This might have been entitled the Lord's unreasonable requirement.  Nevertheless, I hope that by the end you will not conclude that what the Lord requires is unreasonable.

I make the assumption that the church is to fulfil the same ministry as did Jeremiah in his day.  What else is the meaning of being the salt of the earth and the light of the world?   As Jeremiah was a prophet, so should the church have a prophetic witness in our generation.

God spoke to Jeremiah concerning three things:

He, Jeremiah, was to have no wife (16:1-2) Was this because God requires His ministers to be single men?  The Lord Himself was; Paul was too; others were not, however.  Rather than require that an elder be a bachelor, Paul says he must be the husband of one wife (1 Timothy 3:2).  Of course, there are those who have been called to a celibate life.  For example, missionaries have gone overseas knowing that they were married to the Lord and would have no other marriage partner.  For some, this has been the cost of serving Christ. But it is the exception rather than the rule.

So why was Jeremiah to be single?  It was in connection with what was going to happen to Judah.  This people was certain to be invaded and destroyed by an enemy nation.  It would be so horrible that married men would wish that they had no wives and no children upon whom such things could fall.  For Jeremiah to have no wife was a prophetic witness.  It announced boldly that this was no time for taking a wife and having family.  Notice that Jeremiah was also told not to go to parties and celebrations.  It was not because they were wrong, but because his lifestyle would be a witness to the seriousness of the days.  It was no time for partying. How costly to be a prophet.  I know of at least one respected gospel minister who maintains that we should not drink alcohol; not because there is anything wrong with the substance in itself, but as a prophetic witness to a nation in which lives are being wrecked by alcohol and drugs abuse.  Whatever you may think of that challenge, it is a costly business to be Christ's witnesses in any generation.

Jeremiah was to conspicuously announce that his were serious days because an inevitable disaster was coming upon the nation.  The reason for the inevitability was that the real problem was simple but not superficial.  The problem was their sinful hearts. (See 16:12; 17:1, 5, 9 ,10; 18:12)  Their hearts were:

(a) determined Jeremiah 17:1: 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.  Sin was not just a dirty smear on the surface, but was engraved permanently.  It could not be readily removed.

(b) departing Jeremiah 17:5 Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD."  They were going the wrong direction altogether.  The following verses liken their position to a bush planted in the wrong place where the soil is dry and corrosive instead of in a fertile and well watered location.

(c) deceitful Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?   They were self deluded.  They had convinced themselves that they were fine, but that was untrue.  How like our own neighbours who think themselves decent and upright people, not realising that they are quite, quite wrong before the Lord.

With such hearts, what chance is there for any preacher?  How true the words of Jeremiah 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots?  Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.

In spite of the impossible task, the prophet was told to challenge the people concerning their ways. In particular he was to challenge them concerning strict Sabbath observance. (See 17:19ff)  The requirement not to carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day (17:22) might be no more than a reference to doing no work, although it would appear to be more strict than that.  Now why should this be picked on in particular?  It is a bit like asking why not to take a wife.  Well, the Sabbath breaking that was apparent in Jeremiah's day was indicative of the people's spiritual condition.  They were not in the house of the Lord on His day because their hearts were a million miles away from Him.  We may say the same of England today.  We have given up the Lord's day.  There are few who keep the "Sabbath".  This is an indicator of the spiritual decadence of the nation.  It declares our national apostasy.  Where a man is at 10.30am on a Sunday will tell you what he worships.  If he is washing his car, you know what he loves.  If he is in bed, that tells his priorities.  Do not be offended that I say this: if he is with his family, he has made that his god. It is no coincidence that today the great impressive buildings with classical pillars and colonnades are not churches but shopping centres.  On a Sunday we go off to temples to worship the god of material things. Surely we should be making a real issue of the Lord's day.