©1997 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
source of spiritual salvation and sustenance (cf. 17:8; Ps. 36:9; John 4:14). Second, Israel turned to idolatrous objects of trust; Jeremiah compared these with underground water storage devices for rainwater, which were broken and let water seep out, thus proving useless.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 2:14 How is it that a people under God's special care are left at the mercy of an enemy, like a worthless slave?
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 2:15 lions. The figure represents invading soldiers that burned cities (cf. 4:7), perhaps a reference to the disaster from the Babylonians during Jehoiakim's fourth year, and again three years later when he relied on Egypt (cf. 20:4; 46:2; 2 Kings 24:1–2).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 2:16 Memphis . . . Tahpanhes. These two cities in Egypt stood for the country itself.
Major Trials of Jeremiah
Major Trials of Jeremiah 1. Trial By Death Threats (11:18–23) 2. Trial By Isolation (15:15–21) 3. Trial By Stocks (19:14–20:18) 4. Trial By Arrest (26:7–24) 5. Trial By Challenge (28:10–16) 6. Trial By Destruction (36:1–32) 7. Trial By Violence and Imprisonment (37:15) 8. Trial By Starvation (38:1–6) 9. Trial By Chains (40:1) 10. Trial By Rejection (42:1–43:4) ©1997 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 2:18 Dependence on alliances with Egypt and Assyria was part of national undoing, a source of shame (vv. 36–37).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 2:19 apostasy. Cf. 3:6, 8, 11–12, 14, 22; 8:5; 31:22; 49:4; Isa. 57:17; Hos. 11:7; 14:4. For clarification of the meaning, see note on Prov. 14:14.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 2:23 the Baals. An inclusive term referring collectively to
false deities. camel. The nation, in chasing other idols, is depicted as a female camel pursuing its instinct, and as a wild donkey in heat sniffing the wind to find a mate, craving to attract others of its kind. Other pictures of Israel are that of a thief, who is ashamed when exposed (v. 26), and that of a virgin or a bride who forgets what beautifies her (v. 32).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 3:1 If a man divorces. Such a man was not to take that woman as his wife again, for this would defile her (Deut. 24:4) and be a scandal. Jeremiah used this analogy to picture Israel as a harlot in the spiritual realm, with many lovers, i.e., nations (Jer. 2:18, 25) and idols (2:23–25; 3:2, 6–9). Yet, the Lord would graciously receive Israel or Judah back as his wife if she would repent (3:12–14).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 3:6 faithless. Also vv. 8, 11–12, 14. See note on Prov. 14:14.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 3:8 I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Though God hates divorce (Mal. 2:16), it is tolerated for unrepentant adultery (see notes on Matt. 5:32; 19:8–9), as indicated by this analogy of God's divorcing Israel for that continual sin in the spiritual realm. God had divorced Israel but not yet Judah (cf. Isa. 50:1). Cf. Ezra 10:3, where divorce is the right action of God's people to separate from idolatrous wives.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 3:14 I am your master. God pictured his covenant relationship with Israel as a marriage, and pleaded with mercy for Judah to repent and return. He will take her back. Cf. Hosea's restoration of Gomer as a picture of God taking back his wicked, adulterous people.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 3:15–18 In those days. When Israel repents (vv. 13–14, 22), which has not happened, but will in the millennial era of God's restoration that the prophets often describe (23:5–6; 30–33; Ezek. 36), God will bring these blessings: 1) shepherds to teach them the truth; 2) his own immediate presence on the throne in Jerusalem, not just the ark of his covenant; 3) allegiance even of Gentile nations; 4) righteousness; 5) genuineness in worship; 6) unity of Israel (north) and Judah (south) into one kingdom; and 7) reestablishment in their own Promised Land.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 3:19 set you among my sons. Here is a reference to adoption into God's family, when the people turn back from idols to
acknowledge him as "Father."
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 3:20 a treacherous wife leaves. Hosea had earlier used this same imagery (c. 755–710 B.C.). Thus God had given the divorce because the spiritual adultery was unrepentant. But when repentance comes, he will take Israel back (cf. 3:1). O . . . Israel. Since the irretrievable dispersion of Israel in the north (722 B.C.) Judah alone was left to be called by the name Israel, as Jeremiah sometimes chose to do (e.g., 3:20–23).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 4:3 Break up. Jeremiah appealed for a spiritual turnabout from sinful, wasteful lives. He pictured this as the plowing of ground, formerly hard and unproductive due to weeds, in order to make it useful for sowing (cf. Matt. 13:18–23).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 4:4 Circumcise. This surgery (Gen. 17:10–14) was to cut away flesh that could hold disease in its folds and could pass the disease on to wives. It was important for the preservation of God's people physically. But it was also a symbol of the need for the heart to be cleansed from sin's deadly disease. The really essential surgery needed to happen on the inside, where God calls for taking away fleshly things that keep the heart from being spiritually devoted to him and from true faith in him and his will. Jeremiah later expanded on this theme (Jer. 31:31–34; cf. Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Rom. 2:29). God selected the reproductive organ as the location of the symbol for man's need of cleansing for sin, because it is the instrument most indicative of his depravity, since by it he reproduces generations of sinners.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 4:6–7 disaster from the north. This evil is Babylon's army, which would invade from that direction. The "lion" on the prowl fit Babylon because of its conquering power, and Babylon was symbolized by the winged lions guarding its royal court. Babylon is later identified in 20:4. Many details in ch. 4 graphically depict warriors in conquest (vv. 7, 13, 29).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 4:10 deceived. Like Habakkuk (1:12–17), Jeremiah was horrified at these words of judgment, contrasting the prevailing hope of peace. God is sometimes described as if doing a thing he merely permits, such as allowing false prophets who delude themselves to also deceive a sinful people into thinking peace would follow (cf. Jer. 6:14; 8:11; 1 Kings 22:21–24). God sees how people insist on their delusions, and lets it happen.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 4:14 wash. Jeremiah continued to appeal for a dealing with sin so that national destruction might be averted (v. 20), while there was still time to repent (cf. chs. 7; 26).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 4:22 'wise'—in doing evil! Israelites were wise or clever in doing evil but were dull in knowing to do the good, i.e., God's will. Paul, applying the principle but turning it to the positive, wanted the believers at Rome to be wise to do good but unlearned in the skill of doing evil (Rom. 16:19).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 4:23 without form. Jeremiah may be borrowing the language, but the description in its context is not of creation in Gen. 1:2, but of judgment on the land of Israel and its cities (Jer. 4:20). The invader left it desolate of the previous form and void of inhabitants due to slaying and flight (v. 25). The heavens gave no light, possibly due to smoke from fires that were destroying cities (vv. 7, 20).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 5:1 find a man. The city was too sinful to have even one man who, by truth and justice, could qualify to be an advocate to secure pardon for Judah. Refusal to repent was the norm (v. 3) for the common people (v. 4) and for the leaders (v. 5).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 5:6 lion. Three animals that tear and eat their victims represented the invader: the lion (see note on 4:6–7), the wolf, and the leopard, picturing vicious judgment on both poor (5:4) and great (v. 5).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 5:7 adultery. Often the idea of adultery is figurative for idolatry or political alliances (see note on 3:1), but the language here refers to physical adultery by men seeking out a prostitute or going to neighbors' wives (5:8), thus violating the seventh commandment (Ex. 20:14).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 5:10 not the Lord's. The people, depicted as vine branches to be destroyed (cf. 11:16–17), did not genuinely know the Lord in a saving relationship, but had forsaken him and given allegiance to other gods. The description of having eyes but not seeing, and ears but not hearing (5:21) is used by Isaiah (Isa. 6:9) and Jesus Christ (Matt. 13:13) for such false professors as these branches. Jesus also referred to false branches in John 15:2, 6 which were burned.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 5:14 my words . . . fire. The judgment of Judah prophesied in God's word by Jeremiah will bring destruction, but not elimination (v. 18), to
the nation, cf. 23:29.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 5:22 sand . . . for the sea. God's providential acts in the natural world such as 1) creating the seashore to prevent flooding, 2) giving rain at the appropriate times (v. 24), and 3) providing time for harvest (v. 24) are witness enough to the Lord's reality and grace. As the nation turns away from God, he will take these unappreciated gifts away (v. 25).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 5:31 prophesy falsely. These included prophets with bogus messages, priests who asserted their own authority, and also followers who indulged such falseness. All are guilty before God.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 6:1 Tekoa . . . Beth-haccherem. Tekoa, the home of Amos, is 6 miles south of Bethlehem. The location of Beth-haccherem ("vineyard house") is unknown, but probably near Tekoa. As the enemy came from the north, the people would flee south. north. See note on 4:6–7.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 6:3 Shepherds. These were hostile leaders of the invading Babylonians, whose soldiers were compared with flocks.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 6:6 Cut down her trees. A besieging tactic is described in which trees were used to build up ramps against the city walls.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 6:9 glean thoroughly. Unlike the benevolent practice of leaving food in the field for the poor to glean (Lev. 19:9–10; Ruth 2:5–18), the Babylonians will leave no one when they "harvest" Judah.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 6:14 Peace, peace. Wicked leaders among the prophets and priests (v. 13) proclaimed peace falsely and gave weak and brief comfort. They provided no true healing from the spiritual wound, not having discernment to deal with the sin and its effects (v. 15). The need was to return to obedience (v. 16). Cf. 8:11.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 6:16 Here is the image of travelers who are lost, stopping to inquire about the right way they once knew before they wandered so far off it.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 6:17 watchmen. Prophets.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 6:20 not acceptable. Using imported fragrances in their offerings did not make them sweetly acceptable to God when the worshipers
rejected his word (v. 19).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 6:21 stumbling blocks. Cf. Isa. 8:14; Matt. 21:44; 1 Pet. 2:8.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 6:22–23 A description of the Babylonians.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 6:27–30 I have made you. God placed Jeremiah as a kind of assayer to test the people's obedience. He also was a "tester" who works with metals. Their sin prevented them from being pure silver, but rather they were bronze, iron, lead, even impure silver, so that they failed the test.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 7:1 The word that came. This was Jeremiah's first temple sermon (v. 2); another is found in ch. 26. God was aroused against the sins he names (7:6, 19), especially at his temple becoming a den of robbers (v. 11). The point of this message, however, was that if Israel would repent, even at this late hour, God would still keep the conqueror from coming (vv. 3, 7). They must reject lies such as the false hope that peace is certain, based on the reasoning that the Lord would never bring calamity on his own temple (v. 4). They must turn from their sins (v. 3, 5, 9), and end their hypocrisy (v. 10).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 7:7 the land that I gave . . . forever. God refers to the unconditional element of the land promise in the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12; 15; 17; 22).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 7:12 Go . . . to . . . Shiloh. God calls them to return to Shiloh where the tabernacle dwelt along with the ark of the covenant. He permitted the Philistines to devastate that place (1 Sam. 4), and he is ready to do similarly with Jerusalem, the place of his temple (Jer. 7:13–14).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 7:13 persistently. This describes the daily ministry of the prophets (cf. v. 25) through whom God spoke.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 7:15 as I cast out . . . Ephraim. Ephraim represents the northern kingdom of Israel, since it was the leading tribe (cf. 2 Kings 17:23). As God exiled them to Assyria (c. 722 B.C.), though they were more in number and power, so he will do to the southern kingdom.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 7:16 do not pray. God told his spokesman not to pray for the people (cf. 11:14). He did not find Judah inclined to repent. Instead, he found
the glib use of self-deluding slogans, such as in 7:4, and flagrant idol worship in v. 18 from a people insistent on not hearing (v. 27; 19:15). Cf. 1 John 5:16.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 7:18 the queen of heaven. Cf. 44:17–19, 25. The Jews were worshiping Ishtar, an Assyrian and Babylonian goddess also called Ashtoreth and Astarte, the wife of Baal or Molech. Because these deities symbolized generative power, their worship involved prostitution.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 7:22 I did not . . . command. Bible writers sometimes use apparent negation to make a comparative emphasis. What God commanded his people at the exodus was not so much the offerings, as it was the heart obedience that prompted the offerings. See this comparative sense used elsewhere (Deut. 5:3; Hos. 6:6; 1 John 3:18).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 7:22–23 offerings . . . sacrifices . . . Obey. Here is a crucial emphasis on internal obedience. Cf. Josh. 1:8; 1 Sam. 15:22; Prov. 15:8; 21:3; Isa. 1:11–17; Hos. 6:6; Matt. 9:13.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 7:25 Cf. v. 13.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 7:29 Cut off your hair. This is a sign depicting God's cutting the nation off and casting them into exile. Ezekiel used a similar illustration by cutting his hair (Ezek. 5:1–4). God never casts away the genuinely saved from spiritual salvation (John 6:37; 10:28–29).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 7:31 burn their sons. Though God forbade this atrocity (Lev. 18:21; 20:2–5; Deut. 12:31), Israelites still offered babies as sacrifices at the high places of idol worship (Topheth) in the Valley of Hinnom (south end of Jerusalem). They offered them to the fire god Molech, under the delusion that this god would reward them. See note on Jer. 19:6.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 7:32 Valley of Slaughter. God renamed the place because great carnage would be forthcoming in the Babylonian invasion.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 8:1 bones . . . shall be brought out. Conquerors would ransack all the tombs to gain treasures and then humiliate the Jews by scattering the bones of the rich and honored in open spaces as a tribute to the superiority of their gods (v. 2).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 8:4 Jeremiah spoke of the natural instinct of one who falls,
to get up, and one who leaves, to return, but Judah did not possess this instinct.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 8:5 backsliding. See note on 2:19.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 8:7 The instinct of the migratory birds leads them with unfailing regularity to return every spring from their winter homes. But God's people will not return, though the winter of divine wrath is arriving.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 8:11 Cf. 4:10 and 6:14.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 8:16 Dan. The territory of this tribe was on the northern border of the land, where the invasion would begin and sweep south.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 8:17 sending . . . serpents. This is a figurative picture of the Babylonian victors.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 8:19 from the length and breadth of the land. This is the cry of the exiled Jews that will come after they are taken captive into Babylon. They will wonder why God would let this happen to his land and people.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 8:20–22 we are not saved. The coming devastation is compared with the hopeless anguish when harvest time has passed but people are still in desperate need. Jeremiah identified with his people's suffering (v. 21) as a man of tears (cf. 9:1), but saw a doom so pronounced that there was no remedy to soothe. There was no healing balm, the kind in abundance in Gilead (east of the Sea of Galilee), and no physician to cure (cf. Gen. 37:25; 43:11).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 9:1 waters . . . tears. Jeremiah cared so deeply that he longed for the relief of flooding tears or a place of retreat to be free of the burden of Judah's sins for a while.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 9:2 a travelers' lodging place. Simple square buildings with an open court were built in remote areas to accommodate caravans. Though it would be lonely and filthy in the wilderness, Jeremiah preferred it to Jerusalem so as to be removed from the moral pollution of the people, which he described in vv. 3–8.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 9:3 do not know me. See note on 5:10.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 9:15 bitter food . . . poisonous water. The Lord pictured
the awful suffering of the judgment as wormwood, which had very bitter leaves. Their food would be bitterness, and their water as foul as gall, a poisonous herb.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 9:22 How galling to the Jews to hear that their corpses will be trampled contemptuously.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 9:24 understands and knows me. Nothing but a true knowledge of God can save the nation. Paul refers to this passage twice (cf. 1 Cor. 1:31; 2 Cor. 10:17).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 9:26 Egypt . . . desert. A preview of God's judgment of the nations detailed in chs. 46–51. uncircumcised in heart. See note on 4:4.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 10:2 signs of the heavens. Gentiles worshiped celestial bodies, including the sun, moon, and stars.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 10:4 decorate. Idols were often carved from wood (v. 3) and ornamented with gold or silver (cf. v. 9). Some were molded from clay (Judg. 18:17; Isa. 42:17). The context points out the impossibility (Jer. 10:3–5) of such non-existent gods punishing or rewarding humans.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 10:7 King. God, who sovereignly created and controls all things (cf. vv. 12, 16; Deut. 4:35), is alone the eternal, living God (cf. Ps. 47; 145) worthy of trust. By contrast, earthly idols have to be fashioned by men (Jer. 10:9), and will perish (v. 15).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 10:9 Tarshish. Possibly a commercial port in southern Spain or on the island of Sardinia. Cf. Jonah 1:3. Uphaz. Location is uncertain.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 10:11–16 The true and living Creator God is again contrasted with dead idols.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 10:16 portion of Jacob. God is the all-sufficient source for his people (Num. 18:20), and he will not fail them as idols do (Jer. 11:12). Israel is the tribe of his inheritance. To this nation, God gave his inheritance in covenant love.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 10:20 My tent is destroyed. Jeremiah, using a nomadic metaphor, shifted into words that Israelites will speak when the invaders attack. They will feel despair and cry out over their homes being plundered and their children being killed or scattered to exile.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 10:23 the way of man is not in himself. Man is incapable of guiding his own life adequately. This prayer shifts to his need of God (Prov. 3:5–6; 16:9), who had a plan for Jeremiah before he was even born (Jer. 1:5).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 10:24–25 Jeremiah saw himself ("Correct me") in solidarity with his people (cf. Dan. 9:1ff.) and understood the nation must be punished, but desired some mercy and moderation; he prayed that God's full fury would be poured on the nations that induced the Jews into idolatry.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 11:2 this covenant. The reference is to God's covenant,
summarized in vv. 3–5, which promised curses for disobeying and blessings for obeying (cf. Deut. 27:26–28:68).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 11:4 the iron furnace. A metaphor for the hardship of Egyptian bondage hundreds of years earlier (cf. Ex. 1:8–14).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 11:9 A conspiracy. This refers to a deliberate resisting of God's appeals for repentance and an insistence upon trusting their own "peace" message and idols.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 11:13 Judah was so filled with idolatry that there were false deities for every city and a polluted altar on every street.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 11:14 do not pray. Cf. 7:16 and see note there. Their own prayers, as long as they rejected God, could not gain the answer they desired (11:11; Ps. 66:18), and the same was true of another's prayers for them.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 11:15 my beloved. A phrase showing God's sensitive regard for his relationship to Israel as a nation (cf. 2:2; 12:7). It does not carry the assumption, however, that every individual is spiritually saved (cf. 5:10a). vile deeds. Shameful idolatry that defiled all that befits true temple worship, such as the examples in Ezek. 8:6–13. These were gross violations of the first three commandments (cf. Ex. 20:2–7). sacrificial flesh. In some way, they corrupted the animal sacrifices by committing sin, which they enjoyed (cf. Jer. 7:10).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 11:16–17 green olive tree. Israel was pictured as a grapevine (2:21), then an olive tree meant to bear good fruit. However, they produced fruit that calls only for the fire of judgment (5:10).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 11:18–23 you showed me. Jeremiah's fellow townsmen from Anathoth, one of the 48 cities throughout the land dedicated to the Levites, plotted his death. Their words, "Let us destroy the tree," indicate their desire to silence Jeremiah by murder.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 11:20 let me see your vengeance. Jeremiah pleaded for God's defense on his behalf, actually guaranteed in 1:8, 18–19.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 12:1 Why . . . ? The issue of why the wicked escape for a time unscathed has often been raised by God's people (cf. Ps. 73; Hab. 1:2–4).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 12:3 Pull them out . . . for the slaughter. The prophet here turned from the sadness of pleading for his people to calling on God to punish them. Such imprecatory prayers are similar to prayers throughout the Psalms.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 12:4 He will not see our latter end. Here is the foolish idea that Jeremiah was wrong and didn't know how things would happen.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 12:5 If you have raced. The Lord replied to Jeremiah telling him that if he grew faint with lesser trials and felt like quitting, what would he do when the battle got even harder? thicket of the Jordan. The river in flood stage overflowed its banks into a plain that grew up as a thicket. The point is that Jeremiah needed to be ready to deal with tougher testings, pictured by the invader's overwhelming the land like a flood, or posing high danger as in the Jordan thicket where concealed wild animals could terrify a person.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 12:6 even your brothers. Jeremiah met antagonism not only from fellow townsmen (cf. 11:18–23 and see note there), but from his own family! He was separated from them (12:7).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 12:8 like a lion. Jeremiah's own people collectively are like a lion acting ferociously against him.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 12:9 birds of prey. God's people, speckled with sin and compromise, are opposed by other birds of prey, i.e., enemy nations.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 12:12 sword of the Lord. God's strength can be for defending (cf. 47:6; Judg. 7:20) or in this case, condemning. The Babylonians were God's sword doing his will.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 12:14 evil neighbors. Other nations that hurt Israel will, in their turn, also receive judgment from the Lord (cf. 9:26; 25:14–32; chs. 46–51).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 12:15 bring them again. God will restore his people to the land of Israel in a future millennial day, as indicated in chs. 30–33.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 13:1 a linen loincloth. One of several signs Jeremiah enacted to illustrate God's message (cf. Introduction involved putting on a linen waistband (generally the inner garment against the skin). This depicted Israel's close intimacy with God in the covenant, so that they could glorify him (v. 11). do not dip it in water. Signified the moral filth of the nation. Buried and
allowed time to rot (v. 7), the waistband pictured Israel as useless to God because of sin (v. 10). Hiding it by the Euphrates (v. 6) pointed to the land of Babylon, where God would exile Israel to deal with her pride (cf. v. 9).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 13:4 Euphrates. This refers literally to a site on the Euphrates River because: 1) the Euphrates is the area of exile (20:4); 2) "many days" fits the round trip of well over 1,000 miles (13:6); and 3) the ruining of the nation's pride (v. 9) relates to judgment by Babylon (vv. 10–11).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 13:12–14 Every jar. God pictured inhabitants of Israel in Babylon's invasion as jugs or skins of wine. As wine causes drunkenness, they will be dazed, stumbling in darkness (cf. v. 16), out of control, and victims of destruction (v. 14).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 13:16 Give glory to the Lord. Show by repentance and obedience to God that you respect his majesty.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 13:18 king . . . queen mother. Jehoiachin and Nehushta, c. 597 B.C. (cf. 22:24–26; 29:2; 2 Kings 24:8–17). Because the king was only 18 years old, she held the real power.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 13:19 wholly taken into exile. "All" and "wholly" do not require absolutely every individual, for Jeremiah elsewhere explains that some were to be slain and a remnant left in the land or fleeing to Egypt (chs. 39–44).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 13:23 Ethiopian . . . leopard. The vivid analogy assumes that sinners cannot change their sinful natures. Only God can change the heart (31:18, 31–34).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 13:26 lift up your skirts. This was done to shame captive women and prostitutes (cf. Nah. 3:5).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 13:27 adulteries and neighings. Refers to desire at an animal level, without conscience.
Object Lessons
Object Lessons The Linen Waistband (13:1–11)
The Vessel Marred and Remade (18:1–11) The Vessel Dashed upon the Rocks (19:10–11) Two Baskets of Figs (24:1–10) The Wooden and Iron Yokes (chs. 27–28) The Purchase of Land (32:6–44) The Stones in Egypt (43:8–10) ©1997 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 14:1 drought. Jeremiah seems to actually give the prophecy of this chapter during a drought in Judah (vv. 2–6).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 14:2 gates languish. The "gates" were the place of public concourse, which during drought and consequent famine were empty or occupied by mourners.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 14:7 O Lord. Jeremiah from 14:7–15:21 pursues a series of prayers in which he dialogues with the Lord, who hears and responds (as 1:7; 12:5–17, etc.). Five rounds or exchanges occur (14:7–12; 14:13–18; 14:19–15:9; 15:10–14; 15:15–21).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 14:7–9 our backslidings. The prophet confesses Judah's guilt but reminds God that his reputation is tied up with what happens to his people (vv. 7, 9). He asks that the Lord be not indifferent as a stranger or overnight visitor (v. 8).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 14:10–12 God responded in this first exchange that 1) he must judge Judah for chronic sinfulness, and 2) Jeremiah is not to pray for the sparing of Judah nor will he respond to their prayers since unrepentance must be punished (cf. 11:14, and see note there).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 14:13 the prophets say to them. Jeremiah seemed to put forth the excuse that the people cannot help it since the false prophets deluded them with lying assurances of peace.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 14:14–18 The excuse was not valid. These were deceits spawned from the prophets' lying hearts. The prophets would suffer for their own sins (vv. 14–15), but so would the people for their "wickedness" (vv. 16–18; 5:31).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 14:17 virgin daughter. Judah is so called, having never
before been under foreign bondage.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 14:18 the land and have no knowledge. Babylon.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 14:19–20 Have you utterly rejected Judah? Lest the Lord be casting Judah off forever, the prophet in deep contrition confesses the nation's sin (cf. Dan. 9:4ff.).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 14:21 your glorious throne. Jerusalem, place of the temple.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 15:1–9 It was ineffective at this point to intercede for the nation. Even prayers by Moses (cf. Num. 14:11–25) and Samuel (cf. 1 Sam. 12:19–25), eminent in intercession, would not defer judgment, where unrepentance persists (cf. Jer. 18:8; 26:3). Chief among things provoking judgment was the intense sin of King Manasseh (695–642 B.C.). Noted in Jer. 15:4., this provocation is recounted in 2 Kings 21:1–18, cf. 2 Kings 23:26, which says the Lord did not relent from his anger because of this (see also 2 Kings 24:3–4).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 15:6 I am weary of relenting. God often withholds the judgment he threatens (cf. 26:19; Ex. 32:14; 1 Chron. 21:15), sparing men so that his patience might lead them to repentance (cf. Rom. 2:4–5; 3:25).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 15:9 sun went down while it was yet day. Young mothers die in youth and their children are killed.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 15:10 Woe is me. Overcome by grief (cf. 9:1), Jeremiah wished that he had not been born (as 20:14–18). He had not been a bad or disagreeable creditor or debtor, either of whom kindle hatred. Yet his people cursed him, and he felt the sting.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 15:11–14 In the midst of judgment, the Lord promised protection for the obedient remnant in Judah (cf. Mal. 3:16–17). The Babylonians permitted some to stay in the land when they departed (Jer. 40:5–7). Jeremiah personally received kind treatment from the invader (40:1–6), and his enemies in Judah would later appeal to him (21:1–6; 37:3; 42:1–6). Ultimately, a band of renegade Judeans took Jeremiah to Egypt against God's will (cf. 43:1– 7).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 15:15–18 O Lord you know. Jeremiah, in a mood of selfpity, reminded the Lord of his faithfulness in bearing reproach, his love for his word, and his separation from evil men to stand alone.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 15:18 a deceitful brook. He asked that the Lord not fail him like a wadi that has dried up (v. 18). The answer to this concern is in 2:13 (the Lord is his fountain), 15:19–21, and 17:5–8.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 15:19 The Lord reprimanded Jeremiah for self-pity and impatience. He had to have the proper posture before God and repent. If he did so, he would discern true values ("utter what is precious," a figure drawn from removing pure metal from dross), and have the further privilege of being God's mouthpiece. Let sinners change to his values, but let him never compromise to theirs. As a man who is to assay and test others (6:27–30), he must first assay himself (cf. Moses, in Ex. 4:22–26).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 15:20–21 When Jeremiah repents, God will protect him (vv. 20–21, as 1:18–19).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 16:2 You shall not take a wife. Since destruction and exile are soon to fall on Judah, the prophet must not have a wife and family. God's kindness will keep him from anxiety over them in the awful situation of suffering and death (v. 4). Cf. 15:9 and 1 Cor. 7:26.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 16:5 house of mourning. This was a home where friends prepared a meal for a bereaved family. Don't mourn with them or rejoice, he is told (cf. v. 8).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 16:6 cut . . . make himself bald. These acts indicated extreme grief.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 16:10–13 Why . . . ? Jeremiah was to explain the reason for the judgment, i.e., their forsaking God and worshiping false gods (v. 11; 2:13). They would get their fill of idols in Babylon (16:13).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 16:14–15 no longer be said. In view of the Lord's promise of restoration from Babylon, the proof of God's redemptive power and faithfulness in the deliverance from Egypt would give way to a greater demonstration in the deliverance of his people from Babylon. That bondage was to be so severe that deliverance from Babylon was a greater relief than from
Egypt.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 16:15 all the countries. This reference is extensive enough to be fully realized only in the final gathering into Messiah's earthly kingdom.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 16:16 many fishers . . . hunters. These are references to Babylonian soldiers, who were doing God's judgment work (v. 17).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 16:18 doubly repay. The word for "doubly" signified "full or complete," a fitting punishment for such severe sins.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 16:19–21 The result of God's judgment on the Jews will be the end of idolatry; even some Gentiles, witnessing the severity, will renounce idols. After the return from Babylon, this was partly fulfilled as the Jews entirely and permanently renounced idols, and many Gentiles turned from their idols to Jehovah. However, the complete fulfillment will come in the final restoration of Israel (cf. Isa. 2:1–4; 49:6; 60:3).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 17:1 The sin of Judah. Reasons for the judgment (ch. 16) continue here: 1) idolatry (17:1–4), 2) relying on the flesh (v. 5), and 3) dishonesty in amassing wealth (v. 11). pen of iron. The names of idols were engraved on the horns of their altars with such a tool. The idea is that Judah's sin was permanent, etched in them as if into stone. How much different to have God's word written on the heart (31:33).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 17:3 mountains in the open country. Jerusalem in Judah.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 17:4 land . . . you do not know. Babylon.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 17:5–8 Cursed is the man. Jeremiah contrasted the person who experiences barrenness (vv. 5–6) with the one who receives blessing (vv. 7– 8). The difference in attitude is in "trust" placed in man or "trust" vested in the Lord (vv. 5, 7). And the contrast in vitality is between being like a parched dwarf juniper in the desert (v. 6) or a tree drawing sustenance from a stream to bear fruit (v. 8; cf. Ps. 1:1–3).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 17:10 I . . . search the heart. For the sin of man (vv. 1–4), for the barren man (vv. 5–6), or the blessed man (vv. 7–8), God is the final Judge and renders his judgment for their works (cf. Rev. 20:11–15). By him, actions are weighed (1 Sam. 2:3).