1. Jeremiah’s Symbolic Action & Message Jeremiah chapters 16-17

2. Jeremiah’s symbolic Action & Message (Jeremiah 16-17)
Jeremiah is forbidden by God from starting a family or from going into the house of mourning or the house of feasting (16:1-9)
What was the reason for each of these restrictions?
If you knew for certain that your nation was about to be destroyed and great tribulation was coming, how would it change your life choices? (Matthew 24:15-20; 1 Corinthians 7:26)
What two reasons is Jeremiah to give when he is asked why God would bring such calamity upon His people? (16:10-13)
Who had done worse, Judah or her fathers?
* Matthew 24:15-20  "Therefore when you see the 'ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand),  16  "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  17  Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.  18  And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.  19  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  20  And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
* 1 Corinthians 7:26  I suppose therefore that this is good because of the present distress—that it is good for a man to remain as he is:

3. Jeremiah’s symbolic Action & Message (Jeremiah 16-17)
God will be glorified for bringing His people back (16:14-16)
The Lord will repay Judah double for her iniquity (16:17-18)
What does this measure of justice tell us about God? What purpose could it serve? (cf. 17:18; Hosea 12:2; Isaiah 40:2; 59:18-19; 65:6-9; Revelation 18:6)
The Gentiles will also come to know the Lord when they see His mighty hand working in punishing and reestablishing His people (16:19-21)
Hosea 12:2  "The LORD also brings a charge against Judah, And will punish Jacob according to his ways; According to his deeds He will recompense him.
Isaiah 40:2  "Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD's hand Double for all her sins.“
Isaiah 59:18-19  According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay.  19  So shall they fear The name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.
Isaiah 65:6-9  "Behold, it is written before Me: I will not keep silence, but will repay—Even repay into their bosom—  7  Your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together," Says the LORD, "Who have burned incense on the mountains And blasphemed Me on the hills; Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom."  8  Thus says the LORD: "As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, 'Do not destroy it, For a blessing is in it,' So will I do for My servants' sake, That I may not destroy them all.  9  I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, And from Judah an heir of My mountains; My elect shall inherit it, And My servants shall dwell there.
Revelation 18:6  Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her.

4. Jeremiah’s symbolic Action & Message (Jeremiah 16-17)
Judah’s sins are engraved on her heart and on her altars so indelibly that her children would remember it (17:1-2)
The land in which such iniquity was committed would release her treasures and her heritage to a foreign land (17:3-4)
The man who trusts in flesh and whose heart departs from the Lord is contrasted with one who trusts God (17:5-8).
What is the difference between the two?

5. Jeremiah’s symbolic Action & Message (Jeremiah 16-17)
The human heart is untrustworthy and it is hard for another to know what is in it, but God knows (17:9-10)
Can man always trust that his feelings are a safe guide in matters relating to God’s will (10:23-24; 16:12; Prov. 14:12; 28:26)?
Hearts that do not trust God will be disappointed (17:11-13).
Proverbs 14:12  There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
Proverbs 28:26  He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered.

6. Jeremiah’s symbolic Action & Message (Jeremiah 16-17)
Jeremiah prays for deliverance (17:14-18)
In whom is Jeremiah trusting?
Skeptics challenge Jeremiah because his predictions of doom have not yet come to pass.
Has Jeremiah either shirked his duty to speak God’s word or “desired the woeful day” of Judah’s destruction? For what does Jeremiah plead?
Jeremiah is told to stand in the gates of the city (17:19-27)
What is he to tell all those who enter by the gates?
What did the Lord promise if they would hallow the Sabbath?
What did the Lord promise if they would not hallow the Sabbath?