In the chapter that's before us, God, through the prophet Jeremiah, is going to zero in on the problem of in whom or what do we put our trust.

It is my hope and my prayer, and the Lord knows my heart when I say this, that all of us,

myself included, will allow the Holy Spirit to search our hearts concerning this matter because the matter is the heart of the

matter which is the matter of the heart. That's not a play on words, as we're going to see.

What I'm hoping to accomplish in our time together in this study of this chapter is that

we're able with the Holy Spirit to answer this question of, do I really trust God?

And I know on the surface it's, well, of course I trust God.

Well, wait a minute.

Do I really trust God with all of my heart?

Or is there something or someone in whom I have put my trust instead of putting my trust in the Lord. That's the question before us tonight. And as we're

about to see, this would be the reason for the judgment that would come upon Judah. So let's jump in. You ready? Verse one.

The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, with the point of a diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart and on the horns of your altars.

Okay, we're off.

First verse, I mean, it kind of sets the tone.

The chapter begins with this description of Judah's sin being indelibly and permanently engraved

on the tablet of their hearts.

And this would be the very reason that God would bring judgment upon them.

And it would be so far reaching, verse 2, while their children remember their altars and their wooden images by the green trees on the high hills.

Oh, my mountain in the field, verse 3, I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures, and your high places of sin within all your borders.

It seems that Judah's sin was so engraved, permanently, indelibly engraved on the tablets of their hearts, that it would

affect and impact the coming generations. It would impact their children. It's been said

that when it comes to our children, it's not so much what is taught, it is

...