Truth and Consequences: A study in the prophecy of Jeremiah
Chapter 11
Lesson Eleven (of 52): Conspiracies happen
INTRODUCTION
Thanks friends for joining us today in this Scripture study. Let me say from the outset that you will not go out from here today singing the theme song. You won’t be smiling as if God is smiling on you, if all you know is this chapter we are reading and learning. If you haven’t yet read the chapter, for those on YouTube, please pause your playback and read it; it won’t take long, then rejoin us. Thanks.
Welcome back.
Today’s lesson contains warnings and a conspiracy or two. And who doesn’t like a good WHODUNNIT? Sherlock Holmes and January 6; vaccines and conspiracies, they are abundant just now, aren’t they?
The Point today is that our choices in regards to the covenant or to the prophet himself, those choices will impact us and our families for generations to come. And yes, it’s a corporate judgment, on individual Jewish people, but simultaneously, not necessarily consecutively. We’ll speak more about that in a few minutes.
Let’s get into the text.
1. God’s Word will not fail (.1-.8)
Chapter 11, verse 1. Hadavar. THE WORD. This section of judgment-to-come begins with the therapy, the remedy, the way out of it. The Word of God, from God to God’s people through God’s prophet. God’s DAVAR came and brought hope. It came to Jeremiah and reminded the people of the BRIS, the brit (Covenant). When you hear that word, what comes to mind? I’ll tell you that the people of Jeremiah’s day recognized it straightaway: It was the renewed covenant from Josiah’s renewal, the revival, some called it, and it was like the people under King Josiah had discovered a new thing, but it was simply the book of Deuteronomy! In that book, God reminded the Jewish people over and over, in fact 27 times the word Covenant is used, more than any other book in the Bible. If anything is the Book of the Covenant, it’s the book of Deuteronomy.
And what do we mean by covenant? A contract, an agreement, a working document to help us get along-- between us and our neighbour, between us and our God, between all people. It’s only words and words are all I have to take your love away. Thanks to the BeeGees we have that song. My friends, when I say “Hadavar” I mean that God is pointing Jeremiah and the people of Judah to what he has already declared. And the natural expectation of the Divine is for us to “SHEMA”, to listen. Look at this section, verse 2 “Hear”. Verse 3: “Cursed is the one who does not obey the words. Verse 4: “Listen to my voice”. Verse 6- hear the words. Verse 7- listen to my voice. This is an unmistakeable command and reminder. Covenant is about agreement with the One who speaks and we listen and obey.
What was Jeremiah’s response? “AMEN, Lord!” That’s a full-on “You betcha… I’m on board… I agree!”
Looking backwards, Jeremiah reminded the people that Egypt had been “an iron furnace” (verse 4)and is in direct contrast to the land flowing with milk and honey. (verse 5). Eretz zavat chalav u’d’vash. Even so, the people continually rejected God’s provision and sought pleasures and escape in Egypt and in the nations around Jerusalem.
When Josiah led the reformation at the beginning of Jeremiah’s ministry it was a match made in heaven, but unfortunately as is often the case, repentance was short-lived and brought a more severe judgment on the people of God. We thought our religion, our religious forms, our Temple, our priests and the way-things-had-always-been would suffice in making right with God, but our vision was small and our repentance was minimal.
Taking inventory of our lives—that’s a good thing to do. That would showcase to ourselves the penalty of sin, the sin itself, and the way out, too. What is the way out? It’s the Word of repentance. If only we had taken inventory of our spiritual tool kit and what God had said to us in the past about our future. Reviewing our life, in terms of covenant, means reflecting on the Sovereign and his desire to bless us (milk and honey), and to give us the land as a gift itself, and his capacity and power to make it all happen. Taking inventory also includes our failures and the reality of our wrong energies and practices.
Remember in the ‘tochacha’ section of Torah, both in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, there are blessings AND curses. Both are part of the review process. Maybe blessedness would motivate us to obey God, or maybe fear of judgment would help us to listen to God’s voice. Either way, we would succeed, but unfortunately, that was not to be.
What did God want to hear out of the people? Amen, Lord! Who said that? Only one man, one lone voice. Jeremiah the prophet.
Wright makes the point about this section that this is the paradox of the book of Deuteronomy itself. He says, “between God’s unconditional promise and saving action on the one hand, and the conditional nature of continued enjoyment of the fruit of God’s promise and action on the other. Israel had received the land because God had delivered them from Egypt and kept his promise to Abraham. That was a narrative of unconditional sovereign saving grace alone. Yet God calls for obedient listening to the terms of the covenant. Obedience would be, not the means of earning God’s salvation, but the means of continued living within the sphere of God’s covenant blessing that had already been granted by saving grace.” (page 143)
The words contain the history of the Jewish people. (vv 6-8) Especially verse 7. I told you, says the Lord, and I’m reminding you that I knew this would happen. I gave you warnings.
Look, when you drive your car and the oil light begins to shine, when your low tyre pressure light engages, when the petrol tank leans further towards the empty side—what will you do? Do you notice? Do you pull into a servo and deal with these things, one by one? How long will you dismiss the substantial warnings of Deuteronomy 28?
It was the people’s actions which determined their own destiny!
2. Facing the consequences (.9-17)
Our second section today is that the covenant they broke will produce true unavoidable results. See that in verse 11.
Therefore thus says the LORD, “Behold I am bringing disaster on them which they will not be able to escape; though they will cry to Me, yet I will not listen to them.
God’s promises are awesome. He will never leave us or forsake us. He will bring to completion that which we yield to him. He will fill us with his Spirit if we ask; he won’t give us a rock or a snake; he will give us his gifts. AND the promises of God’s justice are equally sure for those who know better and who disregard God’s statutes and regulations.
Be sure, Jeremiah says that if you will not listen (the 8th time in this chapter alone!) to the Voice of the Lord, he will have no choice but to engage his justice on you and demonstrate his own mercy towards Israel and towards the nations.
Remember we’ve said that when you turn away from one deity, you will invariably turn to another.
As soon as you nail one, of course, you are met with others that seem to overwhelm you. That’s what worshiping the wrong deities is like. As soon as you turn away from one deity, another one pops up and offers itself to you, and you give yourself to it, and then another pops up. You will simply not be able to keep up. Jeremiah says in verse 13, “For your gods are as many as your cities,”
Turn away from the Living God? You will turn to another, and at the end of the day, you will be the master of your own fate, the captain of your own soul. But there will be a price to pay, Jeremiah warns. In verses 12-13, he tells us that those gods to whom we turn will not save us in our time of troubles. The proof is in the pudding. They are impotent.
Jeremiah says he is told again not to pray for the people. This is radical and as Wright says it is an “agonizing finality.” This is unusual; I don’t ever remember hearing that from heaven, about a person, about a situation, about an enterprise. I HAVE thought that I should say an imprecatory prayer against some who damaged my family because of my faith, or who sent ruin into our ministry activity, but NEVER have I heard God warn me to NOT pray for the Jewish people. If I hear that one day, I won’t be surprised, but thankfully, that’s not what I’ve heard (so far).
Listen to verse 15, though, and see the tenderness of the term “my beloved” and again in description of “beautiful in fruit and form.” God may be judging his people, but he will ever keep remembering who they are to him. That actually increases his pain and sadness. Verse 17 says that the people are in the Temple, but offering sacrifices to Ba’al. What a shame!
3. Our final section today reminds us of the conspiracy of hating the prophet (.18-end)
You’ve heard a saying, “Don’t kill the messenger.” That relates to those who bring bad news to a person or a community. The treasurer of a club or association reports that in the 4th Quarter the company lost 34% of its earnings from the year and immediately the members at the AGM want to change treasurers! Some medical professional reports that Omicron or Delta had a negative influence on the town of Tamworth or Yass, causing the entire town to shut down, and straightaway there will be people calling for the end of the tenure of the Premier. Whom do you know that enjoys hearing bad news? I can tell you that I much prefer good news stories on the 6 o’clock evening news than the litany of motor accidents, shootings and troubles around the globe.
When Peter Overton on channel 9 reads the news, I don’t know if anyone thinks he is the cause of the problems. But maybe I’m unaware of some who want to ‘kill the messenger.’
Verse 18 and following, we read that God made known to Jeremiah the deeds of the Jewish people, and he who was reluctant in taking on the job of prophet, seems to be growing in it. He says in verse 19, “Like a lamb ‘led to the slaughter.’ Jeremiah felt he was being sacrificed. The death threats were on him, and he knew them.
A lamb of sacrifice. We as Jewish people were used to those as our Temple institution had significant operations related to animal sacrifices. Jeremiah’s father was a priest, which would have qualified him for that role as well. As such he would have been often around his dad as his father carried out the duties of slaying lambs and such. A slaughterhouse is a fascinating location to observe. Death puts life in perspective.
Here Jeremiah says that all those sacrificial lambs of his past remind him in this current setting that he is like one of those. He had no power to withstand. He was offering himself willingly, at the hands of less-than-honourable men.
Who are they?
Verse 19, they are unknown.
Verse 21 they are from his old village of Anathot.
Chapter 12 verse 6 tells us that they spoke nice things to him, but these were members of his own family. Ouch…those closest to you who reject you cause you the most pain. Didn’t Yeshua teach this as well? And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his hometown and in his own household.” (Matthew 13.57)
What caused this hatred? Josiah’s reformation had to do with removing of idols and if Jeremiah lined up with that activity, some of his own family would have lost their lucrative side-jobs. No wonder then that he was despised by those closest to him.
Remember, Jeremiah is systematically deconstructing the entire Jewish religion. This hostility from his family and neighbours is just another straw that will break the camel’s back. He has made declarations against the Torah, against the Temple, the Land, circumcision and now covenant. But it’s not so much he is opposed to those institutions, but rather against the people’s lazy and inconsistent ‘trust’ in these things. They used Temple and covenant as talismans to assure themselves that their wrong actions, their sins, would be found less in a world of good vs evil. They were trusting their religion to compensate for their sinful behaviour. No wonder Jeremiah found this so deplorable. No wonder the people yelled, “Do not prophecy” against them (verse 21) or we will kill you!
We will speak more fully next week about the justice system and Jeremiah’s call for justice, certainly in contrast to Yeshua’s call when they were both like a lamb led to slaughter. But for now, let’s ponder what God wants of you and me in these days. He wants us to have confidence in HIM, not in our religion or our talisman. He wants the rich man to boast in the Lord, not in his riches. He wants the wise man to boast in God, not in his wisdom. He wants you to walk with him today and tomorrow. Love him with all your heart and soul and strength. Covenant matters if we are honest. Surrender your life and your will to the care of God; he will not disappoint.
CONCLUSION
God is calling each of us to know him and to walk with him, today and throughout our days. Have you received Yeshua as your messiah and Lord? Have you renounced your sin, your idolatry, your forsaking God and given him First Place in your life? If not, please, do so now, just now, as we pray together. Use your own words, if you want, but yield, surrender, to the Lord of life.
PRAYER
Then please write us (admin@jewsforjesus.org.au) to tell us what you have just done, and we will send you literature and encourage you. You are part of our family; we love and appreciate you. And we want you to enjoy the presence of the Lord who calls, who knows, who blesses and builds us up.
We hope to see you again next week as we study chapter 12. Until then, Shabbat shalom!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barnes, Albert, Albert Barnes’ Commentary on the Old Testament,
Craigie, Peter; Kelley, Page; Drinkard, Joel. Word Biblical Commentary. Book of Jeremiah. 1991.
Henry, Matthew, Commentary.
Weirsbe, Warren. Be Decisive. David Cook Publishers, Colorado Springs 1991.
Wright, Christopher, The Message of Jeremiah, The Bible Speaks Today, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014.
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ACTUAL TEXT
The Broken Covenant
11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 3 and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: “Cursed is the one who does not obey the words of this covenant 4 which I commanded your forefathers on the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, ‘Listen to My voice, and [a]do according to all that I command you; so you shall be My people, and I will be your God,’ 5 in order to confirm the oath which I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.”’” Then I replied, “Amen, Lord.”
6 And the Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers on the day I brought them up from the land of Egypt, even to this day, warning them persistently, saying, “Listen to My voice.” 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in the stubbornness of their evil heart, each one of them; therefore I brought on them all the words of this covenant which I commanded them to do, but they did not.’”
9 Then the Lord said to me, “A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the wrongdoings of their [b]ancestors who refused to hear My words, and they have followed other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers.” 11 Therefore this is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am bringing disaster on them which they will not be able to escape; though they will cry out to Me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they [c]burn incense, but they certainly will not save them in the time of their disaster. 13 For your gods are [d]as many as your cities, Judah; and [e]as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to the shameful thing, altars for [f]burning incense to Baal.
14 “So as for you, do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not listen when they call to Me because of their disaster.
15 What right has My beloved in My house
When she has carried out many evil schemes?
Can the sacrificial flesh take away from you your disaster,
[g]So that you can rejoice?”
16 The Lord named you
“A green olive tree, beautiful in fruit and form”;
With the noise of a great [h]tumult
He has set fire to it,
And its branches are worthless.
17 The Lord of armies, who planted you, has pronounced evil against you because of the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, which they have [i]done to provoke Me by [j]offering sacrifices to Baal.
Plots against Jeremiah
18 Moreover, the Lord made it known to me and I knew it;
Then You showed me their deeds.
19 But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter;
And I did not know that they had devised plots against me, saying,
“Let’s destroy the tree with its [k]fruit,
And let’s cut him off from the land of the living,
So that his name will no longer be remembered.”
20 But, Lord of armies, who judges righteously,
Who puts the [l]feelings and the heart to the test,
Let me see Your vengeance on them,
For to You I have [m]committed my cause.
21 Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the people of Anathoth, who are seeking your life, saying: “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, so that you do not die by our hand”; 22 therefore, this is what the Lord of armies says: “Behold, I am going to punish them! The young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine; 23 and a remnant will not be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth—the year of their punishment.”
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