Asking For It

Jeremiah 11:1-23

“The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God: Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them.” (Jeremiah 11:1-6)

When Israel came out of Egypt, God made a covenant or contract with Israel, He promised to give them a land of their own, to protect them from their enemies and disease and to make them prosperous in exchange for their obedience.   Here he commands Jeremiah to remind them of their commitment and warn them that anyone who breaks that contract is cursed of God.

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

From the very beginning, God had sent prophets to remind Israel of the terms of their contract with Him and the need to obey, and that they had agreed to it.  From the very beginning, less than forty days after signing the contract, they made the golden calf and began to worship it.  Thirteen times in the book of Judges, and repeatedly through the kingdom period they decided not to keep their contract, doing whatever they thought was good instead.  Part of the covenant specified the punishment for breaking it, and now God is warning him that he is going to take those actions.     

“And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.  They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.” (Jeremiah 11:9-10)

It is clear that Judah’s violation of the terms of their contract are not from a lack of understanding or even of carelessness or complacency.  They have been warned repeatedly and refuse to change, insisting on doing the same things they always have.  Their forefathers refused to obey God, choosing to worship other gods instead.  In doing so they have broken the contract.

“Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.  Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.  For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.” (Jeremiah 11:11-13)

God will bring judgment on Judah for their deliberate refusal to honor their contract. And their will be no avoiding the consequences.   Because their actions have been deliberate, God will not listen to their pleas for leniency, and they will turn to the gods they served instead for help.  At that time thy will learn how useless and helpless those gods are.  Every city had adopted their own gods, with altars to Baal on every street corner as well. 

“Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble.  What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.” (Jeremiah 11:14-15)

Once again God uses the analogy of an adulterous wife.   In Deuteronomy 24:1-4, the law deals with a woman who for one reason or another separates from her husband and maries someone else.  “When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.  And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife.  And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.”  Once they have been with someone else, they have no right to go back to the first husband. 

God asks Judah what right they have to be in His house once they have left Him to worship other gods?   He instructed Jeremiah not to intervene on their behalf because they have gone too far.   Any effort to be reconciled will have to start with them.    Genesis 6:3 tells us, “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man…” 

“The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.  For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.  And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then thou showedst me their doings.  But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.” (Jeremiah 11:16-19)

God had set up Israel and Judah like an olive tree, but after a while he built a fire to burn it down because of their sin.   By violating God’s covenant, knowing that it specified certain judgments for doing so Israel and Judah have brought the judgment on themselves.  Though they don’t recognize it they have asked for their own destruction, thinking they are just going to destroy the mention of God and his prophet, Jeremiah.  It was very much like what is happening in America today.  In the effort to eliminate Christian influence, the so called “liberals” are destroying their own freedoms. 

“But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause.  Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hand: Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine: And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.” (Jeremiah 11:20-23)

Hurt by the constant attacks and efforts to silence him, Jeremiah prayed to see God’s judgment on those who tried to destroy him, because he had only tried to show them what God had said.   God responded that the men of the Anathoth who had devoted their efforts to silencing him, forbidding him to speak the word of God under penalty of death would be punished by Him.  The young men would be killed serving in the military.  Their children would die of starvation and ultimately none otf them would survive, even though there would be a remnant of the Jews as a whole. 

There’s No Comparison

Jeremiah 10:1-25

“Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.  For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.  They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.” (Jeremiah 10:1-5)

One of Israel’s biggest problems throughout history has been their tendency to adopt the practices and beliefs of the people around them.  God warns them not to follow the practices and beliefs of those people.  those who did not believe in God were continuously looking for some special sign in heave to know what was going to happen, with the result that the Chaldeans and others had developed detailed studies of the relationships of the various stars and planets in an effort to predict the future.  Horoscopes and astrology are just some modern day versions of those beliefs, as is the focus on the four blood moons or various other efforts to predict the future based on astronomical events.  God’s people were not to allow themselves to worry about these things, just because others were. 

Instead they should consider how meaningless and hopeless what those people’s practices were.   A person would cut a tree in the forest and carve it to a special shape, then ooverlay it with sheets of silver or gold and nail it up where it wouldn’t fall from its place.   When they finished the idol they had created could not speak or move around under its own power.  Obviously they offered on threat since they  had no power to anything, either good or bad.  There was no reason to worry about them or what they might want. 

“Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.  Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.  But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.  Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.  But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.” (Jeremiah 10:6-10)

God is not at all like those idols they make.  He is a living god who has real power, even to the creation of the universe.  There is every reason to fear God’s power and is foolish not to consider it since it affects everything on earth.  Compared to God, even the most intellectual and educated men are like the least intelligent animals, incapable of making logical decisions.    The chunk of wood they have carved into an idol is simply a useless waste of time, and the silver  and cold with which they overlay it do not give any special properties as they are only products of human craftsmanship,  just as the fancy tapestries and clothing that are made for them.  God, on the other hand is the true and living God and the everlasting King.  The entire earth shakes at his anger and no nation will be strong enough to survive his judgment.    

“Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.  He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.  When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.” (Jeremiah 10:11-13)

Every trace of the idols that people worship will ultimately be destroyed.  God created the earth by power and made it function in an organized manner by his wisdom, creating the entire universe based on his judgment.  By just speaking he causes the water to evaporate from all over the earth and be collected into one area forming rainclouds.  He causes the it to fall as rain and the lightening and wind to accompany it.

“Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.  They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.  The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.  Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.  For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will distress them, that they may find it so.” (Jeremiah 10:14-18)

By comparison to god, every Human being is like one of the animals.  The things we make are only copies of what god has made that have no power in themselves and when we ascribe such power, we are only confusing ourselves.  Ultimately, they are a waste of effort based on mistaken ideas that will fail at some point in time.  The God of Jacob is nothing like that, because he made everything and the nation of Israel is the scepter of his kingdom.  Those who have made and sold their idols need to get out of His land because He is going to shake it and sling them out if they are there when he starts. 

“Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.  My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.  For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.  Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.” (Jeremiah 10:19-22)

Because those who were responsible for leading and teaching God’s people, the pastors have become like animals concerned only with their own comfort and pleasure, no longer concerned with Lord, the people have strayed like a bunch of sheep without a shepherd.    When they are attacked by the northern countries, it will cause a commotion like a bunch of sheep when attacked by a lion or wolves, just killing for the sheer pleasure of it and leaving the land occupied only by lizards and snakes.  There has been no concern with God’s feelings, just leaving him to deal with it. 

“O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.  O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.  Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.” (Jeremiah 10:23-25)

Although our pride leads us to believe we can control our destiny, we really have little power to do so.  In fact we have difficulty even controlling our own actions, as demonstrated by our inability to lose weight or give up some addiction.  Jeremiah asks that God would correct him chastising him before He is angered by his actions, so he was not destroyed.  He asked that he destroy those who refuse to be corrected and reject God because of what they have done to His people.

Like Dealing With An Addict

Jeremiah 9:1-26

 Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!  Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.  And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.” (Jeremiah 9:1-3)

As he looks at the attitudes and actions of Judah, the lord is broken hearted.  His entire head would need to be just water and his eyes like a spigot for him express his feelings about his wayward daughter Judah.  Knowing they will not change.  The Lord would like to have some remote place he could go so he wouldn’t have to see what they are doing.  It is almost like they are addicted to crack cocaine or meth, prostituting themselves, betraying their friends and lying about everything to feed their habit.  They have no interest in the truth, and will commit any crime, totally rejecting and ignoring their family.   

“Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.  And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.  Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD.” (Jeremiah 9:4-6)

The Lord warns others about Judah like parents warning their friends and relatives about an addicted son or daughter, that they cannot be trusted.  They will take things they no right to, slander their neighbors, deceive everyone around and lie constantly, working at doing wrong.  They live in a dream world and deny reality, refusing to acknowledge those that know the truth because they don’t want to deal with it.    

“Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?  Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.  Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?  For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.  And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.” (Jeremiah 9:7-11)

Though he knows they will not appreciate his efforts, God has to take action because he has seen how much Judah has hurt others, slandering and insulting them, taking advantage and lying.  He cannot just ignore what they are doing, because it only gets worse as they are allowed to get by with it.  Though He doesn’t want to, for the sake of others, He will destroy both the mountains and the deserts so that they have no soured of food, and Jerusalem will be destroyed, suitable only for insects and lizards, and other cities will be just heaps of rubbish. 

“Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?” (Jeremiah 9:12)

God is looking for a person who is able to comprehend what is going on that God can explain it too?  He will be sent to warn Judah and Jerusalem why the land is being destroyed and why nobody does business with them anymore. 

“And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them: Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.  I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.” (Jeremiah 9:13-16)

These things are happening to them because they have turned their backs on the Lord, deliberately disobeying his commands and doing as they pleased.  As a result God will give them misery and bitterness, scattering them among those that hate them and send their enemies after them to destroy them. 

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come: And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.  For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out.

Yet hear the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation.  For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.  Speak, Thus saith the LORD, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.“ (Jeremiah 9:17-22)

Judah and Jerusalem will be in sorrow and suffering because God has taken everything from them.  They will be forced to leave their land and death affects every home and family.  They will learn what it means to be sad and lonely.  So many will die they will not even attempt to gather them up and bury them but will just leave the bodies lie. 

Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

Instead of focusing their wisdom, or strength or wealth, they needed to learn to focus on knowing understanding God and what he desired.  They needed to understand that he is the God who shows love to his people, gives justice and makes things be right.  Unlike other people and political leaders who are only concerned with their own benefit, God delights in these things. 

“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised; Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.” (Jeremiah 9:25-26)

God’s people will be punished for their sins right along with those who make no claims to know him.  In fact, I Peter 4:17 states, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”  The Idea that God will pull out all the Christians before he allows judgment to fall has no scriptural precedent or support.  When Israel and Judah sinned they were judged just like the other peoples.  Their circumcision was meaningless since their heart attitude was no different than the uncircumcised. 

Just Waiting to Help

Jeremiah 8:1-22

“At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves: And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.   And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Jeremiah 8:1-3)

It was prophesied that Josiah would destroy the jeroboam’s altar, emptying the graves of the priests and rulers and burning their bones on it as a show of the powerlessness of those gods.    In II Kings 23:16 we find a description of his doing so.  God is giving a similar prophecy about the Temple at Jerusalem and the kings, prophets and priests and people who have worshipped so many false gods. 

According to historians, Nebuchadnezzar first conquered and took Jerusalem in 605 BC.  Eleven years later, after repeated rebellions, the Babylonians destroyed the entire city, including the sepulchers to make sure there was no one hiding in them who might start another insurrection.  The bodies were left lying on the ground like other refuse to show how powerless those other gods were to protect them.  Many of the Jews committed suicide rather than be enslaved.

“Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?  Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.” (Jeremiah 8:4-5)

God had promised to keep Israel and make them a great nation.  Time after time he warned that if the broke his covenant, they would be punished, but that when they turned back to him, they would be restored, and God cannot and will not break his promise.  It made no sense for Israel to keep rebelling against God, clinging to their self-deception and refusing to obey his command.  They had seen repeated proofs of His willingness to forgive and bless when they turned to Him. 

“I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.  Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.” (Jeremiah 8:6-7)

Nobody was willing to admit they were doing wrong or even second guess their behavior.  They plunged ahead like a war horse charging into a battle.  Even the migratory birds pay attention to the weather and things around them and know when it is time to migrate to escape winter storms, but the Jews didn’t pay any attention, even when God warned them specifically of his coming judgment. 

“How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.  The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?  Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.  For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 8:8-11)

The Jews considered themselves to be highly intelligent and know what God wanted.  God had made his law for no purpose, and the efforts of the scribes to make exact copies was wasted.  They followed the teachings of their leaders rather than God’s word.   Because they have rejected God’s word their teachers have nothing to base their teaching on and have focused on their own success and advancement, they will lose everything they have.  By convincing the people they will be blessed for what they are doing, they have temporarily overcome their concerns, but it will not last, and they will face the consequences.     

“Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.  I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.” (Jeremiah 8:12-13)

There was not even a sense of guilt when they violated god’s commands.  As a result those leaders will be destroyed right along with the others who are destroyed.  God will judge them, leaving no trace of the things they have done.  They will lose everything God had given them. 

“Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.  We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!  The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein.  For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.” (Jeremiah 8:14-17)

Why stay in the same place, and make no changes.  God had clearly shown the emptiness and meaninglessness of what they were doing, making them miserable because of their sin.  They had looked for something better and more satisfying and instead it had gotten worse.  Their enemies had them surrounded and defeated them and now they would be betrayed by snakes among them that are only interested in harming them.

When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.  Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?  The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.  For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.  Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?” (Jeremiah 8:18-22)

Like a father despairing over a runaway child, God is depressed with what is happening to Judah.  They are being abused by people from other lands.  He is left to wonder why they insist on doing what he warned them against, knowing it would upset him.  Like the father grieving over the things the wayward child is suffering, God is frustrated and upset by what is happening to Judah.  How can they persist and not listen or come for help?  Don’t they understand that God can and will help them if they ask?  Why won’t they ask?  

Deliberate Rebellion

Jeremiah 7:17-34

“Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?  The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.  Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?” (Jeremiah 7:17-19)

The Jews were like children deliberately being bad to show their disrespect for their parents or teachers.  The young ones who don’t really understand are set to gathering firewood for their Dads to build a sacrificial fire and their mothers to prepare sacrifices to other gods, including the queen of heaven, deliberately to upset God.   while such behavior by their children may be infuriating to the parents, the actions reveals the immaturity and lack of judgment of the children will one day have to deal with the consequences of their actions.  The same was true for the Jews.  Frustrating as it might be for God, they were the ones who would have to pay for their actions. 

 

“Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.” (Jeremiah 7:20)

A wise parent will chastise their children for deliberate disrespect and disobedience, and God is a wise father.  He’s going to take action against their behavior, burning everything in the land so that everyone suffers for their part. 

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh.  For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.” (Jeremiah 7:21-23)

The Jews had decided they could just go ahead and commit sin and as long as they offered the burnt offerings to God he would ignore their sin.  He said they just as well offer those burnt offerings to the other gods or eat themselves.   God wasn’t even interested in the sacrifices themselves. He was interested in whether they would do what he asked them to.  His promise had been that if they would obey him, recognizing Him as their God, he would bless them and everything would turn out well. 

“But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.  Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.  Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee.  But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.” (Jeremiah 7:24-28)

From the time they left the land of Egypt, God had sent his prophets to remind the people what God required, but the people ignored instructions and commandments, Stubbornly doing as they pleased, and becoming increasingly rebellious.  God is sending Jeremiah to warn them again, knowing they are not going to listen.  He was to warn them that because they refused to obey or pay attention to his correction, they no longer knew what was right or benefited from it.

“Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.  For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it.  And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.” (Jeremiah 7:29-31)

Under the laws of the Nazarite vow, if a person broke the conditions, he was to shave his head and start over.  This is the concept here of acknowledging they had broken their covenant with God and were sorry.  They were willing to start over and do what was right because what they were doing was unacceptable.  They had set idols inside the Temple itself, and had reestablished the worship of Molech, offering their own children as sacrifices at the altar of Tophet in the valley of Hinnom, though God had forbidden them to do so. 

“Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.  And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.  Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.” (Jeremiah 7:32-34)

The name Tophet comes from a word meaning contempt.  By sacrificing their children to get their way, they were showing their contempt for God by destroying the children he gave them, just as abortions do today.  When he judges them they will no longer demonstrate their contempt for God there.  Instead, it will be called the place of slaughter because the Lord will cause so many to die there that there isn’t even enough space for all of them to be buried there.   Scavengers will consume the bodies because there is no place to bury them and not enough people left to do the job, or even to fend them off.   When Babylon defeated Israel the third time this prophecy was fulfilled.  The battle of Armageddon will result in a similar destruction of the Antichrist’s army in the valley of Megiddo, as described in Revelation 19:17-21.

They Have Chosen Lies Instead Of Truth

Jeremiah 6:22-7:16

“Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.  They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.

We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.  Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.  O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.” (Jeremiah 6:22-26)

God had repeatedly warned Judah and Jerusalem that he was going to bring the Babylonians against them because of their sin.  Once again he reminds them that Babylon was a world power that had even been able to block Assyrian expansion and defeat the Assyrian army, destroying any resistance without hesitation or concern, and that they will be coming against Jerusalem.  Jeremiah says the people are aware of the threat and are terrified to the point of being impotent.  They are afraid to open the gates or go outside for fear they will be destroyed and spend their days in depression and misery like a mother who just lost her only son because they are afraid the attack will come. 

“I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.  They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.  The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.  Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.” (Jeremiah 6:27-30)

God has placed Jeremiah among the people like a tower or fortress where they can turn for safety, much like a police station in a rough area today.  The captain or chief of that station soon learns the attitudes of the people around them.   Judah was like a ghetto area where everyone is involved in gangs and criminal activity.  Every effort to make changes was met with opposition and the crime continues even as they complain how bad things are.  They are as stubborn and resistant to change as a piece of brass or iron, insisting on going their own way even though it is destroying them like a person who tries to melt lead but the fire gets out of control and destroys the furnace itself.  The lead is lost into the fire and his work is wasted because he didn’t take away the trash and other flammable materials.    

Because they have allowed the sin to continue unchecked, it will result in the destruction of Jerusalem and Judah and the results will be unusable, like silver that has been oxidized as a result of overheating.   God will not accept what is left.     

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

Jeremiah was commanded to stand at the entrance to the Temple and warn the people that they if they would change their way of life, they would be allowed to stay in their land.  They would have to quit listening to lies about how they should serve the Lord.  They would need to make major changes, going back to the old standards of justice, being completely fair to everyone involved.   they would need to quit taking advantage of people who were unable to protect themselves and quit allowing the killing of innocent people.  They would also have to quit putting other things and people in god’s place.  If they would do so, God would allow them to continue to live in the land he had given their ancestors. 

“Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.  Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?  Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.  But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.” (Jeremiah 7:8-12)

The Jews had trusted false teachings, adopting things that God had forbidden as being what he had commanded, even though those things were harmful rather than beneficial.  They could break everyone of God’s commandments and come into the temple, claiming they were doing what God had put them there to do.  As a result the church had become a refuge for thieves and con artists.   If they would go back to Shiloh, the place where the Tabernacle was originally set up when they first conquered Israel, they could see what God would do to a place that turned their back on him.   Shiloh had lost its influence long before, but when the Assyrians conquered Israel, the entire population was relocated to other countries. 

“And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not; Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.  And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.  Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.” (Jeremiah 7:13-16)

Because Judah and Jerusalem had refused to pay attention when God warned them, despite repeated efforts, he is going to do the same thing to Jerusalem that he did to Shiloh.  He will move them out of his land and destroy Jerusalem as completely as he removed the descendants of Ephraim out of Israel and destroyed Shiloh.    Jeremiah was not to waste his time praying for their deliverance or protection because God would not be listening. 

There comes a point where it is wrong to keep praying that God would withhold judgment for wickedness.  At that point we can only pray that they will listen to what God has to say and repent.  It is wrong to ask Him to let them get by with their sin, and He will not honor that prayer.  

They Asked For It

Jeremiah 6:2-21

“I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.  The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.  Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.  Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces.” (Jeremiah 6:2-5)

Jerusalem is like a beautiful woman who wears beautiful clothing is flirtatious.  Guys swarm around her like flies, vying for her attention and showing off their wealth.   Eventually her flirtatious behavior and refusal to choose just one suitor leads to jealousy and fighting and they turn on her, stalking, beating and hurting her.   Though she may not realize it, and it is politically incorrect to say, by playing with their emotions, she is asking for it as surely as a man teasing and abusing a dog is asking to get bitten.    Jerusalem and Judah have brought their problems on themselves. 

“For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.  As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds.  Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.” (Jeremiah 6:2-8)

God has called for a siege against Jerusalem.  The standards of right and wrong have been totally ignored and they take advantage every way they can, spreading the attitude beyond their boundaries like water splashing out of a fountain.  It leads to violence and theft and people are constantly complaining about what has been done to them.  If they don’t listen, God will turn his back on them and allow total destruction, leaving the land unoccupied. 

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets.  To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.” (Jeremiah 6:9-10)

When God sends their enemies against them, they will be a thorough as a grape picker, making sure they get all the grapes, even going back to check the vines they have already picked.  Unfortunately Jerusalem isn’t listening, and there is no one who seems interested,  They are so caught up in what they are doing that they refuse to listen to the warnings, getting angry at those who try to tell them. 

“Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.  And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD. Jer 6:13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.  They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 6:11-14)

Because they refuse to listen at all, attacking him when he tries to warn them, God is now angry at them, and tired of holding in his frustration.  He’s going to allow it all to come out, and everyone from the children who are out playing and the college students will feel the results.  Both families and the elderly will be killed or lose their homes and their businesses and marriages destroyed.  God will cause them to suffer because they have been so greedy that even the religious leaders cannot be trusted, although they have tried to make people feel better by telling them it’s okay and they don’t need to worry about it. 

 

“Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.  Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.” (Jeremiah 6:15-16)

They are not ashamed of their sin or embarrassed at being caught but flaunt as if it was something to be proud of.  As a result, they will be destroyed along with other wicked people, losing their prestige when God comes in judgment.  If they would just step back and look at what is happening, and go back to old ways, doing what is right, they would find peace and satisfaction, but they have refused to do those things. 

“Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.  Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.  Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.” (Jeremiah 6:17-19)

God sent prophets and teachers among them to remind them to listen to the warnings, but they said they didn’t want to know and weren’t going to pay any attention to them.   Other nations and those among them who care should listen and see what they are doing so they understand what He is going to do.  Terrible things are going to happen to them, but they are the natural results of the attitudes and actions they have chosen, refusing to listen to God’s word and ignoring his laws and principles. 

“To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.  Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.” (Jeremiah 6:20-21)

What value is there in offerings of sweet incense and sugar cane from exotic places?  It is like an unfaithful husband bringing his wife a bottle of perfume or a box of candy to try to appease her, while refusing to stop seeing the other woman.   It is insulting for him to imply what he has done is that unimportant.  It was insulting to God for the Jews to go completely against Him, then try to appease Him with such meaningless gifts.    They are not acceptable.  God is going to cause situations to arise where they might stumble or fall, and observe what happens.  When they do he will use the actions against them to destroy them, like a woman who caught her husband in another affair.