Jeremiah - Lesson 11

• Chapters 1-6 The foundation of this book is established by the LORD’s 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 the 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 like that which was done at Shiloh. The temple’s existence is not going to save Jerusalem from the judgment to be 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 and the LORD. They worship the Baals and forsake the LORD.

  • Chapter 10 The LORD’s people are not to worship or fear signs in the heavens or idols made from the created world. The LORD God, who is the Creator, is the only God to be worshipped.

Jer. 11:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the   LORD, saying,
Jer. 11:2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
Jer. 11:3 and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “Cursed is the man who does not heed the words of this covenant
Jer. 11:4 which I commanded your forefathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, ‘Listen to My voice, and do according to all which I command you; so you shall be My people, and I will be your God,’
Jer. 11:5 in order to confirm the oath which I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.”’” Then I said, “Amen, O LORD.”
Jer. 11:6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Hear the words of this covenant and do them.
Jer. 11:7 ‘For I solemnly warned your fathers in the day that I brought them up from the land of Egypt, even to this day, warning persistently, saying, “Listen to My voice.”
Jer. 11:8 ‘Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked, each one, in the stubbornness of his evil heart; therefore I brought on them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.’”

• Verse 1 The clarification is the LORD is speaking through Jeremiah.

  • Verse 2 The LORD addresses the covenant He made with His people Israel and wants Jeremiah to speak it to those of Judah and those living in Jerusalem.

  • Verse 3 The authority of this covenant is the LORD, defined as the God of Israel.

    • Those who will not heed or abide by the covenant are to be cursed by God.

    • To be cursed by God has a specific meaning in the scriptures. It is to be separated from God eternally.

• Verse 4 The covenant God is referring to is defined as the one given when the people left the land of Egypt. This was the covenant established through Moses with the people.

  • The term iron furnace refers to having refined something.

  • The indication is God used the time in Egypt to build this people and refine this people to be His people.

  • The people were told to listen to the voice of God and do all He was commanding them to do.

    • When the people do according to the commands, they are His people and He will be their God.

• Verse 5 The sign God gave to demonstrate the oath He made to the forefathers was to give their descendants a land flowing with milk and honey.

  • The LORD God gave the descendants the land He promised to their forefathers described as flowing with milk and honey. The giving of the land was the sign the LORD was using to demonstrate His faithfulness to the forefathers even though He knew the descendants would not keep the covenant. The LORD gave this prophesy through Moses in Deuteronomy 31:19-22.

Deut. 31:19 “Now therefore, write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the sons of Israel; put it on their lips, so that this song may be a witness for Me against the sons of Israel.
Deut. 31:20 “For when I bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and are satisfied and become prosperous, then they will turn to other gods and serve them, and spurn Me and break My covenant.
Deut. 31:21 “Then it shall come about, when many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify before them as a witness (for it shall not be forgotten from the lips of their descendants); for I know their intent which they are developing today, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.”
Deut. 31:22 So Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the sons of Israel.

• The LORD told Moses to teach the song to the sons of Israel.

  • The words of the song will be a witness against the sons of Israel.

  • The LORD knew when the people were prosperous, they would worship other gods.

  • The LORD demonstrated His faithfulness by bringing the sons of Israel into the land despite His knowledge that they would ultimately reject Him as their God.   

• Jer. 11:6 Nevertheless, the LORD declares through Jeremiah the words of His covenant to the people. He still communicates to the people in Jeremiah’s day to do according to this covenant.

  • The LORD is seeking repentance from His people.

  • When the consequences come on the people for their rejection of the covenant, it will be because of their own rejection as well as the rejection of the generations before them.

• Verse 7 The LORD communicates the covenant that was clearly spoken to those in the wilderness after the deliverance from Egypt and to every generation since then.

  • The LORD spoke through Moses in the wilderness. Repeated times.

  • The LORD spoke thorough Joshua as they entered the land. Josh. 8:30-35

  • The people did not listen, demonstrated by their disobedience. Psalm 81:11.

Psa. 81:11 “But My people did not listen to My voice,
And Israel did not obey Me.

Jer. 11:8 The people did not obey; they did not listen but chose to walk in their own ways.

• The result is the LORD will do all He declared in the covenant with His people.

  • He brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey and He will take them out.

Lev. 20:22 ‘You are therefore to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not spew you out.
Lev. 20:23 ‘Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them.

• There has been no repentance from the people so only the consequences of disobedience to the covenant are left for them.

Jer. 11:9 Then the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Jer. 11:10 “They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers.”
Jer. 11:11 Therefore thus says the LORD, “Behold I am bringing disaster on them which they will not be able to escape; though they will cry to Me, yet I will not listen to them.
Jer. 11:12 “Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they surely will not save them in the time of their disaster.
Jer. 11:13 “For your gods are as many as your cities, O Judah; and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to the shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal.

• Verse 9 The LORD spoke to Jeremiah telling him the men of Judah and those in Jerusalem were working together, called a conspiracy.

  • Verse 10 The working together was to go back to the sins of the ancestors.

    • Their ancestors worshiped and served other gods.

    • The current men of Judah and those specifically living in Jerusalem were doing the same thing.

  • The previous warnings and discipline the LORD sent to His people had not resulted in their turning from their sinful ways in repentance and drawing back to Him through obedience to the covenant established between the LORD and His people.

• Verse 11 The LORD says I am now going to bring disaster on this generation.

  • They will cry out when the disaster falls on them, but I will not listen to their cries.

• Verse 12 When the LORD does not respond to the cry of the people, they will cry out to the gods they have been worshipping.

  • Those gods cannot save them.

• Verse 13 The LORD describes for Jeremiah how many gods are being worshipped by His people.

  • There are as many gods being worshipped as there are cities in Judah.

    • There are as many altars where sacrifices are being offered to Baal as there are streets in Jerusalem.

    • These things were referred to by the LORD as shameful things.

  • There is no definitive way to know when this pronouncement was being made by Jeremiah to the people during his prophetic time. The fact that there are so many places of false worship indicates the time of Josiah’s reformations did not have a long-term change in the hearts or the practice of the people of Judah.

Jer. 11:14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not listen when they call to Me because of their disaster.
Jer. 11:15 “What right has My beloved in My house
When she has done many vile deeds?
Can the sacrificial flesh take away from you your disaster,
So that you can rejoice?”
Jer. 11:16  The LORD called your name,
“A green olive tree, beautiful in fruit and form”;
With the noise of a great tumult
He has kindled fire on it,
And its branches are worthless.
Jer. 11:17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced evil against you because of the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me by offering up sacrifices to Baal.

• Verse 14 The LORD tells Jeremiah ahead of time not to bother with prayer for this people because He will not listen to this people who have rejected Him.

  • Jeremiah is being instructed to not pray for what was not the LORD’s will.

• Verse 15 The LORD refers to His people as beloved.

  • His people no longer have a right to be in His temple.

  • His people have done too many vile deeds.

    • There is no form of sacrifice the people can make now to take away the inevitable disaster.

    • If the disaster were to be averted there would be temporary rejoicing but not repentance.

  • The continued sacrifice taking place in the temple was of tradition only; it had no spiritual value for the people or for the LORD.

  • The people thought they could placate the LORD with some external sacrifices.   

• Verse 16 The LORD was the one that called out this people from all the nations of the world.

  • The LORD named this people.

  • She was to be a beautiful tree planted to produce fruit.

  • A storm with the sound of a great tumult will be used to light on fire the tree.

    • The LORD makes it clear this was brought from Him as the words declare, ‘He has kindled fire’.

    • The tree will be burned with fire as their branches are worthless, they do not produce fruit.

    • They have not worshipped their LORD; they are devoid of fruit.

• Verse 17 The LORD planted and now pronounces their removal from the land for both Israel and Judah because of the sacrifices to Baal. The ultimate rejection of the LORD God of Israel.

  • The continual reference to the nation of Israel being included in the LORD’s pronouncements through Jeremiah highlights the fact that members of the tribes of Israel were present in Judah.

2Chr. 31:6 The sons of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of sacred gifts which were consecrated to the LORD their God and placed them in heaps.

• The surrounding story to this verse would be a good extended study as homework for those who are interested.

  • It would be a logical conclusion that many from Israel would have come to the cities of Judah as Assyria came down into their land.

Jer. 11:18  Moreover, the LORD made it known to me and I knew it;
Then You showed me their deeds.
Jer. 11:19  But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter;
And I did not know that they had devised plots against me, saying,
“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
And let us cut him off from the land of the living,
That his name be remembered no more.”
Jer. 11:20  But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,
Who tries the feelings and the heart,
Let me see Your vengeance on them,
For to You have I committed my cause.

• Verse 18 Jeremiah says the LORD made these things clear to him and showed him the deeds of the people.

  • Verse 19 Jeremiah describes himself being like a lamb led to slaughter.

    • A lamb is unaware of what is to happen to him.

    • Jeremiah was not aware of the plans the evil men had for him.

  • Their desire was to remove Jeremiah and what he was saying to the people.

    • They wanted to kill Jeremiah because of his words of warning.

    • They did not want his name or his words to be remembered.

    • These evil men only wanted to remove the messenger; they did not want to deal with his message.

• Verse 20 Jeremiah says he commits himself to the LORD of hosts.

  • He is the one who judges righteously.

  • He knows the heart of all.

    • Jeremiah is ready to see the LORD carry out His consequences on His people because He is committed to the work of the LORD.

    • Jeremiah knows the LORD is sovereign and will be His protector.

    • Jeremiah is able to release any desire to take matters into his own hands and releases everything to the LORD.

Prov. 20:22 Do not say, “I will repay evil”;
Wait for the LORD, and He will save you.

Deut. 32:35 ‘Vengeance is Mine, and retribution,
In due time their foot will slip;
For the day of their calamity is near,
And the impending things are hastening upon them.’

Jer. 11:21 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, so that you will not die at our hand”;
Jer. 11:22 therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, I am about to punish them! The young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine;
Jer. 11:23 and a remnant will not be left to them, for I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth — the year of their punishment.”

• V 21 The words become very specific here as the LORD will deal with the men of Anathoth.

  • They are the ones plotting to kill Jeremiah.

  • These men have moved from plotting in secret to declaring their intentions to him.

    • They told Jeremiah not to prophesy in the name of the LORD or they would kill him.

    • It may be after the LORD reveals to Jeremiah what their secret plans were that Jeremiah confronted them to reveal the LORD knew of their plans.

  • Jeremiah is from Anathoth.

Jer. 1:1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,

• Jeremiah was a priest from Anathoth.

  • Those men who knew Jeremiah as kin are the ones plotting to kill him.

  • They may have received encouragement from others in the land of Judah or even from Jerusalem to do this deed.

  • Wherever the initial motivation comes from they are willing to carry out the plot against Jeremiah.

• Verse 22 The LORD is going to punish the men of Anathoth by taking their lives with the sword and their children with famine.

  • The judgment will be severe, and the LORD wants Jeremiah to know why.

  • This is why He has revealed this to Jeremiah.

• Verse 23 Part of the consequence for these men is there will be no remnant of them left for the exile.

  • Their desire had been to eliminate Jeremiah that his name be remembered no more.

  • The LORD does to these men what they desired to do to the LORD’s prophet.

  • The LORD is fulfilling His promise to Jeremiah in Jer. 1:17-19

Jer. 1:17 “Now, gird up your loins and arise, and speak to them all which I command you. Do not be dismayed before them, or I will dismay you before them.
Jer. 1:18 “Now behold, I have made you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests and to the people of the land.
Jer. 1:19 “They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.

• The desire of these men to silence Jeremiah is rooted in a desire to silence the LORD.

  • They did not want to be confronted with truth.

  • They wanted to believe what the false prophets were saying.

• There are many in the church today with this same desire as they do not wish to hear the Word of God preached. They instead desire for their ears to be tickled as was predicted long ago.

2Tim. 4:1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:
2Tim. 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
2Tim. 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,
2Tim. 4:4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

• There has always been a form of this truth where men will turn away from the truths found only in the scriptures, but this warning from Paul to Timothy was for a future time demonstrated in verse 3 when he warns, ‘For the time will come’

  • The desire to listen to those who twist or deny who Jesus is has grown over the centuries since this warning was issued.

  • This desire will dominate more and more the closer in time we move to the return of Jesus.

    • The declaration from Paul is to preach the word while there is time.

    • We must know the word so we can share it with the world.

    • This should be the focus of every believer, daily.

  • There will be those who will oppose us when we follow the directives of God.

  • We need to be ready to endure the persecution.

  • We need to be ready to trust the LORD in the same way Jeremiah trusted the LORD.

Rom. 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Rom. 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
Rom. 12:16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
Rom. 12:17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.
Rom. 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
Rom. 12:19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.
Rom. 12:20 “BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.”
Rom. 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

• This is not a natural response for one to have when they have been mistreated.

  • The natural response is to defend ourselves. We want to show how we are right or how wrong others have been.

  • In the end the LORD instructs believers to focus on loving others and being at peace as it depends on us.

    • The LORD knows all things and He promises to be our protector.

    • If the LORD has determined to bring a consequence on someone for what they have done to you or those you love or even those who are fellow believers, then He will do that.

    • It will be His way and in His time.

  • All things are to be done that are in the LORD’s will.

  • This was addressed in verse 14 and should be the cry of our hearts as well.

  • This was the prayer of Psalm 40:8.

Psalm 40:8 I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your Law is within my heart.”

• This was the instruction given by Jesus to pray for the LORD’s will to be done in Matthew 6:10.

Matt. 6:10 ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.

• This was demonstrated in the life of Jesus.

Matt. 26:39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Matt. 26:40 And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour?
Matt. 26:41 “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Matt. 26:42 He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.”
Matt. 26:43 Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.
Matt. 26:44 And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more.

• This was demonstrated in the life of Paul, Acts 21:13-14. 1 Cor. 4:18-19.

Acts 21:13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
Acts 21:14 And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!”

1Cor. 4:18 Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.
1Cor. 4:19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant but their power.

• James also warns the believers to see life through a daily lens of only being able to do what the LORD wills. James 4:13-15.

James 4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.”
James 4:14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
James 4:15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”

• The LORD God is sovereign over His creation and His will prevails from time past through eternity. We can live in peace knowing this absolute truth from God, His will is done!