Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Jeremiah 11:11

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

The broken covenant (11:1-17)

God had made a covenant with Israel after the people came out of Egypt, assuring them of blessing if they obeyed his law and punishment if they disobeyed. God now tells Jeremiah to remind the people of these conditions of the covenant (11:1-5). Past lessons should be a warning to them that unless they change their ways, they are heading for disaster (6-8). However, the people prefer to ignore the warnings. Like their forefathers they rebel against God and follow false gods (9-10). The towns of Judah are full of false gods, but the people will now find that these gods are powerless to save them from God’s judgment (11-13).
It is too late to pray for Judah’s deliverance. All her rituals and ceremonies will not save her from the punishment due to her (14-15). God intended Judah to be like a beautiful green olive tree, but when the storm of his judgment breaks, that olive tree will, as it were, be struck by lightning and burnt up. By worshipping Baal, Judah has brought about its own destruction (16-17).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"And Jehovah 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, who refused to hear my words; and they are 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. Therefore thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and they shall cry unto me, but I will not hearken unto them. Then shall the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem go and cry unto the gods unto which they offer incense; but they will not save them at all in the time of their trouble. For according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to the shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal."

"Conspiracy… among the men of Judah" There are two views of when this conspiracy occurred. Dummelow thought it happened during the reign of JosiahJ. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 464. but Henderson placed it in the times of Jehoiachim's first four years, "When those who were hostile to Josiah's reforms bound themselves to introduce again all of the idolatrous practices (popularized by Manasseh) which had been abolished by Josiah."E. Henderson, The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah (London: Hamilton, Adams, and Company, 1851), p. 74. A common denominator in both positions is that the whole population (except the righteous remnant) of the Chosen People (Israel and Judah alike) had given themselves completely to idolatry. This is the background of the crucial announcement in the following verse that all Israel had "broken the covenant."

"The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant" Graybill observed that, "God was now in the act of terminating the covenant and bringing the punishment";Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 667. but, a better view appears to be that this declaration from God Himself then and there terminated the racial covenant with Abraham finally and irrevocably, except as it should be renewed in the New Israel without any racial overtones whatever.

Hosea's unhappy marriage with Gomer was terminated exactly in the same manner at the time when he bought back his adulterous wife from slavery and returned her to his home, not as his wife, but as his slave. Prior to the terminal action registered here, the whole racial Israel had been judicially hardened (always with the exception of the righteous remnant), as repeatedly mentioned by both Isaiah and Jeremiah.

The pressing question that always surfaces in the consideration of such things is "Why did God continue to preserve Israel?" In the case of judicial hardening, except for Israel, it always meant the summary and final end of the person or cities hardened; why then was it to be different in the case of Israel? The answer lies squarely in the truth that the Messiah had not yet been born. Until that glorious event should come to pass, it was absolutely necessary for fleshly Israel to be preserved and continued as an identifiable entity upon the earth, because that only could make the identification of the Son of God absolutely indisputable for all time to come!

"According to the number of the cities of Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem" Such a proliferation of altars erected to Baal indicates that the rampant idolatry of the times of Manasseh had indeed come back full force, At this point the "conspiracy" which God revealed to Jeremiah had achieved one of its purposes. However, there was another purpose of it; and that included the destruction of the prophet himself, which would be revealed later in the chapter.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

I will bring - Or, am bringing.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

The Prophet now denounces on them a calamity; for it is probable that for many years he had been as their teacher threatening them, but all in vain. Hence he now confirms what we have before observed, — that their impious conspiracy was fully known and proved, so flint they were not now to be called or drawn before the judge’s tribunal, as they had so openly procured for themselves their own ruin.

He then says, that God was, as it were, armed to take vengeance; I will bring, he says, upon them an evil from which they shall not be able to go away ⁽³⁹⁾ Then he adds, and they shall cry to me, but I will not hear them By this latter clause he shews that no hope remained, as they could get no pardon from God, for he would no longer be entreated by them. The import of the whole is, — that they were so given up to destruction, that it was in vain for them to expect God’s mercy. God had indeed often promised in his law that he would be reconciled to them; but the Prophet says now that every hope was cut off, because they had rejected God’s covenant. Hence, whatever God had promised respecting his kindness and mercy, belonged to them no longer.

Let us now learn also how to accommodate this doctrine to ourselves. And, first, we may remark, that there is a great difference between us, who have been plainly, and for a long time, taught what is the true and lawful worship of God, and those miserable people who were blind in darkness; hence much more atrocious is our sin and worthy of much heavier punishment. Then we may also add this, — that though God may for a time bear with us, the whole time of his forbearance will have to be accounted for. There is no day in which God does not accuse us; and thus he rises early, and thus he shews us what concern he has for our salvation; but if we remain asleep in our sloth, a threatening this day is suspended over our heads, and especially when we consider that God comes nearer, as it were, to us than to his ancient people. And hence we may also learn how much less tolerable is our ingratitude. It ought, therefore, to be carefully noticed, that God is armed against those before whom he has set his word, not only for one day but for many years, when he has found that he has labored in vain; and that when he is offended with their obstinate wickedness, there is no more any remedy.

But it may be asked here, How is it that God declares here that he would not be propitious to the Israelites, though they even cried to him, when yet this promise so often occurs,

“Call on me, and I will hear thee?” (Psalms 50:15)

Though God does not everywhere use such words, yet in many places he makes this promise. But still it may appear inconsistent that he closes up the door of mercy against those who flee to his mercy. But in the next verse he shews what this cry would be; for had they from the heart repented, doubtless his pardon would never have been denied: but we shall presently see that these cries would be rambling, vagrant, and confused; so that they would not direct their prayers to God, nor observe the way which is made known to us all; for they would cry Without repentance and faith, according to what follows; for the Prophet says —

(39) The literal rendering is as follows: —

11.Therefore thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, I will cause to come on them an evil, From which they shall not be able to go forth: And they shall loudly cry to me, But I will not hearken to them.

The third line in Welsh is literally the Hebrew, —

(lang. cy) Yr hwn his gallant vyned allan ohono.
Which they will not be able to go forth from it.

The verb זעק is not merely to cry, but to cry loudly, or vehemently, or clamorously; the effect of great distress impatiently endured.Our version and Blayney are wrong in rendering ו And thought It is not what may have been, is meant, but what would be. It is expressly foretold what they would do; and corresponding with this are all the versions and the Targum. — Ed.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Shall we turn to Jeremiah the eleventh chapter as we continue our study through the book of Jeremiah.

Chapter 11 begins a new section of the book, not a whole new division, but it's a new message, and Jeremiah is divided into many messages that the Lord gave to him. With chapter 10 we concluded the message of the Lord to Jeremiah that he was to give at the temple gate. Now he is to give a message to the people concerning their broken covenant with God.

Now you remember when God brought the children of Israel into the land, it was on a conditional basis. It was conditioned upon their obedience to God and to His commandments. So they were commanded when you come into the country, you take it over. There in the valley where Shechem is, there are two hills. One is Gerizim; one is Mount Ebal. And a part of the tribes were to... some of the men from the tribes were to stand on Mount Gerizim; others were to stand on Mount Ebal. And from Mount Ebal, they were to cry out the curses that would come upon the people if they disobeyed the covenant and the commandments of God. "Cursed be he." And all the people down the valley, as these guys would yell out these various curses that would come upon those that turn from God, they would answer and respond, "Amen, Amen." And then from the other side at Gerizim, they pronounced the blessings. And, of course, these are found in Deuteronomy as God laid forth for them the covenant and, really, the conditions by which you will inherit this land. "Blessed are they that obey the law of the Lord." "Amen, Amen." "Blessed are they that walk in His statutes. Blessed are they." And so it must have been quite a scene as more than a million people gathered in the valley and these guys were calling down these curses and blessings, which were the basis, the covenant, the basis by which they were to inherit this land that God had promised unto Abraham.

Now God is officially declaring to them that they have broken that covenant. So God is no longer bound by that covenant to give to them this land, for they have broken the covenant of God. And so this is,

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; And say unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant ( Jeremiah 11:1-3 ),

Now, this is one of the curses that was cried from mount Ebal. And so he is repeating the one cry from Ebal.

When I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from 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 ( Jeremiah 11:4 ):

That's the condition. If you will obey these commandments and do them.

Now Paul speaks of one of the mistakes that the Jews had made in his epistle to the Romans, and that was, having the law, just because they have the law, they felt they were all right. But he said, "It isn't having the law, it's keeping the law that is important." Just because you have the law really doesn't mean anything. In fact, it could be greater condemnation if you're not keeping it. James said, "Be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only" ( James 1:22 ), because that's deceptive. So many times because we do hear the law of God, because we know the law of God, because God has given us His commandments, we feel that's enough. No, with knowledge is responsibility, and the greater the knowledge, the greater the responsibility. The responsibility to obey and to do what we know is right. "He that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, it's evil" ( James 4:17 ). So it isn't just having the law of God. It isn't just having the covenant. It is keeping, it is obeying, and the emphasis, doing that which God has commanded.

Now God said, "The commandment that I gave to your fathers when I said, 'Obey My voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be My people.' On this basis you will be My people, I will be your God. This is the basis upon which I will claim you as My people upon which you can claim Me as your God."

That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land that is flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day ( Jeremiah 11:5 ).

"Now I promised to give them a land flowing with milk and honey. Look around, the land is flowing with milk and honey. I kept My part of the covenant," God is saying. "I've kept my promise. The oath that I made to Abraham when I said I would give to you and your seed this land." God said, "I've kept My part of the covenant, but the people have broken their part."

Then answered I, and said, Amen, O LORD ( Jeremiah 11:5 ).

So be it means... or Amen means, So be it. And in the Hebrew it is, "Amen, O Lord." So he responded with the cry that the people cried out there in the valley at Shechem when the guys were up on a mountain giving the curses and the blessings. He responded as the people did. As God said to him, "This is the basis upon which I'll be your God and you'll be My people." And he says, "Amen, so be it, O Lord."

Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them ( Jeremiah 11:6 ).

So it isn't enough to hear. We must be doers.

For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice. Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not ( Jeremiah 11:7-8 ).

So God is speaking to the nation in an official sense concerning their having broken that covenant and thus they can expect those curses that were pronounced upon them from Mount Ebal and the curses that would befall them for their breaking of that covenant of God.

Now if you go back into Deuteronomy the twenty-eighth chapter, here in, beginning with chapter 27 the verse Jeremiah 11:9 it tells you about this incident there at Mount Ebal and how that, "These shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people." And then on verse Jeremiah 11:13 , the tribes that were to stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce the curses. And so in verse Jeremiah 11:15 , "Cursed be the man that makes any graven image, an abomination unto the Lord." God is telling in the broken covenant here that as many as are there cities, that's how many gods they have. That they've... in Jerusalem on every corner have built an altar to some pagan deity. And so the very first thing that God pronounces a curse upon, they're guilty of these false gods that they were worshipping. And so all of these curses. You notice each verse beginning with sixteen on to the end of the chapter begins with a curse upon them if they would break the covenant. And it tells the covenant and all.

Now in chapter 28, God enumerates what the curses will be and in verse Jeremiah 28:16 , "Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store." Or their food supplies would run low. "Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of the land, the increase of your cattle, and the flocks of your sheep. Cursed shalt thou be when you come in, and cursed shalt thou be when you go out. The Lord will send upon you the cursing, vexation," and so forth. He'll make the pestilence to cleave to you. "The Lord shall smite thee with a consumption," verse Jer 28:22 . And verse Jer 28:25 , "He'll cause you to be smitten before your enemies." "The Lord will smite you," verse Jer 28:27 , "with the botch of Egypt." Whatever that was. But it doesn't sound good, does it? And so He tells all of these things that are going to transpire if they break the covenant.

Now Jeremiah is pronouncing, "You've done it. You've broken the covenant of God. Therefore, the curses are going to be coming upon you because they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but they walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart. Therefore I will bring upon them the words of the covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did them not."

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, which refused to hear my words; and they went 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. Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them ( Jeremiah 11:9-11 ).

What a tragic position for a person to get into where he has gone so far that God says, "That's it. Even when they cry unto Me, I'm not going to listen. They've gone too far. They've taken that step over and it's gone too far and even though they cry unto Me I will not listen." Very, very tragic indeed. And we find God even telling Jeremiah, "Look, don't even pray for them anymore. That's it. They've had it. I've had it. And I'm not going to handle anymore."

Now you remember this morning we had explained to you the historic background. Josiah the king, a good king, who had reigned for thirty-one years, who had brought the spiritual reforms, had died in a battle against Pharaoh Necho there at Megiddo. And he was killed in that battle and so Jehoahaz seized the throne.

Now Jehoahaz was an extremely wicked man and immediately reintroduced the worship of Baal and all of these other gods that Josiah had sort of cleansed out of the land. Now Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, was the most wicked king of all. He was the one that really started the whole downward trend into that never-never land of oblivion away from God. But Josiah had instituted reforms. But now Jehoahaz plunges them right back in to the sins of your forefathers or the sins that were brought upon them by Manasseh. And so God complains to them, "They have broken the covenant which I made with your fathers because you turned back to the iniquities of your forefathers." That would be during the time of Manasseh.

So God declares, verse Jeremiah 11:12 :

Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods ( Jeremiah 11:12 )

If they cry unto Me I'm not going to hear. Let them cry unto their gods.

unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble ( Jeremiah 11:12 ).

These little gods that they were worshipping had no power to help, to hear. Actually, you remember how that so often in the Psalms and in the prophecy of Isaiah God spoke out, or the psalmist spoke out against the worship of these false gods and showed the idiocy of it all. Because a man would take a stick and from this stick carve out a little idol. And with part of the stick he would kindle his fire to bake his bread. And yet to this part of the stick that he carved out as a little God he says, "That's my God." But with the same stick part of it is being burned in the fire, being consumed. And yet the idiocy to say, "Hey, this little wood thing is a god." And to pray to it and to worship and so forth, it's a work of his hands. He's created it himself. And he put eyes on it, the psalmist said, but they can't see. He put ears on it but it can't hear. He put feet on it but they can't walk. How foolish. You got a god that can't hear. You got a god that can't see. A god that can't talk.

So they'll cry unto their gods but they won't hear. Why? Because they can't hear. They are not really gods. But that's when, of course, when the chips are down, when trouble comes, that's when you really want to call upon God. But it's tragic if you've turned your back upon God so long that when you get to that place of desperation and you call upon God, you say, "O God, God, help me." And He just shakes His head and says, "I'm not your God. You haven't been worshipping Me. You've been living after your own pleasure. You've been walking after your own desires. You're not serving Me. Don't call unto Me; I'm not your God. Don't call Me God. I haven't been your God." That would be tragic indeed. And yet God said that's what's going to happen. "They'll call unto Me but I'll say, I'm not your God. You call unto your gods that you've been worshipping because I'm not going to hear you. I'm not going to answer you." For God said,

For according to the number of thy cities were also thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense to Baal ( Jeremiah 11:13 ).

Now isn't that horrible? Here is the city of God, glorious Jerusalem, on every corner an altar, an incense burning unto the god Baal.

Therefore [God said,] don't pray to me for this people ( Jeremiah 11:14 ),

Jeremiah, just don't pray to Me anymore about them.

neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me because of their trouble ( Jeremiah 11:14 ).

So Jeremiah is commanded not to pray for them anymore. I mean, a person is really out when God says, "Hey, don't pray for them anymore." In another place God said, "Don't pray for their good. If you do, I'm not going to hear you." How tragic when God says of a person, "That's it, that's enough, don't even pray for them anymore. They've gone too far." You say, "Is it possible for a man to go that far?" The scripture teaches it is. God said, "My Spirit will not always strive with man" ( Genesis 6:3 ). Man can go so far in his rejection of Jesus Christ that God says, "Okay, that's it. You want to live that way, you want to walk that way, have at it. But never call unto Me. For if you do, I won't even listen." "Therefore they could not believe," Joh 12:39 of his gospel. So Israel had gone over the line from which there is no return.

What hath my beloved to do in my house [God said], seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when you do evil, you rejoice in it. The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he has kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken. For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal. And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then thou showedst me their doings ( Jeremiah 11:15-18 ).

So this is the message that Jeremiah had to take to the people. No wonder the people didn't like it. No wonder they were going to kill him. Man, he was saying harsh things. So Jeremiah now in verse Jeremiah 11:19 speaks of himself and the problems that he was running into.

But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, 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 ( Jeremiah 11:19 ).

So there were men that were conspiring to kill him.

But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins ( Jeremiah 11:20 )

Now the reins are that which guides and directs the animal. You use the reins for leading or guiding. And so that is the guiding area of your life. And a lot of people haven't given the reins over to the Lord. They're trying to guide their lives themselves. But God tries the reins.

and the heart, let me see thy vengeance ( Jeremiah 11:20 )

And now Jeremiah's praying, "Oh God, let me see Your vengeance. They're plotting to kill me, Lord. Now let me see Your vengeance."

on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause ( Jeremiah 11:20 ).

There is within the Christian circles today sort of a, I feel it's a phony kind of a, "Oh, but we're to love everybody, brother, you know, and even the wicked and all." And you know, we're never to think any thoughts of vengeance or we're never to think any thoughts of, "God destroy the wicked" kind of a thing but... and there's almost a weakness in our position against wickedness and against sin because of this prevailing attitude. "Oh well, we ought to be forgiving and all." Yes, we ought to be forgiving. Yes, we ought to love and I don't deny that and I'm not denying that. But there is also a time when we need to be calling for God's righteous judgment. And I think that a part of our whole moral laxity in the nation today has come from a very tolerant, soft attitude towards evil, towards wickedness. And I think that that's a dangerous attitude. And so Jeremiah is saying, "God, let me see Your vengeance on them: for unto Thee have I revealed my cause. God, let me see You wipe them out."

Therefore thus saith the LORD ( Jeremiah 11:21 )

God answers Jeremiah.

of the men of Anathoth, that seek your life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hands ( Jeremiah 11:21 ):

Quit prophesying in God's name, we're going to kill you.

Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by a famine: And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation ( Jeremiah 11:22-23 ).

So God promises He's going to bring judgment upon these who have conspired to kill the prophet of God.

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The broken covenant 11:1-17

This passage consists of five short parts (Jeremiah 11:1-17). Most scholars believe it dates from the reign of Josiah, perhaps after the discovery of the Law but before he initiated his reforms (about 621 B.C.; cf. 2 Chronicles 34:8-33).

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The result of this conduct would be disaster for them all. The Lord would bring this upon them, and all their appeals to Him for relief would be of no avail. People who do not listen are not heard.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Therefore thus saith the Lord, behold, I will bring evil upon them,.... The evil of punishment for the evil of their sins, such as famine, the sword, captivity, which latter is the evil more especially designed; and there is no evil of this nature but what is of God; it is of his sending and bringing; see Amos 3:6:

which they shall not be able to escape; they should not have wisdom enough to form a scheme, nor power enough to put one in execution when formed, whereby they could extricate themselves out of the difficulties they would be in; doubtless reference is had to their being besieged by the Chaldean army, the evil that should come out of the north, Jeremiah 1:14, which should so closely surround them, that none should escape:

and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them: because their prayers were hypocritical, and not attended with faith and true repentance; otherwise, when men cry to God, under a sense of sin, being truly sorry for it, and put their trust in him, he hears them, and delivers them; but these would be concerned only for the evil that was come upon them, and not the evil they had been guilty of; and such sinners, when they pray to him, the Lord hears not. The Targum is,

"and they shall pray before me, and I will not receive their prayers.''

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      11 Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.   12 Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.   13 For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.   14 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble.   15 What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.   16 The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.   17 For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.

      This paragraph, which contains so much of God's wrath, might very well be expected to follow upon that which goes next before, which contained so much of his people's sin. When God found so much evil among them we cannot think it strange if it follows, Therefore I will bring evil upon them (Jeremiah 11:11; Jeremiah 11:11), the evil of punishment for the evil of sin; and there is no remedy, no relief: the decree has gone forth and the sentence will be executed.

      I. They cannot help themselves, but will be found too weak to contest with God's judgments: it is evil which they shall not be able to escape, or to go forth out of, by any evasion whatsoever. Note, Those that will not submit to God's government shall not be able to escape his wrath. There is no fleeing from his justice, no avoiding his cognizance. Evil pursues sinners and entangles them in snares out of which they cannot extricate themselves.

      II. Their God will not help them; his providence shall no way favour them: Though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken to them. In their affliction they will seek the God whom before they slighted, and cry to him whom before they would not vouchsafe to speak to. But how can they expect to speed? For he has plainly told us that he that turns away his ears from hearing the law, as they did, for they inclined not their ear (Jeremiah 11:8; Jeremiah 11:8), even his prayer shall be an abomination to him, as the word of the Lord was now to them a reproach.

      III. Their idols shall not help them, Jeremiah 11:12; Jeremiah 11:12. They shall go, and cry to the gods to whom they now offer incense, and put them in mind of the costly services wherewith they had honoured them, expecting they should now have relief from them, but in vain. They shall be sent to the gods whom they served (Judges 10:14; Deuteronomy 32:37; Deuteronomy 32:38), and what the better? They shall not save them at all, shall do nothing towards their salvation, nor give them any prospect of it; they shall not afford them the least comfort, nor relief, nor mitigation of their trouble. It is God only that is a friend at need, a present powerful help in time of trouble. The idols cannot help themselves; how then should they help their worshippers? Those that make idols of the world and the flesh will in vain have recourse to them in a day of distress. If the idols could have done any real kindness to their worshippers, they would have done it for this people, who had renounced the true God to embrace them, had multiplied them according to the number of their cities (Jeremiah 11:13; Jeremiah 11:13), nay, in Jerusalem, according to the number of their streets. Suspecting both their sufficiency and their readiness to help them, they must have many, lest a few would not serve; they must have them dispersed in every corner, lest they should be out of the way when they had occasion for them. In Jerusalem, the city which God had chosen to put his name there, publicly in the streets of Jerusalem, in every street, they had altars to that shameful thing, that shame, even to Baal, which they ought to have been ashamed of, with which they did reproach the Lord and bring confusion upon themselves. But now in their distress their many gods, and many altars, should stand them in stead. Note, Those that will not be ashamed of their commission of sin as a wicked thing will be ashamed of their expectations from sin as a fruitless thing.

      IV. Jeremiah's prayers shall not help them, Jeremiah 11:14; Jeremiah 11:14. What God had said to him before (Jeremiah 7:16; Jeremiah 7:16) he here says again, Pray not thou for this people. This is not designed for a command to the prophet, so much as for a threatening to the people, that they should have no benefit by the prayers of their friends for them. God would give no encouragement to the prophets to pray for them, would not stir up the spirit of prayer, but cast a damp upon it, would put it into their hearts to pray, not for the body of the people, but for the remnant among them, to pray for their eternal salvation, not for their deliverance from the temporal judgments that were coming upon them; and what other prayers were put up for them should not be heard. Those are in a sad case indeed that are cut off from the benefit of prayer. "I will not hear them when they cry, and therefore to not thou pray for them." Note, Those that have so far thrown themselves out of God's favour that he will not hear their prayers cannot expect benefit by the prayers of others for them.

      V. The profession they make of religion shall stand them in no stead, Jeremiah 11:15; Jeremiah 11:15. They were originally God's beloved, his spouse, he was married to them by the covenant of peculiarity; even the unbelieving Jews are said to be beloved for the fathers' sake,Romans 11:28. As such they had a place in God's house; they were admitted to worship in the courts of his temple; they partook of God's altar; they ate of the flesh of their peace-offerings here called the holy flesh, which God had the honour of and they had the comfort of. This they gloried in, and trusted to. What harm could come to those who were God's beloved, who were under the protection of his house? Even when they did evil yet they rejoiced and gloried in this, made a mighty noise of this. And when their evil was (so the margin reads it), when trouble came upon them, they rejoiced in this, and made this their confidence; but their confidence would deceive them, for God has rejected it, they themselves having forfeited the privileges they so much boasted of. They have wrought lewdness with many, have been guilty of spiritual whoredom, have worshipped many idols; and therefore, 1. God's temple will yield them no protection; it is fit that the adulteress, especially when she has so often repeated her whoredoms and has grown so impudent in them and irreclaimable, should be put away, and turned out of doors: "What has my beloved to do in my house? She is a scandal to it, and therefore it shall no longer be a shelter to her." 2. God's altar will yield them no satisfaction, nor can they expect any comfort from that: "The holy flesh has passed from thee, that is, an end will soon be put to thy sacrifices, when the temple shall be laid in ruins; and where then will the holy flesh be, that thou art so proud of?" A holy heart will be a comfort to us when the holy flesh has passed from us; an inward principle of grace will make up the want of the outward means of grace. But woe unto us if the departure of the holy flesh be accompanied with the departure of the Holy Spirit.

      VI. God's former favours to them shall stand them in no stead, Jeremiah 11:16; Jeremiah 11:17. Their remembrance of them shall be no comfort to them under their troubles, and God's remembrance of them shall be no argument for their relief. 1. It is true God had done great things for them; that people had been favourites above any people under the sun; they had been the darlings of heaven. God had called Israel's name a green olive-tree, and had made them so, for he miscalls nothing; he had planted them (Jeremiah 11:17; Jeremiah 11:17), had formed them into a people, with all the advantages they could have to make them a fruitful and flourishing people, so good was their law and so good was their land. One would think no other than that a people so planted, so watered, so cultivated, should be, as the olive-tree is, ever green, in respect both of piety and prosperity, Psalms 52:8. God called them fair and of goodly fruit, both good for food and pleasant to the eye, both amiable and serviceable to God and man, for which the greenness and fatness of the olive both are honoured, Judges 9:9. 2. It is as true that they have done evil things against God. He had planted them a green olive, a good olive, but they had degenerated into a wild olive,Romans 11:17. Both the house of Israel. and the house of Judah had done evil, had provoked God to anger in burning incense unto Baal, setting up other mediators between them and the supreme God besides the promised Messiah; nay, setting up other gods in competition with the true and living God, for they had gods many, as well as lords many. 3. When they have conducted themselves so ill they can expect no other than that, notwithstanding what good he has done to them and designed for them, he should now bring upon them the evil he has pronounced against them. He that planted this green olive-tree, and expected fruit from it, finding it barren and grown wild, has kindled fire upon it, to burn it as it stands; for, being without fruit, it is twice dead, plucked up by the roots (Jude 1:12), it is cut down and cast into the fire, the fittest place for trees that cumber the ground, Matthew 3:10. The branches of it, the high and lofty boughs (so the word signifies), are broken are broken down, both princes and priests cut off. And thus it proves that the evil done against God, to provoke him to anger, is really done against themselves; they wrong their own souls; God is out of their reach, but they ruin themselves. See Jeremiah 7:19; Jeremiah 7:19. Note, Every sin against God is a sin against ourselves, and so it will be found sooner or later.