The Deprogramming Required

Through Israel, we are given a clear picture of the human condition. Here was a nation blessed, prosperous, and protected but all they did was wander. They are all of us on display in the Biblical text to help us understand how deep our struggle is with sin. 

Jeremiah 17:1 (ESV) “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars,

The law was written on stone tablets but Israel's sin was written on the tablet of their heart and even in their religious fixtures in the Temple. 

God wanted the law written on their hearts. 
Deuteronomy 6:6 (ESV) And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

Instead, they participated in sin and engraved their habits in the depth of their being. 

Secondly, they put their trust in political alliances and made other nations their trust. Many of Judah's leaders (including righteous Hezekiah) turned to Babylon as an ally instead of trusting in the Lord. Jeremiah calls this a cursed place. 

Jeremiah 17:5 (ESV) Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD.

They ignored the blessing offered to them from Psalm 1. Jeremiah reminds them that only when God is our trust do we flourish in life. 
Jeremiah 17:7–8 (ESV) “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. 8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Finally, God diagnoses the problem. The heart. 
Jeremiah 17:9–10 (ESV) The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 10 “I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

This chapter in Jeremiah is hard to read. It challenges the modern mindset when it comes to how we see our inside selves. We often imagine ourselves to be much better people on the inside. But it's just not Biblically accurate. Even the good we think we are may be a lie from the deception inherent in our hearts. 

What do we do? Having the diagnosis from the Great Physician, we must seek the cure only He can offer. 

First, we must pray.
Jeremiah 17:14 (ESV) Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.

Second, we must read the Word. 
Jeremiah 17:15 (ESV) Behold, they say to me, “Where is the word of the LORD? Let it come!”

The Word examines us and then teaches us. We may desire to avoid it, but it's power is realized when we submit to it, "Let it come!" 


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