Lectionary Calendar

Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024
the First Week of Advent

Attention!

For 10¢ a day you can enjoy StudyLight.org ads
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!

Bible Commentaries
Jeremiah 6

JeremiahJer 5 JeremiahJer JeremiahJer 7

Search for…

Resource Toolbox

Print version Copyright Bibliography

Verses 1-30

Intro:
1. Aneurin Bevin(British pol. Leader) said, “We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the street…They get run over!”
  1. Jeremiah wasn’t a “middle of the street kind-a-guy! You always knew where he stood!
2. Last week - “They Loved their sin!”(5:31)
  1. Read - Job 20:4-19(esp.12-14)
  2. Quote: “The road to ruin is always kept in good repair.”
3. Jerusalem was a city of Refuge for them(4:6); Now, it’s a Trap ready to spring. Worst yet…God set the trap(6)! The rest of the chapter explains why!
SIGNAL-FIRE! (1-5)
1. vs.1 - Signal-Fire = Fire signals on the hills gave warnings of danger approaching. {in their case “Judgment is Coming!}
2. “Benjamin” - 1^st Jeremiah warns his neighbors(he’s from Anathoth in Benj.) to get out of Jerusalem.
3. “Disaster from the north” - Both Tekoa & Bet-Ha-Cerem (house of the vineyard) were immediately south of Jerusalem.
4. They had 3 ways of passing military information: [1] Watchmen on the walls(17) [2] Trumpet Signals [3] Signal-Fires.
5. vs.2 - “a lovely & delicate woman” - will end up à Lam.1:1,6 “How lonely sits the city That was full of people! How like a widow is she, Who was great among the nations!…And from the daughter of Zion All her splendor has departed.
6. vs.3 - Shepherds = Babylonian soldiers.
7. vs.4 - Prov.21:1 “The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.”
  1. God, being in charge of the Babylonian army, told them to attack at high noon!(no one would expect that)
    1. * Similar to Syria’s attack on 1968 on the Sabbath(1 prob.)
8. vs.5 - Continue on into the night when most armies are tired.
GENERAL GOD! (6-9)
1. General God gives the orders:
2. vs.6 - What to do! - Chop down trees; build ramps; put against the walls of the city {like Massada}.
3. vs.7 - Why to do it? - Because they are like a well that pours out filthy waters.
  1. Babrov,Russia - Dirty water analogy - Painting hand pump white wouldn’t help!
  2. Judah’s sins aren’t being masked at all - so open, so blatant!
    1. Lk.6:45 “"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
4. vs.8 - Read with “America”! {Zach poem}
5. “lest I make you desolate” - [NEB] “Lest my love for you be torn from my heart”.
6. vs.9 - How to do it? - With precision & thoroughness, the way gleaners go over a vineyard so as not to miss any fruit. {Maine berry’s}
WHAT? (10-15)
1. vs.10 - No one was listening! What? What?
  1. Not only were their heart’s uncircumcised, but now their EARS were also refusing to hear God’s Word!
    1. Acts 7:51 “You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.”(Stephen)
2. Read vs.9,10 together. The search from ch.5 came up empty with NO rt. man.
3. The result of a closed mind is: God’s Word becomes a reproach to them.
4. vs.11 - Note: Judgment on all: kids, young men, women, & elderly.
5. vs.13,14 - The false prophets & the priests won’t escape… “They’re the most guilty.”
  1. They gave people a false confidence & refused to repent of their sins.
  2. “Peace, Peace” - from the year 1500 B.C. to A.D. 1860 more than 8000 treaties of peace, meant to remain in force forever, were concluded. The average time they remained in force was two years."
6. vs.15 - “A closed mind produces a callous conscience.” (not ashamed)
  1. Shame - “Social studies show “shame & honor” as 2 pivotal values a society must possess.
    1. Honor = high respect, having a good reputation.
    2. Shame = The opposite of honor, low respect, bad reputation.
  2. “The ancients viewed every human action & interaction as an occasion for either gaining honor, that is, increasing one’s value in the public eye, or for being shamed, that is, having one’s estimation degraded.”
    1. Q: DO you agree?
  3. A society that rejects the framework for values will do anything!
    1. We have forgotten how to blush in our society!
WHICH WAY? (16-21)
1. vs.16 - Ladies here’s a verse for the guys who won’t ask for directions!
  1. God gave them the right way…They rejected it!
  2. “Rest for your souls” - Mt.11:29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
    1. 1^st comes Redirection, then comes Rest!
    2. Key - He walks with you - Yoke! {Thanks Jesus!}
2. vs.17 - The sounded their warning…they put in ear plugs!
3. “We will not!”(16,17) - These are studious, religious people. They spared no expense in their “outward” worship to God(20), everything but love that is!
  1. Lk.11:42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.”
4. Q: Where are WE religiously cold(rt. now)?
  1. Do you have Ice prayers? Do you sing worship songs simply with your minds recollection, or by your hearts best intention? Is your Daily Bread a loaf of heals? Would your Fellowship be better called Fallenship, as you drown your friends in gossip? Where are we religiously cold?
FEAR ON EVERY SIDE! (22-26)
1. vs.22-26 - “God’s executioners will be no local face, but a world power, summoned from the ends of the earth.” (Derek Kidner)
  1. Interesting, these same verses(22-24) are found in (50:41-43), where they are then used AGAINST Babylon {God is no respector of persons}
2. vs.24,25 - Jeremiah now describes the responses of the people as they heard the news: Feeble, anguish, pain, like a woman in hard labor, &… last but not least…“Fear on every side!”
  1. This “fear/terror on every side” is used 3 times in Jer.
  2. It is also used for a name change from Jeremiah to Pashur (the chief officer of the Temple/Megoor Mesabib) in ch.20:1-3.
3. vs.26 - Prepare to Mourn!!! Dress completely in sackcloth, Wallow in the ashes, Mourn like you would for an only son that died. (most bitter)
  1. Zech. 12:10 “"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.”
THE ASSAYER! (27-30)
1. An Assayer = Person who tests the amount of metal in ores or coins.
2. vs.27 - A good picture here of its vivid detail but also its tragic outcome!
  1. Judah was not a precious metal w/a few impurities, but a base metal with Nothing of worth that could be extracted.
  2. Quote: S.R.Driver “The process of refining in those days was to melt down lead w/the rest of the metal, & then to direct a stream of air at the molten mass. This oxidized the lead, causing it to act as a flux to carry off the baser elements.”
    1. All this has been done to Judah but to no avail!
  3. Sometimes suffering brings out the best in people…not here!
  4. God turns on the Babylonian furnace on high,…not to Purify but to Punish!
  5. If they won’t Refine He must Reject them!
  6. Thomas Jefferson wrote(on his notes on the state of Virginia)(over 2 centuries ago) “Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, & that His Justice cannot sleep forever!”
3. vs.30 - Rejected! - “The Die has been cast, The invader must come, The kingdom must fall!” (Derek Kidner)

return to 'Top of Page'

Verses 1-30

Intro:
1. Aneurin Bevin(British pol. Leader) said, “We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the street…They get run over!”
  1. Jeremiah wasn’t a “middle of the street kind-a-guy! You always knew where he stood!
2. Last week - “They Loved their sin!”(5:31)
  1. Read - Job 20:4-19(esp.12-14)
  2. Quote: “The road to ruin is always kept in good repair.”
3. Jerusalem was a city of Refuge for them(4:6); Now, it’s a Trap ready to spring. Worst yet…God set the trap(6)! The rest of the chapter explains why!
SIGNAL-FIRE! (1-5)
1. vs.1 - Signal-Fire = Fire signals on the hills gave warnings of danger approaching. {in their case “Judgment is Coming!}
2. “Benjamin” - 1^st Jeremiah warns his neighbors(he’s from Anathoth in Benj.) to get out of Jerusalem.
3. “Disaster from the north” - Both Tekoa & Bet-Ha-Cerem (house of the vineyard) were immediately south of Jerusalem.
4. They had 3 ways of passing military information: [1] Watchmen on the walls(17) [2] Trumpet Signals [3] Signal-Fires.
5. vs.2 - “a lovely & delicate woman” - will end up à Lam.1:1,6 “How lonely sits the city That was full of people! How like a widow is she, Who was great among the nations!…And from the daughter of Zion All her splendor has departed.
6. vs.3 - Shepherds = Babylonian soldiers.
7. vs.4 - Prov.21:1 “The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.”
  1. God, being in charge of the Babylonian army, told them to attack at high noon!(no one would expect that)
    1. * Similar to Syria’s attack on 1968 on the Sabbath(1 prob.)
8. vs.5 - Continue on into the night when most armies are tired.
GENERAL GOD! (6-9)
1. General God gives the orders:
2. vs.6 - What to do! - Chop down trees; build ramps; put against the walls of the city {like Massada}.
3. vs.7 - Why to do it? - Because they are like a well that pours out filthy waters.
  1. Babrov,Russia - Dirty water analogy - Painting hand pump white wouldn’t help!
  2. Judah’s sins aren’t being masked at all - so open, so blatant!
    1. Lk.6:45 “"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
4. vs.8 - Read with “America”! {Zach poem}
5. “lest I make you desolate” - [NEB] “Lest my love for you be torn from my heart”.
6. vs.9 - How to do it? - With precision & thoroughness, the way gleaners go over a vineyard so as not to miss any fruit. {Maine berry’s}
WHAT? (10-15)
1. vs.10 - No one was listening! What? What?
  1. Not only were their heart’s uncircumcised, but now their EARS were also refusing to hear God’s Word!
    1. Acts 7:51 “You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.”(Stephen)
2. Read vs.9,10 together. The search from ch.5 came up empty with NO rt. man.
3. The result of a closed mind is: God’s Word becomes a reproach to them.
4. vs.11 - Note: Judgment on all: kids, young men, women, & elderly.
5. vs.13,14 - The false prophets & the priests won’t escape… “They’re the most guilty.”
  1. They gave people a false confidence & refused to repent of their sins.
  2. “Peace, Peace” - from the year 1500 B.C. to A.D. 1860 more than 8000 treaties of peace, meant to remain in force forever, were concluded. The average time they remained in force was two years."
6. vs.15 - “A closed mind produces a callous conscience.” (not ashamed)
  1. Shame - “Social studies show “shame & honor” as 2 pivotal values a society must possess.
    1. Honor = high respect, having a good reputation.
    2. Shame = The opposite of honor, low respect, bad reputation.
  2. “The ancients viewed every human action & interaction as an occasion for either gaining honor, that is, increasing one’s value in the public eye, or for being shamed, that is, having one’s estimation degraded.”
    1. Q: DO you agree?
  3. A society that rejects the framework for values will do anything!
    1. We have forgotten how to blush in our society!
WHICH WAY? (16-21)
1. vs.16 - Ladies here’s a verse for the guys who won’t ask for directions!
  1. God gave them the right way…They rejected it!
  2. “Rest for your souls” - Mt.11:29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
    1. 1^st comes Redirection, then comes Rest!
    2. Key - He walks with you - Yoke! {Thanks Jesus!}
2. vs.17 - The sounded their warning…they put in ear plugs!
3. “We will not!”(16,17) - These are studious, religious people. They spared no expense in their “outward” worship to God(20), everything but love that is!
  1. Lk.11:42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.”
4. Q: Where are WE religiously cold(rt. now)?
  1. Do you have Ice prayers? Do you sing worship songs simply with your minds recollection, or by your hearts best intention? Is your Daily Bread a loaf of heals? Would your Fellowship be better called Fallenship, as you drown your friends in gossip? Where are we religiously cold?
FEAR ON EVERY SIDE! (22-26)
1. vs.22-26 - “God’s executioners will be no local face, but a world power, summoned from the ends of the earth.” (Derek Kidner)
  1. Interesting, these same verses(22-24) are found in (50:41-43), where they are then used AGAINST Babylon {God is no respector of persons}
2. vs.24,25 - Jeremiah now describes the responses of the people as they heard the news: Feeble, anguish, pain, like a woman in hard labor, &… last but not least…“Fear on every side!”
  1. This “fear/terror on every side” is used 3 times in Jer.
  2. It is also used for a name change from Jeremiah to Pashur (the chief officer of the Temple/Megoor Mesabib) in ch.20:1-3.
3. vs.26 - Prepare to Mourn!!! Dress completely in sackcloth, Wallow in the ashes, Mourn like you would for an only son that died. (most bitter)
  1. Zech. 12:10 “"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.”
THE ASSAYER! (27-30)
1. An Assayer = Person who tests the amount of metal in ores or coins.
2. vs.27 - A good picture here of its vivid detail but also its tragic outcome!
  1. Judah was not a precious metal w/a few impurities, but a base metal with Nothing of worth that could be extracted.
  2. Quote: S.R.Driver “The process of refining in those days was to melt down lead w/the rest of the metal, & then to direct a stream of air at the molten mass. This oxidized the lead, causing it to act as a flux to carry off the baser elements.”
    1. All this has been done to Judah but to no avail!
  3. Sometimes suffering brings out the best in people…not here!
  4. God turns on the Babylonian furnace on high,…not to Purify but to Punish!
  5. If they won’t Refine He must Reject them!
  6. Thomas Jefferson wrote(on his notes on the state of Virginia)(over 2 centuries ago) “Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, & that His Justice cannot sleep forever!”
3. vs.30 - Rejected! - “The Die has been cast, The invader must come, The kingdom must fall!” (Derek Kidner)

return to 'Top of Page'

JeremiahJer 5 JeremiahJer JeremiahJer 7

Copyright Statement
These files are the property of Brian Bell.
Text Courtesy of Calvary Chapel of Murrieta. Used by Permission.

Bibliographical Information
Bell, Brian. "Commentary on Jeremiah 6". "Bell's Commentary". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/cbb/jeremiah-6.html. 2017.

Bible CommentariesJeremiah 6

Bell's Commentary on the BibleBell's Commentary

Verses 1-30

Verses 1-30

Bible Commentaries
Jeremiah 6