Jeremiah 19:1-15

One of the laws of physics is that for every action, there is a corresponding reaction.  God works in similar ways with His people.  His treatment of people is in accordance to their actions.  In physics, the reaction is immediate but with God it can take many years or even generations because of His great mercy and long-suffering.  The time of God’s wrath is approaching and Jeremiah has been given the task of proclaiming that fact to the people and their leaders.  God tells him to go purchase a clay pot and then to take representatives of the people and priests to Topheth where he was to proclaim the Lord’s will to the people.  Just as the pot was shattered on the rocks so would the inhabitants of Jerusalem be broken and shattered in this place.

THE CAUSE: God is faithful to not only let His people know what is going to happen to them but He tells them very clearly why His judgment was coming down upon them.  The people who hear this message will have tingling ears because of its severity.  The reason for this judgment is simply the people have forsaken the Lord in every area of their lives.  The have made sacrifices to false idols, they have killed innocent people who have come to warn them of their wicked ways and have even gone so far as to kill their own children as an act of worship to the god of Baal.  God despises these things and will not stand idly by while His people forsake Him in all of their lives.  God knows and cares about all we do.   


THE CONSEQUENCE: Generation after generation has become progressively worse to the point that God can wait no longer to judge this wicked nation.  God changes the name of Topheth to the valley of slaughter because the men, women and children from the nation of Israel will be slaughtered in this place.  All the plans of purposes of men are subject to God’s will and He has determined to cancel all of Judah’s plans and replace it with this terrifying one.  The slaughter will be so severe and complete that nobody will have time to bury the bodies.  The birds and the animals will eat on their dead corpses. The city will be a thing of horror because things will get so bad that people will resort to eating their own children and neighbors.  There will be a shortage of places to bury all the dead so this place of Topheth will become nothing more than a cemetery where the bodies of men will rot.  Jeremiah proclaims this terrible message of the wrath of God.  We too must proclaim to a lost and sinful world that God’s wrath is coming down upon them and it will be far worse than physical destruction.  The sins of man will bring eternal damnation upon all who refuse to trust Jesus.

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