#1075 Jeremiah 21 Still Deaf

 

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, 2 “Inquire of the Lord for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.”

3 Then Jeremiah said to them: “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, 4 ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. And I will bring them together into the midst of this city. 5 I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and strong arm, in anger and in fury and in great wrath. 6 And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. 7 Afterward, declares the Lord, I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. He shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.’

8 “And to this people you shall say: ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and shall have his life as a prize of war. 10 For I have set my face against this city for harm and not for good, declares the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’

Message to the House of David

11 “And to the house of the king of Judah say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, 12 O house of David! Thus says the Lord:

“‘Execute justice in the morning,

and deliver from the hand of the oppressor

him who has been robbed,

lest my wrath go forth like fire,

and burn with none to quench it,

because of your evil deeds.’”

13 “Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley,

O rock of the plain,

declares the Lord;

you who say, ‘Who shall come down against us,

or who shall enter our habitations?’

14 I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds,

declares the Lord;

I will kindle a fire in her forest,

and it shall devour all that is around her.” Jeremiah 21 ESV

Jeremiah 21 Jerusalem Will Fall To Nebuchadnezzar

1-2. When King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur - This is not the same Pashhur from chapter 20, who beat Jeremiah, his father's name was Immer. This jumps ahead to the days of Zedekiah when Babylon was engaged in campaigns against Judah. They take the outer cities, remove some into captivity, put Jerusalem under siege and eventually sack the temple that Solomon built. 

“The episode, c. 588, transports us suddenly to the final siege of Jerusalem, some 20 years after the events of chapter 20.” (Kidner) In this period Judah and Jerusalem did not fall in one decisive battle; it happened in stages.

· About 17 years before this Nebuchadnezzar first came to Jerusalem in the reign of King Jehoiakim and subjugated the city and took captives from the best and the brightest of Judah, such as Daniel (about 605 BC). - Enduring Word

Zedekiah 1

Zedekiah Part 2

Zedekiah Part 3

Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all His wonderful deeds - The consequences Jeremiah had been preaching about for so long were now upon them, and though they didn't hate the sin, they did despise the consequences and hoped for a favorable word. Now, if we remember, they beat Jeremiah for His words, and this is a good many years later, but they had plenty of favorable words, the other prophets predicted that none of this would happen. They are probably reminiscing the time of King Hezekiah when God's angel killed 185,000 Assyrians and sent them packing. Jerusalem was saved that time, but we should never look at what God has done for someone else in the past as a guarantee for what will happen now. If we do that then we must look at God's reasoning, and we have to consider His overall purpose and His attributes. In the past, He has also removed the rule of the northern kingdom, in the past, He has caused His people to wander in the wilderness, has destroyed whole cities, has confounded languages and destroyed the earth by flood. The consistent thing here is God's hatred of sin, and the command is always to repent.

3-10. I Myself will fight against you - Babylon is here by God's permission. They are here to bring justice to a land that has turned it's back on God, followed superstition and refused to humble themselves.

Surrenders to the Chaldeans - This was the equivalent of accepting God's judgment, but it will not make Jeremiah popular. In the ears of those with hardened hearts, this will sound traitorous because they are nationalists, patriotic, but in no way Godly. They have a form of godliness in religion, but they deny the power of God, His right to rule over what He has created.

11-14. Execute justice in the morning - God didn't just give them the law, He had expectations with it, and though judgment is unavoidable they can still repent. It is a serious human flaw that would say, "what's the point?" If God wasn't going to return them to prosperity, then they would see no reason to repent, but they fail to realize, God does not owe them even their breath, much less our wants. There was still time at Jeremiah's saying of this to avoid ultimate destruction, but most of them were of a hard heart. Look at the thief on the cross, he doesn't ask to be let down, no, he acknowledges that he is there for a reason, guilty, and to the One that is there and not guilty, He says, "remember me, Lord, when You enter Your kingdom." 

Him who has been robbed - God has warned them over and over again about their unjust deeds, treatment of the fatherless and widows, and of strangers in their land. Like so many prosperity teachers, they view wealth as a sign that God is not displeased with them, regardless of their actions. The self righteous will be judged, but they will also be blind to it coming, because they don't think it could ever happen to them, and it does not fit their ideology. 

O rock of the plain - This is a sarcastic poke at another thing they put trust in. Some trust in chariots and some in horses. They had walls around the city, and it was on a mount so that they had the advantage of high ground. Sometimes they thought they had enough to wait out a siege, but this won't be the case. 

I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds - It is a frightening thing to fall into the hands of an angry God. 

…5But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6God “will repay each one according to his deeds.” 7To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life.…

…8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger. 9There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek; 10but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Greek.… Romans 2: 5-10

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#1074 Jeremiah 20 Your New Name Is Terror On Every Side

 

Now Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2 Then Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the Lord. 3 The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call your name Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side. 4 For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword. 5 Moreover, I will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its prized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon. 6 And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely.”

7 O Lord, you have deceived me,

and I was deceived;

you are stronger than I,

and you have prevailed.

I have become a laughingstock all the day;

everyone mocks me.

8 For whenever I speak, I cry out,

I shout, “Violence and destruction!”

For the word of the Lord has become for me

a reproach and derision all day long.

9 If I say, “I will not mention him,

or speak any more in his name,”

there is in my heart as it were a burning fire

shut up in my bones,

and I am weary with holding it in,

and I cannot.

10 For I hear many whispering.

Terror is on every side!

“Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”

say all my close friends,

watching for my fall.

“Perhaps he will be deceived;

then we can overcome him

and take our revenge on him.”

11 But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior;

therefore my persecutors will stumble;

they will not overcome me.

They will be greatly shamed,

for they will not succeed.

Their eternal dishonor

will never be forgotten.

12 O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous,

who sees the heart and the mind,

let me see your vengeance upon them,

for to you have I committed my cause.

13 Sing to the Lord;

praise the Lord!

For he has delivered the life of the needy

from the hand of evildoers.

14 Cursed be the day

on which I was born!

The day when my mother bore me,

let it not be blessed!

15 Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father,

“A son is born to you,”

making him very glad.

16 Let that man be like the cities

that the Lord overthrew without pity;

let him hear a cry in the morning

and an alarm at noon,

17 because he did not kill me in the womb;

so my mother would have been my grave,

and her womb forever great.

18 Why did I come out from the womb

to see toil and sorrow,

and spend my days in shame? Jeremiah 20 ESV

Jeremiah 20 Jeremiah Persecuted by a Priest

…13And they shouted back, “Crucify Him!” 14“Why?” asked Pilate. “What evil has He done?” But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!” 15And wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.… Mark 15: 13-15

1-6. Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet and put him in stocks - Pashhur is a priest, and apparently the muscle of the temple, or carrying such authority, as did Saul of Tarsus, when he persecuted the Christians. Jeremiah is being beaten because of what he said; they didn't like what he said, it didn't fit with what they were perpetuating. What he said was so horrific to them that it justified public humiliation, beating, and being placed in stock which provides a most unnatural confinement. When a man is whipped or beaten in stocks, he is already uncomfortable, but the body will naturally rise and respond to each lash. The muscles will contract, and the stocks will provide no easement. 

“The stocks (MT mahpeket, from a root ‘to distort’) were a form of scaffold in which prisoners were detained in a crooked or confined position which produced cramped muscles.” (Harrison)

iii. “The Hebrew word is formed from the verb to twist, implying that this ‘twist-frame’ clamped the victim in a position that would become increasingly distressing.” (Kidner)

The Lord does not call your name Pashhur - His given name meant any of these things: freedom, peacefulness, ease or tranquility, but God was reversing that, the very thing these false teachers were promising. His new name would be "Terror on every side." His name would represent what was actually going to happen, the invasion of Babylon, destruction and captivity, the result of Judah's sin and unrepentance.

To whom you have prophesied falsely - Jeremiah's message did not change with the beating, destruction is coming, and Pashhur will be a bystander, it will not be lost on him. Those that believed his lies will go with him, and being a priest will not help him.

1Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.… James 3: 1-2

…19if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those in darkness, 20an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?… Romans 2: 19-21

7-12. O lord, You have deceived me - Jeremiah did not see all these things in advance, and even what we see we have not yet felt or experienced, but he did not sign up for this. He didn't go looking for God, had no desire to be the prophet of gloom or head of the ministry that fell upon deaf souls and angry ears. He notes that God had prevailed, because, like Jonah, God was stronger than the aversion. So much for free will. 

I have become a laughing stock - The priests did not respect him, nor the other leaders, and this emboldened a people who already didn't like his message. 

I shout, "violence and destruction" - He was warning of what God said was to come, but the people are looking around and saying, I don't see it, where is this destruction? They had prosperity, money still came in the gates, wine flowed from the vineyards, but Babylon had not yet come for them, and the false prophets said that wasn't going to happen anyway. 

A reproach and derision all day long - Repeating what God said was not the glorious job of the prosperity teachers. Their message was well received, but Jeremiah is beaten and mocked for the message of God. 

…4For if someone comes and proclaims a Jesus other than the One we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the One you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it way too easily. 5 I consider myself in no way inferior to those “super-apostles.” 6Although I am not a polished speaker, I am certainly not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every way possible.… 2 Corinthians 11: 4-6

35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written: “ For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.… Romans 8: 35-37

There is in my heart as it were a burning fire - He would swear off the mention of God or speaking in His name, yet there is this burning within him, this call that will not be ignored. Logically, from purely human reasoning, what has it profited him to be the mouth piece of God? Why persist in something that only gets a negative response?  

I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot - Try as he might, there is no escaping it, like Jonah fleeing on the ship, running away from his call to Nineveh, it is useless. He is compelled, their is no other choice. 

“This is the burden of the Word of Jehovah. Perhaps only those who have experienced it can understand it. To publish that word at times brings suffering; but to refrain brings far more terrible suffering. Paul understood this when he said, ‘Woe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel.’“ (Morgan)

I hear many whispering, "terror is on every side" - It is a way to mock him, they have taken his own words to make a joke of it, he is chicken little, and to them the sky is not truly falling, nor is that possible. "Precept upon precept", they probably make the yawning face, and respect him as Isaiah's listeners did.

63The men who were holding Jesus began to mock Him and beat Him. 64They blindfolded Him and kept demanding, “Prophesy! Who hit You?” 65And they said many other blasphemous things against Him.… Luke 22: 63-65

Let us denounce him - This is the response of his "close friends"; they wanted to alienate themselves from him quickly.

…33Peter said to Him, “Even if all fall away on account of You, I never will.” 34“Truly I tell you,” Jesus declared, “ this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” 35Peter replied, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You.” And all the other disciples said the same thing.… Matthew 26: 33-35

Perhaps he will be deceived - They hoped they could catch him in some unlawful act, that compromise would reveal the manner of person he was, so they didn't have to listen to him. So far he has led an uncompromised life, which will be an even greater reproach to those hypocrites who would hold him to a standard they do not hold themselves. Is he greedy? Well, if so, his message won't help that, it's not nearly as marketable. They are the ones preaching peace and prosperity. Is he an immoral man? If so, they would have brought such charges right away, and or looked for ways to test him in this. The Pharisees will do the same to Jesus later, only there is nothing in Christ for them to latch on to. Jeremiah is being often tempted to quit by way of mockery, now beating, and he will be accused of more. We are told to look at fruit when it comes to people's professions of faith and also especially when they claim to be called as ministers of God. This is a call not just to speak but also to live a godly life. Sadly, the men that hated Jeremiah did not look at their own motives, for there they would have seen that they were wrong.

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Matthew 7: 15-20

1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and which is already in the world at this time.… 1 John 4: 1-3

10For many are rebellious and full of empty talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision, 11who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not. 12As one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”… Titus 1: 10-12

They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions,[f] while they feast with you. 14 They have eyes full of adultery,[g] insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! 15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, 16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

17 These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. 18 For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves[h] of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. 2 Peter 2: 13-19

But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior - God will keep Jeremiah from stumbling, from going the way of Balaam, from saying what God has not said, from the life style that is unfitting of His prophet. These other prophets are playing with strange fire, and they will find the end of it. They will be shamed for their words will not hold and God will judge the sins they flagrantly commit and encourage others to do also. 

To You I have committed my cause - This is the only way to do the Lord's work, let the offense pass to Him, because Jeremiah will otherwise go mad worrying about the injustices brought to him by unjust creatures. Trust that God who gave Him the message knew the response, and He is working all things together for the good.

13-18. Sing to the Lord - In everything give thanks for this is the will of God.

Cursed be the day on which I was born - From the mountain top back down into the valley, a song of praise to bitter lament.  

“The whole poem in its final setting comes strangely from the lips of one who had taken his divine call so seriously. Rarely has the question ‘Why was I ever born?’ been asked so tellingly. To his cry of distress and poignant question Yahweh gave no answer. But what answer could he give?” (Thompson)

ii. “These verses do belong together. They may not belong together by logic, but who says the life of the soul is always logical? Jeremiah’s curses follow his praises because that is the way it was during his dark night of the soul.” (Ryken)

To see toil and sorrow - For this it seems the prophet was born, as Christ was born always in the shadow of the cross. Jeremiah's ministry lasted some 40 years, hated by his own people, family, and carrying the cross of indignity most the way.  

…36Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world; if it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is not of this realm.” 37“Then You are a king!” Pilate said. “You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered. “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.” 38“What is truth?” Pilate asked. And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against Him.… John 18: 36-38

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#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

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#1072 Jeremiah 18 Potter's House

 

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.

5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.’

12 “But they say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’

13 “Therefore thus says the Lord:

Ask among the nations,

Who has heard the like of this?

The virgin Israel

has done a very horrible thing.

14 Does the snow of Lebanon leave

the crags of Sirion?

Do the mountain waters run dry,

the cold flowing streams?

15 But my people have forgotten me;

they make offerings to false gods;

they made them stumble in their ways,

in the ancient roads,

and to walk into side roads,

not the highway,

16 making their land a horror,

a thing to be hissed at forever.

Everyone who passes by it is horrified

and shakes his head.

17 Like the east wind I will scatter them

before the enemy.

I will show them my back, not my face,

in the day of their calamity.”

18 Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.”

19 Hear me, O Lord,

and listen to the voice of my adversaries.

20 Should good be repaid with evil?

Yet they have dug a pit for my life.

Remember how I stood before you

to speak good for them,

to turn away your wrath from them.

21 Therefore deliver up their children to famine;

give them over to the power of the sword;

let their wives become childless and widowed.

May their men meet death by pestilence,

their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.

22 May a cry be heard from their houses,

when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them!

For they have dug a pit to take me

and laid snares for my feet.

23 Yet you, O Lord, know

all their plotting to kill me.

Forgive not their iniquity,

nor blot out their sin from your sight.

Let them be overthrown before you;

deal with them in the time of your anger. Jeremiah 18 ESV

Jeremiah 18 The Potter and the Clay

19One of you will say to me, “Then why does God still find fault? For who can resist His will?” 20But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?” 21Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use?… Romans 9: 19-21

1-11. Arise and go down to the Potter's house - God is going to talk to Jeremiah, but He wants him to be at the potter's house for this lesson. It is like show and tell, I can describe something to you, but like they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words." 

While Jeremiah looks upon the potter's work, God darts into his mind two great truths. God has authority, and power, to form and fashion kingdoms and nations as he pleases. He may dispose of us as he thinks fit; and it would be as absurd for us to dispute this, as for the clay to quarrel with the potter. But he always goes by fixed rules of justice and goodness. When God is coming against us in judgments, we may be sure it is for our sins; but sincere conversion from the evil of sin will prevent the evil of punishment, as to persons, and to families, and nations. - Matthew Henry

I will relent of the disaster I intended to do to it - You will note this theme throughout Scripture, that God is God, and you are not, and He is calling all men everywhere to repent. Jeremiah is hitting upon great doctrinal truths here that the people of his time, and the church today do not like to admit. Salvation belongs to the Lord, and men need to turn away from their sin. 

…22So they said to him, “Who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet: “I am a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” 24Then the Pharisees who had been sent… John 1: 22-24

Amend your ways and your deeds - Disaster is coming, the wages of sin have already been well established, or do you think that God is like men in that He lies? 

Note the urgency: return now every one. “Men are quite willing to promise to return when they have gone a little further; when, perhaps, they will have gone past all possibility of returning; but ‘now,’ is always an ugly word to them. ‘to-morrow,’ they like much better. ‘Now,’ is a monosyllable which seems to Burn into their bosom like a hot coal, and therefore they pluck it out, and throw it from them.” (Spurgeon)

12-17. But they say, "that is in vain, we will follow our own plans" - They did not want to repent, and it was either vain on Jeremiah's part to think they should, yet Jeremiah spoke on behalf of God, or vain because they thought it impossible or unnecessary. They preferred their sin, and had been assured by many false prophets of what would amount to another gospel. "Look,' they say, 'no need to repent or confess anything, and here is why, you are Abraham's children, you have the temple, go offer up sacrifices, and remember, you were born this way, only doing no more than what feels right or good to you." This is the response to Jesus' gospel today, many call themselves the church, preachers, but they hate His message. 

22“The Son of Man must suffer many things,” He said. “He must be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” 23Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.… Luke 9: 22-24

Do the mountain waters run dry - They were not trading "dirt for diamonds" as Steve Lawson would say, but no, it was the other way around. You are leaving the cool, refreshing, constant waters, for stagnant puddles, disease ridden, murky waters. Who does such a thing? It is a picture of futility and stupidity.

A thing to be hissed at forever - What did this people do to upset God to such a degree of calamity?

 “The term seriqot, ‘hissing’ or ‘whistling,’ denotes that the land would become a spectacle so shocking as to cause passers-by to whistle in awe. The verse is remarkable for its striking assonance, with its s-sounds conveying the impression of hissing.” (Thompson)

Like the east wind I will scatter them - Again, this is the potters right, and He will use another nation to judge them, but also, He will use their captivity to mold them, shape from them a vessel He is pleased with.

6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;… 2 Corinthians 4: 6-8

18-23. Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah - His opponents did not like his message nor his boldness. He was unwilling to compromise with them, to meet them halfway, combining or agreeing with their message. He preached judgment, but like Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, the inoffensive church movements, where everyone is made to feel comfortable in their sin, entertained no less, his adversaries preached soft, and saw themselves more as "encouragers". If only wanting something to be true made it so. 

…13Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored to full use, just like the other. 14But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. 15Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them all,… Matthew 12: 13-15

The law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet: This was (in part) the message of the false prophets. If a man held the title of priest, he must have the law. If he were considered wise, he must have good counsel. If he were called a prophet, he must have a word from God. This was a mentality that pretty much denied the existence of corrupt priests, foolish elders, and unfaithful prophets. - E Word

They wanted Jeremiah to respect the cloth, their titles, their ministries, to be judged my their measure, with the ruler they made. Satan knew the law and twisted it, many are considered wise for being clever, yet show themselves fools in denying God, or having some knowledge but bathing themselves in pride. Today, if I did an internet search I am sure there are thousands of people going around calling themselves prophets, preachers and sages that are not. They hate Jeremiah because he questions their authenticity, says convicting things, exposes them for what they are, and that could effect their bottom line.

Lying prophets

Let us strike him with the tongue - Talk over him, if he won't stop talking we will frustrate him. They had their liberals back then to, shout, chant over speakers, vain repetition, slander.

To speak good for them - Jeremiah has cried for them, and it is love to warn someone, greater love to tell someone the truth that you know they don't want to hear. The lie they live in can't save them, but what Jeremiah has done for their good, the intercession on their behalf, they return evil for good, lies for truth. What else can be done for them? 

Laid snares for my feet - This has to be a frightening time for Jeremiah, he knows what happened to Isaiah and others that came before him. 

…31At this, the Jews again picked up stones to stone Him. 32 But Jesus responded, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone Me?” 33“We are not stoning You for any good work,” said the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because You, who are a man, declare Yourself to be God.”… John 10: 31-33

…11Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about. 12They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul. 13Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered.… Psalm 35: 11-13

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#1071 Jeremiah 17 Part 2 Let It Come

 

“The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars, 2 while their children remember their altars and their Asherim, beside every green tree and on the high hills, 3 on the mountains in the open country. Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your high places for sin throughout all your territory. 4 You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”

5 Thus says the Lord:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man

and makes flesh his strength,[a]

whose heart turns away from the Lord.

6 He is like a shrub in the desert,

and shall not see any good come.

He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,

in an uninhabited salt land.

7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

whose trust is the Lord.

8 He is like a tree planted by water,

that sends out its roots by the stream,

and does not fear when heat comes,

for its leaves remain green,

and is not anxious in the year of drought,

for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

9 The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it?

10 “I the Lord search the heart

and test the mind,

to give every man according to his ways,

according to the fruit of his deeds.”

11 Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch,

so is he who gets riches but not by justice;

in the midst of his days they will leave him,

and at his end he will be a fool.

12 A glorious throne set on high from the beginning

is the place of our sanctuary.

13 O Lord, the hope of Israel,

all who forsake you shall be put to shame;

those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth,

for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.

Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance

14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;

save me, and I shall be saved,

for you are my praise.

15 Behold, they say to me,

“Where is the word of the Lord?

Let it come!”

16 I have not run away from being your shepherd,

nor have I desired the day of sickness.

You know what came out of my lips;

it was before your face.

17 Be not a terror to me;

you are my refuge in the day of disaster.

18 Let those be put to shame who persecute me,

but let me not be put to shame;

let them be dismayed,

but let me not be dismayed;

bring upon them the day of disaster;

destroy them with double destruction!

Keep the Sabbath Holy

19 Thus said the Lord to me: “Go and stand in the People's Gate, by which the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21 Thus says the Lord: Take care for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. 22 And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. 23 Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.

24 “‘But if you listen to me, declares the Lord, and bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, 25 then there shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall be inhabited forever. 26 And people shall come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the Negeb, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not listen to me, to keep the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched.’” Jeremiah 17 ESV

Jeremiah 17: 14-27 Prayer for Deliverance

…174I long for Your salvation, O LORD, and Your law is my delight. 175Let me live to praise You; may Your judgments sustain me. 176I have strayed like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commandments.… Psalm 119: 174-175

14-18. Save me and I shall be saved - Certainly, Oh God, if You take up my case, it shall be resolved. If You hold me, then though I should slip, yet I will not fall away. God, as soon as You decide to save me then it is as good as done. As anyone can imagine, who has read thus far, Jeremiah is not a popular man, unless by popularity you mean cool to be hated. Sure, generations that come later will look back at his words, and say, "wow, he really was a prophet, all this came true", but he is a hated man in his time, despised and separated even by family. Look at his message, he is no Joel Osteen, he is not passing out sweets, he has many enemies for saying what God said.

For You are my praise - My hope is not in men, not in me, because I can see that I do not have the strength of myself to stand up under this burden.  I see that men judge poorly, and that they honor themselves whenever things are going well, but detach themselves quickly when things go south. Save me that I may praise Your salvation.

Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come - Similar to Isaiah's day when they said of judgement, and I paraphrase, but hurry up already. Bring it on! If you are really God's prophet then let these things happen already. Truly, Jeremiah was vindicated, and even while still alive, because Babylon came in his day, but love makes "I told you so" a bitter thing. 

The day of the accomplishment of his prophecies would be a woeful day indeed to Jerusalem, and therefore he deprecated it, and wished it might never come, though, as to himself, it would be the avenging of him upon his persecutors and the proving of him a true prophet (which they had questioned, v. 15), and upon those accounts he might be tempted to desire it. Note, God does not, and therefore ministers must not, desire the death of sinners, but rather that they may turn and live. Though we warn of the woeful day, we must not wish for it, but rather weep because of it, as Jeremiah did. 3. He kept closely to his instructions. Though he might have curried favour with the people, or at least have avoided their displeasure, if he had not been so sharp in his reproofs and severe in his threatenings, yet he would deliver his message faithfully; and that he had done so was a comfort to him. "Lord, thou knowest that that which came out of my lips was right before thee; it exactly agreed with what I received from thee, and therefore thou art reflected upon in their quarrelling with me.’’ - Matthew Henry

10Now as for you, son of man, tell the house of Israel that this is what they have said: ‘Our transgressions and our sins are heavy upon us, and we are wasting away because of them! How can we live?’ 11Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’ 12Therefore, son of man, say to your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression; neither will the wickedness of the wicked man cause him to stumble on the day he turns from his wickedness. Nor will the righteous man be able to survive by his righteousness on the day he sins.’… Ezekiel 33: 10-12

I have not run away from being Your shepherd - Jeremiah has shown up for this difficult task, no matter how unfavorable and costly it has been to his relations. God has spelled out clear instruction to those that would be shepherds and this is to parents, to those that govern, manage or preach, and Jeremiah says, "you know what came out of my lips." He said what he was supposed to say, he carried the message with care. He was a true shepherd, called, but taking a beating because of so many false prophets claiming to be shepherds, yet leading people astray. He stays at it because his faith is not in self or others, but in the living God. Let me not be dismayed, because it is in you that I have placed everything, all my hope, my trust.

Let those be put to shame who persecute me - The things they don't like about Jeremiah, what he says, that comes from God. Jeremiah would prefer peace, to be liked, but God has called him to be His voice to this people, and yet some plot against him. He turns it over to God, let God judge that they have tried to kill the messenger, when it is the message that they hate, and it comes from God.

Note, God’s ministers have work to do which they need not be either ashamed or afraid to go on in, but they do need to be helped by the divine grace to go on in it without shame or fear. Jeremiah had not desired the woeful day upon his country in general; but as to his persecutors, in a just and holy indignation at their malice, he prays, Bring upon them the day of evil, in hope that the bringing of it upon them might prevent the bringing of it upon the country; if they were taken away, the people would be better; "therefore destroy them with a double destruction; let them be utterly destroyed, root and branch, and let the prospect of that destruction be their present confusion.’’ This the prophet prays, not at all that he might be avenged, nor so much that he might be eased, but that the Lord may be known by the judgments which he executes. - Matthew Henry

19-27. Bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath - God had set aside the seventh day for rest, for spiritual growth, it was sanctified as holy. It was a great testimony of this people when kept, that they had been set apart in such fashion. It extended to all within their borders as well. You could not work your servant on the Sabbath, nor a foreigner, and it was evangelical in that those that came there would ask why, and those that observed would say, "in six days God created the heavens and the earth and on the seventh He rested." It is to remember Who the Creator is, to learn and teach of Him, and remember that you are a created being. This was command to Israel which they disregarded in favor of commerce or other worldly pleasures.

…16Additionally, men of Tyre who lived there were importing fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah in Jerusalem. 17Then I rebuked the nobles of Judah and asked, “What is this evil you are doing— profaning the Sabbath day? 18Did not your forefathers do the same things, so that our God brought all this disaster on us and on this city? And now you are rekindling His wrath against Israel by profaning the Sabbath!”… Nehemiah 13: 16-18

Sabbath Pt. 1 

Sabbath Pt. 2

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