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The Bible Breakdown
Jeremiah 19: A Warning at the Garage Dump
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The More We Dig. The More We Find.
Well, everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon. Today, jeremiah, chapter 19,. And today's title is A Warning at the Garbage Dump. Warning at the Garbage Dump. Today, jeremiah is going to take some people on a field trip and while he's on the field trip, it's not going to be to the zoo, it's not going to be to Six Flags or Disney, it's going to be to a garbage dump, and then he's going to smash some pots while he's there. Okay, that's what you do at the garbage dump, right? We'll get into all that in just a moment. But, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like share, subscribe to YouTube channel and the podcast, make sure you leave us a five-star review on the podcast and make sure you go down discussion on Facebook, because there's an amazing team doing an amazing job and the more we dig, the more we find right. Well, if you have your Bible, want to turn with me to Jeremiah, chapter 19.
Speaker 1:When I was 10 years old, I went to this thing that a bunch of churches used to get together in the denomination I was part of in Alabama. They called camp meeting and what would happen is is it was an evening set of services over the course of a few days and while all the adults would go into this arena and have church, they had this kids church thing that was happening. And you know how it is when you have kids church and I think it works for all ages, but especially at kids church, there was always these examples, these object lessons, to kind of get the message across right. Well, I don't know if it was just because I was probably sitting by myself because I was, I didn't bring any friends with me that day or whatever it was but they look and they see hey, that kid, hey, can you come up here, help us with this object lesson? And I remember this as clear as day. I'm up in front of everybody and I'm a nervous wreck. I don't know what they're wanting to do. I have no idea, right? I'm hoping I'm not going to be like part of something silly.
Speaker 1:They get me up there I think I'm about 10 years old and they put a piece of yarn around my hands as a like handcuffs and they say okay, I want you to see if you can break this piece of yarn. Well, if you ever miss a piece of yarn like, I barely moved my hands and it pops right. Well, it looks, it makes it look like I'm strong, even though they say well, you know, what what happens is is, when you do life by yourself, you know you can easily be destroyed. But if you do life with others, it's not so easy. And so what they were trying to do is is one piece of yarn around my little hands, and they was able to pop it, no problem. But then they wrapped the yarn around my hands a few times and the goal was I wasn't supposed to be able to break free, right.
Speaker 1:Well, the one good thing about being a pastor's kid is I have heard that scripture before, and so I know what's coming. And so I have also determined in my mind, for some reason, if I can't bust out of this, I will be laughed at in front of everybody. Now, that's not true. I wasn't supposed to be able to bust through this yarn, but I don't know that in my 10-year-old mind. And so I put everything I have and I just ah and I break it open, and all the kids are like, yay, look at him. All the adults on stage are like, oh, that did not work out the way we had it planned. You know what I mean, but and for like two seconds, I was a hero and went back and sat down. And the reason why I tell you that is is because when people are trying to give examples, they don't always work out, and in this particular situation, jeremiah is trying to give an example of what's going on and what God's going to do, and it would have worked out if the people had turned away from their sin. However, it doesn't go out. It doesn't go so well, and so let's see what this object lesson is that Jeremiah is trying to illustrate. Let's see if it works out the way he has planned.
Speaker 1:Jeremiah 19, verse 1, says this this is what the Lord said to me go and buy a clay jar, then ask some of the leaders of the people and of the priest to follow you. Go out through the gate of the broken pots to the garbage dump in the valley of Ben-Honan and give them this message. Say to them listen to this message from the Lord, you, kings of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord of heaven's armies, the God of Israel, says I will bring a terrible disaster on this place and the ears of those who hear it will ring, for Israel has forsaken me and turned this valley into a place of wickedness. The people burn incense to foreign gods and idols never before acknowledged by this generation, by their ancestors or by the kings of Judah. They have filled this place with the blood of innocent children and they have built pagan shrines to Baal and there they burn their sons. Shrines to Baal and there they burn their sons as sacrifices to Baal. I have never commanded such a horrible deed. It has never crossed my mind to command such a thing.
Speaker 1:So beware, for the time is coming, says the Lord, when this garbage dump will no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben-Honan, but the Valley of Slaughter. For I will upset the careful plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will allow the people to be slaughtered by invading armies and I will leave their dead bodies as food for the vultures and wild animals. That's disgusting. I will reduce Jerusalem to ruins, making it a monument to their stupidity. All who pass by will be astonished and will gasp at the destruction they see there. I will see to it that your enemies lay siege to the city until all the food is gone, and then those trapped inside will eat their own sons and daughters and friends. They will be driven to utter despair. Oh my Lord, that's disgusting.
Speaker 1:Verse 10. These men, as these men watch you, jeremiah, smash the jar you bought. So you bought a jar just to smash it. Hope you got it on sale. Verse 11, then say to them this is what the Lord of heaven's army says as this jar lies shattered, so I will shatter to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, beyond all hope of repair. They will bury the bodies here in Topheth, the garbage dump, until there is no more room for them. And this is what I will do to the place and its people, says the Lord. I will cause this city to become defiled like Topheth. Yes, all the houses in Jerusalem, including the palace of Judah's kings, will become like Topheth, all the houses where your burned incense on your rooftops and your star gods and all the liquid offerings were poured out to your idols. And then Jeremiah returned to Topheth, the garbage dump, where he had delivered the message, for he stopped in front of the temple of the Lord and he said to the people there this is what the Lord of Heaven's armies, the God of Israel, says I will bring disaster upon this city and its surrounding towns, as I promised because you have stubbornly refused to obey me. Wow, so this is what happens.
Speaker 1:He goes to the town dump and on the way, on his way to the town dump, he gathers some of the leaders Come follow me to the town dump. And on the way, on his way to the town dump, he gathers some of the leaders come follow me to the town dump and he stops by Dollar General to buy a pot and when he gets there, he says you know what you guys are going to experience destruction. It's going to be bad. It's going to be so bad. Folks are going to die and it's going to be bad. It's going to be so bad. Folks are going to die and it's going to be so bad that y'all are going to turn to eat each other because you don't have anything else to eat, and it's going to be just like this Boom, he busts the pot and then he says this is what the Lord says I'm going to bring disaster on this city because you have stubbornly refused to listen to me.
Speaker 1:What an illustration, right? And you would hope that literally saying right here, where I'm standing in this garbage dump, is where all you fools are going to die. And it's going to be like this boom, bust the pot. You would think that the illustration would have this wonderful effect, but instead, just like me, shattering the yarn, it does not have an effect. It does not do what it's supposed to do. They continue, continue and continue to turn against the Lord, no matter how many warnings God gives them, they don't listen. They don't. They are listening to the wrong voices. Remember, while all this is going on, there are these other priests and prophets in the city of Jerusalem saying that Jeremiah doesn't know what he's talking about. Everything's actually okay, everything's going to be all right. You just keep doing what you're doing. Don't worry about this sin, it's not a big deal. Keep going. And the whole time Jeremiah is warning them and warning them and using object lessons and illustrations and all these different things, and they're just not doing it.
Speaker 1:And you know what happens in our lives all the time, and not for all of us, but for many of us. We'll hear a story of somebody whose marriage fell apart. We'll hear a story of someone who got involved in some sin and they lost everything they had, or people who did these bad things and they lost their job, and they'll hear all these stories of things and it hits real close to home, because some of the symptoms that they were going through were some of the same symptoms that we were dealing with. Someone starts to have health problems because they're living their life at a stress manage, a stress level that they're, that they can't manage, and eventually it overcomes them and overwhelms them, and we know we need to slow down. We know that our lives are out of control, but we keep pushing. Keep pushing because it happened to them but it didn't happen to us.
Speaker 1:Is it possible that the reason why we heard those warnings is because God was wanting to use those illustrations as a warning to us? If you don't slow down, this will be you. Is it possible that, just like these people, there's a warning right in front of them, but instead of heeding that warning, they were listening to all the wrong voices that were saying it's fine, it's no big deal, god doesn't actually care, he's fine with it, go ahead, do whatever. When the whole time God is sitting there and he's pleading with them and he's putting illustrations in front of them, saying please turn around, the bridge is out, you're going to fall, you know, but it don't work.
Speaker 1:Is it possible that God has put some warnings in our lives to warn us that the direction we're going is not right. Maybe not, maybe you're not in that season right now and if not, this would be an opportunity, when we finish our podcast today, for you to pray for maybe some people in your life that you know that they're headed down the wrong path. They're doing some. Maybe it's not sin, but it's unhealthy, it's bad boundaries, it's living a life that's a pace they can't sustain or who knows what my prayer is going to be. The Holy Spirit will remind you and open up to you who those people are, so you can pray for them. But what if you're the one right now?
Speaker 1:I want you to think back for a moment. Is it possible that recently, god has put in your mind some people who have had some bad things happen to them and they're really, really close to some things that's been going on in your life? You heard of someone with some health problems or some marriage problems, relationship problems, job problems, whatever, and the symptoms are the same as yours, and you heard that and there was a part of you that was like, wow, that could have been me. Oh well, back to business. What if God put those things in your path, to warn you and say, hey, before it's too late, pause, get your life right with me, slow down, have the conversation, go to the marriage counseling, do whatever, because he's warning you, because he doesn't want you to end up in that same spot. Instead of driving right past the warning signs.
Speaker 1:What would it look like if you paused today and pray and say, god, are you trying to warn me about something? Are you trying to open my eyes to something? Maybe it's to open my eyes to an opportunity that's out there, or maybe it's to open my eyes to a possible pitfall that's out there. I don't know what it is, but today let us not ignore the illustrations and the warnings that God has for us, because if we warn them, the trouble is still going to come. It's just we will have missed the warning along the way.
Speaker 1:Let me pray for you today, god. I'm so thankful that you love us and you give us warnings and you give us signs along the way, sometimes signs of good days that are coming and signs to give us hope and a future. Other times it's signs and warnings so that we don't make wrong turns along the path, because sometimes the life that we live. The pace that we set is so fast that we don't hardly see them as we blow right past. I pray today, holy Spirit, you'll open our eyes For some people. You'll open our eyes to see other people that we should be praying for, that we should be interceding for and lifting up their name to you.
Speaker 1:For others, lord, I pray you'll open our eyes to see places in our life where maybe we are rushing too fast and we're blowing right past those opportunities and instead we should slow down, take a moment and realize that you've put these stories in our lives so that we can see before they get there and see that you are trying to move and to let you move in our life. Thank you, god, in advance for all you're going to show us today. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen. Well, as always, god's word says in Jeremiah 29, 13, and maybe by now you have it memorized, so say it with me. He says this if you look for me wholeheartedly, god says you will find me. I pray that promise becomes true in your life today and you see God in a fresh and new way. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Jeremiah, chapter 20.
