Prepare
Opening Prayer
God, thank you for this day, for time together, and for your Word. Help us understand it and learn how to live, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Read
Scripture Passage
Judah’s Sin and Punishment
17 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron;
With the point of a diamond it is engraved
On the tablet of their heart,
And on the horns of your altars,
2 While their children remember
Their altars and their wooden images
By the green trees on the high hills.
3 O My mountain in the field,
I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures,
And your high places of sin within all your borders.
4 And you, even yourself,
Shall let go of your heritage which I gave you;
And I will cause you to serve your enemies
In the land which you do not know;
For you have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever.”
5 Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes flesh his strength,
Whose heart departs from the Lord.
6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,
And shall not see when good comes,
But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
In a salt land which is not inhabited.
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
9 “The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
10 I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.
11 “As a partridge that broods but does not hatch,
So is he who gets riches, but not by right;
It will leave him in the midst of his days,
And at his end he will be a fool.”
12 A glorious high throne from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O Lord, the hope of Israel,
All who forsake You shall be ashamed.
“Those who depart from Me
Shall be written in the earth,
Because they have forsaken the Lord,
The fountain of living waters.”
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Jeremiah 17:1-13.
A — About
What Is This Passage About?
Judah's deeply engraved sin exposes the deceitfulness of the human heart. Trusting people leaves one dry and barren, but trusting the Lord makes one fruitful like a tree by water; God alone searches hearts and is the fountain of living waters.
B — Best Verse
Which Verse Best Summarizes the Passage?
Jeremiah 17:13
because they have forsaken the Lord. The fountain of living waters
Bryan says the bottom of verse 13 is double-underlined because it identifies the root of Judah's judgment: forsaking the Lord, the living-water source of life.
C — Called or Christ
C — Christ Connection
Do not trust the deceitful heart or human strength; turn to Jesus. As Jesus told the woman at the well, he gives living water that truly satisfies those who come to him.
Additional Notes
Devotional Study
Transcript of the devotion. Minor transcription errors may remain.
Press the button. >> All right. Yeah, you press the button. Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to coffee and devotions. This morning we are at Jeremiah chapter 17, the first 13 verses. Let's have some coffee and pray and we'll get into God's word. >> Yeah. Yeah. I said press the button on the left. >> In the middle. >> It's in the middle. That's right. You don't want any of that, do you? It's pretty strong cuz it's gotten cold. >> You still like it? It don't taste like anything. >> Oh, okay. Well, it certainly is coffee. I think it tastes like something. All right. You ready to pray? >> All right. God, we thank you so much for this day. Thank you for the blessing it is that we get to spend some time together and read your word. We pray that you would please help us to understand it. Please, Lord, even teach us from it how we are to live in Jesus's name. Amen. All right. So, we're at Jeremiah chapter 17. Here we go. The sin of Judah is written with a pin of iron. A pin of iron with a point of a diamond. It is engraved on the tablet of their heart. And on your the horns of your altars, while their children remember their altars and their wooden images by the green trees on the high hills. Okay. Verse three, on my mountain in the field, I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures, and your high places of sin within all your borders. And you, even yourself, shall go of your heritage, which I gave you. And I will cause you to serve your enemies in the land which you do not know. For you have kindled a fire in my anger, which shall burn forever. What do you think that section's about? >> Hm. What do you think that section's about? >> I forgot everything. >> You forgot everything. Sometimes that happens, right? So, let's think. So, uh, so the sins of Judah is written with a pen of iron engraved with a diamond written on their altars, right? So, God s saw their sins, marked their sins, knows their sins, and they're going to be punished for their sins. That's what the Lord's saying. All right. Here, uh, why don't you >> That's scary. >> It is very scary. It's a It's a scary thing to fall into the hands of an angry god, isn't it? Yeah. Here, why don't you help me over here? All right, cuz you were trying to line out and that's good. But we can do it together here. How's that sound? Okay. Thus says the Lord, cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, and a salt land which is not inhabited. What do you think he's talking about there? >> A salt land. >> Yeah, something about a salt land. So, in a in a land, if there was if the fields outside were all covered in salt, do you think anything would grow? Well, >> no. Only ice and ice would be disgusting because it would have salt in it and salt is disgusting for ice. >> So would it be any good to to eat food? Mm- No, that's what he's saying, right? Curses. So if you trust in in a man, right? If you trust in people as your ultimate, are they going to be there perfectly for you? >> No. >> No. >> Yep. >> No. Right. If you trust in man to be your strength and you depart, your heart leaves God, is it going to go well for you? He says, "No, no, no, no, no. Your for he shall be like a shrub in the desert." You You've been to a few deserts when we've gone on trips before. Mhm. Remember places where it's all dry and it's rocky and where they're big huge trees? >> Be in Colorado. Well, we went through some some areas where it was really dry and there weren't a lot of people who lived there and there wasn't much fields. Were there big trees? No. >> Or was it like shrubs? >> Shrubs. >> Shrubs. Yeah, that's what he's kind of talking about. Like that. Yeah. But verse seven, blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spread out its roots by the river. and will not fear when heat comes. >> But its leaf will be green and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit. >> Daddy. >> Yeah. >> I got something. >> You tell me. >> I have to tell the camera you >> Okay, you go ahead and tell me. >> I have to do it on >> Go ahead. Tell me. schedule to after tomorrow we're then go to the pool after tomorrow is Sunday and then after that it's family. >> Yeah, but we're talking about this tree, >> right? But if you trust in the Lord, what will you be like? Will you be like a a shrub in a dry land? >> What's he say? The person who trusts in the Lord will be like >> forgot everything. >> Well, do we have big trees around us? Yes. >> Yeah. And do they have big roots that suck up a lot of water? >> Yeah. You you know how like over by the heart leaves, you can go over there and there's the trees and and they have big roots and they grow tall. And then in the fall, what will we do when we go over there? [Music] >> Yeah. We'll climb up them. And what will you find on the branches? >> Water. >> Not water. fruit. You know how we pick the apples and there's so many apples that sometimes they're just laying on the ground. There's so many apples. >> Oh, you mean Mr. Car? >> Yeah, >> Mr. C have a lot and a lot of apples. I thought you'd be mean. >> No, not so we don't have fruit trees. >> We We have >> We have like ornamental trees. We have trees that like that like give stuff like but do you remember those that that tree that have that that those like leaves and those little berries but we have to put them in water or else we're eating little bugs. >> Yeah, we don't want to do that. Yeah, but this is saying right it's the difference between being a little shrub in the dry desert, somebody who trusts in man versus being like a tree that produces lots of fruit and is big and strong. That's somebody who trusts in the Lord. The heart, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? I the Lord search the heart. I test the mind even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. So God says we shouldn't trust our hearts. Actually, he tests our hearts and our minds and he's the one who's going to bring everything into judgment. >> So he can say, "I don't want family camp to be on Monday. turn it to Sunday >> if he wanted to. >> Yeah. But he would know also if you loved family camp more than you loved his word. >> Or if you loved wanting to go to family camp because you wanted to get in trouble, he would know that that was going on in your heart and in your brain. >> I think tomorrow I'm going to try to get it over with it and then go to Sunday. >> Okay. Well, let's finish this up. as a partridge, as a bird that broods but does not hatch. So is he who gets rich but not by right. It will leave him in the midst of his days and at his end he will be a fool. A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. Oh Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be ashamed. Those who depart from me shall be written in the earth because they have forsaken the Lord the fountain of living waters. So the Lord is the one who's like the fountain of living waters. So do we want to turn towards the Lord or turn away from the Lord? >> Turn to the Lord. >> Turn to the Lord. Yeah. We don't want to turn towards people for trust, do we? >> But turn the boat. >> Yeah. Turn the Lord. >> Yeah. Turn to toward the Lord. >> Turn toward to >> the Lord. That's right. >> Turn. >> So >> to the Lord. >> Turn to the Lord. Good. So in my Bible, I have verse 13, the very bottom double underlined because they have forsaken the Lord. The fountain of living waters, right? That's why judgment's coming. I have verse 8 and or 9 and 10 starred. I have uh verse 8 underlined as well. There's a whole bunch I got underlined in Mark, don't I? Mhm. Well, I think this reminds me of what Jesus said to the woman at the well. Can I tell you that story real quick? So, there's a lady at a well, and they were in a place called Samaria. And the Jewish people didn't like Samaritans. And Samaritans didn't like Jewish people. But Jesus said he had to go there. And so, he and his disciples, they went there. And when they got to a a well, he sent his disciples into town. He said, "Hey, you guys go find food. I'm going to rest here for a little bit." And do you know who was there? It was the middle of the day, the hottest part of the day. And there was a lady who came all by herself because she couldn't go when other people would be there. And Jesus says to her, "Draw me something to drink." And she says, "The well is deep and you don't have anything to draw." And then they started talking and he said, "You should have asked of me and I will give you living waters." The same thing God says here, "Because they have forsaken the Lord the fountain of living waters. If you knew who was talking to you, who it was you were talking with, you would have asked me and I would have given you water and you would have never thirsted again." She said, "I know that the Messiah will come." You know what Jesus said to her? >> What? >> You're talking to him. You're talking to the Lord. And she went into town and she said, "You have to come and meet the man who told me everything I've ever done." Jesus gives us living water if we'll come to him. If we'll turn to Jesus. >> Oh, look. That's a plant. >> Yeah. They need water, don't they? >> Yeah. >> All right. You ready to pray? Let's pray. God, we thank you so much for the blessing it is to get to read your word. You know how easy it is for us to uh just get distracted and uh and how easy it is for us to turn away from you. God, we pray that we would drink from the stream of living water from Jesus Christ himself and that we would never thirst again. Let us be satisfied in you in Jesus's name. Amen. May God bless you. May you always rejoice in the Lord your God. And we'll see you next time. Want to say bye? >> Uh, daddy, there's a cobweb. >> Yeah, I see it. You want to say bye? Bye.