TEXT: JEREMIAH 17:9-10
The study will be done with the following outcome:
* Background to the study
* Foreword
* The nature of the uncircumcised heart
* How to purify the heart
Background to the study
The book (Jeremiah) is named after prophet Jeremiah who alongside his disciples authored the book (as generally agreed in theological circles), he was an unmarried Prophet from the Southern kingdom of Judah. He began his prophetic mission in the thirteenth year of King Josiah (about 627 BC) and finished in the eleventh year of King Zedekiah (586 BC), "when Jerusalem went into exile in the sixth month." During this period, Josiah changed the religion of Judah, Babylon destroyed Assyria, Egypt briefly imposed vassal status on Judah, Babylon defeated Egypt and made Judah a Babylonian vassal (605 BC), Judah revolted but was subjugated again by Babylon (597 BC), and Judah revolted once more. This revolt was the final one: Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple and exiled its king and many of the leading citizens in 586 BC, ending Judah's existence as an independent or quasi-independent kingdom and inaugurating the Babylonian exile.
The hard-heartedness of God’s people as revealed in the book of Jeremiah manifests itself not only vertically (towards God) but also horizontally (toward other people). “This people has a stubborn and rebellious heart,” and as a result “they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless . . . (Jer. 5:23, 28).The book of Jeremiah teaches about God’s tender heart towards the oppressed, it also unveils His desire for his own people to be mediators of mercy to those who are marginalized and disadvantaged. Indeed, knowing God includes, by definition, the defence of “the cause of the poor and needy” (22:16). It also teaches the importance of the great mission to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18–20), this can be done by recognising the need for God to do a deep, cleansing work of the heart in creating new people for himself, and being yielded vessels to be used for such.
Foreword
The nature of the heart is not a matter of how long one has been in church. It is possible to be in church and not be in sync with Christ, to be in total oblivion of what He is saying, doing or thinking, for the heart to be really far from God.Is.29:13,Matt.15:8,Mark 7:6. It is possible to be to be a devil in the gathering of the sons of God. Job 1:6.
The nature of the heart is not a matter of duty (ies) performed in the church. There is a popular saying that a lot of men of God were never/are not child of God. Little wonder our Lord and Saviour prophesied that He will clearly disown them at the end of the age. Matt 7:21-23.It bothers the mind each time the parables of the Good Samaritan is been read that the two other persons who turned away from the man robbed and severely injured had affiliations to clerical duties. Luke 10:30-37.
The nature of the uncircumcised heart Act 7:51
The following are the characteristics of an uncircumcised heart:
❖ Cheat/deceiver Col 3:9-10
❖ Greedy/Selfish 1 Tim 6:9-10
❖ Rude and mean Ps 92:6
❖ Always thinking and planning evil Gen 6:5
❖ unloving 1 John 4:8
❖ Far from God and godliness Matt 15:8,Mark 7:6
❖ Say/preaches something and does the opposite Matt.23:3
❖ Desperate 2 Sam 17:23 as graced as Ahithophel was the fact that his counsel was rejected was what made him to kill himself, what a desperate man he was.
How to purify the heart
❖ By the word of God Psalm 119:11
❖ By prayers Matt 7:7
❖ By Godly association Ps 1:1
❖ Godly books Prov.13:20
❖ Guiding the heart Prov. 4:23
The great cry of God is to have our heart filled and controlled by Him by this we will represent Him on earth and be guaranteed of eternal bliss. Prov.23:26, Rev 3:20
Shalom.
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