Bible Lesson: Intercessory Prayer:
Jeremiah Intercedes For God's People, But His Intercession, Was
Denied.
Bible Text: Jeremiah 14/15
Jeremiah 14:1-22 NLT
(Judah’s Terrible Drought.)
1 This message came to Jeremiah from
The Lord, explaining why He was holding back the rain:
2 “Judah wilts; commerce at the
city gates grinds to a halt. All the people sit on the ground in
mourning, and a great cry rises from Jerusalem.
3 The nobles send servants to get
water, but all the wells are dry. The servants return with empty
pitchers, confused and desperate, covering their heads in grief.
4 The ground is parched and cracked
for lack of rain. The farmers are deeply troubled; they, too, cover
their heads.
5 Even the doe abandons her newborn
fawn because there is no grass in the field.
6 The wild donkeys stand on the bare
hills
panting like thirsty jackals.
They strain their eyes looking for
grass,
but there is none to be found.”
Note:
Leviticus
26:18-20 NLT
18 “And if, in spite of all this,
you still disobey Me, I will punish you seven times over for your
sins.
19 I will break your proud spirit by
making the skies as unyielding as iron and the earth as hard as
bronze.
20 All your work will be for
nothing, for your land will yield no crops, and your trees will bear
no fruit.
Deuteronomy
11:16,17 NLT
16 “But be careful. Don’t let
your heart be deceived so that you turn away from The Lord and serve
and worship other gods.
17 If you do, The Lord’s anger
will burn against you. He will shut up the sky and hold back the
rain, and the ground will fail to produce its harvests. Then you will
quickly die in that good land The Lord is giving you.
Deuteronomy
28:23,24 NLT
23 The skies above will be as
unyielding as bronze, and the earth beneath will be as hard as iron.
24 The Lord will change the rain
that falls on your land into powder, and dust will pour down from the
sky until you are destroyed.
7 The people say, “Our
wickedness has caught up with us, Lord,
but help us for the sake of your
own reputation.
We have turned away from you
and sinned against you again
and again.
8 O Hope of Israel, our Savior in
times of trouble,
why are you like a stranger to
us?
Why are you like a traveler passing
through the land,
stopping only for the night?
9 Are you also confused?
Is our champion helpless to save
us?
You are right here among us, Lord.
We are known as your people.
Please don’t abandon us now!”
Note:
Certainly sin must
be the brother to stupidity!
Rebel against The
Lord, time and time again, and then in trouble call Him your
Champion?
Proverbs 1:7 KJV
The fear of The Lord is the
beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
10 So this is what The Lord says to
His people:
“You love to wander far from Me
and do not restrain yourselves.
Therefore, I will no longer accept
you as My people.
Now I will remember all your
wickedness
and will punish you for your
sins.”
(The Lord Forbids Jeremiah to
Intercede.)
Note:
Hosea 8:13,14 KJV
13 They sacrifice flesh for the
sacrifices of Mine offerings, and eat it; but The Lord accepteth them
not; now will He remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they
shall return to Egypt.
14 For Israel hath forgotten His
Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities:
but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the
palaces thereof.
11 Then The Lord said to me, “Do
not pray for these people anymore.
12 When they fast, I will pay no
attention. When they present their burnt offerings and grain
offerings to Me, I will not accept them. Instead, I will devour them
with war, famine, and disease.”
Note:
I Samuel 15:22
KJV
And Samuel said, Hath The Lord as
great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the
voice of The Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to
hearken than the fat of rams.
Psalm 40:6 KJV
Sacrifice and offering thou didst
not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin
offering hast thou not required.
Psalm 51:16,17
KJV
16 For thou desirest not sacrifice;
else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a
broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not
despise.
Proverbs 21:3
KJV
To do justice and judgment is more
acceptable to The Lord than sacrifice.
Isaiah
1:11-13,18,19 KJV
11 To what purpose is the multitude
of your sacrifices unto Me? saith The Lord: I am full of the burnt
offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in
the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
12 When ye come to appear before Me,
who hath required this at your hand, to tread My courts?
13 Bring no more vain oblations;
incense is an abomination unto Me; the new moons and Sabbaths, the
calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the
solemn meeting.
18 Come now, and let us reason
together, saith The Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall
be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be
as wool.
19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye
shall eat the good of the land:
Hosea 6:6 KJV
For I desired mercy, and not
sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
Malachi 2:13,17/
3:1-3 KJV
13 And this have ye done again,
covering the altar of The Lord with tears, with weeping, and with
crying out, insomuch that He regardeth not the offering any more, or
receiveth it with good will at your hand.
17 Ye have wearied The Lord with
your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied Him? When ye say,
Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of The Lord, and He
delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?
Malachi 3:1-3 KJV
1 Behold, I will send My Messenger,
and He shall prepare The Way before Me: and The Lord, whom ye seek,
shall suddenly come to His temple, even The Messenger Of The
Covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord
of hosts.
2 But who may abide the day of His
coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a
refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:
3 And He shall sit as a refiner and
purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge
them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto The Lord an
offering in righteousness.
Matthew 7:20-23
KJV (Hypocritical Service)
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye
shall know them.
21 Not every one that saith unto Me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth
the will of My Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to Me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have
cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.
John 14:21 KJV
He that hath My commandments, and
keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be
loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to
him.
Hebrews 10:5-10
KJV
5 Wherefore when He cometh into the
world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body
hast thou prepared Me:
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the
volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
8 Above when He said, Sacrifice and
offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not,
neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
9 Then said He, Lo, I come to do thy
will, O God. He taketh away the first, that He may establish the
second.
10 By the which will we are
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for
all.
13 Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord,
their prophets are telling them, ‘All is well—no war or famine
will come. The Lord will surely send you peace.’”
14 Then the Lord said, “These
prophets are telling lies in My name. I did not send them or tell
them to speak. I did not give them any messages. They prophesy of
visions and revelations they have never seen or heard. They speak
foolishness made up in their own lying hearts.
15 Therefore, this is what The Lord
says: I will punish these lying prophets, for they have spoken in My
name even though I never sent them. They say that no war or famine
will come, but they themselves will die by war and famine!
16 As for the people to whom they
prophesy—their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of
Jerusalem, victims of famine and war. There will be no one left to
bury them. Husbands, wives, sons, and daughters—all will be gone.
For I will pour out their own wickedness on them.
17 Now, Jeremiah, say this to them:
“Night and day My eyes overflow
with tears.
I cannot stop weeping,
for My virgin daughter—My precious
people—
has been struck down
and lies mortally wounded.
18 If I go out into the fields,
I see the bodies of people
slaughtered by the enemy.
If I walk the city streets,
I see people who have died of
starvation.
The prophets and priests continue
with their work,
but they don’t know what
they’re doing.”
(A Prayer for Healing)
19 Lord, have you completely
rejected Judah?
Do you really hate Jerusalem?
Why have you wounded us past all
hope of healing?
We hoped for peace, but no peace
came.
We hoped for a time of healing,
but found only terror.
20 Lord, we confess our wickedness
and that of our ancestors, too.
We all have sinned against you.
21 For the sake of your reputation,
Lord, do not abandon us.
Do not disgrace your own
glorious throne.
Please remember us,
and do not break your covenant
with us.
22 Can any of the worthless foreign
gods send us rain?
Does it fall from the sky by
itself?
No, you are the one, O Lord our God!
Only you can do such things.
So we will wait for you to help
us.
Note:
God's people had the attitude that no matter what their sins, they
could always call upon The Lord, to bail them out of trouble.
Galatians 6:7
KJV
Be not deceived; God is not mocked:
for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Jeremiah 15:1-21
NLT
(Judah’s
Inevitable Doom.)
1 Then The Lord said to me, “Even
if Moses and Samuel stood before Me pleading for these people, I
wouldn’t help them. Away with them! Get them out of My sight!
2 And if they say to you, ‘But
where can we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what The Lord says:
“‘Those who are destined for
death, to death;
those who are destined for war,
to war;
those who are destined for famine,
to famine;
those who are destined for
captivity, to captivity.’
3 “I will send four kinds of
destroyers against them,” says the Lord. “I will send the
sword to kill,
the dogs to drag away, the
vultures to devour, and the wild animals to finish up what
is left.
NOTE:
(Revelation
6:1-8 KJV
Verses 1-2 Captivity
Verses 3-4 War
Verses 5-6 Famine
Verses 7-8 Death
These horses have
ridden before!)
4 Because of the wicked things
Manasseh son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem, I will
make My people an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the
earth.
NOTE:
Judgment came
because of the sins of ….. “God's People.”
Deuteronomy
28:25,26 KJV
25 “The Lord will cause you to be
defeated by your enemies. You will attack your enemies from one
direction, but you will scatter from them in seven! You will be an
object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
26 Your corpses will be food for all
the scavenging birds and wild animals, and no one will be there to
chase them away.
5 “Who will feel sorry for you,
Jerusalem?
Who will weep for you?
Who will even bother to ask how
you are?
6 You have abandoned Me
and turned your back on Me,”
says The Lord.
“Therefore, I will raise My fist
to destroy you.
I am tired of always giving you
another chance.
Note:
Genesis 6:3 KJV
And The Lord said, My Spirit shall
not always strive with man..."
Hebrews 10:31
KJV
It is a fearful thing to fall into
the hands of The living God.
7 I will winnow you like grain at
the gates of your cities
and take away the children you
hold dear.
I will destroy My own people,
because they refuse to change
their evil ways.
8 There will be more widows
than the grains of sand on the
seashore.
At noontime I will bring a destroyer
against the mothers of young
men.
I will cause anguish and terror
to come upon them suddenly.
9 The mother of seven grows faint
and gasps for breath;
her sun has gone down while it
is still day.
She sits childless now,
disgraced and humiliated.
And I will hand over those who are
left
to be killed by the enemy.
I, The Lord, have spoken!”
(Jeremiah’s
Complaint)
10 Then I said,
“What sorrow is mine, my mother.
Oh, that I had died at birth!
I am hated everywhere I go.
I am neither a lender who threatens
to foreclose
nor a borrower who refuses to
pay—
yet they all curse me.”
11 The Lord replied,
“I will take care of you,
Jeremiah.
Your enemies will ask you to
plead on their behalf
in times of trouble and
distress.
12 Can a man break a bar of iron
from the north,
or a bar of bronze?
13 At no cost to them,
I will hand over your wealth and
treasures
as plunder to your enemies,
for sin runs rampant in your
land.
14 I will tell your enemies to take
you
as captives to a foreign land.
For My anger blazes like a fire
that will burn forever.”
Note:
Deuteronomy
32:22 NLT
For My anger blazes forth like fire
and burns to the depths of the grave. It devours the earth and all
its crops and ignites the foundations of the mountains.
Mark 9:44,46,48
KJV
44 Where their worm dieth not, and
the fire is not quenched.
46 Where their worm dieth not, and
the fire is not quenched.
48 Where their worm dieth not, and
the fire is not quenched.
15 Then I said,
“Lord, you know what’s happening
to me.
Please step in and help me.
Punish my persecutors!
Please give me time; don’t let me
die young.
It’s for your sake that I am
suffering.
16 When I discovered your words, I
devoured them.
They are my joy and my heart’s
delight,
for I bear your name,
O Lord God Of Heaven’s Armies.
17 I never joined the people in
their merry feasts.
I sat alone because your hand
was on me.
I was filled with indignation at
their sins.
18 Why then does my suffering
continue?
Why is my wound so incurable?
Your help seems as uncertain as a
seasonal brook,
like a spring that has gone
dry.”
19 This is how The Lord responds:
Note:
A message
to Pastors, everywhere. (Also Verse 11)
“If you return to Me, I will
restore you
so you can continue to serve Me.
If you speak good words rather than
worthless ones,
you will be My spokesman.
You must influence them;
do not let them influence you!
20 They will fight against you like
an attacking army,
but I will make you as secure as
a fortified wall of bronze.
They will not conquer you,
for I am with you to protect and
rescue you.
I, The Lord, have spoken!
21 Yes,
I will certainly keep you safe from these wicked men.
I will
rescue you from their cruel hands.”
This is the story
of Jeremiah, God's Prophet, and his intercession for the people of
God.
Intercede he did,
yet his intercession was refused, and why?
Prayers of
intercession were refused by The Lord, because, the people of God had
sinned with impunity!
All the warnings,
they had refused, false teachers, reassuring them with false peace
and safety had prevailed.
Genesis 6:3 KJV
And The Lord said, My Spirit shall
not always strive with man...."
II Timothy 4:3,4
NLT
3 For a time is coming when people
will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will
follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell
them whatever their itching ears want to hear.
4 They will reject The Truth and
chase after myths.
Warnings For
Today:
Hebrews 4:6,7
AMP
6 Therefore, since the promise
remains for some to enter His rest, and those who formerly had the
good news preached to them failed to [grasp it and did not] enter
because of [their unbelief evidenced by] disobedience,
7 He again sets a definite day, [a
new] “Today,” [providing another opportunity to enter that rest
by] saying through David after so long a time, just as has been said
before [in the words already quoted],
“Today if you hear His voice, Do
not harden your hearts.”
Today, turn to The
Lord, in repentance, and faith in the finished work of The Lord Jesus
Christ. Claim Him as your Savior, and have your name written in the
book of life.
To delay that
decision, is to say “no.”
“Today if you hear His voice, Do
not harden your hearts.”
