17: For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
Jeremiah 17:14: Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for you are my praise.
Jeremiah humbly separates himself from those who will depart from the Most-High.
Jeremiah 17: 15-18: Behold, they (the people of Judah) say unto me, where is the word of the LORD? let it come now. As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow you: neither have I desired the woeful day; you know: that which came out of my lips was right before you. Be not a terror unto me: You are my hope in the day of evil. Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.
In the modern church, Jeremiah would have been rebuked and told to follow the path of forgiveness and love. He would have been reprimanded for calling for the destruction of his persecutors. He would have been reminded that Jesus said, forgive those that spitefully use you.
There was honesty and purity in Jeremiah’s heart and God already knew it. The Lord didn’t comment. He just told faithful Jeremiah to go and do something significant---stand in the gates of Jerusalem and prophesy another oracle to Jerusalem. Even to this day, that would be a dangerous place to go preach. Jeremiah went. The Lord required two things:
- A return to hallowing the sabbath
- Obey His voice.
The Sabbath Must Be Kept
Jeremiah 17: 19-27: Thus said the LORD unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem. Say unto them, Hear the word of the LORD, kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates: Thus says the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do any work, but hallow the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction. It shall come to pass, if you diligently hearken unto me…then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain forever. They shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD. But if you will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.
My father stood in this and would never work on Sunday. I believe because of his stand; I have never had to work at a secular job on Sunday.
I remember when the blue law was repealed. In Missouri, it was in 1963, but I think we were living in Tennessee when it was repealed. This coincided with the building of massive shopping malls. Today, we are seeing those shopping malls close their gates. Partly due to COVID, but mostly due to internet shopping. Church return to a hallowed Sabbath or there will be no gates to enter. (Jer. 17: 19-27)
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries Church, 10115 West Hidden Lakes Lane, Richmond, TX 77406
Scripture from KJV, N.K.J.V. I entered into the labors of Principles of Present Truth from Jeremiah by: Kelley Varner; The Road to Captivity by Dr. C. R. Oliver, Bible Teaching by: Carolyn Sissom 10/28/2008.