Bible Commentaries
Jeremiah 11

Verses 1-27

VII

THE BROKEN COVENANT OF JUDAH AND GOD’S DECREE TO PUNISH

Jeremiah 11-17

These prophecies were doubtless uttered during the reign of Jehoiakim, sometime between 608 and 603 B.C. They were written first by Baruch, as dictated by Jeremiah in 604 B.C., but cut to pieces and burned by Jehoiakim and then rewritten 603 B.C. They are also a report of Jeremiah’s preaching during the reign of this king, Jehoiakim.

The first two chapters (Jeremiah 11-12) deal with the broken covenant; Jeremiah 13, with the rotten girdle and the lessons drawn from it; the Jeremiah 14-15 set forth the prophecies relating to the drought that came upon the country at that time; Jeremiah 16 gives the story of Jeremiah’s personal life and the lessons to be derived from it; Jeremiah 17 deals with the impending evils that are threatened upon Jerusalem and exhorts them to keep the sabbath. This is the general outline of these chapters.

The occasion for the utterance of the prophecies of Jeremiah 11-12 was a lapse of the people from the reformation under Josiah into the sins under Jehoiakim. Under that wicked king they broke the covenant that they made with good King Josiah, and lapsed into idolatry again. In the opening words of chapter II the prophet pleads with them to remember their covenant and to suffer no backsliding. That was the real occasion. There had been a great reformation under Josiah; they had broken their covenant in going back into idolatry and the prophet pleads with them to remember their covenant so recently made. We know that Jeremiah helped Josiah and we also know that he preached during the reign of Jehoiakim.

He says, "The word of Jehovah came unto me saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and say thou unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man that heareth not the words of this covenant, which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God."

We find almost these identical words in Deuteronomy 27:16-26.

Jeremiah receives those words from the Lord and, like a true Israelite, he replies, Jeremiah 11:5, "Amen, O Jehovah." That expression reminds us of the scene that was enacted soon after Israel entered Palestine when the nation was gathered together and the law was read, the blessings and curses, and the people all answered each time, "Amen." Over and over again this is repeated. Here he hears the words of the covenant as uttered to him by Jehovah, and he answers, "Amen." He answered for the people of Judah and Jerusalem, that is, he answered, "Amen," and he wanted them to answer likewise. But they did not.

The charge against the people in Jeremiah 11:6-8 is that of a violation of the covenant. He says, Jeremiah 11:6: "Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant and do them. For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice." In these three mighty words Jeremiah sums up the substance of the great covenant made at Sinai: "Obey my voice." "Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the stubbornness of their evil heart: therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did them not."

The people are charged with a conspiracy against the Lord, Jeremiah 11:9-13: "And the Lord said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers." This statement shows the occasion of this prophecy. The people had had an understanding about this, and had agreed among themselves that they would not do as Josiah had commanded them to do; they would not worship Jehovah. Jeremiah calls that a conspiracy against God. They forsook Jehovah and made a covenant with other gods. The breaking of one covenant means the entering into another covenant with other gods.

The doom of the nation is indicated in the fact that Jeremiah is forbidden to pray for them Jeremiah 11:14: "Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me because of their trouble." The nation is doomed. We have here a full description of the doom that is to come upon this nation, the details of which we need to study very carefully. Jeremiah 11:15 presents a great difficulty for the textual critics. There are three ways it may be rendered: "What hath my beloved to do in my house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness?" The Septuagint renders this as in the margin: "Why hath my beloved wrought abominations in my house? Shall vows and holy flesh take away from thee thy wickedness, or shalt thou escape by these?" Ball, in the "Expositor’s Bible" renders it, "What hast my beloved to do in mine house? Shall her many altars and holy flesh take away her sin from her?" The text, as we have it, is obscure. We will pass it with the reminder that the general subject of the section is that the nation is doomed and woes are pronounced against her; that Judah cannot be saved by her formal religion.

The result was a plot against Jeremiah, who was commanded to stop prophesying or lose his life. This was the first crisis in Jeremiah’s life. He returned from Jerusalem to Anathoth and found that there was a conspiracy, a plot against him among his own friends. He must stop preaching or lose his life. This is how he puts it, Jeremiah 11:18-20: "And Jehovah gave me knowledge of it, and I knew it: then thou showedst me their doings. But I was like a gentle lamb that is led to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me." That expression reminds us of Jesus’ words when he was plotted against and killed. He means to say, "I was Just doing my duty; I knew not that they were plotting against me; I knew not that they devised devices against me." This is what they devised, saying, "Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered." After that discovery the prophet commits his case to Jehovah for vengeance. This shows that he had risen to a high plane of abiding faith. Jeremiah says, "I shall see thy vengeance on them; for unto thee have I revealed my cause." The next three verses (Jeremiah 11:21-23) contain the record of what Jehovah said regarding the manner in which these wicked conspirators should be punished: that their sons and daughters should perish.

The prophet raises a question in Jeremiah 12:1-4 and Jehovah answers it in Jeremiah 12:5-6. We studied this passage in the chapter on "The Personal Life of Jeremiah." I will not go into details here. The occasion of this marvelous passage was the plot against Jeremiah. He saw that these men who plotted to destroy him were living in plenty and prospered while he suffered. So he raised the great question as to why it is possible for the wicked to prosper and the righteous to suffer. Then he received his answer: "If thou hast run with the footmen, and they wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses?" That means, If you are going to give up before this little opposition that is but a trifle, what will you do when the great test and the real crisis comes?

The captivity is described. Here the prophet pictures these evils as having already taken place, Jeremiah 12:7-13: "I have forsaken my house, I have cast off my heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies. My heritage is become unto me as a lion in the forest; . . . Is my heritage unto me as a speckled bird of prey? . . . Then go and assemble all the beasts of the field and come upon her to devour her." Then he accuses the shepherds of destroying the vineyard: "They have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. . . They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns." They must perish. In this we have a bare outline of the judgment to come. This is doubtless the substance of the sermons he preached.

Judah’s evil neighbors are referred to in Jeremiah 12:14-17. This doubtless means Edom, Ammon, and the enemies on the south. They harassed Judah in the time of Jehoiakim. What about these evil neighbors? Well, he says, "I will pluck them up from off their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah; and after I pluck them up I will return and have compassion on them as I will have on Judah." That reminds us of the magnificent prophecy of Isaiah: "All the nations shall come up to Jerusalem to worship; all the peoples shall flow to Mount Zion, for the word of Jehovah shall go forth from Zion."

In Jeremiah 13:1-7 the prophet employs a symbolic action, and the interpretation of it is found in Jeremiah 13:8-11. By a command of Jehovah he buys a beautiful girdle, a common element of clothing in the East, and wears it for a time. Then the Lord commands him to take it and go to the river Euphrates and hide it in the cleft of a rock. He does so, and after many days the Lord said to him, "Go thou to the river Euphrates and take the girdle which I commanded thee to hide there. And I did so and went and digged up the girdle and behold it was marred and good for nothing." Now, that was an object lesson to the people. Thus he says, Jeremiah 13:11: "For as the girdle cleaves to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah that they might be unto me for a people, but they would not hear." That is a remarkable figure. The Lord chose the people of Judah and Israel as a man chooses a girdle and wears it about him. Judah had been a girdle for Jehovah, and he desired that they remain as a beautiful girdle forever, but they would not.

The prophet uses another symbol, that of a bottle, Jeremiah 13:12-14: "Every bottle shall be filled with wine: . . . Do not we know that every bottle shall be filled with wine? Behold I will fill all the inhabitants of this land with drunkenness." That bottle is a symbol of drunkenness, the drunkenness that is come upon the people. The symbol means that they shall be destroyed, as drunken men are destroyed.

There is an exhortation in Jeremiah 13:15-17, a command to the queen mother in Jeremiah 13:18-19, a curse announced in Jeremiah 13:20-27, and a great text in Jeremiah 13:23. In verse Jeremiah 13:16: "Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains," is one of the most beautiful figures in all the Scriptures. That is like Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep. In Jeremiah 13:18, he speaks thus: "Say thus to the king and queen mother." He probably refers to the wife of Josiah, whose son, Jehoiachim, sat upon the throne. He said to the queen mother and the king, "Humble yourselves." Then he addresses the shepherds and the princes: "Where is the flock that I gave you, the beautiful flock?" Where is it, thou king, and queen mother, and ye princes and prophets? Where is my beautiful flock that I gave you to care for? Then comes that classic passage: "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." Thus Jeremiah reaches the conclusion that man has to be changed before he can obey the word of God, and he cannot change himself.

A drought is pictured in Jeremiah 14:1-6. A drought in that land was terrible: "Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they sit in black upon the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. And their nobles send their little ones to the waters: they come to the cisterns, and find no water; they return with their vessels empty." That is a pathetic picture. We can almost see those children in their thirst and distress.

We have the prophet’s plea for the people in Jeremiah 14:7-9 and Jehovah’s reply in Jeremiah 14:10-12. Here we have Jeremiah’s first intercession and its answer, Jeremiah 14:7-17. See how he pleads in verse Jeremiah 14:7: "Work thou for thy name’s sake, O Jehovah; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee, O thou hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a sojourner in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside for a night? Why shouldest thou be as a man affrighted, as a mighty man that cannot save? Yet thou, O Jehovah, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not." Sinners treat God as if he were a stranger, a sojourner, a man who is helpless to save. In verse Jeremiah 14:11: "Plead not for this people." That is the answer to his prayer. "Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry. . . I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence." So it is possible for people to go so far that God himself must give them up.

Jeremiah assails the priests and the prophets (Jeremiah 14:13-22). He says (Jeremiah 14:13), "The prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, nor the famine." Then the Lord said unto him, "These prophets are) liars. They shall perish. These people that believe them shall perish, too. There is no hope for them." But he will not give up. He begs God to spare the city and the people. Verse Jeremiah 14:19: "Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? . . . Why hast thou smitten us, and is there no healing for us?" Thus he speaks for the people out of his heart: "We acknowledge, O Jehovah, our wickedness . . . we have sinned against thee. Do not abhor us, for thy names sake; do not disgrace the throne of thy glory." It is said of Joseph Parker, the great preacher of London, that upon one occasion he prayed, “O Lord, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory." Some of his stiff-backed hearers received a distinct shock when they heard it. One Presbyterian brother said, "Blasphemy!" but Dr. Parker was simply quoting Jeremiah. That shows that some preachers do not know everything in the Bible. "Do not disgrace the throne of thy glory," that is, "do not disgrace Judah and Zion," but he did; they were destroyed.

The impending danger is described in Jeremiah 15:1-9. We cannot go into detail here. It is not necessary. Read the passage. One point, verse Jeremiah 15:9: "Her sun is gone down while it was yet day." That is another classical expression. Note also, verse Jeremiah 15:1: "Though Moses and Samuel plead for these people I could not save them." Moses pleaded for the people when they broke the covenant at Sinai. He begged God to blot him out of the book rather than destroy the people. God did hear him and saved them. Samuel was a man of much prayer. Samuel saved Israel by his prayers in the time of Eli. "Though these mighty men of prayer, Moses and Samuel, were to pray to me I would not save these people." How far can people wander away? There is a limit to God’s grace and mercy.

There are several thoughts in the paragraphs of Jeremiah 15:10-21. The prophet complains again and receives a reply. We had this in the chapter on "The Life and Character of Jeremiah," and will not go into details here. It is sufficient to say that God answered him and maintained that the doom of the people was inevitable. Now we have the prophet’s last pleadings with God (Jeremiah 15:15-21). We also studied this in the same chapter. Study carefully the text.

Then came the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 16:1-9). We discussed that in a former chapter. Sufficient to say that he is commanded not to marry, not to have a family, not to mingle with merrymakers, not to have the joys or pleasures of social and family life. He is to be separated, a living example of warning to the people, for destruction is coming. No Jew would refuse to marry or have a family if there were not sufficient reasons for it.

Some questions are raised by the people in Jeremiah 16:10-13, viz: "Why are these calamities to come? What are the iniquities that we have done?" The answer is that they have forsaken Jehovah and walked after other gods.

There is a comparison in Jeremiah 16:14-21. The punishment of the captivity shall be most severe and terrible, therefore their return to their own land shall be even more wonderful than the deliverance from Egypt: "The day shall come that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth that brought the children of Israel up out of the land of Egypt." That fact would sink into insignificance in the face of the evils that were to be when Israel was scattered, and when God would gather them again from among the nations; that would be more wonderful than bringing them up out of the land of Egypt. The deliverance would be great because the punishment would be so terrible.

The nature of Judah’s sin and punishment is indicated in Jeremiah 17:1-4. Their sins are deep and indelible and therefore their punishment is severe: "The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, graven on their hearts and on the horns of their altars." Spurgeon, in a sermon on this text, discussed how sin can be graven into the human heart and cannot be erased by human power. It is written with a pen of iron, written in the very soul and nature. No stronger figure could be used to show the permanent effects of sin. As a result, punishment is certain.

A striking contrast is found in Jeremiah 17:5-11. Faith in man leads to destruction; faith in God leads to security. Verse Jeremiah 17:5: "Cursed is the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from Jehovah." In Jeremiah 17:7-8, we have the substance of Psalm 1: "Blessed is the man that trusteth in Jehovah . . . he shall be as a tree planted by the waters; he shall not fear when the heat cometh, but his leaf shall be green; he shall not be careful in the year of drought, but his tree shall continue yielding fruit." Jeremiah 17:9 is one of the profoundest descriptions of the human heart to be found in the Scriptures. It came to Jeremiah out of his experience.

The import of Jeremiah 17:12-18 is that Jehovah is a sure source of strength. Few remarks are needed on this passage. Jeremiah’s faith in God shines very brightly here. Some expressions are very rich and suggestive, such as Jeremiah 17:12-14; Jeremiah 17:17.

The prophecy of Jeremiah 17:19-27 is a prophecy concerning the keeping of the sabbath. This was the great problem of Nehemiah. He had to meet it, and here it is in Jeremiah’s day also: "Go, stand in the gate and say unto the people, Ye shall bear no burdens on the sabbath day." Verse Jeremiah 17:25: "Then shall there enter into this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, . . . The men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall remain forever," this is, if they keep the sabbath day. Then the text shows how the nations will come upon them if they do not keep the sabbath day: "If you will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day and not to bear burdens and enter into the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched." This is one of the most significant passages on the sabbath question in all the Bible. This paragraph furnishes the basis for God’s chastisement in the Babylonian captivity. It is specifically stated that this captivity was the penalty for the disregard of the sabbath law.

QUESTIONS

1. What the date of this group of prophecies?

2. Give a general outline of the group of chapters.

3. What the occasion of the prophecies of Jeremiah 11-12?

4. What the reply of the prophet to the words of Jehovah in Jeremiah 11:1-5 and what the application?

5. What the charge against the people in Jeremiah 11:6-8?

6. What the charge against the people in Jeremiah 11:8-13 and what the result?

7. How is the doom of the nation indicated (Jeremiah 11:14-17) and what the difficulties of the text?

8. What the result as it pertained to the prophet, how did he meet it and what Jehovah’s responses? (Jeremiah 11:18-23.)

9. What question does the prophet raise in Jeremiah 12:1-4 and what Jehovah’s reply in Jeremiah 12:5-6?

10. How is the captivity described in Jeremiah 12:7-13?

11. Who Judah’s "evil neighbors" referred to in Jeremiah 12:14-17, what the threat against them and what hope held out to them?

12. What the symbolic action of Jeremiah 13:1-7, and what its interpretation (Jeremiah 13:8-11)?

13. What other symbol used by the prophet here (Jeremiah 13:12-14) and what its interpretation?

14. What the exhortation in Jeremiah 13:15-17, what command to the queen mother in Jeremiah 13:18-19, what curse announced in Jeremiah 13:20-27, and what great text in Jeremiah 13:23?

15. Describe the drought as pictured in Jeremiah 14:1-6.

16. What the prophet’s plea for the people in Jeremiah 14:7-9 and what Jehovah’s reply in Jeremiah 14:10-12?

17. What Jeremiah’s complaint and Jehovah’s reply in Jeremiah 14:13-22?

18. Describe the impending danger (Jeremiah 15:1-9).

19. What the thoughts in the paragraphs of Jeremiah 15:10-21?

20. What the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 16:1-9, and what its lesson?

21. What questions are raised by the people in Jeremiah 16:10-13, and what the reply?

22. What the comparison in Jeremiah 16:14-21 and what great hope is therein expressed?

23. How is the nature of Judah’s sin and punishment indicated in Jeremiah 17:1-4?

24. What contrast in Jeremiah 17:5-11 and in what other scripture do we find the same thought?

25. What the import of Jeremiah 17:12-18, and what suggestive passages in this paragraph?

26. What the prophecy of Jeremiah 17:19-27 and what can you Bay of its importance?