#1073 Jeremiah 19 Broken Flask

 

Thus says the Lord, “Go, buy a potter's earthenware flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests, 2 and go out to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the entry of the Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you. 3 You shall say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. 4 Because the people have forsaken me and have profaned this place by making offerings in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known; and because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents, 5 and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind— 6 therefore, behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when this place shall no more be called Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7 And in this place I will make void the plans of Judah and Jerusalem, and will cause their people to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of those who seek their life. I will give their dead bodies for food to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the earth. 8 And I will make this city a horror, a thing to be hissed at. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its wounds. 9 And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his neighbor in the siege and in the distress, with which their enemies and those who seek their life afflict them.’

10 “Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, 11 and shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: So will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter's vessel, so that it can never be mended. Men shall bury in Topheth because there will be no place else to bury. 12 Thus will I do to this place, declares the Lord, and to its inhabitants, making this city like Topheth. 13 The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah—all the houses on whose roofs offerings have been offered to all the host of heaven, and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods—shall be defiled like the place of Topheth.’”

14 Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and he stood in the court of the Lord's house and said to all the people: 15 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, behold, I am bringing upon this city and upon all its towns all the disaster that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their neck, refusing to hear my words.” Jeremiah 19 ESV

Jeremiah 19 The Broken Flask

…20But if any prophet dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or to speak in the name of other gods, that prophet must be put to death.” 21 You may ask in your heart, “How can we recognize a message that the LORD has not spoken?” 22When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and the message does not come to pass or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.… Deuteronomy 18: 20-22

1-2. Take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priest - Bring witnesses to what you are about to pronounce. When someone spoke as a prophet, it had to be witnessed, recorded and sealed. If what Jeremiah says doesn't come to pass then he is not to be considered a true prophet of God, and he would be stoned according to the law. Sadly, there are many prophets speaking peace, love and prosperity, but God is saying, "I did not send them", yet the people, including the priests, are not holding them to the standards. If the thing they say doesn't come to pass then they are not giving the message of the Lord, and that was punishable by death, yet there is still an even higher standard. Balaam is a choice example of one who spoke what the Lord told him to say, yet came in another way to destroy the people from within. One thing he knew about the Hebrew God, was that He would punish sin, yet Jeremiah's listeners have a difficult time believing that.

1If a prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you, 2and if the sign or wonder he has spoken to you comes about, but he says, “Let us follow other gods (which you have not known) and let us worship them,” 3you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. For the LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul.… Deuteronomy 13: 1-3

Mind Craft and "I did not send"

…13I know where you live, where the throne of Satan sits. Yet you have held fast to My name and have not denied your faith in Me, even in the day when My faithful witness Antipas was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. 15In the same way, some of you also hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.… Revelation 2: 13-15

3-9. Shall no more be called Topheth - It will now be the place of Slaughter where God foils the plans that the false prophets, silly leaders, and bought priests have made. It will be a place of justice for the blood of all the innocence that cries out.

Hebrew uses the word toph for "drum". This was another name for the valley of Hinnom, an east-west valley at the south end of Jerusalem where, when children were burned in sacrifice to idols, drums were beaten to drown their cries. - J Mac Study Bible

And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters - Now when they hear this and it upsets them, could they ever find precedence for such talk? These are the same people that are aborting their children, or saying it is okay for others to do so, all the while expecting God to turn a blind eye. They could give Jeremiah the test of Scripture, is what he saying in line with God's word that was given to Moses and the other prophets? Does God condone their sin, and has He ever judged such things in the past? 

…52They will besiege all the cities throughout your land, until the high and fortified walls in which you trust have fallen. They will besiege all your cities throughout the land that the LORD your God has given you. 53Then you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you. 54The most gentle and refined man among you will begrudge his brother, the wife he embraces, and the rest of his children who have survived,… Deuteronomy 28: 52-54

10-14. As one breaks a potter's vessel - Shattered beyond repair, refuse like at the potsherd gate.

…8Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession. 9You will break them with an iron scepter; You will shatter them like pottery.” 10Therefore be wise, O kings; be admonished, O judges of the earth.… Psalm 2: 8-10

…14With deceit in his heart he devises evil; he continually sows discord. 15Therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in an instant he will be shattered beyond recovery. 16There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him:…

…17haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that run swiftly to evil, 19a false witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up discord among brothers.… Proverbs 6: 14-19

All the hosts of heaven - They worshiped the stars and planets, created things.

Because they have stiffened their neck - Their free will has brought them thus far, and they will not repent. They will not acknowledge what already is, and that is that God is the Potter, they are the clay, He is Lord, and they are not.

…7Do not be like your fathers and brothers who were unfaithful to the LORD, the God of their fathers, so that He made them an object of horror, as you can see. 8Now do not stiffen your necks as your fathers did. Submit to the LORD and come to His sanctuary, which He has consecrated forever. Serve the LORD your God, so that His fierce anger will turn away from you. 9For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and sons will receive mercy in the presence of their captors and will return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful; He will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.”… 2 Chronicles 30: 7-9