Scripture Reading : Jeremiah 11
Theme : No Mercy For Unrepentant Sinners
Breaking Covenant (1-17)
The people of Israel broke God’s covenant and deserved to be punished as stipulated in the Mosaic Law (Deut. 28:15-68). God’s justice is not arbitrary or hidden. They have sinned to the degree that God will never forgive them so God commands Jeremiah not to pray for them since God has made up his mind to punish them. They have committed unforgiveable sins like Pharaoh and Pharisees of Jesus’ days (Matt. 12:31).
Threatening Prophet (18-23).
Their unforgiveable sin is evidenced by their active opposition to God to the point that they desire to kill His prophet Jeremiah. The Pharisees knew Jesus was God’s son but still tried to kill Him (Mark 12:7). Such high handed rebellion against God has no forgiveness in light of clear and undeniable understanding of the true, living God. Paul was able to be forgiven by God because he murdered God’s people out of ignorance (1 Tim. 1:13).
Praying the Scripture
There are times in history where people have undeniably met the God of the Bible, such as Pharaoh and Jeremiah’s generation of Jews, but they not only refuse to believe in God but actively seek to oppose God. For such people they have committed unforgivable sins and their judgment is certain. That is why God commanded Jeremiah not to pray for these people because they knew God and still actively sought to oppose God and even tried to kill His prophets, like Jeremiah. When we evangelize we should not think that people around us have committed unforgiveable sins since most of them do not even know God or experienced undeniable miracles or knowledge of God, like Pharaoh, Jeremiah’s generation and Pharisees of Jesus’ days. Instead, we ought to be advocate of hopeless, undeserving sinners until they die. They are blinded by their sins and the devil so we need to pray for God’s mercy on them. Such prayers are pleasing to God.
经文：耶利米书11
主题：对不悔改之罪人无怜悯
背弃约定（1-17）。
以色列的百姓背弃了与神所立的约，理当受到摩西律法所规定的刑罚（申28:15-68）。神的公平并非是独断或隐藏的。他们严重犯罪，以致神绝不赦免他们，所以神吩咐耶利米不要为他们祷告，因为神已定意要施行惩治。他们已经犯下不可赦免的罪，如法老和耶稣时代的法利赛人的一样（太12：31）。
威胁先知（18-23）。
众先知激烈反对神，以致想杀害神的先知耶利米——这显明了他们不可被赦免的罪。法利赛人明知耶稣是神的儿子却仍企图杀害祂（马12:7）。由于他们对永活真神有明确、可信的了解，这样无理的反叛是无可饶恕的。保罗能蒙神的赦免是因为他是出于无知才杀害神的百姓（提前1:13）。
用经文祷告
历史上时有人一定见过圣经中的神，例如法老和耶利米时代的犹太人；然而，他们不但拒绝信神，反倒激烈与神对抗。至于这些人，他们已经犯下了不可赦免的罪，必然要受到审判。这就是神吩咐耶利米不要为他们祷告的原因，因为他们虽然认识神，却仍激烈对抗神，还试图杀害祂的先知，如耶利米。可是，当我们传福音时，我们不该认为周围的人已经犯了不可赦免的罪，因为多数人还未认识神，也未曾看见神行明确的神迹，更不像法老、耶利米时代的人或耶稣时代的法利赛人一样对神有认知。因此，我们要作无望者和不配得的罪人之中保，直到他们离世。他们被自己的罪和恶蒙蔽了，所以我们需要求神怜悯他们。这样的祷告是蒙神喜悦的。
