The Broken Covenant
The Lord reminded Jeremiah of several messages (Exodus...
The Lord reminded Jeremiah of several messages (Exodus 19:5) that had formed the foundation of the relationship between the Lord and Israel for many centuries. Since the kingdom of Judah was the last part of Israel, its people were the ones facing judgment before the Lord. This likely happened during King Jehoiakim's reign.
The Lord gave Jeremiah permission to present legal...
The Lord gave Jeremiah permission to present legal charges against the people of Judah and Jerusalem. With the divine name's power supporting his words, the Lord explained the covenant's terms. These terms included curses for those who did not obey (see Deuteronomy 27:15–26; 28:15–68).
1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2“Listen to the words of this covenant and tell them to the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem. 3You must tell them that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant, 4which I commanded your forefathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace, saying, ‘Obey Me, and do everything I command you, and you will be My people, and I will be your God.’ 5This was in order to establish the oath I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is to this day.” “Amen, LORD,” I answered.
Jeremiah used every way possible to spread the...
Jeremiah used every way possible to spread the Lord's message to as many people as he could. As he visited each town and walked the streets of Jerusalem, he reminded the people to remember and obey the rules of the ancient covenant.
6Then 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 carry them out. 7For from the time I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt until today, I strongly warned them again and again,† saying, ‘Obey My voice.’ 8Yet they would not obey or incline their ears, but each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart. So I brought on them all the curses of this covenant I had commanded them to follow but they did not keep.”
conspiracy: The word suggests "betrayal" or "treason" (compare...
conspiracy: The word suggests "betrayal" or "treason" (compare 2 Kings 11:14).
Judah and Jerusalem would stop worshiping the Redeemer God and start worshiping other gods. Both Israel (likely referring to the ten northern tribes) and Judah had broken the covenant.
conspiracy: The word suggests "betrayal" or "treason" (compare 2 Kings 11:14).
Judah and Jerusalem would stop worshiping the Redeemer God and start worshiping other gods. Both Israel (likely referring to the ten northern tribes) and Judah had broken the covenant.
9And the LORD told me, “There is a conspiracy among the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem. 10They have returned to the sins of their forefathers who refused to obey My words. They have followed other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their fathers.
11Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to bring upon them a disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to Me, but I will not listen to them. 12Then the cities of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to which they have been burning incense, but these gods certainly will not save them in their time of disaster. 13Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, O Judah; the altars of shame you have set up—the altars to burn incense to Baal—are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’
14As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf, for I will not be listening when they call out to Me in their time of disaster.
15What right has My beloved in My house,having carried out so many evil schemes?Can consecrated meat avert your doom?When you are wicked, then you rejoice.
During the Exodus, the Lord saw Israel as...
During the Exodus, the Lord saw Israel as a flourishing olive tree. King David compared himself to an olive tree (Psalm 52:8), and the apostle Paul used this image to explain how non-Jews could share in the blessings of salvation (Romans 11:16–21).
17The LORD of Hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you on account of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have brought upon themselves, provoking Me to anger by burning incense to Baal.”
A Plot against Jeremiah
The Lord warned Jeremiah during his commissioning (Jeremiah...
The Lord warned Jeremiah during his commissioning (Jeremiah 1:19) that opposition would threaten his life. Jeremiah felt like a lamb led to slaughter, powerless to resist. This opposition happened before Jeremiah's trial in the Temple courtyard, early in Jehoiakim's reign (between 608 and 605 BC; see Jeremiah 26). Some scholars think this verse foreshadows Christ's death, similar to the suffering servant in Isaiah 53:7.
The Lord warned Jeremiah about the plans against...
The Lord warned Jeremiah about the plans against him. Jeremiah prayed, and the Lord promised to save him.
Jeremiah's enemies included his family and relatives in...
Jeremiah's enemies included his family and relatives in his hometown of Anathoth, and he grieved over their fate (Jeremiah 10:20). They demanded that he stop prophesying in the Lord's name. In line with the Lord's promise to protect him (Jeremiah 1:19), the Lord told Jeremiah that even the families of his enemies, including their children, would lose their lives when their punishment came.
21Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the people of Anathoth who are seeking your life and saying, “You must not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand.” 22So this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I will punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. 23There will be no remnant, for I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.”