Jeremiah - Lesson 6

• Chapter 1 began by establishing that Jeremiah was called by the LORD as a prophet in the days of the last few kings of Judah before their exile from Jerusalem. The kingdom from the North would bring the LORD’s judgment to Judah.

  • Chapter 2-- The LORD speaks of Israel’s birth and relationship with Him and then her rejection of Him by embracing and actively seeking worship of false gods.

  • Chapter 3-- Israel and Judah’s rejection of the LORD as their only God is compared to an unfaithful wife. The LORD still desires repentance for this sin. The LORD desires faithfulness in actions not in words alone.

  • Chapter 4-- A call of repentance has been sent out to Judah and it has been rejected, as Judah still looks to others to save her from coming judgment and does not turn to the LORD.  The destruction of Judah in response to this rejection is done by the LORD—but not for a complete destruction of Judah.

  • Chapter 5-- Not one righteous man was found in Jerusalem; the apostasy was staggering. The leaders lied to the people when they declared judgment would not come to Jerusalem and the people embr  aced the lie. The people brought this judgment on themselves, and it would come from a nation selected by God, but it would not be a complete destruction.

Jer. 6:1 “Flee for safety, O sons of Benjamin,
From the midst of Jerusalem!
Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa
And raise a signal over Beth-haccerem;
For evil looks down from the north,
And a great destruction.
Jer. 6:2 “The comely and dainty one, the daughter of Zion, I will cut off.
Jer. 6:3 “Shepherds and their flocks will come to her,
They will pitch their tents around her,
They will pasture each in his place.
Jer. 6:4 “Prepare war against her;
Arise, and let us attack at noon.
Woe to us, for the day declines,
For the shadows of the evening lengthen!
Jer. 6:5 “Arise, and let us attack by night
And destroy her palaces!”
Jer. 6:6 For thus says the LORD of hosts,
“Cut down her trees
And cast up a siege against Jerusalem.
This is the city to be punished,
In whose midst there is only oppression.
Jer. 6:7 “As a well keeps its waters fresh,
So she keeps fresh her wickedness.
Violence and destruction are heard in her;
Sickness and wounds are ever before Me.
Jer. 6:8 “Be warned, O Jerusalem,
Or I shall be alienated from you,
And make you a desolation,
A land not inhabited.”

• Verse 1 A call goes out to the sons of Benjamin. They are told to leave for their safety.

  • The trumpet warning is to go out from Tekoa, which is about 12 miles from Jerusalem and visible from Bethlehem.

  • A play on words is seen, as the Hebrew word for ‘blow’ is Teka and the city was Tekoa.

  • A signal fire is to be raised in Beth-haccerem. The meaning of the name is ‘house of the vineyard’.

    • The reason for the warning is that evil is coming from the north, and it is going to bring destruction.

    • Taking this all together the sons of Benjamin residing north of Jerusalem were to hear the trumpets’ warning and flee, but to head to the fires south of Jerusalem, not to go to Jerusalem.

• Jerusalem was also technically in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin as given in Joshua.

Josh. 18:21 Now the cities of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho and Beth-hoglah and Emek-keziz,

Josh. 18:28 and Zelah, Haeleph and the Jebusite (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin according to their families.

• Jerusalem was shared with the tribe of Judah over the years so both tribes lived here.

  • Verse 2 The LORD describes the daughter of Zion as beautiful and delicate. A definition of a daughter of Zion is found in Isaiah 10:32

Is. 10:32  Yet today he will halt at Nob;
He shakes his fist at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

• The LORD is going to cut off this daughter, Jerusalem.

  • Verse 3 This verse seems out of place at first when it sounds like a pleasant picture of shepherds bringing their flocks and camping outside all around the city.

  • The last words of verse 2 are about the LORD cutting off Jerusalem and verse 4 will start with “prepare for war”.

    • What looks like shepherds with flocks outside a city as the city is told to prepare for war.

    • The armies that would come and camp outside a city, waiting to conquer the city would look like this. The shepherds would be the officers, each with an assigned group of soldiers being the flock.

    • These shepherds pitch their tents, but they do not move away.

• Verse 4 The enemy is to prepare to go to war with Jerusalem.

  • They begin this war in the middle of the day, here it is said to be noon.

  • The enemy is not going to sneak up on the city. They will be in plain sight.

  • The enemy is not to stop the attack even as the shadows display that evening is coming on.

• Verse 5 There is no relenting in attacking the city even at night.

  • The palaces should be destroyed first. Take the leaders first to reduce resistance.

• Verse 6 Here the LORD is referred to as the LORD of hosts.

  • This is similar to what was communicated to Joshua 5:14-15.

Josh. 5:14 He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?”
Josh. 5:15 The captain of the LORD’S host said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

• The LORD of hosts is a reminder that He is LORD over the armies in heaven as well as over those on the earth.

  • The LORD gave Joshua the battle plan to defeat Jericho and here He assigns the kingdom that will bring judgment on His people.

    • The LORD of hosts says to cut down the trees and to make a siege ramp against the city.

    • The LORD is leading the plans of the enemy sent to destroy Jerusalem.

    • The LORD confirms this is the city to be destroyed.

  • The only thing found in this city is oppression.

  • Remember in the last chapter there was not one good person found in the city.

• Verse 7 The picture of a well is used in making a comparison to the city.

  • The way a well keeps water fresh is to cover it up.

  • The city is covering up her wickedness; they are not stopping their wickedness which consists of violence and destruction creating sickness and wounds. Chaos!

  • A well is also kept at a constant level by more water rising up from a spring when water is removed so it is always full, just like Jerusalem is continuously full of wickedness.

• Verse 8 The LORD says Jerusalem has been warned and if they do not stop, they will be alienated by Him, and the city will be left desolate.

Jer. 6:9 Thus says the LORD of hosts,
“They will thoroughly glean as the vine the remnant of Israel;
Pass your hand again like a grape gatherer
Over the branches.”
Jer. 6:10 To whom shall I speak and give warning
That they may hear?
Behold, their ears are closed
And they cannot listen.
Behold, the word of the LORD has become a reproach to them;
They have no delight in it.
Jer. 6:11 But I am full of the wrath of the LORD;
I am weary with holding it in.
“Pour it out on the children in the street
And on the gathering of young men together;
For both husband and wife shall be taken,
The aged and the very old.
Jer. 6:12 “Their houses shall be turned over to others,
Their fields and their wives together;
For I will stretch out My hand
Against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD.
Jer. 6:13 “For from the least of them even to the greatest of them,
Everyone is greedy for gain,
And from the prophet even to the priest
Everyone deals falsely.
Jer. 6:14 “They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
But there is no peace.
Jer. 6:15 “Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done?
They were not even ashamed at all;
They did not even know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
At the time that I punish them,
They shall be cast down,” says the LORD.

• Verse 9 The title “LORD of hosts” is used again as the One in charge and giving all commands.

  • The ones the LORD is sending against Jerusalem are called ‘they.’

  • These men will do to the remnant of Israel what a farmer does when he gleans his vines for grapes at harvest. He keeps putting his hand in through the leaves in search of any hidden grapes to pluck.

    • The Babylonians will come back a total of three times before they are done with Judah.

• Verse 10 Jeremiah has tried but there is no one left to listen to the words of the LORD.

  • Their ears are closed to Him, and they can’t hear.

  • They do not find joy in the word of the LORD and are only condemned by His words.

• Verse 11 The LORD of hosts is full of the wrath of the LORD.

  • He is tired of keeping the wrath stored up. They have been in the land for four hundred years now.

  • The wrath will be poured out on the children, single men, married women and men and the old.

• Verse 12 The houses built will be taken by others.

  • The fields planted will be taken.

  • The wives will be taken.

  • This is the way the LORD stretches out His hand, or another way to see this is the wrath being held in His hand and finally released on the people.

    • All of Deuteronomy 28 would be a good place for more individual study.

Deut. 28:30 “You shall betroth a wife, but another man will violate her; you shall build a house, but you will not live in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but you will not use its fruit.
Deut. 28:31 “Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat of it; your donkey shall be torn away from you, and will not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you will have none to save you.
Deut. 28:32 “Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and yearn for them continually; but there will be nothing you can do.
Deut. 28:33 “A people whom you do not know shall eat up the produce of your ground and all your labors, and you will never be anything but oppressed and crushed continually.

• Jer. 6:13 The desire for gain permeates the entire population.

  • No prophet or priest speaks truth.

• Verse 14 The prophets and the priests tell the people not to worry, that there would only be peace.

  • There will be no peace and the people were only told something to keep them appeased.

• Verse 15 The LORD continues to speak to the prophets and priests as He says they were not the least bit ashamed of all the abomination they did to the people.

  • The prophets and priests will be cast down along with the people when the judgment comes.

Jer. 6:16 Thus says the LORD,
“Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths,
Where the good way is, and walk in it;
And you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
Jer. 6:17 “And I set watchmen over you, saying,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen.’
Jer. 6:18 “Therefore hear, O nations,
And know, O congregation, what is among them.
Jer. 6:19 “Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people,
The fruit of their plans,
Because they have not listened to My words,
And as for My law, they have rejected it also.
Jer. 6:20 “For what purpose does frankincense come to Me from Sheba
And the sweet cane from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable
And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”
Jer. 6:21 Therefore, thus says the LORD,
“Behold, I am laying stumbling blocks before this people.
And they will stumble against them,
Fathers and sons together;
Neighbor and friend will perish.”

• Verse 16 The LORD says he directed the people to seek the ways given to them in the past and they would find answers and bring a rest to their souls; but they say they would not walk that path. They would not honor their covenant with God.

• Verse 17 The LORD sent watchmen to the people to sound the alarm of coming judgment, but the people chose not to listen. These would be all the prophets sent to both the northern tribe called  Israel as well as Judah.

  • Jeremiah is the last prophet He now sends to Judah.

• Verse 18 The call goes out to the nations of the world as well as to the congregation of the LORD’s people to know what is among His people.

• Verse 19 The earth needs to hear what the LORD is bringing on His people, the consequences (fruit) of their plans (deeds).

  • His people have not heeded the warnings of His words from His prophets, nor have they chosen to follow His law.

• Verse 20 The offerings given of frankincense and sweet cane are burnt offerings not acceptable or pleasing to the LORD.

Ex. 30:22 Moreover, the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Ex. 30:23 “Take also for yourself the finest of spices: of flowing myrrh five hundred shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, two hundred and fifty, and of fragrant cane two hundred and fifty,
Ex. 30:24 and of cassia five hundred, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin.
Ex. 30:25 “You shall make of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture, the work of a perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil.

• The frankincense and sweet cane were to be the incense offered with the burnt offerings and the peace offerings as in the days of Solomon.

1Kings 9:25 Now three times in a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he built to the LORD, burning incense with them on the altar which was before the LORD. So he finished the house.

• The LORD is not fooled by the outward religious actions of people, not even those who claim to be His people.

Is. 1:11 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?”
Says the LORD.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle;
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.
Is. 1:12 “When you come to appear before Me,
Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?
Is. 1:13 “Bring your worthless offerings no longer,
Incense is an abomination to Me.
New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies —
I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.
Is. 1:14 “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts,
They have become a burden to Me;
I am weary of bearing them.
Is. 1:15 “So when you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you multiply prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are covered with blood.

• The LORD moves to hating the worthless offerings and festivals meant to bring Him honor.

  • He does not even hear their prayers.

  • The LORD despises hypocrisy.

• Jer. 6:21 The LORD will lay stumbling blocks before this deceived people and they will fall on these stumbling blocks.

  • The stumbling blocks are the truth the people will not accept it.

  • The prophets forewarned about impending judgment, but the people would not believe the truth.

  • They chose to believe in a lie and did not escape but stayed because they believed the lie that judgment would not happen to Jerusalem.

    • They will all fall together because of the lie.

Ezek. 14:1 Then some elders of Israel came to me and sat down before me.
Ezek. 14:2 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Ezek. 14:3 “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put right before their faces the stumbling block of their iniquity. Should I be consulted by them at all?
Ezek. 14:4 “Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Any man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, puts right before his face the stumbling block of his iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the LORD will be brought to give him an answer in the matter in view of the multitude of his idols,
Ezek. 14:5 in order to lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel who are estranged from Me through all their idols.”’

• The stumbling block is defined as the iniquity of men setting up idols in their hearts.

Jer. 6:22 Thus says the LORD,
“Behold, a people is coming from the north land,
And a great nation will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.
Jer. 6:23 “They seize bow and spear;
They are cruel and have no mercy;
Their voice roars like the sea,
And they ride on horses,
Arrayed as a man for the battle
Against you, O daughter of Zion!”
Jer. 6:24 We have heard the report of it;
Our hands are limp.
Anguish has seized us,
Pain as of a woman in childbirth.
Jer. 6:25 Do not go out into the field
And do not walk on the road,
For the enemy has a sword,
Terror is on every side.
Jer. 6:26 O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth
And roll in ashes;
Mourn as for an only son,
A lamentation most bitter.
For suddenly the destroyer
Will come upon us.

• Verse 22 The LORD again declares He will send a great nation from the north.

  • Verse 23 They are warriors riding on horses in battle with no mercy, coming for Jerusalem.

  • Verse 24 The people have heard of this coming nation and are paralyzed with fear.

    • The realization has fallen on them as a woman going into labor knows there is no stopping the pain until the process is complete.

• Verse 25 There is no escaping by field or road as the enemy will be everywhere.

  • Verse 26 The LORD tells His people to display mourning by putting on sackcloth and ashes, like one does when their only son dies.

    • Mourn now as there will not be time later.

Jer. 6:27 “I have made you an assayer and a tester among My people,
That you may know and assay their way.”
Jer. 6:28 All of them are stubbornly rebellious,
Going about as a talebearer.
They are bronze and iron;
They, all of them, are corrupt.
Jer. 6:29 The bellows blow fiercely,
The lead is consumed by the fire;
In vain the refining goes on,
But the wicked are not separated.
Jer. 6:30 They call them rejected silver,
Because the LORD has rejected them.
 

• V 27-30 Other Bible translations of this verse give a clearer understanding.

NIV Jer. 6:27 “I have made you a tester of metals
and my people the ore,
that you may observe
and test their ways.
NIV Jer. 6:28 They are all hardened rebels,
going about to slander.
They are bronze and iron;
they all act corruptly.
NIV Jer. 6:29 The bellows blow fiercely
to burn away the lead with fire,
but the refining goes on in vain;
the wicked are not purged out.
NIV Jer. 6:30 They are called rejected silver,
because the LORD has rejected them.”

NET Jer. 6:27 The LORD said to me,
“I have made you like a metal assayer
to test my people like ore.
You are to observe them
and evaluate how they behave.”
NET Jer. 6:28  I reported,
“All of them are the most stubborn of rebels!
They are as hard as bronze or iron.
They go about telling lies.
They all deal corruptly.
NET Jer. 6:29  The fiery bellows of judgment burn fiercely.
But there is too much dross to be removed.
The process of refining them has proved useless.
The wicked have not been purged.
NET Jer. 6:30 They are regarded as ‘rejected silver’
because the LORD rejects them.”

• Verse 27 Jeremiah is tasked with testing the people of God by observing their ways.

  • Verse 28 The LORD says, “you will find they are established rebels, slandering and lying.”

    • These are defects in the people.

    • The defects in silver would be the bronze and iron.

• Verse 29 The bellows provide the oxygen used in the heating process of refining the metal.

  • When the metal is in a liquefied state the impurities rise to the top and can be skimmed off.

  • When the metal cools the impurities have been removed and the silver is purer.

    • The bellows are compared to the judgments sent on the people of the LORD.

    • The judgments put up the heat and should have made the people feel pressure from the LORD.

    • The pressure from the LORD should have made the people want to remove those things from their lives.

  • The description from the LORD is that there is too much dross to be removed. Too many people are not willing to change. Too many people burdened with sin. There was so much dross the liquefied version did not have a way to lift anything to the top. It was all dross!

• Verse 30 The people are rejected because the LORD has rejected them.

  • This was the conclusion after many years, and many prophets, and many times of testing.

  • It has been almost 400 years since the people were brought into the land.

    • The LORD is never surprised by what His people do.

    • The LORD is never surprised by what all people do.

    • He is Sovereign!

    • Everything is happening according to His plans.

  • The LORD continues to speak to His people even after judgment is brought on them.

• As believers, we need to know how to listen to the word of the LORD.

  • It is of utmost importance we make this a priority in our lives.

  • We can’t be casual about knowing the true word of God or ignoring the word of God.

    • There are consequences, as King Saul discovered too late.

1Sam. 15:20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I did obey the voice of the LORD, and went on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
1Sam. 15:21 “But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”
1Sam. 15:22  Samuel said,
“Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
1Sam. 15:23  “For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
He has also rejected you from being king.”
1Sam. 15:24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed the command of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice.
1Sam. 15:25 “Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the LORD.”
1Sam. 15:26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

• The directive is clear. First Saul wanted to convince Samuel he did obey the voice of the LORD.

  • Then Saul wants to blame the people for not doing what he knew the LORD wanted.

  • The people had a “good reason” because they wanted to bring back the best to sacrifice to the LORD.

  • Finally, Saul says “I sinned but can you pardon my sin?”

• Samuel eloquently says the LORD truly desires obedience to His word.

  • Rejection of the word of the LORD is seen as rebellion and insubordination.

  • Nothing less than divination and idolatry.

  • Samuel says, “you rejected the word of the LORD and now He rejects you. I cannot pardon this sin.”

    • Our hearts need to be broken for what breaks the heart of the LORD.

    • We are to be obedient.

    • Our worship is to be sincere.

• We are to stay focused on seeking truth and not giving in to emotions or self-seeking motives.

Col. 2:6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
Col. 2:7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
Col. 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
Col. 2:9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
Col. 2:10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
Col. 2:11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;
Col. 2:12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

• Believers are to stay rooted in Christ Jesus, walking with Him.

  • Avoid focusing on philosophy and deception and tradition of religion over relationship; first in Christ Jesus, and then with His believers.