Lamentations

I Feel Just Like Jeremiah

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2016-12-18

Synopsis: John Weaver draws parallels between the spiritual condition of Judah in Jeremiah's time and modern America, emphasizing that national deterioration results from disregarding God's Word. He traces Jeremiah's emotional journey from compassionate weeping to exasperation and finally to discerning that judgment is the only remedy for a stiff-necked, unrepentant people. Applications urge believers to recognize that only God's righteous judgment can deal with entrenched wickedness and that recovery follows when sin is excised.

[John Weaver] Jeremiah chapter 9 Jeremiah chapter 9 we're going to read their first 9 verses Jeremiah chapter 9 the title of the message is I feel just like Jeremiah I Feel just like Jeremiah Notice Jeremiah chapter 9 beginning there with verse 1 Jeremiah 9 and verse 1 Oh, that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people. Oh, that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men, that I might leave my people and go from them. For they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies, but they are not valued for the truth upon the earth.

[John Weaver] For they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord. Take ye heed everyone of his neighbor, and trust you not in any brother. For every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk with slanders. And they will deceive everyone his neighbor, and will not speak the truth. They have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity. Their habitation is in the midst of deceit. Through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the Lord. Therefore, said the Lord of hosts, behold, I will melt them and try them.

[John Weaver] For how shall I do for the daughter of my people? Their tongue is as an arrow shot out, it speaketh deceit. One speaketh peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth his weight. Shall I not visit for these things, said the Lord? Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? The title of the message, again, is I feel just like Jeremiah. And the answer is no, I'm not comparing myself with Jeremiah. Jeremiah certainly was known as the weeping prophet, and he served God faithfully through the reign of the last five kings of Judah, who were Josiah, Jehoiahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. Jeremiah's ministry lasted over 40 years. If one would carefully read the book of Jeremiah, He would discover that Jeremiah's day in time is much like our day in time. In fact, there are many comparisons to the situation that Jeremiah faced and the situation in which we face today. Now here's a solemn truth that is emphasized over and over in the book of Jeremiah.

[John Weaver] And that is this solemn truth that all national deterioration and disaster is the result of disregarding and disobeying the Word of God. Now we're looking at Jeremiah chapter 9, but let me say this again because I'm going to show it to you from the very first chapters of this book. But the solemn truth that is emphasized throughout the entire book of Jeremiah is that all national deterioration and disaster is the result of disregarding and disobeying the Word of God. And this truth can be applied to any nation and not just simply Judah. In fact, Jeremiah presents this truth immediately and declares to Judah that this is the source of all of their problems and of all of their troubles. So hold Jeremiah chapter 9, but look back in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 2. And he's going to show Judah that the source of all their troubles, the source of their deterioration and disaster is the fact that they've disregarded God and left His Word. Notice Jeremiah chapter 2 and verse 8.

[John Weaver] He says it like this. The priest said not, where is the Lord? And they that handle the law knew me not. The pastors also transgressed against me and the prophets prophesied bail and walked after things that do not profit. So you have every category of people here walking away from God. Look at verse 19, Jeremiah two, verse 19. God says, thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy black backsliding shall reprove thee. Know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God. Look in chapter 2, beginning there in verse 30.

[John Weaver] He said, in vain have I smitten your children. They receive no correction. Your own sword hath devoured your prophets like a destroying lion. generation seeing ye the word of the Lord have I been a wilderness unto Israel a land of darkness wherefore say my people we are Lords we will come no more unto thee can a maid forget her ornament her attire yet my people have forgotten me days without number so Jeremiah is pointing out right away the problems that Judah were facing were simply because they had forsaken God and his word I believe that a case could be made against America exactly as Jeremiah makes the case against Judah. If you will examine the passages that I just gave you from Jeremiah chapter 2, you will notice that there was a spiritual breakdown, not just in the people of the land, but in all the leaders of the land as well. The apostasy had developed to such a stage that no one was willing to receive correction. It is almost inconceivable for you and I to imagine and to think that not one individual in the land of Judah was willing to hear and receive the Word of God.

[John Weaver] But yet, if you'll look very quickly in Jeremiah chapter 5 and verses 1 and 2, look what God says to Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 5 verse 1. In fact, we'll read through verse 3. God tells Jeremiah, run you to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if you can find a man. Notice, if you can find a man, a single man, if there be any that executes judgment, that seeketh the truth, I will pardon it.

[John Weaver] And though they say the Lord liveth, surely they swear falsely. O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth? Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved.

[John Weaver] Now it's consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They've made their faces harder than a rock. They refuse to return. So God tells Jeremiah, run you to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem. If you can find one man, any man that will do what's right, I'll pardon the entire city. And of course, Jeremiah could not find one. He said, you've grieved them, you've smitten them, and they refuse to return. Over and over in the book of Jeremiah, we're told of the stubbornness, the obstinacy, the stiff and hard-necked people in Jeremiah's time. Let me give you just a few scriptures that demonstrate the type of people to which Jeremiah was preaching. Look in Jeremiah chapter 7 and verse 26. Jeremiah 7 and verse 26. Look at what the Bible says. Jeremiah 7 verse 26.

[John Weaver] Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck, and did worse than their fathers. Look in Jeremiah chapter 17 and verse 23. Jeremiah 17 verse 23. Notice now we're talking about hardened necks, stiff necks. Notice Jeremiah chapter 17 and verse 23. The Bible says it like this. But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their necks stiff that they might not hear nor receive instruction. Isn't that amazing? Then if you look in Jeremiah chapter 19 and verse 15, he says it again. Jeremiah 19 and verse 15, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks that they might not hear my words. So Jeremiah then was sent to a people who were a stiff necked, hardened, rebellious people who refused to hear the word of God. Obviously, Jeremiah went through several stages in his ministry in dealing with such a people.

[John Weaver] It should be absolutely understandable how one's emotions and attitudes change when they are constantly confronted by an unrepentant and rebellious people. One can tire very easily and quickly when no one is listening and when no one is interested in changing or doing that which is right. You just simply look at the mess that America is in today. Do you realize the average American, let me go further, the average Christian wishes to party on just as if they're going to live forever.

[John Weaver] They have no concern for their children or for their grandchildren. It's what we call the Hezekiah syndrome. You say, what in the world is the Hezekiah syndrome? Well, I want you to hold Jeremiah nine, but look in your Bibles to second Kings chapter 20, second Kings chapter 20. Isaiah comes to Jeremiah and he declares a truth to him. Uh, He comes to Hezekiah in 2nd Kings chapter 20.

[John Weaver] Notice if you would beginning there in verse 12. 2nd Kings 20 in verse 12. Hezekiah had been sick and of course the ruler of Babylon had sent him gifts and also his condolences. But notice 2nd Kings chapter 20 beginning there in verse 12. At that time Barad-dak Balad-dan, the son of Balad-dan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a president to Hezekiah for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick.

[John Weaver] And Hezekiah hearkened unto them and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious ointment and all the house of his armor and all that was found in his treasures. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah showed them not.

[John Weaver] Now that was stupid, but that's okay. Then came Isaiah the prophet unto King Hezekiah and said unto him, What said these men, and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon. And he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen. There is nothing among my treasures that I have not showed them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord. Behold, the days come that all that is in thine house And all which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day shall be carried into Babylon. Nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, they shall take away. Now watch. And they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord, which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good?

[John Weaver] If peace and truth be in my days. What did Hezekiah say? Well, it really doesn't matter to me what happens after I'm gone, just so that I have a good time and I have peace in my days. That's the Hezekiah syndrome. That's where most people are today. They are not thinking generationally. They're not thinking about their children, their grandchildren, their great grandchildren. They're living for this day in time.

[John Weaver] and want to party on right now. Obviously Hezekiah did not care, nor was he concerned about his children and his grandchildren. He would escape the trouble. He would escape the turmoil. And that was all that mattered to him. You have to understand, obviously someone is going to reap that which we've sown. But our present day generation is unconcerned about that truth. How can I say I feel just like Jeremiah.

[John Weaver] Well, let me show you. Let's begin with Jeremiah chapter 9 and verse 1. The very first thing that we see about Jeremiah, he was compassionate and concerned. He was compassionate and concerned. Look in verse 1. He said, Oh, that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people. Now, before I examine this verse and expound it, I want you to look at a number of other verses very quickly that demonstrate that Jeremiah was indeed the weeping prophet, that demonstrates his compassion and his concern. So, if you look in Jeremiah 9 and verse 10, he says like this, Jeremiah 9 verse 10, For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up.

[John Weaver] so that none can pass through them. Neither can men hear the voice of the cattle, both the fowl of the heavens and the beast of the fled. They're gone." Note what he said, I'll take up a weeping and wailing, and I'll take up a lamentation. Look in Jeremiah chapter 13 and verse 17. Jeremiah 13 and verse 17, he said it like this. He's talking to the people, he said, but if you will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride. And mine eyes shall weep sore and run down with tears because the Lord's flock is carried away captive."

[John Weaver] He said, you won't listen. It breaks my heart that you just simply will not listen. Look in Jeremiah chapter 48 and verse 32. Jeremiah 48 and verse 32. Notice if you would, Jeremiah 48 verse 32.

[John Weaver] He says it like this. O vine of Simba, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazzer. Thy plants are gone over the sea. They reach even to the sea of Jazzer. The spoilers fall upon my summer fruits, upon my vintage.

[John Weaver] Now, if you would turn right over to the book of Lamentations, right after Jeremiah, you'll see the weeping prophet saw the destruction of Jerusalem. And look what he said in Lamentations 1 and verse 16. He says, For these things I weep, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me. My children are desolate because the enemy prevailed. Look in chapter 2 and verse 11. Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth. for the destruction of the daughter of my people, because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city. Look in chapter 3 and verse 48. Chapter 3 and verse 48. Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people. Now go back to Jeremiah 9 verse 1. I've showed you over and over where Jeremiah is a man that is compassionate and concerned. He's weeping over the destruction of his people. I want you to look very closely at verse one.

[John Weaver] He said, Oh, that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I might weep day and night for the slain or the daughter of my people. Let me give you a paraphrase. Let me just spell it out for you. Here is basically what he is saying. Oh, that my head were waters or who will give waters to my head. He is saying this, my mourning for the sins and the desolation of my people have already exhausted the source of my tears. I wish that there was a fountain open there so that I could weep day and night for the slain of my people. In other words, my tears are all gone.

[John Weaver] I've cried until I can't cry anymore. Who will turn my head into waters? Who will give my head a fountain of water that I can continually weep over and over for the slain of my people.

[John Weaver] Now listen, the calamity that Jeremiah foresaw was so dreadful that what he is saying is I could literally weep about it day and night. He's expressing his grief and that he's wishing that his head was a fountain of water, that his head would be dissolved into water so that his eye might become an exhaustible fountain of tears. By the way, verse one also intimates that the ruin would be so dreadful that it could not be bewailed by a moderate or usual lamentations in as much as God's vengeance was going to exceed common bounds and fill men with more dreadful calamities than they could ever imagine. And so an inexhaustible supply of water was going to be needed for him to weep.

[John Weaver] So verse 1 actually sets forth the greatness and the horribleness of the extreme destruction that was in store for Judah and Jerusalem. Jeremiah saw it coming. He knew it was coming. They refused to listen. And so he said, if I could just turn my head into waters, I would not cease to weep for them. So let me ask you a question. Is there anything any different today? The answer is no. There are a.

[John Weaver] I'm starting to say a few, but I'm going to change it. There are God's preachers who may be few, but there are God's preachers that are thundering out. about the judgment that has come, is here, and is coming. And yet, very few people listen. Very few people repent. Very few people really, truly want to live holy, godly, obedient lives. If you'll look in Jeremiah chapter 8 in verse 6, you will see the attitude of the people in Jeremiah's time And obviously, this is the attitude of our people today. Jeremiah chapter 8, look in verse 6, he said it like this.

[John Weaver] I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright. Watch. No man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Everyone turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into battle. So no one's willing to admit that they're sinners, that they've done wickedly. They're rushing like a horse into battle in their sins and in their wickedness. still despise God. They despise His gracious warnings, His tender mercies, and His multitudinous compassions. They reject His Word. They despise His Son and tread His law under their feet. They refuse to hear the plain, straightforward, biblical preaching and teaching of the Word. They prefer their sins. And they actually prefer to play at being Christians.

[John Weaver] It is exceedingly difficult to awaken people who harden their necks and stiffen their necks in sin and rebellion. They are absolutely insensible. So when you look at Jeremiah chapter nine in verse one, this has to be the sorrowful language, not only of Jeremiah, but of many preachers who preached long and hard to rebellious harden people with absolutely little or no effect.

[John Weaver] Now, let me give you a lesson that's very difficult to learn. Listen carefully. Jeremiah was known as a weeping prophet. Jeremiah was compassionate and concerned. Here is the difficult lesson, the godliness The concern and the compassion and the love of godly preachers are all insufficient to turn the hearts of a people. There have been many godly, good and gracious pastors. Some that I know that had been run off from their churches by hardened stiff neck rebellious people who did not want the Word of God. It's difficult for you not to conceive this, but it is true. No amount of compassion and no amount of concern from a preacher will save anybody or revive anybody or make anybody do that which is right and biblical and holy. That's why Jeremiah said, oh, that my head were fountains of waters so that I could just weep incessantly Yes, I have wept and yes, I have compassion, but for the most part, even professing Christians pass on unconcerned and unrepentant, but there's no amount of compassion and concern that will save anybody.

[John Weaver] That compassion and concern may drive us to preach and teach and witness to others, but it will not save them. Only God can do that. I want you to go back to Jeremiah chapter 9 because here's the second truth about Jeremiah. He was not only compassionate and concerned, he was also exhausted and exasperated. Look in verse 2. He said, Oh, that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men that I might leave my people and go from them.

[John Weaver] For they be all adulterers and assembly of treacherous Man. Wow. Let me spell it out for you. Jeremiah simply wanted to get out of Dodge. He grew weary and tired of preaching and praying for a people that would not listen, would not repent. He was not only exhausted. He was exasperated. If he could just get away, if he could just leave them. At least he would not be so provoked. Have I ever been exhausted? Ask Alice. The answer is yes. Have I ever been exasperated? Ask Alice. The answer is yes.

[John Weaver] For years, I was also pastor, principal, teacher, counselor, and disciplinarian in our church and educational ministry. Ever so often, I would call Pastor McCurry and ask, are you ready to get your family together and move with the swamp, move to the swamp with me? I never wanted to quit the ministry. I never wanted to stop preaching, but I did just want to get away. And at times I would think if I could just be marooned on a desert island for about six months.

[John Weaver] You know, it would really help. And don't think I'm the only one like that. Because ever so often, Pastor McCurry would call me and he would ask, is the swamp available? How long can we stay? Yeah. I can certainly understand what Jeremiah was going through. David said it like this in Psalm 120, verse 5. Listen to what he said. Woe is me that I sojourn in Meshach, and I dwell in the tents of Kedar. Now, the people of Meshach were a barbarous people. They were absolutely wicked. And so what Jeremiah is saying is, if I could just get away, living among these people is like living among barbarians. I just want to leave. Jeremiah longed for solitude at the same time He wanted to leave a wicked and rebellious people.

[John Weaver] Godly, gracious men are vexed. They're hurt with the conduct and conversation of the wicked. Listen, only the wicked can feel at home with the wicked. Birds of a feather do flock together, even lot. The Bible says in 2 Peter 2 and verse 8, For that righteous man dwelling among them and seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds. Godly men cannot help but be grieved at the sins and the rebellion of the wicked and they desire to get out of the way.

[John Weaver] Let me just show you. Look in verse two, look in verse two. He said, Oh, that I had a wilderness in the wilderness, a lodging place of wayfaring men, that I might leave my people and go from them. Why? For they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. They were immoral. They were filthy. Look in verse three. And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies.

[John Weaver] They were liars, but they are not valued for the truth upon the earth. They could care less about truth. They proceed from evil to evil and they know not me, saith the Lord. They were lost as a hound dog, and all they were interested in was doing that which was wicked. Look in verse 4. Take ye heed every one of his neighbor, and trust you not in any brother. For every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk with slanders.

[John Weaver] In other words, they were not trustworthy. They were deceivers. They were supplanters, as well as slanderers. Look in verse 5. And they will deceive every one his neighbor, and will not speak the truth. And they have taught their tongue to speak lies and weary themselves to commit iniquity. They wear themselves out in sin. And then he said in verse six, divine habitation is in the midst of deceit through deceit.

[John Weaver] They refuse to know me, saith the Lord. Wow. Look in verse eight, their tongue is an era shot out. It speak of deceit. One speaketh peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth wait." Wow. I understand why Jeremiah wanted to get away. I wouldn't want to be around a people like that either. You have to understand something about Jeremiah. Jeremiah was not the most loved preacher in the world.

[John Weaver] In fact, let me say it another way. The people hated Jeremiah. And he was hated because he preached the truth. And if you will notice, when you read through the book of Jeremiah, all the false prophets who prophesied lies were well-liked and well-loved and well-respected and were in the palace, by the way. But Jeremiah was hated. He was lied about. He was ridiculed. He was cast into prison and into dungeons.

[John Weaver] And his life was threatened. Let me show you. I want you to hold Jeremiah 9, but turn to Jeremiah chapter 20, if you would. Let's begin reading there with verse 7. Jeremiah 20 and verse 7. Jeremiah 20, look in verse 7. Jeremiah says, O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived. Thou art stronger than I. and has prevailed, I'm in derision daily. Watch, everyone mocketh me.

[John Weaver] For since I spake, I cried out. I cried violence and spoil, because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me and a derision daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of him nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

[John Weaver] For I have heard that if aiming many, fear on every side. Reports say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watch for my halting, saying, Peradventure, he will be enticed, and we will prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge upon him." All they wanted Jeremiah to do was to fall. They lied about him. They slandered about him. Look in your Bibles, if you would, please, to Jeremiah chapter 32 and verse 2. Jeremiah 32 and verse 2. For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house. So now he's thrown in prison. Look in Jeremiah chapter 38 and verse 6. Jeremiah 38 and verse 6. Then took they Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malachi, the son of Hamilech, that was in the court of the prison. And they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon, there was no water but mire. So Jeremiah sunk in the mire.

[John Weaver] So he's not just in prison, he's in a dungeon. Now I want you to go back to Jeremiah 26, and let me show you something. Here's where they literally tried to kill him. Jeremiah chapter 26, beginning there with verse 11. Jeremiah 26 and verse 11, then spake the priests and the prophets and the princes and all the people saying, this man is worthy to die. Why? For he has prophesied against this city. As you have heard with your ears, then spake Jeremiah to all the princes and to the people saying, the Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city, all the words that you have heard. Therefore now amend your ways and your doings and obey the voice of the Lord, your God. And the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. Ask for me.

[John Weaver] Behold, I am in your hand. Do with me as seemeth good, and meet to you. But know you for certain that if you put me to death, you shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city, upon the inhabitants thereof. For of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears." So they were planning on putting him to death.

[John Weaver] All Jeremiah wanted to do in Jeremiah chapter 9 verse 2 was just get away, just leave them. All you want's your sin, all you want's your rebellion, fine. If I could get me a little wayfaring house out in the desert somewhere, if I can find a little inn where I can rent a little room, or if I can find some widow's house like the widow woman of Zarephath, I believe it was, who made that little room for Elijah and his helper. And he would just go there and stay whenever he needed to go there and stay. If I could just get away. Well, I want to show you what happened when he did try to get away. Look in your Bibles to Jeremiah 37. Jeremiah 37. All he wanted to do was just leave. That's all. Look in Jeremiah 37, beginning there with verse 11. Jeremiah 37, verse 11. And it came to pass that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army, then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin to separate himself thence in the midst of the people.

[John Weaver] He's got the opportunity to leave, so now he's going to leave. And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there whose name was Arijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, And he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans. Then said Jeremiah, It is false. I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him. So Elijah took Jeremiah and brought him to the princes. Wherefore, the princes were wroth with Jeremiah and smote him and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they had made that the prison. When Jeremiah was entered in the dungeon and in the cabins, Jeremiah had remained there many days. Isn't that amazing? When he finally got the opportunity to leave, they lied against him and threw him back in the dungeon in the prison.

[John Weaver] Now let me show you something. I think this is very interesting. You remember when David was falsely accused by King Saul And he had to live out in the desert and in the wilderness. And while David was in the wilderness, he was longing for the courts of the Lord's house. You remember that? You remember the psalm where David talks about the little sparrows that build their nests there and the spiders that build their webs there? And he said, if I could be like one of those little birds, if I could be like a spider and just be in the house of the Lord, David was cut off from the house of the Lord because Saul was chasing him. He could not get back to Jerusalem. So David was in the wilderness desiring to be in the house of the Lord. Now Jeremiah is in the house of the Lord desiring to be in the wilderness. To get away from the wicked who were pretending to be the Lord's people. Yeah. Sometimes, godly men not only need to get away, but sometimes it's their people that drive them away.

[John Weaver] Jeremiah said, if I just had a lodging place in the wilderness, that's what I would need. He was not only compassionate and concerned, he was not only exhausted and exasperated, Thirdly, he was displeased and discerning. Jeremiah was a displeased and discerning man. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 18. I'm not going to stay long on this, but I want you to think as I read this passage, I want you to see the progress that is made in Jeremiah's thinking. The progress in his discernment and the desire of his heart. So begin by saying, if I could just weep uncontrollably, unendingly for my people, that's what I'd want. To the point I'm so exasperated and I'm so exhausted. I just want to leave. They won't sin. They don't want truth. Let them have it. Now I want you to see how he became displeased and yet at the same time discerning. Jeremiah was so displeased with the people and their rejection, not only of his person but of his message, he eventually discerned the right conclusion of the matter.

[John Weaver] Here is the right conclusion. Listen carefully. Jeremiah discerned. that the only thing left was judgment. It was the only thing left. Look in Jeremiah chapter 18, and let's begin reading verse 18. Remember now the people hate Jeremiah. They won't listen. They won't repent. They follow lies and deceit. Jeremiah 18 verse 18, then said, they come. And let us devise devices against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us smite him with the tongue and let us not give heed to any of his words. Now, let me just stop right there momentarily. The people are planning on destroying Jeremiah. They said the law is not going to perish. Counsel's not going to fall from the wise. The word's not going to cease from the prophet. Tell you what let's do. Let's smite him with the tongue. Let's lie about him. Let's slander him. Let's ridicule him. Let's mock him. Let's destroy him. And let's not give heed to any of his words.

[John Weaver] We're just not going to listen to him. Verse 19. So what does Jeremiah do? He begins to pray now. Give heed to me, O Lord, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me. Lord, I want you to listen to me, but I also want you to listen to what they're saying. Shall evil be recompensed for good? All Jeremiah had ever done for them was good, and they're recompensing evil.

[John Weaver] He said, for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them. and to turn away thy wrath from them. Lord, all I've tried to do was save them. Therefore deliver up their children to the famine and pour out their blood, pour out their blood by the force of the sword and let their wives be bereaved of their children and be widows and let their men be put to death. Let their young men be slain by the sword in battle.

[John Weaver] Let a cry be heard from their houses when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them. For they have digged a pit to take me and hid snares from my feet. Yet, Lord, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me. Forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee. Deal with them in the time of thine anger. Oh, my. Isn't that amazing?

[John Weaver] Jeremiah went from compassionate and concerned to exhausted and exasperated to now displeased and discerning. And he sees that the only answer is judgment. What Jeremiah is doing in this passage. is just exactly that which Isaiah did. He's making intercession against his people. He is not praying for them. He is praying against them. What is he doing? Now listen carefully. This is not vengeance on Jeremiah's part. It may sound like that, but no, no, no. What Jeremiah is now doing is he siding with the holy, righteous, just God who has declared that yes, he's going to destroy this people because of their hard heart, their hard head, their stiff neck, their refusing to listen, their rebellion, and their wickedness. And now what Jeremiah is doing is saying this, Lord, yes, I agree with you. Bring upon them that which you have determined and that which you have declared. Wow.

[John Weaver] The question has to be asked. When will we, as God's people discern that the only way out of our ungodly, immoral, unjust, and wicked society is through the righteous judgment of God. You remember David. Was the man after God's own heart? You know what David prayed in Psalm 7 and verse 9? And I pray this verse. Here's what David prayed. Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end.

[John Weaver] But established out the just. Have you ever prayed that God would bring the wickedness of the wicked to an end? I don't know about you, But you look at America. You look at the wicked who are in control. You look at the wicked contrivances that they've planned and schemed. You look at how vast everything is. The only thing you can say is, oh God, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end. You're the only one that can stop it. But establish thou the just. Establish thou the just.

[John Weaver] I preached a message many years ago which I entitled, A Door of Hope. And it was based on Hosea 2 and verse 15, where God said, I will give her vineyards from thence and the valley of Acre for a door of hope. And she shall sing there as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. God said, I've given her the valley of Acre for a door of hope. You know what the valley of Acre was? If you remember that sermon, the valley of Acre was the valley of judgment.

[John Weaver] It's where Achan and his entire family were put to death because of their sin and rebellion. And what did God say to Joshua and to the other people? Neither will I be with you anymore until you deal with this. The door of hope was a door of judgment. The valley of Acre was a valley of judgment. Sin was dealt with and the wicked were destroyed. Judgment is not our enemy. Judgment is our friend.

[John Weaver] So Jeremiah exhausted and exasperated, displeased yet discerning. Begins to pray that the righteous God would bring his righteous judgment upon a disobedient people. Wow. What did Jeremiah say? Therefore deliver up their children to the famine and pour out their blood by the force of the sword and let their wives be bereaved of their children and be widows and let their men be put to death. Let their young men be slain by the sword in battle.

[John Weaver] Let a cry be heard from their houses when thou shalt bring a troop that is the Babylonian soldier suddenly upon them for they have digged a pit to take me and hit snares for my feet. Yay, Lord, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me. Forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee. Deal thus with them in the time of thine anger. Now listen.

[John Weaver] If you think Jeremiah was fed up to pray a prayer like that, you just wait till the sovereign God of heaven gets fed up. Go back to Jeremiah nine. Look in Jeremiah chapter nine. And let's begin reading there with verse nine, Jeremiah nine, verse nine. Jeremiah 9, verse 9. Watch it carefully if you would, please. Jeremiah 9, verse 9. God asked, Shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord?

[John Weaver] Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? Notice it's a nation. For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing for the habitations of the wilderness, a lamentation because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them, neither can men hear the voice of the cattle, Both the fowl of the heaven and the beast are fled, they are gone. Why?

[John Weaver] Because of the soldiers, the Babylonian army. And I will make Jerusalem heaps and a den of dragons, and I will make the cities of Judah desolate without an inhabitant. Who is the wise man that may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, that he may declare it? For what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, and none passeth through?

[John Weaver] And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein, but have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Balaam, which their fathers taught them. Therefore thus said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them, even this people with wormwood, and give them water and gall to drink. I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send a sword after them till I have consumed them. Thus said the Lord of hosts, Consider ye and call for the mourning women, that they may come and sin for cunning women, that they may come and let them make haste and take up wailing for thee, that our eyes may run down with tears and our eyelids gush out with waters. For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion. How are we spoiled?

[John Weaver] We're greatly confounded because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out. Yet hear the word of the Lord, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth and teach your daughters wailing and every one of his neighbor lamentation for death. It's come up into our windows and has entered into our palaces to cut off the children from without. And the young men from the streets speak. Thus said the Lord, even the carcasses of men shall fall as dung upon the open field as the handful after the harvestman and none shall gather them. Yeah.

[John Weaver] Jeremiah was fed up, but so was God. And all Jeremiah could do was pray, but God could do much more. Let me make some applications. The first one is this. I hear Christians and non-Christians alike complaining about the state of our nation and incessantly referring to how bad it really is. And all I can say is hang on. It's going to get worse. We've sown the wind and we're reaping the whirlwind. Anyone with any discernment understands that we cannot continue on in the way that we're traveling as a nation. God has sent roadblock after roadblock in the way of temporal judgments. And what we do is we just simply remove those roadblocks and continue down the same road heading in the same direction. Pretty soon we're going to be asking what are we doing in this handbasket and why are we going down the hill so fast?

[John Weaver] Because there'll be nothing but judgment. The second application is this godly preachers and biblical preaching. will never save those who refuse to hear and believe and repent. Compassion and concern on the part of godly pastors are insufficient to turn a bull headed and stiff necked people. Jeremiah never saved Judah. Isaiah never saved his people. Noah never saved anybody but his own house. If you study the scripture, you'll find out that sooner or later, God will do one of two things to a people who hate him and hate his word. He'll either move his preacher out of the land, just like he did Elijah, or he'll shut the mouth of his preacher, just like he did Jeremiah. And when God does that, just get ready for a full judgment. Like I said earlier, we ain't seen nothing yet. Here's the third application. Think about this.

[John Weaver] Here is a simple fact. The sooner and the quicker the problem is dealt with, an excised cut out, the sooner and quicker we can get on with recovery. I remember when the doctor told me about the nerve in my neck that was encapsulated by the bone. And he said, it's not going to get any better. It's only going to get worse. And I asked him, can you do the surgery tomorrow? He said, no.

[John Weaver] But I can do it the next day. I was ready to get it over with. Why? So I could get on with my life and start the recovery. If these people are not going to repent of their sins, if we're not going to listen to God, if we're not going to turn back to His Word and His Law, let Him send His judgment. And He'll cut out the cancer. And then we can get on with our lives and with our society and building a godly nation once again in line with the Word of God. So the quicker it's dealt with, the quicker we'll have recovery.

[John Weaver] I feel just like Jeremiah. I want it over with. I want it done. So God will not be blasphemed and dishonored and worshiped. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask you for your grace and your mercy and your goodness and your kindness. Lord, help us, teach us, build us up in the most holy faith. Help us to understand your word and to hear your word and repent and to follow your law and to bring our lives in conformity to your word. Lord, others may not want to repent, but we should. Others may not love thee, but we should, and we want to. Others may not obey thee, but father, we desire to. So give us grace that we may serve thee.

[John Weaver] acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In thy name we pray. Amen.

I Feel Just Like Jeremiah

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	sL_T9nWrTQk
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Lamentations
Genre	Sermon
Date	2016-12-18
Dictation Name
Book	Book 086: Lamentations — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	71

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Solemn Truth of National Deterioration

Weaver introduces Jeremiah 9 and states that all national disaster comes from disregarding and disobeying God's Word, a truth applicable to any nation.

Jeremiah chapter 9. Jeremiah chapter 9, we're going to read the first 9 verses. Jeremiah chapter 9. The title of the message is "I Feel Just Like Jeremiah." I feel just like Jeremiah. Notice Jeremiah chapter 9, beginning there with verse 1. Jeremiah 9 and verse 1:

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 9:1-9

"Oh, that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people. Oh, that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men, that I might leave my people and go from them. For they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies, but they are not valued for the truth upon the earth." "For they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord. Take ye heed everyone of his neighbor, and trust you not in any brother. For every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk with slanders. And they will deceive everyone his neighbor, and will not speak the truth. They have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity. Their habitation is in the midst of deceit. Through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the Lord. Therefore, said the Lord of hosts, behold, I will melt them and try them." "For how shall I do for the daughter of my people? Their tongue is as an arrow shot out, it speaketh deceit. One speaketh peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth his wait. Shall I not visit for these things, said the Lord? Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?"

The title of the message, again, is "I Feel Just Like Jeremiah." And the answer is no, I'm not comparing myself with Jeremiah. Jeremiah certainly was known as the weeping prophet, and he served God faithfully through the reign of the last five kings of Judah, who were Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. Jeremiah's ministry lasted over 40 years. If one would carefully read the book of Jeremiah, he would discover that Jeremiah's day in time is much like our day in time. In fact, there are many comparisons to the situation that Jeremiah faced and the situation in which we face today. Now here's a solemn truth that is emphasized over and over in the book of Jeremiah.

And that is this solemn truth: that all national deterioration and disaster is the result of disregarding and disobeying the Word of God. Now we're looking at Jeremiah chapter 9, but let me say this again because I'm going to show it to you from the very first chapters of this book. But the solemn truth that is emphasized throughout the entire book of Jeremiah is that all national deterioration and disaster is the result of disregarding and disobeying the Word of God. And this truth can be applied to any nation and not just simply Judah. In fact, Jeremiah presents this truth immediately and declares to Judah that this is the source of all of their problems and of all of their troubles. So hold Jeremiah chapter 9, but look back in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 2. And he's going to show Judah that the source of all their troubles, the source of their deterioration and disaster is the fact that they've disregarded God and left His Word. Notice Jeremiah chapter 2 and verse 8.

The Spiritual Breakdown in Judah and America

Using Jeremiah 2 and 5, Weaver shows that Judah's leaders and people had forsaken God, and he argues a similar case can be made against America.

He says it like this: "The priest said not, Where is the Lord? And they that handle the law knew me not. The pastors also transgressed against me and the prophets prophesied Baal and walked after things that do not profit." So you have every category of people here walking away from God. Look at verse 19, Jeremiah 2, verse 19. God says, "Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee. Know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God." Look in chapter 2, beginning there in verse 30. He said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 2:30-32

"In vain have I smitten your children. They receive no correction. Your own sword hath devoured your prophets like a destroying lion. O generation, see ye the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? A land of darkness? Wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee. Can a maid forget her ornament, her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number."

So Jeremiah is pointing out right away the problems that Judah were facing were simply because they had forsaken God and His Word. I believe that a case could be made against America exactly as Jeremiah makes the case against Judah. If you will examine the passages that I just gave you from Jeremiah chapter 2, you will notice that there was a spiritual breakdown, not just in the people of the land, but in all the leaders of the land as well. The apostasy had developed to such a stage that no one was willing to receive correction. It is almost inconceivable for you and I to imagine and to think that not one individual in the land of Judah was willing to hear and receive the Word of God.

But yet, if you'll look very quickly in Jeremiah chapter 5 and verses 1 and 2, look what God says to Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 5 verse 1. In fact, we'll read through verse 3. God tells Jeremiah,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 5:1-3

"Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if you can find a man."

Notice, if you can find a man, a single man,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 5:1-3

"if there be any that executes judgment, that seeketh the truth, I will pardon it." "And though they say the Lord liveth, surely they swear falsely. O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth? Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved." "Thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They've made their faces harder than a rock. They refuse to return."

So God tells Jeremiah,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 5:1-3

"Run you to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem. If you can find one man, any man that will do what's right, I'll pardon the entire city."

And of course, Jeremiah could not find one. He said, "You've grieved them, you've smitten them, and they refuse to return." Over and over in the book of Jeremiah, we're told of the stubbornness, the obstinacy, the stiff and hard-necked people in Jeremiah's time. Let me give you just a few scriptures that demonstrate the type of people to which Jeremiah was preaching. Look in Jeremiah chapter 7 and verse 26. Jeremiah 7 and verse 26. Look at what the Bible says. Jeremiah 7 verse 26.

The Stiff-Necked People of Jeremiah's Day

Weaver cites multiple passages (Jeremiah 7, 17, 19) to demonstrate the stubbornness and rebellion of the people to whom Jeremiah preached.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 7:26

"Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck, and did worse than their fathers."

Look in Jeremiah chapter 17 and verse 23. Jeremiah 17 verse 23. Notice now we're talking about hardened necks, stiff necks. Notice Jeremiah chapter 17 and verse 23. The Bible says it like this:

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 7:26

"But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their necks stiff that they might not hear nor receive instruction."

Isn't that amazing? Then if you look in Jeremiah chapter 19 and verse 15, he says it again. Jeremiah 19 and verse 15, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks that they might not hear my words." So Jeremiah then was sent to a people who were a stiff-necked, hardened, rebellious people who refused to hear the word of God. Obviously, Jeremiah went through several stages in his ministry in dealing with such a people.

It should be absolutely understandable how one's emotions and attitudes change when they are constantly confronted by an unrepentant and rebellious people. One can tire very easily and quickly when no one is listening and when no one is interested in changing or doing that which is right. You just simply look at the mess that America is in today. Do you realize the average American, let me go further, the average Christian wishes to party on just as if they're going to live forever.

The Hezekiah Syndrome: Living Only for the Present

Weaver introduces the 'Hezekiah syndrome' from 2 Kings 20, illustrating how people today are unconcerned about future generations and only want peace in their own days.

They have no concern for their children or for their grandchildren. It's what we call the Hezekiah syndrome. You say, what in the world is the Hezekiah syndrome? Well, I want you to hold Jeremiah 9, but look in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 20. 2 Kings chapter 20. Isaiah comes to Hezekiah and he declares a truth to him. He comes to Hezekiah in 2 Kings chapter 20.

Notice if you would beginning there in verse 12. 2 Kings 20 in verse 12. Hezekiah had been sick and of course the ruler of Babylon had sent him gifts and also his condolences. But notice 2 Kings chapter 20 beginning there in verse 12.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 20:12-19

"At that time Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick." "And Hezekiah hearkened unto them and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious ointment and all the house of his armor and all that was found in his treasures. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah showed them not."

Now that was stupid, but that's okay. "Then came Isaiah the prophet unto King Hezekiah and said unto him, What said these men, and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon. And he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen. There is nothing among my treasures that I have not showed them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord. Behold, the days come that all that is in thine house and all which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day shall be carried into Babylon. Nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, they shall take away. Now watch. And they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord, which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good?"

"If peace and truth be in my days." What did Hezekiah say? Well, it really doesn't matter to me what happens after I'm gone, just so that I have a good time and I have peace in my days. That's the Hezekiah syndrome. That's where most people are today. They are not thinking generationally. They're not thinking about their children, their grandchildren, their great-grandchildren. They're living for this day in time.

and want to party on right now. Obviously Hezekiah did not care, nor was he concerned about his children and his grandchildren. He would escape the trouble. He would escape the turmoil. And that was all that mattered to him. You have to understand, obviously someone is going to reap that which we've sown. But our present day generation is unconcerned about that truth. How can I say I feel just like Jeremiah?

Jeremiah's Compassion and Concern

Weaver examines Jeremiah 9:1 and other passages to show Jeremiah as the weeping prophet, deeply grieved over the coming destruction of his people.

Well, let me show you. Let's begin with Jeremiah chapter 9 and verse 1. The very first thing that we see about Jeremiah, he was compassionate and concerned. He was compassionate and concerned. Look in verse 1. He said, "Oh, that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people." Now, before I examine this verse and expound it, I want you to look at a number of other verses very quickly that demonstrate that Jeremiah was indeed the weeping prophet, that demonstrates his compassion and his concern. So, if you look in Jeremiah 9 and verse 10, he says like this, Jeremiah 9 verse 10, "For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 9:10

"so that none can pass through them. Neither can men hear the voice of the cattle, both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled. They're gone."

Note what he said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 9:10

"I'll take up a weeping and wailing, and I'll take up a lamentation."

Look in Jeremiah chapter 13 and verse 17. Jeremiah 13 and verse 17, he said it like this. He's talking to the people, he said, "But if you will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride. And mine eyes shall weep sore and run down with tears because the Lord's flock is carried away captive." He said, "You won't listen. It breaks my heart that you just simply will not listen." Look in Jeremiah chapter 48 and verse 32. Jeremiah 48 and verse 32. Notice if you would, Jeremiah 48 verse 32.

He says it like this: "O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer. Thy plants are gone over the sea. They reach even to the sea of Jazer. The spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage."

Now, if you would turn right over to the book of Lamentations, right after Jeremiah, you'll see the weeping prophet saw the destruction of Jerusalem. And look what he said in Lamentations 1 and verse 16. He says,

Scripture Reading — Lamentations 1:16

"For these things I weep, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me. My children are desolate because the enemy prevailed."

Look in chapter 2 and verse 11. "Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people, because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city." Look in chapter 3 and verse 48. Chapter 3 and verse 48.

Scripture Reading — Lamentations 1:16

"Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people."

Now go back to Jeremiah 9 verse 1. I've showed you over and over where Jeremiah is a man that is compassionate and concerned. He's weeping over the destruction of his people. I want you to look very closely at verse one.

He said, "Oh, that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people." Let me give you a paraphrase. Let me just spell it out for you. Here is basically what he is saying. "Oh, that my head were waters" or "Who will give waters to my head?" He is saying this: my mourning for the sins and the desolation of my people have already exhausted the source of my tears. I wish that there was a fountain open there so that I could weep day and night for the slain of my people. In other words, my tears are all gone. I've cried until I can't cry anymore. Who will turn my head into waters? Who will give my head a fountain of water that I can continually weep over and over for the slain of my people?

Now listen, the calamity that Jeremiah foresaw was so dreadful that what he is saying is I could literally weep about it day and night. He's expressing his grief and that he's wishing that his head was a fountain of water, that his head would be dissolved into water so that his eye might become an inexhaustible fountain of tears. By the way, verse one also intimates that the ruin would be so dreadful that it could not be bewailed by a moderate or usual lamentations inasmuch as God's vengeance was going to exceed common bounds and fill men with more dreadful calamities than they could ever imagine. And so an inexhaustible supply of water was going to be needed for him to weep.

So verse 1 actually sets forth the greatness and the horribleness of the extreme destruction that was in store for Judah and Jerusalem. Jeremiah saw it coming. He knew it was coming. They refused to listen. And so he said, "If I could just turn my head into waters, I would not cease to weep for them." So let me ask you a question. Is there anything any different today? The answer is no.

I'm starting to say a few, but I'm going to change it. There are God's preachers who may be few, but there are God's preachers that are thundering out about the judgment that has come, is here, and is coming. And yet, very few people listen. Very few people repent. Very few people really, truly want to live holy, godly, obedient lives. If you'll look in Jeremiah chapter 8 in verse 6, you will see the attitude of the people in Jeremiah's time. And obviously, this is the attitude of our people today. Jeremiah chapter 8, look in verse 6, he said it like this.

The Insufficiency of Human Compassion to Save

Weaver teaches that no amount of godly compassion or concern from a preacher can turn hearts; only God can save.

Now, let me give you a lesson that's very difficult to learn. Listen carefully. Jeremiah was known as a weeping prophet. Jeremiah was compassionate and concerned. Here is the difficult lesson: the godliness, the concern, and the compassion and the love of godly preachers are all insufficient to turn the hearts of a people. There have been many godly, good and gracious pastors. Some that I know that had been run off from their churches by hardened, stiff-necked, rebellious people who did not want the Word of God. It's difficult for you not to conceive this, but it is true. No amount of compassion and no amount of concern from a preacher will save anybody or revive anybody or make anybody do that which is right and biblical and holy. That's why Jeremiah said, "Oh, that my head were fountains of waters so that I could just weep incessantly." Yes, I have wept and yes, I have compassion, but for the most part, even professing Christians pass on unconcerned and unrepentant, but there's no amount of compassion and concern that will save anybody.

That compassion and concern may drive us to preach and teach and witness to others, but it will not save them. Only God can do that. I want you to go back to Jeremiah chapter 9 because here's the second truth about Jeremiah. He was not only compassionate and concerned, he was also exhausted and exasperated. Look in verse 2. He said, "Oh, that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men that I might leave my people and go from them."

Jeremiah's Exhaustion and Exasperation

Weaver explains Jeremiah 9:2, where the prophet longs to escape from the wicked people, and relates his own experiences of pastoral exhaustion.

"For they be all adulterers and assembly of treacherous men." Wow. Let me spell it out for you. Jeremiah simply wanted to get out of Dodge. He grew weary and tired of preaching and praying for a people that would not listen, would not repent. He was not only exhausted. He was exasperated. If he could just get away, if he could just leave them. At least he would not be so provoked. Have I ever been exhausted? Ask Alice. The answer is yes. Have I ever been exasperated? Ask Alice. The answer is yes.

For years, I was also pastor, principal, teacher, counselor, and disciplinarian in our church and educational ministry. Ever so often, I would call Pastor McCurry and ask, "Are you ready to get your family together and move to the swamp with me?" I never wanted to quit the ministry. I never wanted to stop preaching, but I did just want to get away. And at times I would think if I could just be marooned on a desert island for about six months. You know, it would really help. And don't think I'm the only one like that. Because ever so often, Pastor McCurry would call me and he would ask, "Is the swamp available? How long can we stay?" Yeah. I can certainly understand what Jeremiah was going through. David said it like this in Psalm 120, verse 5. Listen to what he said. "Woe is me that I sojourn in Meshech, and I dwell in the tents of Kedar." Now, the people of Meshech were a barbarous people. They were absolutely wicked. And so what Jeremiah is saying is, "If I could just get away, living among these people is like living among barbarians. I just want to leave." Jeremiah longed for solitude at the same time he wanted to leave a wicked and rebellious people.

Godly, gracious men are vexed. They're hurt with the conduct and conversation of the wicked. Listen, only the wicked can feel at home with the wicked. Birds of a feather do flock together, even Lot. The Bible says in 2 Peter 2 and verse 8, "For that righteous man dwelling among them and seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds." Godly men cannot help but be grieved at the sins and the rebellion of the wicked and they desire to get out of the way. Let me just show you. Look in verse 2, look in verse 2. He said, "Oh, that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men, that I might leave my people and go from them." Why? "For they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men." They were immoral. They were filthy. Look in verse 3. "And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies."

They were liars, "but they are not valued for the truth upon the earth." They could care less about truth. "They proceed from evil to evil and they know not me, saith the Lord." They were lost as a hound dog, and all they were interested in was doing that which was wicked. Look in verse 4. "Take ye heed every one of his neighbor, and trust you not in any brother. For every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk with slanders." In other words, they were not trustworthy. They were deceivers. They were supplanters, as well as slanderers. Look in verse 5. "And they will deceive every one his neighbor, and will not speak the truth. And they have taught their tongue to speak lies and weary themselves to commit iniquity." They wear themselves out in sin. And then he said in verse 6, "Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit. Through deceit"

"they refuse to know me, saith the Lord." Wow. Look in verse 8, "Their tongue is an arrow shot out. It speaketh deceit. One speaketh peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth wait." Wow. I understand why Jeremiah wanted to get away. I wouldn't want to be around a people like that either. You have to understand something about Jeremiah. Jeremiah was not the most loved preacher in the world.

The Hatred and Persecution Jeremiah Endured

Weaver recounts how Jeremiah was hated, imprisoned, and threatened with death for preaching truth, citing Jeremiah 20, 32, 38, and 26.

In fact, let me say it another way. The people hated Jeremiah. And he was hated because he preached the truth. And if you will notice, when you read through the book of Jeremiah, all the false prophets who prophesied lies were well-liked and well-loved and well-respected and were in the palace, by the way. But Jeremiah was hated. He was lied about. He was ridiculed. He was cast into prison and into dungeons.

And his life was threatened. Let me show you. I want you to hold Jeremiah 9, but turn to Jeremiah chapter 20, if you would. Let's begin reading there with verse 7. Jeremiah 20 and verse 7. Jeremiah 20, look in verse 7. Jeremiah says,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 20:7-10

"O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived. Thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed. I am in derision daily. Watch, everyone mocketh me." "For since I spake, I cried out. I cried violence and spoil, because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me and a derision daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of him nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay." "For I have heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watch for my halting, saying, Peradventure, he will be enticed, and we will prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge upon him."

All they wanted Jeremiah to do was to fall. They lied about him. They slandered about him. Look in your Bibles, if you would, please, to Jeremiah chapter 32 and verse 2. Jeremiah 32 and verse 2. "For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house." So now he's thrown in prison. Look in Jeremiah chapter 38 and verse 6. Jeremiah 38 and verse 6. "Then took they Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah, the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison. And they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon, there was no water but mire. So Jeremiah sunk in the mire."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 32:2

So he's not just in prison, he's in a dungeon. Now I want you to go back to Jeremiah 26, and let me show you something. Here's where they literally tried to kill him. Jeremiah chapter 26, beginning there with verse 11. Jeremiah 26 and verse 11, "Then spake the priests and the prophets and the princes and all the people saying, This man is worthy to die. Why? For he has prophesied against this city. As you have heard with your ears, then spake Jeremiah to all the princes and to the people saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city, all the words that you have heard. Therefore now amend your ways and your doings and obey the voice of the Lord your God. And the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. As for me."

"Behold, I am in your hand. Do with me as seemeth good, and meet unto you. But know you for certain that if you put me to death, you shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city, upon the inhabitants thereof. For of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears." So they were planning on putting him to death.

Jeremiah's Displeasure and Discernment: Praying for Judgment

Weaver shows from Jeremiah 18 how Jeremiah moved from compassion to praying for God's righteous judgment on the unrepentant people.

Jeremiah said, "If I just had a lodging place in the wilderness, that's what I would need." He was not only compassionate and concerned, he was not only exhausted and exasperated. Thirdly, he was displeased and discerning. Jeremiah was a displeased and discerning man. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 18. I'm not going to stay long on this, but I want you to think as I read this passage, I want you to see the progress that is made in Jeremiah's thinking. The progress in his discernment and the desire of his heart. So begin by saying, "If I could just weep uncontrollably, unendingly for my people, that's what I'd want." To the point I'm so exasperated and I'm so exhausted. I just want to leave. They won't sin. They don't want truth. Let them have it. Now I want you to see how he became displeased and yet at the same time discerning. Jeremiah was so displeased with the people and their rejection, not only of his person but of his message, he eventually discerned the right conclusion of the matter.

Here is the right conclusion. Listen carefully. Jeremiah discerned that the only thing left was judgment. It was the only thing left. Look in Jeremiah chapter 18, and let's begin reading verse 18. Remember now the people hate Jeremiah. They won't listen. They won't repent. They follow lies and deceit. Jeremiah 18 verse 18, "Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us smite him with the tongue and let us not give heed to any of his words." Now, let me just stop right there momentarily. The people are planning on destroying Jeremiah. They said the law is not going to perish. Counsel's not going to fall from the wise. The word's not going to cease from the prophet. Tell you what let's do. Let's smite him with the tongue. Let's lie about him. Let's slander him. Let's ridicule him. Let's mock him. Let's destroy him. And let's not give heed to any of his words.

We're just not going to listen to him. Verse 19. So what does Jeremiah do? He begins to pray now. "Give heed to me, O Lord, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me. Lord, I want you to listen to me, but I also want you to listen to what they're saying. Shall evil be recompensed for good?" All Jeremiah had ever done for them was good, and they're recompensing evil.

He said, "For they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them. Lord, all I've tried to do was save them. Therefore deliver up their children to the famine and pour out their blood by the force of the sword and let their wives be bereaved of their children and be widows and let their men be put to death. Let their young men be slain by the sword in battle." "Let a cry be heard from their houses when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them. For they have digged a pit to take me and hid snares from my feet. Yet, Lord, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me. Forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee. Deal with them in the time of thine anger." Oh, my. Isn't that amazing?

Jeremiah went from compassionate and concerned to exhausted and exasperated to now displeased and discerning. And he sees that the only answer is judgment. What Jeremiah is doing in this passage is just exactly that which Isaiah did. He's making intercession against his people. He is not praying for them. He is praying against them. What is he doing? Now listen carefully. This is not vengeance on Jeremiah's part. It may sound like that, but no, no, no. What Jeremiah is now doing is he is siding with the holy, righteous, just God who has declared that yes, he's going to destroy this people because of their hard heart, their hard head, their stiff neck, their refusing to listen, their rebellion, and their wickedness. And now what Jeremiah is doing is saying this, "Lord, yes, I agree with you. Bring upon them that which you have determined and that which you have declared." Wow.

God's Own Declaration of Judgment

Weaver reads Jeremiah 9:9-22 to demonstrate that God Himself was fed up and declared severe judgment on Judah for forsaking His law.

If you think Jeremiah was fed up to pray a prayer like that, you just wait till the sovereign God of heaven gets fed up. Go back to Jeremiah 9. Look in Jeremiah chapter 9. And let's begin reading there with verse 9, Jeremiah 9, verse 9. Jeremiah 9, verse 9. Watch it carefully if you would, please. Jeremiah 9, verse 9. God asked, "Shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord?"

"Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" Notice it's a nation. "For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing for the habitations of the wilderness, a lamentation because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them, neither can men hear the voice of the cattle, both the fowl of the heaven and the beast are fled, they are gone." Why? Because of the soldiers, the Babylonian army. "And I will make Jerusalem heaps and a den of dragons, and I will make the cities of Judah desolate without an inhabitant. Who is the wise man that may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, that he may declare it? For what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, and none passeth through?"

"And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein, but have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them. Therefore thus said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them, even this people with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send a sword after them till I have consumed them. Thus said the Lord of hosts, Consider ye and call for the mourning women, that they may come and send for cunning women, that they may come and let them make haste and take up wailing for thee, that our eyes may run down with tears and our eyelids gush out with waters. For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion. How are we spoiled?"

"We're greatly confounded because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out. Yet hear the word of the Lord, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth and teach your daughters wailing and every one of his neighbor lamentation for death. It's come up into our windows and has entered into our palaces to cut off the children from without. And the young men from the streets speak. Thus said the Lord, even the carcasses of men shall fall as dung upon the open field as the handful after the harvestman and none shall gather them." Yeah.

Applications: The Necessity of Judgment and Recovery

Weaver applies the message by stating that things will get worse, that preaching cannot save the unwilling, and that swift judgment leads to quicker recovery.

Jeremiah was fed up, but so was God. And all Jeremiah could do was pray, but God could do much more. Let me make some applications. The first one is this. I hear Christians and non-Christians alike complaining about the state of our nation and incessantly referring to how bad it really is. And all I can say is hang on. It's going to get worse. We've sown the wind and we're reaping the whirlwind. Anyone with any discernment understands that we cannot continue on in the way that we're traveling as a nation. God has sent roadblock after roadblock in the way of temporal judgments. And what we do is we just simply remove those roadblocks and continue down the same road heading in the same direction. Pretty soon we're going to be asking what are we doing in this handbasket and why are we going down the hill so fast?

Because there'll be nothing but judgment. The second application is this: godly preachers and biblical preaching will never save those who refuse to hear and believe and repent. Compassion and concern on the part of godly pastors are insufficient to turn a bull-headed and stiff-necked people. Jeremiah never saved Judah. Isaiah never saved his people. Noah never saved anybody but his own house. If you study the scripture, you'll find out that sooner or later, God will do one of two things to a people who hate him and hate his word. He'll either move his preacher out of the land, just like he did Elijah, or he'll shut the mouth of his preacher, just like he did Jeremiah. And when God does that, just get ready for a full judgment. Like I said earlier, we ain't seen nothing yet. Here's the third application. Think about this.

Here is a simple fact. The sooner and the quicker the problem is dealt with, and excised, cut out, the sooner and quicker we can get on with recovery. I remember when the doctor told me about the nerve in my neck that was encapsulated by the bone. And he said, "It's not going to get any better. It's only going to get worse." And I asked him, "Can you do the surgery tomorrow?" He said, "No." "But I can do it the next day." I was ready to get it over with. Why? So I could get on with my life and start the recovery. If these people are not going to repent of their sins, if we're not going to listen to God, if we're not going to turn back to His Word and His Law, let Him send His judgment. And He'll cut out the cancer. And then we can get on with our lives and with our society and building a godly nation once again in line with the Word of God. So the quicker it's dealt with, the quicker we'll have recovery.

I feel just like Jeremiah. I want it over with. I want it done. So God will not be blasphemed and dishonored and worshiped. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask you for your grace and your mercy and your goodness and your kindness. Lord, help us, teach us, build us up in the most holy faith. Help us to understand your word and to hear your word and repent and to follow your law and to bring our lives in conformity to your word. Lord, others may not want to repent, but we should. Others may not love thee, but we should, and we want to. Others may not obey thee, but Father, we desire to. So give us grace that we may serve thee.

Study Guide

Major Themes

National Deterioration from Disobeying God's Word

Summary: All national disaster is the result of disregarding and disobeying the Word of God, a truth seen in Judah and applicable to America.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'all national deterioration and disaster is the result of disregarding and disobeying the Word of God' and applies it to both Judah and America.

The Stubbornness and Rebellion of the People

Summary: The people in Jeremiah's time were stiff-necked, hardened, and refused to hear God's Word, mirroring the attitude of many today.

Evidence: Weaver cites Jeremiah 7:26, 17:23, 19:15 to show their hardened necks and applies it to modern indifference.

The Hezekiah Syndrome: Generational Unconcern

Summary: People today, like Hezekiah, care only about peace in their own days and are unconcerned about the consequences for future generations.

Evidence: Weaver explains 2 Kings 20 and says, 'They are not thinking generationally... They're living for this day in time.'

The Insufficiency of Human Compassion to Save

Summary: No amount of godly compassion or concern from a preacher can turn hearts or save anyone; only God can do that.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'the godliness, the concern, and the compassion and the love of godly preachers are all insufficient to turn the hearts of a people.'

The Righteousness of Divine Judgment

Summary: When a people persistently reject God, the only remedy is His righteous judgment, which Jeremiah eventually discerned and prayed for.

Evidence: Weaver explains Jeremiah 18 and says, 'Jeremiah discerned that the only thing left was judgment.'

Judgment as a Door of Hope

Summary: God's judgment, like the valley of Achor, is a door of hope because it deals with sin and allows recovery and restoration.

Evidence: Weaver references Hosea 2:15 and says, 'The door of hope was a door of judgment... Judgment is not our enemy. Judgment is our friend.'

Key Arguments

America is following the same path as Judah

Summary: Weaver argues that the spiritual breakdown in America mirrors that of Judah, with leaders and people forsaking God and refusing correction.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'I believe that a case could be made against America exactly as Jeremiah makes the case against Judah.'

Preaching cannot save those who refuse to hear

Summary: Despite Jeremiah's faithful preaching, the people did not repent, showing that biblical preaching alone cannot save the unwilling.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'godly preachers and biblical preaching will never save those who refuse to hear and believe and repent.'

God will eventually remove or silence His preachers

Summary: When a people persistently reject God, He will either move His preacher out of the land or shut his mouth, leading to full judgment.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'He'll either move his preacher out of the land... or he'll shut the mouth of his preacher... And when God does that, just get ready for a full judgment.'

Swift judgment leads to quicker recovery

Summary: Weaver argues that dealing with sin quickly through judgment allows for faster recovery and rebuilding of a godly society.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'The sooner and the quicker the problem is dealt with... the sooner and quicker we can get on with recovery.'

Scripture References

Jeremiah 9:1-9

Context: Weaver reads the opening passage of his sermon, describing the wickedness of the people and God's response.

Jeremiah 2:8

Context: Used to show that the priests, pastors, and prophets had all forsaken God.

Jeremiah 2:19

Context: God declares that their own wickedness will correct them because they have forsaken Him.

Jeremiah 2:30-32

Context: Illustrates that the people refused correction and had forgotten God.

Jeremiah 5:1-3

Context: God challenges Jeremiah to find one righteous man in Jerusalem, but none could be found.

Jeremiah 7:26

Context: Shows the people hardened their necks and did worse than their fathers.

Jeremiah 17:23

Context: The people made their necks stiff so they might not hear instruction.

Jeremiah 19:15

Context: God pronounces evil because they hardened their necks against His words.

2 Kings 20:12-19

Context: The story of Hezekiah showing the treasures to Babylon and his selfish response to the prophecy of judgment.

Jeremiah 9:10

Context: Jeremiah takes up weeping and wailing for the desolation of the land.

Jeremiah 13:17

Context: Jeremiah's soul weeps in secret because the people will not hear.

Jeremiah 48:32

Context: Jeremiah weeps for the vine of Sibmah.

Lamentations 1:16

Context: Jeremiah weeps because the comforter is far and his children are desolate.

Lamentations 2:11

Context: Jeremiah's eyes fail with tears for the destruction of his people.

Lamentations 3:48

Context: Jeremiah's eye runs down with rivers of water for the destruction of his people.

Jeremiah 8:6

Context: No man repented of his wickedness; everyone turned to his own course.

Psalm 120:5

Context: David laments dwelling in Meshech and Kedar, paralleling Jeremiah's desire to escape.

2 Peter 2:8

Context: Lot's righteous soul was vexed daily by the wickedness around him.

Jeremiah 20:7-10

Context: Jeremiah is mocked, derided, and plotted against by his own people.

Jeremiah 32:2

Context: Jeremiah was shut up in the court of the prison.

Historical References

Jeremiah's ministry during the reigns of Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah

Context: Weaver notes that Jeremiah served over 40 years through the last five kings of Judah.

The Babylonian siege and destruction of Jerusalem

Context: Weaver refers to the Babylonian army's role in God's judgment on Judah.

Hezekiah's reign and the visit from Babylonian envoys

Context: Weaver recounts the story from 2 Kings 20 to illustrate the 'Hezekiah syndrome.'

The valley of Achor and the judgment of Achan

Context: Weaver references the story from Joshua 7 to explain the concept of judgment as a door of hope.

Important Quotes

all national deterioration and disaster is the result of disregarding and disobeying the Word of God.

Significance: This is the central thesis of the sermon, applied to both Judah and America.

Oh, that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people.

Significance: Key verse showing Jeremiah's deep compassion and grief.

the godliness, the concern, and the compassion and the love of godly preachers are all insufficient to turn the hearts of a people.

Significance: Emphasizes that human effort cannot save; only God can.

Oh, that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men that I might leave my people and go from them.

Significance: Shows Jeremiah's exasperation and desire to escape.

Jeremiah discerned that the only thing left was judgment.

Significance: Marks the turning point in Jeremiah's attitude toward the people.

Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end.

Significance: David's prayer that Weaver endorses as a model for believers today.

The door of hope was a door of judgment.

Significance: Paradoxical truth that judgment is necessary for restoration.

The sooner and the quicker the problem is dealt with, and excised, cut out, the sooner and quicker we can get on with recovery.

Significance: Practical application urging swift dealing with sin.

Discussion Questions

In what ways do you see parallels between the spiritual condition of Judah in Jeremiah's time and our own nation today?

Context: Weaver argues that America is following the same path of disregarding God's Word.

How should we respond when we see widespread indifference and rebellion against God, even among professing Christians?

Context: Weaver describes the 'Hezekiah syndrome' and the lack of concern for future generations.

Why is human compassion and concern insufficient to bring about spiritual change in others?

Context: Weaver teaches that only God can turn hearts, not the godliness of preachers.

Is it ever appropriate for believers to pray for God's judgment on the wicked? How does Jeremiah 18 inform our prayers?

Context: Weaver explains Jeremiah's prayer against his people as siding with God's righteousness.

What does it mean that judgment can be a 'door of hope'? How have you seen this principle at work?

Context: Weaver references the valley of Achor and the necessity of dealing with sin for recovery.

How can we cultivate a heart like Jeremiah's that weeps over sin yet ultimately trusts God's righteous judgment?

Context: Weaver traces Jeremiah's emotional journey from compassion to discernment.

Applications

Recognize that things will get worse before judgment comes

Summary: Weaver warns that America has sown the wind and will reap the whirlwind; believers should not be surprised at increasing wickedness.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'We've sown the wind and we're reaping the whirlwind... It's going to get worse.'

Do not rely on human preaching or compassion to save

Summary: Understand that only God can turn hearts; our role is to be faithful, but salvation is His work.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'godly preachers and biblical preaching will never save those who refuse to hear and believe and repent.'

Pray for God's righteous judgment on persistent wickedness

Summary: Like Jeremiah and David, believers can pray that God would bring the wickedness of the wicked to an end and establish the just.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Psalm 7:9 and says, 'Have you ever prayed that God would bring the wickedness of the wicked to an end?'

Embrace judgment as a necessary step toward recovery

Summary: Rather than fearing judgment, see it as God's means of cutting out sin so that restoration can begin.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Judgment is not our enemy. Judgment is our friend.'

Deal with sin swiftly in your own life and community

Summary: The sooner sin is excised, the sooner recovery can happen; delay only prolongs the problem.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'The sooner and the quicker the problem is dealt with... the sooner and quicker we can get on with recovery.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T15:43:24Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T05:32:14Z

Clean Transcript

I Feel Just Like Jeremiah

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Jeremiah chapter 9. Jeremiah chapter 9, we're going to read the first 9 verses. Jeremiah chapter 9. The title of the message is "I Feel Just Like Jeremiah." I feel just like Jeremiah. Notice Jeremiah chapter 9, beginning there with verse 1. Jeremiah 9 and verse 1: "Oh, that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people. Oh, that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men, that I might leave my people and go from them. For they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies, but they are not valued for the truth upon the earth."
#1 | 0:15 to 1:10 | cleaned
"For they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord. Take ye heed everyone of his neighbor, and trust you not in any brother. For every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk with slanders. And they will deceive everyone his neighbor, and will not speak the truth. They have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity. Their habitation is in the midst of deceit. Through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the Lord. Therefore, said the Lord of hosts, behold, I will melt them and try them."
#2 | 1:11 to 1:45 | cleaned
"For how shall I do for the daughter of my people? Their tongue is as an arrow shot out, it speaketh deceit. One speaketh peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth his wait. Shall I not visit for these things, said the Lord? Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" The title of the message, again, is "I Feel Just Like Jeremiah." And the answer is no, I'm not comparing myself with Jeremiah. Jeremiah certainly was known as the weeping prophet, and he served God faithfully through the reign of the last five kings of Judah, who were Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. Jeremiah's ministry lasted over 40 years. If one would carefully read the book of Jeremiah, he would discover that Jeremiah's day in time is much like our day in time. In fact, there are many comparisons to the situation that Jeremiah faced and the situation in which we face today. Now here's a solemn truth that is emphasized over and over in the book of Jeremiah.
#3 | 1:46 to 3:01 | cleaned
And that is this solemn truth: that all national deterioration and disaster is the result of disregarding and disobeying the Word of God. Now we're looking at Jeremiah chapter 9, but let me say this again because I'm going to show it to you from the very first chapters of this book. But the solemn truth that is emphasized throughout the entire book of Jeremiah is that all national deterioration and disaster is the result of disregarding and disobeying the Word of God. And this truth can be applied to any nation and not just simply Judah. In fact, Jeremiah presents this truth immediately and declares to Judah that this is the source of all of their problems and of all of their troubles. So hold Jeremiah chapter 9, but look back in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 2. And he's going to show Judah that the source of all their troubles, the source of their deterioration and disaster is the fact that they've disregarded God and left His Word. Notice Jeremiah chapter 2 and verse 8.
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He says it like this: "The priest said not, Where is the Lord? And they that handle the law knew me not. The pastors also transgressed against me and the prophets prophesied Baal and walked after things that do not profit." So you have every category of people here walking away from God. Look at verse 19, Jeremiah 2, verse 19. God says, "Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee. Know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God." Look in chapter 2, beginning there in verse 30.
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He said, "In vain have I smitten your children. They receive no correction. Your own sword hath devoured your prophets like a destroying lion. O generation, see ye the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? A land of darkness? Wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee. Can a maid forget her ornament, her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number." So Jeremiah is pointing out right away the problems that Judah were facing were simply because they had forsaken God and His Word. I believe that a case could be made against America exactly as Jeremiah makes the case against Judah. If you will examine the passages that I just gave you from Jeremiah chapter 2, you will notice that there was a spiritual breakdown, not just in the people of the land, but in all the leaders of the land as well. The apostasy had developed to such a stage that no one was willing to receive correction. It is almost inconceivable for you and I to imagine and to think that not one individual in the land of Judah was willing to hear and receive the Word of God.
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But yet, if you'll look very quickly in Jeremiah chapter 5 and verses 1 and 2, look what God says to Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 5 verse 1. In fact, we'll read through verse 3. God tells Jeremiah, "Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if you can find a man." Notice, if you can find a man, a single man, "if there be any that executes judgment, that seeketh the truth, I will pardon it."
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"And though they say the Lord liveth, surely they swear falsely. O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth? Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved."
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"Thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They've made their faces harder than a rock. They refuse to return." So God tells Jeremiah, "Run you to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem. If you can find one man, any man that will do what's right, I'll pardon the entire city." And of course, Jeremiah could not find one. He said, "You've grieved them, you've smitten them, and they refuse to return." Over and over in the book of Jeremiah, we're told of the stubbornness, the obstinacy, the stiff and hard-necked people in Jeremiah's time. Let me give you just a few scriptures that demonstrate the type of people to which Jeremiah was preaching. Look in Jeremiah chapter 7 and verse 26. Jeremiah 7 and verse 26. Look at what the Bible says. Jeremiah 7 verse 26.
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"Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck, and did worse than their fathers." Look in Jeremiah chapter 17 and verse 23. Jeremiah 17 verse 23. Notice now we're talking about hardened necks, stiff necks. Notice Jeremiah chapter 17 and verse 23. The Bible says it like this: "But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their necks stiff that they might not hear nor receive instruction." Isn't that amazing? Then if you look in Jeremiah chapter 19 and verse 15, he says it again. Jeremiah 19 and verse 15, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks that they might not hear my words." So Jeremiah then was sent to a people who were a stiff-necked, hardened, rebellious people who refused to hear the word of God. Obviously, Jeremiah went through several stages in his ministry in dealing with such a people.
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It should be absolutely understandable how one's emotions and attitudes change when they are constantly confronted by an unrepentant and rebellious people. One can tire very easily and quickly when no one is listening and when no one is interested in changing or doing that which is right. You just simply look at the mess that America is in today. Do you realize the average American, let me go further, the average Christian wishes to party on just as if they're going to live forever.
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They have no concern for their children or for their grandchildren. It's what we call the Hezekiah syndrome. You say, what in the world is the Hezekiah syndrome? Well, I want you to hold Jeremiah 9, but look in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 20. 2 Kings chapter 20. Isaiah comes to Hezekiah and he declares a truth to him. He comes to Hezekiah in 2 Kings chapter 20.
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Notice if you would beginning there in verse 12. 2 Kings 20 in verse 12. Hezekiah had been sick and of course the ruler of Babylon had sent him gifts and also his condolences. But notice 2 Kings chapter 20 beginning there in verse 12. "At that time Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick."
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"And Hezekiah hearkened unto them and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious ointment and all the house of his armor and all that was found in his treasures. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah showed them not."
#14 | 10:56 to 11:14 | cleaned
Now that was stupid, but that's okay. "Then came Isaiah the prophet unto King Hezekiah and said unto him, What said these men, and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon. And he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen. There is nothing among my treasures that I have not showed them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord. Behold, the days come that all that is in thine house and all which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day shall be carried into Babylon. Nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, they shall take away. Now watch. And they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord, which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good?"
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"If peace and truth be in my days." What did Hezekiah say? Well, it really doesn't matter to me what happens after I'm gone, just so that I have a good time and I have peace in my days. That's the Hezekiah syndrome. That's where most people are today. They are not thinking generationally. They're not thinking about their children, their grandchildren, their great-grandchildren. They're living for this day in time.
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and want to party on right now. Obviously Hezekiah did not care, nor was he concerned about his children and his grandchildren. He would escape the trouble. He would escape the turmoil. And that was all that mattered to him. You have to understand, obviously someone is going to reap that which we've sown. But our present day generation is unconcerned about that truth. How can I say I feel just like Jeremiah?
#17 | 12:47 to 13:19 | cleaned
Well, let me show you. Let's begin with Jeremiah chapter 9 and verse 1. The very first thing that we see about Jeremiah, he was compassionate and concerned. He was compassionate and concerned. Look in verse 1. He said, "Oh, that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people." Now, before I examine this verse and expound it, I want you to look at a number of other verses very quickly that demonstrate that Jeremiah was indeed the weeping prophet, that demonstrates his compassion and his concern. So, if you look in Jeremiah 9 and verse 10, he says like this, Jeremiah 9 verse 10, "For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up."
#18 | 13:20 to 14:15 | cleaned
"so that none can pass through them. Neither can men hear the voice of the cattle, both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled. They're gone." Note what he said, "I'll take up a weeping and wailing, and I'll take up a lamentation." Look in Jeremiah chapter 13 and verse 17. Jeremiah 13 and verse 17, he said it like this. He's talking to the people, he said, "But if you will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride. And mine eyes shall weep sore and run down with tears because the Lord's flock is carried away captive."
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He said, "You won't listen. It breaks my heart that you just simply will not listen." Look in Jeremiah chapter 48 and verse 32. Jeremiah 48 and verse 32. Notice if you would, Jeremiah 48 verse 32.
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He says it like this: "O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer. Thy plants are gone over the sea. They reach even to the sea of Jazer. The spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage."
#21 | 15:12 to 15:30 | cleaned
Now, if you would turn right over to the book of Lamentations, right after Jeremiah, you'll see the weeping prophet saw the destruction of Jerusalem. And look what he said in Lamentations 1 and verse 16. He says, "For these things I weep, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me. My children are desolate because the enemy prevailed." Look in chapter 2 and verse 11. "Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people, because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city." Look in chapter 3 and verse 48. Chapter 3 and verse 48. "Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people." Now go back to Jeremiah 9 verse 1. I've showed you over and over where Jeremiah is a man that is compassionate and concerned. He's weeping over the destruction of his people. I want you to look very closely at verse one.
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He said, "Oh, that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people." Let me give you a paraphrase. Let me just spell it out for you. Here is basically what he is saying. "Oh, that my head were waters" or "Who will give waters to my head?" He is saying this: my mourning for the sins and the desolation of my people have already exhausted the source of my tears. I wish that there was a fountain open there so that I could weep day and night for the slain of my people. In other words, my tears are all gone.
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I've cried until I can't cry anymore. Who will turn my head into waters? Who will give my head a fountain of water that I can continually weep over and over for the slain of my people?
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Now listen, the calamity that Jeremiah foresaw was so dreadful that what he is saying is I could literally weep about it day and night. He's expressing his grief and that he's wishing that his head was a fountain of water, that his head would be dissolved into water so that his eye might become an inexhaustible fountain of tears. By the way, verse one also intimates that the ruin would be so dreadful that it could not be bewailed by a moderate or usual lamentations inasmuch as God's vengeance was going to exceed common bounds and fill men with more dreadful calamities than they could ever imagine. And so an inexhaustible supply of water was going to be needed for him to weep.
#25 | 17:39 to 18:39 | cleaned
So verse 1 actually sets forth the greatness and the horribleness of the extreme destruction that was in store for Judah and Jerusalem. Jeremiah saw it coming. He knew it was coming. They refused to listen. And so he said, "If I could just turn my head into waters, I would not cease to weep for them." So let me ask you a question. Is there anything any different today? The answer is no.
#26 | 18:40 to 19:21 | cleaned
I'm starting to say a few, but I'm going to change it. There are God's preachers who may be few, but there are God's preachers that are thundering out about the judgment that has come, is here, and is coming. And yet, very few people listen. Very few people repent. Very few people really, truly want to live holy, godly, obedient lives. If you'll look in Jeremiah chapter 8 in verse 6, you will see the attitude of the people in Jeremiah's time. And obviously, this is the attitude of our people today. Jeremiah chapter 8, look in verse 6, he said it like this.
#27 | 19:21 to 20:08 | cleaned
"I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright. Watch. No man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Everyone turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into battle." So no one's willing to admit that they're sinners, that they've done wickedly. They're rushing like a horse into battle in their sins and in their wickedness. They still despise God. They despise His gracious warnings, His tender mercies, and His multitudinous compassions. They reject His Word. They despise His Son and tread His law under their feet. They refuse to hear the plain, straightforward, biblical preaching and teaching of the Word. They prefer their sins. And they actually prefer to play at being Christians.
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It is exceedingly difficult to awaken people who harden their necks and stiffen their necks in sin and rebellion. They are absolutely insensible. So when you look at Jeremiah chapter 9 in verse 1, this has to be the sorrowful language, not only of Jeremiah, but of many preachers who preached long and hard to rebellious, hardened people with absolutely little or no effect.
#29 | 21:02 to 21:37 | cleaned
Now, let me give you a lesson that's very difficult to learn. Listen carefully. Jeremiah was known as a weeping prophet. Jeremiah was compassionate and concerned. Here is the difficult lesson: the godliness, the concern, and the compassion and the love of godly preachers are all insufficient to turn the hearts of a people. There have been many godly, good and gracious pastors. Some that I know that had been run off from their churches by hardened, stiff-necked, rebellious people who did not want the Word of God. It's difficult for you not to conceive this, but it is true. No amount of compassion and no amount of concern from a preacher will save anybody or revive anybody or make anybody do that which is right and biblical and holy. That's why Jeremiah said, "Oh, that my head were fountains of waters so that I could just weep incessantly." Yes, I have wept and yes, I have compassion, but for the most part, even professing Christians pass on unconcerned and unrepentant, but there's no amount of compassion and concern that will save anybody.
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That compassion and concern may drive us to preach and teach and witness to others, but it will not save them. Only God can do that. I want you to go back to Jeremiah chapter 9 because here's the second truth about Jeremiah. He was not only compassionate and concerned, he was also exhausted and exasperated. Look in verse 2. He said, "Oh, that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men that I might leave my people and go from them."
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"For they be all adulterers and assembly of treacherous men." Wow. Let me spell it out for you. Jeremiah simply wanted to get out of Dodge. He grew weary and tired of preaching and praying for a people that would not listen, would not repent. He was not only exhausted. He was exasperated. If he could just get away, if he could just leave them. At least he would not be so provoked. Have I ever been exhausted? Ask Alice. The answer is yes. Have I ever been exasperated? Ask Alice. The answer is yes.
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For years, I was also pastor, principal, teacher, counselor, and disciplinarian in our church and educational ministry. Ever so often, I would call Pastor McCurry and ask, "Are you ready to get your family together and move to the swamp with me?" I never wanted to quit the ministry. I never wanted to stop preaching, but I did just want to get away. And at times I would think if I could just be marooned on a desert island for about six months.
#33 | 24:47 to 25:29 | cleaned
You know, it would really help. And don't think I'm the only one like that. Because ever so often, Pastor McCurry would call me and he would ask, "Is the swamp available? How long can we stay?" Yeah. I can certainly understand what Jeremiah was going through. David said it like this in Psalm 120, verse 5. Listen to what he said. "Woe is me that I sojourn in Meshech, and I dwell in the tents of Kedar." Now, the people of Meshech were a barbarous people. They were absolutely wicked. And so what Jeremiah is saying is, "If I could just get away, living among these people is like living among barbarians. I just want to leave." Jeremiah longed for solitude at the same time he wanted to leave a wicked and rebellious people.
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Godly, gracious men are vexed. They're hurt with the conduct and conversation of the wicked. Listen, only the wicked can feel at home with the wicked. Birds of a feather do flock together, even Lot. The Bible says in 2 Peter 2 and verse 8, "For that righteous man dwelling among them and seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds." Godly men cannot help but be grieved at the sins and the rebellion of the wicked and they desire to get out of the way.
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Let me just show you. Look in verse 2, look in verse 2. He said, "Oh, that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men, that I might leave my people and go from them." Why? "For they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men." They were immoral. They were filthy. Look in verse 3. "And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies."
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They were liars, "but they are not valued for the truth upon the earth." They could care less about truth. "They proceed from evil to evil and they know not me, saith the Lord." They were lost as a hound dog, and all they were interested in was doing that which was wicked. Look in verse 4. "Take ye heed every one of his neighbor, and trust you not in any brother. For every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk with slanders."
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In other words, they were not trustworthy. They were deceivers. They were supplanters, as well as slanderers. Look in verse 5. "And they will deceive every one his neighbor, and will not speak the truth. And they have taught their tongue to speak lies and weary themselves to commit iniquity." They wear themselves out in sin. And then he said in verse 6, "Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit. Through deceit"
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"they refuse to know me, saith the Lord." Wow. Look in verse 8, "Their tongue is an arrow shot out. It speaketh deceit. One speaketh peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth wait." Wow. I understand why Jeremiah wanted to get away. I wouldn't want to be around a people like that either. You have to understand something about Jeremiah. Jeremiah was not the most loved preacher in the world.
#39 | 28:38 to 29:11 | cleaned
In fact, let me say it another way. The people hated Jeremiah. And he was hated because he preached the truth. And if you will notice, when you read through the book of Jeremiah, all the false prophets who prophesied lies were well-liked and well-loved and well-respected and were in the palace, by the way. But Jeremiah was hated. He was lied about. He was ridiculed. He was cast into prison and into dungeons.
#40 | 29:12 to 29:48 | cleaned
And his life was threatened. Let me show you. I want you to hold Jeremiah 9, but turn to Jeremiah chapter 20, if you would. Let's begin reading there with verse 7. Jeremiah 20 and verse 7. Jeremiah 20, look in verse 7. Jeremiah says, "O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived. Thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed. I am in derision daily. Watch, everyone mocketh me."
#41 | 29:49 to 30:24 | cleaned
"For since I spake, I cried out. I cried violence and spoil, because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me and a derision daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of him nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay."
#42 | 30:25 to 30:45 | cleaned
"For I have heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watch for my halting, saying, Peradventure, he will be enticed, and we will prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge upon him." All they wanted Jeremiah to do was to fall. They lied about him. They slandered about him. Look in your Bibles, if you would, please, to Jeremiah chapter 32 and verse 2. Jeremiah 32 and verse 2. "For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house." So now he's thrown in prison. Look in Jeremiah chapter 38 and verse 6. Jeremiah 38 and verse 6. "Then took they Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah, the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison. And they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon, there was no water but mire. So Jeremiah sunk in the mire."
#43 | 30:45 to 32:03 | cleaned
So he's not just in prison, he's in a dungeon. Now I want you to go back to Jeremiah 26, and let me show you something. Here's where they literally tried to kill him. Jeremiah chapter 26, beginning there with verse 11. Jeremiah 26 and verse 11, "Then spake the priests and the prophets and the princes and all the people saying, This man is worthy to die. Why? For he has prophesied against this city. As you have heard with your ears, then spake Jeremiah to all the princes and to the people saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city, all the words that you have heard. Therefore now amend your ways and your doings and obey the voice of the Lord your God. And the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. As for me."
#44 | 32:03 to 32:52 | cleaned
"Behold, I am in your hand. Do with me as seemeth good, and meet unto you. But know you for certain that if you put me to death, you shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city, upon the inhabitants thereof. For of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears." So they were planning on putting him to death.
#45 | 32:53 to 33:15 | cleaned
All Jeremiah wanted to do in Jeremiah chapter 9 verse 2 was just get away, just leave them. "All you want's your sin, all you want's your rebellion, fine. If I could get me a little wayfaring house out in the desert somewhere, if I can find a little inn where I can rent a little room, or if I can find some widow's house like the widow woman of Zarephath, I believe it was, who made that little room for Elijah and his helper. And he would just go there and stay whenever he needed to go there and stay. If I could just get away." Well, I want to show you what happened when he did try to get away. Look in your Bibles to Jeremiah 37. Jeremiah 37. All he wanted to do was just leave. That's all. Look in Jeremiah 37, beginning there with verse 11. Jeremiah 37, verse 11. "And it came to pass that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army, then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin to separate himself thence in the midst of the people."
#46 | 33:18 to 34:32 | cleaned
He's got the opportunity to leave, so now he's going to leave. "And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans. Then said Jeremiah, It is false. I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him. So Irijah took Jeremiah and brought him to the princes. Wherefore, the princes were wroth with Jeremiah and smote him and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they had made that the prison. When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon and into the cabins, Jeremiah had remained there many days." Isn't that amazing? When he finally got the opportunity to leave, they lied against him and threw him back in the dungeon in the prison.
#47 | 34:32 to 35:29 | cleaned
Now let me show you something. I think this is very interesting. You remember when David was falsely accused by King Saul and he had to live out in the desert and in the wilderness. And while David was in the wilderness, he was longing for the courts of the Lord's house. You remember that? You remember the psalm where David talks about the little sparrows that build their nests there and the spiders that build their webs there? And he said, "If I could be like one of those little birds, if I could be like a spider and just be in the house of the Lord." David was cut off from the house of the Lord because Saul was chasing him. He could not get back to Jerusalem. So David was in the wilderness desiring to be in the house of the Lord. Now Jeremiah is in the house of the Lord desiring to be in the wilderness. To get away from the wicked who were pretending to be the Lord's people. Yeah. Sometimes, godly men not only need to get away, but sometimes it's their people that drive them away.
#48 | 35:31 to 36:52 | cleaned
Jeremiah said, "If I just had a lodging place in the wilderness, that's what I would need." He was not only compassionate and concerned, he was not only exhausted and exasperated. Thirdly, he was displeased and discerning. Jeremiah was a displeased and discerning man. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 18. I'm not going to stay long on this, but I want you to think as I read this passage, I want you to see the progress that is made in Jeremiah's thinking. The progress in his discernment and the desire of his heart. So begin by saying, "If I could just weep uncontrollably, unendingly for my people, that's what I'd want." To the point I'm so exasperated and I'm so exhausted. I just want to leave. They won't sin. They don't want truth. Let them have it. Now I want you to see how he became displeased and yet at the same time discerning. Jeremiah was so displeased with the people and their rejection, not only of his person but of his message, he eventually discerned the right conclusion of the matter.
#49 | 36:54 to 38:31 | cleaned
Here is the right conclusion. Listen carefully. Jeremiah discerned that the only thing left was judgment. It was the only thing left. Look in Jeremiah chapter 18, and let's begin reading verse 18. Remember now the people hate Jeremiah. They won't listen. They won't repent. They follow lies and deceit. Jeremiah 18 verse 18, "Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us smite him with the tongue and let us not give heed to any of his words." Now, let me just stop right there momentarily. The people are planning on destroying Jeremiah. They said the law is not going to perish. Counsel's not going to fall from the wise. The word's not going to cease from the prophet. Tell you what let's do. Let's smite him with the tongue. Let's lie about him. Let's slander him. Let's ridicule him. Let's mock him. Let's destroy him. And let's not give heed to any of his words.
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We're just not going to listen to him. Verse 19. So what does Jeremiah do? He begins to pray now. "Give heed to me, O Lord, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me. Lord, I want you to listen to me, but I also want you to listen to what they're saying. Shall evil be recompensed for good?" All Jeremiah had ever done for them was good, and they're recompensing evil.
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He said, "For they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them. Lord, all I've tried to do was save them. Therefore deliver up their children to the famine and pour out their blood by the force of the sword and let their wives be bereaved of their children and be widows and let their men be put to death. Let their young men be slain by the sword in battle."
#52 | 40:35 to 41:10 | cleaned
"Let a cry be heard from their houses when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them. For they have digged a pit to take me and hid snares from my feet. Yet, Lord, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me. Forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee. Deal with them in the time of thine anger." Oh, my. Isn't that amazing?
#53 | 41:11 to 41:42 | cleaned
Jeremiah went from compassionate and concerned to exhausted and exasperated to now displeased and discerning. And he sees that the only answer is judgment. What Jeremiah is doing in this passage is just exactly that which Isaiah did. He's making intercession against his people. He is not praying for them. He is praying against them. What is he doing? Now listen carefully. This is not vengeance on Jeremiah's part. It may sound like that, but no, no, no. What Jeremiah is now doing is he is siding with the holy, righteous, just God who has declared that yes, he's going to destroy this people because of their hard heart, their hard head, their stiff neck, their refusing to listen, their rebellion, and their wickedness. And now what Jeremiah is doing is saying this, "Lord, yes, I agree with you. Bring upon them that which you have determined and that which you have declared." Wow.
#54 | 41:44 to 43:12 | cleaned
The question has to be asked. When will we, as God's people, discern that the only way out of our ungodly, immoral, unjust, and wicked society is through the righteous judgment of God. You remember David. Was the man after God's own heart? You know what David prayed in Psalm 7 and verse 9? And I pray this verse. Here's what David prayed. "Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end."
#55 | 43:16 to 43:58 | cleaned
"But establish thou the just." Have you ever prayed that God would bring the wickedness of the wicked to an end? I don't know about you. But you look at America. You look at the wicked who are in control. You look at the wicked contrivances that they've planned and schemed. You look at how vast everything is. The only thing you can say is, "Oh God, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end. You're the only one that can stop it. But establish thou the just. Establish thou the just."
#56 | 43:59 to 44:37 | cleaned
I preached a message many years ago which I entitled, "A Door of Hope." And it was based on Hosea 2 and verse 15, where God said, "I will give her vineyards from thence and the valley of Achor for a door of hope. And she shall sing there as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt." God said, "I've given her the valley of Achor for a door of hope." You know what the valley of Achor was? If you remember that sermon, the valley of Achor was the valley of judgment.
#57 | 44:43 to 45:10 | cleaned
It's where Achan and his entire family were put to death because of their sin and rebellion. And what did God say to Joshua and to the other people? "Neither will I be with you anymore until you deal with this." The door of hope was a door of judgment. The valley of Achor was a valley of judgment. Sin was dealt with and the wicked were destroyed. Judgment is not our enemy. Judgment is our friend.
#58 | 45:11 to 45:38 | cleaned
So Jeremiah exhausted and exasperated, displeased yet discerning. Begins to pray that the righteous God would bring his righteous judgment upon a disobedient people. Wow. What did Jeremiah say? "Therefore deliver up their children to the famine and pour out their blood by the force of the sword and let their wives be bereaved of their children and be widows and let their men be put to death. Let their young men be slain by the sword in battle."
#59 | 45:43 to 46:30 | cleaned
"Let a cry be heard from their houses when thou shalt bring a troop"—that is the Babylonian soldier—"suddenly upon them for they have digged a pit to take me and hid snares for my feet. Yea, Lord, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me. Forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee. Deal thus with them in the time of thine anger." Now listen.
#60 | 46:31 to 46:58 | cleaned
If you think Jeremiah was fed up to pray a prayer like that, you just wait till the sovereign God of heaven gets fed up. Go back to Jeremiah 9. Look in Jeremiah chapter 9. And let's begin reading there with verse 9, Jeremiah 9, verse 9. Jeremiah 9, verse 9. Watch it carefully if you would, please. Jeremiah 9, verse 9. God asked, "Shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord?"
#61 | 47:02 to 47:43 | cleaned
"Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" Notice it's a nation. "For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing for the habitations of the wilderness, a lamentation because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them, neither can men hear the voice of the cattle, both the fowl of the heaven and the beast are fled, they are gone." Why?
#62 | 47:44 to 48:05 | cleaned
Because of the soldiers, the Babylonian army. "And I will make Jerusalem heaps and a den of dragons, and I will make the cities of Judah desolate without an inhabitant. Who is the wise man that may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, that he may declare it? For what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, and none passeth through?"
#63 | 48:05 to 48:27 | cleaned
"And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein, but have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them. Therefore thus said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them, even this people with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send a sword after them till I have consumed them. Thus said the Lord of hosts, Consider ye and call for the mourning women, that they may come and send for cunning women, that they may come and let them make haste and take up wailing for thee, that our eyes may run down with tears and our eyelids gush out with waters. For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion. How are we spoiled?"
#64 | 48:28 to 49:13 | cleaned
"We're greatly confounded because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out. Yet hear the word of the Lord, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth and teach your daughters wailing and every one of his neighbor lamentation for death. It's come up into our windows and has entered into our palaces to cut off the children from without. And the young men from the streets speak. Thus said the Lord, even the carcasses of men shall fall as dung upon the open field as the handful after the harvestman and none shall gather them." Yeah.
#65 | 49:13 to 49:50 | cleaned
Jeremiah was fed up, but so was God. And all Jeremiah could do was pray, but God could do much more. Let me make some applications. The first one is this. I hear Christians and non-Christians alike complaining about the state of our nation and incessantly referring to how bad it really is. And all I can say is hang on. It's going to get worse. We've sown the wind and we're reaping the whirlwind. Anyone with any discernment understands that we cannot continue on in the way that we're traveling as a nation. God has sent roadblock after roadblock in the way of temporal judgments. And what we do is we just simply remove those roadblocks and continue down the same road heading in the same direction. Pretty soon we're going to be asking what are we doing in this handbasket and why are we going down the hill so fast?
#66 | 49:51 to 51:10 | cleaned
Because there'll be nothing but judgment. The second application is this: godly preachers and biblical preaching will never save those who refuse to hear and believe and repent. Compassion and concern on the part of godly pastors are insufficient to turn a bull-headed and stiff-necked people. Jeremiah never saved Judah. Isaiah never saved his people. Noah never saved anybody but his own house. If you study the scripture, you'll find out that sooner or later, God will do one of two things to a people who hate him and hate his word. He'll either move his preacher out of the land, just like he did Elijah, or he'll shut the mouth of his preacher, just like he did Jeremiah. And when God does that, just get ready for a full judgment. Like I said earlier, we ain't seen nothing yet. Here's the third application. Think about this.
#67 | 51:17 to 52:39 | cleaned
Here is a simple fact. The sooner and the quicker the problem is dealt with, and excised, cut out, the sooner and quicker we can get on with recovery. I remember when the doctor told me about the nerve in my neck that was encapsulated by the bone. And he said, "It's not going to get any better. It's only going to get worse." And I asked him, "Can you do the surgery tomorrow?" He said, "No."
#68 | 52:40 to 53:36 | cleaned
"But I can do it the next day." I was ready to get it over with. Why? So I could get on with my life and start the recovery. If these people are not going to repent of their sins, if we're not going to listen to God, if we're not going to turn back to His Word and His Law, let Him send His judgment. And He'll cut out the cancer. And then we can get on with our lives and with our society and building a godly nation once again in line with the Word of God. So the quicker it's dealt with, the quicker we'll have recovery.
#69 | 53:38 to 54:31 | cleaned
I feel just like Jeremiah. I want it over with. I want it done. So God will not be blasphemed and dishonored and worshiped. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask you for your grace and your mercy and your goodness and your kindness. Lord, help us, teach us, build us up in the most holy faith. Help us to understand your word and to hear your word and repent and to follow your law and to bring our lives in conformity to your word. Lord, others may not want to repent, but we should. Others may not love thee, but we should, and we want to. Others may not obey thee, but Father, we desire to. So give us grace that we may serve thee.
#70 | 54:34 to 55:34 | cleaned
acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In thy name we pray. Amen.
#71 | 55:35 to 55:40 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T15:43:24Z

I Feel Just Like Jeremiah

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver draws parallels between the spiritual condition of Judah in Jeremiah's time and modern America, emphasizing that national deterioration results from disregarding God's Word. He traces Jeremiah's emotional journey from compassionate weeping to exasperation and finally to discerning that judgment is the only remedy for a stiff-necked, unrepentant people. Applications urge believers to recognize that only God's righteous judgment can deal with entrenched wickedness and that recovery follows when sin is excised.

Introduction: The Solemn Truth of National Deterioration

Weaver introduces Jeremiah 9 and states that all national disaster comes from disregarding and disobeying God's Word, a truth applicable to any nation.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 9:1-9

"Oh, that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people. Oh, that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men, that I might leave my people and go from them. For they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies, but they are not valued for the truth upon the earth." "For they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord. Take ye heed everyone of his neighbor, and trust you not in any brother. For every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk with slanders. And they will deceive everyone his neighbor, and will not speak the truth. They have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity. Their habitation is in the midst of deceit. Through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the Lord. Therefore, said the Lord of hosts, behold, I will melt them and try them." "For how shall I do for the daughter of my people? Their tongue is as an arrow shot out, it speaketh deceit. One speaketh peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth his wait. Shall I not visit for these things, said the Lord? Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?"

The Spiritual Breakdown in Judah and America

Using Jeremiah 2 and 5, Weaver shows that Judah's leaders and people had forsaken God, and he argues a similar case can be made against America.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 2:30-32

"In vain have I smitten your children. They receive no correction. Your own sword hath devoured your prophets like a destroying lion. O generation, see ye the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? A land of darkness? Wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee. Can a maid forget her ornament, her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number."

But yet, if you'll look very quickly in Jeremiah chapter 5 and verses 1 and 2, look what God says to Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 5 verse 1. In fact, we'll read through verse 3. God tells Jeremiah,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 5:1-3

"Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if you can find a man."

Notice, if you can find a man, a single man,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 5:1-3

"if there be any that executes judgment, that seeketh the truth, I will pardon it." "And though they say the Lord liveth, surely they swear falsely. O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth? Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved." "Thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They've made their faces harder than a rock. They refuse to return."

So God tells Jeremiah,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 5:1-3

"Run you to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem. If you can find one man, any man that will do what's right, I'll pardon the entire city."

The Stiff-Necked People of Jeremiah's Day

Weaver cites multiple passages (Jeremiah 7, 17, 19) to demonstrate the stubbornness and rebellion of the people to whom Jeremiah preached.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 7:26

"Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck, and did worse than their fathers."

Look in Jeremiah chapter 17 and verse 23. Jeremiah 17 verse 23. Notice now we're talking about hardened necks, stiff necks. Notice Jeremiah chapter 17 and verse 23. The Bible says it like this:

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 7:26

"But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their necks stiff that they might not hear nor receive instruction."

The Hezekiah Syndrome: Living Only for the Present

Weaver introduces the 'Hezekiah syndrome' from 2 Kings 20, illustrating how people today are unconcerned about future generations and only want peace in their own days.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 20:12-19

"At that time Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick." "And Hezekiah hearkened unto them and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious ointment and all the house of his armor and all that was found in his treasures. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah showed them not."

Jeremiah's Compassion and Concern

Weaver examines Jeremiah 9:1 and other passages to show Jeremiah as the weeping prophet, deeply grieved over the coming destruction of his people.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 9:10

"so that none can pass through them. Neither can men hear the voice of the cattle, both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled. They're gone."

Note what he said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 9:10

"I'll take up a weeping and wailing, and I'll take up a lamentation."

Scripture Reading — Lamentations 1:16

"For these things I weep, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me. My children are desolate because the enemy prevailed."

Scripture Reading — Lamentations 1:16

"Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people."

The Insufficiency of Human Compassion to Save

Weaver teaches that no amount of godly compassion or concern from a preacher can turn hearts; only God can save.

Jeremiah's Exhaustion and Exasperation

Weaver explains Jeremiah 9:2, where the prophet longs to escape from the wicked people, and relates his own experiences of pastoral exhaustion.

The Hatred and Persecution Jeremiah Endured

Weaver recounts how Jeremiah was hated, imprisoned, and threatened with death for preaching truth, citing Jeremiah 20, 32, 38, and 26.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 20:7-10

"O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived. Thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed. I am in derision daily. Watch, everyone mocketh me." "For since I spake, I cried out. I cried violence and spoil, because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me and a derision daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of him nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay." "For I have heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watch for my halting, saying, Peradventure, he will be enticed, and we will prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge upon him."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 32:2

So he's not just in prison, he's in a dungeon. Now I want you to go back to Jeremiah 26, and let me show you something. Here's where they literally tried to kill him. Jeremiah chapter 26, beginning there with verse 11. Jeremiah 26 and verse 11, "Then spake the priests and the prophets and the princes and all the people saying, This man is worthy to die. Why? For he has prophesied against this city. As you have heard with your ears, then spake Jeremiah to all the princes and to the people saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city, all the words that you have heard. Therefore now amend your ways and your doings and obey the voice of the Lord your God. And the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. As for me."

Jeremiah's Displeasure and Discernment: Praying for Judgment

Weaver shows from Jeremiah 18 how Jeremiah moved from compassion to praying for God's righteous judgment on the unrepentant people.

God's Own Declaration of Judgment

Weaver reads Jeremiah 9:9-22 to demonstrate that God Himself was fed up and declared severe judgment on Judah for forsaking His law.

Applications: The Necessity of Judgment and Recovery

Weaver applies the message by stating that things will get worse, that preaching cannot save the unwilling, and that swift judgment leads to quicker recovery.

I Feel Just Like Jeremiah

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	sL_T9nWrTQk
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Lamentations
Genre	Sermon
Date	2016-12-18
Dictation Name
Book	Book 086: Lamentations — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	71

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Solemn Truth of National Deterioration: Weaver introduces Jeremiah 9 and states that all national disaster comes from disregarding and disobeying God's Word, a truth applicable to any nation.
The Spiritual Breakdown in Judah and America: Using Jeremiah 2 and 5, Weaver shows that Judah's leaders and people had forsaken God, and he argues a similar case can be made against America.
The Stiff-Necked People of Jeremiah's Day: Weaver cites multiple passages (Jeremiah 7, 17, 19) to demonstrate the stubbornness and rebellion of the people to whom Jeremiah preached.
The Hezekiah Syndrome: Living Only for the Present: Weaver introduces the 'Hezekiah syndrome' from 2 Kings 20, illustrating how people today are unconcerned about future generations and only want peace in their own days.
Jeremiah's Compassion and Concern: Weaver examines Jeremiah 9:1 and other passages to show Jeremiah as the weeping prophet, deeply grieved over the coming destruction of his people.
The Insufficiency of Human Compassion to Save: Weaver teaches that no amount of godly compassion or concern from a preacher can turn hearts; only God can save.
Jeremiah's Exhaustion and Exasperation: Weaver explains Jeremiah 9:2, where the prophet longs to escape from the wicked people, and relates his own experiences of pastoral exhaustion.
The Hatred and Persecution Jeremiah Endured: Weaver recounts how Jeremiah was hated, imprisoned, and threatened with death for preaching truth, citing Jeremiah 20, 32, 38, and 26.
Jeremiah's Displeasure and Discernment: Praying for Judgment: Weaver shows from Jeremiah 18 how Jeremiah moved from compassion to praying for God's righteous judgment on the unrepentant people.
God's Own Declaration of Judgment: Weaver reads Jeremiah 9:9-22 to demonstrate that God Himself was fed up and declared severe judgment on Judah for forsaking His law.
Applications: The Necessity of Judgment and Recovery: Weaver applies the message by stating that things will get worse, that preaching cannot save the unwilling, and that swift judgment leads to quicker recovery.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

America is following the same path as Judah

Weaver argues that the spiritual breakdown in America mirrors that of Judah, with leaders and people forsaking God and refusing correction.

Weaver says, 'I believe that a case could be made against America exactly as Jeremiah makes the case against Judah.'

Preaching cannot save those who refuse to hear

Despite Jeremiah's faithful preaching, the people did not repent, showing that biblical preaching alone cannot save the unwilling.

Weaver states, 'godly preachers and biblical preaching will never save those who refuse to hear and believe and repent.'

God will eventually remove or silence His preachers

When a people persistently reject God, He will either move His preacher out of the land or shut his mouth, leading to full judgment.

Weaver says, 'He'll either move his preacher out of the land... or he'll shut the mouth of his preacher... And when God does that, just get ready for a full judgment.'

Swift judgment leads to quicker recovery

Weaver argues that dealing with sin quickly through judgment allows for faster recovery and rebuilding of a godly society.

Weaver says, 'The sooner and the quicker the problem is dealt with... the sooner and quicker we can get on with recovery.'

Scripture References

Jeremiah 9:1-9: Weaver reads the opening passage of his sermon, describing the wickedness of the people and God's response.
Jeremiah 2:8: Used to show that the priests, pastors, and prophets had all forsaken God.
Jeremiah 2:19: God declares that their own wickedness will correct them because they have forsaken Him.
Jeremiah 2:30-32: Illustrates that the people refused correction and had forgotten God.
Jeremiah 5:1-3: God challenges Jeremiah to find one righteous man in Jerusalem, but none could be found.
Jeremiah 7:26: Shows the people hardened their necks and did worse than their fathers.
Jeremiah 17:23: The people made their necks stiff so they might not hear instruction.
Jeremiah 19:15: God pronounces evil because they hardened their necks against His words.
2 Kings 20:12-19: The story of Hezekiah showing the treasures to Babylon and his selfish response to the prophecy of judgment.
Jeremiah 9:10: Jeremiah takes up weeping and wailing for the desolation of the land.
Jeremiah 13:17: Jeremiah's soul weeps in secret because the people will not hear.
Jeremiah 48:32: Jeremiah weeps for the vine of Sibmah.
Lamentations 1:16: Jeremiah weeps because the comforter is far and his children are desolate.
Lamentations 2:11: Jeremiah's eyes fail with tears for the destruction of his people.
Lamentations 3:48: Jeremiah's eye runs down with rivers of water for the destruction of his people.
Jeremiah 8:6: No man repented of his wickedness; everyone turned to his own course.
Psalm 120:5: David laments dwelling in Meshech and Kedar, paralleling Jeremiah's desire to escape.
2 Peter 2:8: Lot's righteous soul was vexed daily by the wickedness around him.
Jeremiah 20:7-10: Jeremiah is mocked, derided, and plotted against by his own people.
Jeremiah 32:2: Jeremiah was shut up in the court of the prison.

Historical References

Jeremiah's ministry during the reigns of Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah: Weaver notes that Jeremiah served over 40 years through the last five kings of Judah.
The Babylonian siege and destruction of Jerusalem: Weaver refers to the Babylonian army's role in God's judgment on Judah.
Hezekiah's reign and the visit from Babylonian envoys: Weaver recounts the story from 2 Kings 20 to illustrate the 'Hezekiah syndrome.'
The valley of Achor and the judgment of Achan: Weaver references the story from Joshua 7 to explain the concept of judgment as a door of hope.

Important Quotes

all national deterioration and disaster is the result of disregarding and disobeying the Word of God.

This is the central thesis of the sermon, applied to both Judah and America.

Oh, that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people.

Key verse showing Jeremiah's deep compassion and grief.

the godliness, the concern, and the compassion and the love of godly preachers are all insufficient to turn the hearts of a people.

Emphasizes that human effort cannot save; only God can.

Oh, that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men that I might leave my people and go from them.

Shows Jeremiah's exasperation and desire to escape.

Jeremiah discerned that the only thing left was judgment.

Marks the turning point in Jeremiah's attitude toward the people.

Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end.

David's prayer that Weaver endorses as a model for believers today.

The door of hope was a door of judgment.

Paradoxical truth that judgment is necessary for restoration.

The sooner and the quicker the problem is dealt with, and excised, cut out, the sooner and quicker we can get on with recovery.

Practical application urging swift dealing with sin.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

In what ways do you see parallels between the spiritual condition of Judah in Jeremiah's time and our own nation today?

[Context]

Weaver argues that America is following the same path of disregarding God's Word.

[Question]

How should we respond when we see widespread indifference and rebellion against God, even among professing Christians?

[Context]

Weaver describes the 'Hezekiah syndrome' and the lack of concern for future generations.

[Question]

Why is human compassion and concern insufficient to bring about spiritual change in others?

[Context]

Weaver teaches that only God can turn hearts, not the godliness of preachers.

[Question]

Is it ever appropriate for believers to pray for God's judgment on the wicked? How does Jeremiah 18 inform our prayers?

[Context]

Weaver explains Jeremiah's prayer against his people as siding with God's righteousness.

[Question]

What does it mean that judgment can be a 'door of hope'? How have you seen this principle at work?

[Context]

Weaver references the valley of Achor and the necessity of dealing with sin for recovery.

[Question]

How can we cultivate a heart like Jeremiah's that weeps over sin yet ultimately trusts God's righteous judgment?

[Context]

Weaver traces Jeremiah's emotional journey from compassion to discernment.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T05:32:14Z