Jeremiah - Lesson 10

• Chapters 1-6 The foundation of this book is established in the LORD calling Jeremiah as a prophet to Judah in the final days of that kingdom. The LORD’s people, Israel and Judah, had rejected their God by worshipping false gods without repentance, the LORD is sending a nation from the North as judgment but not for a complete destruction of His people.

  • Chapter 7 Preaching from a gate at the temple in Jerusalem, Jeremiah calls out the impending destruction of the temple and the city as was done at Shiloh. The temple’s existence is not going to save Jerusalem from the judgment sent because of the people’s worship of foreign gods and their disregard for the protection of the needy.

  • Chapter 8 When judgment comes on Jerusalem it will be the apostate Jews who will turn to their worship of false gods leading the way to destruction, instructed by the spiritual leaders of the day. The LORD is saddened by the necessity of discipline in Jeremiah’s day in the same way He was when a similar situation unfolds in the time of Christ.

  • Chapter 9 The LORD again declares sadness in disciplining His people who are filled with lying and slander against each other a  nd the LORD. They worship the Baals and forsake the LORD.

Jer. 10:1 Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel.
Jer. 10:2 Thus says the LORD,
“Do not learn the way of the nations,
And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens
Although the nations are terrified by them;
Jer. 10:3 For the customs of the peoples are delusion;
Because it is wood cut from the forest,
The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.
Jer. 10:4 “They decorate it with silver and with gold;
They fasten it with nails and with hammers
So that it will not totter.
Jer. 10:5 “Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they,
And they cannot speak;
They must be carried,
Because they cannot walk!
Do not fear them,
For they can do no harm,
Nor can they do any good.”

• Verse 1 The clarity is given again that it is the LORD speaking to the house of Israel.

  • These words were to be heard by Israel, who were already in exile, as well as Judah.

• Verse 2 The LORD’s people are not to learn the ways the nations of the world work.

  • The LORD’s people are to seek their ways from God’s Law, from God’s Word, from God’s direction.

  • They are also not to look at the signs in the heavens and be filled with fear as the nations of the world were prone to do.

  • Signs in the heavens that created fear in men of this day included eclipses, aligned planets and stars or comets. The fear occurred because these heavenly events were often taken to predict that some evil was going to be unleashed.

    • This is associated with the study of astrology.

    • This was commonly practiced in ancient civilizations.

    • The LORD’s people were not to look at the signs found in the heavens and be fearful; to do so would display a worship of the created and be just as wrong as the worship of man-made idols.

• Verse 3 What the nations of the world perceived through delusions was false information.

  • The delusions are defined as being cut from wood and crafted by the hands of men.

  • This is specific reference to the nations of the world receiving direction from statutes honored as gods giving them direction.

  • Though it was known the idols were made with man’s hands, the delusion was that somehow the deity would indwell the image.

    • They would see the worshippers and respond favorably to them.

    • There may have been men who claimed to be spokesmen for the deity like a prophet.

• Verse 4 The wood statues are decorated in costly silver and gold, and they are kept in place with hammer and nails so they will not fall over.

  • Verse 5 The statues worshiped as gods were just like the scarecrows the farmers used in the fields to scare away the birds and vermin.

    • They can’t speak or walk on their own.

    • The worshipers put in charge of caring for the statues often had to wash, dress, bring food and transport the idols.

    • The LORD’s people are not to fear them because they can’t harm them or help them in any way.

  • Isaiah gave a similar revelation in Is. 40:18-20.

Is. 40:18 To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
Is. 40:19  As for the idol, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.
Is. 40:20  He who is too impoverished for such an offering
Selects a tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To prepare an idol that will not totter.

• Isaiah addresses two forms of idols; the wealthy would have their idols cast from some metal and then overlaid in expensive decorations, whereas the poor man would start with a statue made of wood and then decorate that image.

Jer. 10:6 There is none like You, O LORD;
You are great, and great is Your name in might.
Jer. 10:7 Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?
Indeed it is Your due!
For among all the wise men of the nations
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.
Jer. 10:8 But they are altogether stupid and foolish
In their discipline of delusion — their idol is wood!
Jer. 10:9 Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,
And gold from Uphaz,
The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith;
Violet and purple are their clothing;
They are all the work of skilled men.
Jer. 10:10 But the LORD is the true God;
He is the living God and the everlasting King.
At His wrath the earth quakes,
And the nations cannot endure His indignation.

• Verse 6 In comparison to the false gods there is no other god like the LORD.

  • He is great and His name is mighty. This had been established by His works.

• Verse 7 The question is, “Who would not fear the King of the nations?”

  • There is not a wise man in all the world who is like the LORD.

• Verse 8 In comparison to the LORD the wise men of the nations are all stupid and foolish.

  • The wise men display their ignorance in their worship of the wood idols.

• Verse 9 The wood idols are decorated with the same silver and the same gold with added colored clothing to display royalty, but this is all done by the work of the hands of men.

• Verse 10 In comparison, the LORD is a true or real God, not a false god.

  • He is a living God not like those dead gods made from dead wood.

  • He is a King who will reign forever, not a temporary king as those of the earth are.

    • When He brings wrath, the earth itself quakes; He controls the physical creation.

    • When He brings wrath, the nations cannot survive it. He is sovereign over kingdoms and all men.

Jer. 10:11 Thus you shall say to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”
Jer. 10:12 It is He who made the earth by His power,
Who established the world by His wisdom;
And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.
Jer. 10:13 When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain,
And brings out the wind from His storehouses.
Jer. 10:14 Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge;
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols;
For his molten images are deceitful,
And there is no breath in them.
Jer. 10:15 They are worthless, a work of mockery;
In the time of their punishment they will perish.
Jer. 10:16 The portion of Jacob is not like these;
For the Maker of all is He,
And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;
The LORD of hosts is His name.

• Verse 11 Because the LORD has defined who He is in comparison to the false gods, Jeremiah is to tell His people the gods who were not creators of the heavens and the earth will only perish from them.

  • This verse is the only verse in Jeremiah written in Aramaic.

  • The communication from the LORD would be something those of the surrounding region who were not the LORD’s people could understand and may come to know that the LORD was saying their gods would perish.

• Verse 12 By the LORD’s wisdom and power He made the earth.

  • The LORD also stretched out the heavens.

    • Isaiah uses this same language in Is. 45:12, 51:12-13.

Is. 45:12 “It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it.
I stretched out the heavens with My hands
And I ordained all their host.

Is. 51:12 “I, even I, am He who comforts you.
Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies
And of the son of man who is made like grass,
Is. 51:13 That you have forgotten the LORD your Maker,
Who stretched out the heavens
And laid the foundations of the earth,
That you fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor,
As he makes ready to destroy?
But where is the fury of the oppressor?

• The LORD reminds His people that He alone is the Creator of both the heavens and the earth.

  • He alone created everything that is in them both as well.

    • The LORD’s people should not fear mere men who also die.

    • The LORD’s people should not fear the fury of the oppressor when he is ready to destroy, because the LORD created all.

    • The LORD is the one who brings comfort to His people.

  • Jesus taught this to His disciples in Luke 11:53-12:7.

Luke 11:53 When He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to question Him closely on many subjects,
Luke 11:54 plotting against Him to catch Him in something He might say.
Luke 12:1 Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
Luke 12:2 “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.
Luke 12:3 “Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops.
Luke 12:4 “I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do.
Luke 12:5 “But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!
Luke 12:6 “Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God.
Luke 12:7 “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

• Verse 53 The scribes and the Pharisees were hostile towards Jesus.

  • Verse 54 They were plotting against Him; this would mean seeking a way to kill Him.

  • Verse 4 The disciples were not to be afraid of these types of men who could only kill them in the flesh and then their power would be over.

  • Verse 5 The disciples were to fear God who not only holds power over the physical body but also controls the eternal destination of every man and can cast one into hell.

  • Verse 6-7 The disciples were to know that God knew each of them and would not forget them.

• Jer. 10:13 When the LORD speaks the creation responds with storms in the sky.

  • The LORD brings the clouds up from the earth to the heavens and He provides the lightning to produce the rain, accompanied by the wind brought forth, having been stored for His purposes.

• Verse 14 Mankind lacks knowledge and can be seen as stupid.

  • The goldsmiths who used their craft to bring honor to the wood idols will be put to shame by the same idols they created.

  • Shame will come because the idols are a lie; they are deceitful in that what they have been created to be and to do they are not able to be or to do.

  • They cannot do a thing for mankind because they are not living.

• Verse 15 The goldsmiths are worthless because their work is just mockery.

  • They direct their worship (that should be given only to the LORD) to their creations, which makes the act of worship a mockery.

  • Each of these will perish in due time.

• Verse 16 When the term is used that someone has a portion of something it indicates something that has been designated for them.

  • Because the LORD was designated to Jacob their worship should not look like those who have created their idols and worshiped what they made.

  • The worship of Jacob is to His LORD and He is the Maker of all, and He has made Israel His inheritance.

  • The LORD of hosts is His name. This is not an unknown God to His people or to the world.

Jer. 10:17 Pick up your bundle from the ground,
You who dwell under siege!
Jer. 10:18 For thus says the LORD,
“Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land
At this time,
And will cause them distress,
That they may be found.”
Jer. 10:19 Woe is me, because of my injury!
My wound is incurable.
But I said, “Truly this is a sickness,
And I must bear it.”
Jer. 10:20 My tent is destroyed,
And all my ropes are broken;
My sons have gone from me and are no more.
There is no one to stretch out my tent again
Or to set up my curtains.
Jer. 10:21 For the shepherds have become stupid
And have not sought the LORD;
Therefore they have not prospered,
And all their flock is scattered.
Jer. 10:22 The sound of a report! Behold, it comes —
A great commotion out of the land of the north —
To make the cities of Judah
A desolation, a haunt of jackals.

• Verse 17 It is time for those who are living during the time of the siege to pack up and get ready to move out of Jerusalem. There were two sieges of Jerusalem about eleven years apart and it is not specified under which one Jeremiah is speaking these words.

• Verse 18 The LORD says He is the one removing the inhabitants of Judah.

  • It is to happen in this time.

  • It is to bring distress to them.

  • It is done so they may be found or saved from where they were headed.

  • They were heading to sure destruction had they been left to go in the direction they were headed, in deceit and false worship.

• Verse 19 Woe to the LORD because of this injury seen as incurable.

  • A people that had rejected Him.

  • A people known to be His people.

  • This could seem like the end of His people.

    • The LORD says this is not incurable, it is only a temporary sickness.

    • The LORD’s name will ultimately survive this time when He must discipline His people and the nations will question how this judgment could come upon His people.

    • For a time, it will appear as if the LORD is not capable of saving and protecting His people.

    • His name will be infamous among the nations for a time.

• Verse 20 The tent of the LORD is destroyed.

  • The dwelling place of the LORD, the temple will be destroyed.

  • Like the ropes of a tent hold it in place, all the things that held the temple in place were removed.

  • The physical place is destroyed and those who were to serve in the temple have been removed; the scribes and priests and prophets are gone.   

  • The sons of Judah do not reside in the land, they have been destroyed or exiled.

  • There is no one to set up the curtains of the holy of holies where the LORD was to reside.

    • Some would see verses 19 & 20 as being spoken of about the LORD’s people instead of about the LORD but what is described as happening is the same in terms of what actually took place.

• Verse 21 Those who were to be the shepherds of the people have become stupid.

  • This again points to the leaders of the people, the scribes, priests, prophets and kings did not seek after the LORD.

  • Because of this the LORD says they have not prospered.

  • All the people are scattered, they are exiled.

• Verse 22 This will be brought about by the land from the north as they come to bring destruction to the cities of Judah.

Jer. 10:23 I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not in himself,
Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.
Jer. 10:24 Correct me, O LORD, but with justice;
Not with Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.
Jer. 10:25 Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You
And on the families that do not call Your name;
For they have devoured Jacob;
They have devoured him and consumed him
And have laid waste his habitation.

• Verse 23 Now Jeremiah speaks to the LORD saying, ‘I know, O LORD’.

  • This would be the indication of a change from the LORD speaking to His people through Jeremiah to the prophet speaking to the LORD.

  • This could be seen as a prayer offered from Jeremiah to the LORD.

• Jeremiah begins by saying, “that a man’s way is not in himself.”

  • A man can’t direct himself.

  • The LORD alone directs every man and his ways.

    • The prophet also says it is not for a man walking to direct his steps.

  • Jeremiah displays his humble heart before the LORD.

  • Jeremiah acknowledges he can’t find his way to the LORD on his own.

    • A man’s way is determined by the LORD.

  • Jeremiah’s desire is to acknowledge the LORD directs his steps.

• Verse 24 Because this is true Jeremiah asks the LORD to correct him.

  • He asks for the correction to be done with justice.

  • Jeremiah understands he needs the LORD’s correction.

    • He asks for it not to be done in the LORD’s anger.

    • He knows if done in the LORD’s anger he would be destroyed and be nothing.

• Verse 25 Jeremiah asks the LORD to pour out His wrath on the nations who do not know Him as their God.

  • Pour out your wrath on the families who do not call on you as their God.

  • The nations and families have devoured Jacob, the LORD’s people.

    • They have consumed the people of the LORD.

    • They have ruined the Promised Land, Jacob’s habitation.

    • This is taken from Psalms 79:6-7. It can be important to read verses around what is being quoted so we will read beginning in verse 1.

Psa. 79:1 O God, the nations have invaded Your inheritance;
They have defiled Your holy temple;
They have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
Psa. 79:2 They have given the dead bodies of Your servants for food to the birds of the heavens,
The flesh of Your godly ones to the beasts of the earth.
Psa. 79:3 They have poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem;
And there was no one to bury them.
Psa. 79:4 We have become a reproach to our neighbors,
A scoffing and derision to those around us.
Psa. 79:5 How long, O LORD? Will You be angry forever?
Will Your jealousy burn like fire?
Psa. 79:6 Pour out Your wrath upon the nations which do not know You,
And upon the kingdoms which do not call upon Your name.
Psa. 79:7 For they have devoured Jacob
And laid waste his habitation.

• Jer. 10:25 Jeremiah is praying the scriptures to the LORD here.

  • Jeremiah knows what is coming on Judah and why it is going to happen because the LORD has deemed it to unfold by His plan.

  • There is no one and nothing that can divert the plans of the LORD.

    • In a small bit of irony, it is the king of Babylon (who the LORD uses to bring discipline on His people) who also ultimately acknowledges this same truth Jeremiah speaks of in verse 23.

Dan. 4:34 “But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever;
For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
Dan. 4:35 “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
But He does according to His will in the host of heaven
And among the inhabitants of earth;
And no one can ward off His hand
Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’
Dan. 4:36 “At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me.
Dan. 4:37 “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”
A man can think he knows where he is going but God alone is sovereign in directing each step of a man’s life.

• The LORD revealed this truth to His prophet Jeremiah.

  • The LORD revealed this truth to Nebuchadnezzar, the King of the world in his time.

  • Do we live out each day of our life embracing the eternal truth of this understanding that God alone is sovereign, He is in control of our lives, our eternity, our present circumstances?

    • He is God!

• The reference to a siege in verse 17 alerts us to the historical timeline of when Jeremiah may have been speaking to the people in Jerusalem.

  • A brief overview of the political situation Judah found themselves in prior to their eventual exile:

    • Judah initially aligned with Egypt as a vassal state in the back-and-forth power struggle between Egypt and Babylon.

    • Babylon has risen to dominance after defeating the Assyrians.

    • When Babylon defeated Egypt at the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BCE Judah chose to align with Babylon.

• Hezekiah--

2Kings 18:1 Now it came about in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king.
2Kings 18:2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem;

2Kings 18:10 At the end of three years they captured it; in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was captured.

• He was 31 when the nation of Israel was exiled.

  • For 23 years he reigned after Israel was exiled.

• Manasseh--

2Kings 21:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem;

• A 55-year reign.

• Amon--

2Kings 21:19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem;

• 2-year reign

• Josiah--

2Kings 22:1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem;

• 31-year reign (killed by an Egyptian)

• Jehoahaz -- (Josiah’s son -Taken to Egypt - died)

2Kings 23:31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem;

• 3-month reign

• Eliakim --known as Jehoiakim (Josiah’s son)

2Kings 23:34 Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim.
2Kings 23:36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem;

2Kings 24:1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years;

• 11-year reign (served Egypt 8 years, Babylon 3 years, then rebelled)

• Jehoiachin--

2Kings 24:8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem;

2Kings 24:11 And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it.
2Kings 24:12 Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his captains and his officials. So the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign.  

• 8th year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign

• 3-month reign

  • This was the first siege of Jerusalem by Babylon around 597 BCE

• Mattaniah--known as Zedekiah (Josiah’s son-referred to as Jehoiachin’s uncle)

2Kings 24:17 Then the king of Babylon made his uncle Mattaniah king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
2Kings 24:18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem;

2Kings 25:1 Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and built a siege wall all around it.
2Kings 25:2 So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

• Second siege of Jerusalem began in the ninth year of his reign; lasted until eleventh year. 587/586 BCE.

  • Much more detail about this later in Jeremiah.