Jeremiah 15:15-21
Feet of Clay
Outline:
I. \\#Jer 1:1-19\\ Jeremiah’s Calling
II. \\#2:1-37\\ God’s Case Against Judah
III. \\#3:1-25\\ Israel’s Three Time Zones
IV. \\#4:1-6:30\\ Sins and Judgments
V. \\#7:1-\\ Some Specific Messages
A. \\#Jer 7:1-34\\ A Message to the Religious
B. \\#Jer 8:1-22\\ A Message to the Continuous Backslider
C. \\#Jer 9:1-10:25\\ A Message to the Believer
D. \\#Jer 11:1-12:6\\ A Message About Jeremiah
E. \\#Jer 12:7-17\\ A Message to the Pastors
1. \\#Jer 12:7-9\\ An Astonishing Statement
2. \\#Jer 12:10-13\\ A Horrendous Failure
3. \\#Jer 12:14-17\\ A Strange Invitation
F. \\#Jer 13:1-7\\ A Message of Ruin
G. \\#Jer 15:15-21\\ Message to Self - Feet of Clay
At the beginning of this book, I attempted to describe some of what
the man Jeremiah would go through. Looking back over my notes, I
wrote that he would be persecuted, charged with treason, imprisoned,
starved; he would witness the total destruction of his nation,
be kidnapped and taken to Egypt where some say he was stoned to death.
The reason we know so much of that is because it is recorded in the
book by Jeremiah. The first time marker of Jeremiah’s ministry is
not found until \\#Jer 23:1-3\\. At that point, Jeremiah will be in
his 23rd year of preaching to Israel, but since these sermons are not
recorded in chronological order \\#Jer 21:1,22:11\\ it is hard to
know how he would have been preaching in this chapter, although we
can suppose it had been for a while. The longer Jeremiah preached,
the more the people hated him and tried to stop him.
1. \\#Jer 11:18-23\\ The first plots against Jeremiah’s life came
from his home town! God promises that Anathoth would be
destroyed in the judgments to come.
2. \\#Jer 15:15\\ Jeremiah again made mention of his adversaries.
\\#Jer 15:18\\ He spoke of the pain they had caused him and
asked God if He had lied to Him when in \\#Jer 1:18\\ God had
promised to make him "a defenced city, an iron pillar, and
brasen walls against the whole land." Obviously, Jeremiah
did not feel like an iron pillar. He felt very mortal and
fleshly. \\#Jer 15:20\\ God repeated His promise to Jeremiah.
3. \\#Jer 17:15-18\\ Jeremiah speaks again:
Jer 17:15 Behold, they say unto me, Where is the
word of the LORD? let it come now.
16 As for me, I have not hastened from being a
pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired
the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came
out of my lips was right before thee.
17 Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope
in the day of evil.
18 Let them be confounded that persecute me,
but let not me be confounded: let them be
dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon
them the day of evil, and destroy them with
double destruction.
a. \\#Jer 17:18\\ Jeremiah spoke again of the being
persecuted.
b. \\#Jer 17:16\\ Jeremiah said he had not quit being a
shepherd to the people.
(1) Typically, a statement like that reveals that
quitting was on Jeremiah’s mind!
(2) The persecution was starting to take a toil.
4. \\#Jer 16:1-2\\ To make these matters worse, Jeremiah was
not allowed to marry.
Jer 16:1 The word of the LORD came also unto me,
saying,
2 Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt
thou have sons or daughters in this place.
a. God had a purpose in denying Jeremiah this privilege.
b. Jeremiah was to illustrate the lonely, destitute life
that God’s judgments were going to bring to the
nation.
c. However, this probably made Jeremiah’s life more
difficult. Good companionship does make for a
stronger, happier life.
5. \\#Jer 18:18-23\\ Another section was recorded where
Jeremiah speaks of the devices his enemies had created
to destroy him.
a. It sounds like people are actually attempting to kill
Jeremiah.
b. It also seems like their efforts were increasing and
Jeremiah’s difficulty in dealing with it was also
increasing.
6. \\#Jer 20:1-2\\ Jeremiah is arrested and beaten for his
preaching.
a. This was Jeremiah’s first arrest and indicates a higher
degree of persecution for the priests were now starting to
physically withstand him.
b. \\#Jer 20:7\\ Jeremiah’s emotional and spiritual condition
are hinted at as Jeremiah records that he felt deceived by
the Lord.
c. \\#Jer 20:9\\ So he tried to quit.
(1) He determined that he would no longer preach
what the Lord gave to him.
(2) But he could not. The word built up inside of
him like steam inside of a furnace. So he went
back to preaching.
What can we learn from this? Several things.
I. Be Aware - All of God’s earthly servants are human beings.
A. That means all of them are subject…
1. …to discouragement.
2. …to emotional outbursts.
3. …to getting their feelings hurt.
4. …to being deceived by the devil.
5. …even to quitting.
B. One of God’s greatest servants was Elijah; but in facing
Jezebel, he got so discouraged that he fled from the
city and prayed asking God to kill him!
C. One of Jesus’ disciples, Peter, denied Him three times.
D. Hence, we need to be aware:
1. This is a call for us to be careful. If it could
happen to Jeremiah, it could happen to us.
a. And while our human nature is not an excuse for
us to fail, it helps us to understand that we all
have moments of weakness.
Ga 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a
fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an
one in the spirit of meekness; considering
thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
b. The key is for us to know what we are made of and
to build barriers and accountability into our
lives so that we cannot fail.
2. Understanding our nature is also a call for us to be
compassionate to those who do fall.
a. Both Elijah and Peter stumbled but they came back
to serve the Lord.
b. Why? Because God showed them compassion and mercy.
c. That is what happened to Jeremiah as well.
Jer 15:18 Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound
incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou
be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters
that fail?
19 Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou
return, then will I bring thee again, and thou
shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the
precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my
mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not
thou unto them.
20 And I will make thee unto this people a
fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against
thee, but they shall not prevail against thee:
for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver
thee, saith the LORD.
21 And I will deliver thee out of the hand of
the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the
hand of the terrible.
(1) \\#18\\ Jeremiah wondered out loud if God had
lied to him!
(2) God did not case him away for that. He
offered to forgive, restore, and to protect
him.
(3) That is compassion and mercy!
d. God was patient and kind to Elijah. Even has he
fled from the work God had called him to do, God
sent an angel to feed him and told him to rest.
e. God was extra patient and compassionate with Peter,
Jesus appearing to him once alone and then taking
him aside to help him to understand God still
loved and wanted him.
f. If God, who is the offended Party, can be
compassionate and merciful to those who fail Him,
how much more should we be able to show compassion
and mercy to those who fail?
II. Be Honest
A. Jeremiah was brutally honest with God.
1. He told Him how he felt, wondering if God had deceived
\\#Jer 20:7\\ and lied \\#Jer 15:18\\ to him.
2. I do understand the danger in blaspheming God, but I
also believe God desires us to talk to Him and to tell
Him what is on our hearts.
3. We need to understand a principal. Not mentioning a
feeling does not make it go away.
a. If you feel God has let you down, not speaking to
Him about does not make the feeling go away.
b. At the same time, telling God about it does not
give Him new information. He already knows how
you feel.
c. You speaking to Him about how you feel, in a
respectful manner, gives the opportunity to help
you to understand.
d. In Jeremiah’s case, God reassured him that He would
deal with Jeremiah’s enemies.
(1) It did not come right away, but it did come.
(2) And Jeremiah did outlive them all!
B. This matter of being honest not only applies to God.
1. It also applies to be honest about yourself to other
people, people who could help you.
2. It has been some years now but I remember finding out
that a member in our church had a sin problem that
they had hid for years.
a. As Jesus promised, there is nothing done in the
darkness that will not be made light and one day,
God revealed it.
b. The person lost their job and nearly lost their
family.
c. It forced them to seek help and once they did, they
were able to overcome their sin.
d. All it took was being honest. So much pain,
suffering, humiliation, and hurt could have been
avoided.
3. Be honest.
a. If you have a problem find someone you respect,
that knows how to keep a confidence, that knows
something about the Bible, that has a record of
doing right, and ask them to council you.
b. If it is too big for them, find someone who can
help—even if it costs you some money. It will
be worth the price paid.
III. Be Obedient
A. Jeremiah stumbled.
1. He thought about quitting for awhile \\#Jer 17:16\\ and
then he did it \\#Jer 20:9\\.
2. But he could not stop God’s dealings with him.
a. I don’t think he tried to stop God from dealing
with him.
b. Jeremiah did not want to sin. He simply wanted the
pain he felt by being hated and plotted against
to go away.
c. When he saw that God’s callings were without
repentance, with change, and that not to preach
would be a sin for him, he went back to it.
d. Jeremiah stayed obedient, as did Elijah and Peter.
B. So ever child of God must determine that no matter how they
may feel, they will do the will of God.
1. If the world appreciates your calling, well and good.
2. However, if they hate you and despise you,
if your family turns against you,
if your religious peers and mentors turn against you,
if you are beaten and imprisoned,
you must still be obedient to God!
3. All of this happened to Jeremiah and it will get much
worse yet.
a. Don’t quit!
b. As Bob Jones used to say, "Do right. Do right. If
the stars fall out of the heavens, do right!"
c. Jeremiah endured a long, lonely, persecuted, pain-
filled life for maybe 70 or 80 years; but he has
enjoyed a much longer, lovely, and rewarded
eternity for thousands of years and it is just
getting started.
d. If Jeremiah were here today, he would tell you,
obey God!
IV. Worship Him
Jer 20:13 Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the
LORD: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor
from the hand of evildoers.
A. Jeremiah struggled.
1. In the verses following this one, like Job he curses
the days he was born.
2. But Jeremiah also knew the value of worshipping God.
3. Again, it was not his intention to sin and he worked
hard not to do so.
4. Jeremiah stayed with God and God stayed with Him.
B. I do understand discouragement and depression.
1. For many years, I wrestled with them.
2. But I do not understand quitting on God.
3. You may not feel what you want to feel when you
worship, but keep on singing, keep on praising, keep
on believing that there is going to be a brighter
day.
4. Don’t let your feet of clay stop you from finishing
your race with God.
So what do these texts tell us? They tell us that we can both be
human and do the will of God. While these two may not be the most
compatible, neither are they exclusively contradictory. We can keep
going for God and do what He desires to accomplish in our lives.
Let’s do it!
<Outline
Index> <Close Window>
