The Book of Jeremiah is a collection of sermons preached by the “weeping prophet” (Jer. 9:1, 10; and 13:17). Thomas Constable said, “Babylon” is mentioned 162 times in the Book of Jeremiah (Babylonian Captivity). No wonder Jeremiah was weeping. In fact, Jeremiah preached a heartbreaking message of doom to a stiff-necked people. He began preaching around the age of 17 and labored more than 40 years proclaiming, “the Word of the Lord.” He was forbidden to marry or have children (Jer. 16:1-2) and was put in prison for his preaching.2 Jeremiah wasn’t a rock star personality. He wasn’t known for his popularity, but he was known for his prophetic preaching. In other words, Jeremiah would never be mistaken for Joel Osteen. Let me illustrate. The word “prophet” is found 96 times in the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was first and foremost the messenger of God.3 Furthermore, he had to deal with the false prophets, too.4
The word “prophet” is the Hebrew word נָבִיא nab,i meaning a spokesman for God. A prophet did three things. First, a prophet would “foretell” or prophesy future events. For instance, Jeremiah constantly foretold Judah about the coming Babylonian captivity. He was relentless…begging the people to repent. As you read his prophecy, he preached the same sermon day after day. The title of the sermon was, “Judgement is Coming.” This is the only sermon Jeremiah had in his repertoire.
Second, a prophet was not only a “foreteller,” but he was also a “forth-teller.” In other words, he would fiercely cry out against the sins of the people. He would preach, “Thus saith the Lord,” in its various forms, some 411 times. The book of Jeremiah is the inspired Word of God (Jer. 1:1-11, 2:1-31) with a special emphasis on the “forth-telling” of the prophet (Jer. 5:14; 7:27-28; 9:20; 20:9; 25:8-13). Who can forget the famous chapter where the King of Judah, Jehoiakim, cut up and burned sections of Jeremiah’s prophetic scroll (Jer. 36:1-32)? Third, the prophet asked question after question in his prophecies. There are over 130 questions in the book of Jeremiah, mostly rhetorical.5 This is very Jewish. Nonetheless, the prophet asked questions and then answered them in his sermons/prophecies. So, what was the main problem?
A Heart Problem
The main problem was a heart problem. The people followed the dictates of their own hearts. Jeremiah said, “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts” (Jer. 3:17). The word “follow” אַחַר achar translated “pursuing” four times and gives the idea of going your own way.6 The word “dictates” is translated “stubbornness” some ten times and refers to our imagination. In other words, just do whatever your heart imagines… this is very dangerous. The darkness and depravity of the human heart are beyond comprehension. Jeremiah described the human heart as “evil” and “desperately wicked,” even downright depraved (Jer. 17:9-10). The world says, “follow your heart,” but the Bible says, “follow Jesus.” Following your depraved heart can be a dangerous choice (Jer. 9:11-14; 11:8; 13:10; 16:12; 18:12; 23:17). What does it really mean to follow the dictates of our evil hearts?
First, it means a life of disobedience. Jeremiah proclaimed, “But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward” (Jer. 7:23-24). What happens when you follow the counsels and the dictates of your evil heart? Verse 24 says, they “…went backward and not forward.” This is a vivid description of Judah and Israel. We need to remember that a life of disobedience always takes you “backward,” not “forward.” Sin always takes you back, holds you down, and keeps you from moving forward.
Second, it leads to utter ruin. Jeremiah reminded Judah, “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant. Who is the wise man who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? Why does the land perish and burn up like a wilderness, so that no one can pass through?” (Jer. 9:11-12). How does God describe the ruin? “A heap of ruin” (pile of rubbish, v.11); “a den of jackals” (no people, v.11); “desolate” (a waste, devastation, v.11); “without inhabitant” (no people, v.11); “perish” (destroy or to obliterate, v.12); “burned up like a wilderness” (ugly and utter ruin, fire destroys, v.12). A heartbreaking picture of the future ruin of Judah/Jerusalem because of the coming Babylonian captivity. This is what happens when you follow the dictates of your own heart.
Third, it means to abandon Scripture and pursue the idols (the Baals) of our hearts (Jer. 9:14). This is something their fathers taught them. Idolatry and Baal worship were a huge problem. In fact, Israel and Judah became serial idolaters. Jeremiah preached sermon after sermon on idolatry.7 Unfortunately, Judah discovered, you mold the idol…then the idol molds you. Don’t follow the dictates of your own evil heart.
Fourth, it means to choose “your heart” over His voice (v. 7c). Highlight three words, “Obey My voice.” The prophet said, “For I earnestly exhorted your fathers in the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, until this day, rising early and exhorting, saying, ‘Obey My voice.’ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone followed the dictates of his evil heart…” (Jer. 11:7-8). The phrase, “earnestly exhorted,” is found twice in v. 7 and means to preach, to protest, to testify. Is consistent expository preaching a thing of the past? Is sound biblical preaching enough? Do we crave the entertainment model so deeply that we let culture dictate how we worship? Perhaps these questions are ones we need to ponder.
Three key words: “word, walk, and worship.” Jeremiah lamented, “Thus says the Lord: ‘In this manner I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing. For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the Lord, ‘that they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear’ (Jer. 13:9-11). They “refused to hear” and “they would not hear.” Thus, they became like this beautiful “sash” that was good for nothing…a wasted life.
Jeremiah repeated the same sermon in Jeremiah 16:10-12. He proclaimed, “And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the Lord pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ says the Lord; ‘they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law. And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me.” Same three words: word, walked, and worshiped. Show the word, pronounce the word (great disaster), walked after other gods, and no one listened to Me. Again, in Jeremiah 18:12, the same sermon, “And they said, “That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.” When the Word is not enough, you’re in a dangerous place spiritually (See also Jer. 23:16-17). The cycle of ignoring “His voice” and “following your own evil heart” is disastrous. Unfortunately, Judah did not learn the lesson.
Conclusion
Now I understand why the expression “backslidden” is found 14 times in the Book of Jeremiah and only 17 times in the entire Old Testament.8 Why? Jeremiah made it simple. When you turn a deaf ear to the Word of God to follow the dictates of your own evil heart, and you worship idols, then most likely you’re backslidden. Jeremiah preached against the “perpetual backsliding” of Judah (Jer. 8:5), her continual idol worship, and pronounced doom on their rebellion (Babylonian captivity).
Yet, God gave Judah plenty of space to repent, but she would not. He made a promise to Judah, saying, “amend your ways and your doings” then “I will cause you to dwell in this place,” meaning Jerusalem (Jer. 7:3). He even urged them, “For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever” (Jer. 7:5-7). Jeremiah even preached “obedience” some 38 times to Judah but to no avail.9 Nevertheless, they rebelled and disobeyed. Thus, they spent seventy years in Babylonian captivity. Why? Because they followed the dictates of their own evil heart.
Constable, Notes on Jeremiah (2006 edition).
2 Jer. 18:18; 20:1-3; 26:8-11; 32:1-2; 33:1-3; 37:15-21; 38:5-28.
3 Jer. 1:4-10; 7:13, 25, 25:1-4; 26:5-16; 29:19; 32:33; 35:14-15.
4 Jer. 2:8; 5:13, 31; 14:14-15; 23:9-37.
5 A rhetorical question is asked for dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer. Some were asked by Jeremiah and some asked by the Lord: Jer. 2:5-32; 3:1-5; 4:14; 5:7-9, 5:18-31; 7:8-11; 8:8, 12; 10:7; 13:22-27; 14:19, 22; 16:10-13, 20; 22:28-30; 23:18-29; 32:26-27; 44:7-9.
6 Thomas (1998). NAS Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries, Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc.
7 Jer. 1:16; 2:5-28; 5:18; 7:6, 18, 30-31; 8:2; 10:8-14; 11:12-17; 12:16; 16:11-18; 18:15; 19:4-13; 23:13, 27; 25:6; 32:29-35; 43:12-13; 44:3-5-25; 46:25; 48:35; 49:3; 50:2, 38; 51:17, 52.
8 Jer. 2:19; 3:6, 8, 11, 12, 14, 22; 5:6; 8:5; 14:7; 31:22; 49:4.
9 Jer. 3:13, 25; 7:23-28; 9:13; 11:3-8; 12:17; 17:23; 18:10,-12; 22:21; 26:13; 32:23; 34:10-17; 35:8-18; 38:20; 40:3; 42:6-21; 43:4-7; 44:23.
The word “prophet” is the Hebrew word נָבִיא nab,i meaning a spokesman for God. A prophet did three things. First, a prophet would “foretell” or prophesy future events. For instance, Jeremiah constantly foretold Judah about the coming Babylonian captivity. He was relentless…begging the people to repent. As you read his prophecy, he preached the same sermon day after day. The title of the sermon was, “Judgement is Coming.” This is the only sermon Jeremiah had in his repertoire.
Second, a prophet was not only a “foreteller,” but he was also a “forth-teller.” In other words, he would fiercely cry out against the sins of the people. He would preach, “Thus saith the Lord,” in its various forms, some 411 times. The book of Jeremiah is the inspired Word of God (Jer. 1:1-11, 2:1-31) with a special emphasis on the “forth-telling” of the prophet (Jer. 5:14; 7:27-28; 9:20; 20:9; 25:8-13). Who can forget the famous chapter where the King of Judah, Jehoiakim, cut up and burned sections of Jeremiah’s prophetic scroll (Jer. 36:1-32)? Third, the prophet asked question after question in his prophecies. There are over 130 questions in the book of Jeremiah, mostly rhetorical.5 This is very Jewish. Nonetheless, the prophet asked questions and then answered them in his sermons/prophecies. So, what was the main problem?
A Heart Problem
The main problem was a heart problem. The people followed the dictates of their own hearts. Jeremiah said, “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts” (Jer. 3:17). The word “follow” אַחַר achar translated “pursuing” four times and gives the idea of going your own way.6 The word “dictates” is translated “stubbornness” some ten times and refers to our imagination. In other words, just do whatever your heart imagines… this is very dangerous. The darkness and depravity of the human heart are beyond comprehension. Jeremiah described the human heart as “evil” and “desperately wicked,” even downright depraved (Jer. 17:9-10). The world says, “follow your heart,” but the Bible says, “follow Jesus.” Following your depraved heart can be a dangerous choice (Jer. 9:11-14; 11:8; 13:10; 16:12; 18:12; 23:17). What does it really mean to follow the dictates of our evil hearts?
First, it means a life of disobedience. Jeremiah proclaimed, “But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward” (Jer. 7:23-24). What happens when you follow the counsels and the dictates of your evil heart? Verse 24 says, they “…went backward and not forward.” This is a vivid description of Judah and Israel. We need to remember that a life of disobedience always takes you “backward,” not “forward.” Sin always takes you back, holds you down, and keeps you from moving forward.
Second, it leads to utter ruin. Jeremiah reminded Judah, “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant. Who is the wise man who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? Why does the land perish and burn up like a wilderness, so that no one can pass through?” (Jer. 9:11-12). How does God describe the ruin? “A heap of ruin” (pile of rubbish, v.11); “a den of jackals” (no people, v.11); “desolate” (a waste, devastation, v.11); “without inhabitant” (no people, v.11); “perish” (destroy or to obliterate, v.12); “burned up like a wilderness” (ugly and utter ruin, fire destroys, v.12). A heartbreaking picture of the future ruin of Judah/Jerusalem because of the coming Babylonian captivity. This is what happens when you follow the dictates of your own heart.
Third, it means to abandon Scripture and pursue the idols (the Baals) of our hearts (Jer. 9:14). This is something their fathers taught them. Idolatry and Baal worship were a huge problem. In fact, Israel and Judah became serial idolaters. Jeremiah preached sermon after sermon on idolatry.7 Unfortunately, Judah discovered, you mold the idol…then the idol molds you. Don’t follow the dictates of your own evil heart.
Fourth, it means to choose “your heart” over His voice (v. 7c). Highlight three words, “Obey My voice.” The prophet said, “For I earnestly exhorted your fathers in the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, until this day, rising early and exhorting, saying, ‘Obey My voice.’ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone followed the dictates of his evil heart…” (Jer. 11:7-8). The phrase, “earnestly exhorted,” is found twice in v. 7 and means to preach, to protest, to testify. Is consistent expository preaching a thing of the past? Is sound biblical preaching enough? Do we crave the entertainment model so deeply that we let culture dictate how we worship? Perhaps these questions are ones we need to ponder.
Three key words: “word, walk, and worship.” Jeremiah lamented, “Thus says the Lord: ‘In this manner I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing. For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the Lord, ‘that they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear’ (Jer. 13:9-11). They “refused to hear” and “they would not hear.” Thus, they became like this beautiful “sash” that was good for nothing…a wasted life.
Jeremiah repeated the same sermon in Jeremiah 16:10-12. He proclaimed, “And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the Lord pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ says the Lord; ‘they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law. And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me.” Same three words: word, walked, and worshiped. Show the word, pronounce the word (great disaster), walked after other gods, and no one listened to Me. Again, in Jeremiah 18:12, the same sermon, “And they said, “That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.” When the Word is not enough, you’re in a dangerous place spiritually (See also Jer. 23:16-17). The cycle of ignoring “His voice” and “following your own evil heart” is disastrous. Unfortunately, Judah did not learn the lesson.
Conclusion
Now I understand why the expression “backslidden” is found 14 times in the Book of Jeremiah and only 17 times in the entire Old Testament.8 Why? Jeremiah made it simple. When you turn a deaf ear to the Word of God to follow the dictates of your own evil heart, and you worship idols, then most likely you’re backslidden. Jeremiah preached against the “perpetual backsliding” of Judah (Jer. 8:5), her continual idol worship, and pronounced doom on their rebellion (Babylonian captivity).
Yet, God gave Judah plenty of space to repent, but she would not. He made a promise to Judah, saying, “amend your ways and your doings” then “I will cause you to dwell in this place,” meaning Jerusalem (Jer. 7:3). He even urged them, “For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever” (Jer. 7:5-7). Jeremiah even preached “obedience” some 38 times to Judah but to no avail.9 Nevertheless, they rebelled and disobeyed. Thus, they spent seventy years in Babylonian captivity. Why? Because they followed the dictates of their own evil heart.
Constable, Notes on Jeremiah (2006 edition).
2 Jer. 18:18; 20:1-3; 26:8-11; 32:1-2; 33:1-3; 37:15-21; 38:5-28.
3 Jer. 1:4-10; 7:13, 25, 25:1-4; 26:5-16; 29:19; 32:33; 35:14-15.
4 Jer. 2:8; 5:13, 31; 14:14-15; 23:9-37.
5 A rhetorical question is asked for dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer. Some were asked by Jeremiah and some asked by the Lord: Jer. 2:5-32; 3:1-5; 4:14; 5:7-9, 5:18-31; 7:8-11; 8:8, 12; 10:7; 13:22-27; 14:19, 22; 16:10-13, 20; 22:28-30; 23:18-29; 32:26-27; 44:7-9.
6 Thomas (1998). NAS Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries, Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc.
7 Jer. 1:16; 2:5-28; 5:18; 7:6, 18, 30-31; 8:2; 10:8-14; 11:12-17; 12:16; 16:11-18; 18:15; 19:4-13; 23:13, 27; 25:6; 32:29-35; 43:12-13; 44:3-5-25; 46:25; 48:35; 49:3; 50:2, 38; 51:17, 52.
8 Jer. 2:19; 3:6, 8, 11, 12, 14, 22; 5:6; 8:5; 14:7; 31:22; 49:4.
9 Jer. 3:13, 25; 7:23-28; 9:13; 11:3-8; 12:17; 17:23; 18:10,-12; 22:21; 26:13; 32:23; 34:10-17; 35:8-18; 38:20; 40:3; 42:6-21; 43:4-7; 44:23.
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