Chapter 1

(Verses 1 through 3) The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin : to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah , in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

Thus Jeremiah identifies himself, and tells us in what time frame the word of the LORD came to him. It began to be revealed to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah , and continued until the end of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah. At that time Jerusalem was carried away captive to Babylon .

(Verses 4 through 10) Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest out of the womb I sanctified thee, and ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. Then the LORD put forth His hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, behold, I have put My words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, and to build, and to plant.

The LORD declared to Jeremiah that He had known him before he was even conceived in his mother’s womb. In this instance, as it often does, “know” means more than to have knowledge of. It also carries the idea of giving recognition to someone, or something, in this case to Jeremiah. At that time the LORD had sanctified, and ordained Jeremiah a prophet unto the nations, or Gentiles. No doubt this astounded Jeremiah, for he was only a child. And He reminded the LORD that, as such, he could not speak. This does not mean that he was too young to be able to articulate words, but that he had not had any experience in speaking publicly, or in addressing other people concerning such important things as the word of the LORD. But the LORD assured him that He would supply him with the words he was to speak, and that he, Jeremiah, would go where the LORD sent him, and speak the message the LORD had given him. The LORD then told him to not be afraid of those to whom he was to be sent. And to give him confidence and assurance, the LORD reached forth his hand, and touched Jeremiah’s mouth, declaring that He had put His words in his mouth. He also gave Jeremiah a commission. He set him over the nations, to tear down and destroy such as should be destroyed, and also to build up such as should be built up.

(Verses 11 through 16) Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. Then saith the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten My word to perform it. And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north. Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and all the cities of Judah. And I will utter My judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken Me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.

This text, no doubt, reaches far beyond the time in which it was written. For all the nations of the north country have not yet been gathered against Jerusalem and the cities of Judah . True enough the Babylonians overcame Judah , and carried Jerusalem away captive. Then later the Romans destroyed the temple, and dispersed the Jews over the world. But at the time embraced by this prophecy, “all the families of the kingdoms of the north” will be called to gather against Jerusalem and the cities of Judah . This must refer to the same times spoken of by both Ezekiel and Zechariah, the time of the last great battle at Jerusalem . Remember that, though Jeremiah was indeed a prophet at Jerusalem , the LORD said, in verse 5, “I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations, (Gentiles, or heathen).” So this present text concerns the Gentiles in the day that the LORD shall call them to the great day of His judgment against them. Then He will declare His “judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken Me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.” Some will probably say, “The nations, or Gentiles, could not have forsaken the LORD, because He never revealed Himself to them. He only chose the nation of Israel .” It would behoove them to read the first ten chapters of Genesis. Throughout that period, of course some did not recognize any god; but were wicked to the core. But those who recognized any God, recognized the Lord GOD, the same One Who later revealed Himself to the Jews. The reason why it was necessary to make the revelation to Israel is that the nations had forsaken Him, and had burned incense to other gods, and were worshipping the works of their own hands.

(Verses 17 through 19) Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an Iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.

Having told Jeremiah what He was going to do to the nations in the last days, the LORD now tells him to put aside all fear of the kings, princes, priests, and people of Judah . Otherwise He, the LORD, might cause Jeremiah to be confounded, or confused, before them. But the LORD has made him as a well defended city, an iron pillar, or walls of brass against all of them. And though they will, indeed, fight against Jeremiah, they will not be able to prevail against him; for the LORD will Himself deliver him. This should give him all necessary confidence.

(Verses 1 through 4) Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend: evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD. Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel .

This is the LORD’S first message to Jerusalem , one of remembrance. He recalls their following Him in the wilderness. Although even at that time Israel was somewhat disobedient, the LORD only mentions the sweetness of the close fellowship they enjoyed with Him. Israel was given His protection so that any who attempted to come against him had evil come upon them. Thus the LORD carried them from Egypt all the way to The Promised Land.

(Verses 5 through 8) Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in Me, that they are gone far from Me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered ye defiled My land, and made Mine heritage an abomination. The priests said not, Where is the LORD? And they that handle the law knew Me not: the pastors also transgressed against Me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.

The question, “What have your fathers found _ _ _ _?” can receive nothing but a negative answer. This is the strongest possible way of declaring that they have found no fault in the LORD. The fault is in themselves. The LORD then reminds them how He delivered them from the bondage of Egypt , and led them through the wilderness. It was, indeed, a desolate land. But the LORD brought them safely through, even to the Land He has promised them. But when they entered that wonderful land, they defiled it with their abominable practices. Even their priests were not concerned about the LORD Who had been so gracious to them. Their priests, those who handled the law, did not recognize Him, and their prophets did not declare His word, but prophesied by Baal, an idol god. The whole nation sought only things that were worthless.

(Verses 9 through 13) Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children’s children will I plead. For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing. Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? But My people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Because of all the sins the priests, prophets, and people have committed the LORD will yet plead with them, their children, and their children’s children. Do not be misled by the use of the word, “plead,” in this declaration. The LORD does not mean that He will beg anyone to do anything. This expression is used many times to mean that He will lay judgment upon someone. In this case, He is going to bring judgment upon these people and their descendants for their sins against Him. He then tells them to go to other places, and look around, that they may know that they have done worse than even the heathen. Although the gods of the heathen are all idols that can do nothing, no nation has ever voluntarily abandoned its gods, and taken up others. But Israel and Judah , whose God is the LORD, have abandoned Him to worship idols. He likens this to a man who has a fountain of “living,” or flowing, water, and instead of making use of it, abandons it, and digs himself a cistern, even a broken cistern that can hold no water. Such a move would be exceedingly foolish. But so is leaving the Lord GOD and worshipping idols. Both acts are the epitome of foolishness. This is such a foolish action that it is also dangerous, in fact, so dangerous that He calls upon the heavens thus: “Be ye astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate.”

(Verses 14 through 19) Is Israel a servant? Is he a homeborn slave? Why is he spoiled? The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant. Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head. Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when He led thee by the way? And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt , to drink the waters of Sihor? Or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria , to drink the waters of the river? Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that My fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

Remember that this is all taking place after Israel has been carried away captive by the Assyrians. The LORD asks two questions to bring Israel ’s condition to the attention of Judah . “Is Israel a servant? Is he a homeborn slave? The answer to the first is, “Yes, he is a servant.” But the answer to the second is, “No, he was taken prisoner, carried away captive, and made a slave.” Then He asked, “Why is he spoiled?” The answer is simple. “He had forsaken his God, and followed after idols.” Surely this ought to cause Judah to consider what he was doing. He can see that Israel is as desolate as if young lions had come upon all the people, and laid waste the whole land. Not only so, but “the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head.” These were two cities of Egypt that had done damage to Judah . So the LORD asks, “Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when He led thee in the way?” Surely they could remember that it was their disobedience that brought this upon them. But in spite of the evil done them by Egypt , they are trying to get Egypt to help them now. They also know what Assyria has done to Israel . But they are now also trying to make a league with Assyria . This seems very foolish indeed. Not only had they received damage from both Egypt and Assyria , but those two nations were enemies against each other. So an agreement with either was sure to arouse the wrath of the other, making for a very dangerous situation. Therefore their own wickedness in trying to make deals with both nations would certainly be discovered, and contribute to their own downfall. And it would prove to be a very evil and bitter thing. But all of this is brought about by one primary evil of its own. “’Thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and My fear is not in thee,’ saith the Lord GOD of hosts.”

(Verses 20 through 25) For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou sadist I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot. Yet I planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me? For though thou wash thyself with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before Me, saith the Lord GOD. How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? See thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways; a wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure: in her occasion who can turn her away? All they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her. Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou sadist, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them I will go.

The LORD reminds Judah that He long ago broke his yoke and bands of servitude, and Judah promised that he would not transgress. This, no doubt, is in reference to the deliverance of Israel from the bondage of Egypt , and the making of the covenant with them. (See Exodus 19:1-8) “And all the people answered together, and said, ‘All that the LORD hath spoken we will do.’” Of course, the tribe of Judah was among the people who made that answer. So Judah did say that he would not transgress. Yet, as we follow the progress of Israel , as God led them through the desert, we find that they were continually turning away from the LORD, and following idols. In spite of this the LORD did plant them in the land of Canaan , just as He had promised that He would. They were “a noble vine, wholly a right seed.” How then could they become such a degenerate people, to do, as we have seen above, such a strange thing that such had never been before, even among the nations. There is no way that they can make themselves clean, however much soap, or even niter, they might use. They are beyond redemption by their own works. Apparently, they still claim that they have not become polluted, and have not followed idol gods. The LORD likens them to a wild ass that goes where she pleases, when she pleases. But they are as easily found as is that wild ass. Those who seek for her will only await the proper season. And there she will be. Just so the LORD knows exactly where to find Judah . They cannot hide from Him. He still advises them to return to Him, “Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst.” But their answer is, “There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.” This sounds very much like the cry of many today who are following after the ways of Satan: “This is what I want to do. And I am going to do it.”

(Verses 26 through 30) As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto Me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us. But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? Let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah. Wherefore will ye plead with Me? Ye all have transgressed against Me, saith the LORD. In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.

As we consider a thief that is caught, we understand that he may be ashamed that he was caught; but usually he has no real shame for the fact that he has stolen something. In fact, verse 26 down to the semicolon, might be better understood “As the thief is brought to shame when he is found, so is the house of Israel brought to shame.” From what the LORD has already said about them, it is clear that they have no feeling of shame for what they have done. Nevertheless it has brought shame upon them together with their kings, princes, priests, and prophets. If they had any sense of shame, certainly they would be ashamed. Because they have been bowing down to pieces of wood and stone, (No matter how elaborately carved, they are still only pieces of wood and stone.) and calling them their father or mother. They have completely turned their backs upon the LORD. But when they get in trouble, they will call upon Him to save them. The LORD tells them that when they get in trouble, they can call upon these gods they have been worshipping, and see if they can be of any help. It seems that each city has an idol god of its own. So there is no need for Judah to plead with the LORD to save them in time of trouble. He will not hear their pleas. All the chastisement He has sent upon them has had no effect upon them. They have even killed their prophets with the sword. It has been as if a destroying lion had been turned loose upon their prophets. That is, upon the prophets sent by the LORD. They have honored their false prophets. See Matthew 23:37.

(Verses 31 through 37) O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel ? a land of darkness? Wherefore say My people, We are lords; we will come no more unto Thee? Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number. Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? Therefore has thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways. Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these. Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned. Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? Thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt , as thou wast ashamed of Assyria . Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.

The LORD calls upon Judah to see, or consider, His word. If they will do this, they will see that His covenant with them was that if they would obey His voice indeed He would make them a kingdom of priests unto Himself. But if they did not obey Him, He would deliver them to their enemies. Then He questions, “Have I been a wilderness unto Israel ? a land of darkness?” They know the answer to this. It has not been this way; but, on the contrary, as long as Israel obeyed the LORD, and indeed, long after they turned from Him to the idols they had set up, He still blessed them. But finally, after sending prophet after prophet to warn them, He did turn them over to their enemies, the Assyrians. With this example before them, how can Judah say, “We are lords, we will come no more unto Thee?” Although a maid can hardly forget such trivial things as her ornaments, and a bride cannot forget her attire, Judah , the LORD’S people, have forgotten Him for so long that the days cannot be numbered. They have followed after the ways of wickedness so that upon them is the blood of the poor innocent souls. It is not hidden so that it takes secret searching to find it; but it is “upon all these.” That is, it is all over them so as to be in plain sight. Still they claim to be innocent, and think that His anger will be turned away from them. But He declares, “Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, ‘I have not sinned.’” See I John 1:8-10. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” This is not a new principle at all. It was true in Jeremiah’s day, as in ours. Therefore the LORD said that He would plead with them because they said, “I have not sinned.” As we earlier pointed out, when the LORD says that He will plead with anyone, He does not mean that He is going to beg him to do something. On the contrary, it means that He will bring judgment upon him. It is too late for their effort to change their way to be worth anything to them. They were brought to shame by the king of Assyria , at an earlier time. They made an agreement with him, and paid him to help them against Egypt . He accepted the payment, but did nothing to help them. The LORD says that they shall also have the same result in their effort to get help from Egypt . The reason for this is that the LORD has rejected their “confidences,” or their treaties with Egypt . Even if Egypt tried to help them it would still come to nothing. They will not prosper in these efforts.

(Verses 1 through 5) They say, if a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s wife, shall he return unto her again? Shall not that land be greatly polluted? But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return unto me, saith the LORD. Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness, and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou hast refused to be ashamed. Wilt thou not from this time cry unto Me. My Father, thou art the guide of my youth? Will He reserve His anger for ever? will He keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.

Here we have a question that has been the subject of many arguments. In fact, both of these questions are based upon God’s law, as given to Israel . He does, indeed, declare that, after a man divorces his wife, and she is married to another man, under no conditions is the first husband to take her back as his wife, even if the second man be dead. To do so would be an abomination to the LORD, and would cause the land to be greatly polluted. The argument usually comes up concerning the fact that the LORD says, “But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers, yet return again to Me.” To some, this seems to be a violation of His own law. What they fail to remember is that He did not say “I have divorced you, and you have married another.” I have been able to find no commandment in His law that says, “A man cannot forgive his wife for committing adultery.” This is what He has proposed to Israel . In spite of her multitude of adulteries, He has told her to return to Him. He has cut off the showers and the latter rains from her, to bring her to repentance. But she will not pay any attention to this. But she has refused to change her ways. She shows no shame for her wickedness. His question, in verse 4, seems not to be asking for information, but to be emphasizing the fact that, when He has finished the judgment He is already putting her through, she will turn to Him with the cry, “My Father, Thou art the guide of my youth.” Although Israel has said and done as much evil as she could, and He has extended His mercy to her, He will not hold back His anger forever. There will be punishment. In fact, He had already sent Israel into captivity to the Assyrians.

(Verses 6 through 11) The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? She is gone up upon every high mountain, and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot. And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto Me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto Me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD. And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah .

Certainly it is obvious that the adultery under consideration here is not physical adultery, but the turning away from the LORD to the worship of idols. This Israel had done, even from the days of Jeroboam, the first king of Israel after the dividing of the kingdom. For some time thereafter Judah did maintain the worship of the Lord GOD. But she did see Israel following after idols. This is not to say that no one in Judah worshipped idols, but that officially they only recognized the worship of Jehovah as the true religion. Having observed Israel, as the LORD continually called upon her to return to Him, and she would not, but was finally “divorced by Him,” that is, sent into captivity by the Assyrians, Judah should have known better than to follow her example. But instead she did even worse than Israel , worshipping stones and pieces of wood. Even after Israel was carried away in captivity, Judah did not sincerely repent, and turn back to the LORD, although she did pretend to do so. Therefore the LORD told Jeremiah, “The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah .” This is not to be taken to mean that Israel was actually in any manner justified in her sins; but that our responsibility in anything is always in proportion to our knowledge of the consequences thereof. And Judah had already seen what came upon Israel for her sin.

(Verses 12 through 19) Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel , saith the LORD; and I will not cause Mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed My voice, saith the LORD. Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion : and I will give you pastors according to Mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come into mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem : neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel , and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers. But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? And I said, Thou shalt call Me, My Father; and shalt not turn away from Me.

This is God’s promise to both Israel and Judah . Although Israel has already been given into captivity and dispersion among the nations, and He is about to turn Judah over to the Babylonians, He first sends the message to the north country where Israel is scattered, and at the same time it is to be proclaimed to Judah, that there will come a day in which He will re-gather a remnant of them to Jerusalem. First, however, they must be brought to acknowledging their sin of departing from Him, and worshipping other gods. When He brings them back He will give them pastors that will be according to His heart, instead of their evil imagination. These pastors shall be able to teach them knowledge and understanding. When they have been brought back, and have multiplied in the land, a strange thing will take place. Through the ages since the LORD delivered His laws to Israel , they had kept them in an ark built by Moses according to the instructions of the LORD. And this “ark of the covenant” had been considered by them as “the center of the universe,” as we sometimes say. But when they are restored to Jerusalem , “they shall say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the LORD:’ neither shall it come into mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.” Their focus will no more be upon the ark of the covenant of the LORD. The reason for this is that, in that day the LORD shall be the King in Jerusalem , and upon Him shall they look. Not only so, but even all the nations shall be gathered “to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem .” Zechariah tells us, in Zechariah 14:16, “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.” Without question this is the same King mentioned in the present text. At that time Judah and Israel shall walk together. They will no more be divided, but will be one people. The LORD declares that “they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.” This can be none other than the land of Canaan , not the gospel church, as some would like to make it. Now the LORD asks Himself a question, “How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations?” Israel and Judah have dealt so treacherously with the LORD that it brings up this question. But He always has the proper answer for all questions. His answer to this one is: “Thou shalt call Me, ‘My Father;’ and shalt not turn away from Me.” He does not say, “If you will - - -.” There are no conditions placed upon the matter. He simply declares that it shall be so. And so it shall be.

(Verses 20 through 25) Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel , saith the LORD. A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel : for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God. Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto Thee; for Thou art the LORD our God. Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel . For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.

The LORD declares that the action of the house of Israel (this includes both Israel and Judah ) has been just as that of a wife who leaves her husband, and goes into prostitution. The remainder of this text seems to look forward to the time of the restoration of Israel . It seems to be their repentance from, and confession of their sins. There is a great amount of weeping and praying heard. And it is that of the children of Israel , because they have perverted their way and forgotten the LORD their God. The LORD’S answer to them is, “Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.” In spite of all they have done against Him, the LORD is still merciful to them. Then they reply to Him, “Behold, we come unto Thee for Thou art the LORD our God. Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel .” Remember how the LORD said that He would “put them among the children, and give them a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations.” This fulfills that. Israel continues her confession. They have sinned against the LORD their God, and have been brought to shame because of it. Their fathers have lost everything they had because of it, not only their wealth, but also their children. Because of their sins the children of Israel declare, “We lie down in shame, and our confusion covereth us.” That is, they have no rest from it day or night. And all of it is brought about because they have sinned against the LORD their God, both they and their fathers. This sin has been going on from generation to generation. None of them have obeyed the LORD their God. This confession seems to very closely fit us today. We have not yet been brought to shame as were they. But that can only be ascribed to the mercy of God. It is not for lack of guilt on our part.

(Verses 1 and 2) If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto Me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of My sight, then shalt thou not remove. And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in Him, and in Him shall they glory.

Even as the LORD speaks to “ Israel ,” we are to understand that He is speaking to Judah , because Judah was a son of Israel ; and at the time of this writing, the nation of Israel had already been taken captive by the Assyrians, leaving Judah as the only remaining representative of Israel . He tells them that if they will return to Him, not in pretence, but in truth, and will put away their abominations, they will not “remove,” or be taken captive. If they will take a true oath that the LORD is the living God, and will do judgment and righteousness, not only they, but the nations also will “bless themselves in Him, and in Him shall they glory.” But, alas, we shall find that they did not do that, but continued on after their own imagination.

(Verses 3 through 9) For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem , Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem : lest My fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. Declare ye in Judah , and publish in Jerusalem ; and say, blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities. Set up the standard toward Zion : retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. The lion is come up from the thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant. For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us. And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.

This is a call to the men of Judah and Jerusalem that they should turn sincerely to the LORD, because of the judgment that is coming upon them. The LORD tells them to “break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.” Fallow ground is not what we called “new ground,” when, as a child I was working in farming. New ground is that from which the forest has just been cut that it may be cultivated. Fallow ground is that which has been cultivated, but has been left idle for a while. In such a case, some thorns may have sprung up on it. So the LORD tells these men of Judah and Jerusalem to break up this fallow ground, before sowing it in whatever crop they might use. Do not sow among the thorns. If one should sow among the thorns, the thorns would soon choke out whatever crop he did get to come up, and all his effort would be wasted. The way to break up the fallow ground of which He speaks is to “circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart.” Obviously He is not speaking of circumcision in the flesh. Instead, the meaning is that they must repent of their sins, and turn wholeheartedly to the LORD. If they do not, His fury will break forth like a fire, and burn so that there is no way to quench it. The occasion of its coming thus upon them is their sins. In verses 5 through 7, He tells them to prepare for the battle, for it is already on its way. They should sound the alarm, and rush into the defenced cities. Though they set up the standard toward Zion , they will still have to retire from it, and not stay there; because He will bring an evil from the north, that will be great destruction. This is not something that can be diverted by some action on their part. Verse 7 is so clear that any effort to explain it further is only useless. “The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.” Since this is the situation, it is time for mourning, as signified by clothing oneself with sackcloth. It is time for great mourning, because the anger of the LORD has not been turned away from Judah and Jerusalem . In spite of the LORD’S warning to them, they have given Him no heed. And now the destruction is determined, and will not be turned away. In the day of this great destruction, everyone, including king, princes, priests, and prophets, will be overcome with fear and astonishment.

(Verses 10 through 14) Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely Thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem , saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul. At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of My people, not to fan, nor to cleanse, even a full wind from those places shall come unto Me: now also will I give sentence against them. Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! For we are spoiled!

As the prophet realized that the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem was fixed, and would not be turned aside. He first thinks that the LORD has deceived the people by promising them deliverance from the destruction that he now sees is surely coming. He apparently overlooks the fact that deliverance was promised only if they sincerely turned away from their idols to the LORD, and repented of their sins. And this they had not done. And neither were they about to do so. The sword was already reaching for them. When it actually arrives, a message shall be given to Judah and Jerusalem . That message is, “A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse, even a full wind from those places shall come unto Me: now also will I give sentence against them.” That is, the LORD is calling a wind from the high places of the desert, not for the purpose of cooling, or giving comfort to the people, and neither to cleanse them. Instead, it is a full wind, or a strong wind, for the purpose of bringing desolation upon them. Therefore He will give sentence against them. Verse 13 describes the enemy that this wind represents. His army shall be as many as the clouds, and his chariots will be as a whirlwind. The whirlwind to which He refers is not the little weather phenomenon we often see during dry weather, that often picks up small debris from the fields, and whirls it around slowly up in the air. In reality, it is a storm, such as a tornado, or a hurricane. And this one will do great damage. His horses are swifter than eagles. It will be a time of great distress. Jeremiah exclaims, “Woe unto us! For we are spoiled!” He can see that there is ruin ahead.

(Verses 14 through 18) O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim . Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem , that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah . As keepers of a field are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against Me, saith the LORD. Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.

Certainly the LORD knows that Jerusalem will not heed His advice to her; but, nevertheless, He calls upon her to wash, or cleanse, her heart from wickedness, that she might be saved from this terrible desolation that has been determined. He asks, “How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?” When the LORD asks a question, it is never to learn something, for He knows all things. His question is for the purpose of calling Jerusalem ’s attention to the hopelessness of such vain thoughts. There is a declaration of affliction, from Dan, and from mount Ephraim , that is also to be published to the nations. This affliction is to be upon Jerusalem . Watchers have come from a far country, and given their voice against her and the cities of Judah . Because of their rebellion against the LORD, they are kept in as a field with keepers all around it. A slight re-arranging of verse 18 might make it a little more easily understood. “Because this, your wickedness is bitter, and reaches unto your heart, your way and your doings have brought this upon you.”

(Verses 19 through 22) My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? For My people is foolish, they have not known Me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

Verses 19 and 20 seem to be the lament of Jeremiah concerning the destruction that is coming upon Judah and Jerusalem . He is troubled throughout his being because of the alarm for war that he hears. He can see that the whole land is to be desolate, and everything he, or anyone else there has, is to be destroyed. The LORD answers with a question, “How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?” This does not indicate that He does not know how long this battle will rage. It simply calls attention to the fact that it will be a long siege, and very destructive. Then He gives the reason for it all. His people, whom He had chosen, had delivered from Egyptian bondage, had led through the wilderness, had established in The Promised Land, and raised up to be a great nation, were so foolish that they did not know, or recognize, Him. “They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.” This last sentence fits all of us even today, unless He gives us grace and understanding. Without that, we are no better than they, and are in grave danger.

(Verses 23 through 28) I beheld the earth, and lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by His fierce anger. For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.

Some things in this text turn us, in our minds, back to the beginning of the book of Genesis. But it seems to be the vision of Jeremiah concerning the total devastation that was to come upon Judah and Jerusalem for their terrible wickedness in turning away from the LORD of hosts, to worship and serve idols. The land will be reduced to the same desolation that reigned before the LORD brought light upon the earth. Yet the LORD declares that He will not make a full end. That is He will not completely destroy His people, though He will bring terrible desolation upon them for their sins. Since He has spoken this, and has purposed it He will not turn away from it. But it shall come just as He has declared it.

(Verses 29 through 31) The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man shall dwell therein. And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life. For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! For my soul is wearied because of murderers.

Thus the LORD declares that the whole city, Jerusalem , and, indeed, every city of the land shall be forsaken of her citizens, as they try to find safety in the thickets, and upon the rocks. The devastation shall be such that there will be no inhabitants left in the cities. He asks what they will do when they are thus spoiled. It will do them no good to dress in their finest attire, and try to paint up their faces, as women often do in an effort to make themselves look more beautiful than they naturally are. No one will be attracted to them by these efforts. In fact all will be so greatly against them that they will be trying to bring on greater sorrow by killing them. Instead of being loved, and receiving sympathy from their former friends, they will be despised by all. As this comes upon them there will be a great wailing from “the daughter of Zion ,” such as a woman in travail with her first child might make. And she will say, “Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.”

(Verses 1 and 2) Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it. And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.

The LORD is here speaking. He declares that, if a man can be found, either in the streets of Jerusalem , or in the broad, or open, places thereof, that executes judgment, or is even seeking the truth, He will pardon it. Probably “it,” in this declaration, refers to Jerusalem . Remember that the LORD told Abraham that if ten could be found righteous in the whole city of Sodom , He would spare the city. Now He says that if one man can be found in Jerusalem who executes judgment and seeks the truth, He will pardon the whole city. Then He says, “And though they say, ‘The LORD liveth;’ surely they swear falsely.” Certainly, He is not saying that the statement, “The LORD liveth,” is false; but that when they say it, they do not believe it; and therefore they swear falsely. This is His indictment of the while city.

(Verses 3 through 6) O LORD, are not Thine eyes upon the truth? Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; Thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God. I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds. Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evening shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities! Every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.

As Jeremiah considers the situation, he asks a question, more for emphasis than for information. He knows that the LORD’S eyes always behold the truth. In this instance, the truth to which he refers is that in spite of all the chastisements the Lord has already sent upon Judah and Jerusalem , they have made no effort to turn back to Him. Instead they have continued on in their evil ways, as if they were totally unaware of the correction. As he realized this, the prophet came to the conclusion that these whom he was observing were just the poor and foolish ones of Jerusalem . And therefore they knew neither the way of the LORD nor the judgment of their God. And for that reason they had broken off His yoke, and burst the bonds that bound them to Him. He then concluded that he would have better success if he went to the great men of the city, and talked with them; “for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God.” As we continue through Jeremiah’s writing, we shall see that he had no better success with the great men than with the poor and foolish. Now he declares that because of the present condition of those he has observed, they are soon to experience some extremely great affliction. In verse 6 his reference to the lion and the leopard are, probably, not to be considered as meaning the actual animals, but the Babylonians, whose ferocity was comparable to these animals. By them the whole land would be laid completely desolate. .and all this was coming upon them because of their transgressions and backslidings.

(Verses 7 through 9) How shall I pardon thee for this? Thy children have forsaken Me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses. They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

Since “natural adultery” often goes hand in hand with false religion, it may be under consideration in this text, as is also “spiritual adultery.” For the LORD definitely condemns both. But it seems that the primary reference is to the “spiritual adultery,” forsaking the LORD, and worshipping false gods. This has been the theme from the beginning of this prophecy. This people had so given themselves to the worship of idols that they wanted to worship every one they heard of, just as a prostitute will go with any man she can, and a “womanizing” man will go with every woman he can. The LORD asks, “Shall I not visit for these things?- - - and shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this?” Surely He will punish such. And this is true today, just as it was in Jeremiah’s day.

(Verses 10 through 18) Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD’S. For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously with Me, saith the LORD. They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not He; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see the sword nor famine. And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. Wherefore saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make My words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel , saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understanndest what they say. Their quiver is an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword. Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you.

Notice the similarity of the LORD’S command to the destroyers in verse 10 and His promise to Israel in verse 18. Although He is sending this desolation and captivity upon Israel and Judah , He will not make a full end of them. He will reserve a remnant. This He has promised in all the afflictions of Zion . Every prophet who has spoken of their destruction has declared that the LORD will spare a remnant. Those He sends against Jerusalem are to tear down her battlements, for they are not the LORD’S. His battlements are never to be torn down. He can, and sometimes does, temporarily remove them, when He is sending chastisement upon His people. But none beside Him can remove them. The reason He is sending these enemies against Jerusalem is that both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt falsely against Him. When He has sent word that He will bring chastisement upon them, they have said, “It is not He, neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see the sword nor famine.” That is they have denied that the word He has sent is from Him. They declare that His prophets do not have the word of the LORD, but are only speaking words of no meaning, as if it were only the wind blowing. Thus they belie the LORD. He says that, Because they do this, He will make His word in the mouth of Jeremiah to be fire that shall devour them. Then He describes the people He will send against them. They are an ancient nation, and a very mighty one. The people of Israel and Judah cannot even understand their language. And they are all mighty men. “Their quiver is an open sepulchre.” That is, they do not waste their arrows, but are so accurate with their bows that there quivers seem to just be open graves waiting for their victims. These enemies will come upon them, and when they do, they shall eat up and destroy everything upon which the people have depended. But even then The LORD will reserve a remnant. He will not make a full end.

(Verses 19 through 24) And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us? Then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken Me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours. Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah , saying, Hear now this, O foolish people, without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: fear ye not Me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at My presence, Which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves toss themselves, yet they cannot prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it? But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, That giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: He reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.

When all of this shall come upon the people, and they shall ask, “Why?” as people so often do when calamity comes upon them, the Prophet is to tell them that, just as they have served strange gods in their land, so shall they serve strangers in a land that is not theirs. Then the LORD tells Jeremiah to make a declaration to them, to all of them, both the house of Jacob and the house of Judah . They are a people who have eyes but cannot see, and ears but cannot hear. First the question must be asked. “Since the LORD is so great that he has set the sand as the boundary of the sea, and it cannot pass over it, no matter how much it may toss and roar, do they not fear Him?” but there is only a negative answer. Their heart is rebellious, and they have completely revolted against Him, and gone after idols. They do not even say in their hearts, and certainly not to others, “Let us now fear the LORD our God, That giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: He reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.” They will not even admit that it is He Who gives them this blessing.

(Verses 25 through 29) Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. For among My people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

The LORD declares that the iniquities of the people have cut off these good things from them. Even among the LORD’S people are found wicked men. His people are not accused of being wicked. But among them are some that are wicked. These wicked ones are continually setting traps and snares, not for birds and beasts of the field, but for men. Their houses are filled with deceit just as a cage is filled with birds. By these wicked works they have become great, or exalted, and rich. “They are waxen fat, they shine,” is a metaphor taken from cattle. When they get fat their coat of hair actually does shine. And as these wicked ones become rich, their wealth shines forth before the other people, and this usually results in others honoring them for being so successful. Today we often hear the remark, when one is very successful, “He surely must be doing right.” While it may be that he is doing right, his success is no indication of it. He has never promised His servants riches in this world. Their glory is reserved for the world to come. These wicked ones will not judge the cause of the fatherless or the needy, two characters whom the LORD has always commanded us to take care of. Yet they prosper. So the LORD asks, “Shall I not visit for these things? - - - shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this?” He will indeed visit, and that with the rod, for such. And His soul will be avenged on such a nation. Of that, we can be sure.

(Verses 30 and 31) A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and My people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end?

Not only is this a horrible thing, but it is also a wonderful, or highly unusual thing. It is so unusual that it called forth this command from the LORD, “Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be ye horribly afraid, be very desolate,” Chapter 2, verse 12. This people have changed their God, the living God, for idols that can do nothing. And because of this their prophets only speak lies, and their priests rule according to their wealth: and the people love to have it so. Therefore the LORD asks, “What will ye do in the end thereof?” It certainly is high time to consider what will be the final outcome of such.

Chapter 6

(Verses 1 through 8) O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem , and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Bethhaccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction. I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman. The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place. Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon . Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out. Arise, and let us go up at night, and let us destroy her palaces. For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem : this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her. As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before Me continually is grief and wounds. Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest My soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.

The tribe of Benjamin had remained with the tribe of Judah when the Northern kingdom, Israel , and the Southern kingdom, Judah divided at the time of Rehoboam and Jeroboam. Benjamin had remained with Judah all the while. Now the LORD says to the children of Benjamin that, it is time for them to flee out of Jerusalem , blow the trumpet, and set up the signal fire, for there is to come from the north a great destruction. Then He says that He has likened “the daughter of Zion ,” Jerusalem , to a beautiful and delicate woman. She is so attractive that the shepherds bring their flocks, and pitch their tents around her, quietly feeding their flocks. But that is all over. It is time for war to be brought against her. First the enemy says, “Let us go up at noon .” But apparently there is some delay, for the cry goes forth, “Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.” Then comes the command, “Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces.” Even if the attack is delayed until night, it will still be made. And the first attack is to be against her palaces. The commission for this war is of the LORD. He has given the order, “Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem : this is the city to be visited.” The reason for this attack is that Jerusalem has become so evil that there is nothing left in her but oppression. Her wickedness, violence and spoil, pour forth from her just as waters come forth from a fountain. The LORD declares that grief and wounds (caused by her) are continually before Him. So He speaks a message to her: “Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest My soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.” Thus He calls upon her to receive instruction, that is, take heed to the warning he has given. Otherwise there is a danger that His soul will depart from her. That is, He will completely turn away from her, and make her desolate, that there shall be no one left living in the land.

(Verses 9 through 17) Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grape gatherer into the baskets. To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary of holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days. And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out My hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD. For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD. Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.

The LORD says that those He is sending against Judah and Jerusalem will throughly, or completely, glean the remnant of the vine of Israel . Now, the kingdom of Israel had already been carried away captive by the Assyrians, who left a few of the inhabitants in the land. But these who are about to come will glean even that remnant. Since they are being sent against Judah , and are yet going to thus glean the remnant of Israel , one can but wonder just how great will be the desolation of Judah . Now the LORD asks, “To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear?” Then, as we consider the answer He gives to this question, we understand that there is none to whom the warning can be effectively spoken. They cannot hear, and the word of the LORD is to them a reproach. They want nothing to do with it. This is a terrible situation. Even the LORD’S chosen nation has become so alienated from Him that they consider it a reproach to even consider His word. They have no desire for it, and take no delight in it if it is spoken to them. This has ever been the way the matter stands with the world, insofar as the gospel is concerned. How then can any hear and heed it unless, and until the LORD opens their hearts, minds, and ears to hear it? Because of this condition among the people of His chosen nation, the LORD declares that He is full of fury, and weary of holding it in. The time has come for Him to pour it forth. Neither youth nor age will exempt anyone from receiving it. Neither male nor female will be spared. He will stretch out His hand upon all the inhabitants of the land. He declares that, from the least to the greatest of them they are all given to covetousness, and even the prophets and priests all deal falsely. To make matters worse, they are telling the people that they shall have peace, so that they can go on in their present way of doing. But even now there is no peace. And surely there is no peace ahead for them in the path they are following. He then declares that they are so far gone in the way of wickedness that they have no shame, they cannot even blush, or be embarrassed. And because of this He, the LORD, will visit them with punishment, and they shall be violently thrown down. He then gives them this instruction, “Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” But even such a promise falls upon deaf ears. They say, “We will not walk therein.” Then He set watchmen over them, who called upon them to listen to the trumpet, the alarm for battle. But their answer to this was, “We will not hearken.” In spite of all the warnings the LORD had in His mercy sent upon them, they would have none of it.

(Verses 18 through 25) Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto My words, nor to My law, but rejected it. To what purpose cometh there to Me incense from Sheba , and sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto Me. Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbor and his friend shall perish. Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth. They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion . We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail. Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.

Notice that this message is not just to Judah and Jerusalem ; but the LORD also calls upon the nations, or Gentiles, and even the whole earth to witness the fact that He is going to bring upon this people the fruit of their thoughts. Since their thoughts are continually evil, He will bring evil upon them. The evil they have done is that they have rejected His words and His law: and the evil He will bring upon them is destruction and captivity. He tells them that their sacrifices are of no avail. They are not pleasing to Him, even when incense is brought from Sheba , and sweet cane from a far country, to be offered to Him. He will therefore lay stumbling blocks before them so that father and son, and neighbor and his friend shall all fall upon them, and perish. Then He again describes the nation He will bring against them. Verses 24 and 25 seem to be the answer of the people to this warning. They have heard the fame of this nation, and even that has filled everyone with such fear that they can do nothing. Pain has taken hold on them as it does a woman in childbirth. They are afraid to even go out into the field, or walk along the road. There is no place safe from the fear of the enemy.

(Verses 26 through 30) O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us. I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among My people, that thou mayest know and try their way. They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are as brass and iron; they are all corrupters. The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away. Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.

It seems that we have two speakers in this text. Verse 26 seems to be Jeremiah’s speech to Jerusalem , begging her to repent of her wickedness, in the hope that the LORD will turn away His wrath, and save her from the destruction He has already pronounced upon her. It is urgent that she do so, for the spoiler is at hand, and shall suddenly come upon her. Then the LORD tells Jeremiah that He has set him among His people as t tower and a fortress to defend them, and that he may know and try their way. Then He gives another description of the people. They are all so vile that the analogy He uses concerning them is, that even though they, as silver should be put in the refiner’s fire, and the lead all melted away, all would be in vain. For even then the wicked would not all be separated from them. So men shall call them “reprobate silver,” or counterfeit silver, because they are rejected of the LORD.

(Verses 1 through 7) The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD are these. For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor; If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt; then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.

Although the LORD had already told Judah that He would not turn away from His anger, but would send destruction upon them, He yet commissions Jeremiah to give them a message of mercy. If they will turn from these idols, repent of their sins, and worship and serve the LORD, He will cause them to continue living in the land. They have been trusting in false words, or sayings. They are trusting that since the temple of the LORD is in Jerusalem, He will take care of them, no matter what they do. It seems that there are many today who think that if they will go to church, and give of their time and money to its many projects, They can do as they please about how they live, and He will continue to bless them. This was false in Jeremiah’s day, and it is false today. He tells Judah that they must thoroughly amend their ways, and work works of righteousness if they are to receive His blessing, and be spared the desolation He has already told them He will send upon them. But the promise remains. If they will heed His warning, He will spare them.

(Verses 8 through 16) Behold, ye trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; and come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? Is this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD. But go ye now unto My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of My people Israel. And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not; therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by My name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all of your brethren, even the whole house of Ephraim. Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to Me: for I will not hear thee.

Here the LORD again turns to Judah with a description of what they have been doing. He lays quite a charge against them. They are trusting in a completely false doctrine, “lying words that cannot profit.” Notice all the evils He says they do, and then come before Him in His temple, and declare that they are “delivered to do all these abominations.” That is, they say that all these things are allowed them by the LORD. That sounds very much like what these homosexuals are always crying today. They say, “The LORD loves us as much as He does anyone else, and it is all right for us to live any way we want to.” No doubt His answer to Judah will also answer these today. “Is this house, which is called by My name, wherein ye trust, become a den of robbers in your eyes?” That is, do you think that you can hide under the umbrella of the church, and My name, and be safe while practicing such things?” Then He refers them to Shiloh , the place where the ark of the covenant was once placed, and where the LORD placed His name at that time. He destroyed Shiloh for the wickedness of the people of Israel . So surely this ought to serve as a lesson for these. Since these have followed in the same way that Israel had gone, and in spite of the many warnings He has given them, refuse to give any heed to Him, He will destroy this place just as he did Shiloh . He will cast them out of his sight just as He did the whole nation of Israel . Since literally, nothing can escape the sight of God, we have to understand this as that He will not look favorably upon them. So He tells Jeremiah to make no prayers, cries, nor intercessions for this people, because He will refuse to “hear” any intercession for them. He has determined His course toward them, and will not deviate from it.

(Verses 17 through 20) Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem ? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger. Do they provoke Me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces? Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, Mine anger and My fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and not be quenched.

The LORD calls the attention of Jeremiah to what the people of Judah were doing. It was not just a matter of the men, or the women doing these abominations. It was a family affair. Even the children were engaged in it. They gathered the wood, the fathers kindled the fire, and the women made the cakes, to be offered in sacrifice to the queen of heaven. And , not satisfied with this, they also poured drink offerings to other gods. They were wholly given to idolatry.. It seemed that it was their intent to provoke the LORD to anger. He asks if this is what they accomplished. Then He answers the question with still another. “Do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?” Though the LORD may indeed be angry with them for this, they are the ones who shall suffer the real damage for it. So He declares that he will pour out His anger and his fury upon this place. It will be upon man, beasts, forests, and fields. Nothing shall escape. And when it is thus poured out, it shall not be quenched.

(Verses 21 through 28) Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh. For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: but this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be My people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: yet they hearkened not unto Me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers. Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call them; but they will not answer thee. But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.

The LORD tells them to put their burnt offerings with their sacrifices, and eat the flesh. That is, do not offer it to Him. This signifies that they may as well eat it, because He will not accept a sacrifice from them. Then He reminds them that He said nothing to them about sacrifices and offerings at the time when He brought them out of the land of Egypt . Instead His command was that they obey His words. See Exodus 19:5-9 for the LORD’S covenant with them immediately after He delivered them from the Egyptians. It is to this He refers in verse 23. The laws of sacrifices and offerings was not given until later. The only condition set forth at this time was their obedience to His word. And they declared that they would do everything He said to them. Verse 24 gives the sad commentary on their lack of obedience. “But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.” From that time on, He has continued to call upon them to obey Him. He has sent his servants the prophets to warn them of the dangers they faced. But they would not give heed. And now these to whom He is speaking have hardened their necks, and done worse than their fathers. He commands Jeremiah to “speak all these words unto them,” but He also warns him that they will not give any heed to what he says. Still he is to declare to them that they are a people who will not obey the voice of the LORD their God, and will not receive correction. They have no truth in them.

(Verses 29 through 31) Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath. For the children of Judah have done evil in My sight, saith the LORD; they have set their abominations in the house which is called by My name, to pollute it. And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of Hinnom , to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into My heart.

So He calls upon Jerusalem to cut off her hair and throw it away, and get up on the high places, and make a great lamentation, “for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.” Since He has both rejected and forsaken them, there can be no hope that He will turn His anger aside, and withhold the punishment He has declared. Then He tells of some of the abominations they have set up. They have built the high places, or altars, of Tophet, a place in the valley of Hinnom , for the purpose of burning their children as sacrifices to idol gods. This had long been a common practice of some of the nations around Judah , and now they also have followed this abomination. All of this is totally foreign to anything the LORD has ever commanded them.

(Verses 32 through 34) Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place. And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away. Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah , and from the streets of Jerusalem , the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.

Because of all these abominations, the LORD will bring such desolation to this place that the only name that will be suitable for it is “the valley of slaughter.” There will they bury the dead until there will be no more place for a grave. So the corpses will be left out for the fowls of the air and the beasts of the fields and forests. And complete desolation shall reign over Jerusalem .

Chapter 8

(Verses 1 through 3) At that time saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves.: and they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth. And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.

The picture set before us is not so hard to understand, when we realize that the manner of burial among the Jews was not the same as is ours of today. In those days, for the greater part, graves were not just holes in the ground, into which the dead bodies were placed, and the earth thrown back into the holes to cover them. Instead, although they were holes, or caves dug in the ground, often in the sides of hills, and made large enough that the remains of a loved one might be placed therein, and a stone placed over the entrance of the cave. After the body had been there for a sufficient time for the flesh to decay away from the bones, the bones were often taken up, and placed in a special box, and either replaced in the cave in a prepared place for same, or in some other location, and other bodies could be placed in the same “grave.” Thus it would be a much simpler matter to take up all the bones of the dead, and bring them forth, for bones were all that was left, and they had been carefully preserved. The LORD says that these people whom He will send against Judah will take up the bones of the kings, princes, priests, prophets, and the inhabitants (the common people) of Jerusalem, and spread them out on the ground before the sun, moon, and all the hosts of heaven (the stars) which they have worshipped and served. And these bones shall not be gathered up, but left out on the face of the earth as if they were dung. For people who were so careful to preserve the bones of their ancestors, this is a terrible calamity. And in the places where the LORD is going to drive these people, all the remnant of this evil family will, because of their suffering, desire death rather than life. This is spoken by the LORD of hosts, and cannot fail.

(Verses 4 through 12) Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall He turn away, and not return? Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast deceit, they refuse to return. I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into battle. Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but My people know not the judgment of the LORD. How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made He it; the pen of the scribes is in vain. The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them? Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields unto them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least unto the greatest is given unto covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.

The LORD gives Jeremiah a further message to the inhabitants of Jerusalem . First we have a question. “Shall they fall, and not arise?” This is similar to the questions the Apostle Paul asked concerning the cutting off of Israel from the gospel. And the answer to this is similar to his answer to the questions he asked. No, they are not to fall so that they can never arise: for the LORD will reserve for Himself a remnant, and He will restore them, as he many times promised. Now is asked the question, “Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding?” The answer to this is that, they adamantly hold on to deceit, and will not return to the LORD. The LORD says that He listened carefully, but they did not speak the truth, nor did any one even show any repentance for his wickedness. Instead they went on in the same course they had followed, just as a horse will go steadfastly into the very face of battle. They do not even have the wisdom to consider what they are doing. He mentions several birds that are known to migrate at certain seasons, the stork, the turtle, (turtle dove,) the crane, and the swallow. All of these know their time for migration. But the LORD’S people do not know the judgment of the LORD. They are even less wise than the birds of the air. It seems that giving them the law was in vain, and although the scribes continue to make copies of it, no one follows it. The wise men among them are put to shame, and are totally confused, because the people have all rejected the word of the LORD. So what wisdom can there be in them? So the LORD has determined to give their wives, and their property to others. It seems a little strange to us to say that He will give their wives to someone else. But in those days, and among people of that region, wives were often considered as nothing more than the property of their husbands. It will be remembered that king Saul gave his daughter, who was one of David’s wives, to another man. So for that time, and region, this does not seem so strange. The LORD will do this in punishment for the people for their wickedness. For they, from the least unto the greatest, were wholly given to covetousness. And this included their prophets and their priests, who were all dealing falsely. They have “slightly healed,” or given false hope to the people of the LORD, by crying “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace at all. And after committing these abominations, they were not ashamed of their false declarations. They were so reprobate that they could not even blush, they had no shame. Because of this, the LORD declares “Therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down.” He will violently throw them down.

(Verses 13 through 17) I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things I have given them shall pass away from them. Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD. We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold, trouble! The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein. For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.

The LORD declares that He will surely consume, or bring to desolation, this people, because of their wickedness. He will destroy all of their crops, and take away from them all the good things He has already given them. In verses 14 through 16, it seems that the prophet is advising the people to take refuge in the defenced cities, and be very quiet, because the LORD has put them to silence. They had hoped for peace. (That is what their prophets and priests had promised them.) But instead they have come to a time of trouble. The enemy has already come as far as to the tribe of Dan, and the snorting of his horses can already be heard. So trouble is already upon them. Then the LORD says that he will not only send this great army upon them, but also serpents to bite them. Not only Has He sent men to fight with and overcome them, but He has even turned nature against them also.

(Verses 18 through 22) When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me. Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of My people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion ? Is not her King in her? Why have they provoked Me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities? The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. For the hurt of the daughter of My people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on Me. Is there no balm in Gilead ; is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of My people recovered?

This text apparently is to show the LORD’S love for His people. Although we commonly consider the LORD, since He is Divinity, unable to be sorrowful. But He shows Himself as if He were a man. And as such He is in the greatest of sorrow because of the terrible things He must send against the very nation which He has chosen as His peculiar people on the earth. With all the wonderful blessings he has given them from the day He led them out of Egypt until the present, how could they so turn away from Him as to make such punishment necessary. He is their King. And is He not still there, that they can turn to Him, and He will pardon their iniquities? But they will not obey His voice. Therefore “The harvest is passed, the summer is ended.” That is the time for repentance is gone, and they must face that which He is about to send upon them. He has such great sorrow for them that astonishment has taken hold of Him. Then He asks if there is no balm, and no physician in Gilead . Gilead was known as a center for healing in those days. Its use here is really a reference to Himself. Is He not still present? Surely He is. Then why is not the health of His people recovered? The answer is that they will not heed His warning to them. This is quite a different picture of the LORD from what we usually have in our mind. We often find descriptions of Him, as he is angry, and sets forth His wrath against sinners. But we seldom think of anything causing Him sorrow. Surely, if He can feel one emotion, He can also feel another. But in spite of this, He remains with “no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

Chapter 9

In verses 1 and 2, It seems that Jeremiah is completely overcome with sorrow because of the terrible condition in which his people now are, and the desolation that is coming upon them. He feels that as sorrowful as he is, he is still not weeping enough for them. He wishes that his head were waters, and his eyes a fountain of tears, and that he might weep day and night, continuously, for the slain of Jerusalem . Then he wishes that he had a place of lodging in the wilderness, that he could leave his people, and take up lodging there. His people are all so evil that he desires to leave them, and go completely away from them. Even the LORD has declared that they are all fully given to lying, and have no regard for the truth. They are continually going from one evil to another, and do not know the LORD. The LORD warns them to take heed, or be careful, everyone of his neighbor and his brother, for they will all betray their brother and their neighbor, and walk with slanders, or slanderers. They will not speak the truth, but have taught their tongues to lie. That is, they have deliberately practiced lying. And they wear themselves down hunting for more evil to do. They dwell in the midst of lies, and refuse to consider the LORD.

(Verses 7 through 11) Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of My people? Their tongue is an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait. Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the LORD: shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this? For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heaven and the beast are fled; they are gone. And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.

As the LORD says, “I will melt them, and try them,” the simile is that of melting down silver to separate the dross from it. He has used this thought before. See Chapter 6, verses 29-30. Then He asks, “How shall I do for the daughter of My people?” He is greatly concerned for them; but He is not asking for information. Rather, He is calling attention to what He has determined to do. And He gives a description of them in verse 8. They are so filled with evil that their tongues are like arrows already shot out. That is, as soon as their tongues move, they speak deceit. They will, with words speak peaceably and kindly to a neighbor, while at the same time they are in their hearts setting a trap for him. And, apparently, this is the way all of them act, not just one or two. Certainly then He will visit them with punishment for this, and He will avenge His soul on such a nation as this. It seems that verse 10 is Jeremiah’s lamentation for Judah and Jerusalem for the desolation that is coming upon them. This lamentation seems to cover, not the people, but the land itself. He will take up a lamentation for the mountains and the habitations of the wilderness, because everything is burned up, and there is no one left to pass through the area. Men can no more hear the cattle, primarily because both are gone. Men, cattle, birds of the heaven, and the beasts of the fields and the forests are all gone. Jerusalem will be destroyed so that it is only heaps of rubbish, and a den of dragons. And the cities of Judah will have no inhabitants. They will all have been taken into captivity.

(Verses 12 through 16) Who is the wise man, that may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through? And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, neither walked therein; but have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them: Therefore saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.

The LORD’S first question seems to be for the purpose of strongly declaring that there is no man that can fully understand what has caused the people to continue on in their evil ways to the point that the LORD would bring upon them such destruction and desolation as this. Then He signifies by His next question that only a man to whom the LORD has directly spoken can even declare this terrible situation to the people. Even then, no doubt, it is so horrible that they will not understand it. But it seems that it must be declared. And apparently Jeremiah is the man chosen to declare it. What has brought it all upon them is that they have forsaken the law of the LORD, which He set before them, and have refused to walk in it. Instead they have followed their own wicked imagination, and Baalim, the idols of the nations around them. They were taught by their fathers to do this. So the practice is of long standing; but it was not taught them by the LORD. Because of all this, the LORD declares that He will feed them “with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.” Wormwood is not wood, and neither does it have anything to do with worms, except that it was once used as a treatment for worms. It is a very bitter substance, and may sometimes be a little toxic. Gall is also extremely bitter. So the usage of these two items in this statement is to show that the LORD will bring upon these people extremely bitter suffering because of their sins. He declares that He will scatter them among the heathen whom neither they nor their fathers have known. It is not one of the local nations that will be brought against them, but a totally strange and foreign nation. In addition to this, He will send the sword after them until they are consumed. This is indeed a terrible prospect.

(Verses 17 through 22) Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come: and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters. For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion , How are we spoiled! We are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out. Yet hear the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of His mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbor lamentation. For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets. Speak, Thus saith the LORD, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.

In Jeremiah’s time it was customary to have professional mourners, often women, who would come and make great lamentation and wailing at funerals, or other times of great calamity. These are the ones the LORD directs the people to call because of the great disaster He will bring upon them. This is the time of such great affliction that these women should teach their daughters and their neighbors lamentation. It is a time when death will be at the very windows, and in their palaces “to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets. There will be so many dying that their bodies cannot all be buried, but will be left upon the ground, where they fall, and will be considered no more than dung. None shall attempt to gather them up.

(Verses 23 and 24) Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the LORD Which exercise loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

This is a declaration which we today should consider as well as those to whom it was written. Certainly, the LORD is not saying that we should not be thankful for any wisdom, physical strength, or wealth with which He has blessed us. But we ought not ever feel boastful about it, or think that it makes us better than someone else. If we are to take great delight in anything, let it be that the LORD has given us knowledge of Him, and an understanding of His word and ways. Let us rejoice that He has made known to us that it is He Who exercises loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. This is far better than natural wisdom, physical strength, and riches combined. Because this is that in which the LORD delights.

(Verses 25 and 26) Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all them that are circumcised with the uncircumcised; Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.

This is a simple declaration that the Day of Judgment is coming for all the world. The LORD will not only punish the uncircumcised nations, the Gentiles, but His judgment will be upon Judah and Israel also. Although Judah and Israel are circumcised in the flesh, they are no more circumcised in the heart than are the Gentiles. So all will bear the same judgment. All will be punished.

(Verses 1 through 7) Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel : thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good. Forasmuch as there is none like unto Thee, O LORD; Thou art great, and Thy name is great in might. Who would not fear Thee, O King of nations? For to Thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto Thee.

Now the LORD calls upon the house of Israel , (and this includes Judah ,) to hear, or pay heed to, the word that He is speaking unto them. The first thing He tells them is that they are not to learn the ways of the heathen, and not to be overcome (dismayed) by the signs of heaven. That is, they are not to be frightened as they behold the various phenomena of the heavens, such as eclipses, comets, “shooting stars,” or other such sights, and start worshipping the hosts of heaven. These are the customs of the heathen, but they are all vanities. So also is their custom of making images, and bowing down to them as gods. A workman will go to the forest, and cut down a tree. Then he will hew it into some shape that He has imagined. Next, he will cover it with silver and gold, and fasten it in some place with a hammer and nails, so that it cannot fall. Then he will call it a god, and worship it. He does not consider that it is nothing but a piece of wood, no matter how ornately he has carved, and decorated it. It will sit upright like the palm tree, only because it is fastened in place. But it could not even sit up by its own strength. And it cannot move. The only manner in which it can reach another location is that someone carry it, for it has no life of its own. It is still nothing but a piece of wood; and it can do neither evil nor good. So there is no reason to fear it. In contrast, the LORD is so great that He created the heaven, the earth, and all that is therein; and He will also bring all things to the end He has purposed. Therefore who would not fear Him? He is the King of nations; and it is right that men fear Him. In this manner fear pertains to Him. There is none like Him in all the kingdoms of the earth. In fact, neither is there any to be found even in heaven that can be compared to Him.

(Verses 8 through 17) But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities. Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men. But the LORD is the true God, He is the living God, and an everlasting King: at His wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide His indignation. Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. He hath made the earth by His power, He hath established the world by His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by His discretion. When He uttereth His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth, He maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasures. Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like them: for He is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of His inheritance: The LORD of hosts is His name.

This is still a contrast between the LORD of hosts and the gods of the heathen. At this point we shift back to the idols of the heathen. The man who regards them is of no more understanding than the brute beasts of the forest; they are nothing but foolishness. The very doctrine of such is a doctrine of vanities. Those who make them have silver plate shipped to them from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, far distant points. And with this silver and gold they overlay these idols. But they are still only the work of men’s hands. They might even dress them up with blue and purple clothing. But they are no better off. They are only the work of cunning men. But that is not the case with the LORD. He is the living (or life-giving) God. Not only is this true for the present; but He is also the Eternal King. He is the same forever. Even the earth trembles at His wrath; and the nations cannot abide His indignation. Therefore give this message to the heathen. “The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.” In contrast, the LORD has by His power created all things, and by His wisdom established them. When He speaks all things of nature move to bring about exactly what He has purposed, from the rising of the vapors from the earth to the pouring down of the rain from the clouds. The winds and the lightning come at His command. There is none like Him. The knowledge and wisdom of every man is no more than that of the brute beasts. Every maker of graven images is confused by the image. For it is nothing but falsehood. There is no life or breath in it, and is nothing but worthlessness. Even making it was an error; and it will surely perish. But this is not true of “the Portion of Jacob.” He is from before anything else ever existed, for it was He Who made all things. The LORD of hosts is His name, and Israel is the measure of His inheritance.

(Verses 17 and 18) Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress. For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once and will distress them, that they may find it so.

The action mentioned here reminds me of something we used to do, when I was growing up on a farm. We bought fertilizer for our crops in cloth sacks. And when a sack was just about emptied, we would catch that sack by its two bottom corners, and holding them securely, sling out what might remain of the fertilizer. Thus the LORD says that he will “sling out the inhabitants of the land.” That is, He will take them out with violence. So they should gather up whatever they have, and be ready for that calamity. It will be for them a great distress.

(Verses 19 through 22) Woe is me for my hurt! My wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it. My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains. For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered. Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den for dragons.

As Jeremiah considers what the LORD is going to bring upon Judah , he can see his children perishing so that he is left alone, with all the cords of his tent broken, and none to help him set it up again. The reason for all of this is that the pastors, the priests who were to be to the people as shepherds are to flocks of sheep, had all become as brute beasts, with no wisdom, and no desire to seek the LORD. Under such conditions there is no way they can prosper. Their flocks will surely be scattered. And even now he can hear the noise of this great commotion as it comes upon Judah and Jerusalem . When it has come the cities of Judah will be desolate, and fit for nothing except dens for dragons.

(Verses 23 through 25) O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in Thine anger, lest Thou bring me to nothing. Pour out Thy fury upon the heathen that know Thee not, and upon the families that call not on Thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.

This is Jeremiah’s prayer, as he considers the terrible desolation the LORD is about to bring upon Judah and Jerusalem . First he confesses that man is not capable to direct his own way. This does not mean that man does not try to direct his way; but that he does not have sufficient wisdom to direct it in the right way, the way of truth. Without the LORD, he is sure to go astray. Not only was that true in Jeremiah’s day, but it is still so in ours. Then he asks the LORD to correct him, or set him straight, but with judgment, and not in anger. If it were done in anger, Jeremiah would be brought to non-existence. And so it would be with us today. That is why we always ask the LORD foe mercy, for only in His mercy can we stand. Then he asks the LORD to pour out His fury upon those who have not known the LORD, and those who have so devoured Jacob that he is left desolate.

(Verses 1 through 5) 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 thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth 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, 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: that I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then  answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.

The LORD here gives Jeremiah another message for “the men of Judah , and the inhabitants of Jerusalem .” The first point made in this message is that every man who fails to obey this covenant is cursed. And this is the same covenant to which they agreed when He delivered them from the hand of the Egyptians. See Exodus 19:5-9. The LORD declares that this covenant was for the purpose of performing to them the oath He had sworn to their fathers, that He would give them a land “flowing with milk and honey.” And this He had done, as they could see even at the time in which He was speaking to them. To this Jeremiah answered “So be it, O LORD.”

(Verses 6 through 10) 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. 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. Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore will I bring upon them all the words of this 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.

The LORD thus commissioned Jeremiah to proclaim all the words of this covenant to the people of Judah and Jerusalem . Although He had continually reminded them of this covenant, both the blessings for obedience, and the penalties that were added for disobedience, they refused to obey Him. And because they had refused to obey He is about to bring upon them all devastation He has declared. But there is a conspiracy among them; and in it they have turned back, not to the LORD, but to the iniquities of their forefathers, who instead of obeying the LORD turned to follow after idols, and worship and serve them. So they too have broken His covenant, just as did their fathers.

(Verses 11 through 14) 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. Then shall the cities of Judah and the 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. 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. 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.

Because of their refusal to obey the LORD, He will bring upon them evil that they can in no way escape. They may cry unto the LORD, but He will not listen to their cries. Then they will cry to the idols they have been worshipping, and, of course, they cannot help them. They have a different god for each city of Judah , and an altar to Baal for each street of Jerusalem . But none of these can help them at all. And the LORD commands Jeremiah to make no prayer or cry for them; for such will be completely in vain. He will not hear any prayer for them in the time of their trouble.

(Verses 15 through 17) What hath My beloved to do in Mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh hath passed from thee? When thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest. 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. 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.

Although Israel and Judah have been the beloved of the LORD, they have turned away from Him and served so many other gods that, He asks, “What place do you yet have in My house?” They are often likened to the wife of the LORD. But now they are likened to an adulterous wife, one who has completely turned to prostitution instead of living with her husband. Therefore she should have no more place in His house. He had likened her to “a green olive tree, fair and of goodly fruit.” But now her branches are broken off, and He has kindled a fire upon her. The same LORD Who planted her, and protected her, has turned against her, and will bring evil upon her, “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.” Notice that the evil they have done is actually evil against themselves, as it always is when we provoke the LORD to anger. When His anger is aroused, it does not damage Him. The one receiving the damage is he who has provoked Him. This we should always keep in mind.

(Verses 18 through 20) And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then Thou shewedst me their doings. 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. But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the heart, let me see Thy vengeance on them: for unto Thee have I revealed my cause.

Thus Jeremiah declares that the LORD has shown him all of these things, and has caused him to know them. But still, as concerning the depth of the wickedness of the people he was ignorant. He no more realized that they had made a conspiracy to kill him, than the lamb or ox that is brought to the slaughter knows that he is about to be slain. When he discovers this, he prays that the LORD will let him see His vengeance upon them. This may seem a little strange to us, since our Lord has told us to love our enemies, and to pray for them. But remember that under the law, the prevailing idea was, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” At the same time this is so reminiscent of what our Lord Jesus faced at the end of His earthly mission, that one might even think it a prophecy of Him, as the Sanhedrin plotted His death. He did indeed reveal His cause to the Father, and He saw the Father’s vengeance upon His enemies.

(Verses 21 through 23) Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hand: 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 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.

Anathoth was the city from which Jeremiah came. So these men who were threatening him were from his “home town.” They were also the ones seeking to kill him; but the LORD had promised him, in chapter 1, verse 19, that He would defend him from those who would fight against him. Now He tells Jeremiah that He will punish these men. Their young men, those old enough to go to war, will be killed by the sword, while their children, both sons and daughters shall be killed by the famine. He will not even reserve a remnant of these men of Anathoth in the day of their punishment.

(Verses 1 through 4) Righteous art Thou, O LORD, when I plead with Thee: yet let me talk with Thee of Thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? Wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously? Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea they bring forth fruit: Thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins. But Thou, O LORD, knowest me: Thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward Thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter. How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? The beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.

Although Jeremiah knows that the LORD is righteous in all His works and ways, he is still puzzled about some things. He desires the LORD to enlighten him on some questions that still trouble many today. The whole matter actually boils down to, “Why are the wicked who would do me harm permitted to prosper, while I suffer at their hands, although the LORD knows that I am striving to serve Him?” and “How long will the LORD let the land suffer for the wickedness of the wicked?” Jeremiah can see the whole land desolate because of the wickedness of the wicked, and it disturbs him greatly.

(Verses 5 and 6) If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan ? For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude after thee: believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee.

This is the LORD’S answer to Jeremiah’s questions. As can readily be seen, the LORD does not answer him in the manner in which most of us want to be answered. His answer seems to come down to two things. First, It is really none of our business why the LORD permits things to be as they are. We can only acknowledge that He has a right and a purpose in all He does. And second, Things may get much worse before they get better. In Jeremiah’s case they were sure to get worse. He was only experiencing that necessary to prepare him for what was to come. Though the LORD had promised to defend Jeremiah, He had told him that the people would fight against him. If they did not, he would need no defense against them. The trouble Jeremiah had already faced was only his brethren and they of his father’s house as they fought against him. But they had, by their action, called a whole multitude against him. So the LORD tells him to believe nothing they say, even if they do try to make him think they are his friends.

(Verses 7 through 13) I have forsaken Mine house, I have left Mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies. Mine heritage is unto Me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against Me: therefore have I hated it. Mine heritage is unto Me as a speckled bird, the birds round about her are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour. Many pastors have destroyed My vineyard, they have trodden My portion under foot, they have made My pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto Me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart. The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness: for the sword of the LORD shall devour from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace. They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

The temple of the LORD in Jerusalem was indeed the LORD’S house, and Israel , including Judah and Jerusalem , is many times said to be the LORD’S heritage. Now He has forsaken His house, and left His heritage. He has already sent Israel into captivity, and declared the judgment of captivity against Judah and Jerusalem . In effect, He has forsaken His house and left His heritage, in that He has already pronounced the sentence against them, and declared that He will not turn away from that decree. In spite of His great love for them, He has delivered them into the hand of their enemies. He gives us two similes to describe His heritage at this point. First, she is like a lion of the forest that cries out against Him. As we look back at the numerous evils she has done, we can readily see the likeness. Although He had brought Israel out of the Egyptian bondage, led them through the wilderness, set them up in the land of Canaan , and developed them into a great nation, they still turned away from Him to worship and serve false gods. For this He has brought heavy punishment upon them. He will no longer even listen to their cries for help. Then He likens them to a “speckled bird.” Many have tried to consider this phrase as a “badge of honor” for the LORD’S people. Many years ago someone wrote a song about “The Great Speckled Bird.” And for a while it was very popular, even among people who claimed to love the LORD. Nevertheless, it is not here used as a compliment, any more than is “a lion of the forest” in the preceding verse. Scholars say that this phrase should have been translated, “taloned bird,” instead of “speckled bird,” that is, a bird of prey. And this would certainly agree with the simile of the lion of the forest. All the other birds have been turned against her. And the LORD calls for all the beasts of the field to come and devour (her). The reason for her being in such a terrible condition is that her pastors, (or priests) who should have been taking care of her, have really been destroying her. And now she is only a desolate wilderness, with no man to care. Now the spoilers shall come up, and the sword shall devour the land from one end to the other, so that no one shall have any peace. The LORD says, “They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit.” This refers to Israel , not to the spoilers. They shall be ashamed of what they receive for their labor, because the fierce anger of the LORD is turned upon them.

(Verses 14 through 17) Thus saith the LORD against all mine evil neighbors, that touch the inheritance which I have caused My people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. And it shall come to pass after I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his land. And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, The LORD liveth; as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then shall they be built in the midst of My people. But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the LORD.

After all the terrible judgments He has pronounced upon Judah , the LORD declares that He will judge the nations that perform the very judgments against them that He has decreed. He will “pluck out the house of Judah from among them.” When He does this, He will have compassion upon the house of Judah , and will bring them all back to the land He had given them. He makes a promise to these nations that when He does this, any from these nations that will diligently learn the ways of His people, (not the evil ways they have followed, and by which they have brought upon themselves this great punishment, but the ways He has taught them,) and will take the true oath, “The LORD liveth,” as they had taught His people to swear by Baal, shall be built up in the midst of His people. But any nation that will not do this, shall be utterly destroyed. Compare this with Zechariah 14:16-19.

(Verses 1 through 11) Thus saith the LORD unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water. So I got a girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put it upon my loins. And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and go to Euphrates , and hide it there in a hole of the rock. So I went, and hid it by Euphrates , as the LORD commanded me. And it came to pass after many days, that the LORD said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates , and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there. Then I went to Euphrates , and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing. Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah , and the great pride of Jerusalem . This evil people which refuse to hear My words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing. For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave to Me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto Me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.

There may be some debate in the minds of some as to whether or not this is something that Jeremiah was called upon to do, and did, or was a vision the LORD gave him, in which he did these things. When we consider the distance from Jerusalem to the Euphrates at its nearest point, two round trips to that point would have taken a considerably long time. However, whether done in a factual manner, or in a visionary way, this was for the purpose of impressing upon Jeremiah’s mind just how useless the house of Israel and the house of Judah had become in spite of the care the LORD had bestowed upon them.

(Verses 12 through 14) Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the LORD God of Israel , Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine? Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David’s throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness. And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.

Now the LORD gives Jeremiah a message to deliver to Judah., “Every bottle shall be filled with wine.” The people apparently think that he is speaking of filling wine bottles with wine. So their answer sounds a little sarcastic; “Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?” But this is not the real message. It is that the LORD is going to send drunkenness upon all the inhabitants of the land, not drunkenness as produced by drinking too much wine, but that of having all wisdom removed from them so that they will have no sound judgment about anything, but will be destroyed by the calamity He is sending upon them. And when this takes place, He will have no pity on them. He will show neither pity nor mercy to them.

(Verses 15 through 21) Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken. Give glory to the LORD your God, before He cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, He turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD’S flock is carried away captive. Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory. The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive. Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock? What wilt thou say when He shall punish thee? For thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee as a woman in travail?

Again the LORD calls upon Judah to listen to His warning, and give glory to Him before He brings upon them the darkness of the drunkenness He has already mentioned. Jeremiah declares that if they will not hear, or heed, this warning, he will be left to weep for them in secret places, because they, the LORD’S flock, will be gone, they will be carried away captive. He is then to call upon the king and the queen to humble themselves, for they are about to lose their kingdom; it is about to be carried away captive. Then where will be their “beautiful flock,” the people who have been entrusted to them? What will they say when all this is done? Sorrow will come upon them like a woman in childbirth.

(Verses 22 through 27) And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare. Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness. This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from Me, saith the LORD; because thou hast forgotten Me, and trusted in falsehood. Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may appear. I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? When shall it once be?

If there is any question in the minds of either the king and queen or the people, concerning why these things are coming upon them, the answer is, “For the greatness of thine iniquity.” There is no other reason. They can blame none but themselves. These people have so long accustomed themselves to doing evil that they are no more able to turn away from their iniquities than an Ethiopian is able to turn himself from a black man into a white man, or a leopard is able to shed his spots, and become of one solid color.. Because of this the LORD will scatter them as the wind scatters stubble. This is what the LORD has now allotted Judah , because they forgot Him, and trusted in falsehoods. He has seen all their wickedness, and will bring all this punishment upon them. So he declares a woe upon Jerusalem , and asks, “Wilt thou not be made clean?” This question signifies that Jerusalem does not even want to be made clean. The final question is, “When shall it once be?” That is, when will they ever be brought to repentance, and made to want to be clean? This question only He can answer. And He has declared that that time also shall come.

(Verses 1 through 6) The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth. Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads. Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads. Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it,, because there was no grass. And the wild asses did stand on the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons, their eyes did fail, because there was no grass.

As with all the terrible desolation Jeremiah has already described, this is what the LORD has shown him that will come to pass. It is what he is seeing in his vision, and not what has already come upon the land. And as he tells the people what is coming, they becoming angry at the message, want to kill the messenger, which we all know is very foolish. But as Jeremiah sees these things in his visions, he continues to speak to the people, and warn them to turn back to the LORD, that He may turn away such from them. What he sees in this vision is such a great drought that the water supply for the city, instead of becoming scarce, is totally gone, When they go to the water pit for water they come back with empty vessels, and are so confused that they cover their heads in shame. We have seen how that the ground will crack open in some places during dry weather. This drought is so great that the ground is cracked open in every direction as skin will sometimes do when badly chapped. There is no rain at all. So those who plow the fields are as confused as were those who went for water. They too cover their heads in shame. Even the wild deer, when they give birth to their young leave them because there is no grass and no food of any kind for them. And the same is true of even the wild asses, which usually thrive in dry areas. In short, it is such a drought that both man and beast are in grave danger.

(Verses 7 through 9) O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do Thou it for Thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against Thee. O the hope of Israel , the Saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest Thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night? Why shouldest Thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? Yet Thou, O LORD, art in the midst of us, and we are called by Thy name; leave us not.

This is Jeremiah’s prayer to the LORD. He confesses that Israel ’s sins are all the witness needed against them to prove that they are backsliders and sinners. But since they are called by the name of the LORD, and He is their only hope, he begs Him to save them for His name’s sake, not for theirs. Certainly, they are not worthy of being saved. But if He doesn’t, it might seem to the people around that He is not able to save them; and thus He would appear as one who only turns aside to tarry for a night, and not the great immutable God that He is. People might think He had become confused, and was unable to do what He set out to do.

(Verses 10 through 12) Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; He will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.

The LORD gives His answer to the prayer of Jeremiah. We often hear someone complain that the LORD has not answered his prayer for this, or that. Perhaps, he was  not listening when He did answer, for He does not always give the answer we would like. In this case, no doubt, the answer was very unpleasant. He declared that this people had so loved to wander, that they had not kept their feet in the paths He had commanded them to walk in. And this had continued so long that now He will not accept them. Instead, He has determined to remember their iniquity, and visit, or punish, their sins. He tells Jeremiah not to pray for them for any good things, because He will not hear their cry. No matter what kind of sacrifice they offer, He will not accept it or them. He has determined to consume them with the sword, the famine, and the pestilence.

(Verses 13 through 16) Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place. Then the LORD said unto me, the prophets prophesy lies in My name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. Therefore saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in My name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed. And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.

Jeremiah, possibly, to try to plead the cause of the people, as not being totally responsible for their condition since the prophets had told them that the LORD said they would not see the sword nor famine, but would give them assured peace in this land, tries to plead with the LORD for them. But the LORD’S answer sets forth what He will do to these false prophets who have prophesied lies in His name, when He has neither sent them nor spoken to them. Not only will he bring the sword and the famine upon them, but also upon all who have been deceived by them. They will all be destroyed, leaving none to even bury them. This applies not only to the men, but also to their wives and children. Thus we see what a terrible price people have to pay for even listening to false prophets. Today, we need to study the word of the LORD, not as something that men may interpret to fit whatever ideas they want to set forth, but as THE WORD OF GOD, which is to be believed exactly as written, unless the context shows it to be symbolic, and gives the key for its interpretation.

(Verses 17 through 22) Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them: Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow. If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! And if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! Yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not. Hast Thou utterly rejected Judah ? Hath Thy soul loathed Zion ? Why hast Thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble! We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against Thee. Do not abhor us, for Thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne of Thy glory: remember, break not Thy covenant with us. Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Art not Thou He, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon Thee: for Thou hast made all things.

Verses 17 and 18 are the message the LORD has given Jeremiah for the people of Judah . He is to declare to them that the time of weeping is come. They will not be pardoned, and the desolation shall not pass them by. But such desolation shall come upon them by the sword and the famine that if one goes into the field all he will see is the carnage of battle. And if he goes into the city he will see only those stricken by the famine. Whoever is not taken by these, even to the prophet and the priest, shall be taken to a land foreign to him, one about which he knows nothing. This brings forth from Jeremiah another prayer. In it he acknowledges the sins of both the present generation and those of their fathers, and asks if the LORD has utterly rejected Judah , and hated Zion . He prays that the LORD, for His own name’s sake, and to prevent disgrace to “the throne of His glory” remember them, and break not His covenant with them. Then, through some questions, he declares that there is none among “the vanities,” or idols of the Gentiles that can give rain, or even showers. The LORD is the only One Who can do such. And therefore they will wait for Him, He it is Who has made all of these things.

(Verses 1 through 5) Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before Me, yet My mind could not be toward this people; cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth. And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? Then shalt thou tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity. And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy. And I will cause then to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah , for that which he did in Jerusalem . For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? Or who shall bemoan thee? Or who shall turn aside to ask how thou doest?

When we look back at the many times Moses made intercession for the people of Israel, and the LORD turned away the punishment He said He would send upon them, and, in many instances, had already begun against them, we might think that, surely, the LORD would accept his prayer for these people. And Samuel also had been a very faithful servant of the LORD, and had also made intercession for Israel . But He now says that if both of these servants stood before Him, pleading for this people it would be of no avail. His mind could not be toward this people. So He gives the command, “Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth.” Then He tells Jeremiah that if, and when, they ask him where they are to go, his answer is to be, “Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.” This certainly is not a very pleasant answer. He further declares that He will appoint over them four different manners of death, “the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.” Then for those that are left, there is the captivity, for He will remove them into all the kingdoms of the earth. This is to be done “because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah , for that which he did in Jerusalem .” For more details of what he did, read II Kings 21:1-18. With such a reason for the desolation that He will send upon Jerusalem , none will have any pity on her, or be in sorrow for her, or even ask about her welfare.

(Verses 6 through 9) Thou hast forsaken Me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out My hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting. And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy My people, since they return not from their ways. Their widows are increased unto Me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city. She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the LORD.

Now the LORD tells Jerusalem why she is to be in such a deplorable condition that none will have pity upon her, or even inquire after her welfare. She has forsaken Him, and turned away from Him. She has gone completely backward to all that He has commanded her. For that reason He will stretch forth His hand against her, and destroy her. When He says that He is weary with repenting, he is not saying that their repenting of their sins has wearied Him. On the contrary, He is weary of warning them of the judgment He is about to bring upon them, and then turning away from it because they plead for mercy, and promise to forsake their sins, a promise which they never fulfill. Now He will “fan them with a fan.” He is not speaking of giving them comfort by sending a breeze to cool them when they are suffering from the heat. Instead He is calling their attention to a scene with which they were familiar, that of threshing small grain. It was common practice to loosen the grain from the chaff by either laying it out on the floor, and beating it with a stick, or tying an ox to a stake, laying out the grain in the path he would have to travel as they drove him round and round the stake to which he was fastened. In either case, the heavier chaff was taken up and thrown aside, and the grain, with the lighter chaff was taken up for further cleaning. Then a large fan, called a “winnowing fan,” was used to blow away the chaff. This is the fan to which the LORD refers. He will fan away the chaff from among His people. In this instance, that will require bereaving them of their children, and destroying many of them. There will be many widows in the land because of the destruction He will bring upon Jerusalem . Her calamity will be such that it will appear that “her sun is gone down while it is yet day.” She will be as a woman who has had seven children, but they are all taken away in one day; and she is left completely bewildered at what has taken place. The residue of the people will be delivered to the sword of their enemies.

(Verses 10 through 14) Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me. The LORD said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction. Shall Iron break the northern iron and the steel? Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil without price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy borders. And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in Mine anger, which shall burn upon you.

Verse 10 seems to be a declaration of Jeremiah’s feelings as He realizes that this message he is to deliver to Judah and Jerusalem will cause all the people to hate him, and turn against him, as if he were their creditor who was charging exorbitant interest on the money they had borrowed from him, or someone who had borrowed from them, and would not repay the loan. He has done neither; but the result is as if he had. Now the LORD continues His address to Judah and Israel . He declares that it shall be well with the remnant of them in the time of their trouble and affliction. He will cause their enemy to treat them well. He does not tell them that there will be no captivity for them, but that they shall mot be mistreated in it, although all their substance and treasure shall be given to the spoil. That is, it shall be taken away. And they will be made to go with their enemies into a land that will be strange to them, because the fire has been kindled in His anger, and it will burn upon them.

(Verses 15 through 18) O LORD, Thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in Thy longsuffering: know that for Thy sake I have suffered rebuke. Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart: for I am called by Thy name, O LORD God of hosts. I sat not in the assembly of mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of Thy hand: for Thou hast filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? Wilt Thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?

Here Jeremiah prays to the LORD. He realizes that the LORD knows all things, but he still reminds Him that it is for His sake that he has suffered rebuke. And here “rebuke” means more than oral reprimand. It includes threats upon his life, and even attempts to fulfill those threats. So he prays that the LORD will revenge him of his persecutors. Then he tells how that he has rejoiced in the words of the LORD, and has not taken part with the mockers, but has kept to himself because of the hand of the LORD which is upon him. The terrible condition of his people has filled him with pain that will not go away. And since the LORD has told him that He will be his defense, and this pain will not go away or be improved, he asks if the LORD is going to be unto him as one who does not tell the truth, or as waters that dry up just when they are needed.. The things he has suffered have caused doubts to creep into his mind; and he wants some assurance.

(Verses 19 through 21) Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before Me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as My mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them. And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee, saith the LORD. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.

In answer to Jeremiah’s prayer, the LORD speaks to him. He promises that if Jeremiah shall return to Him, He will bring him again, and have him stand before Him. That is, if he will put away these doubts that are causing him to wonder if the LORD will keep His word, the LORD will give him recognition as His servant. Also if he will “take forth the precious from the vile,” he will be to the people as the mouth of the LORD. In this case, the precious are those among the people that fear the LORD. They Jeremiah is, by faithfully declaring the word of the Lord, to lead forth from among the vile, the very ones who are the cause of the LORD’S sending such great judgments upon the people. But there is a caution he must observe. He must not return to them, but let them return to him. When he does this, the LORD will fulfill His promise which He made to him in verses 18 and 19 of Chapter 1. He declares that He will deliver him out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem him out of the hand of the terrible. The wicked among the people of Jerusalem and Judah did indeed try to kill him; but the LORD delivered him from them. And when Jerusalem was taken captive, Jeremiah was permitted to remain in Judah .

Chapter 16

(Verses 1 through 9) The word of the LORD came also unto me, saying, Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. For thus saith the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land; they shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away My peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies. Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them: Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or their mother. Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.

The LORD tells Jeremiah to not take a wife, and to not try to raise a family in this place, because the children that are born here, together with their parents, will die horrible deaths, and not even be buried or lamented. Their bodies will be left on the face of the earth for the fowls of the air and the beasts of the fields to consume. He further commands him to stay away from both the house of mourning and the house of mirth. He is to make no lamentation for the dead; and neither are the bereaved to be comforted in any way. It was not commanded of the LORD, but some of the people had taken up the pagan practices of making cuts in their flesh, and pulling out their hair, for those who had died. These practices would no longer be carried on. Neither would anyone even give them the “cup of consolation” to drink for their father or their mother. All kindness and consideration for their grief would be discarded. On the other hand, all the sounds of joy and gladness would be taken away. In the day of their affliction all things will be desolate indeed.

(Verses 10 through 13) And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew the people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God? Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken Me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken Me, and have not kept My law; and ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto Me: Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour.

The LORD tells Jeremiah that after he has told the people all this message, they will still ask what is the reason for the LORD’S pronouncing such a great punishment upon them. They cannot see what it is that they have done that is great enough to deserve such. This seems to be what is wrong with most of us today. We try to measure ourselves against those around us, which the Apostle Paul tells us, in II Corinthians 10:12 , is not wise. In such measuring, we are not using the perfect standard; and we therefore cannot attain to the perfect answer. The LORD tells Jeremiah what the answer is to their questions. First, their fathers have sinned in departing from the LORD, and worshipping and serving other gods. And as is always the case, they have done worse than their fathers. This is a natural tendency in all humanity. Unless every action or movement is measured by the perfect measure of God’s law, each succeeding one is a little worse than the one before it. One of the simplest proofs of this is found in a trade in which I was active for about fifty years, carpentry. One can lay out, and cut out a pattern exactly as he wants it for the rafters of a house. And if he uses this same pattern for each rafter, all will fit as they should. But if he marks the first one by the pattern, and marks the next one by that rafter instead of the pattern, and continues throughout the project, using the last cut rafter for the pattern of the next, when he gets to the last one he will find that it will not fit the original pattern at all. So it is with us if we try to use those around us for our pattern. Our Lord Jesus is the only pattern that will successfully serve us. Anyone, or anything else will lead us astray. So it was with Judah and Jerusalem . They had compared themselves one to another, and could therefore not see that they had done so badly. But the result of their action was that they had done worse than their fathers, and now each was following the imagination of his own evil heart, and would not heed the warning of the LORD. For this the LORD declared that He would cast them out of this land into a land that neither they nor their fathers had known; and there they would serve other gods night and day. And while they were doing this the LORD would show them no favor at all.

(Verses 14 through 18) Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither He had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave to their fathers. Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. For Mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from My face, neither is their iniquity hid from Mine eyes. And first will I recompense their iniquity and their sin double, because they have defiled My land, they have filled Mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable things.

Here we again have the promise of the LORD that He will bring Israel again to the land He gave to their fathers. Since the people of Israel were brought up out of the land of Egypt , the basic declaration of their praise to Him has been, (and it still is) “The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt .” This was to them the greatest thing He had ever done. But the days are coming, (And that time is still in the future.) when that saying shall give place to an even greater declaration of His power. “The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither He had driven them.”  This He has promised; and this He will do. He knows where each one of them is, and where each one will be at the time He brings this to pass. So He will send for them at His time. Notice carefully verse 16. “Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them out from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.” He said “I will send” these fishers and hunters. He did not say that He would have someone else send anyone. Since they are not hidden from Him, and he sees all their ways. It follows that He will direct those He sends so that they will know where to fish and to hunt, that they may be successful in this work. Some may think that this is a prophecy of the preaching of the gospel throughout the world. But if it is, it is surely the most misplaced verse in the entire Bible. Verses 14 and 15 unquestionably present the promise of the LORD to bring back the children of Israel to the land He gave to their fathers. This was not the gospel church, but the land of Canaan , a geographic location. And verses 17 and 18 certainly refer to the same people and the same place. There is therefore no excuse for trying to apply verse 16 to anything other than the children of Israel and the bringing them back to their land, which was of the LORD promised to Abraham in perpetuity. Just as the LORD’S eyes are upon all their ways, and they are not hidden from His face, so neither is their iniquity hidden from Him. Because of this, before He fulfills the promise He has just made to them, He will recompense their iniquity and their sin double. They cannot be passed over without any penalty, because they have defiled the LORD’S land. It must be remembered that the land, though given to them as a home, still belongs to the LORD; and to defile it is also to insult the LORD. And this cannot be tolerated. “They have filled Mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.” That is the sin that must be expiated before they can be brought back. That this restoration embraces more than the releasing of Judah from the Babylonian captivity is clear from the fact that they are not just to be brought back from Babylon, but, “from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither He had driven them.”

(Verses 19 through 21) O LORD, my strength and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto Thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein is no profit. Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know My hand and My might; and they shall know that My name is The LORD.

Jeremiah declares that the LORD is his strength, his fortress, and his refuge in the time of affliction. Then he says that the Gentiles shall come to the LORD from the ends of the earth, and confess to Him that the things their fathers have inherited, and have also left for them, are “lies, vanity, and things wherein is no profit.” No doubt this refers  primarily to the idols they have worshipped, together with their manner and customs of worshipping them. For they will ask, “Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?” This seems very similar to what Zechariah says in Zechariah 14:16. It might, possibly, be applied to the conversion of the Gentiles to the gospel. But its primary reference seems to be to the fact that after the great battle Zechariah describes all the nations that are left will come up to Jerusalem year after year to worship the King, and to keep the feast of Tabernacles. The LORD declares that at this one time He will cause the Gentiles to know, or recognize, His hand and His might. They shall also know that His name is The LORD.  

Chapter 17

(Verses 1 through 4) The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of their altars; whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills. O My mountain in the field, I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders. And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in Mine anger, which shall burn for ever.

The LORD declares that the sin of Judah is so deeply established that it cannot be erased. Even today we often hear the expression, “It is written in stone,” when something is thought to be so established that it cannot be changed. It is as if their sin were engraved in stone with a diamond pointed iron pen. It cannot be erased. It is engraved on both their heart and the horns of their altars. It is not only a secret thing of their heart, but is flaunted in public by their worship of idols. Wherever they find a green tree on a high hill, or wherever they can plant a grove on a high hill, they set up an altar to some false god. So the LORD declares that he will give all the substance and all the treasure of these, as well as all the “high places” in their borders, to the spoil. He will also send them into captivity in a strange land, because they have kindled a fire in His anger that can not be extinguished.

(Verses 5 through 8) Thus saith the LORD; Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when the heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

The LORD turns from His declaration against Judah , to set forth His promise to humanity. He tells us what can be expected by both the disobedient and the obedient. The disobedient, those who turn away from God, and put their trust in the power of man, will be like the heath in the desert. It will wither away, and not even “see when good cometh.” That is, the heat of the desert dries it up so that even if, and when, a shower comes, it will not be there to receive it. This is the curse upon those who trust in the power of man, instead of the LORD. But there is a blessing to the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. He will be like a tree that grows beside the waters, and spreads its roots by the river. Although the drought will surely come, it will still have a bountiful supply of water to keep it refreshed and green, bearing its fruit in spite of the drought. He does not promise that those who trust in Him will not have trouble, but that they shall be sustained in the time of trouble. This is the blessing we desire.

(Verses 9 through 11) The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. As the partridge setteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.

Verse 9 is often taken out of its context and quoted, with no further follow-up. This is a great mistake, not only with this verse, but with any other scripture. What the LORD is here doing is showing that, although the heart is so deceitful and wicked that no man can know it, He is able to see into, and understand its deepest and darkest recesses. He is therefore able to give to every man according to his ways, and according to his works. They are never hidden from Him. If a partridge sits on eggs that never hatch, she has wasted her time. The LORD says that a man who amasses wealth by any means except those that are right, or honest, is just as big a fool as is the partridge that sits on eggs that will not hatch. He shall leave them in the midst of his days. Whether he is taken away from them in what we might think of as the midst of his days, or not, it will be long before he has enjoyed them as long as he would like, for he never wants to give them up. We have all heard the saying, “There are no pockets in shrouds.” So, if a man spends his whole life in the pursuit of wealth, he is just as foolish as the partridge that sits on the eggs that will not hatch.

(Verses 12 through 14) A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. O LORD, the hope of Israel , all that forsake Thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters. Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for Thou art my praise.

Jeremiah declares that the place of our sanctuary, which is the LORD, is a glorious high throne. He is the hope of Israel ; and all that forsake Him shall be ashamed. Then he. speaking in “first person,” continues. “And they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.” No doubt he is considering what the LORD has already told him in Chapter 15, verse 19. “If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before Me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as My mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.” So if they departed from him, they were also departing from the LORD; and they were to be recorded in the earth as having departed from the “LORD, the fountain of living waters.” Another way of saying what he has said in verse 14 is, “The only way I can be healed is that You heal me; and the only way I can be saved is that You save me: for You are my praise.” His only hope is in the LORD, and the LORD is the only One Whom he will praise. Certainly we ought all to agree with this.

(Verses 15 through 18) Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now. As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow Thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; Thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before Thee. Be not a terror unto me: Thou art my hope in the day of evil. Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let me not be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.

Jeremiah complains that the people are taunting him, and saying, “Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now.” That is, they do not believe that it will come. They think he is prophesying falsely to them. He tells the LORD that he had not sought the office of prophet. Remember that when the LORD called him for this work, he protested that he could not do this work, for he was only a child. But the LORD insisted that he do what He had told him to do. Not only had he not wanted this office, but neither did he desire the woeful day of which he was commissioned to tell them. None of it was of his desire, or his making. But he had faithfully spoken to them the words that the LORD had commanded him. So he prays that the LORD, Who is his hope in the day of evil, will not make Himself a terror to him, but will instead bring upon the disobedient those evils He has declared, but exempt him, Jeremiah, from them, since he has only been the messenger of the LORD in this, and may He bring double destruction upon those who ridicule His word.

(Verses 19 through 25) Thus said the LORD unto me; Go, and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; and say unto them, Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates: Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction. And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto Me, saith the LORD, to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, to do no work therein; then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots, and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever.

Here the LORD refers the people to only one of His commandments, that of keeping the sabbath day holy. He declares that if they will only do this, He will spare Jerusalem forever. This is the commandment that made the children of Israel unique. Of all the heathen nations around them none observed a sabbath. But the LORD commanded Israel to keep the seventh day holy. On it they were to do no work at all, not even so much as lighting a fire, or bearing any burden. Of course, they did with this commandment as they did with all the rest. They completely laid it aside, and followed the way of the nations around them. The LORD declares to them that if they will keep it holy as he had commanded them, He will give them kings and princes to sit upon the throne of David, and will spare the city of Jerusalem forever.

(Verses 26 and 27) And they shall come from the cities of Judah , and from the places about Jerusalem , and from the land of Benjamin , and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD. But if ye will not hearken unto Me to hallow the sabbath day, and not bear a burden, even entering in at 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.

These two verses show quite a contrast between the reward of obedience and that of disobedience. Although Judah had done so much evil that the LORD had pronounced all this great desolation upon her, He still sets before her the promise that if she will be obedient in this one thing, He will turn aside all the evil He had pronounced against her. Certainly, He knew that she would not be obedient, for He knows all things. But so far as she was concerned, the offer was before her. On the other hand, if she did not obey, there was nothing left her but this terrible destruction. And there would be no escape. Jerusalem would be destroyed.

Chapter 18

(Verses 1 through 10) The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there will I cause thee to hear My words. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel , cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay in the potter’s hand, so are ye in My hand, O house of Israel . At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; if that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; if it do evil in My sight, that it obey not My voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.

When we carefully examine this text, we find some principles set forth that may seem somewhat strange to us, primarily because most whom we have heard speak concerning it, have a tendency to go too far in one direction, or the other. It is, essentially, the same lesson the Lord set forth in Matthew 11:20-26. That lesson is that although God is completely sovereign in all His works and ways, man has a responsibility to do His commandments. Here He taught Jeremiah that lesson by sending him to the house, or workshop, of the potter. While the potter was in the act of making a vessel of clay on the wheel, it was marred in his hands. We are not told why it was marred; but just that it was marred. Then the potter took the clay he had used in that vessel, and from it fashioned “another vessel, as seemed good to the potter.” Surely, this picture is clear enough. We do not know what marred the first vessel, but we do know that the potter made the new vessel as pleased him. So the final vessel is according to the will of the potter, and is made by his power. From this the LORD brings forth to Jeremiah a lesson. First, the house of Israel is in His hands as was the clay in the hands of the potter. At this point some will immediately say, “Surely, then, He could have kept them from turning away from Him to the idol gods they served. And since He did not do that, they could not help doing what they did.” This sounds like an easy way out. In the present age it is very popular to relieve everyone of his responsibility, no matter what he does. This, however, is not the Lord’s way. If one will read carefully the above referenced text from Matthew, he will find that those who did not believe the Lord were charged with great enough responsibility that they will be in worse condition than Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment, while, at the same time, the Father had kept these things hidden from the wise and prudent, and had revealed them unto babes. Since these things were hidden from them, the next question is, “How could they believe in those things that were hidden from them?” So, we can only come to the conclusion that although God is in all things completely sovereign, yet man is responsible for his actions. Admittedly, we are not wise enough to understand such deep things. Therefore we must assume that it is our responsibility to do whatsoever the Lord has commanded us, and leave the hidden things to Him. In the present text He says, “At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; if that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; if it do evil in My sight, that it obey not My voice, then will I repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.” Again, although God is sovereign in all His ways, the responsibility of the action of a nation, a kingdom, or an individual, rests upon that nation, kingdom, or individual. All of this brings us back to what is said in two scriptures. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: ‘Fear God, and keep His commandments:’ for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” And (Micah 6:8) “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly before thy God?” This Judah and Jerusalem had not done; and neither were they going to do so. In spite of the warning of the LORD, they continued on in their wickedness.

(Verses 11 through 17) Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah , and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem , saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good. And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing. Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? Or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken? Because My people hath forgotten Me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up; to make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head. I will scatter them as an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.

The LORD sends another warning to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem , declaring that He is devising evil against them, and calling upon them to mend their ways. But they refuse, saying that there is no hope, and therefore they will continue on as they have been, each following the imagination of his own evil heart. He tells them to go, and inquire among the heathen to see if they can find anyone who has ever heard of such a horrible thing as they are doing. He likens it to a man leaving a place where there is a plentiful supply of cold flowing water, and trying to find a place that suits him better. In such an arid country as most of Israel is, this would be considered a horrible act, one that is utterly foolish. But that is the equivalent of what Judah and Jerusalem have done. They have forgotten Him, the One true and living God, and turned away to idols that cause them to stumble away from the old paths that He laid out for them, and wander in a path that has not even been “cast up,” or built up as a road. They are actually stumbling through the wilderness without a path to follow. In so doing, they are bringing upon their land all the desolation He has pronounced upon them. And in the day of their calamity He will show them no pity.

(Verses 18 through 23) Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words. Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me. Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before Thee to speak good for them, and to turn away Thy wrath from them. Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword: and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle. Let a cry be heard from their houses, when Thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet. Yet, LORD, Thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from Thy sight, but let them be overthrown before Thee; deal thus with them in the time of Thine anger.

Here we have the reaction of the people against the message Jeremiah had delivered to them, and their reaction to him as the messenger. Then we have Jeremiah’s prayer to the LORD against them. The people accused Jeremiah of lying, because he had told them that their priests had forsaken the law of the LORD, the counsel of their wise men had been turned to foolishness, and their prophets were speaking lies instead of the word of the LORD, This had so enraged them that they, not only were refusing to listen to him, but were ready to kill him because of his prophecy. So He prays to the LORD against them. Certainly, no one would have any trouble in understanding this prayer. We might be a little taken aback by the terrible things he asks the LORD to do to them. But we must remember that this prayer was according to the prevailing principle of “A tooth for a tooth, and an eye for an eye,” instead of the instructions our Lord Jesus has given us of loving our enemies, and praying for those who despitefully use us. He has asked for utter destruction upon them. And, indeed, that is exactly what the LORD had already said He would bring upon them. So, no doubt, his prayer was according to the will of God.

Chapter 19

(Verses 1 through 6) Thus saith the LORD, Go and get a potter’s earthen bottle, and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests; and go forth into the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee, and say, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle. Because they have forsaken Me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it to other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents; They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded them not, nor spake it, neither came it into My mind: therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter.

The LORD commands Jeremiah to take a bottle of earth, made by the potter, get some of the old men, “ancients,” of the people, and of the priests, and take them down to the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is just down from the east gate of Jerusalem . There he is to tell these men who have gone with him the message the LORD has given him. He calls upon them to hear the word of the LORD. Then he begins with the message from the LORD. The first item of it is that the LORD is going to bring such great evil upon this place that just to hear of it will cause the ears of the hearer to tingle. The reason for this evil is that the people of Judah and Jerusalem have forsaken Him, and have committed such horrible sins. They have come down to this place to burn incense to idol gods, and here they have built altars to Baal. Upon these altars they have burned their sons as sacrifices to Baal, such a horrible sin that the LORD says it had never even come into His mind. They have followed this abominable practice so long that they have “filled this place with the blood of innocents.” So He is going to send such evil upon this place that even its name will be changed. “This place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter. As He continues on, He will tell us why its name will be thus changed.

(Verses 7 through 9) And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof. And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them.

The LORD continues to tell them what He will bring upon them. He will bring upon them such slaughter that there will be no place for burial, and none to bury the dead. Much of this will be in this valley, and will be the cause of its name‘s being changed to The valley of slaughter. The dead shall be left for the fowls of the heaven and the beasts of the earth to eat. The people who survive will be in such dire straits that they will become cannibals, and will even eat their own children, as well as their friends.

(Verses 10 through 13) Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee, and shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury. Thus will I do unto this place, saith the LORD, and to the inhabitants thereof, and even make this city as Tophet: and the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, shall be defiled as the place of Tophet, because of all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings unto other gods.

The LORD instructs Jeremiah to break the bottle he has brought. This he is to do “in the sight of the men” he has brought with him. Their attention is to be specially called to this act. And when he does this, he is to declare to them that thus the LORD will break Jerusalem , so that it cannot be repaired. This He will do by bringing death upon the inhabitants, and devastation upon the buildings and houses of the city. All of this is to come upon them because they have burned incense to the host of heaven upon the roofs of the houses, and have poured drink offerings to other gods thereupon.  This is the punishment for their sin.

(Verses 14 and 15) Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the LORD had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the LORD’S house, and said to all the people, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear My words.

Having finished the demonstration the LORD commanded him to make before the men he took with him to Tophet, Jeremiah comes back into Jerusalem, enters the court of the temple, stands there, and declares the word of the LORD to all the people. The LORD has spoken, and He will bring all this desolation which He has declared upon Jerusalem and all the towns round about her, because the people have refused to heed His message to them.

Chapter 20

(Verses 1 through 6) Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the LORD, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things. Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD. And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The LORD hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magormissabib. For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends; they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword. Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of thine enemies, which shall spoil them, and carry them to Babylon . And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon , and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies.

Here Jeremiah gives account of an incident that took place because of his prophesying. Pashur, who was chief governor of the temple was evidently very displeased that Jeremiah would prophesy such things as he had concerning Jerusalem and Judah . So he tried to take out his anger on the messenger. This is something that we find often practiced by humanity. What we need to remember is that, if the message is true, punishing the messenger will not change it; and if it is not true, time will prove its fallacy: so there is no reason for anger against the messenger. But Pashur had never learned this lesson. It is unclear whether the expression, “Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet,” means that Pashur actually hit Jeremiah with his fist, or some weapon, or whether he simply “smote him” with his authority as the chief governor of the temple, and put him in the stocks. Perhaps, he did both. Jeremiah was left in the stocks until the next day, at which time Pashur had him released. At this time Jeremiah said to Pashur, “The LORD hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magormissabib.” The name “Pashur” would translate to, “most noble,” in English; but, according to scholars, “Magormissabib” would literally mean “terror let loose,” or “terror all around.” And in this instance it is more important than “Pashur,” because it is what the LORD has called him. Jeremiah then proceeds to tell Pashur what the LORD is going to bring upon him and all his friends for the lies he has prophesied to them. Along with them, He will also deliver “all the strength of this city, and all the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah , into the hand of their enemies.” Nothing is to be exempt from this. All will be carried to Babylon . Pashur and all his friends will, not only be carried to Babylon , but they shall also die and be buried there.

(Verses 7 through 13) O LORD, Thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: Thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me. For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more of His name. But His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay. For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him. But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible One: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten. But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see Thy vengeance on them: for unto Thee have I opened my cause. Sing unto the LORD, Praise ye the LORD: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of the evildoers.

This is a prayer of Jeremiah to the LORD. He feels that the LORD has deceived him; but, in reality, he has deceived himself, by misinterpreting what the LORD has said to him. Indeed the LORD has told him that He will defend him against the people. But He also told him that the people would fight against him. Somehow, he must have become confused, and thought that the LORD would not let them do anything evil to him. This the LORD did not promise. But Jeremiah is greatly discouraged. In fact, he became so discouraged that he decided to quit making mention of the LORD, and quit speaking in His name. However, he found this harder than he had expected, because the word of the LORD was in his heart as “a burning fire shut up in his bones,” and he was so worn out from holding it back that he could not continue to do so. All around him people were defaming him, and just waiting for him to speak, that they might have occasion to fight against him. As he considers this, he realizes that the LORD is with him, and will take care of him. He is assured that the LORD will bring all his enemies down, and make their confusion everlasting so that it will never be forgotten. And he prays to that end. Then he seems to revive, and praises the LORD for deliverance from his enemies.

(Verses 14 through 18) Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed. Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad. And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide; because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb always great with me. Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?

This would certainly remind one of many things Job said while enduring the affliction sent upon him. And like that said by Job, it is completely vain. It is only the complaint of one so overwhelmed with sorrow that he cannot think rationally. However, we should not try to judge him too harshly. None of us knows what he may be brought to say, when faced with such suffering and sorrow. We can only pray that the LORD will keep us from such experiences; or if not, that he will give us grace to bear it without such great complaints. We can certainly be brought to the place that we will wonder why we were permitted to live to see the things that we do. In such cases, all we can do is to pray to the LORD for mercy. Asking such questions as “Why will the LORD permit this to be?” is never profitable. May we remember that the hidden things belong to God, and those that are revealed belong to us and to our children.

Chapter 21

(Verses 1 and 2) The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying, Inquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadrezzar maketh war against us; if so be that the LORD will deal with us according to all His wondrous works, that he may go up from us.

Zedekiah was the king of Judah at this time. He sent messengers, Pashur and Zephaniah, to Jeremiah to ask what was the word of the LORD concerning Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon , and his army. He was hoping that the LORD would cause them to go away, and leave Judah alone. He did appear to recognize the fact that his only hope was that the LORD would deal with them according to His wondrous works, instead of according to their merits.

(Verses 3 through 7) Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah: Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city. And I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence. And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.

This certainly is not the message Zedekiah wanted to hear. But it is clear enough that there could be no misunderstanding of its meaning. There was to be no deliverance. Not only would the LORD permit the Babylonians to overthrow Judah and Jerusalem , but He would join the fight on the side of the Babylonians instead of that of Judah . There would be war, pestilence, and famine in the land. And those who were not killed by these would be taken into captivity. There would be neither pity nor mercy for them.

(Verses 8 through 10) And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey. For I have set My face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon , and he shall burn it with fire.

Not only did the LORD give Jeremiah a message for King Zedekiah, but one also for the people of Judah . That message was that, if they wished to save their lives, they must go out of the city to their enemies, and surrender to them. Even then the only promise to them was that their lives would be spared. There was no promise of their homes, or their wealth, being spared. The city was to be burned with fire.

(Verses 11 through 14) And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the words of the LORD; O house of David, thus saith the LORD; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest My fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the LORD, which say, Who shall come down against us? who shall enter our habitations? But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the LORD: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.

Having given a message to the king’s messengers, and one to the people of Judah , the LORD now tells Jeremiah to declare one to “the house of David.” That is, to the legal representatives of Judah , such as the judges. He declares to them that unless they execute proper judgment “in the morning,” that is, begin it immediately, and deliver the oppressed from the oppressor, His fury shall cover the land like a fire, and none can quench it. Their evil is so great that it must be stopped immediately, or it will be too late. We sometimes hear well meaning, but poorly informed people say that it is never too late for the LORD. So far as its being too late for Him, in that it renders Him unable to do anything, certainly it never is. But when He has already determined a matter, and declared it, He will not change His decree. And in that manner it is too late. He declares that although they do not believe that anyone can come against them, and enter their habitation, He is against them, and will punish them according to their own deeds. And the fire he will kindle “shall devour all things round about it.” When He does this, their habitation is certainly doomed.

Chapter 22

(Verses 1 through 9) Thus saith the LORD, Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that setteth upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates: Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place. For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.

It sometimes seems amazing that the LORD would show such mercy upon a people that had for such a long time turned so far from Him, as had the people of Judah . Although He has declared that He will send terrible destruction upon them, and has further said that there is nothing that can turn Him away from His wrath against them, He still sets before them the promise that if they will only heed His word, and execute judgment and righteousness, by delivering the oppressed from the oppressor, and rightly judging the cause of the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and refrain from shedding innocent blood, He will prolong their peace and tranquility so that the kingdom will continue on and on. The succession of Judah ’s kings shall continue unbroken. Not only shall the kings continue, but their servants and their people shall also have peace. Certainly He knows that they will not heed his word. But that does not change the fact that He has set this promise before them.

(Verses 5 through 9) But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by Myself, saith  the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation. For thus saith the LORD unto the king’s house of Judah : Thou art Gilead unto Me, and the head of Lebanon : yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which shall not be inhabited. And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy chosen cedars, and cast them into the fire. And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbor, Wherefore hath the LORD done this unto this great city? Then they shall answer, Because  they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.

Thus the LORD gives the other side of His promise, a warning that if they do not heed His warning, and obey His word, He will bring utter destruction and desolation upon them. He declares that Judah is as dear to Him as Gilead, and the head of Lebanon . But that will not stand between them and the punishment He has pronounced upon them. Notice that He does not say that their enemies shall come upon them, and He will sit idly by while they cause this destruction. Instead He declares, “I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited. And I will prepare destroyers against thee.” It will all be of His making. Some may wonder at this. And some will even declare that the LORD is so kind and loving that He would never do such terrible things. But He has declared that He will do this; and His word stands. He now gives us the reason why He will do this. It is that many people may know that He is chastising them for their great sin of turning away from Him to worship and serve idol gods. When we look around us, and see all the idols professed Christians are serving today, the question comes up immediately, “What can we expect, if we do not repent?”

(Verses 10 through 13) Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country. For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; he shall not return thither any more: but he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.

The LORD commands Jeremiah to not weep for those who die; but to weep sorely for those who are taken captive. For those who are taken away will not come back. This is not to say that the remnant of Judah will not return: the LORD has already promised that they shall. But the individuals that are taken away will not come back. The captivity will last all of their lifetime. He specifically mentions one Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah . He had already been taken away. And the LORD said that he would never return. Instead he would die in the place to which they had taken him, and never see his native land again.

(Verses 13 through 19) Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbor’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows, and it is ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermillion. Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself with cedar? Did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know Me? saith the LORD. But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it. Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah ; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or Ah sister! They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory! He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem .

Shallum was the first of the sons of Josiah who reigned in the place of Josiah after his death. He had now been taken away captive; and the LORD has told us that he will never return to his native land. Jehoiakim, another son of Josiah, became king after Shallum was taken away. So, now the LORD sends this message concerning him. He begins it  by pronouncing a woe upon the man that builds up his own fortune at the expense of others, and forces others to work for him without wages. Then He asks if he thinks he can reign because he has great wealth. He calls attention to the fact that what enabled Jehoiakim’s father to reign was his rendering righteous judgment. But it is not so with Jehoiakim. Instead, his eyes and his heart are so wicked that all they can consider are covetousness, shedding innocent blood, oppressing the poor, and doing violence. Because of this he is going to die in Jerusalem , be dragged out of the city, and buried like an ass, with no one to lament for him.

(Verses 20 through 30) Go up to Lebanon , and cry, and lift up thy voice in Bashan , and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed. I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou sadist, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not My voice. The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness. O inhabitant of Lebanon , that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail! As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon My right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence; and I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there ye shall die. But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return. Is this Coniah a despised broken idol? Is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? Wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah .

Not only is this word to Jerusalem and Judah , but it is also to be declared even in Lebanon and Bashan, showing that it affects every part of Israel . Such desolation is to come upon them that although they may have set themselves up as great and wealthy people, they will be brought down to such desolation that they will be as a woman in the pains of childbirth. The cedars of Lebanon were legendary as the tallest trees in all that area. So the reference to their making their nest in the cedars actually has to do with their being so highly exalted in their own minds. They think themselves great enough that none can bring them down. But the LORD declares that He will indeed bring them low. Then He speaks of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, who became king upon the death of Jehoiakim. They might think him to be so important that he could be considered the signet on the right hand of God. But this is not the LORD’S judgment of him. And even if it were, He still declares that He will deliver him into the hands of Nebuchadrezzar and the Chaldeans, who shall take both him and his mother away as captives to the land of Babylon . And he shall never return to Judah . Then He calls upon the earth to hear the word he is speaking. And the fact that He calls three times upon the earth to hear his word, underscores the importance of the message. This man, Coniah, no matter how many children he may have had, is to be written as childless, because no man of his seed shall prosper. None shall sit upon the throne of David, and rule any more in Judah .

Chapter 23

(Verses 1 through 4) Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture! saith the LORD. Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed My people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD. And I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.

“Pastor,” as used in the scriptures, means ,”shepherd,” and is usually a reference to the one who is the overseer of the LORD’S people, just as a shepherd is the overseer of a flock of sheep. And that is its use in this text. The LORD declares a woe upon those pastors, in this case the priests, who scatter, or drive apart, His people. They are the ones who should be feeding His people. And perhaps, they are; but the food with which they are feeding them is not that with which the LORD would have them fed. These pastors have scattered His flock, and have made no effort to gather them together again. Instead, they have been engaged in doing evil themselves, and causing the people to do the same. This is what is bringing on the great punishment the LORD is going to send upon them. But even now the LORD’S promise reaches far beyond the present chastisement He has declared. He will gather them out of all the countries whither He has driven them. This certainly has reference to more than their return from the Babylonian captivity. It reaches to “all countries whither I have driven them.” He declares that He “will bring them again to their folds, and they shall be fruitful and increase.” Not only so, but He “will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking.”

(Verses 5 through 8) Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, Which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, The LORD liveth, Which brought up, and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

There can be no doubt that this is a prophecy of the coming of our Lord Jesus the Christ. But it reaches beyond His first coming, to the time of His return. Presently, He is in that “far country” to which He went to receive His kingdom, as He showed in one of His parables. According to the scriptures, He is now seated at the right hand of the Father, awaiting the time for Him to return and gather up all His redeemed, instead of presently reigning on the earth, as some like to portray Him. As the Apostle Paul told the Corinthians, when rebuking them for their feeling that they were reigning now with the Christ, “I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.” All his teaching shows that he expected to reign with the Christ, but not now. That is to come later. The primary reference of the present text is to the return of our Lord Jesus at the re-gathering of Israel and Judah . At that time He will reign in Jerusalem ; and Judah and Israel shall dwell safely there. He is, and forever will be, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. In that day, as great as the memory is of the LORD’S bringing up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt is, it will be replaced by a greater. They will then say, “The LORD liveth, Which brought up, and Which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them.” And in that day they shall dwell in their own land. This is one of those promises that cannot be, at the will of man, taken from Israel and Judah , and given to the gospel church. The LORD made this promise to Israel and Judah , and it shall stand as given. It is upon the faithfulness of God to the promises he has made to them that we find reason to be confident that He will also do what He has promised us. The doctrine of taking His promises to Israel and Judah , and trying to give them to the gospel church, that is, replacing them with the gospel church, started in the Roman Catholic Church, and is the basic tenet of the Nazi Party, and all anti- Semitic orders in the world. But His word still stands.

(Verses 9 through 15) Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of His holiness. For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right. For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in My house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD. Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD. And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria ; they prophesied in Baal, and caused My people Israel to err. I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto Me as Sodom , and the inhabitants of Gomorrah . Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.

Jeremiah is completely overcome by his vision of the evils done by the prophets and the false prophecies they have proclaimed, and because of the word of the LORD against them and the people because of these evils. He says that the land is full of adulterers. No doubt there was much adultery in the land, for that was sometimes a part of the ritual of worshipping some of the idols after which Judah had gone. However, what is mostly under consideration is their leaving the LORD, and worshipping idols, whether actual physical adultery was committed, or not. Also “the land mourneth because of swearing.” This could refer to the excessive use of profanity among the people, or it might be a reference to their constant swearing of allegiance to these idols, possibly both. At any rate, it has corrupted the whole land so that to him it seems that all the pleasant places of even the wilderness have been destroyed. Their whole course is evil, and their force is not directed in the right way. The problem is not to be laid only upon the prophets, nor only on the priests, but upon both. For the LORD declares that He has found their wickedness in His house. Because of this He will make their way “as slippery ways in the darkness.” A slippery way is hard enough to follow even with plenty of light; so in a slippery way in the darkness they cannot hope to stand. Consequently they will certainly fall, because the LORD will Himself bring evil upon them. He declares that He has seen the folly of not only the prophets of Samaria whom He has already sent into captivity, but also that of the prophets of Jerusalem . They have done such evil that He considers them as Sodom and Gomorrah . And everyone knows what He did to those cities. So far as those prophets are concerned, He will “feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall,” two of the most bitter things known. Because it is from these prophets that profaneness has gone forth into all the land.”

(Verses 16 through 22) Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. They say still unto them that despise Me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard His word? Who hath marked His word, and heard it? Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the LORD shall not return, until He have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of His heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

Here the LORD commands the people to stop listening to the prophets that have been prophesying to them, because they are prophesying only their own imagination, and not His word. None of them has ever “stood in His counsel,” or even heard His word. They could not have heard Him, because He has not spoken to them, and neither has He sent them. Yet they ran, and prophesied. Therefore the LORD is sending forth His anger against them, and it shall not return until it has accomplished his purpose. “In the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.” After His anger has accomplished his purpose they will thoroughly consider it, and understand it. If these prophets had stood in the counsel of the LORD, and had spoken His word truthfully to the people, they would not now be in the terrible condition in which they are. They would have turned away “from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

(Verses 23 through 29) Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a GOD afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. I have heard what the Prophets said, that prophesy lies in My name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; which think to cause My people to forget My name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers have forgotten My name for Baal. The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. Is not My word like fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

This text is filled with very important questions. The first is one that, evidently, these prophets had never considered. Or, if they had, they had come up with the wrong answer. “’Am I a God at hand,’ saith the LORD, ‘and not a God afar off.’” There can be no doubt that He is just as powerful afar off as He is at hand. He is the great GOD Who created the heaven and the earth, together with everything in both. In reality, He is never afar off, but is great enough to be present everywhere at the same time. So, certainly none can hide in a place so secret that He cannot see him. He then says that He has heard the prophets that are prophesying lies in His name. They dream something, and declare that it is the word of the LORD, when the LORD has not spoken. They are only prophesying the deceit of their own hearts. They have been so long turned after Baal that they have even forgotten the name of the LORD. So His word to them is, “The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?” When wheat is threshed, the whole purpose is to separate the chaff from the wheat, because the chaff is worthless. The analogy is that the word of the LORD, like the wheat, is valuable, and should be carefully cared for, while the dream, being only a dream, is worthless like the chaff, and should be discarded. Then He asks, “Is not My word like a fire? - - - and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” Surely it is. It is by His word that He created all things; and it is by His word that He will bring all things to their purposed end. So it is time to lay aside the dreams of men, and listen to the word of God.

(Verses 30 through 32) Therefore behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal My words every one from his neighbour. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.

The LORD continues to declare His opposition to the prophets, and to give His reasons for such. When He says that they “steal My words every one from his neighbor,” He does not mean that He has given His word to some, and others steal it; but that a prophet will from his own evil heart speak something, and others will declare it to be the word of the LORD, which it is not, but the people think they have heard the LORD’S word, when it is only someone’s imagination. He is against such, and those who practice it. These prophets are only telling their dreams, and passing them off to the people as the word of God. That same evil seems to be very common today. Now, as then, it causes His people to err. He declares that such shall not profit this people. And certainly it will not profit us today.

(Verses 33 through 36) And when this people, or the prophet, or the priest, shall ask thee saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto him, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD. And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house. Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken? And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man’s word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God.

We notice, in some of the writings of the prophets, the expression, “the burden of the LORD,” is often used. And, evidently, it was much in use by the prophets of Judah in their prophesying, although their prophecies were not the word of the LORD, but their own imagination. So the LORD says that this expression is to be used no more, whether by a prophet, by a priest, or by the common people. Whatever a man says will be his own burden, and not chargeable to the LORD. If one wishes to know the word of the LORD, he is to ask, “What hath the LORD answered?” or “What hath the LORD spoken?” They have been perverting the word of the LORD by their habit of saying, “The word of the LORD,” when it is only the dream of a man.

(Verses 37 through 40) Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and What hath the LORD spoken? But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD; therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave to you and your fathers, and cast you out of My presence: and I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.

This may to some seem a very little thing to cause the LORD to place such condemnation upon those guilty of continuing this practice. But the principle of it is just as great as that of refusing to obey His commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.” The principle is that He has commanded them to stop using this expression; and they have dishonored Him by refusing to obey His command. It brings to mind something that we find in The New Testament. (James 4:13-17) “Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and them vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the LORD will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” Just as James has warned us to remember always to say, “If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that,” and follows that with the reminder that “to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin,” So the LORD has warned these people to stop saying, “The burden of the LORD,” and He has told them the consequence of their sin of not doing what He has commanded. Both of these things are, of themselves, little. But when they are the commandments of the LORD, both become very great. And they carry great consequences. He says to the people of Judah , “Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave unto you and your fathers, and cast you out of My presence: and I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.” What greater punishment could be pronounced upon them?

Chapter 24

(Verses 1 through 3) The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths from Jerusalem, and brought them to Babylon. One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad. Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.

All the inhabitants of Jerusalem were not taken away captive at the same time. One group of them were taken along with Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim the king of Judah . And it was some time before the others were taken. After those with Jeconiah were taken, the LORD showed Jeremiah a vision of two baskets of figs set before the temple of the LORD. This was done to show him what the LORD had purposed concerning the people of Jerusalem . One of these baskets was filled with very good figs, as if they were the firstripe fruit. But the other basket had no good figs at all. Instead, they were so bad that they were not fit to be eaten. When the LORD asked Jeremiah what he saw, he answered, “Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.” This prepares us for the message the LORD is about to give to Jeremiah.

(Verses 4 through 7) Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the hands of the Chaldeans for their good. For I will set Mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. And I will give them an heart to know Me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be My people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto Me with their whole heart.

Many people do not like the doctrine that the election of God is based solely upon Himself, and no other. But in this chapter it is set forth as clearly as it is possible to say it.  No doubt, the people that were left in Judah after these were carried away, for a while thought themselves far better off than those who were carried away. But the LORD declares that He had these carried away for their own good. It is evident that they were no better than those who were left. For the LORD says, “And I will give them an heart to know Me, that I am the LORD,” signifying that at the time of their being carried away they had no such heart. Their heart was just as evil as that of their brethren who were left in Judah . But the LORD declared that not only would He give them a heart to know him, but he would also set His eyes upon them for good, that He would bring them again to Judah , that He would build them up, and not pull them down, and that he would plant them, and not pluck them up. None of this is predicated upon anything that they might do, but only upon His word. He also declares that they shall be His people, and he will be their God. And they shall return to him with their whole heart. He will bring all this about, with no conditions set forth for them to fulfill. All these things are works that He will do. Thus they will be as the good figs.

(Verses 8 through 10) And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt: and I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

This is the other side of the situation. Just as the LORD made choice of those already carried away to Babylon , that He might do them good, so He had determined that those still in the land, and even those who had fled to Egypt , should be scattered into all the nations of the earth, for their hurt. He would cause them to be a reproach, a proverb, a taunt, and a curse, in all the places whither He would drive them. Then, to cap the matter, He would send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, to completely destroy them from the land He had given to them and their fathers.

Chapter 25

(Verses 1 through 7)The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; the which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the inhabitants of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened. And the LORD hath sent unto you all His servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, Turn ye again every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your goings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever: and go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt. Yet ye have not hearkened unto Me, saith the LORD; that ye might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.

It may be a little difficult to keep track of the chronology of the various visions Jeremiah was given, unless care is taken to notice Jeremiah’s own statements concerning it. At the beginning of this book, in Chapter 1, verses 2 and 3, he told us that “the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah , in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.” We have, in Chapter 21, found some things that were in the time of Zedekiah. Then, in Chapter 24, the word of the LORD comes after the carrying away of Jeconiah, and those that were taken with him. Now he takes us back to the beginning of the coming of the word of the LORD to him, and brings us down to what was the present with him, which was ten years later than the beginning. All this time, as the word of the LORD came to him, he proclaimed it to the people of Judah and Jerusalem , warning them to forsake their false gods, and turn to the LORD, lest they suffer the consequences the LORD declared upon them. Not only had he proclaimed this message to them, but all the prophets of the LORD had been sent unto them with this same message. When he speaks of his “rising up early, to speak to them, and of the LORD’S “rising up early” to send the prophets, the meaning is that he had been diligent in speaking the word of the LORD to them, and the LORD had given diligence to sending the prophets. Nevertheless, with all this, the people would not give heed to the word of the LORD, whether delivered by Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets. So they, by their refusal to hear, and by their evil works, have provoked the LORD to anger. And this shall be to their own hurt.

(Verses 8 through 11) Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Because ye have not heard My words, Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

Now the LORD speaks, and declares that because of their refusal to hear His word, He will bring total devastation upon them. He speaks of Nebuchadrezzar, (or Nebuchadnezzar, as it is sometimes spelled,) as His servant. This may seem strange to some; but it is a common usage in the scriptures. When Isaiah was declaring the judgment of God against Israel and Judah as He was about to send the Assyrians against them, he quotes the LORD as saying, “O Assyrian, the rod of Mine anger, and the staff in their hand is Mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of My wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.” (Isaiah 10:5-6) The LORD makes use of whomsoever He will, even the wicked, when it suits Him, to carry out His purpose. Thus even the wicked are His servants in such matters. The desolation that the LORD will send upon Judah will be so great that all the signs of life shall cease in the city. There will not even be the light of a candle. This desolation shall continue for a period of seventy years. During that time they shall serve the king of Babylon .

(Verses 12 through 14) And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon , and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. And I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.

Here the LORD declares that the duration of the Babylonian captivity shall be seventy years. And history bears witness that it did last that long. This pertains to “the good figs” of Chapter 24, those who were taken to Babylon . It does not, necessarily, apply to “the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil.” The LORD said He would remove them into all the nations of the world, and would destroy them with the sword, the pestilence, and the famine. When the seventy years have been finished, the LORD will bring punishment on the very ones He has used to bring chastisement upon Judah . All the evils that are written in this book against Judah and Jerusalem shall be turned loose upon the Babylonians and the Chaldeans to destroy them. In Verse 14 he says that those nations who have served themselves of them (the captives from Judah ) shall be recompensed according to their deeds and the works of their hands.

(Verses 15 through 26) For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me. To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day; Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and his people; and all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon, and all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles that are beyond the sea, Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners, and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert, and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes, and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.

In Jeremiah’s vision, the LORD gave him a cup filled with the wine of His fury, and ordered him to present it to the kings, princes, and people of all the nations of the world, and commanded him to make them drink of it. This is to signify that He, the LORD, will bring all nations to judgment and desolation. This, without question, looks forward to the great battle of Armageddon as shown in Revelation 16:13-16, when all nations of the world shall be gathered to that great battle. In that day the LORD shall bring all nations to desolation. Apparently, the purpose of giving all the names of the peoples and nations is to show that this does indeed cover all the earth.

(Verses 27 through 31) Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; ye shall certainly drink. For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by My name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts. Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter His voice from His holy habitation; He shall mightily roar upon His habitation; He shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, He will plead with all flesh; He will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.

The LORD declares that if anyone of these refuse to drink of the wine of His fury, it will be of no avail. He will be forced to drink it. He asks if these nations are to escape punishment, after He has already initiated punishment against the city that is called by His name. The answer is that they certainly shall not escape, for He will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth. Verse 30 seems to be a reference to the treading of the winepress of the wrath of God as mentioned in Revelation 14:20, and Isaiah 63:1-6. when, in verse 31, He says, “He will plead with all flesh,” it is not to be thought that He will “beg” anyone to do anything, as we sometimes understand to be the meaning of “plead.” Rather it will be as explained in the last segment of that verse. “He will give them that are wicked to the sword.”

(Verses 32 and 33) Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.

This text seems to be clear enough without any explanation. In that day it will be as if a great tornado, or hurricane covered the earth. And the slain will be from one end of the earth to the other, with none left to either lament the dead, or to gather them, and bury them.

(Verses 34 through 38) Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel. And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape. A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture. And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the LORD. He hath forsaken His covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of His fierce anger.

The LORD speaks of the people as a flock of sheep, and their prophets and priests as shepherds. He calls upon these shepherds, and the principal of the flock, their leaders, to howl, to cry, and to wallow themselves in the ashes for their sorrow, because the time that had been given them before their slaughter and dispersion has run out. There will be no more delay. The shepherds will have no way to flee, and none can escape The LORD has spoiled their pasture. This destruction is from Him. His anger has destroyed their peaceable habitations. Just as a lion leaves his covert, and stalks his prey, so has the LORD come forth in His anger to make the land desolate.