JEREMIAH
The Prophets:
Jeremiah 1
FORWARD from Jamieson:
JEREMIAH, son of Hilkiah, one of the ordinary priests, dwelling in Anathoth of Benjamin ( Jeremiah 1:1 discovered the book of the law ( 2 Kings 22:8 designation would have been "the priest", or "the high priest". Besides, his residence at Anathoth shows that he belonged to the line of Abiathar, who was deposed from the high priesthood by Solomon ( 1 Kings 2:26-35 Mention occurs of Jeremiah in 2 Chronicles 35:25 ; 2 Chronicles 36:12 2 Chronicles 36:21 thirteenth year of King Josiah, while still very young ( Jeremiah 1:5 he received his prophetical call in Anathoth ( Jeremiah 1:2 with Hilkiah the high priest, the prophetess Huldah, and the prophet Zephaniah, he helped forward Josiah's reformation of religion ( 2 Kings 23:1-25 go and proclaim God(Elohim/Theos)'s message in Jerusalem ( Jeremiah 2:2 an official tour to announce to the cities of Judah the contents of the book of the law, found in the temple ( Jeremiah 11:6 call to prophesy. On his return to Anathoth, his countrymen, offended at his reproofs, conspired against his life. To escape their persecutions ( Jeremiah 11:21 ( Jeremiah 12:6 eighteen years of his ministry in Josiah's reign he was unmolested; also during the three months of Jehoahaz or Shallum's reign ( Jeremiah 22:10-12 Josiah's reformation effected nothing more than a forcible repression of idolatry and the establishment of the worship of God(Elohim/Theos) outwardly. The priests, prophets, and people then brought Jeremiah before the authorities, urging that he should be put to death for his denunciations of evil against the city ( Jeremiah 26:8-11 however, especially Ahikam, interposed in his behalf ( Jeremiah 26:16 Jeremiah 26:24 but he was put under restraint, or at least deemed it prudent not to appear in public. In the fourth year of Jehoiakim (606 B.C.), he was commanded to write the predictions given orally through him, and to read them to the people. Being "shut up", he could not himself go into the house of the LORD(Yahweh) ( Jeremiah 36:5 amanuensis, to read them in public on the fast day. The princes thereupon advised Baruch and Jeremiah to hide themselves from the king's displeasure. Meanwhile they read the roll to the king, who was so enraged that he cut it with a knife and threw it into the fire; at the same time giving orders for the apprehension of the prophet and Baruch. They escaped Jehoiakim's violence, which had already killed the prophet Urijah ( Jeremiah 26:20-23 additional prophecies, on another roll ( Jeremiah 36:27-32 three months' reign of Jehoiachin or Jeconiah, he prophesied the carrying away of the king and the queen mother ( Jeremiah 13:18 ; 22:24-30 compare 2 Kings 24:12 by Pashur ( Jeremiah 20:1-18 at Zedekiah's accession he was free ( Jeremiah 37:4 him to "inquire of the LORD(Yahweh)" when Nebuchadnezzar came up against Jerusalem ( Jeremiah 21:1-3 hearing of the approach of Pharaoh's army ( Jeremiah 37:5 warned the king that the Egyptians would forsake him, and the Chaldeans return and burn up the city ( Jeremiah 37:7 Jeremiah 37:8 this, made the departure of Jeremiah from the city during the respite a pretext for imprisoning him, on the allegation of his deserting to the Chaldeans ( Jeremiah 38:1-5 dungeon of Malchiah, but for the intercession of Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian ( Jeremiah 38:6-13 secret yet was induced by his princes to leave Jeremiah in prison ( Jeremiah 38:14-28 captain, Nebuzar-adan, to give him his freedom, so that he might either go to Babylon or stay with the remnant of his people as he chose. As a true patriot, notwithstanding the forty and a half years during which his country had repaid his services with neglect and persecution, he stayed with Gedaliah, the ruler appointed by Nebuchadnezzar over Judea ( Jeremiah 40:6 recognized ruler of the people, in fear of the Chaldeans avenging the murder of Gedaliah, fled with the people to Egypt, and forced Jeremiah and Baruch to accompany him, in spite of the prophet's warning that the people should perish if they went to Egypt, but be preserved by remaining in their land ( Jeremiah 41:1-43:13 city on the Tanitic or Pelustan branch of the Nile, he prophesied the overthrow of Egypt ( Jeremiah 43:8-13 According to the PSEUDO-EPIPHANIUS, he was stoned at Taphnæ or Tahpanhes. The Jews so venerated him that they believed he would rise from the dead and be the forerunner of Messiah ( Matthew 16:14
HAVERNICK observes that the combination of features in Jeremiah's character proves his divine mission; mild, timid, and susceptible of melancholy, yet intrepid in the discharge of his prophetic functions, not sparing the prince any more than the meanest of his subjects--the Spirit of prophecy controlling his natural temper and qualifying him for his hazardous undertaking, without doing violence to his individuality. Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Daniel, and Ezekiel were his contemporaries. The last forms a good contrast to Jeremiah, the Spirit in his case acting on a temperament as strongly marked by firmness as Jeremiah's was by shrinking and delicate sensitiveness. Ezekiel views the nation's sins as opposed to righteousness--Jeremiah, as productive of misery; the former takes the objective, the latter the subjective, view of the evils of the times. Jeremiah's style corresponds to his character: he is peculiarly marked by pathos, and sympathy with the wretched; his Lamentations illustrate this; the whole series of elegies has but one object--to express sorrow for his fallen country; yet the lights and images in which he presents this are so many, that the reader, so far from feeling it monotonous, is charmed with the variety of the plaintive strains throughout. The language is marked by Aramæisms, which probably was the ground of JEROME'S charge that the style is "rustic". LOWTH denies the charge and considers him in portions not inferior to Isaiah. His heaping of phrase on phrase, the repetition of stereotyped forms--and these often three times--are due to his affected feelings and to his desire to intensify the expression of them; he is at times more concise, energetic, and sublime, especially against foreign nations, and in the rhythmical parts.
The principle of the arrangement of his prophecies is hard to ascertain. The order of kings was--Josiah (under whom he prophesied eighteen years), Jehoahaz (three months), Jehoiakim (eleven years), Jeconiah (three months), Zedekiah (eleven years). But his prophecies under Josiah (the first through twentieth chapters) are immediately followed by a portion under Zedekiah (the twenty-first chapter). Again, Jeremiah 24:8-10 Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Jeconiah (the twenty-second, twenty-third, twenty-fifth chapters, &c.) So the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth chapters as to Jehoiakim, follow the twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, thirty-third, thirty-fourth chapters, as to Zedekiah; and the forty-fifth chapter, dated the fourth year of Jehoiakim, comes after predictions as to the Jews who fled to Egypt after the overthrow of Jerusalem. EWALD thinks the present arrangement substantially Jeremiah's own; the various portions are prefaced by the same formula, "The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD(Yahweh)" ( Jeremiah 7:1 ; 11:1 ; 18:1 Jeremiah 21:1 ; 25:1 ; 30:1 ; 32:1 ; Jeremiah 34:1 Jeremiah 34:8 ; 35:1 ; 40:1 ; 44:1 Jeremiah 14:1 ; 46:1 ; 47:1 ; 49:34 less historical ( Jeremiah 26:1 ; 27:1 ; 36:1 ; 37:1 distinct of themselves ( Jeremiah 29:1 ; 45:1 shorter introduction which marks the beginning of a strophe; the third chapter seems imperfect, having as the introduction merely "saying" ( Jeremiah 3:1 twenty-three sections divided into strophes of from seven to nine verses, marked some way thus, "The LORD(Yahweh) said also unto me". They form five books: I. The Introduction, first chapter II. Reproofs of the Jews, the second through twenty-fourth chapters, made up of seven sections: (1) the second chapter (2) the third through sixth chapters; (3) the seventh through tenth chapters; (4) the eleventh through thirteenth chapters; (5) the fourteenth through seventeenth chapters; (6) the seventeenth through nineteenth and twentieth chapters; (7) the twenty-first through twenty-fourth chapters. III. Review of all nations in two sections: the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth through forty-ninth chapters, with a historical appendix of three sections, (1) the twenty-sixth chapter; (2) the twenty-seventh chapter; (3) the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth chapters. IV. Two sections picturing the hopes of brighter times, (1) the thirtieth and thirty-first chapters; (2) the thirty-second and thirty-third chapters; and an historical appendix in three sections: (1) Jeremiah 34:1-7 (2) Jeremiah 34:8-22 sections: (1) Jeremiah 36:2 Egypt, he added Jeremiah 46:13-26 also the three sections, the thirty-seventh through thirty-ninth chapters; fortieth through forty-third chapters; and forty-fourth chapter. The fifty-second chapter was probably (see Jeremiah 51:64 appendix from a later hand, taken from 2 Kings 24:18 The prophecies against the several foreign nations stand in a different order in the Hebrew from that of the Septuagint; also the prophecies against them in the Hebrew (the forty-sixth through fifty-first chapters) are in the Septuagint placed after Jeremiah 25:14 remainder of the twenty-fifth chapter of the Hebrew is the thirty-second chapter of the Septuagint. Some passages in the Hebrew ( Jeremiah 27:19-22 ; 33:14-26 ; 39:4-14 not found in the Septuagint; the Greek translators must have had a different recension before them; probably an earlier one. The Hebrew is probably the latest and fullest edition from Jeremiah's The canonicity of his prophecies is established by quotations of them in the New Testament (see Matthew 2:17 ; 16:14 ; Hebrews 8:8-12 Matthew 27:9 testimony of Ecclesiasticus 49:7, which quotes Jeremiah 1:10 PHILO, who quotes his word as an "oracle"; and of the list of canonical books in MELITO, ORIGEN, JEROME, and the Talmud.Chapter 1
1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah. He was one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.
Anathoth--a town in Benjamin, twenty stadia, that is, two or three miles north of Jerusalem
2 The LORD (JESUS) spoke his word to Jeremiah when King Josiah, son of Amon, was in his thirteenth year as king of Judah.
3 He continued to give messages throughout the reign of Josiah's son, King Jehoiakim, until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah's reign in Judah. In August of that year, the people of Jerusalem were taken away as captives.
4 The LORD (JESUS) spoke his word to me:
5 I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world.
6 Then said I: "Ah, LORD (JESUS) of God (Elohim-The God Family) , I do not know how to speak. I am only a young man!"
it is believed that he was less than twenty-five years of age.
7 But the LORD (JESUS) said to me: Don't say that you are only a young man. You will go wherever I send you. You will say whatever I tell you to say.
8 Don't be afraid of people. I am with you, and I will rescue you, declares the LORD (JESUS).
9 Then the LORD (JESUS) touched my mouth. The LORD (JESUS) said to me, Now I have put my words in your mouth.
10 Today I have set you over the nations and kingdoms. You will uproot and tear down. You will destroy and overthrow. You will build and plant.
A foreshadow of Jeremiah's trip to Ireland with the Stone of Jacob to replant Israel in the British Isles.The Stone of Destiny stayed in Jerusalem until the King of Babylon killed the male heirs to the throne, being the sons of Zedekiah. The two daughters of Zedekiah and their uncle, Jeremiah, fled to Egypt and eventual they arrived in Ireland. By marrying the daughter of the Irish High King Jeremiah introduced the Stone of Destiny in the royal Irish treasury.Supporters find evidence for this connection in the occurrence of the Red Hand of O'Neill and the Star of David in the Ulster coat of arms.
11 Again the LORD (JESUS) spoke to me and asked, "Jeremiah, what do you see?" I answered, "I see a branch of an almond tree."
12 Then the LORD (JESUS) said to me, "That's right, and it means that I am watching, and I will carry out my threats."
13 Again the LORD (JESUS) spoke: "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a pot of boiling water, coming from the north"
14 Then the LORD (JESUS) said to me: Disaster will be poured out from the north on all those who live in the land.
I think this is a dual prophecy, for both Jeremiah's time as well as a reference to the coming KING OF THE NORTH of Daniel. ASSYRIA is today Germany.
15 I am calling the armies of the kingdoms of the north to come to Jerusalem. They will set their thrones at the gates of the city. They will attack its walls and all the other towns of Judah.
16 I will pass sentence on my people because of all their wickedness. They abandoned me, burned incense to other gods(elohim/theos), and worshiped what their hands have made.
17 Therefore prepare yourself and arise! Go out, and tell them whatever I tell you to say. Do not be afraid of them, or I will make you look foolish in front of them.
18 For see, today I have made you immune to their attacks. You are strong like a fort that cannot be captured, like an iron pillar or a bronze wall. None of the kings, officials, priests, or people of Judah will be able to stand against you.
19 They will fight you, but they will not defeat you. I am with you, and I will rescue you, declares the LORD (JESUS).
Jeremiah 2
THE SIN OF JUDAH(the Jews): Probably in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah
1 The word of the LORD (JESUS) came to me, saying:
2 Go and cry out in Jerusalem's streets: 'This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: I remember how eager you were to please me when you were engaged to me, how you loved me and followed me even through the barren wilderness.
3 Israel was Holy to the LORD (JESUS), the firstfruits of my children. All who harmed them were considered guilty, and disaster fell upon them.' I, the LORD (JESUS) have spoken.
4 Listen to the word of the LORD (JESUS), O house of Jacob, all the families in the house of Israel.
5 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: What sin did your ancestors find in me that led them to stray so far? They worshiped idols, only to become fools.
6 They didn't ask, "Where is the LORD (JESUS), who brought us from Egypt? He led us through the desert, through a wasteland and its pits, a land of drought and the shadow of death. No one lives there or travels there."
7 I brought them into a bountiful land to eat its fruit and goodness. They came and made my land unclean. They made my property disgusting.
8 The priests didn't ask, "Where is the LORD (JESUS)?" Those who deal with my teachings didn't know me. The rulers rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal and followed statues that couldn't help them.
9 Therefore, I will bring my case against you and will keep on accusing you, even against your children's children in the years to come. I, the LORD (JESUS), have spoken!
10 Pass beyond the coasts of Cyprus, and see. Send {someone} to Kedar, and observe closely. See if there has ever been anything like this.
11 Has any nation ever exchanged gods(elohim/theos)? Which are not even gods(elohim/theos) Yet, my people have exchanged their Glory for something that doesn't help them.
12 Be horrified over this, heaven. Be terribly afraid, declares the LORD (JESUS).
13 For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me, the fountain of life-giving water. They have also dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that can't hold water.
14 Why has Israel become a nation of slaves? Why has she been carried away as loot?
"Israel is Jehovah's son, even His first-born" ( Exodus 4:22 ). Jeremiah 2:16 Jeremiah 2:18 Jeremiah 2:36 , and the absence of any express contrast of the two parts of the nation are against EICHORN'S view, that the prophet proposes to Judah, as yet spared, the case of Israel (the ten tribes) which had been carried away by Assyria as a warning of what they might expect if they should still put their trust in Egypt. "Were Israel's ten tribes of meaner birth than Judah? Certainly not. If, then, the former fell before Assyria, what can Judah hope from Egypt against Assyria? . . . Israel" is rather here the whole of the remnant still left in their own land, that is, Judah. "How comes it to pass that the nation which once was under God's special protection ( Jeremiah 2:3 ) is now left at the mercy of the foe as a worthless slave?" The prophet sees this event as if present, though it was still future to Judah ( Jeremiah 2:19 ). (JAMIESON)
15 The young lions have roared very loudly at them. Young lions have turned the land into a wasteland. The cities have been burned down, and everyone has left.
Noph . . . Tahapanes--Memphis, capital of Lower Egypt, on the west bank of the Nile, near the pyramids of Gizeh, opposite the site of modern Cairo. Daphne, on the Tanitic branch of the Nile, near Pelusium, on the frontier of Egypt towards Palestine. Isaiah 30:4 contracts it, Hanes. These two cities, one the capital, the other that with which the Jews came most in contact, stand for the whole of Egypt. Tahapanes takes its name from a goddess, Tphnet [CHAMPOLLION]. Memphis is from Man-nofri, "the abode of good men"; written in Hebrew, Moph ( Hosea 9:6 ), or Noph. The reference is to the coming invasion of Judah by Pharaoh-necho of Egypt, on his return from the Euphrates, when he deposed Jehoahaz and levied a heavy tribute on the land ( 2 Kings 23:33-35 ). Josiah's death in battle with the same Pharaoh is probably included ( 2 Kings 23:29 2 Kings 23:30 ). (JAMIESON)
16 People from Noph and Tahpanhes have smashed your heads, Israel.
17 You have brought this on yourself by abandoning the LORD (JESUS) your GOD (Elohim-The family of God) when he led you on his way.
18 You won't gain anything by going to Egypt to drink water from the Nile River. You won't gain anything by going to Assyria to drink water from the Euphrates River.
19 Your own wickedness will correct you, and your unfaithful ways will punish you. You should know and see how evil and bitter it is for you if you abandon the LORD (JESUS) your GOD (Elohim-The family of God) and do not fear me," declares the Almighty LORD (JESUS) of angels(hosts).
20 Long ago I broke your yoke and tore away the chains of your slavery, but still you would not obey me. On every hill and under every green tree, you have prostituted yourselves by bowing down to idols.
21 I planted you like a choice grapevine from the very best seed. Then you turned against me and have become a worthless vine.
22 No amount of soap or lye can make you clean. You are stained with guilt that cannot be washed away, says the LORD (JESUS) GOD (Elohim-The family of God).
23 How can you say that you haven't dishonored yourselves and haven't followed other Baals{false gods)? Look how you've behaved in the valley. Acknowledge what you've done. You are like a restless female camel, desperate for a male!
Baal: supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians or Canaanites
24 You are like a wild donkey that is used to the desert, sniffing the wind while in heat. All who look for you won't get tired. They will find you during your time of fertileness.
Animals in heat (montly periods) are when they get pregnant – unlike humans
25 Don't run until your feet are bare and your throats are dry. But you say that it's useless. You love foreign gods(aliens) and follow them.
26 As a thief Israel feels shame only when she gets caught. All of them alike – their Kings, officials, priests, and prophets.
27 You say to a tree, “you are my father!” You call slab of stone your mother! {Morons!} You've turned your backs, not your faces, to me. But when you're in trouble, you ask me to come and save you.
28 Where are the gods(elohim/theos) that you made for yourselves? Let them come and rescue you when you're in trouble. You have as many gods as you have cities, O Judah!
29 Why do you accuse me of sinning? You are the ones who have rebelled, says the LORD (JESUS).
30 I have punished your children, but it did them no good. They still refuse to obey. You yourselves have killed your prophets as a raging lion.
31 O my people, listen to the words of the LORD (JESUS)! Haven't I been a desert, a land of thick darkness, for Israel? Why do my people say that they are free{from GOD} to wander around and no longer come to me?
32 Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me for countless days.
33 How you plot and scheme to win your lovers. The most experienced prostitute could learn from you!
34 You have the blood from poor and the innocent on your clothes. You didn't kill them for breaking in to your home.
35 And yet you say, 'I haven't done anything wrong. Surely He isn't angry with me!' Now I will punish you severely because you claim you have not sinned.
36 You change your mind so easily. Egypt will let you down, just as Assyria did before.
37 In despair, you will be led into captivity to foreign lands with your hands on your heads, for the LORD (JESUS) has rejected the nations you trust.
Jeremiah 3
DIVORCE:
1 They say, 'If a man divorces his wife, And she goes from him And becomes another man's, May he return to her again?' Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me, says the LORD (JESUS).
It was unlawful to do so ( Deuteronomy 24:1-4 ).
2 Look at the bare hills, you have had sex with many men in every place like a prostitute. You sat by the roadside waiting for them like a nomad in the desert. You have polluted the land with your prostitution and wickedness.
3 So the rain has been withheld, and there have been no spring showers. Yet, you have the shameless look of a prostitute, and you refuse to blush.
4 Yet now you say to me, 'Father, you have been my guide since the days of my youth.
5 Surely you won't be angry about such a little thing! Surely you can forget it!' So you talk, and keep right on doing all the evil you can."
6 When Josiah was king, the LORD (JESUS) asked me, "Did you see what unfaithful Israel did? She went up every high mountain and under every large tree, and she acted like a prostitute there.
6. From here to Jeremiah 6:30 , is a new discourse, delivered in Josiah's reign. It consists of two parts, the former extending to Jeremiah 4:3 , in which he warns Judah from the example of Israel's doom, and yet promises Israel final restoration; the latter a threat of Babylonian invasion; as Nabopolassar founded the Babylonian empire, 625 B.C., the seventeenth of Josiah, this prophecy is perhaps not earlier than that date ( Jeremiah 4:5 , &c.; Jeremiah 5:14 , &c.; Jeremiah 6:1 , &c.; Jeremiah 22:1-30 ); and probably not later than the second thorough reformation in the eighteenth year of the same reign. (Jamieson)
7 I thought that after she had done all this that she would come back to Me. But she didn't come back, and her treacherous sister Judah saw her.
8 Judah saw that I sent unfaithful Israel away because of her adultery and that I gave Israel her divorce papers. But treacherous Judah, her sister, wasn't afraid. She also acted like a prostitute.
The plural implies the completeness of the severance. The use of this metaphor here, as in the former discourse ( Jeremiah 3:1 ), implies a close connection between the discourses. The epithets are characteristic; Israel "apostate" (as the Hebrew for "backsliding" is better rendered); Judah, not as yet utterly apostate, but treacherous or faithless. (Jamieson)
9 Israel treated it all so lightly – she thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone. So now the land has been greatly defiled.
10 But in spite of all this, her faithless sister Judah has never sincerely returned to me. She has only pretended to be sorry," says the LORD (JESUS).
11 Then the LORD (JESUS) said to me, Unfaithful Israel was less guilty than treacherous Judah.
12 Go and proclaim these things to the north: "'Come back, unfaithful Israel. It is the LORD (JESUS) speaking. I will no longer frown on you because I'm merciful,' declares the LORD (JESUS). 'I will no longer be angry with you.
13 Admit that you've done wrong! You have rebelled against the LORD (JESUS) your GOD (Elohim-The family of God). You have given yourself to strangers under every large tree. You have not obeyed me,' declares the LORD (JESUS).
14 Come back, you rebellious people," declares the LORD (JESUS). "I'm your husband. I will take you, one from every city and two from every family, and bring you to Zion.
Even though Divorced, God would find a way to bring Israel back – By Jesus' death, the first marriage ended (Til death us do part) and freed him to remarry Israel again!
15 And I will give you leaders(shepards) after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding.
16 In those days you will be fertile, and your population will increase in the land," declares the LORD (JESUS). "People will no longer talk about the ark of the LORD (JESUS)'s promise. It will no longer come to mind. They won't remember it, miss it, or make another one.
17 At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD (JESUS). All nations will gather in Jerusalem because the name of the LORD (JESUS) will be found there. They will no longer stubbornly follow their own evil desires.
18 In those days the nation of Judah will live with the nation of Israel. They will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave their ancestors as their own property.
The two nations become one again during the Millennium.
19 I thought to myself, 'I would love to treat you as my own children!' I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land – the finest inheritance in the world. I looked forward to your calling me 'Father,' and I thought you would never turn away from me again.
20 But like a wife who betrays her husband, so you, nation of Israel, betrayed me," declares the LORD (JESUS).
21 Voices are heard high on the windswept mountains, the weeping and pleading of Israel's people. For they have forgotten the LORD (JESUS) their GOD (Elohim-The family of God).
22 Come back, you rebellious people, and I will forgive you for being unfaithful." Here we are! We have come to you because you are the LORD (JESUS) our GOD (Elohim-The family of God).
23 Truly, the noise from the hills, from the mountains, is the noise of false worship. Truly, the LORD (JESUS) our GOD (Elohim-The family of God) Is the salvation of Israel.
24 From childhood we have watched as everything our ancestors worked for – their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters – was squandered on a delusion.
25 We must lie down in our shame and be covered by our disgrace. Ever since we were young, we and our ancestors have sinned against the LORD (JESUS) our GOD (Elohim-The family of God). We haven't obeyed the LORD (JESUS) our GOD (Elohim-The family of God)
Jeremiah 4
1 The LORD (JESUS) declares, O Israel, come back to me, if you take your disgusting idols(abominations ) out of my sight and you don't wander away from me,
2 And you shall swear, 'The LORD (JESUS) lives,' In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; The nations shall bless themselves in Him, And in Him they shall glory.
3 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD (JESUS), take away the foreskins of your hearts, You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury come forth like fire, And burn so that no one can quench it, Because of the evil of your doings.
NLT: Cleanse your minds and hearts before the LORD (JESUS), or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire because of all your sins.
5 Shout to Jerusalem and to all Judah! Tell them to sound the alarm throughout the land: 'Run for your lives! Flee to your forts!'
6 Raise the flag to signal people to go to Zion[the Church]. Take cover! Don't just stand there! I'm bringing disaster and widespread destruction from the north.
7 A lion has come out of its resting place. A destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to destroy your land. Your towns will lie in ruins, empty of people.
8 So put on sackcloth, mourn, and cry because the LORD (JESUS)'s burning anger hasn't turned away from us.
9 "And it shall come to pass in that day," says the LORD (JESUS), "That the heart of the king shall perish, As too the heart of the leaders; The priests and the prophets will be struck with horror."
10 Then I said, "Ah, LORD (JESUS) GOD (Elohim-The family of God)! Surely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, Saying, 'You shall have peace,' Yet the sword is even now poised to strike them dead!"
11 At that time it will be said to these people and to Jerusalem: "A hot wind from the heights will blow in the desert on the tracks of my people. It will not be a wind that winnows or cleanses.
12 “It will be a stronger wind than that. It will come from Me. Now, I will pass sentence on them.”
13 The enemy comes up like clouds. His chariots are like a raging wind. His horses are faster than eagles. How horrible it will be for us! We will be destroyed!
14 O Jerusalem, cleanse your hearts that you may be saved. How long will you harbor your evil thoughts?
15 A message is heard from Dan, and the hill country of Ephraim, your destruction has been foretold.
16 Warn the nations about these things. Bring them to the attention of Jerusalem. “The enemy is coming from a distant land, raising a battle cry against the towns of Judah.
17 They surround them like men guarding a field, because Judah has rebelled against me," declares the LORD (JESUS).
18 "You brought this on your own heads. This is your punishment. It is bitter. It breaks your heart."
19 My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. My heart is beating wildly! My heart is pounding! I can't keep quiet because I hear a ram's horn sounding the alarm for war.
20 One disaster follows another. The whole land is ruined. My tents are suddenly destroyed. Their curtains are torn in an instant.
21 How long must this go on? How long must I be surrounded by war and death?
22 For My people are foolish, They have not known Me. They are silly children, And they have no understanding. They are clever enough at doing wrong, but they have no talent at all for doing right!
23 I beheld the earth, and indeed it became formless and void; I looked at the heavens, and there was no light.
The only other place where tohuw and bohuw are used is in Gensis 1:2. See note there. The proper translation is that the earth BECAME formless. This implies that the earth is actually older than this present age! To me, this implies that when the New Heavens and the New Earthcome down, they are RE-CREATED from prior ones. See verse 27.
24 I beheld the mountains. They are shaking, and the hills are swaying.
25 I beheld that there were no people, and every bird had flown away.
Is this the earth BEFORE EDEN?????
26 I beheld that the fertile land has become a desert, and all its cities are torn down because of the LORD (JESUS) and his burning anger.
27 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: The whole earth will be ruined, although I will not destroy it completely.
28 The earth will mourn, and the skies(heavens) will turn black. I have spoken, and I have ordained it. I won't change my plans, and I won't turn back.
29 At the noise of marching armies, the people flee in terror from the cities. They hide in the bushes and run for the mountains. All the cities have been abandoned – not a person remains!
30 What are we doing, why have we been plundered? Why do you dress up in your most beautiful clothing and jewelry? Why do you brighten your eyes with mascara? It will do you no good! Your allies despise you and will kill you.
31 I hear sobbing, like that of a woman giving birth to her first child. It is the cry of Jerusalem's people gasping for breath, pleading for help, prostrate before their murderers.
Jeremiah 5
1 Run around the streets of Jerusalem. Look around, and ponder these things. Search the city squares. See if you can find anyone who does what is right and seeks the truth. Then I will forgive Jerusalem.
2 People say, "As the LORD (JESUS) lives...." Yet, they lie when they take this oath.
3 LORD (JESUS), your eyes are searching for the truth. You strike the people, but they don't feel it. You crush them, but they refuse to be corrected. They are more stubborn than rocks. They refuse to turn back.
4 I thought, "These are just poor fools. They don't know the way of the LORD (JESUS) and the justice that GOD (Elohim-The family of God) demands.
5 Let me go to important people and speak to them. They know the way of the LORD (JESUS) and the justice that GOD (Elohim-The family of God) demands." But they, too, had broken off their yokes and torn off their chains.
6 That is why a lion from the forest will attack them; a wolf from the desert will pounce on them. A leopard will lurk near their towns, tearing apart any who dare to venture out. For their rebellion is great, and their sins are many.
7 How can I pardon you for this? Your children have forsaken Me And sworn by those that are not gods(elohim/theos) {at all}. When I had fed until they were full - Then they thanked me by committing adultery and lining up at the city's brothels.
8 They are like well-fed stallions that are wild with desire. They neigh for their neighbors' wives.
9 I will punish them for these things, declares the LORD (JESUS). I will punish this nation.
10 Go among Jerusalem's rows of grapevines and destroy them, but don't destroy all of them. Cut off the branches because they don't belong to the LORD (JESUS).
11 The nations of Israel and Judah are unfaithful to me, declares the LORD (JESUS).
12 They lie about the LORD (JESUS) and say, "He doesn't exist! Nothing bad will happen to us. We won't experience war or famine.
13 The prophets are nothing but windbags. The LORD (JESUS) hasn't spoken through them, so let what they say happen to them.
14 This is what the LORD (JESUS) GOD (Elohim-The family of God) of hosts(hosts of the angels of heaven) says: Because you've talked like this, I'm going to put my words in your mouth like a fire. These people will be like wood. My words will burn them up.
15 O house of Israel, I will bring a distant nation against you, says the LORD (JESUS). It is a mighty nation, an ancient nation, a people whose language you do not know, whose speech you cannot understand.
16 Their weapons are deadly; their warriors are mighty.
17 They will eat your harvests and your children's bread, your flocks of sheep and your herds of cattle. Yes, they will eat your grapes and figs. And they will destroy your forts, which you think are so safe.
18 Yet, even in those days, declares the LORD (JESUS), I won't destroy all of you.
19 They will ask, "Why has the LORD (JESUS) our GOD (Elohim-The family of God) done all this to us?" Answer them, "You have abandoned me and served foreign gods(elohim/theos) in your land. So you will serve foreigners in a land that isn't yours."
20 Tell this to the descendants of Jacob, and make this heard in Judah:
21 Listen, you foolish and senseless people – You have eyes, but you cannot see. You have ears, but you cannot hear.
22 Do you not revere me? Do you not tremble in my presence? I, the LORD (JESUS), am the one who defines the ocean's sandy shoreline, an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the bounds I set.
23 But these people are stubborn and rebellious. They have turned against me and have chosen to practice idolatry.
24 They do not say from the heart, 'Let us live in awe of the LORD (JESUS) our GOD (Elohim-The family of God), for he gives us rain each spring and fall, assuring us of plentiful harvests.'
25 Your wickedness has deprived you of these wonderful blessings. Your sin has robbed you of all these good things.
26 Wicked people are found among my people. They lie in ambush like bird catchers. They set traps and catch men.
27 As cages are filled with birds, their homes are filled with deceit. That is why they become powerful and rich.
28 They grow big and fat. Their evil deeds have no limits. They have no respect for the rights of others. They have no respect for the rights of orphans. But they still prosper. They don't defend the rights of the poor.
29 I will punish them for these things," declares the LORD (JESUS). "I will punish this nation.
30 Something horrible and disgusting is happening in the land:
31 Prophets prophesy lies, and the priests rule with an iron hand. My people love this. But what will you do in the end?
Jeremiah 6
PEACE PEACE- The False Prophets of Peace:
1 Take cover, people of Benjamin! Run away from Jerusalem! Blow the ram's horn in Tekoa. Raise the flag over Beth Hakkerem, because disaster and widespread destruction are coming from the north.
2 My people Zion[the church] are like lovely pastures.
3 Enemy shepherds will surround you. They will set up camp around the city and divide your pastures for their flocks.
4 They shout, 'Prepare for battle and attack at noon! But now the day is fading, and the evening shadows are falling.
5 Arise, and let us go by night, And let us destroy her palaces.
6 This is what the LORD (JESUS) of angels says: Cut down its trees. Build up dirt mounds to attack Jerusalem. This city must be punished. There is nothing but oppression in it.
7 As a well keeps its water fresh, so Jerusalem keeps its evil fresh. Violence and destruction can be heard in it. I see that it is sick and wounded.
8 This is your last warning, O Jerusalem! If you do not listen, I will empty the land.
9 This is what the LORD (JESUS) of angels says: Disaster will fall upon you. Even the few who remain in Israel will be gleaned again, as when a harvester checks each vine a second time to pick the grapes that were missed.
10 To whom can I give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed, and they cannot hear. When the LORD (JESUS) speaks His word to them, they show contempt for it and object to it.
11 I am filled with the LORD (JESUS)'s fury. Yes, I am weary of holding it in! I will pour out my fury over Jerusalem, even on children playing in the streets, on gatherings of young men, and on husbands and wives and grandparents.
12 Their homes will be turned over to their enemies, and so will their fields and their wives. For I will punish the people of this land, declares the LORD (JESUS).
13 From the least to the greatest, they trick others to get what does not belong to them. Yes, even My prophets and priests are like that!
14 They have falsely healed the pain of My people slightly, Saying, 'Peace, peace!' When there is no peace. '
15 Are they ashamed when they do disgusting things? No, they're not ashamed. They don't even know how to blush. So they will die with those who die. They will be brought down when I punish them, says the LORD (JESUS).
16 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: Stop right where you are! Look for the old, good ways, and walk in them. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, 'No, that's not the road we want!'
17 I posted watchmen over you. Pay attention to the sound of the ram's horn. But you said that you wouldn't pay attention.
18 Listen, you nations, and learn, you witnesses, what will happen to them.
19 Listen, earth! I'm going to bring disaster on these people. It is the result of their own plots, because they won't pay attention to my words. They reject my teachings.
20 There is no use now in offering me sweet incense from Sheba. Keep your expensive perfumes! I cannot accept your burnt offerings. Your sacrifices have no sweet fragrance for me.
21 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: I'm going to lay stumbling blocks in front of these people. Parents and children will stumble over them. Neighbors and their friends will die.
God is doing this, as Jesus declared – God wants the people to stumble! The people who are of this world and not God's.
22 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: An army is going to come from the north. A great nation is preparing itself in the distant parts of the earth.
23 Its people take hold of bows and spears. They are cruel and have no compassion. They sound like the roaring sea. They ride on horses. They march like soldiers ready for battle against my people Zion.
24 We have heard the news about them. Our hands hang limp. We are gripped by anguish and pain like a woman giving birth to a child.
25 Don't go into the field or walk on the road. The enemy has a sword. Terror is all around.
26 Wear sackcloth and ashes, My people. Mourn as if you have lost your only child, and cry bitterly. The destroyer will suddenly attack us.
27 I have put you [Jeremiah] in charge of testing and refining my people. You will know how to test their ways.
28 They are all {evil} rebels. They go around slandering. They are all like bronze and iron. They corrupt themselves.
29 The bellows blow fiercely. The refining fire grows hotter. But it will never purify and cleanse them because there is no purity in them to refine.
30 People will call them rejected silver, Because the LORD (JESUS) has rejected them.
Jeremiah 7
THE WRONG RELIGION:
1 The LORD (JESUS) spoke his word to Jeremiah again. He said,
2 Stand at the gate of the LORD (JESUS)'s house, and announce from there this message: 'Listen to the word of the LORD (JESUS), all you people of Judah who go through these gates to worship the LORD (JESUS).
3 This is what the LORD (JESUS) of angels, the God(Elohim/Theos) of Israel, says: Change your ways and act {righteously}, and I will let you live in this place.
4 But do not be fooled by those who repeatedly promise your safety because they keep repeating "This is the LORD (JESUS)'s temple, the LORD (JESUS)'s temple, the LORD (JESUS)'s temple!" It's a lie.
The Jews falsely thought that because their temple had been chosen by Jehovah as His peculiar dwelling, it could never be destroyed. Men think that ceremonial observances will supersede the need of holiness ( Isaiah 48:2 , Micah 3:11 ). The triple repetition of "the temple of Jehovah" expresses the intense confidence of the Jews (see Jeremiah 22:29 , Isaiah 6:3 ). (Jamieson)
5 I will be merciful only if you stop your wicked thoughts and deeds and are fair to others;
6 and if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; and if you stop your murdering; and if you stop worshiping gods(elohim/theos) as you now do to your own harm.
7 Then I will let you live in this place, in the land that I gave permanently to your ancestors long ago.
8 Don't fool yourselves! And trust that{ because the Temple is here} you will not suffer!
9 You steal, murder, commit adultery, lie when you sware oaths, burn incense as an offering to Baal, and run after other gods(elohim/theos) that you do not know.
10 and then come here and stand before me in my Temple(house) and chant, "We are safe!" – only to go right back to all those evils again?
11 Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it, says the LORD (JESUS){Jesus!}.
Matthew 21:13
12 Go to the place at Shiloh {where I once put the Tabernacle to honor my name}. See what I did there because of all the wickedness of my people, the Israelites.
13 While you were doing these wicked things, says the LORD (JESUS), I spoke to you about it repeatedly, but you would not listen. I called out to you, but you did not answer,
14 therefore I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.
15 And I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brethren--the whole posterity of Ephraim.
JEREMIAH “DO NOT PRAY FOR THESE PEOPLE!
16 Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you.
17 Do you not see what they are doing throughout the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
18 Children gather wood, fathers light fires, and women knead dough to make cakes for the Queen of heaven. They pour out wine offerings to other gods(elohim/theos) in order to make me furious.
Queen of Heaven: Easter, Ishtar – Mary worship
the wife of Baal or Moloch, the king of heaven. The male and female pair of deities symbolized the generative powers of nature; hence arose the introduction of prostitution in the worship. The Babylonians worshipped Ashtoreth as Mylitta, that is, generative. Our Monday, or Moon-day, indicates the former prevalence of moon worship
19 Am I the one they are hurting? asks the LORD (JESUS). "Most of all, they hurt themselves, to their own shame."
20 Therefore thus says the LORD (JESUS) GOD(Elohim/Theos): I will pour out my terrible fury on this place. Its people, animals, trees, and crops will be consumed by the unquenchable fire of my anger.
21 This is what the LORD (JESUS) of angels, the God(Elohim/Theos) of Israel, says: Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the meat.
22 When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, I did not tell them anything about burnt offerings and sacrifices.
But, "I did not require sacrifices, unless combined with moral obedience" ( Psalms 50:8 , Psalms 51:16 Psalms 51:17 ). The superior claim of the moral above the positive precepts of the law was marked by the ten commandments having been delivered first, and by the two tables of stone being deposited alone in the ark ( Deuteronomy 5:6 ). The negative in Hebrew often supplies the want of the comparative: not excluding the thing denied, but only implying the prior claim of the thing set in opposition to it ( Hosea 6:6 ). "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice" ( 1 Samuel 15:22 ). Love to God is the supreme end, external observances only means towards that end. "The mere sacrifice was not so much what I commanded, as the sincere submission to My will gives to the sacrifice all its virtue" [MAGEE, Atonement, Note 57].
23 But I did tell them this, 'Obey me, and I will be your God(Elohim/Theos), and you will be my people. Live the way I told you to live so that things will go well for you.'
24 But they didn't obey me or pay attention to me. They followed their own plans and their stubborn, evil ways. They went backward and not forward.
25 From the time that your ancestors left Egypt until now, I have sent all my servants the prophets to you again and again.
26 But you didn't obey me or pay attention to me. You became impossible to deal with, and you were worse than your ancestors.
27 Tell them all this {Jeremiah}, but do not expect them to listen. Shout out your warnings, but do not expect them to respond.
28 You will say to them, 'This is the nation that did not obey the LORD (JESUS) their God(Elohim/Theos). They did not accept discipline. Truth has disappeared and vanished from their lips.'
29 Cut off your hair and throw it away. Sing a song of mourning on the bare hills, because in his anger the LORD (JESUS) has rejected and abandoned the people of this generation.
30 The people of Judah have done what I consider evil, declares the LORD (JESUS). They set up their detestable idols(abominations) in the house called by My name. They have made it unclean.
31 They have built worship sites at Topheth in the valley of Ben Hinnom in order to burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices. I did not ask for this. It never entered my mind.
32 So beware, for the time is coming, says the LORD, when that place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. They will bury so many bodies in Topheth that there won't be room for all the graves.
33 The dead bodies of these people will become food for birds and animals, and no one will be there to frighten them away.
34 In the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, I will banish the sounds of joy and happiness and the sounds of brides and grooms; For the land shall become desolate.
Jeremiah 8
1 At that time- says the LORD (JESUS): The bones of the kings and the leaders of Judah, the bones of the priests and the prophets, and the bones of the others who lived in Jerusalem will be taken out of their graves.
2 They will dig out their bones and spread them out on the ground before the sun, moon, and stars – the gods(elohim/theos) my people have loved, served, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up again or buried but will be scattered on the ground like dung.
3 Then the few who remain from these wicked people will want to die rather than live where I will scatter them, declares the LORD (JESUS) of angels.
4 Moreover you shall say to them, 'Thus says the LORD (JESUS): "Will they fall and not rise? When they start down the wrong road and discover their mistake, don't they turn back?
5 The people of Jerusalem turned away from me without ever returning. They still cling to deceit. They refuse to return.
6 I have paid attention and listened, but they weren't honest. They don't turn away from their wickedness and ask, "What have we done?" They go their own ways like horses charging into battle.
7 Even storks know when it's time to return. Mourning doves, swallows, and cranes know when it's time to migrate. But my people don't know that I, the LORD (JESUS), am urging them to return.
8 How can you say, 'We are wise, And the Law of the LORD (JESUS) is with us'? Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly have translated the Law into a lie!
The scribes were changing the Bible into false translations.
9 Wise people are put to shame, confused, and trapped. They have rejected the word of the LORD (JESUS). They don't really have any wisdom.
10 That is why I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. All of them, from the least important to the most important, are eager to make money dishonestly. All of them, from prophets to priests, act deceitfully.
11 They treat my dear people's wounds as though they were not serious, saying, 'Peace, peace!' When there is no peace.
12 Are they ashamed that they do disgusting things? No, they're not ashamed. They don't even know how to blush. So they will die with those who die. They will be brought down when I punish them, says the LORD (JESUS).
13 I will take away their rich harvests of figs and grapes. Their fruit trees will all die. All the good things I prepared for them will soon be gone. I, the LORD (JESUS), have spoken!'
14 Then the people will say, 'Why should we wait here to die? Come, let's go to the fortified cities to die there. For the LORD (JESUS) our GOD (Elohim-The family of God) has decreed our destruction and has given us a cup of poison to drink because we sinned against the LORD (JESUS).
15 We hoped for peace, but nothing good has happened. We hoped for a time of healing, but there's only terror.
16 The snorting of horses can be heard from Dan. The neighing of stallions makes the whole land tremble. They are coming to devour the land and everything in it, the city and its people.
17 I am going to send snakes among you, vipers that can't be charmed. They will bite you, declares the LORD (JESUS).
18 Sorrow has overwhelmed me. I am sick at heart!
19 The cry from my dear people comes from a distant land: "Isn't the LORD (JESUS) in Zion? Isn't Zion's king still there?" They make me furious with their idols, with their foreign idols.
20 The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we haven't been saved.
21 I am crushed because my dear people have been crushed. I mourn; terror grips me.
22 Isn't there medicine in Gilead? Aren't there doctors there? Then why hasn't the health of my dear people been restored?
Jeremiah 9
1 Oh, that my eyes were a fountain of tears; I would weep forever! I would sob day and night for all my people who have been killed.
2 Oh, that I could go away to a place to stay in the desert. I would abandon my people and go away from them. They are all adulterers, a mob of traitors.
3 My people bend their tongues like bows to shoot lies. They refuse to stand up for the truth. And they only go from bad to worse! They care nothing for me, says the LORD (JESUS).
5 Everyone cheats his neighbor. No one speaks the truth. My people train their tongues to speak lies. They wear themselves out doing wrong.
6 They pile lie upon lie. Deceit follows deceit. They refuse to acknowledge me, declares the LORD (JESUS).
7 Therefore, the LORD (JESUS) of hosts(angels) says: I will now refine them with fire and test them. What else can I do for my dear people?
8 Their tongues are like deadly arrows. They speak lies. People speak politely to their neighbors, but they think of ways to set traps for them.
9 Should I not punish them for this? asks the LORD (JESUS). Should I not avenge myself against a nation such as this?
10 I will cry and weep for the mountains. I will sing a funeral song for the pastures in the wilderness. They are destroyed so that no one can travel through them. No one can hear the sound of cattle. Birds and cattle have fled. They are gone.
11 I will turn Jerusalem into a pile of rubble, a home for jackals. I will destroy the cities of Judah so that no one can live there.
12 Who is wise enough to understand all this? Who has been instructed by the LORD (JESUS) and can explain it to others? Why has the land been ruined so completely that no one even dares to travel through it?
13 And the LORD (JESUS) said, Because they have forsaken My Law(Torah) which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it,
14 Instead, they have stubbornly followed their own desires and worshiped the images of Baal, as their fathers taught them.
fathers taught them--( Galatians 1:14 , 1 Peter 1:18 ). We are not to follow the errors of the fathers, but the authority of Scripture and of GOD (Elohim-The family of God) [JEROME].
15 therefore thus says the LORD (JESUS) of hosts, the GOD (Elohim-The family of God) of Israel: Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
Wormwood see note in Revelation 8:11 and the Chernobyl connection
16 I will scatter them among nations that they and their ancestors haven't heard of. I will send armies after them until I've wiped them out.
17 Thus says the LORD (JESUS) of hosts(angels): Consider and call for the mourning women, That they may come; And send for skillful wailing women, That they may come.
18 Quick! Begin your weeping! Let the tears flow from your eyes.
19 The sound of crying is heard from Zion[the Church]. We're ruined! We're very ashamed. We must leave our land because our homes have been torn down.
20 Yet hear the word of the LORD (JESUS), O women, and open your ears to hear His words. Teach your daughters how to cry. Teach your neighbors funeral songs.
The deaths will be so many that there will be a lack of mourning women to bewail them. The mothers, therefore, must teach their daughters the science to supply the want.
21 For death has crept in through our windows and has entered our mansions. It has killed off the flower of our youth: Children no longer play in the streets, and young men no longer gather in the squares.
22 Speak, "Thus says the LORD (JESUS): 'Even the carcasses of men shall fall as refuse on the open field, Like cuttings after the harvester, And no one shall gather them.' "
23 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: Don't let wise people brag about their wisdom. Don't let strong people brag about their strength. Don't let rich people brag about their riches.
24 If they want to brag, they should brag that they understand and know me. They should brag that I, the LORD (JESUS), act out of love, righteousness, and justice on the earth. This kind of bragging pleases me, declares the LORD (JESUS).
25 A time is coming, says the LORD (JESUS), when I will punish all those who are circumcised in body but not in spirit –
with the uncircumcised--rather, "all that are circumcised in uncircumcision" [HENDERSON]. The Hebrew is an abstract term, not a concrete, as English Version translates, and as the pious "circumcised" is. The nations specified, Egypt, Judah, &c., were outwardly "circumcised," but in heart were "uncircumcised." The heathen nations were defiled, in spite of their literal circumcision, by idolatry. The Jews, with all their glorying in their spiritual privileges, were no better ( Jeremiah 4:4 , Deuteronomy 10:16 , 30:6 , Romans 2:28 Romans 2:29 , Colossians 2:11 ). However, Ezekiel 31:18 , 32:19 , may imply that the Egyptians were uncircumcised; and it is uncertain as to the other nations specified whether they were at that early time circumcised. HERODOTUS says the Egyptians were so; but others think this applies only to the priests and others having a sacred character, not to the mass of the nation; ( Romans 2:28 Romans 2:29 ).
26 I will punish Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, and Moab. I will punish all who shave the hair on their foreheads or live in the desert. Even though these nations are circumcised, all Israel has uncircumcised hearts.
uncircumcised . . . uncircumcised in the heart--The addition of "in the heart" in Israel's case marks its greater guilt in proportion to its greater privileges, as compared with the rest.
Jeremiah 10
THE CHRISTMAS TREE!
1 Hear the word of the LORD (JESUS), O house of Israel.
2 Thus says the LORD (JESUS): Learn not the way of the heathen, Do not be dismayed at the signs in the skies, For the heathens are dismayed at them.
Don't copy the way of this world, Follow The LAW!
EICHORN thinks the reference here to be to some celestial portent which had appeared at that time, causing the Jews' dismay. Probably the reference is general, namely, to the Chaldeans, famed as astrologers, through contact with whom the Jews were likely to fall into the same superstition.
3 The religion of the people is worthless. Woodcutters cut down trees from the forest. The hands of craftsmen prepare them with axes.
Yes, So-Called Christian relgions can be worthless! See Matt: 7:21
4 Craftsmen decorate them with silver and gold and fasten them [together] with hammers and nails so that they won't fall over.
Like the Christmas Tree! Jeremiah 10 condemns idolatry, both in the letter and in the spirit, whether a physical idol or an idolatrous tradition based upon HEATHEN CUSTOMS like the "Christmas tree" that history clearly exposes as pagan in origin. Those who adorn their Christmas trees and remain in denial about its pagan origin, who attempt to dismiss or downplay how it's a heathen custom, are living a lie and shamefully reject the clear commandments of God that speak against such spiritual adultery, mixing and matching pagan error with biblical truth, and will suffer the consequences for being so dishonest and deceitful.
5 These trees are likeidols. They aren't able to speak. They have to be carried, because they can't walk. Don't be afraid of them. They can't harm you. They can't do you any good either.
6 No one is like you, O LORD (JESUS). You are great. Your name is powerful.
7 Everyone fears you, O King of the Nations. This is what you deserve. No one is like you among all the wise people in the nations or in all their kingdoms.
8 They are complete idiots. They learn nonsense from wooden idols.
9 Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz. Craftsmen and goldsmiths shape these metals. The clothing for the idols is blue and purple, all made by skilled workers.
10 But the LORD (JESUS) is the true GOD (Elohim-The family of God). He is the living GOD (Elohim-The family of God) and eternal king. The earth trembles when he is angry. The nations can't endure his fury.
true God--literally, "God Jehovah is truth"; not merely true, that is, veracious, but truth in the reality of His essence, as opposed to the "vanity" or emptiness which all idols are ( Jeremiah 10:3 Jeremiah 10:8 Jeremiah 10:15 , 2 Chronicles 15:3 , Psalms 31:5 , 1 John 5:20 ).
11 Tell them this: These gods(elohim/theos) will disappear from the earth and from under heaven because they didn't make heaven and earth.
This verse is in Chaldee, Jeremiah supplying his countrymen with a formula of reply to Chaldee idolaters in the tongue most intelligible to the latter. There may be also derision intended in imitating their barbarous dialect. ROSENMULLER objects to this view, that not merely the words put in the mouths of the Israelites, but Jeremiah's own introductory words, "Thus shall ye say to them," are in Chaldee, and thinks it to be a marginal gloss. But it is found in all the oldest versions. It was an old Greek saying: "Whoever thinks himself a GOD (Elohim-The family of God) besides the one GOD (Elohim-The family of God), let him make another world" ( Psalms 96:5 ). (Jamieson)
12 He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.
13 He speaks, and the water in the sky produces a storm. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning flash with the rain. He brings wind out of his storehouses.
14 Compared to him, all people are foolish and have no knowledge at all! They make idols, but the idols will disgrace their makers, for they are frauds. They have no life or power in them.
15 [Idols] are worthless jokes. When they are punished, they disappear.
16 Jacob's GOD (Elohim-The family of God) isn't like them. He made everything, and Israel is the tribe that belongs to him. His name is the LORD (JESUS) of angels(hosts).
17 Pack your bag and prepare to leave; You are being blockaded.
18 For thus says the LORD (JESUS): "Behold, I will throw out at this time The inhabitants of the land, And will distress them, That they may find it so."
19 Oh, I'm wounded! My wound is serious and my grief is great. My sickness is incurable, but I must bear it.
20 My home is gone, and no one is left to help me rebuild it. My children have been taken away, and I will never see them again.
21 The shepherds are foolish. They don't look to the LORD (JESUS) for help. That is why they won't succeed, and all their flocks will be scattered.
22 Listen! Hear the terrifying roar of great armies as they roll down from the north. The towns of Judah will be destroyed and will become a haunt for jackals.
23 O LORD (JESUS), I know that the way men act is not under their control. Humans do not direct their steps as they walk.
24 Correct me, O LORD (JESUS), but please be fair. Don't correct me when you're angry. Otherwise, you'll reduce me to nothing.
25 Pour out your fury on the nations who don't know you and on people who don't worship you. They have devoured the descendants of Jacob. They have devoured them completely. They have destroyed their homes.
The Prophets:
Jeremiah 11
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD (JESUS), saying:
2 Listen to the terms of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
this covenant--alluding to the book of the law ( Deuteronomy 31:26 ) found in the temple by Hilkiah the high priest, five years after Jeremiah's call to the prophetic office (2 Kings 22:8-23:25').
3 Say to them, 'This is what the LORD (JESUS), the GOD (Elohim-The family of God) of Israel, says: Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant
4 which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, 'Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your GOD (Elohim-The family of God),'
iron furnace--( Deuteronomy 4:20 , 1 Kings 8:51 ). "Furnace" expresses the searching ordeal; "iron," the long duration of it. The furnace was of earth, not of iron ( Psalms 12:6 ); a furnace, in heat and duration enough to melt even iron. God's deliverance of them from such an ordeal aggravates their present guilt. (Jamieson)
5 that I may establish the oath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them 'a land flowing with milk and honey,' as it is this day." And I answered and said, "So be it, LORD (JESUS)."
6 Then the LORD (JESUS) 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 ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, repeating over and over again to this day: "Obey me!"
8 Yet they didn't obey me or pay attention to me. They followed their own stubborn, evil ways. So I punished them, because they did not keep all the terms of the promise, the terms that I commanded them to keep.
9 The LORD (JESUS) said to me, A conspiracy exists among the people of Judah and among those who live in Jerusalem.
10 They have returned to the sins of their forefathers. They have refused to listen to me and are worshiping idols(elohim/theos). Israel and Judah have both broken the covenant I made with their ancestors.
Idols or gods
11 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: I'm going to bring a disaster on them that they can't escape. Although they will cry out to me, I won't listen to them.
12 Then the people of Judah and Jerusalem will pray to their idols and offer incense before them. But the idols(gods) will not save them when disaster strikes!
13 Look now, people of Judah, you have as many gods as there are cities and towns. Your altars of shame – altars for burning incense to your GOD (Elohim-The family of God) Baal – are along every street in Jerusalem.
14 Jeremiah, don't pray for these people. Don't cry or pray for them. I won't listen when they call to Me for help in times of trouble.
There is a climax of guilt which admits of no further intercessory prayer ( Exodus 32:10 , in the Chaldee version, "leave off praying"; Jeremiah 7:16 , 1 Samuel 16:1 , 15:35 , 1 John 5:16 ). Our mind should be at one with God in all that He is doing, even in the rejection of the reprobate. (JAMIESON)
15 What right do these people I love have to be in My house when they do so many devious things? Can the meat from their sacrifices turn disaster away from them? They rejoice when they do evil.
16 The LORD (JESUS) called you a large olive tree that has beautiful fruit to look at. He will set fire to you with a mighty storm, and your branches will be broken.
17 The LORD (JESUS) of angels planted you. He has pronounced disaster on you. This is because of the evil things that Israel and Judah have done. They have made him furious by burning incense as an offering to Baal.
18 The LORD (JESUS) revealed their plot to me [Jeremiah] so that I would understand. He showed me what they were doing.
19 I was like a innocent lamb brought to the slaughter. I didn't know that they were plotting against me. They were saying, "Let's destroy the tree with its fruit. Let's cut Jeremiah off from this world of the living so that we won't be reminded of him anymore."
lamb--literally, a "pet lamb," such as the Jews often had in their houses, for their children to play with; and the Arabs still have ( 2 Samuel 12:3 ). His own familiar friends had plotted against the prophet. The language is exactly the same as that applied to Messiah ( Isaiah 53:7 ). Each prophet and patriarch exemplified in his own person some one feature or more in the manifold attributes and sufferings of the Messiah to come; just as the saints have done since His coming ( Galatians 2:20 , Philippians 3:10 , Colossians 1:24 ). This adapted both the more experimentally to testify of Christ. (Jamieson)
20 O LORD (JESUS) of angels, you judge fairly and test motives and thoughts. I want to see you take revenge on them, because I've brought my case to you.
21 The men of Anathoth wanted me dead. They said they would kill me if I did not stop speaking in the LORD (JESUS)'s name.
22 Therefore thus says the LORD (JESUS) of hosts: Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the in battle, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine;
23 I will bring a disaster on the people of Anathoth. It will be a year of punishment. There will be no survivors.
Jeremiah 12
1 LORD (JESUS), you always give me justice when I bring a case before you. Now let me bring you this complaint: Why do wicked people prosper? Why are evil people so happy?
2 You plant them, and they take root. They grow, and they produce fruit. They speak well of you with their lips, but their hearts are far from You.
3 You, O LORD (JESUS), know me. You see me and test my devotion to you. Drag these people away like helpless sheep to be butchered! Set them aside to be slaughtered!
4 How long must this land weep? How long will the plants in every field remain dried up? The animals and the birds are dying, because people are wicked. They think that GOD (Elohim-The family of God) doesn't know what they are doing.
5 If racing against mere men makes you tired, how will you race against horses? If you stumble and fall on open ground, what will you do in the thickets near the Jordan [River]?
When we are most in the dark concerning God's dispensations, we must keep up right thoughts of God, believing that he never did the least wrong to any of his creatures. When we find it hard to understand any of his dealings with us, or others, we must look to general truths as our first principles, and abide by them: the Lord is righteous. The God with whom we have to do, knows how our hearts are toward him. He knows both the guile of the hypocrite and the sincerity of the upright. Divine judgments would pull the wicked out of their pasture as sheep for the slaughter. This fruitful land was turned into barrenness for the wickedness of those that dwelt therein. The Lord reproved the prophet. The opposition of the men of Anathoth was not so formidable as what he must expect from the rulers of Judah. Our grief that there should be so much evil is often mixed with peevishness on account of the trials it occasions us. And in this our favoured day, and under our trifling difficulties, let us consider how we should behave, if called to sufferings like those of saints in former ages. (Matthew Henry)
6 Even your own brothers, members of your own family, have turned on you. They have also formed a mob to find you. Don't trust them when they say good things about you.
even your own brothers--as in Christ's case ( Psalms 69:8 , John 1:11 , 7:5 ; compare Jeremiah 9:4 , Jeremiah 11:19 Jeremiah 11:21 , Matthew 10:36 ). Godly faithfulness is sure to provoke the ungodly, even of one's own family.
7 I have forsaken my nation. I have left my own people. I have handed the people I love over to their enemies.
8 My people have turned on me like a lion in the forest. They roar at me, so I hate them.
9 My people have become as disgusting to me as a vulture. And indeed, they are surrounded by vultures. Go, gather all the animals in the field, and bring them to devour it.
Vulture: Many translate, "a ravenous beast, the hyena"; the corresponding Arabic word means hyena; so the Septuagint. But the Hebrew always elsewhere means "a bird of prey." The Hebrew for "speckled" is from a root "to color"; answering to the Jewish blending together with paganism the altogether diverse Mosaic ritual. The neighboring nations, birds of prey like herself (for she had sinfully assimilated herself to them), were ready to pounce upon her.
10 Many rulers have ravaged my vineyard, trampling down the vines and turning all its beauty into a barren wilderness.
11 They've made it a wasteland. Desolate, it mourns in Me. The whole land is destroyed, but no one takes this to heart.
12 Looters swarm all over the bare hills in the desert. The LORD (JESUS)'s sword destroys them from one end of the land to the other. No one will be safe.
13 My people planted wheat, but they harvested thorns. They worked until they became sick, but they gained nothing by it. They were disappointed by their harvests because of the burning anger of the LORD (JESUS) is upon them.
14 Thus says the LORD (JESUS): As for all the evil nations reaching out for the inheritance I gave my people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands just as Judah will be uprooted from hers.
15 Then it shall be, after I have plucked them out, that I will return and have compassion on them and bring them back, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land.
16 And if these nations quickly learn the ways of My people, and if they learn to swear by My name, saying,'As the LORD (JESUS) lives...' as they taught my people to take an oath in [the name of] Baal. Then they will build homes among my people.
17 But if they do not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation," says the LORD (JESUS).
Jeremiah 13
1 This is what the LORD (JESUS) said to me: "Go and buy a linen belt. Put it around your waist. Don't let it get wet."
2 So I bought the belt, as the LORD (JESUS) had told me, and put it around my waist.
3 The LORD (JESUS) spoke his word to me again. He said,
4 "Take the belt that you bought, the one you're wearing. Go to the Euphrates River, and bury it there in a crack in the rocks."
5 So I went and buried it by the Euphrates, as the LORD (JESUS) had told me.
6 Now it came to pass after many days that the LORD (JESUS) said to me, "Go to the Euphrates, and get the belt from where I told you to bury it."
7 So I went back to the Euphrates and dug it up. I got the belt from where I had buried it. Now the belt was ruined. The belt was useless.
8 Then the LORD (JESUS) spoke his word to me. He said,
9 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: In like manner, I will destroy Judah's arrogance and Jerusalem's extreme arrogance.
10 These evil people refuse to listen to me. They stubbornly follow their own desires and follow after other gods(elohim/theos) in order to serve them and worship them. They are like this good-for-nothing belt.
11 For as a belt clings to a person's waist, so I have made the entire nation of Israel and the entire nation of Judah cling to me, declares the LORD (JESUS). I did this so that they would be my people and bring fame, praise, and honor to me. However, they wouldn't listen.
12 So tell them, 'This is what the LORD (JESUS) GOD (Elohim-The family of God) of Israel says: Every bottle will be filled with wine.' Then they will say to you, 'We already know that every bottle will be filled with wine {we don't need to hear it from you!}'
13 Say to them, 'This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: I'm going to make everyone so confused that they will seem drunk. Everyone, from the kings who sit on David's throne, the priests, the prophets, and all those who live in Jerusalem.
14 Then I will smash them like bottles against each other. I will smash parents and children together, declares the LORD (JESUS). I will have no pity, mercy, or compassion when I destroy them.'
15 Listen, and pay attention! Don't be arrogant. For the LORD (JESUS) has spoken.
16 Give glory to the LORD (JESUS) your GOD (Elohim-The family of God) before it is too late, before your feet stumble on the mountains in the twilight. You will look for light, but the LORD (JESUS) will turn it into the shadow of death and change it into deep darkness.
17 If you won't listen, I will cry secretly over your arrogance. I will cry bitterly, and my eyes will flow with tears because the LORD (JESUS)'s flock will be taken captive.
18 Say to the king and his mother, "Come down from your thrones, because your crowns have fallen off your heads."
19 The cities of the Negev will close their gates, and no one will be able to open them. The people of Judah will be taken away as captives. They will all be carried into exile.
20 Look up, and see those who are coming from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you--your beautiful sheep?
21 What will you say when He punishes you? You thought they were your friends-- now they have become your new masters? You will scream in pain like a woman giving birth!
22 If you ask yourself, "Why do these things happen to me?" it's because you have so many sins. Your clothes have been torn off and your limbs are bare.
23 Can Ethiopians change the color of their skin or leopards change their spots? Can you do good when you're taught to do wrong?
24 I will scatter you, just as chaff is scattered by the winds blowing in from the desert.
25 This is your fate, the destiny I have planned for you, declares the LORD (JESUS). You have forgotten me and trusted false {gods}.
26 I will also rip off your clothes, expose your shame!
27 I have seen you commit adultery and squeal with delight. I have seen you act like a shameless prostitute on the hills and in the fields. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! Will you ever become clean [again]?
Jeremiah 14
1 The word of the LORD (JESUS) that came to Jeremiah about the drought.
The significance of a drought at this time was very great. It was one of the signs predicted in the Palestinian Covenant Dt 28:23,24 and already fulfilled in part in the reign of Ahab. 1Ki 17:1, etc. As that sign had been followed, even though after a long interval, by the Assyrian captivity of the northern kingdom, it should have been received by Judah as a most solemn warning.
2 Judah wilts {in the hot sun}; its gates fall apart. The people of Judah sit in mourning on the ground, and a great cry rises from Jerusalem.
3 The nobles send servants to get water, but all the wells are dry. The servants return with empty pitchers, confused and desperate, covering their heads in grief.
4 The ground is cracked because there has been no rain in the land. The farmers are disappointed. They cover their heads.
5 The deer in the fields give birth and abandon their young because there's no grass.
6 Wild donkeys stand on the bare hills. They sniff the air like jackals. Their eyesight fails because they have no green plants.
7 Do something, LORD (JESUS), for the sake of your name, even though our sins testify against us. We have been unfaithful and have sinned against you.
8 You are Israel's hope, the one who saves it in times of trouble. Why should you be like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays only one night?
9 Why should you be like someone taken by surprise, like a strong man who cannot help? You, O LORD (JESUS), are among us. We are called by your name. Don't leave us!
10 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says about these people: “You love to wander far from me and do not follow in my paths. Now I will no longer accept you as my people. I will remember all your wickedness and will punish you for your sins.”
11 The LORD (JESUS) said to me, Don't pray for the good of these people.
12 When they fast in my presence, I will pay no attention. When they present their burnt offerings and grain offerings to me, I will not accept them. In return, I will give them only war, famine, and disease.
13 Then I said, "LORD (JESUS) GOD (Elohim-The family of God)! The prophets are saying to them, 'You won't see wars or famines, because I, [the LORD], will give you lasting peace in this place.'"
False Prophets:
14 Then the LORD (JESUS) told me, The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them. They dreamed up the visions they tell you. Their predictions are worthless. They are the products of their own imagination.
15 I didn't send these prophets. Yet, they prophesy in my name that there will be no wars or famines in this land. So this is what I, the LORD (JESUS), say about them: Wars and famines will bring an end to these prophets.
16 As for the people to whom they prophesy – their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and war. There will be no one left to bury them. Their wives, their sons, or their daughters- all will be gone. I will pour on them the destruction that they deserve.
17 Say this to them: 'Night and day my eyes overflow with tears. I cannot stop weeping, for my virgin daughter – my precious people – has been run through with a sword and lies mortally wounded on the ground.'
18 If I go to the field, I see those killed because of war. If I go to the city, I see those sick because of famine. Prophets and priests wander through a land they haven't heard of.
19 {Lord}, Have you completely rejected Judah? Do you despise Zion? Why have you struck us so hard that we cannot heal? We hope for peace, but no good comes from it. We hope for a time of healing, but there's only terror.
20 We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness And the iniquity of our fathers, For we have sinned against You.
21 For Your Name's sake, don't despise us. Don't dishonor your glorious throne. Remember your promise to us; don't break it.
22 The worthless idols of the nations can't make it rain. By themselves, the skies can't give showers. But you can, O LORD (JESUS) our GOD (Elohim-The family of God). We have hope in you because you do all these things.
Jeremiah 15
JEREMIAH'S COMPLAINT:
1 Then the LORD (JESUS) said to me, Even if Moses and Samuel were standing in front of me {pleading for these people}, I would not feel sorry for these people. Send them away from Me, and let them go.
2 And if they say to you, 'But where can we go?' tell them, 'This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: Those who are destined for death, to death; those who are destined for war, to war; those who are destined for famine, to famine; those who are destined for captivity, to captivity.'
Revelation 13:10
3 I will send four kinds of destruction against them," says the LORD (JESUS). "I will send the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, the vultures to devour, and the wild animals to finish up what is left.
4 I will make these people a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms on the earth. This will happen because of what Judah's King Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, did in Jerusalem.
5 No one will take pity on you, Jerusalem. No one will mourn for you. No one will bother to ask how you are?
6 You have forsaken Me," declares the LORD (JESUS). "You have turned your back on Me. So I will use My power against you and destroy you. I'm tired of showing compassion to you.
7 I will separate them with a shovel at the city gates. I will make them childless. I will destroy my people because they will not change their ways.
8 Their widows will be more numerous than the grains of sand on the seashore. At noontime I will send a killer against the mothers of young men. I will suddenly bring anguish and terrorize them.
9 A mother who gives birth to seven sons will grow faint and breathe her last. She will die, ashamed and humiliated, while it is still daylight. I will put survivors from these people to death in the presence of their enemies," says the LORD (JESUS).
10 Then I said, "What sadness is mine, my mother. Oh, that I had died at birth! I am hated everywhere I go. I am neither a lender who has threatened to foreclose nor a borrower who refuses to pay – yet they all curse me."
Jeremiah seems to have been of a peculiarly sensitive temperament; yet the Holy Spirit enabled him to deliver his message at the certain cost of having his sensitiveness wounded by the enmities of those whom his words offended. It's pretty bad to be hurting so bad (mentally) that you wish you were never born! Jeremiah met with much contempt and reproach, when they ought to have blessed him, and God for him. It is a great and sufficient support to the people of God, that however troublesome their way may be, it shall be well with them in their latter end.
11 The LORD (JESUS) said, I will certainly rescue you for a good reason. I will certainly make your enemies plead with you in times of disaster and in times of distress.
12 Can a man break a bar of iron from the north, or a bar of bronze?
13 I will give away your wealth and treasures as loot as the price for all the sins that you have committed throughout your territory.
14 I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you haven't heard of, because my anger has started a fire. It will burn you.
15 {Then I said}, "Oh LORD (JESUS), You know I am suffering for your sake. Punish my persecutors! Don't let them kill me! Be merciful to me and give them what they deserve!
16 Your words are what sustain me. They bring me great joy and are my heart's delight, for I am called by Your name, O LORD (JESUS) GOD (Elohim-The family of God) of hosts.
It is matter of comfort that we have a God, to whose knowledge of all things we may appeal. Jeremiah pleads with God for mercy and relief against his enemies, persecutors, and slanderers. It will be a comfort to God's ministers, when men despise them, if they have the testimony of their own consciences. But he complains, that he found little pleasure in his work. Some good people lose much of the pleasantness of religion by the fretfulness and uneasiness of their natural temper, which they indulge. The Lord called the prophet to cease from his distrust, and to return to his work. If he attended thereto, he might be assured the Lord would deliver him from his enemies. Those who are with God, and faithful to him, he will deliver from trouble or carry through it. Many things appear frightful, which do not at all hurt a real believer in Christ. (Matthew Henry)
17 I never joined the people in their merry feasts. I sat alone because your hand was on me. I burst with indignation at their sins.
18 Why is my pain unending and my wound incurable, refusing to heal? Will you disappoint me like a stream that dries up in summertime?
19 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: If you will return, I will take you back. If you will speak what is worthwhile and not what is worthless, you will stand in my presence. The people will return to you, but you will not return to them.
God tells Jeremiah off! It's hard being a true prophet!
20 They will fight against you like an attacking army, but I will make you as secure as a fortified wall. They will not conquer you, for I will protect and deliver you. I, the LORD (JESUS) have spoken!
21 I will rescue you from the power of wicked people and free you from the power of tyrants.
Jeremiah 16
JEREMIAH FORBIDDEN TO MARRY:
1 The word of the LORD (JESUS) came to me, saying:
2 Do not marry or have children in this place.
3 For thus says the LORD (JESUS) concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land:
4 They shall die gruesome deaths; they shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.
5 For thus says the LORD (JESUS): Do not go to their funerals to mourn and show sympathy for them; for I have taken away My mercy and love from this people.
6 Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried; neither shall men lament for them, cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them.
7 No one will offer a meal to comfort those who mourn for the dead – not even for the death of a mother or a father. No one will send a cup of wine to console them.
8 Also you shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them. Do not even eat and drink with them!
9 For thus says the LORD (JESUS) of hosts, the GOD (Elohim-The family of God) of Israel: I'm going to put a stop to the sounds of joy and happiness and the sounds of brides and grooms in this place. This will happen in your lifetime, while you watch.
10 When you tell the people all these things, they will ask you, 'Why does the LORD (JESUS) threaten us with all these disasters? What have we done wrong? How have we sinned against the LORD (JESUS) our GOD (Elohim-The family of God)?'
11 Then say to them, 'It's because your ancestors abandoned me, declares the LORD (JESUS). They have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My Law(Torah).
12 And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, all of you are following your own stubborn, evil ways that keep you from obeying Me.
13 Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.'
14 Therefore behold, the days are coming," says the LORD (JESUS), "that it shall no more be said, 'The LORD (JESUS) lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,'
15 but, 'The LORD (JESUS) lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.' For I will bring them back into their land which I gave their ancestors.
16 But now I am sending for many fishermen who will catch them, says the LORD (JESUS). I am sending for hunters who will search for them in the forests and caves.
17 I am watching their every step, and I see every sin. They cannot hope to hide from me.
18 I will punish them doubly for all their sins, because they have defiled my land with lifeless idols {of their detestable gods} and filled my inheritance with their evil deeds.
19 O LORD (JESUS), you are my strength and fortress, my refuge in the day of trouble! Nations from around the world will come to you and say, "Our ancestors were foolish, for they worshiped worthless idols(things).
20 Will a man make gods(elohim/theos) for himself, Which are not gods(elohim/theos)?
21 So now I will show them my power and might. At last they will know that I am the LORD (JESUS).
Jeremiah 17
THE JEWS' LOVE OF IDOLATRY:
The the Septuagint omits the first four verses, but other Greek versions have them.
1 Judah's sin is written with a pen {made} of iron. It is engraved with a diamond point on the tablet of their hearts and on the horns of their altars.
2 Even their children remember their altars and their poles dedicated to the [goddess] Easter beside large trees on high hills.
Literally: groves--rather, "images of Astarte," the goddess of the heavenly hosts, represented as a sacred tree, such as is seen in the Assyrian sculptures ( 2 Kings 21:7 , 2 Chronicles 24:18 ). "Image of the grove." The Hebrew for "grove" is Asherah, that is, Assarak, Astarte, or Ashtaroth--EASTER.
3 So I will give all your wealth and treasures – together with your {pagan} shrines(sins) – as plunder to your enemies, for sin runs rampant in your land.
4 {The wonderful promises} I have reserved for you will slip out of your hands, and I will send you away as captives to a foreign land. For you have kindled my anger into a roaring fire that will burn forever.
5 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: Cursed is the man who trusts in humans(man), who makes flesh and blood his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD (JESUS).
6 He will be like a bush in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, on the salty flats where no one lives.
7 But, Blessed is the one who trusts the LORD (JESUS). The LORD (JESUS) will be his confidence.
8 He will be like a tree that is planted by water. It will send its roots down to a stream. It will not be afraid in the heat of summer. Its leaves will turn green. It will not be anxious during droughts. It will not stop producing fruit.
9 The human mind is the most deceitful of all things. It is incurable. No one can understand how deceitful it is.
10 I, the LORD (JESUS), search minds and test hearts. I will reward each person for what he has done. I will reward him for the results of his actions.
11 A person who gets rich dishonestly is like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay. During his lifetime, he will lose his wealth. In the end, he will be a godless fool."
12 [But we worship at your throne – eternal, high, and glorious!]
Literally: A glorious high throne from the beginning [is] the place of our sanctuary. throne--the temple of Jerusalem, the throne of Jehovah. Having condemned false objects of trust, "high places for sin" ( Jeremiah 17:3 ), and an "arm of flesh," he next sets forth Jehovah, and His temple, which was ever open to the Jews, as the true object of confidence, and sanctuary to flee to. HENDERSON makes Jehovah, in Jeremiah 17:13 , the subject, and this verse predicate, "A throne of glory, high from the beginning, the place of our sanctuary, the hope of Israel is Jehovah." "Throne" is thus used for Him who sits on it; compare thrones ( Colossians 1:16 ). He is called a "sanctuary" to His people ( Isaiah 8:14 , Ezekiel 11:16 ). So Syriac and Arabic. (Jamieson)
13 O LORD (JESUS), the Hope of Israel, all who abandon you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in dust, because they abandon the LORD (JESUS), the fountain of life-giving water. Revelation 13:8 , Revelation 20:12 Revelation 20:15
14 Heal me, O LORD (JESUS), and I will be healed. Rescue me, and I will be rescued. You are the one I praise.
15 People keep asking me, "Where is the word of the LORD (JESUS) {you keep talking about}? Why don't your predictions come true?"
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd who follows {your will}, and I have not longed for the day of destruction. You know what came out of my mouth.
17 Do not terrorize me. You are my refuge on the day of disaster.
18 Bring shame and terror on all who persecute me, but give me peace. Yes, bring double destruction upon them!
19 This is what the LORD (JESUS) said to me: Stand at the Gate, where the kings of Judah go in and out. Then stand at every gate in Jerusalem.
20 Warn everyone: “Listen to the word of the LORD (JESUS), you kings of Judah, all the people of Judah, and all those who live in Jerusalem, and go through these gates.
21 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says, 'Watch out! If you value your lives, and do no work on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem.
sabbath--The non-observance of it was a chief cause of the captivity, the number of years of the latter, seventy, being exactly made to agree with the number of Sabbaths which elapsed during the four hundred ninety years of their possession of Canaan from Saul to their removal ( Leviticus 26:34 Leviticus 26:35 , 2 Chronicles 36:21 ). On the restoration, therefore, stress was especially laid on Sabbath observance ( Nehemiah 13:19 ). Sabbath-hallowing is intended as a symbol of holiness in general ( Ezekiel 20:12 ); (Jamieson)
The prophet was to lay before the rulers and the people of Judah, the command to keep holy the sabbath day. Let them strictly observe the fourth command. If they obeyed this word, their prosperity should be restored. It is a day of rest, and must not be made a day of labour, unless in cases of necessity. Take heed, watch against the profanation of the sabbath. Let not the soul be burdened with the cares of this world on sabbath days. The streams of religion run deep or shallow, according as the banks of the sabbath are kept up or neglected. The degree of strictness with which this ordinance is observed, or the neglect shown towards it, is a good test to find the state of spiritual religion in any land. Let all; by their own example, by attention to their families, strive to check this evil, that national prosperity may be preserved, and, above all, that souls may be saved. (Matthew Henry)
22 Do not bring anything out of your homes on the day of worship. Do not do any work, but observe the day of worship as a holy day, as I told your ancestors.
23 But they did not listen or obey. They stubbornly refused to pay attention and would not respond to discipline.
24 But if you obey me, says the LORD (JESUS), and do not carry on your trade or work on the Sabbath day, and if you keep it holy,
25 then this nation will continue forever. There will always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem. Kings and their officials will always ride among the people of Judah in chariots and on horses, and this city will remain forever.
The promise to david is conditional!
26 And from all around Jerusalem, from the towns of Judah and Benjamin, from the western foothills and the hill country and the Negev, the people will come with their burnt offerings and sacrifices. They will bring their grain offerings, incense, and thanksgiving offerings to the house[Temple] LORD (JESUS).
27 'But if you do not listen to me and refuse to keep the Sabbath holy, and if on the Sabbath day you bring loads of merchandise through the gates of Jerusalem just as on other days, then I will set fire to these gates. The fire will spread to the palaces, and no one will be able to put out the roaring flames.'
Jeremiah 18
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD (JESUS), saying:
2 "Go to the the shop where clay pots and jars are made [potter's house]. There I will give you My message."
3 I went to the to the potter's house, and he was working there at his wheel.
4 But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so the potter squashed the jar into a lump of clay and started again.
5 The LORD (JESUS) spoke his word to me. The LORD (JESUS) asked:
6 O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter? Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!
7 If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed,
8 but suppose the nation that I threatened turns away from their evil ways. Then I will change my plans about the disaster I planned to do to them.
9 And if I announce that I will build up and plant a certain nation or kingdom, making it strong and great,
10 but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey Me, I will not bless that nation as I had said I would.
11 Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, 'Thus says the LORD (JESUS): "Behold, I am going to prepare a disaster and make plans against you. Turn from your evil ways, change your lives, and do good.'
12 And they said, "That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart."
13 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: Ask among the nations if anyone has ever heard anything like this. The people of Israel have done a very horrible thing.
14 Does the snow ever melt high up in the mountains of Lebanon? Do the cold, flowing streams from the crags of Mount Hermon ever run dry?
15 But My people have forgotten me. They burn incense as an offering to worthless idols, and they stumble along the way, on the ancient path. They go on side roads and not on major highways.
16 Their land will become desolate and something to be hissed at forever. Everyone who will pass by it will be stunned and shake his head.
17 Like the east wind I will scatter them in front of the enemy. On the day of their disaster, I will show them my back, not my face.
18 Then they said, "Let's plot against Jeremiah, because the teachings of the priests, the advice of wise people, and the word of the prophets won't disappear. Accuse him! Pay no attention to anything he says."
19 LORD (JESUS), help me! Listen to what my accusers say.
20 Should they repay evil for good? They dig a pit to take my life. Remember how I stood in your presence and pleaded for them in order to turn your anger away from them.
21 So let their children starve! Let the sword pour out their blood! Allow their wives to become childless widows, and their husbands put to death. Strike their young men down in battle!
22 Make them cry out from their homes when you suddenly send troops against them, because they dug a pit to catch me and hid snares for my feet.
23 But you, O LORD (JESUS), know that they plan to kill me. Don't forgive their crimes. Don't wipe their sins out of your sight. Make them stumble in your presence. Deal with them when you get angry.
Jeremiah 19
THE DESOLATION OF THE JEWS FOR THEIR SINS:
1 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people and some of the leaders of the priests.
elders. As witnesses of the symbolic action ( Jeremiah 19:10 , Isaiah 8:1 Isaiah 8:2 ), that the Jews might not afterwards plead ignorance of the prophecy. The seventy-two elders, composing the Sanhedrim, or Great Council, were taken partly from "the priests," partly from the other tribes, that is, "the people," the former presiding over spiritual matters, the latter over civil; the seventy-two represented the whole people.
2 And go out to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, at the entrance to Sun Gate. Announce there the things I plan to do.
valley of the son of Hinnom--or Tophet, south of Jerusalem, where human victims were offered, and children made to pass through the fire, in honor of Molech.
"sun gate," sunrise being in the east.
3 Say, "Hear the word of the LORD (JESUS), you kings of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. This is what the LORD (JESUS) of hosts(angels), the GOD (Elohim-The family of God) of Israel, says: I'm going to bring such a disaster on this place that the ears of everyone who hears about it will ring.
4 Because they have forsaken Me and the kings of Judah have abandoned Me. They have made this place unrecognizable by burning incense as an offering to other gods(elohim/theos) that they hadn't heard of. They have filled this place with the blood of innocent people.
5 They have built high-up worship sites to burn their children as sacrifices to Baal. I didn't ask them or command them to do this. It never entered my mind.
6 So beware, for the time is coming, says the LORD (JESUS), when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.
7 I will void the plans of Judah and Jerusalem in this place. I will cut them down with swords in front of their enemies and with the hands of those who want to kill them. I will give their bodies as food to birds and to animals.
8 I will wipe this city from the face of the earth, making it a monument to their stupidity. Everyone who goes by it will be stunned and hiss with contempt at all the disasters that happen to it.
9 I will make the people eat the flesh of their sons and daughters. They will become cannibaals during blockades and hardships that their enemies impose on them when they want to kill them.
Cannibaals – flesh of Baal
10 Smash the jar in front of the men who went with you.
11 I will smash these people and this city as this potter's jar was smashed beyond repair. They will bury [the dead] in Topheth until there's no other place to bury them.
12 This is what I will do to this place and its people, says the LORD (JESUS). I will cause this city to become defiled like Topheth.
13 The houses in Jerusalem, the houses of the kings of Judah, and all the rooftops of the houses will be unclean like this city Topheth. This is because people burned incense to the entire army of heaven and poured out wine offerings to other gods.(elohim/theos)'
14 Then Jeremiah returned from Topheth where he had delivered this message, and he stopped in front of the Temple(house) of the LORD (JESUS). He said to the people there,
15 Thus says the LORD (JESUS) of hosts, the GOD (Elohim-The family of God) of Israel: I'm going to bring on this city and on all its towns the disasters that I threatened. They've become impossible to deal with, and they refuse to obey me.
Jeremiah 20
1 Now Pashhur the son of Immer, the priest who was also chief governor in the Temple(house) of the LORD (JESUS), heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things.
2 Then Pashhur arrested and whipped the prophet Jeremiah and put him in prison at Upper Benjamin Gate that was in the Temple(house) of the LORD (JESUS).
3 The next day, when Pashhur finally released him, Jeremiah said, "Pashhur, the LORD (JESUS) has changed your name. From now on you are to be called 'The Man Who Lives in Terror.'
4 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: I'm going to make you terrify yourself and all your friends. Their enemies' swords will kill them, and you will see it with your own eyes. I will hand all of Judah over to the king of Babylon. He will take the people away as captives to Babylon or kill them with swords.
5 I will hand all the riches of this city over to their enemies. This will include all the famed treasures of the city – the precious jewels and gold and silver of your kings – will be carried off to Babylon.
6 And as for you, Pashhur, and all those who live in your house will go into captivity. You will go to Babylon, and you will die there. You will be buried there together with all your friends to whom you prophesied these lies.
Another Complaint by Jeremiah:
7 O LORD (JESUS), you have deceived me, and I was deceived. You overpowered me and won. I've been made into a laughingstock of all day long. Everyone mocks me.
The prophet complains of the insult and injury he experienced. But ver. 7 may be read, Thou hast persuaded me, and I was persuaded. Thou wast stronger than I; and didst overpower me by the influence of thy Spirit upon me. So long as we see ourselves in the way of God, and of duty, it is weakness and folly, when we meet with difficulties and discouragements, to wish we had never set out in it. The prophet found the grace of God mighty in him to keep him to his business, notwithstanding the temptation he was in to throw it up. Whatever injuries are done to us, we must leave them to that God to whom vengeance belongs, and who has said, I will repay. So full was he of the comfort of God's presence, the Divine protection he was under, and the Divine promise he had to depend upon, that he stirred up himself and others to give God the glory. Let the people of God open their cause before Him, and he will enable them to see deliverance. (Matthew Henry)
Jeremiah's complaint, not unlike that of Job, breathing somewhat of human infirmity in consequence of his imprisonment. Thou didst promise never to give me up to the will of mine enemies, and yet Thou hast done so. But Jeremiah misunderstood God's promise, which was not that he should have nothing to suffer, but that God would deliver him out of sufferings
8 Each time I speak, I you make me cry out and shout, "Violence and destruction!" The LORD (JESUS)'s words {which You have made me say}has made me the object of insults and contempt all day long.
9 I think to myself, "I can forget the LORD (JESUS) and no longer speak his name." But his words burn inside of me. It's like a fire in my bones! I am weary of holding it in!
10 I have heard many whispering, "Terror is everywhere! Report him! Let's report him!" Even my old friends are watching me, waiting for a fatal slip. "He will trap himself," they say, "and then we will get our revenge on him."
11 But the LORD (JESUS) stands beside me like a great warrior. Before him they will stumble. They cannot defeat me. They will be shamed and thoroughly humiliated. Their eternal shame will not be forgotten.
12 But the LORD (JESUS) of hosts examines the righteous. He sees their motives and thoughts. I want to see you take revenge on them, because I've brought my case to you.
13 Sing to the LORD (JESUS)! Praise the LORD (JESUS)! He has rescued the lives of needy people from the power of wicked people.
14 Cursed is the day that I was born, the day that my mother gave birth to me. May it not be blessed.
15 Cursed is the man who made my father very happy with the news that he had just become the father of a baby boy.
16 May that man be like the cities that the LORD (JESUS) destroyed without pity. May he hear a cry of alarm in the morning and a battle cry at noon.
17 If only he had killed me while I was in the womb. Then my mother would have been my grave, and she would have always been pregnant.
18 Why did I come out of the womb? All I've seen is trouble and grief. I will finish my days in shame.
It's hard being on the side of the LORD, it is not easy! God is hard on us – if THEY love us!
Jeremiah 21
1 The LORD (JESUS) spoke to Jeremiah when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur, son of Malchiah, and the priest Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah, saying:
2 "ask the LORD (JESUS) to help us, because King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is attacking us. Maybe the LORD (JESUS) will perform miracles for us so that Nebuchadnezzar will retreat."
3 Then Jeremiah said to them, "This is what you should say to Zedekiah,
4 'This is what the LORD (JESUS) GOD (Elohim-The family of God) of Israel says: I will make your weapons useless against the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are attacking you. Yes, I will bring your enemies right into the heart of this city.
5 I myself will fight against you in anger, fury, and rage with my powerful hand and My mighty arm.
6 I will defeat those who live in this city, both people and animals. They will die from a terrible plague.
7 Afterwards, says the LORD (JESUS), I will hand over Judah's King Zedekiah, his officials, the people, and everyone else in this city who survives the plague, war, and famine. They will be handed over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. Nebuchadnezzar will kill them with swords. He won't spare them, show them compassion, or care for them.
8 Now you shall say to this people, 'Thus says the LORD (JESUS): "Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.
We have free choice!
9 He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes out and defects to the Chaldeans who besiege you, will escape with their lives.
10 For I have decided to bring disaster and not good upon this city, says the LORD (JESUS). It will be captured by the king of Babylon, and he will reduce it to ashes.'
11 "Say to the nation of the king of Judah, 'Listen to the word of the LORD (JESUS),
12 descendants of David. This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: Judge fairly every morning. Rescue those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Otherwise, my fury will break out and burn like fire. No one will be able to put it out because of the evil things you have done.
13 I will fight against this city of Jerusalem that boasts, "We are safe on our mountain! No one can touch us here."
14 And I myself will punish you for your sinfulness, says the LORD (JESUS). I will light a fire in your forests that will burn up everything around you.'"
Jeremiah 22
GOD REPLACES ONE LINE OF DAVID WITH ANOTHER:
1 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: Go to the palace of the king of Judah, and give him this message:
2 "Hear the word of the LORD (JESUS), O king of Judah, sitting on David's throne. Let your officials and your people listen, too.
3 "This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: Judge fairly, and do what is right. Rescue those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Don't mistreat foreigners, orphans, or widows, and don't oppress them. Don't shed innocent blood in this place.
4 If you obey Me, then there will always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem. The king will ride through the palace gates in chariots and on horses, with his parade of officials and subjects.
5 But if you refuse to pay attention to this warning, I swear by my own name, says the LORD (JESUS)-- this palace will become a pile of rubble.
6 Now this is what the LORD (JESUS) says concerning the royal palace: You are as beloved to me as fruitful Gilead and the green forests of Lebanon. But I will destroy you and leave you deserted, with no one living within your walls.
7 I will send people to destroy you. They will have their own weapons. They will cut down your finest cedar trees and throw them on a fire.
8 People from all over the world will pass by this city and ask each other, 'Why has the LORD (JESUS) done this to this important city?'
9 The answer will be: 'They rejected the promise of the LORD (JESUS) their GOD (Elohim-The family of God). They worshiped other gods(elohim/theos) and served them.'
10 Do not weep for the dead. Instead, weep for the captive king being led away! For he will never return to see his native land again.
11 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says about King Josiah's son Shallum, who succeeded his father as king of Judah and left this place: He will never come back here again.
12 He will die in the place where he was taken captive, and he will never see this land again.
13 Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness And his chambers by injustice, Who uses his neighbor's service without wages And gives him nothing for his work.
14 He says, 'I will build a large house for myself with big upper rooms.' He cuts out windows in it, panels the rooms with cedar, and paints them red.
15 Do you think you're a better king than others because you use more cedar? Your father ate and drank and did what is fair and right. Everything went well for him.
16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy. Everything went well for him. Isn't this what it means to know me? Asks the LORD (JESUS).
17 But you! You are full of selfish greed and dishonesty! You murder the innocent, oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.
18 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says about Jehoiachin, son of Judah's King Josiah: People won't mourn for him and say, "How horrible it is for my brother and sister!" They won't mourn for him and say, "How horrible it is for my master and his splendor!"
19 He will be buried like a dead donkey – dragged out of Jerusalem and dumped outside the city's gates!
20 Go to Lebanon and cry! Raise your voice in Bashan! Cry out from Abarim, because all your lovers are defeated.
21 I spoke to you when you were richly blessed, but you said that you wouldn't listen. This is how you've been ever since you were young. You refuse to listen to me.
22 The wind will blow away all your leaders, and your lovers will go into captivity. Then you will be ashamed and disgraced by all your wicked sins.
23 It may be nice to live in a beautiful palace lined with lumber from the cedars of Lebanon, but soon you will cry and groan in anguish – anguish like that of a woman about to give birth.
24 As I live, saith the LORD (JESUS), even though you, Jehoicin, son of Judah's King Jehoiakim, are the signet ring on my right hand, I will pull you off my hand.
25 I will hand you over to those who want to kill you, those you fear--King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Babylonians.
26 I will throw you and your mother into another country, were you weren't born, but you will die there.
27 You will want to return to this land, but you won't be allowed to.
28 Why is this man Jehoiachin like a discarded, broken dish? Why are he and his children to be exiled to distant lands?
29 O land, land, land! Listen to the word of the LORD (JESUS).
30 This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: Write this about Jehoichin: He will be childless. He won't prosper in his lifetime. None of his descendants will succeed him as king. They won't sit on David's throne and rule Judah again.
Jehoiachin's linenever to sit on David's Throne!
God “promised beforehand through the prophets in the holy scriptures” things concerning the coming of the son of David. Those things related to the place, nature of His birth, life, death and resurrection. His Jewish background would demand that He be born of the line of David if He would be eligible to sit on the great king’s throne and reign forever as the true king of Israel.
| The prophet Jeremiah was specific when he wrote in 23:5-6 of the coming of the royal son of David: “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. “In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The Lord our righteousness.’” |
Moreover, Jeremiah 22:30 tells us that if Jesus had been the physical descended from Joseph a divine curse would have been on Him if He succeeded to the Davidic throne. Jeremiah tells us a terrible curse was pronounced on king Jehoiachin (Jechonias, whom Jeremiah abbreviates to Coniah), the last of the actual reigning kings who descended from King Solomon.
“Thus says the Lord,
‘Write this man down childless,
A man who will not prosper in his days;
For no man of his descendants will prosper
Sitting on the throne of David
Or ruling again in Judah.’ ”
Because of God’s curse on Jehoiachin, no king who ever descended in that line could be a legitimate king. "Thus says the Lord, ‘Write this man down childless, A man who will not prosper in his days; For no man of his descendants will prosper Sitting on the throne of David Or ruling again in Judah’” (NET). Though Jehoiachin did have children, he was considered childless because none of his descendents were allowed by God to sit on the throne of David and rule Judah (1 Chron. 3:17). Judah's lat king was his uncle, Zedekiah. the line of rulership passed through Jeconiah's sons though none of them ever occupied the throne. ‘Write this man down childless,
A man who will not prosper in his days;
For no man of his descendants will prosper
Sitting on the throne of David
Or ruling again in Judah.’ ”
If Joseph had been the physical father of Jesus, Jesus could not have been the Messiah. Jesus is the son of Mary, not the son of Joseph and Mary. If Jesus had been a physical descendent of Joseph and not virgin-born, He would have been disqualified because of this divine curse.
But wait. What about Joseph and his descendents? Remember, Jesus was not a physical descendent of Joseph. Joseph was Jesus’ step-father. Joseph, a descendent of Solomon, with Jesus' legal father, therefore, His right to the throne came through His legal father. Each of his half brothers, who were the only other possible candidates for the Messiah had the curse of Jehoiachin on them and would have passed it on to their children if they had become king.
Moreover, because Jesus descended from Mary, who also was a descendent of King David through the lineage of Nathan, He had a legal claim to the throne. The two lines of David focused on the Messiah. No one else could ever bring a legitimate claim to the throne of David.
Luke presented the physical line of Jesus through His mother who descended from David through the line of Nathan (Luke 3:31). in this way Jesus escaped the curse of Jehoiachin. Donald Barnhouse concludes, “If Jesus is not the Messiah who has descended from David according to the Old Testament prophecies, there will never be a Messiah. For Jesus had no human children, and each of his brothers (who are the only other possibilities through whom another messiah might descend) had the curse on him and would have passed it on to his children” and Jeremiah’s prophecy would thus be fulfilled.
Jesus Christ is the legitimate descendent from two lines of King David. He is the King announced in the Jewish prophecies. He is the King Messiah who was also the Son of God. He is the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” No one else can make that claim. He is the only possible legitimate Messiah. There can absolutely be no other.
How significant that the great prophecy that the Messiah King would come through the line of David was given just a few verses after the great words of judgment on the descendents of Jehoiachin. C. C. Ryrie notes, “If Jesus had been born only in the line of Joseph (and thus of Jechoniah, Heb. Coniah), He would not have been qualified to reign on the throne of David in the Millennium.” He also writes, “Had our Lord been the natural son of Joseph, He could not have been successful on the throne of David because of this curse. But since He came through Mary’s lineage, He was not affected by this curse.” There was no curse on Nathan's line.
Though Jechoniah’s sons never occupied the throne, the line of rulership passed through them. If Jesus had been a physical descendent of Jechoniah, He would not have been able to occupy David’s throne. Luke’s genealogy makes it clear that Jesus was a legal descendant of David through his son Nathan (Lk. 3:31). Joseph, a descendent of Solomon, was Jesus’ legal adoptive father, so Jesus traced His royal rights to the throne through Joseph.
Jesus Christ is the only legitimate legal Jewish Messiah. Let us bow and worship Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The Prophets:
Jeremiah 23
THE UNITED PEOPLES, ISRAEL AND JUDAH- MILLENNIUM:
1 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My chosen!" says the LORD (JESUS).
2 Therefore this is what the LORD (JESUS) GOD (Elohim-The family of God) of Israel, said to the leaders who take care of my people: You have scattered my sheep and chased them away. You have not taken care of them, so now I will take care of you by punishing you for the evil you have done, declares the LORD (JESUS).
3 Then I will gather the remaining part of my flock from all the countries where I chased them. I will bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fertile and increase in number.
4 I will put leaders over them. Those shepherds will take care of them. My sheep will no longer be afraid or terrified, and not one of them will be missing, declares the LORD (JESUS).
Restoration of Judah from Babylon foretold in language which in its fulness can only apply to the final restoration of both "Judah" and "Israel" (compare Jeremiah 23:6 ); also "out of all countries," in this verse and Jeremiah 23:8 ; also, "neither shall they be lacking," that is, none shall be missing or detached from the rest: a prophecy never yet fully accomplished. It holds good also of the spiritual Israel, the elect of both Jews and Gentiles ( Malachi 3:16 Malachi 3:17 , John 10:28 , 17:12 ). As to the literal Israel also, see Jeremiah 32:37 , Isaiah 54:13 , 60:21 , Ezekiel 34:11-16 . (Jamieson)
JESUS:
5 For the time is coming, says the LORD (JESUS), when I will place a righteous Branch on King David's throne. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
HENGSTENBERG observes that Isaiah dwells more on His prophetical and priestly office, which had already been partly set forth ( Deuteronomy 18:18 , Psalms 110:4 ). Other prophets dwell more on His kingly office. Therefore here He is associated with "David" the king: but in Isaiah 11:1 with the then poor and unknown "Jesse."
righteous Branch--"the Branch of righteousness" ( Jeremiah 33:15 ); "The Branch" simply ( Zechariah 3:8 , 6:12 ); "The Branch of the Lord" ( Isaiah 4:2 ). In the New Testament He is not merely "righteous" Himself, but "righteousness to us" ( 1 Corinthians 1:30 ), so that we become "the righteousness of God in Him" ( Romans 10:3 Romans 10:4 2 Corinthians 5:19- 21 Philippians 3:9 ).
6 In his lifetime, Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety. This is the name that he will be given: The LORD (JESUS) Our Righteousness.
called, the Lord--that is, shall be ( Isaiah 9:6 ) "Jehovah," God's incommunicable name. Though when applied to created things, it expresses only some peculiar connection they have with Jehovah ( Genesis 22:14 , Exodus 17:15 ), yet when applied to Messiah it must express His Godhead manifested in justifying power towards us ( 1 Timothy 3:16 ). (Jamieson) Righteousness--marks His Godhead, for God alone can justify the ungodly (compare Romans 4:5 , Isaiah 45:17 Isaiah 45:24 Isaiah 45:25 ).
7 In that day, says the LORD (JESUS), when people are taking an oath, they will no longer say, 'As surely as the LORD (JESUS) lives, who rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.'
8 Instead, their oaths will be, 'The LORD (JESUS) brought the descendants of the nation of Israel out of the land of the north and all the lands where he had scattered them. As the LORD (JESUS) lives....' At that time they will live in their own land.
9 My heart is broken because of the false prophets, and I tremble uncontrollably. I stagger like a drunkard, like someone overcome by wine, because of the holy words the LORD (JESUS) has spoken against them.
10 The land is filled with adulterers. The land mourns because of the curse. Pastures in the wilderness have dried up. The people are evil, and they use their strength to do the wrong things.
11 The prophets and priests are godless. Even in my temple I've found them doing evil, declares the LORD (JESUS).
12 Therefore, their paths will be dark and slippery. They will be chased down dark and treacherous trails, where they will fall. For I will bring disaster upon them when their time of punishment comes. I, the LORD (JESUS), have spoken!
13 I saw that the prophets of Samaria were terribly evil, for they prophesied by Baal and led my people of Israel into sin.
14 But now I see that the prophets of Jerusalem are even worse! They commit adultery, and they love dishonesty. They encourage those who are doing evil instead of turning them away from their sins. These prophets are as wicked as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah once were.
15 This is what the LORD (JESUS) of hosts says about the prophets: Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and give them gall to drink. For it is because of Jerusalem's prophets that wickedness fills this land.
16 Thus says the LORD (JESUS) of hosts: Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; They speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the LORD (JESUS).
17 They continually say to those who despise Me, 'The LORD (JESUS) has said, "You shall have peace" '; And to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, 'No evil shall come upon you.'
18 For who has stood in the counsel of the LORD (JESUS)? Who pays attention and listens to His word?
19 The whirlwind of the LORD (JESUS) will come with His anger. Like a tornado, it will swirl down on the heads of the wicked.
20 The anger of the LORD (JESUS) will not turn back until he has done everything he intends to do. In the last days you will understand this clearly.
Last days: The time of the Tribulation
21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they claim to speak for me. I have given them no message, yet they prophesy.
22 But if they had stood in My counsel, And had caused My people to hear My words, Then they would have turned them from their evil way And from the evil of their doings.
23 I am a GOD (Elohim-The family of God) who is near. I am also a GOD (Elohim-The family of God) who is far away, declares the LORD (JESUS).
24 Can anyone hide from me? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth? asks the LORD (JESUS).
Marin Luther King? “I had a dream!”
25 I've heard the prophets who speak lies in my name. They say, 'I had a dream! I had a dream!'
26 How long will these prophets continue to lie and deceive?
27 They tell each other the dreams they had, because they want to make my people forget my name, as their ancestors forgot my name because of Baal.
28 The prophet who has a dream should tell his dream. However, the person who has my word should honestly speak my word. What does grain have to do with straw? asks the LORD (JESUS).
Had a dream--that pretends to have a divine communication by dream, let him tell it "faithfully," that it may be compared with "my word" ( 2 Corinthians 4:2 ).
29 Does not my word burn like fire? Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes rock to pieces? asks the LORD (JESUS). Matthew 3:12 , Hebrews 4:12
30 Therefore, says the LORD (JESUS), I stand against these prophets who get their messages from each other {and not from me}!
31 These smooth-tongued prophets who say, 'This prophecy is from the LORD (JESUS)!'
32 I'm against those who prophesy false dreams, declares the LORD (JESUS). They tell the dreams they made up and lead my people astray with their lies and their recklessness. I didn't send them or command them to go. They don't help these people at all, declares the LORD (JESUS).
33 So when these people, the prophets, or the priests ask you, 'What prophecy has the LORD (JESUS) burdened you with now?' say to them, 'You are the burden! I will abandon you, declares the LORD (JESUS).'
34 And as for the prophet and the priest and the people who say, 'The oracle of the LORD (JESUS)!' I will punish them and their families.
35 They should ask their neighbors and their relatives, 'What is the LORD (JESUS)'s answer?' and 'What did the LORD (JESUS) say?'
36 So stop using this phrase, 'prophecy from the LORD (JESUS).' For people are using it to give authority to their own ideas, turning upside down the words of our GOD (Elohim-The family of God), the LORD (JESUS) of hosts, our GOD (Elohim-The family of God).
37 This is what you should say to the prophets: 'What is the LORD (JESUS)'s answer?' or 'What is the LORD (JESUS) saying?'
38 But suppose they respond, 'This is a prophecy from the LORD (JESUS)!' Then you should say, 'This is what the LORD (JESUS) says: Because you have used this phrase, "prophecy from the LORD (JESUS)," even though I warned you not to use it,
39 I will forget you completely. I will expel you from my presence, along with this city that I gave to you and your ancestors.
40 And I will bring an everlasting ridicule upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.'
Matthew Henry Commentary:
Woe be to those who are set to feed God's people, but take no concern to do them good! Here is a word of comfort to the neglected sheep. Though only a remnant of God's flock is left, he will find them out, and they shall be brought to their former habitations. Christ is spoken of as a branch from David's family. He is righteous himself, and through him all his people are made righteous. Christ shall break the usurped power of Satan. All the spiritual seed of believing Abraham and praying Jacob shall be protected, and shall be saved from the guilt and dominion of sin. In the days of Christ's government in the soul, the soul dwells at ease. He is here spoken of as the Lord our Righteousness. He is so our Righteousness as no creature could be. His obedience unto death is the justifying righteousness of believers, and their title to heavenly happiness. And their sanctification, as the source of all their personal obedience is the effect of their union with him, and of the supply of this Spirit. By this name every true believer shall call him, and call upon him. We have nothing to plead but this, Christ has died, yea, rather is risen again; and we have taken him for our Lord. This righteousness which he has wrought out to the satisfaction of law and justice, becomes ours; being a free gift given to us, through the Spirit of God, who puts it upon us, clothes us with it, enables us to lay hold upon it, and claim an interest in it. The Lord our Righteousness is a sweet name to a convinced sinner; to one that has felt the guilt of sin in his conscience; seen his need of that righteousness, and the worth of it. This great salvation is far more glorious than all former deliverances of his church. May our souls be gathered to Him, and be found in him.
The false prophets of Samaria had deluded the Israelites into idolatries; yet the Lord considered the false prophets of Jerusalem as guilty of more horrible wickedness, by which the people were made bold in sin. These false teachers would be compelled to suffer the most bitter part of the Lord's indignation. Men cannot be hidden from God's all-seeing eye. Will they never see what judgments they prepare for themselves? Let them consider what a vast difference there is between these prophecies and those delivered by the true prophets of the Lord. Let them not call their foolish dreams Divine oracles. The promises of peace these prophets make are no more to be compared to God's promises than chaff to wheat. The unhumbled heart of man is like a rock; if not melted by the word of God as a fire, it will be broken to pieces by it as a hammer. How can they be long safe, or at all easy, who have a God of almighty power against them? The word of God is no smooth, lulling, deceitful message. And by its faithfulness it may certainly be distinguished from false doctrines.
