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"And I will cause you to serve your enemies"

Text: Jeremiah 17:4

THE BLESSINGS GOD HAD GIVEN

Many and wonderful were the blessings that God had given to Israel. They were once slaves of Egypt. The Lord’s blessings enabled them to become a strong and prosperous nation. But in their wealth, they had rejected the God who had blessed them!

“O My mountain in the field,
I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures,
And your high places of sin within all your borders.
And you, even yourself,
Shall let go of your heritage which I gave you;
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.”
Jeremiah 17:3-4

1. “O My mountain in the field”

a) A field is a humble plain.

b) A mountain is famed for its strength and majesty.

c) The Lord had blessed the fields of Israel that they were compared to a Mountain.

d) Hence, the phrase, “My mountain in the field”.

i) This was a description of a mighty nation.

ii) It is a nation greatly blessed by God.

2. “I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures, and your high places of sin within all your borders”

a) God had blessed the nation with

i) Wealth

ii) Treasures

b) But the nation would be plundered.

i) Enemies would conquer them.

ii) The wealth and treasures would be plundered.

c) Their high places of sin.

i) They had rich shrines.

ii) Many had wealthy temples.

iii) But these were corrupted by sin and they would be plundered too.

3. “And you, even yourself, shall let go of your heritage which I gave you”

a) The treasures would be taken by enemies.

b) The treasures were like a heritage God had given them.

c) The people would not be able to hold on to their heritage at all.

4. “And I will cause you to serve your enemies in the land which you do not know”

a) The children of Judah would become slaves to their enemies.

b) They would become exiled to lands they do not know.

5. “For you have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever”

a) They had made God very angry.

b) This anger of God had been kindled:

i) By their wickedness.

ii) By their defiance.

iii) By their arrogance.

c) It was an anger that would not be easily placated. Hence this anger was described as one “which shall burn forever”.