Jeremiah 11 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Jeremiah 11

The Broken Covenant

11:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.”

6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.”

9 Again the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal.

14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The LORD once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.’ But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.”

18   The LORD made it known to me and I knew;
    then you showed me their deeds.
19   But I was like a gentle lamb
    led to the slaughter.
  I did not know it was against me
    they devised schemes, saying,
  “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
    let us cut him off from the land of the living,
    that his name be remembered no more.”
20   But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,
    who tests the heart and the mind,
  let me see your vengeance upon them,
    for to you have I committed my cause.

21 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand”—22 therefore thus says 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, 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.”

Commentary

v1-2: The covenant remembered, the two-way agreement; the Lord promised to bless, and Israel promised to obey.

v3: The curse was part of the original covenant. If the people failed to obey, they would be cursed. See, for example, Deuteronomy 28. King Josiah had re-stated the covenant before the people, 2 Kings 23.2-3; perhaps Jeremiah is here underlining the importance of obedience to all that God had said.

v4: Deliverance from Egypt brought the people into relationship with God; and the emphasis of that relationship was obedience, see 7.22-23. But Israel's obedience would bring abundant blessings, "You will be my people, and I will be your God."

v5: God's part of the promise included bringing the people into the promised land, the land flowing with milk and honey. Even as Jeremiah spoke, the people were living in the good of that. The Lord God had planted the people there, see v17.

v6-7: The message of Jeremiah challenged the people to re-enter the covenant with God. By this means their persistent disobedience would be ended.

v8: Even in their early years following the exodus from Egypt, the people had begun to disobey. God had punished them then. He here reminded them that judgment was always part of the covenant. He had brought them into the land, in fulfilment of His promise, and He would punish them also in fulfilment of His promise.

v9-10: The conspiracy among the people, their deliberate decision to return to past sins.

v11-12: Their prayers would not be answered. The true God would refuse to listen to them. The false gods were unable to listen to them.

v13: The multitude of idols, as in 2.28.

v14: Even Jeremiah was commanded not to pray for the people. The judgment announced could not be averted.

v15: The people were committed to evil, planning evil schemes, rejoicing in evil; contrast 1 Cor 13.6.

v16: The olive tree of Israel, previously beautiful and thriving, but now about to be burned and broken.

v17: Idolatry is evil, 'which they have done against themselves' (RAV). Sin dishonours God, and it depraves people.

v18-23: The plot against Jeremiah. He met opposition because he proclaimed God's word. The people devised schemes to silence him. There are a series of complaints that Jeremiah brings before God; 15.10-21; 17.14-18; 18.18-23; and 20.7-18.

v18: The Lord revealed their scheme to him, to protect him, and to allow him to escape.

v19: It seems that Jeremiah, in his innocence, was ignorant of their schemes. They had planned to destroy him, so that his message would be silenced.

v20: Jeremiah invited the Lord to vindicate His Name, and show His righteousness. His confidence was in the God of perfect righteousness, who searches heart and mind.

v21-23: The men were in Anathoth, where Jeremiah lived (1.1; Josh 21.18). The promised remnant would not include them, for all would bear their guilt and sins. It is thought that the people of Anathoth were descendants of Abiathar, who was dismissed as priest by Solomon (1 Kings 2.26-27).