Jer 28:1

Jer 28: “It is inevitable that faithful servants of the Deity will be challenged by those of a different persuasion. It has always been since Cain killed Abel. Jeremiah experienced similar things, when his prophecy was challenged by a foremost member of the order: Hananiah. The name Hananiah means ‘Yah is gracious’, but his opposition to Jeremiah indicated a perversion of the meaning of the name. It was a sad moment for the remnant in Jerusalem, as this leader stood against the prophet. So the record presents: [1] Hananiah’s false prophecy: vv 1-4. The encounter dramatically took place in the temple before a large concourse of people. [2] Jeremiah’s spirited reply: Time will test the matter: vv 5-9. [3] Hananiah’s symbolic action, in breaking the wooden yoke: vv 10,11. [4] An answer: Wooden yokes would be replaced with iron: vv 12-14. Hananiah’s false teaching would cause an attitude of mind among the people as to bring upon them even more severe punishments. That results from the dissemination of false teaching in every age. [5] Hananiah’s death is predicted: vv 15-17. He had accepted the test of Deu 18:22, and imposed a short time limit. It is taken up by Jeremiah who frankly states that Hananiah is a false prophet and would die as such within the space of a few months. And so it came to pass. Significantly, he died in the very month of Atonement. His sins were not forgiven, as he spoke blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” (GEM).

Jer 28:13

Vv 13,14: The Jews might throw off the wooden yoke, but they would not be benefited by the change; in fact, much the reverse! There is a general principle here. Whenever men say of God and His Anointed, “Let us break their chains… and throw off their fetters” (Psa 2:3), they may do so if they please; but instead of the yokes of wood they will be sure to get yokes of iron. If they will not submit to the government of Christ, they will have to submit to the tyranny of Sin (Rom 6:16,17,20,23). All men have to wear some yoke, and serve some master, and if they reject the easy yoke of Christ (Mat 11:30), then there will be made for them yokes of iron, which they shall neither be able to bear nor cast off.

Jer 28:17

IN THE SEVENTH MONTH: 2 months after v 1.

Jer 29:1

Jer 29: “It was important that a message be received by the exiles taken to Babylon in the captivity of Jehoichin, so that they might understand the true nature of their circumstances. Those exiles were in a similar position to the believers of today — separated from their true homeland, and dwelling in the country of the Gentiles. Many might have considered that the day of release was at hand, and keenly anticipated a return to Jerusalem. But Jeremiah’s letter confirmed that the desolation of Jerusalem would continue for a long period. Many of the captives would not see the return, though the following generation would. It is therefore an important communication, similar to that of the apostle Paul to the Thessalonians (2Th 2). Jeremiah first outlines: [1] An introduction: vv 1-3. Then an appeal: [2] “Seek the peace of Babylon, for the captivity will be long”: vv 4-7. A warning: [3] Be not deluded by false prophets: vv 8,9. An exposition: [4] In Yahweh’s love the captivity is limited to seventy years: vv 10-14. A comment about the signs of the times: [5] Further trouble impending for Jerusalem: vv 15-19. A second letter: [6] Denunciation against Ahab and Zedekiah: vv 20-23. [7] Indictment against Shemaiah: vv 24-29. [8] Fate of the apostate Shemaiah: vv 30-32.

The 70 years captivity involved 3 ‘captivities’ by Nebuchadnezzar. In Jer 25:11 it is apparently dated from the servitude in the 4th year of Jehoiakim, being the 1st year of Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 25:1). The captivity is dated by Ezekiel as commencing in the 8th year of Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 1:1-2). The desolation commenced with the invasion and destruction of the temple in 18th year of Nebuchadnezzar (2Ch 36:21)” (GEM).

Jer 29:10

See Lesson, 70 years captivity.

Jer 29:11

PROSPER: Heb “shalom”.

Jer 29:13

WITH ALL YOUR HEART: See Lesson, Prov and the heart.

Jer 26:2

STAND IN THE COURTYARD OF THE LORD’S HOUSE: “Now, at the beginning of this new reign, with the nation thoroughly under the thumb of Egypt, Jeremiah was directed to issue a solemn warning and make an eloquent appeal to the nation — to the common people and rulers alike. It was to be his most public reminder of the authority of the Lord his God. It may even have been on coronation day when this great open-air meeting was held in the temple court. It may also have been on one of the Feasts of the Lord, for people out of all the cities of Judah were there ‘to worship in the Lord’s house.’ The pattern of religious observance re-asserted by Josiah still continued; but the character of Jeremiah’s denunciations shows that now it was mere formality” (WJer 58).

(NT) “Go, stand in the temple courts, and tell the people the full message of this new life” (Act 5:20).

Jer 26:8

A similar public meeting was attempted by Zechariah son of Jehoiada, also failing (2Ch 24:21).

Jer 27:1

Jer 27: “This chapter contains a prophecy of the subjection of the king of Judah, with five neighbouring kings, to the king of Babylon; signified by bonds and yokes on the prophet’s neck, which they are exhorted patiently to bear, as being most for their good; and not to give heed to false prophets, who would persuade them to the contrary: [1] The order to make the yokes, and send them to the several neighbouring princes by their messengers at Jerusalem: vv 2,3; [2] What they should say to their masters from the God of Israel, who is described from his power in the creation of the earth, and the disposal of it: vv 4,5; [3] …as that he had given all their lands into the hand of the king of Babylon, whom they should serve, or it would be worse for them: vv 6-8; [4] And therefore they should not hearken to their prophets, who prophesied lies; if they did, it would be to their hurt; whereas, if they quietly submitted, they would dwell in their own land: vv 9-11; [5] Particularly Zedekiah king of Judah is exhorted to submit; and both he, and the priests and the people, are advised not to hearken to the false prophets: vv 12-15; [6] Particularly as to what they said concerning the speedy return of the vessels of the temple, which were carried away to Babylon; but might assure themselves they should remain there; and the rest also should be taken, and not returned until the end of the seventy years: vv 16-22” (Gill).

Jer 24:7

I WILL GIVE THEM A HEART TO KNOW ME, THAT I AM THE LORD: Or “Yahweh”. But this does not simply mean that the righteous or the favored will be led by God to know that there IS a God. Any man possessed of reason may know that there is a Supreme Being, who created all things and preserves the universe in existence. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the evidence of divine skill and power are so abundant that “God’s invisible qualities… have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Rom 1:20). No, the knowledge intended here is much deeper than that which comes from observation, and only affects the intellect. To know that there is a God is a first step, which many men have taken. The verse goes beyond that, to promise that the favored ones shall know that God to be… Yahweh. He leads men to see that the God revealed in Scripture, and manifested in the person of the Lord Jesus, is the God who made heaven and earth.

Man fashions for himself a “god” after his own liking; perhaps out of wood or stone, or perhaps out of his own consciousness, or his cultured thought, a deity made to order, who will not be too severe with his iniquities or deal out strict justice to the wicked. He rejects God as He is, and develops other “gods” as he thinks they ought to be, and he says concerning these works of his own imagination, “These are your gods, O Israel.”

But those who are truly instructed by God’s word learn that Yahweh is God, and beside Him there is none else. The God of heaven and earth is the God of the Bible, a God whose attributes are completely balanced, mercy attended by justice, love accompanied by holiness, grace manifested in truth, and power linked with tenderness. He is not a God who overlooks sin, much less is pleased with it, as the gods of the heathen are supposed to be, but a God who cannot look upon iniquity, and will by no means spare the guilty. This is the great quarrel between the philosopher and the Bible believer. The philosopher says, “MY god must be of such a character as I now dogmatically declare him to be”; but the believer replies, “No, our business is not to invent a god, but to obey the One who is revealed in the Scriptures of truth.”

The God of the Bible is love, of course; but He is also possessed of justice and severity; He is merciful and gracious, but He is also stern and terrible towards evil; therefore unrepentant hearts say, “We cannot accept such a God as this,” and they call him cruel. In doing so they make themselves idolaters — even if they set up no graven images — for they set up another god and forsake the true God.

The Lord teaches his people that he is Yahweh, who brought Israel up out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage: the Yahweh who smote Pharaoh with plagues, and drowned his army in the Red Sea, the Yahweh who led his people through the wilderness, but cast out their enemies from before them with a strong hand and an outstretched arm; the Yahweh who redeemed His people, but chastened them for their iniquities and took vengeance upon their idolatries. The God of Sinai is exactly the same God as the God of Jesus. ‘I am Yahweh your God, and I stand alone.’ When man is content to believe in this God as He has revealed Himself, and no longer goes about to fashion a deity for himself according to his own desires and notions, then he is well on his way to the Kingdom of God.

Jer 25:9

SURROUNDING NATIONS: See Lesson, Nations “round about”.

Jer 25:11

SEVENTY YEARS: Approx 606 BC (Nebuchadnezzar’s 2nd year: Dan 2:1) to 536 BC (Cyrus’ 1st year alone: decree to rebuild temple: Ezr 1:1). See Lesson, 70 years captivity.

Jer 25:12

ARE FULFILLED: While the land enjoys its sabbaths (1/7 of the approx 490 years Israel was in the Land) which had previously been ignored by Israel (Lev 26:34,35).

Jer 25:20

FOREIGN: Heb “ereb” = “mixed”, with special ref to Arab peoples (see Lesson, Arab/”mixed”). Also in v 24.

PHILISTINES: See Lesson, Philistia in prophecy.

There were 5 major Philistine cities (1Sa 6:17; Josh 13:3), but in later days the prophets carefully leave Gath out of the picture (Amo 1:6-8; Zep 2:4; Jer 25:20; Zec 9:5,6). Why? Uzziah, in his war against the Philistines, smashed up Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod (2Ch 26:6). The last of these was evidently strategic enough to warrant rebuilding (Isa 20:1), but the other two disappeared from history — and from prophecy also.

Jer 25:24

FOREIGN: Heb “ereb” = “mixed”, with special ref to Arab peoples (see Lesson, Arab/”mixed”). Also in v 20.

Jer 25:26

SHESHACH: A cryptogram for “Babel”, or Babylon. The method used is a simple code in which each letter is replaced by its counterpart marked off from the other end of the alphabet. Thus, in English, BAD becomes YZW. (The same code is used in Jer 51:1,41 also.)

Jer 23:6

THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS: Yahweh Tzidkenu, in ct to the current king, Zedekiah (Tzedek-yahu). Which was the true “LORD of righteousness”?

Jer 23:7

NO LONGER SAY… BUT WILL SAY (v 8)…: That is, “no longer ONLY say… but will ALSO say…”

Jer 23:15

I WILL MAKE THEM… DRINK POISONED WATER: Is this the real reason Jesus refused the drink of wine mixed with gall on the cross (Mat 27:34) — because such a drink might “identify” him as a false prophet?

Jer 23:20

IN DAYS TO COME YOU WILL UNDERSTAND IT CLEARLY: Only when it is too late will you really understand!

Jer 23:24

All is clearly visible to God: Psa 139:1-12; Heb 4:12,13; Amo 9:2,3.

Jer 23:29

FIRE… AND… A HAMMER: By the fire, God melts the hard metal, softens it, and subdues it. Then He may take it out of the fire, and with hammer upon anvil He pounds and shapes the softened metal into a fit instrument for His use.

Jer 23:33

WHAT IS THE ORACLE OF THE LORD?: Spoken in a tired and irritable manner: ‘What ELSE do we have to do?’ Kicking against the pricks.

I WILL FORSAKE YOU: When God ceased to chastise man, then that man has become illegitimate and no longer a son (Heb 12:8).

Jer 21:5

The very powers exercised on Israel’s behalf in days gone by (Deu 4:34; 5:15; 26:8) were now to be turned against them.

Contrast Jeremiah’s firmness of conviction, here, with his timidity in Jer 1, and his bitterness of spirit in Jer 20:14.

Jer 21:12

EVERY MORNING: Manna given (Exo 16:21). Fire on the altar (Lev 6:12). Incense offered (Exo 30:7). Praise offered (1Ch 23:30). Service offered (1Ch 9:27). Sacrifice presented (2Ch 2:4; 13:11). God visits (Job 7:18). God is their arm (Isa 33:2). His compassions new (Lam 3:23). The Philistines present themselves (1Sa 17:16). God silences the wicked (Psa 101:8). Judgment (Zep 3:5). Administer justice (here).

Jer 22:1

Jer 22: “Jehoahaz, king of Judah, was warned of the folly of his action. Jeremiah was sent to the palace of the king, to tell him of the determination of Yahweh to provide a king after His own heart. So the king is warned (vv 1-5). His high position of authority required of him a responsibility he was not prepared to present. As a result of his laxity in the matter of righteousness, Yahweh also warned the people (vv 6-9). The curse of the covenant would fall heavily upon both king and people. There is expressed a lamentation for the decease of Jehoahaz (vv 10-13). But he typified the nation, and was led from glory to banishment and obscurity, and to a fate worse than death. He is adversely compared with Josiah and his ignominious death foretold (vv 13-19). Despite the calamitous conditions of the times, the king wanted the public resources in building an elaborate palace, opposing the workmen in so doing. Jeremiah declared that Jerusalem would be bereft (vv 20-22). All the verbs in v 20 is in the feminine gender, indicating Jerusalem is referred to. Lebanon is symbol of glory and exaltation. Then is described Coniah’s fate (vv 23-30). He is also known as Jehoichin, and the shortening of his name by Jeremiah suggests the cutting off of his rulership. He ruled only three months, indicative of the impending judgment against Jerusalem” (GEM).

Jer 22:5

“Look, your house is left to you desolate” (Mat 23:38).

Jer 22:6

An allusion to Solomon’s “house of the forest of Lebanon” (1Ki 7:2), which became the armory of Jerusalem. Cp also Jer 22:23; Isa 2:13; 10:34; Eze 17:3.

Jer 22:8

Is not the sight of a city in ruins always a source of pathetic interest? As we wander about the silent streets of Pompeii the stillness of death is appalling by contrast with the tumult of pleasure and commerce which formerly filled those once busy markets and squares. Such a melancholy spectacle provokes thought and inquiry. It was while seated among the ruins of the Capitol in Rome that Gibbon first thought of writing the history of the decline and fall of Roman Empire. The magnificent ruins of Carnac and of Persepolis naturally lead us to ask how prosperity and power came to pass away from Persia and Egypt. So must it have been in ancient times with the ruins of Jerusalem. Jeremiah warns the citizens that their city, now brilliant in splendor and prosperity, will soon astonish all beholders with its overthrow.

“I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said — ‘Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert… Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, the heart that fed; And on the pedestal, these words appear: “My name is Ozymandius, King of Kings, Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!” Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away'” (Percy Shelley).

Jer 22:15

TO HAVE MORE AND MORE CEDAR: Thinking to wrap oneself up in that which is incorruptible!

Jer 22:19

OUTSIDE THE GATES OF JERUSALEM: Prob into the valley of Hinnom… Gehenna.

Jer 22:23

See v 6n.

Jer 22:28

A DESPISED, BROKEN POT: “Then break the jar while those who go with you are watching, and say to them, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired’ ” (Jer 19:10,11).

Jer 22:30

Yet Jeconiah (Mat 1:12) is listed in Joseph’s genealogy in Matthew. Perhaps this really means: “No IMMEDIATE descendant of Jeconiah will sit on David’s throne… UNTIL the righteous branch of David finally comes” (cp Jer 23:5,6).

In a similar vein, Ezekiel says that David’s throne will become a ruin, and will be no more, UNTIL he finally comes “whose right it is” (Eze 21:27).

Jer 19:10

THEN BREAK THE JAR: In the Near East, it is still the practice to break a jar near a person who has done wrong to one and voice the hope that he will be similarly broken. The Egyptian practice of writing on clay vessels the names of enemies and breaking them at a sacred place has been suggested as a parallel. Such action was intended to bring about the downfall of the enemies.

So Jeremiah vividly portrayed the fate of the nation. The thrust of this acted oracle was to show the irrevocability of the nation’s ruin. The Israelites knew of no way to mend a broken jar, which could only be thrown away. So Judah will be rejected because she failed to repent. There is a clear distinction between the acted oracle in this chapter and that of the potter’s house [Jer 18:1-4]. Soft, malleable clay can be shaped and reshaped, but broken jars are worthless, and must be thrown away.