However, God made it known to Jeremiah and he escaped, all the while praying for vengeance on his enemies. God promised to punish the wicked of Anathoth with the sword, famine, and disaster because they opposed God’s messenger.

12:1-6. After being delivered from the plot against his life, Jeremiah proclaimed, Righteous are You, O LORD, in thanksgiving for answered prayer.

Jeremiah then brought a case (rib, cf. 2:9, 29), a legal proposition before God, because he had an important question for the Lord. Jeremiah wanted to know Why has … the wicked prospered, and why are the treacherous at ease if God is truly angry about their sin (cf. Jb 21:7; Pss 73:3-5, 12; 94:3)? Why had God planted them and allowed them to produce fruit? They were hypocrites in their devotion to God, praying with their lips, but obedience was far from their mind (cf. Mt 15:8). Jeremiah asked God to drag them off like sheep for the slaughter because they treated Jeremiah like “a gentle lamb led to slaughter” (Jr 11:19).

God had judged the nation for sin with drought. Lack of rain was causing the land to mourn because of the wickedness of the people (cf. 14:1-6; Lv 26:19-20; Dt 28:22-24). The people believed that God was indifferent to their sin as they claimed that He [would] not see what happened (cf. Pss 73:11; 94:7).

Instead of giving real comfort or a direct answer to Jeremiah, God indicated that if Jeremiah found his present circumstances difficult, his future situation would be even worse (v. 5). God used two metaphors to make this point—a race, and a cross-country walk. If Jeremiah had run with footmen and become tired, how could he compete later with horses? Or if Jeremiah would fall down, stumble, in a land of peace, how could he manage if he were in the thicket by the Jordan? The idea of this second question could possibly be paraphrased: If Jeremiah could trust in God only in a time of peace, how would he manage in the midst of difficulties?

God told Jeremiah the bad news that even his own family, his brothers and household, had dealt treacherously with him and warned Jeremiah not to believe them even if they said nice things. Evidently they had joined the plot against Jeremiah at Anathoth (cf. 11:18-23).

12:7-9. After presenting the plot against Jeremiah (11:18–12:6), God continued His pronouncement of judgment. God tenderly described Judah as My house, and My inheritance and beloved of My soul. By depicting the nation in this way God was indicating that their judgment would not come from a hardened heart of a capricious king but from a loving Sovereign (cf. v. l6; Dt 4:20). Though He had wanted to bless, the people’s sin would force the Lord to judge Judah (forsaken, abandoned, given … into the hand of her enemies). The nation had become like a lion that had roared against Him in opposition to His loving commands (cf. Jr 11:10). He had come to hate her, i.e., He had chosen to withdraw His love from her because of her sin.

God’s inheritance had become like a speckled bird of prey to Him. A speckled bird’s markings were different from the other birds of prey. Consequently those other birds would surround and attack this strange bird. Judah had become so estranged from God that He would call the birds of prey against her, and the beasts of the field would devour her.

12:10-11. The coming devastation of Jerusalem was compared to shepherds (cf. 2:8) and their flocks ruining a vineyard (cf. 2:21) as they trampled down God’s pleasant field. The desolation of the land resulted from the false shepherds leading the people into idolatry and disaster. God’s once productive nation would become a desolate wilderness. Desolate (shamem) is used three times in this verse. It is used elsewhere of the utter destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (Dn 9:17) and the devastation of Judah by the Babylonians (Jr 44:6). The repetition emphasizes the certainty and totality of the coming devastation.

12:12-13. The destroyers were the Babylonians, but the action was ultimately caused by the judgment of the sovereign God, hence the invaders are called the sword of the LORD (i.e., the Babylonians’ swords were wielded as God’s instruments). There is no peace for anyone throughout the land. All would be forced to bear the shame of their harvest of judgment because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

12:14-17. The fourth message closes with hope and compassion. God identified the countries around Israel as My wicked neighbors, indicating the Lord’s unique relationship with the land of Israel (cf. Lv 25:23; Dt 32:43; Ps 78:54; Zch 2:12; 9:16). Those wicked neighbors of the Lord had seized Israel’s God-given inheritance (cf. Jr 10:16). Therefore, the nations would also be uprooted from their land (cf. 25:12-14, 27-29; chaps. 46–51). In contrast, God would later uproot the house of Judah from among them, the Gentile nations where they had been scattered, and would bring … back Judah to his land (cf. 31:7-11; Ezk 37:1-14).

Though God would judge these Gentile nations, He will later have compassion, if they learn the ways of My people and swear by My name (cf. Is 56:7). Then God will restore them to their own lands. This will happen when Messiah returns to establish His millennial kingdom on earth. Those nations that follow the Messiah of Israel will be built up in the midst of My people. However, God would destroy any nation that will not listen (cf. Zch 14:9, 16-19).

e. Fifth Prophecy of Judgment—The Object Lessons of the Linen Belt and the Wineskins (13:1-27)

To clarify the message of judgment, the Lord directed Jeremiah to instruct the people with a series of object lessons and parables. These unusual means of communication were designed to provoke interest from unresponsive Judah (cf. 7:24, 28; 11:8; 32:33). Likewise Ezekiel was commanded to use similar techniques in Babylon to communicate truth from the Lord (cf. Ezk 4:1-5:4).

(1) The Illustration of the Linen Waistband (13:1-11)

13:1-7. God commanded Jeremiah to buy a linen waistband, and wear it, but not put it in water. A waistband was a sash or cloth tied around one’s waist as the innermost garment (cf. 2Kg 1:8; Is 5:27). Those observing Jeremiah’s actions would notice its significance—linen was the fabric used for the priestly garments (cf. Lv 16:4; Ezk 44:17-18).

After wearing the belt for a time, God told him to take it to the Euphrates (parah) and hide it there in a crevice of the rock. There are two possible meanings of parah. First, it may refer to the Euphrates River in Babylon, as reflected in the NASB translation. In this case, Jeremiah would have walked to the Euphrates River, a round-trip journey of about 700 miles, to bury this sash. However, a second possibility is that Jeremiah traveled to the village of Parah (pardh) about three miles northeast of Anathoth in the tribe of Benjamin (cf. Jos 18:21, 23). A deep wadi in this area, known today as ‘Ain Farah, fits the description of a place with crevices and rocks. This seems the more likely explanation for the following reasons. First, in Hebrew the spellings for “to Parah” and “to Euphrates” are identical (cf. Jr 13:4-7). Second, by using a location so close to home the people would be able to observe Jeremiah’s symbolic actions. Third, the similarity of name would remind the nation of the army of Babylon from the Euphrates that was coming to destroy them.

After many days, an unspecified but significant amount of time, God told Jeremiah to retrieve the belt from where he had hidden it. (Another round-trip walk of 700 miles would have been necessary if Parah is the Euphrates. This adds further support to the view that the place where Jeremiah was sent was the nearby village of Parah.) As he dug up the waistband he found that its exposure to the elements had made it totally worthless. The waistband was ruined.

13:8-11. The Lord explained the lesson of the waistband. Just as the linen was ruined, so would God destroy the pride of Judah and … Jerusalem. The belt represented the whole household of Israel and … Judah. It was a symbol of their formerly intimate relationship with God, as they were to cling to Him and be His people for renown, praise, and glory. However, when they became wicked people who refused to listen to God’s words, they were just like this waistband which was totally worthless.

(2) The Parable of the Wineskins (13:12-14)

13:12-14. The next object lesson is more direct. Jeremiah declared, Every jug is to be filled with wine. The people scoffed at Jeremiah’s self-evident proverb. Of course every wine jar should be filled with wine. Then Jeremiah drove home the point of the parable. The empty jars represented all the inhabitants of this land including Davidic kings, priests, and prophets. God would fill them with drunkenness, a symbol of judgment (cf. Is 49:26; 63:6; Jr 25:15-25; 51:7, 39), dash them against each other, and they would be broken without pity or compassion.

(3) The Message on Sin and Its Results (13:15-27)

13:15-17. The haughty people were admonished to give glory to the LORD your God before He brought the darkness, deep darkness, and gloom of certain judgment (cf. Ezk 30:3,18; 32:7-8; 34:12; Jl 2:12; Am 5:18-20; Zph 1:15). If they refused to listen and repent, Jeremiah would sob (Jr 14:17) because their foolish pride would cause the flock of the LORD to be taken captive.

13:18-19. Jeremiah’s earlier message had been to the people, now he addressed the king and the queen mother. The reference is probably to King Jehoiachin (also known as Jeconiah) and the Queen Mother Nehushta, the widow of King Jehoiakim (cf. 29:2; 2Kg 24:8, 12, 15). They were exhorted to humble themselves (take a lowly seat). Because your … crown has come down from your head, and Judah has been carried into exile, wholly carried into exile (repeated for emphasis). Since they went into captivity in 597 BC after his reign of just three months (2Kgs 24:8), the events in this prophecy must have taken place during that three-month period.

13:20-21. The king was urged to lift up his eyes and see the armies coming from the north (1:14; 4:6; 6:1, 22; 10:22) who would remove the flock, the people of Judah (cf. 10:21; 13:17). Those with whom Judah had once tried to be aligned, her companions, would become her cruel taskmasters (cf. Is 39:1-7; Ezk. 23:14-27). As a result, Judah would be in pain like a woman in childbirth (cf. Jr 4:31).

13:22-27. The reason for these things, the coming disasters, was because of the magnitude of your iniquity. The people would be put to open humiliation, disgraced publicly like a common prostitute, skirts … removed and … heels … exposed (vv. 26-27; Is 47:3; Hs 2:3, 10). Judah was incapable of doing good. Just as an Ethiopian could not change his skin color nor a leopard his spots (Jr 13:23), neither could Judah change herself. Because they had forgotten God and trusted in falsehood (v. 25), they would certainly go into exile, scattered like drifting straw to the desert wind (v. 24; cf. 4:11-12). Using language to match Judah’s lewd conduct, God declared that He would pull her skirts … over her face (cf. v. 22). Her adulteries and lustful neighings (like wild animals in heat, cf. 2:23-24) characterized the lewdness of their prostitution. Her abominations of idolatry had been seen by God, and would lead to judgment (Woe to you, O Jerusalem!).

f. Sixth Prophecy of Judgment—The Drought and Prayer (14:1–15:21)

14:1-6. At the time of the exodus, God warned the Jewish people of judgment for disobedience. Drought was one of the covenant curses God said He would send on them for sin (cf. Lv 26:18-19; Dt 28:22-24; Jr 3:3; 12:4). The poetic section pictures the land of Israel suffering severe drought. Judah mourns because there was no water in the cisterns, where rain was collected for time of emergency.

There was no water because there was no rain. The ground is cracked, dried out, the animals suffered, the crops failed (the farmers have been put to shame). Both the people in the city and the farmers in the country covered their heads, a sign of grief or shame (cf. 2Sm 15:30). Those who had rejected the ”living waters” of life for false cisterns (Jr 2:13) now found their physical water supply matching the useless spiritual water supply to which they had turned.

14:7-9. The severity of the drought forced the people to cry to God for deliverance. They implored Him to act for His name’s sake, calling on the Lord to honor His Name (cf. v. 21; Jos 7:9; Pss 25:11; 79:9; 106:8; 109:21; 143:11; Is 48:9-11) despite their iniquities. They admitted their many apostasies and asked God to intervene and supply rain. By calling God the Hope of Israel (cf. Jr 17:13; 50:7) and the Savior (cf. Is 19:20; 43:3, 11; 45:15, 21; 49:26; 60:16; 63:8) the people acknowledged the Lord as the only One who could deliver them.

Though God had the power to help, He did not answer the people’s pleas for rain. The people accused God of acting like a stranger in the land, or traveler who had no real concern for the country through which He was traveling. God’s failure to act reminded them of a man who had been dismayed, ambushed, and overcome before he could defend himself, or a mighty man who was powerless. Despite God’s silence, they acknowledged He was in their midst, and the nation was called by Your name (cf. Jr 7:10). So the people pleaded with Him not to forsake them. Times of adversity were driving the people back to seek God.

14:10-12. Instead of responding to their confession and plea, the Lord reminded them that they have loved to wander. He upbraided them for their waywardness. God knew that their confession was only superficial. They claimed God as their Lord, but they refused to keep their feet in check. Because of their continued bent toward sin, God said He did not accept them or their superficial confession. Instead, He would remember their iniquity and punish them for their sins.

God again told Jeremiah not to pray for … this people (cf. 7:16; 11:14). Their feeble efforts to manipulate God to answer them took several forms. They would fast and offer burnt offering, hoping to appease the Lord and avert His wrath. But God cannot be bought or tricked. He vowed to destroy, make an end, to the wicked with the sword, famine, and pestilence, the three hammer blows of divine judgment (cf. Lv 26:23-26; Jr 21:6-7, 9; 24:10; 27:8, 13; 29:17-18; 32:24, 36; 34:17; 38:2; 42:17, 22; 44:13; Ezk 5:12; 6:11; 7:15; 12:16; Rv 6:8).

14:13-16. Jeremiah interrupted the Lord: But, Ah, LORD GOD! The false prophets were contradicting His message. Instead of the sword or famine, they were announcing that God would give lasting peace to Jerusalem (cf. 5:12-13; 6:13-14; 7:4, 9-10; 27:16; 28:2-4). God explained that the messages of these false prophets were falsehood[s] because they had not been sent by Him (14:14, 15). Their messages were false visions and the deceptions of their own minds. God would judge them for their lies by destroying both the false prophets and those who listened to them. They would be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, and all would perish by famine and sword (cf. vv. 13, 18). No one would even survive to bury them (cf. 7:33; 9:22) because God will pour out their own wickedness on them.

14:17-18. At the thought of this suffering, Jeremiah began to weep once more, and his eyes were filled with tears night and day over Jerusalem’s fall (cf. 9:1, 18; 13:17; Lm 3:48-51). He pictured the city as a virgin daughter (cf. Is 37:22; Jr 8:21; Lm 1:15) who was crushed with a mighty blow, a mortal wound (cf. Jr 6:14), and Jeremiah’s heart was broken for her. Conditions were terrible in and around the city. The country surrounding Jerusalem was covered with the corpses of those slain with the sword. People who escaped to the city were slowly falling to the ravages of diseases and famine. Both prophet and priest, who should have set the people aright, were roving, wandering about in the land, and had nothing to teach because they did not know.

14:19-22. In light of their circumstances, the people asked God two related questions: Have You completely rejected Judah? and Have You loathed Zion? They were puzzled as to why God would despise them and why He afflicted them (cf. “why” in vv. 8-9). Though they hoped for peace, they had experienced only terror. Their circumstances prompted them again to acknowledge their wickedness (cf. v. 7) and iniquity and to ask God to help them.

Again, they appealed for God’s help based on His personal character (for Your own name’s sake; cf. v. 7), His temple (throne of Your glory; cf. 3:17; 17:12), and His covenant (cf. 11:2-5). The people were quick to remind God of His obligations to the nation, but failed in their own obligations to Him. They finally admitted that the idols of the nations, the pagan gods (cf. 2:5) they had worshiped, could not give rain to quench the drought. They acknowledged the only source of rain was the LORD our God, therefore we hope in You (cf. 1Kg 17:1; 18:18-46).

15:1-4. Here the LORD responded to an earlier plea, “Have you completely rejected Judah?” and the related question, why “terror” instead of “healing”? (14:19-22). The nation’s sin was so habitual that judgment was inevitable. Even the intercessory prayer of Moses and Samuel could not stop God’s judgment. These two men were remembered in Israel for their leadership and intercession for the people. Moses pled for God to turn away His wrath from Israel when they sinned in the wilderness (Ex 32:9-14; Nm 14:11-20; Dt 9:18-20, 25-29). Samuel interceded to defeat their Philistine enemies and turn away God’s wrath when the nation sinned (1Sm 7:3-11; 12:19-25). The condition of the nation was so dire at this point, that even the prayers of Moses or Samuel would be useless.

The fate of Jerusalem was certain. The future held four kinds of doom (Jr 15:3). Some were destined to death, probably death by plague. Others would be cut down by the sword, killed by the Babylonian army, while others would die from famine when the city was under siege. However, those not appointed to death (cf. 14:12) would be taken into captivity. The future of four kinds of doom included the dead being devoured and destroyed by dogs, birds, and wild beasts (cf. 16:3).

The consequences of Judah’s sin were irreversible, because she followed the ways of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah (cf. 2Kg 21:1-18; 2Ch 33:1-20). Manasseh, whose name means “causing to forget” ruled Judah for more than 50 years (697–643 BC). He was Judah’s most wicked king, and he led the nation “to do evil more than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the sons of Israel” (2Kg 21:9-17). Even Josiah’s reforms could only postpone her certain destruction (2Kg 22:16-20).

(1) The Fate of Jerusalem (15:5-9)

15:5-7. The people of Jerusalem are questioned by God: Who will have pity when you are judged? The only One who had ever cared for her was God, but she had forsaken Him. Therefore God vowed to destroy her without relenting. He would winnow her as a farmer winnowed grain to remove the unbelievers who were like chaff because they did not repent.

15:8-9. In judgment, all the people would be struck by the destroyer. Widows would become more numerous than the sand of the seas, as the Babylonians slaughtered the men. To be a mother of seven sons symbolized a zenith of happiness and security. But she would pine away at the loss of her children. Though this “mother” could mean a physical mother, it is possible that Jeremiah was picturing Jerusalem as a mother who felt secure, but suffered tragic loss. Even the initial survivors would die by the sword. In either case, Babylon would shatter her security by destroying the city and those who lived in it.

(2) Jeremiah’s Complaint (15:10-21)

15:10-11. As Jeremiah considered the seriousness of Judah’s sin and the message he had to give, the prophet wished he had never been born: Woe to me, he lamented. He pictured the whole land against him, though he had not lent or borrowed, actions that could arouse tensions and conflicts (cf. Neh 5:1-13; Pr 22:7). The prophet was innocent of any wrongdoing, but the people despised him because of his unpopular message.

God assured him of vindication. In the future his enemy would make supplication to him when the times of distress arrived. This promise was fulfilled specifically by the requests of King Zedekiah to Jeremiah (cf. Jr 21:1-7; 37:1-10, 17-20; 38:14-26).

15:12-14. This rhetorical question emphasized the inevitability of judgment. Just as a man cannot smash iron or bronze with his bare hands, so the people of Judah would be unable to break the power of the Babylonian attack.

Indeed all their wealth would be plundered as booty, spoils of war (cf. 17:3; 20:5), by the invaders. The Babylonians would enslave the Judahites and deport them to a land you do not know (cf. 14:18; 15:2; 16:13; 17:4) because God’s anger … will burn upon them.

15:15-18. Jeremiah asked God to Remember and take notice of him. God had promised to deliver and vindicate Jeremiah (v. 11), but in light of the coming calamity (vv. 12-14) Jeremiah asked for speedy help and vengeance. He wanted to be vindicated before God would take [him] away in death.

Jeremiah’s request was based on his relationship with God. In contrast with the people of Judah who despised God’s word (cf. 8:9), Jeremiah accepted and internalized (ate) God’s words, his joy and delight (cf. Ps 1:2). He loved and identified with God, for I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. Jeremiah refused to associate with the company of merrymakers (cf. Ps 1:1), choosing instead to sit alone and be guided by God’s hand. He shared God’s indignation over the people’s sin.

Jeremiah ended this address by sadly recounting his pitiful condition. He wanted to know why his pain was perpetual and his wound incurable. He felt that God was protracting his suffering. Worse yet, he wondered if the God who claimed to be a spring of living waters (cf. Jr 2:13), had become like a deceptive stream with unreliable water. These tragic and harsh circumstances caused Jeremiah to waver in his hope in God. The difficult circumstances of both Elijah (1Kg 19) and John the Baptist (Mt 11:1-19) had a demoralizing effect upon them, just as Jeremiah’s deflated him. But like these men, Jeremiah was ultimately comforted and strengthened by the Lord.

15:19-21. God responded to Jeremiah’s discouragement. He instructed him to return, to refocus on the Lord, and God would restore him. His focus would have to be on the Lord to extract the precious from the worthless. Understanding God’s Word and His promises would enable Jeremiah to understand what was eternal and what was temporary (cf. 2Co 4:18). He was to remain steadfast before God so the people would turn to Jeremiah; in no case was he to turn to them.

God ended by restating the promises He made when He commissioned Jeremiah as a prophet (cf. Jr 1:18-19). He would strengthen Jeremiah as a wall of bronze so that those opposing him could not prevail over him. Though opposition would come, God reminded him, I am with you to save you, and promised to deliver Jeremiah from the grasp of the violent.

Like Jeremiah, we must remember that living for the Lord is not always easy. We must be prepared for trials, obstacles, and opposition, sometimes even from our own family (see 12:5-6). However, we have God’s Word and know that He is always faithful to us. Sometimes God needs to take us back to the basics to remind us of what He has promised (v. 16).

g. Seventh Prophecy of Judgment—Jeremiah’s Restrictions and Judah’s Sin (16:1–17:18)

(1) Jeremiah’s Restrictions (16:1-9)

16:1-4. To make God’s message graphically clear, Jeremiah was instructed to proclaim the warning not only with words, but also with his own life as an object lesson. God placed several restrictions on Jeremiah’s personal life that were object lessons for Judah. The first restriction on Jeremiah (vv. 1-4) concerned his personal life. He was commanded not to take a wife or to have sons or daughters. God’s purpose was to show that the coming catastrophe would disrupt all normal relationships because children born in Jerusalem will die by sword and famine (cf. 14:15-16; 15:2). The carnage would be so extensive that those killed would not even be mourned or buried, but their carcasses will become food for the birds … and for the beasts (cf. 15:3; 16:6; 25:33).

16:5-7. The second restriction on Jeremiah concerned his activities. He was not to enter a house of mourning or lament (mourn) or console the bereaved (cf. Ezk 24:15-24). He was not to display the normal emotion of grief or to offer comfort when someone died. There were three purposes in this restriction. First, it was to show that God had withdrawn [His] peace … lovingkindness and compassion. Second, it served as a reminder to Judah that those who would die during the fall of Jerusalem would not be buried or lamented (cf. Jr 16:4). The survivors would find no one to comfort them in their grief, for the devastation would be too widespread. To gash oneself and to shave one’s head were signs of grief (cf. 41:5; 47:5; 48:37) though the law forbade these practices (Dt 14:1) because of their pagan associations (cf. 1Kg 18:28).

16:8-9. The third restraint on Jeremiah was not to enter a house where there was feasting. This prohibition indicated that times of rejoicing and gladness, even celebrations at a wedding, would soon cease (cf. 25:10).

(2) Judah’s Sin (16:10–17:18)

16:10-13. God forewarned Jeremiah of the peoples’ response to his message. Naively they asked for what reason they deserved such judgment. God’s answer underscored the root problem throughout Israel’s history. It was because the previous generations (forefathers) had forsaken the Living God and followed other gods and Jeremiah’s generation too had done evil. Instead of learning from their ancestors’ errors, the current generation was going further astray. Each person was following the stubbornness within his evil heart rather than listening to God.

Because of their continued rebellion, God vowed to hurl the people of Judah out of this land (cf. 1Sm 18:11; 20:33; Jr 22:26-28). The people would be violently thrust into a land which you have not known (cf. 14:18; 15:2, 14; 17:4) where they would serve other gods (cf. 5:19). Because they rejected God He would show them no favor (cf. v. 5).

16:14-15. Again God interrupted His pronouncement judgment to present a word of hope. In case the people interpreted His previous words to mean that Israel would no longer have any place in His covenant program, God stated clearly that the judgment by Babylon was not permanent (cf. 4:27; 5:18). Jeremiah introduced God’s promise of future blessing for Israel with the phrase the days are coming. This is an eschatological formula the prophet frequently used (cf. vv. 14-16; 23:5, 7; 30:3; see comments on 31:27-40; 38; 33:14; 51:47, 52; Am 9:13) to speak of events occurring in the distant future during the end times. Here the prophet is telling of a time, after Judah’s return from captivity in Babylon, when there would be a new “exodus.” No longer would the people look back to the first exodus when God brought Israel out of Egypt. Ultimately, at the end of days, Israel as a nation would be restored to her land and would then enjoy God’s blessing.

Although the Jewish people would return from the 70-year Babylonian exile (516 BC; cf. 29:10) and live in the land until the Roman expulsion in AD 70, they would then suffer an even more extensive expulsion from their homeland. So the return from Babylon did not fulfill the specifics of this prophecy. Rather, this passage predicts the ultimate return of the Jewish people to their land at the end of days. This return and blessing is yet to take place. In the millennial reign of Christ the nation will experience the full benefits of the Davidic covenant (cf. 1Ch 17:9) as well as the new covenant (Jr 31:31-34). In the messianic kingdom, the Jewish people will not just celebrate the return from Egypt, but will also point back to the time when God brought them back from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them. Following the Babylonian exile the Jewish people returned from Babylon—though not from a worldwide dispersion that Jeremiah is here describing. This is a future return at the end of days, beyond the return from the Babylonian exile. Thus God affirmed His promise ultimately to restore Israel to their own land which I gave to their fathers (cf. Gn 15:18; 17:8; 26:3-5; 35:9-12).

Because the texts of vv. 14-15 and 23:7-8 are nearly identical, some scholars suggest this may be a scribal error. It is better to understand that Jeremiah used the same or similar wording in several places throughout his book, for emphasis (cf. 1:18-19 with 15:20; 6:13-15 with 8:10-12; 7:31-32 with 19:5-6; 15:13-14 with 17:3-4).

16:16-18. After assuring Israel of her future blessing, Jeremiah foretold the means the Lord would use—persecution—to draw His people back to their ancient homeland. When the Jewish people returned to Israel from Babylon, it was by the decree of Cyrus (Ezk 1:1-8; Jr 25:12, 29:10). The return was peaceful and even aided by the Persian king. This passage is describing a different, post-Babylonian, return to the land and uses metaphors for persecution to describe it. First, there is the image of (v. 16), fishermen who would fish for them, catching them against their will. Also many hunters would hunt them from every mountain … hill … clefts, a terrifying image, but none could escape. God’s eyes saw all of their iniquity (32:10) and He would doubly repay … their sin.

It is likely that these verses found their fulfillment in the restoration of the Jewish people to the land of Israel beginning in the 19^th century and continuing to today. In the modern era, Jewish people have fled from pogroms in Russia, Nazi persecution in Germany, and Soviet oppression. As a result of these hunters and fishermen, the Jewish people made their way back to their ancient homeland Israel, even before the rebirth of the modern state of Israel. This remarkable return to the land of Israel through persecution from around the world has caused greater marvel than the much earlier exodus from Egypt or the peaceful return from Babylon.

The people will return to the land of Israel, God identifying it as My land and My inheritance (cf. 2:7; 3:18). This compounds the significance that they had polluted (“defiling,” “desecrating” “make ceremonial unclean”; cf. 3:2, 9; 23:11) His holy land (Ps 78:54) with their detestable idols and abominations.

16:19-21. The prophet Jeremiah interjected words of hope and praise, and he affirmed his trust, identifying God as my strength … stronghold … refuge (cf. Ps 18:2). He emphasized the protection God provided for him.

After affirming his trust in God, Jeremiah looked forward to the day when all the nations of the world will come to know the God of Israel (Jr 12:14-17; Is 56:7). They will admit their former objects of worship were futility, nothing but false gods (cf. Jr 2:5). At that time God will make them know (used three times for emphasis) of His power and might so they will understand His character and will know that My name is the LORD (cf. Ezk 36:22-23).

17:1-4. God would not overlook the sin of the Jewish people and their defilement of His land. He would enter into judgment with them, so they would know Him. He described the seriousness of the sin of Judah as being written with an iron stylus with a diamond point. This pictures the method used to engrave the most permanent writing into stone (cf. Jb 19:24). Judah was so entrenched in her ways that it was as if sin was engraved on the tablet of their heart and expressed itself on the horns of their altars. The horns were projections at the top of each altar on the four corners where sacrificial blood was sprinkled for forgiveness of sin (Lv 16:18).

Idolatry was so pervasive that even their children participated in worship to the Asherim. Asherah was the Hebrew name for the Canaanite fertility goddess who was worshiped in various parts of the ancient Near East. The biblical writers sometimes did not make a clear distinction between references to Asherah as a goddess and Asherim as objects of worship. The worship of Asherah was associated with sacred groves of trees and the erecting of wooden fertility poles of male or female sexual imagery (Dt 7:5; 16:21-22; 1Kg 15:13). Although the Lord strictly forbade the worship of Asherah, throughout the preexilic period Israel often sinned by worshiping this pagan deity (1Kg 14:23). Wicked King Manasseh had placed an Asherah pole in the temple (2Kg 21:7; cf. Dt 16:21). Though he ultimately removed it (2Ch 33:13, 15), it was evidently reinstalled, because Josiah took it out during his reforms and burned it (2Kg 23:6). However, after Josiah’s death the people resumed their idolatry, and again worshiped the Asherah (cf. Ezk 8:5). They worshiped their idols under green trees on the high hills, traditional places of pagan worship (cf. Ezk 6:13).

Because of Judah’s sin, God would give over the city of Zion, His mountain, and the wealth of its inhabitants, as booty to the invaders. The image of mountain of Mine expands the geographic location of the temple mount to refer to the whole city of Jerusalem (cf. Jr 15:13; 20:5). The people of Judah would be forced to let go of their inheritance, the land God gave them. He would make them serve their enemies in the land they did not know (cf. 14:18; 15:2, 14; 16:13).

17:5-8. Judah’s sin centered on her trust in false gods and foreign alliances, rather than in the Lord. This short poem contrasts the way of the wicked, who fail to trust in God (vv. 5-6), with the way of the righteous, who trust only in Him (vv. 7-8). It is similar to the message of Ps 1, but in reverse order.

Judah had been trusting false gods and foreign alliances for strength, but God said anyone who trusts in man (flesh) for protection is cursed because his heart turns away from God. Instead of prospering, he will be like a bush in the desert, living in a harsh wilderness. By contrast, a righteous person is blessed because he trusts in the LORD. He will flourish like a tree planted by the water, which puts down deep roots by a stream, and not be troubled by drought. When difficulties (represented figuratively by heat and drought) come, he will not fear, but will bear fruit. Jeremiah used the warning concerning disobedience and the consequences of drought as judgment to communicate the seriousness of Judah’s sin (Jr 2:13; 14:1-9)

17:9-11. The source of Judah’s problem was her heart. It was so deceitful and desperately sick that Jeremiah wondered who can even understand it. God informed Jeremiah that He alone understands it, that He alone has the ability to search the heart and test the mind. God knows those innermost thoughts and motives that an individual might hide from all others. Therefore God could justly render to each person what his deeds deserve according to his ways.

Jeremiah used a proverb to illustrate the point of cause and effect. If a partridge, perhaps a type of sand grouse, hatched the eggs of another bird, the offspring would soon desert the mother and fly away. Similarly, a man who makes a fortune, but unjustly, will also lose his wealth. It will forsake him, and the one who had been hoarding it would be exposed as a fool. This will happen when God brings the Babylonian destruction to discipline Judah.

17:12-13. The prophet contrasted the foolishness of trusting in wealth or human wisdom with the wisdom of trusting in the Lord. Here the focus shifts to the majesty of God. A glorious throne pictures His grandeur (cf. 14:21; Is 6:1). The location is on high … the place of our sanctuary (Ex 15:17), the temple on Mount Zion, the “high mountain of Israel” and the “joy of the whole earth” (Ezk 20:40; Ps 48:2). God’s eternality is accentuated with the phrase from the beginning (Ex 3:14; Dn 7:9). The Lord reigns and is the hope of Israel (cf. Jr 14:8; 17:13).

All who turn away from trust in the Lord would be written down, but not in the Book of Life (Ex 32:32-33; Ps 69:28). They deserved this fate at the hands of the Babylonians because they had forsaken the fountain of living water (cf. Jr 2:13; Is 12:1-6), even the LORD.

17:14-18. After the warning not to forsake the Lord, Jeremiah concluded with a personal lament, calling on God for help in two ways: Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed and Save me and I will be saved. He confirmed his confidence in the Lord regardless of the people’s response to his message. Jeremiah reminded the Lord, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd after You. He was confident in God, For You are my praise (cf. Dt 10:21; Ps 109:1).

Jeremiah contrasted his faithful devotion to God with the unbelief of those persecuting him. They scoffed at his predictions (Where is the word of the LORD?) and demanded that those prophecies now be fulfilled at once (Let it come now!) if they were true. Yet, in spite of this opposition, Jeremiah had not hurried away; he faithfully served as God’s shepherd and looked to Him for refuge when judgment fell in the day of disaster.

Therefore Jeremiah asked God to put his persecutors to shame by bringing on them the day of disaster he had been predicting. Because they refused to accept his message, he asked God to bring the full measure of judgment against them (twofold destruction; cf. Jr 16:18).

h. Eighth Prophecy of Judgment—For Failure to Keep the Sabbath (17:19-27)

Jeremiah’s previous message was against the general sin and rebellion of the people; it highlighted idolatry, sin against the temple, and the hypocritical sacrifices. This message of judgment focuses on one specific command in the Mosaic law, the Sabbath (cf. Ex 20:8-11; Dt 5:12, 14). Because the Sabbath was more than a component of the covenant (it was one of the primary “signs” of the Mosaic covenant; cf. Dt 5:15; 31:16-17), breaking of the Sabbath was exemplary of breaking the whole covenant, and showed how far the nation had departed from God. Again there is an explicit offer of repentance. Blessing will follow obedience, but judgment will follow disobedience.

17:19-20. The Lord commanded Jeremiah to stand in the public gate. The specific gate is unknown, though it is the gate through which the kings of Judah … and all inhabitants of Jerusalem go in and out. Because it was so busy, many people would hear his message. After delivering his message there, he went to all the other gates of Jerusalem as well.

17:21-23. Jeremiah stood at the gates of Jerusalem and could observe people perpetually violating the Sabbath by carrying loads on the sabbath day. He cautioned them to not bring anything in through the gates, meaning that they should not conduct business, nor bring a load out of your houses (do work at home), on the Sabbath. The Sabbath was given to Israel as a sign of the Mosaic covenant, with the seventh day designated as a time of complete rest, holy to the Lord (Ex 31:15-17). Their forefathers had violated this command, and Jerusalem now followed their example. Keeping the Sabbath was an essential visible test of Israel’s faithfulness to God’s covenant since it marked God as Creator (Jr 10:11-16), served as a witness against idolatry, and marked the covenant relationship between God and Israel.

17:24-27. Blessing would come from faithfulness to the law: If Israel would listen and obey God’s commandments, then God would bless Jerusalem with three distinct, conspicuous blessings: First would be the continuation of the Davidic dynasty, kings … sitting on the throne of David. Second, people would come to the city from all around the country, the land of Benjamin, the lowland, the hill country (the hills of the Shephelah in southwest central Israel), and Negev (the far south wilderness of the Dead Sea and desert), and Jerusalem would be inhabited forever. All of this suggests the spiritual and financial health of the land and the city of Jerusalem. Third, the temple will be the center of worship as the people bring … offerings … incense … sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of the LORD. King David’s dynasty will last forever when Messiah, Son of David sits on the throne of David (cf. 23:5-6; 30:9; 33:15; 2Sm 7:12-17), Jerusalem will be inhabited for all time (Zch 2:2-12; 8:3; 14:11), and the nation will live under the new covenant, worshiping the King (Jr 31:33-34). However, if they would not listen to keep the sabbath day holy, judgment would fall, and God would kindle a fire to devour … Jerusalem (cf. 49:27).

i. Ninth Prophecy of Judgment—Object Lesson of the Potter and the Broken Jar (18:1–20:18)

Jeremiah’s ninth general message of judgment was a series of parables and events that climaxed the first section of the prophecies of judgment. Rather than giving a direct message of judgment, Jeremiah delivered this section of judgment oracles in the form of parables and object lessons.

The lesson of the potter (18:1–19:15) demonstrated God’s sovereign rule over Judah (18:1-23) and its impending judgment (19:1-15). A pivot in the book, chap. 20 prepares the reader for the open opposition to Jeremiah’s messages and specific prophecies of judgment that follow.

(1) The Message at the Potter’s House (18:1-23)

18:1-12. God told Jeremiah to go down to the potter’s house (v. 1-3) and watch him molding clay into his wheel reshaping unsatisfactory pots (for a similar use of this imagery, see Rm 9:20-21 and comments there). The potter pressed the clay into another vessel, as it pleased the potter (Jr 18:3-4). The potter and the clay illustrated the Lord’s relationship with Israel: like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand (v. 6). God has the right to uproot (v. 7) or plant (v. 9) a nation as He pleases. He had promised the nation blessing; but since she continued to do evil, He would reconsider, think better of the good, and bring about calamity (18:10-11). However, if Judah would turn back her evil way God would also revoke the disaster He threatened to send. But the people of Judah would say, It’s hopeless! (v. 12; cf. 13:23) and would stubbornly continue to follow their own plans of their evil heart[s].

18:13-17. Even the nations around Judah would testify of her appalling acts as she refused to follow her God (cf. 2:10-11). Even the snow of Lebanon and the cold flowing water were more dependable than fickle Judah. She had forgotten God to worship worthless gods (cf. 2:5), which only caused her to stumble away and abandon the ancient paths of obedience to God’s Word (cf. 6:16; Is 2:3-5; 30:21). God’s judgment would make their land a desolation. She would become the object of perpetual hissing—mockery (Jr 19:8) by people astonished at her condition (cf. 9:8; Lm 2:15). The Lord vowed to scatter the nation like the east wind (cf. Jr 4:11-12; 13:24). They should expect God’s judgment (His back), not His favor (His face).

18:18-23. Instead of heeding Jeremiah’s warning, they devised plans against him. His message conflicted with their false teachers of the law … the priest … the sage and the prophet. Their solution was to attack him with their tongue, to mock, slander, and malign his message, and not heed his words. Evidently their plans were more sinister because Jeremiah prayed to the LORD for help, for they have dug a pit for me (they were plotting to take his life; vv. 20-21; cf. 11:18-21).

Judah had rejected both God and His messenger; Jeremiah could do no more for them. They would experience famine and the sword (v. 21). Jeremiah had earlier asked God to turn His wrath away (v. 20; cf. 7:16; 8:20-22), but now he called on God to deal with them in His time of … anger (v. 23).

(2) The Message of the Broken Jar (19:1-15)

19:1-6. Again Jeremiah used an object lesson to teach the leaders of Judah. God instructed him to buy an earthenware jar, then take some of the elders and … senior priests to the valley of Ben-hinnom (cf. 7:31) just outside the potsherd gate. The Hinnom Valley ran along the south and west of the city and served as Jerusalem’s community dump. The gate at the south of the city that opened into the valley was called the Potsherd Gate because people carried their potsherds (broken pieces of pottery) and other refuse through this gate to throw it in the Hinnom Valley. The Targum (ancient Jewish paraphrases of Scripture) identifies the Potsherd Gate with the Dung Gate (cf. Neh 2:13; 3:13-14). The modern Dung Gate in Jerusalem is also located on the southern wall, but the present walls are several hundred yards north of the walls in Jeremiah’s day.

With the Hinnom Valley as his backdrop, Jeremiah delivered his message. God vowed to bring a calamity so shocking that the ears of everyone that hears of it will tingle. They had forsaken the Lord and burned sacrifices in it [the Hinnom Valley] to other gods. The Valley itself was a witness against the people because it contained the high places of Baal where people would burn their sons in the fire as sacrifices. Because of these wicked deeds, God again (cf. Jr 7:32-33) vowed to rename the place the valley of Slaughter, as He would destroy the people there.

19:7-9. God declared Judah’s future. He would cause them to fall by the sword, and their carcasses would serve as food for the birds and beasts (cf. 7:33; 16:4; 34:20; Dt 28:26). The city’s disasters would cause those who pass by to hiss in scorn (Jr 18:16). As Babylon’s siege choked off the supply of food, famine would decimate the city to the point that people would resort to cannibalism (eat the flesh of their sons and daughters; cf. Lv 26:27-29; Dt 28:53-57; Lm 2:20; 4:10). All the curses God promised would overtake the people because of their sin (cf. Lv 26:14-39; Dt 28:15-68; Jr 11:1-8).

19:10-13. To illustrate the message, God commanded Jeremiah to break the jar in the valley in the sight of the men. God said He would smash this people and this city, both the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem, just as Jeremiah smashed the potter’s jar. Jerusalem would become like Topheth (cf. comments on 7:31). Its once-beautiful dwellings would be reduced to rubble, and the entire area would be defiled with decaying bodies of the slain. The cause for the destruction was their sin of offering sacrifices to all the heavenly host and … other gods.

19:14-15. Jeremiah went directly to the temple court from Topheth. He reiterated the message he gave the leaders (cf. v. 1) to all the people. God’s judgment would come against Jerusalem and the towns around it because the people refused to heed the Lord’s words.

(3) Pashhur’s Response (20:1-6)

20:1-2. Pashhur, son of Immer who is otherwise unknown in Scripture was one of the priests who served in the temple in the years immediately prior to the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon. He was the chief officer in the temple and was probably assigned to maintain order within the temple area (cf. 29:26). Pashur heard and rejected Jeremiah’s message of judgment from the Lord to take place in the Valley of Hinnom (19:1-6). As an official of the temple, Pashur seized Jeremiah and had him beaten and put him in the stocks for public ridicule near the busy Benjamin Gate. This was the first of several instances of open opposition against Jeremiah’s ministry.

20:3-6. On the next day Jeremiah was released, and he confronted Pashhur. Although Pashhur’s name means “freedom,” Jeremiah told him the LORD has called you … Magor-missabib “terror on every side.” Because Pashhur refused to heed God’s message, he would not see freedom but instead God’s judgment. He would watch in terror as his own friends fell by the sword, and he would see Babylon carry away all the wealth of Jerusalem as plunder (cf. 25:13; 17:3). Pashhur and his family would go into captivity in Babylon and would die there.

This judgment was not just because he had Jeremiah beaten, but also because Pashhur prophesied lies (v. 6), denying the truth of Jeremiah’s message. The exact fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy about Pashhur was not given, but it is possible Pashhur was taken to Babylon during the second deportation (597 BC) along with Ezekiel (cf. 2Kg 24:15-16; Ezk 1:1-3).

(4) Jeremiah’s Complaint (20:7-18)

20:7-10. After his arrest by Pashhur, Jeremiah was feeling low. The NASB says he felt that God had deceived (pathah) him. However, the word can mean to be “enticed,” “coerced,” or “persuaded” (Hs 2:13). A more helpful translation would be “you coerced me into being a prophet, and I allowed you to do it. You overcame my resistance and prevailed over me” (NET Bible). At his call by God, Jeremiah pointed out he was not qualified to be a prophet, but God persuaded Jeremiah to obey His call (Jr 1:1-7). God did not deceive Jeremiah but persuaded him to become a prophet. God even told Jeremiah that his message would be rejected (1:8, 17-19). Here Jeremiah complained that the Lord prevailed in His plan for Jeremiah, a plan that the prophet did not like. Since he was beaten and made a laughingstock for his message, Jeremiah was discouraged (cf. 15:15-18). He had faithfully warned Judah of the coming violent destruction; but he was rewarded with reproach and derision all day long.

Disheartened, Jeremiah considered withholding God’s word to avoid persecution (I will not remember Him or speak anymore in His name). But he loved the Lord and His word too much to disobey, and the word became like a burning fire shut up in my bones (23:29; cf. Jb 30:17; 33:19). The intensity of God’s word in his soul made it impossible for him to hold it in—he had to keep proclaiming the word of the Lord.

The people were whispering (Jr 18:18) against him, and Jeremiah wanted to quit. His message of terror on every side (6:25; 17:18; 20:3-44; 46:5; 49:29; Lm 2:22) was now being hurled back at him (Ps 31:13). Even his trusted friends betrayed him, watching for him to fall and give a wrong prediction so they could take their revenge on Jeremiah by accusing him of being a false prophet (cf. Dt 18:20).

20:11-13. Jeremiah expressed his confidence in God, despite these attacks. He realized the LORD is with me like a dread champion. God is described with the word dread (‘ariyts, “awe-inspiring, terror-striking, awesome, terrifying, ruthless, mighty”). Jeremiah had a powerful champion (defender), and he could have confidence his persecutors would stumble and not prevail.

God does test (baw-khan’, “examine” or “prove”) the righteous, not in the sense that He is looking for failure. The purpose of His testing is to show the worth of the righteous, like a builder testing the strength of a bridge. He sees the mind and heart and was looking after Jeremiah’s cause. This assurance of God’s care and vindication allowed Jeremiah to sing to the LORD and praise the LORD, for He had encouraged Jeremiah, (delivered the soul), and would rescue Jeremiah from the hand of evildoers.

20:14-18. Jeremiah again plunged from a height of confidence (vv. 11-13) to the depths of despair. Perhaps he realized that the vindication he sought could come only through the destruction of the city and nation that he dearly loved. His agony made him again curse … the day he was born (cf. 15:10; Jb 3:1-19). He was brokenhearted at the trouble and sorrow he was experiencing and also because of the calamity that would occur in Jerusalem’s near future. Jeremiah’s self-pity could not erase the fact that he had been consecrated “in the womb” for service to the Lord (cf. Jr 1:5).

2. Jeremiah’s Four Specific Prophecies of Judgment (21:1–25:38)

Pashhur’s hostility (20:1-6) is a pivotal episode or bridge in the book of Jeremiah. Through a series of nine general, undated prophecies (spanning chaps. 2–20; see Outline in Introduction), Jeremiah had denounced Judah’s sin, foretold judgment, and offered hope if the people would repent. Though he had been opposed (11:18-23; 12:6; 15:10; 17:18; 18:19-23), he had not suffered serious physical persecution. After Pashhur’s opposition, however, Jeremiah’s messages become more specific, directed against particular individuals and groups. At the same time, Jeremiah’s hope that Judah would repent was replaced by the certainty of God’s judgment.

a. The Rebuke of the Kings of Judah (21:1–23:8)

Jeremiah first addressed the kings, those appointed by God to be shepherds of the flock of Judah (cf. 2:8; 10:21; 23:1-8; Ezk 34:1-10). After rebuking the wicked kings who had ruled Judah (Jr 21–22), he offered hope in the future righteous King, the Messiah, who would come to restore Judah (23:1-8).

Jeremiah’s messages to the wicked kings were arranged in an atypical order. Zedekiah, the first king addressed, was Judah’s last king (597–586 BC; cf. 21:1–22:9; 2Kg 24:17–25:7). The other kings were arranged chronologically beginning with Shallum (his more commonly known name being Jehoahaz; 609 BC; Jr 22:10-12), continuing with Jehoiakim (609–598 BC; 22:13-23), and ending with Coniah (598–597 BC; also known as Jehoiachin or Jeconiah, 22:24-30).

There are two reasons for the order of these rebukes. First, by discussing Zedekiah at the beginning, he linked it to the story of Pashhur the son of Malchijah (21:1), who was the grandson of Zedekiah (38:6). He was part of a group that later had Jeremiah imprisoned for treason (38:1-6). This Pashhur is not the same as Pashhur, son of Immer mentioned earlier (20:1-2).

Second, the accounts were arranged so that the prophecy against Coniah would climax God’s judgments against the kings. The line of the wicked kings would be cut off (22:30) until God would raise a Righteous Branch to rule the nation, King Messiah (23:1-8), who would not come from the line of Coniah (22:28-30). The Messiah would be born from the line of Nathan the third of four sons born to King David and Bathsheba in Jerusalem (2Sm 5:14; Lk 3:31). So the arrangement of these prophecies provided both continuity and climax.

(1) The Rebuke to Zedekiah (21:1–22:9)

21:1-2. King Zedekiah sent two priests, Pashhur, son of Malchijah (see above) and Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah, to inquire of Jeremiah (some time between 588 BC and 586 BC). Zephaniah’s duties included determining the veracity of a prophet’s message (29:25, 26). Shemaiah the Nehelamite later asked this priest to rebuke Jeremiah for the prophet’s message concerning Jerusalem’s fate (29:27). Here these officials asked Jeremiah to inquire of the LORD regarding Nebuchadnezzar and his planned attack on Jerusalem. Though Jeremiah was to ask God what the outcome would be, they hoped that God would perform wonderful acts as He had done in the past and make Nebuchadnezzar withdraw. Probably Zedekiah and his advisers were thinking of God’s rescue in the reign of King Hezekiah, when the Assyrians had threatened Jerusalem (2Kg 18:17–19:37; Is 36-37) but withdrew after King Hezekiah asked Isaiah for the Lord’s intervention (Is 37:2-7).

21:3-7. Jeremiah did not have the same good news for Zedekiah that Isaiah had for Hezekiah. Instead of rescuing Jerusalem, God would war against it with His own outstretched hand and a mighty arm. This phrase echoes God’s powerful redemption of Israel at the exodus (32:21; Ex 32:11; Dt 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 26:8), but here God’s might is turned against Israel. Those who were huddled for protection in the city would die of a terrible pestilence (plague), sword, or famine (cf. Jr 14:12).

Those who did survive the siege would fall into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. They could expect no pity or compassion, for he would kill them. This was fulfilled in 586 BC after the city fell. King Zedekiah’s sons were slain before his eyes; he was then immediately blinded and taken in chains to Babylon (39:5-7; 2Kg 25:7). The other city leaders were captured and sent to Riblah, where they were executed (Jr 52:24-27).

21:8-10. The people had two clear choices: the way of life and the way of death. The way of death was selected by those who chose to remain in the city. They would die by sword, famine, and pestilence. The way of life was selected by those who surrendered (the one who goes out to the Chaldeans, another name for Babylonians). This was the only hope for those still alive because God had set [His] face against this city for harm and not for good.

21:11-14. Jeremiah next focused on the sin of the remaining king of Judah, Zedekiah. The house of David was supposed to administer justice every morning and to deliver the rights of those who were oppressed. Since the king refused to heed God’s warning, God would punish him for his evil deeds, and kindle a fire to devour Jerusalem and its forest[s] and environs (cf. 4:4; 17:4; 21:12).

Evidently the king felt secure in Jerusalem, which had been impenetrable, and asked, who will enter into our habitations? He saw no need to obey God’s injunction. Because of this proud self-reliance coupled with arrogant disobedience, God would punish the king and his people.

22:1-5. God instructed Jeremiah to go down from the temple to the house of the king of Judah. His message was to the king … who sits on David’s throne, his servants, and all the people who enter these gates. The message was simple: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the oppressed (cf. 21:12; Mc 6:8). The Lord demanded that the ruler on the Davidic throne make justice his primary goal.

If the king would indeed perform this justice, the Davidic dynasty would be uninterrupted in Jerusalem (cf. Jr 17:25-27). But if he did not obey, his house (i.e., his dynasty, not just his place of residence) would become a desolation. To emphasize the truth and solemnity of this command, the Lord swore by Himself, and there could be no stronger ratification of a decree (49:13; 51:14; Gn 22:16; Is 45:23; Am 6:8; Heb 6:13-18).

22:6-10. Here, with the phrase house of the king of Judah, Jeremiah was referring to the royal palace, not the dynasty. Both Gilead and Lebanon were famous for their cedar forests (Jdg 9:15; 1Kg 4:33; 2Ch 2:8). The royal palace in Jerusalem was known as the “House of the Lebanon” (1Kg 7:2-5; Is 22:8) because it was constructed of this luxurious wood. But after God’s judgment the palace would be as desolate as a wilderness. The Babylonian destroyers would cut down the palace’s choicest cedar beams and throw them on the fire (cf. Jr 52:13).

Jerusalem was such a great city, and so beautiful, that people from many nations would see her destruction and ask, Why has the LORD done thus? The answer was simple: Because they forsook the covenant of the LORD and practiced idolatry. The covenant they violated was the Mosaic covenant (confirmed in Dt 27–30), referred to throughout the book of Jeremiah, which was conditional.

In contrast to the Mosaic covenant, the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants were unconditional. The sign of God’s unconditional covenant with Abraham was circumcision. It had no conditions but was solely based on God’s work and faithfulness (Gn 12:1-3; 15:18-21). Failure to circumcise their sons did not abrogate God’s guarantee of the Abrahamic covenant. The Davidic covenant likewise was based on God’s faithfulness (2Sm 7:8-17; 1Ch 17:7-15). The obedience of David and his descendants affected the level to which they enjoyed the blessing of God’s covenant; however, the Lord guaranteed the fulfillment of the “house, kingdom, and throne” promise, which would ultimately find its fulfillment in the King Messiah Jesus and His yet future reign on the earth.

The extensive devastation of Jerusalem would be a lesson to the nations of the power and holiness of the God of Israel. The people were told not to weep for the dead, those killed in battle or siege, for they would be free from pain. Instead weep continually for the one who goes away into captivity. The 70-year captivity would mean the exiles deserved pity, for they would never return or see their native land, again.

(2) The Rebuke to Shallum (22:11-12)

22:11-12. King Shallum, also called “Jehoahaz,” was a son of Josiah and came to the throne after Josiah was killed by Pharaoh Neco II (2Kg 23:29-33). After a reign of only three months, Shallum was deposed by Pharaoh Neco.

Jeremiah penned this prophecy after Shallum had been taken into Egyptian captivity (609 BC; 2Kg 23:34). Shallum would never return to Jerusalem but instead would die in captivity (the first ruler of Judah to die in exile) and not see this land again.

(3) The Rebuke to Jehoiakim (22:13-23)

22:13-14. Jehoiakim was appointed king by Pharaoh Neco (2Kg 23:34–24:5) to replace his exiled brother Shallum. He ruled as a corrupt, petty king who cared only for personal gain and nothing for the will of the Lord. His legacy was to build his house without righteousness.

He built an actual palace for himself at the expense of his subjects through taxation and services without pay. Jehoiakim paneled his palace with cedar and painted it bright red, a costly color. Judah was already under economic stress because she was paying heavy tribute to Egypt during the early part of his reign.

22:15-17. Jeremiah rebuked Jehoiakim for his cedar dwelling and contrasted him with his father, King Josiah, who ruled with justice and righteousness and pled the cause of the afflicted and needy. In contrast, Jehoiakim cared only for dishonest gain, shedding innocent blood, oppression, and extortion.

22:18-19. Because of Jehoiakim’s oppression of his people, they would not lament for him at his death. Instead of the lavish funeral normally given a king, Jehoiakim would have a donkey’s burial. He would be dragged away and thrown outside beyond the gates of Jerusalem to rot. Jehoiakim died in late 598 BC as Nebuchadnezzar was advancing on Jerusalem to punish the city for rebellion, and there is no record of his burial. The new king, Jehoiachin (also known as Coniah), surrendered and was taken to Babylon, and the city was spared temporarily (2Kg 24:1-17).

22:20-23. Because of Jehoiakim’s foolish leadership, Jeremiah called on Jerusalem to cry out and lament her fate. This passage should probably be dated in late 598 to early 597 BC, since it focused on the imminent invasion of Babylon in retaliation for Jehoiakim’s rebellion. Jerusalem’s cry would be heard throughout the mountains of the land. From Lebanon in the north, to Bashan in the northeast, to Abarim in the southeast, Judah’s lament would sound when her lovers (allies) would be crushed by Babylon.

God had warned Jerusalem of the consequences of disobedience when she felt secure in her prosperity, but, as usual, she would not listen (6:17; 7:26-27; 13:11; 17:23). Now she could only watch in sorrow as her shepherds (kings) were taken away along with her lovers, pagan political allies, possibly Egypt (cf. 2Kg 24:7).

Jeremiah referred to the people of Jerusalem as those who dwell in Lebanon. So much cedar had been imported to build palaces and mansions in Jerusalem from Lebanon (cf. Jr 22:6-7, 13-15) that living in Jerusalem was like dwelling among Lebanon’s cedars. Yet those nested in these cedar homes would groan when the pangs of God’s judgment came on them like a woman in childbirth (4:31).

(4) The Rebuke to Coniah (Jehoiachin) (22:24-30)

22:24-27. Coniah (also called both “Jehoiachin” and “Jeconiah”) succeeded Jehoiakim as king (598–597 BC), and surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar after a three-month reign. He was deported to Babylon where he lived the rest of his life (cf. 52:31-34). God said that if Coniah was as valuable as a signet ring to Him, He would nevertheless pull [him] off. A signet ring was valuable because it was used to stamp the owner’s seal on official documents. Even if Coniah were this important to God (and the clear implication is that he was not), God would give him to Nebuchadnezzar as judgment for his sins. He and his mother (Nehushta, the widow of King Jehoiakim, 2Kg 24:8) would be exiled into another country (Babylon) where they both would die. This is Jeremiah’s second prophecy of their deportation (cf. Jr 13:18-19).

22:28-30. God had another message for Coniah (also known as Jeconiah and Jehoiachin) and his descendants that went beyond being cast into a land that they had not known (14:18; 15:2, 14; 16:13; 17:4). The Lord foretold severe judgment in the distant future and demonstrated Coniah[’s] rejection by the Lord in the near future. Jeremiah’s focus is on the Davidic line rather than Coniah personally. There are several components to this judgment.

First, some of the false prophets saw Coniah as deserving of his kingship (he was not, in their opinion, a shattered [worthless] jar, v. 28; cf. 28:1-4). But this was not God’s plan because in His eyes he was worthless as a ruler, and the kingly line of Coniah was at an end.

Second, some asked, Is he an undesirable vessel? Why have he and his descendants been hurled out? He was taken into captivity with the royal house (24:1) and did have a son, Shealtiel (1Ch 3:17-18; Mt 1:12). Since Coniah had sons who could serve as heirs to the Davidic throne, some thought one of them should become king (Jr 29:1-32), but this was not God’s plan. Coniah’s wickedness would keep his descendants from ruling on Judah’s throne.

Before posing the third component of the judgment, Jeremiah called on the land three times to bear witness and hear the word of the LORD. The repetition indicates the strongest intensity and seriousness of the statement (cf. 7:4). The whole nation was to notice carefully and remember this judgment of the Lord.

The third component begins, Thus says the LORD, focusing on the importance of the proclamation. The phrase write this man down childless relates to a register of citizens (Is 4:3), or a census list. Coniah did, in fact, have seven sons recorded by name (cf. Jr 22:28; 1Ch 3:17-18; Mt 1:12), but none succeeded him to the throne. He was to be considered childless because no man of his descendants will … sit on the throne of David. He was dynastically childless because he was the last of the Davidic kings in his family. This prophecy had both immediate and long-range significance. No offspring of Jehoiachin (also known as Coniah) followed him to the throne. Zedekiah, who replaced Coniah, was Judah’s last king, but Zedekiah was Coniah’s uncle, not his son.

The long-range significance is seen in the line of the Messiah, the exalted Son of David, because Jesus was not physically related to Coniah/Jechoniah. This prophecy helps explain the genealogies of the Messiah in Mt 1 and Lk 3. Specifically, Matthew recorded the legal line of Messiah through Joseph, his stepfather. Joseph was a descendant of David through Shealtiel, who was a son of Jeconiah/Coniah (Mt 1:11-12; cf. 1Ch 3:17). Had Jesus been a physical descendant of Joseph and not virgin-born, He would have been disqualified as Israel’s King based on the prophecy that no man of Coniah’s descendants would … sit on the throne of David. Luke recorded the physical line of Jesus the Messiah through His mother, Mary. She was descended from David through the line of Nathan, son of David (Lk 3:31; 1Ch 14:3-4). Being virgin-born of Mary, Jesus was not under the curse of Coniah, and was qualified to rule on the throne of David. However, since Jesus was a physical descendant of David through Nathan, He was the rightful Son of David.

(5) The Hope of Messiah, the Righteous Branch (23:1-8)

23:1-4. The prospects for the house of David were ominous in light of the sinfulness of the last Davidic kings. But the outlook was not completely hopeless, and vv. 1-8 contains a message of hope for the Jewish people.

Jeremiah pictured the false leadership of Israel and the unrighteous kings as shepherds who were destroying and scattering the sheep of God’s pasture. The shepherds deserved punishment because of the evil they had done (cf. Ezk 34:1-10).

Jeremiah presented a two-part picture of God’s plan for caring for His flock once the evil shepherds were removed. First, God Himself would gather the remnant of the people who were dispersed and would bring them back. The term remnant originally meant simply “the few survivors,” but it came to have a more specific meaning of “the ones who are faithful to the Lord” (Is 4:2-6; 10:20-22; 28:5; Rm 9:27–10:4; 11:1-6). The Lord would assume responsibility for Israel’s regathering (cf. Jr 31:10; Mc 2:12; 5:4; 7:14). Just as the scattering of the people was literal, so their regathering would be. The promise of restoration goes beyond the return from Babylon, to bringing them back from all the countries (cf. Jr 16:14-15), indicating an eschatological return.

Second, God would raise up new shepherds over them who would tend them and care for the people the way God intended. When the Messiah reigns in His millennial kingdom, Israel will be assured of peace. The phrase nor will any be missing means there will be righteous shepherds in Judah, future leaders who will care for the Jewish people and keep them safe and obedient to the Lord, so that none of them will be lost. Jesus expressed this comforting idea during His earthly ministry (Jn 6:39; 10:27-28).

23:5-8. God promised the days are coming (often an eschatological term, here referring to the Messianic Age; cf. comments 16:14-15; 23:7; 30:3; 31:27-40) when He would raise up for David a righteous Branch. This is a key messianic passage in Jeremiah, and the promise centers on the Davidic covenant (2Sm 7:8-16). The image of the Branch is a frequent and important image of the promised Messiah (cf. Jr 33:15-15; Is 4:2; 11:1; 53:2; Zch 3:8; 6:12). For more on this messianic title, see comments on Zch 6:12-13. Jesus of Nazareth is the fulfillment of this prediction.

King Messiah will reign wisely and with justice and righteousness (cf. Ps 72:2). The name of this coming King is the LORD our Righteousness (Yahweh tsideqenu). This is a powerful messianic title, as it presents Him as the righteous King, as God, and as Redeemer (cf. Is 45:24; Jr 33:16; 1Co 5:21). Though Jesus offered Himself as Israel’s Messiah at His first advent and provided the way of salvation, this prophecy’s fulfillment awaits His rule and reign in the millennial kingdom following His second advent. At that time, He will rule over the sons of Israel regathered back … from all the countries where they had been scattered, to live on their own soil (adama, land). Israel will again be delivered (cf. Is 59:20; Zch 12:6-9; Rm 11:26) from oppression and reunited as a single nation and will live in safety (cf. Ezk 37:15-28).

The future restoration of Israel (Jr 23:6) is directly and inseparably related to the messianic hope (the days are coming; cf. comments on 16:14-15; 23:5; and see comments on 30:3; 31:27-40). It will be so dramatic that the people will no longer look back to the time when God brought them from the land of Egypt. The first exodus, a biblical watershed in Jewish history, will pale in comparison with this new exodus when God will bring the Jewish people out of all the countries where they have been and will restore them to their own land (cf. 16:14-15).

b. The Rebuke of the False Prophets (23:9-40)

Jeremiah refocused his message from Judah’s kings to deliver God’s judgment message against the false prophets. These pseudo-seers opposed Jeremiah’s declaration of doom (cf. 6:13-14; 8:10-11; 14:14-16; 28:1-4, 10-11; 29:8-9, 20-23, 31-32) and offered instead a false promise of peace.

(1) The Character of the False Prophets (23:9-15)

23:9-12. Jeremiah’s heart was broken, his body became weak, his bones tremble[d], and he staggered like a drunken man when he thought of God’s holy words abused by the false prophets. They claimed authority to speak (cf. 28:2, 15-16), but the land mourns under God’s judgment of drought (Dt 28:23-24), by which the land dried up (cf. Jr 14:1-6, 22). This was due in part to the teachings of the false prophets whose influence contributed to Judah’s waywardness, resulting in God’s curse upon them.

Judah’s spiritual leaders (both prophet and priest) were polluted, defiled (cf. 3:1-2, 9). They had such a low view of God’s holiness that they even profaned His temple with their wickedness. God vowed to bring calamity on them because of their sin.

23:13-15. Jeremiah compared the prophets of Samaria to the prophets of Jerusalem. The prophets of the northern kingdom of Israel (Samaria) had prophesied by Baal, leading the nation astray (cf. 1Kg 18:16-40; 2Kg 10:18-29; 17:16). Because of their wickedness, God destroyed the northern kingdom by the hand of the Assyrians (721 BC).

The prophets of Judah continued in similar paths of sin, committing spiritual and moral adultery, telling lies, and strengthening evildoers. Their repulsive conduct made them like Sodom and Gomorrah to God. He had to judge them for their sin and would feed them wormwood and poisonous water because of the lying messages they were teaching, by which pollution (spiritual corruption) came to all the land (cf. Jr 9:15; Lm 3:15, 19).

(2) The message of the false prophets (23:16-40)

23:16-22. The false prophets fabricated their own message, and Jeremiah warned the people not to listen to them. Their vision[s] came from their imagination (cf. v. 26) not from the mouth of the LORD. They proclaimed peace (cf. 6:14; 8:11) and said calamity will not come. This was not from God. The storm of the LORD would judge the wicked—it was coming and would destroy those in its path. The anger of the LORD would not turn back until He finished His judgment. Only then would the people understand God did not send these false prophets. If they had stood in God’s council they would have announced His words to turn Judah from her evil … deeds.

23:23-32. The false prophets misrepresented God’s character. They saw Him as some localized deity from whom they could hide and He would not see (v. 24). Indeed, God in His omniscience fills the heavens and earth so that no place is outside His realm. He had heard what the false prophets had said when they spoke lies in His name (v. 25). The prophets also claimed that God had given them revelation in a dream, but their visions were imaginary (cf. v. 16). Their dreams, false prophetic visions, were designed to make Judah forget God’s name (v. 27), just as earlier prophets did through Baal worship (cf. v. 13). Their prophetic messages were as worthless for meeting spiritual needs as was straw, instead of grain, for meeting physical hunger (v. 28). Their words had no force, while God’s word is penetrating like fire (v. 29; cf. 20:9) and as effective as a hammer that shatters a rock.

God set Himself against the prophets, which is repeated three times (vv. 30, 31, 32) for intensity. They led My people astray, they were not sent by Him, and they did not furnish … the slightest benefit.

23:33-40. An oracle of the LORD was a revelatory message from God. The Hebrew word for oracle in daily use referred to the “load” or “burden that someone had to lift or carry” (Ex 23:5; Neh 13:19). The burden the prophet had to carry was the message or oracle given by God (Is 13:1; 14:28; Nah 1:1; Hab 1:1) often of judgment (cf. Is 15:1; 17:1; 19:1; 21:1, 11, 13; 22:1; 23:1). When the people, prophet, or priest asked Jeremiah, What is the oracle of the LORD? (Jr 23:33), he was to say, God will abandon you because the false prophets perverted the words of the living God (v. 36). The prophets who continued to claim divine oracles would be judged (vv. 38-40). God vowed to cast them away from His presence along with all Jerusalem (v. 39). Furthermore, these false prophets faced everlasting reproach … and humiliation for their wicked words (v. 40).

Much of what Jeremiah recorded is relevant in the contemporary world. The people of Judah were led astray because they believed the false teachers and prophets who presented an appealing—but wrong—message supposedly from the Lord. They rejected Jeremiah because they did not like his message. Similarly, people today must guard against the tendency to become attached to a religious leader based solely on outward appearances or the presentation of endlessly inspiring and engaging messages that ignore sin and its consequences. God’s people then and now must always evaluate every teacher, message, and book by the contents of Scripture, which means they must spend time digesting God’s Word in order to know what it says, and thinking with discernment about what they are taught to determine if it concurs with Scripture. If it does not, then followers of Christ must align themselves with those who teach and live the truth as found in God’s Word, an adjustment Jeremiah’s audience failed to make, with appalling consequences.

c. The Two Baskets of Figs (24:1-10)

(1) The Vision of the Two Baskets of Figs (24:1-3)

24:1-3. Although written at a later time, the vision of the two baskets of figs was given to Jeremiah after Jeconiah and the officials, craftsmen, and smiths were carried into Babylon (cf. 2Kg 24:8-16) sometime in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah (597 BC).

In the vision Jeremiah saw two baskets of figs, each representing a group whose conditions would be different under the Babylonians. The vision is like the offering of the first fruits set before the temple of the LORD (cf. Dt 26:11). In one basket the figs were very good, like the first-ripe figs, the best of the crop (cf. Is 28:4; Hs 9:10; Mc 7:1), the first fruits that were to be offered to the Lord (Dt 14:22). The second basket contained bad figs, which could not be eaten because they were rotten. Such fruit was unacceptable to the Lord for sacrifice (cf. Mal 1:6-9).

(2) The Explanation of the Good Figs (24:4-7)

24:4-7. The LORD explained that the basket of good figs represented the captives from Judah who had been carried away to the land of the Chaldeans. This explanation was contrary to the belief of the people of Jerusalem who thought the people taken into in captivity were taken away from the nurturing of the Lord (cf. Ezk 11:14-15). But Jeremiah explained they were sent out of Jerusalem, exiled by God, and He regarded this plan as good. God promised to set My eyes on them for good, and bring them again to the land (cf. Ezk 11:16-17). The Lord also promised to give the Jewish people a new heart so they would know Him (cf. Jr 4:22). At that time they would be His people spiritually as well as nationally (cf. comments on 30:22) and would return to Him with their whole heart. Although God did restore a minority of the people to the land after the Babylonian captivity, following the exile they never experienced the full blessings of fellowship God had promised (cf. 31:31-34; Ezk 36:24-32). This awaits a still-future fulfillment when God again will regather Israel at the beginning of the Messiah’s millennial reign on earth (Mt 24:29-31).

(3) The Explanation of the Poor Figs (24:8-10)

24:8-10. The basket of bad figs represented Zedekiah and the other survivors (cf. 29:17-19), including those in Israel and those who fled to Egypt (cf. 43:4-7). God vowed to make them a terror, evil for all the kingdoms of the earth. They would be despised as a reproach and a proverb, ridiculed and cursed wherever they went, as Jeremiah often predicted (cf. 25:9, 18; 26:6; 29:18; 42:18; 44:8, 12, 22; 48:39; 49:13, 17; 51:37). God would send His three instruments of judgment, sword, famine, and pestilence (cf. 14:12; 15:2-4), until they were all destroyed.

d. The Seventy-Year Captivity in Babylon (25:1-38)

Jeremiah’s 13 messages of judgment spanning chaps. 2–25 were arranged topically, not chronologically. The prophecy about the 70-year captivity (25:1-38) was placed last because it was the climax of all Jeremiah’s judgment messages.

(1) Warnings Ignored (25:1-7)

25:1-3. Jeremiah’s final message concerned all the people of Judah. The time when it was given was recorded because of the significance of the message. It was delivered in the fourth year of Jehoiakim … king of Judah (that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon). Calculating the Jewish and Babylonian calendars with ascension designations along with the modern calendar, that would have been between September 7, 605 BC and September 25, 604 BC. Jeremiah had been prophesying for twenty-three years (cf. 1:2), and though he had spoken to the people again and again, they had not listened to God’s warnings to repent.

25:4-7. God had also sent other servants and prophets who warned the people to turn from their evil … deeds. If they had heeded the prophets’ warnings, God would have allowed them to stay in the land in peace and would have done them no harm. Yet the people did not listen to God. They continued in their sin to provoke God to anger with the work of [their] hands, making and worshiping idols (10:8-9).

(2) Judgment Described (25:8-14)

25:8-11. Because Judah had repeatedly not obeyed God’s words of warning, God would send for the Babylonians, under Nebuchadnezzar, called God’s servant (v. 9), to bring judgment on Judah. This pagan king was God’s servant (cf. 27:6; 43:10) in the sense that, even without acknowledging the Lord, he would carry out God’s sovereign plans by destroying Jerusalem and all the nations who had been her allies.

The sounds of joy and gladness would cease (cf. 7:34; 16:9) in Jerusalem because the whole land would become a desolation. Famine would replace wedding celebrations, and there would be no grain to grind in the millstones or olive oil to light the lamp. The whole land and surrounding nations would serve the Babylonians seventy years (25:11; 29:10; 2Ch 36:21; Dn 9:2; Zch 7:5).

The judgment was for idolatry, but the length of seventy years was a consequence of specific disobedience about the land. The captivity was destined to last seventy years (605–536 BC) because the Jewish people had failed to observe God’s law of a Sabbath rest for the land for the previous 490 years, the number of years of between Saul and the fall of Jerusalem at the hand of the Babylonians. God had decreed that every seventh year the land was to lie fallow (Lv 25:3-5). The people were not to sow their fields or prune their vineyards each seventh year to allow the land to rest. Failure to obey would result in expulsion from the land, and an enforced Sabbath rest for the land (Lv 26:33-35). The seventy-year Babylonian captivity did “fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation [the land] kept sabbath until seventy years were complete” (2Ch 36:20-21).

25:12-14. When the 70 years were completed God would also punish the king of Babylon and that nation because of their iniquity. He would fulfill all the judgments written in this book against Babylon by Jeremiah (cf. chaps. 50–51). This book may refer to the scroll mentioned in chap. 36:1-4. The LXX places chaps. 46–51, the judgment on the nations, at this point, a slightly different order of the chapters (see “Background” in Introduction of Jeremiah for the Septuagint /LXX issues). Babylon fell to the Medo-Persian empire in 539 BC, and the Babylonians were made their slaves; God would repay Babylon according to their deeds.

(3) Wrath Promised (25:15-29)

25:15-25. The coming wrath of God is presented in a vision to Jeremiah: He saw the LORD holding in His hand a cup of the wine of wrath (v. 15). God would send Jeremiah to specific nations to make them drink it (cf. Lm 4:21; Ezk 23:31-33; Rv 16:19; 18:6) and experience judgment because of the sword that God would send among them (v. 16). The first to drink God’s wine of wrath were Jerusalem and the cities of Judah (v. 18). Other nations (vv. 19-26) would follow Judah in judgment by the hand of the Babylonians. These included Egypt (v. 19), whose feeble assistance prompted Judah to rebel against Babylon (cf. Ezk 29:6-9). Uz (v. 20) was probably east of Edom in northern Arabia (cf. Jb 1:1). The Philistines’ key cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Ashdod (v. 20) were on the lower coastal shore of the Mediterranean, west of Judah. Edom, Moab, and Ammon (from south to north, v. 21) were the nations east of Judah to the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. The Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon (v. 22) were north of Israel on the Mediterranean coast. Dedan, Tema, and Buz (v. 23) were cities in the northern Arabian Peninsula associated with the kings of Arabia and all … the foreign people (mixed multitude) in the desert (v. 24). The location of Zimri (v. 25) is uncertain, but it is associated with Elam (Gn 14:1-9; Is 11:11; Dn 8:2) and Media (2Kg 16:6; 18:11; Dn 6:8,15), two countries east of the Tigris River, north of the Persian Gulf, an area now included in parts of Iran and Iraq. All these nations fell to Babylon.

25:26. Despite Babylon’s extensive conquest of all the kings of the north, near and far, ultimately she too would fall to God’s judgment (cf. 51:48-49). God would make the king of Sheshach … drink after them. The name Sheshach is a cryptogram, an atbash cipher, for the word “Babylon” in Hebrew. An atbash cipher substitutes the first letter of the alphabet for the last, the second letter for the next to last and so on. For example, in English z would be an a, y would be a b, and so on; thus, the name Abby as an atbash would become zyyb. Using this cipher, Sheshach is a Hebrew atbash for “Babylon.” Perhaps it was unsafe to speak directly against Babylon during the exile, so an atbash was used for safety. God would judge Babylon after judging the other nations (cf. vv. 12-14). Another atbash cipher is used in 51:1 for the word “Chaldea” (“Leb-kamai”).

25:27-29. The nations told to drink from the cup of God’s wrath would be like a man who has become drunk. They would vomit and fall, because of the wine of God’s wrath and die by the sword He would send among [them]. His judgment could not be avoided (they shall surely drink!). If God would bring calamity on Jerusalem (which is called by My name) because of its sin, then these pagan inhabitants of the earth could not escape the sword of His judgment.

(4) Universal Judgment Affirmed (25:30-38)

25:30-33. Here in poetic form, the LORD is portrayed as a lion who will roar mightily (cf. Am 1:2; 3:4, 8) in judgment and would shout from His holy habitation in heaven against all the inhabitants of the earth.

God had a controversy with these nations and would enter into judgment against them. He would bring charges (cf. 2:9) that would extend beyond Judah to all humankind (all flesh). This judgment was pictured as a great storm that would envelop all nations. In its wake the slain would be scattered everywhere. Their corpses would be like dung lying on the ground, just as the citizenry of Jerusalem would be after the Babylonian siege (cf. 8:2; 14:16; 16:4-6).

25:34-38. The shepherds, the leaders of these many nations, would cry and wallow in ashes (a sign of deep grief, cf. 6:26; Mc 1:10), mourning because the days of [their] slaughter and dispersions had come. The judgment of God’s fierce anger (25:37-38) would make each land … become a horror.

B. Jeremiah’s Personal Conflict with Judah (26:1–29:32)

Although there was some opposition to Jeremiah’s message earlier in his ministry (cf. 11:18-23; 15:10; 20:1-6), the focus of chaps. 1–25 was on God’s coming judgment if the people refused to repent. In this section (chaps. 26–29) Jeremiah refocused on Jerusalem’s response to his message. Both he and his message were rejected by the leadership and the people of Jerusalem.

1. Jeremiah’s Conflict with the People (26:1-24)

a. Jeremiah’s Message (26:1-6)

26:1-3. This message was delivered early in the reign of Jehoiakim, … king of Judah, who ascended to the throne in 609 BC. The message is probably part of the Temple Address (cf. chaps. 7–10), and the focus here is on the response to the message. The Temple Address is summarized here as God’s warning of judgment so the people would listen, then turn from their evil way, so that God would not carry out His threatened judgment if the people obeyed His commands. The word repent is an anthropomorphic term—ascribing to God human emotions and thoughts—and should not be understood literally, for God does not repent (Nm 23:19). He would not bring calamity on them if they changed (cf. 7:3-7). Certainly the all-knowing Lord God knew what they would do.

26:4-6. The message was of judgment for disobedience. If the people refused to follow God’s law and to listen to God’s servants the prophets (cf. 7:21-26), God would make the temple (this house) as desolate as Shiloh (cf. 7:14), and the Gentile nations of the earth would use the this city, Jerusalem, as a curse (cf. 24:9).

b. Jeremiah’s Arrest and Trial (26:7-15)

26:7-11. When the priests, the prophets, and all the people heard the Temple Address (see chaps. 7–10) they seized Jeremiah just as he finished his message and demanded that he must die for his words. They accused Jeremiah of being a false prophet because he had spoken in the name of the LORD. They believed that such a negative and condemnatory prophecy could never have come from God.

The charges against Jeremiah had to be brought to the officials of Judah who heard the case at the entrance of the New Gate. The city gate was where the leaders sat to administer justice and to conduct official business (cf. Dt 21:18-19; Ru 4:1-11; Jr 39:3). The mob demanded a death sentence because he had prophesied against this city of Jerusalem.

26:12-15. Jeremiah gave a three-part self-defense to the charges. First he announced, The LORD sent me to prophesy the message they had heard, so he was not a false prophet. Second, he announced that his message was conditional. If the people would amend their ways (cf. 3:12; 7:3) God would change His mind about the disaster (26:3). It was within God’s plan to be merciful if the people repented. Thus Jeremiah’s message did offer some hope for the city. Third, he warned that if they put him to death they would bring the guilt of innocent blood on themselves. He made a strong closing statement of self-defense: truly the LORD has sent me to you.

c. Jeremiah’s Deliverance (26:16-24)

26:16-19. After hearing Jeremiah’s defense, the officials along with all the people sided with Jeremiah against the religious leadership of priests and false prophets. They declared that Jeremiah did not deserve the death sentence. This verdict was supported by some elders who reminded the people that Micah of Moresheth (the prophet Micah) had given a similar message nearly seventy years earlier in the days of Hezekiah (Mc 3:12). This is the only place in the OT where one prophet quotes another and identifies his source. Instead of seeking to put Micah to death, King Hezekiah listened to Micah’s words and sought the favor of the LORD. In response to Hezekiah’s request God did not bring the disaster predicted by Micah. Failure to follow Hezekiah’s example was to bring a terrible disaster, great evil, on Judah.

26:20-23. Although Jeremiah’s life was spared, other prophets were not so fortunate. The prophet Uriah the son of Shemaiah (mentioned only here in the Bible) spoke words similar to all those of Jeremiah, but King Jehoiakim … slew him with a sword and cast his dead body into a grave for common people.

26:24. Ahikam the son of Shaphan protected Jeremiah so the people did not put him to death. The family of Shaphan played an important part in the final years of Judah (2Kg 22:3-13) and Ahikam’s son, Gedaliah (Jr 40:5, 9), was appointed governor of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar after the fall of Jerusalem.

Sometimes God delivers us from our trials, while at other times He sustains us through them (Heb 11:32-40). In both instances our response must be the same: trust and obey!

2. Jeremiah’s Conflict with the False Prophets in Jerusalem (27:1–28:17)

The nation was reluctant to believe Jeremiah’s message that God’s judgment would result in the fall of Jerusalem to wicked Babylon. They opposed Jeremiah to the point of physical violence. In this section, the opposition to Jeremiah’s message is a counterattack by false prophets who contradicted Jeremiah’s message and gave the people false hope of deliverance.

a. Jeremiah’s Prophecy (27:1-22)

Jeremiah refuted the false prophets with three messages of truth and used an object lesson of yokes to make God’s point clear.

(1) The Message to the Ambassadors (27:1-11)

27:1-7. Early in the reign of Zedekiah (probably 593 BC; cf. below) God commanded Jeremiah to make yokes like those used to hitch together teams of oxen and to put them on [his] neck. This was an object lesson to envoys from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon who had come to Jerusalem to meet with Zedekiah. They were probably meeting to discuss the possibility of uniting together in a revolt against Babylon.

This meeting occurred sometime between May and August 593 BC (cf. 28:1). The Babylonian Chronicles (a series of stone or clay tablets in cuneiform text written during the biblical period in Babylon, recording major events in Babylonian history, now in the British Museum) recorded that just over a year earlier a rebellion had occurred in Babylon. Evidently Nebuchadnezzar had to defend himself against an attempted coup. Certainly such unrest within Babylon might cause the various vassal states, like those mentioned here, to consider throwing off Babylon’s yoke of domination.

While Jeremiah wore the yoke, he gave the message that God had made the earth so He could give it to anyone He pleased (v. 5). For now, these nations should wear the yoke of Babylon. God selected Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (v. 6) as His instrument of judgment and all … nations shall serve him (v. 7). Later Babylon’s time of judgment would come. Only then would other great kings be able to make him their servant (v. 7). For a set time Babylon would rule the world, but later even mighty Babylon would be conquered and serve an even greater nation, the Medo-Persian empire (539 BC).

27:8-11. With Nebuchadnezzar’s divine appointment clearly established, Jeremiah warned against rebellion. Any nation that refused to put its neck under the yoke of Babylon would be punished by God with sword, famine, and pestilence (cf. v. 13; 14:12). For the first of three times in this chapter, Jeremiah warned his audience not to listen to the false prophets (vv. 9, 14, 17), who might present themselves as diviners, dreamers, soothsayers, or sorcerers. The false teachers presented a lie when they promised a successful rebellion against Babylon. God had vowed to remove any nation who rebelled. Only those that would submit to the authority of Babylon (bring its neck under the yoke) would be allowed to remain on their land.

(2) The Message to Zedekiah (27:12-15)

27:12-15. Jeremiah gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah in two parts. First, God commanded Zedekiah to bring his necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and to continue to serve as a vassal king. If he refused to serve Babylon, the judgment of God would come on Judah by sword, famine and pestilence. Second, God warned him not to trust the false prophets who predicted victory and prophesied a lie because God had not sent them.

(3) The Message to the Priests and People (27:16-22)

27:16-22. Jeremiah’s message to the priests and all this people was slightly different. He cautioned them not to listen to the false prophets who were predicting that the vessels of the LORD’s house that had been taken to Babylon (cf. 2Kg 24:13; Dn 1:1-2) would soon be brought back (v. 16). In fact, just the opposite would happen. The furnishings still remaining in the house of the LORD (along with those of the king’s palace) that had not been removed during the deportation of Jeconiah would be carried to Babylon and remain there until God’s judgment was complete (vv. 19-22). Only then would He bring them back (cf. 2 Kg 25:13-17; Ezr 1:7-11).

b. Hananiah’s Opposition (28:1-17)

(1) Jeremiah’s Conflict with Hananiah (28:1-11)

28:1-4. There are no chapter breaks in the original Hebrew manuscripts, and this is clearly a continuation of the previous message. It was given in the same year as chap. 27, and specifically in the fifth month of the fourth year of King Zedekiah (August–September 593 BC). Jeremiah was careful in noting the date because of the events that happened later (v. 17).

Hananiah son of Azzur challenged Jeremiah. Perhaps Hananiah was a brother of “Jaazaniah son of Azzur” who was denounced by Ezekiel (Ezk 11:1-3); he was from Gibeon, about six miles northwest of Jerusalem, another town assigned by Joshua to the priests (cf. Jos 21:17-18), so possibly Hananiah, like Jeremiah, was from a priestly family.

Hananiah directly contradicted Jeremiah’s prophecy. He stated that God had broken the yoke of Babylonian oppression and urged Judah to rebel against Babylon, not to submit to her (cf. Jr 27:2, 8, 11-12, 17). Hananiah promised that the rebellion would be followed by restoration. Within two years, he said, God promised to bring back to Judah all the vessels of the LORD’s house (cf. 27:16-22). These would be accompanied by King Jeconiah and all the exiles.