Why Has God Done This?

This is the third of five sermons I'll be posting this week.

Why Has God Done This?

I.  Introduction

a.       In Jeremiah 16:10, God shows that He knew the people would wonder why they were being punished.

b.       “And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?” (Jeremiah 16:10).

                                                               i.      The fact that they would ask such a question illustrates several things.

1.       They weren’t very good listeners to begin with.

2.       They were either oblivious to what they were doing, or they were intentionally overlooking the evil they had done.

3.       They had not been reading the Law like they should have despite the reforms that Josiah had made.

4.       They did not think that God was being fair.

5.       They had not listened to the many prophets besides Jeremiah that brought warnings to them.

6.       They were blissfully unaware of their people’s history.

II. God’s Answer

a.       “Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law” (Jeremiah 16:11).

                                                               i.      They were punished, first of all, because of what their fathers did (Numbers 14:18).

                                                             ii.      Their fathers did 3 things.

1.       They worshipped false gods (Exodus 20:1-6)

2.       They forsook God (Deuteronomy 30:17-20)

3.       They stopped keeping the law (Deuteronomy 28:15)

b.       “And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me” (Jeremiah 16:12).

                                                               i.      Everything the fathers did, this generation did worse. They served more false gods, went further from God, and let the commandments fall from their memory.

                                                             ii.      “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered” (Proverbs 28:26).

c.       “Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour” (Jeremiah 16:13).

III. A Glimmer of Hope for the Remnant

a.       Though God would destroy the people from off of the land, He would not bring them to a full end just yet (Jeremiah 30:11). The full end would not be brought about until the True Shepherd should come (Jeremiah 23:40).

b.       God’s goal for His people is expressed in Jeremiah 16:14-15.

                                                               i.      “Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;  (15)  But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers” (Jeremiah 16:14-15).

                                                             ii.      This goal, as we will see, has been fulfilled in Christ. The first Exodus was celebrated with the Passover (Exodus 12-13). The establishment of the kingdom and the exodus from sin is celebrated with the New Testament Passover (Luke 22:15-20; I Corinthians 5:7-8)

c.       The means through which the goal would be fulfilled is seen in Jeremiah 16:16-21.

                                                               i.      “Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.  (17)  For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.  (18)  And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.  (19)  O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.  (20)  Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?  (21)  Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The LORD” (Jeremiah 16:16-21).

1.       Fishers of men would be sent to bring back the people (Matthew 4:19).

2.       But, at the time that Jeremiah was prophesying, punishment must come.

3.       When the fishers would go out, however, then even the Gentiles would be offered a place in the Kingdom of God (Isaiah 49:6).

4.       The Gentiles would then realize how silly it was for them to follow false gods and man’s imaginations.

                                                             ii.      The kingdom was set up and all nations flowed unto it in the first century as prophesied here and in numerous other passages (Isaiah 2:1-4).

IV. Conclusion

a.       The people were being punished for their sin, but God promised that He would bring them back and unite them again.

                       b.    This had its fulfillment in the kingdom that you and I are a part of today. If you aren’t                              in    God’s kingdom, obey the gospel today!