(The previous post covered the coming judgments from God against Judah at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon.)
Jeremiah 7
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,
2 Stand in the gate of Jehovah's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of Jehovah, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship Jehovah.
3 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.
(God told Jeremiah to stand in the gate of the house of God and proclaim repentance to the people. God told them to "amend" their ways. The word amend meant "to be good." God wanted their actions to be Right and Just.)
4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, are these.
5 For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye thoroughly execute justice between a man and his neighbor;
6 if ye oppress not the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your own hurt:
7 then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, from of old even for evermore.
(These were the conditions the Jews needed to meet in order to dwell in blessings with God forever.)
8 Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.
(Lying words cannot profit. Profitable words have a right why/how. Lying words do not even have a right what.)
9 Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods that ye have not known,
10 and come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered; that ye may do all these abominations?
(It seemed the Jews would commit abominations and then ask for deliverance in God's house only to go and commit more abominations. This sounded like unmerited favor which was (and is?) used as an excuse continue to do things your own way.)
11 Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it, saith Jehovah.
(Jesus quoted this in Mark 11:17.)
12 But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.
(God wanted the people to see how Just He was. He wanted them to go to the place where the Ark of the Covenant was before it came to Jerusalem and to see that even in a place that was once Most Holy had been destroyed for sin.)
13 And now, because ye have done all these works, saith Jehovah, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not:
14 therefore will I do unto the house which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh.
(Because of their actions being the same as the actions of those in Shiloh, God would do to them the same as He did to Shiloh…because God was Just.)
15 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
16 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me; for I will not hear thee.
(God said to not even pray for the people because He would not hear it. We have seen that prayer only worked from the position of Justice. So far, the entire Book of Jeremiah showed God stated these people were on the wrong side of Justice so there was no reason for them to pray because God would not be able to respond.)
17 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
(The Jews were making sacrifices to false gods. This put them on the wrong side of Justice and caused God's anger towards them through Justice.)
19 Do they provoke me to anger? saith Jehovah; do they not provoke themselves, to the confusion of their own faces?
20 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, mine anger and my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.
(The people were not the sole focus of God's judgment. He also judged the land they lived on.)
21 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt-offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat ye flesh.
22 For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt-offerings or sacrifices:
23 but this thing I commanded them, saying, Hearken unto my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people; and walk ye in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.
24 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.
(From the time of the Exodus, God commanded the people to obey His Voice and He would then be their God, but they did not listen.)
25 Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day, I have sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:
26 yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff: they did worse than their fathers.
(From that time, God had given Israel prophets who daily proclaimed God's Word to the people, but they did not listen.)
27 And thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee.
28 And thou shalt say unto them, This is the nation that hath not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah their God, nor received instruction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.
(Although the Jews would not listen to or answer Jeremiah, God still sent Jeremiah to correct the people and proclaim repentance. Jeremiah must have only been focused on doing God's commands or this would have been brutal. Notice, even though God knew the hearts of His people and their pride, He still corrected them. This was Just. There was no way that the sins of Israel were God's fault. He continually facilitated their growth.)
29 Cut off thy hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the bare heights; for Jehovah hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.
(A call to mourn for the imminent destruction. Cutting off hair was a sign of disgrace and ruin.)
30 For the children of Judah have done that which is evil in my sight, saith Jehovah: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it.
31 And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded not, neither came it into my mind.
(The Jews built altars to false gods and burnt their children in the fire they made for these idols. Notice, God said that these abominations did not come "into my mind." This proved that God being omniscient meant that God had all the information available. If God knew everything that was ever going to happen (in the absence of causes) before it happened, would this verse not make Him out to be a liar and therefore not God?)
32 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that it shall no more be called Topheth, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of Slaughter: for they shall bury in Topheth, till there be no place to bury.
(Topheth would be named the Valley of Slaughter because of all the dead in that place.)
33 And the dead bodies of this people shall be food for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall frighten them away.
(Dead bodies of people would be unburied and would be food for birds and beasts.)
34 Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land shall become a waste.
(Again, the imagery of the profitability of Marriage. God proved the utter unprofitability of the land by its lack of Marriages.)
Jeremiah 8
1 At that time, saith Jehovah, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves;
(The "time" referred to here was what the Babylonians would do in Jerusalem after its destruction.)
2 and they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought, and which they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried, they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.
(Their dead bodies were spread before the very "gods" they worshipped.)
3 And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue that remain of this evil family, that remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith Jehovah of hosts.
(The situation would be so severe, the Jews would choose death rather than life.)
4 Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah: Shall men fall, and not rise up again? Shall one turn away, and not return?
5 Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.
(Often times, men will stand after they fall. However, the Jews chose to continue to fall and did not stand. They continued to backslide, deceive, and refused returning to God.)
6 I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repenteth him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turneth to his course, as a horse that rusheth headlong in the battle.
(Not one man was repentant.)
7 Yea, the stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle-dove and the swallow and the crane observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the law of Jehovah.
8 How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of Jehovah is with us? But, behold, the false pen of the scribes hath wrought falsely.
9 The wise men are put to shame, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of Jehovah; and what manner of wisdom is in them?
(The "wise men" in Israel were put to shame. They rejected God's Word. They had no wisdom in them. Their "wisdom" was being right in their own eyes.)
10 Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall possess them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness; from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
(God would give their wives and fields to other people because they were all dealing falsely.)
11 And they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall; in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith Jehovah.
13 I will utterly consume them, saith Jehovah: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig-tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.
(The Jews would be judged and they would have no fruit: no profit.)
14 Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities, and let us be silent there; for Jehovah our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against Jehovah.
(The sins of the people were the causes of their judgment.)
15 We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and, behold, dismay!
16 The snorting of his horses is heard from Dan: at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones the whole land trembleth; for they are come, and have devoured the land and all that is in it; the city and those that dwell therein.
(The Jews could hear the armies of Babylon coming to conquer them.)
17 For, behold, I will send serpents, adders, among you, which will not be charmed; and they shall bite you, saith Jehovah.
18 Oh that I could comfort myself against sorrow! my heart is faint within me.
(Jeremiah was speaking for the remainder of this chapter. He was sorrowful…)
19 Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land that is very far off: is not Jehovah in Zion? is not her King in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with foreign vanities?
20 The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.
(Babylon had come, the judgment against the Jews had arrived.)
21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt: I mourn; dismay hath taken hold on me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
(Judgment was present. Mercy had run out for the Jews.)
Jeremiah 9
(Jeremiah finished his thought from the last chapter…)
1 Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
(Jeremiah was often referred to as the "weeping prophet.")
2 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging-place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.
3 And they bend their tongue, as it were their bow, for falsehood; and they are grown strong in the land, but not for truth: for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith Jehovah.
4 Take ye heed every one of his neighbor, and trust ye not in any brother; for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will go about with slanders.
(All the people in these days were treacherous: deceitful.)
5 And they will deceive every one his neighbor, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves to commit iniquity.
6 Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith Jehovah.
(The Jews refused to know God because of deceit. They were not considering and did not know the right how/why behind the events that God was causing in their lives.)
7 Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how else should I do, because of the daughter of my people?
8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth wait for him.
9 Shall I not visit them for these things? saith Jehovah; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
(God pondered judgment on Israel for the things listed in verses 2-8.)
10 For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none passeth through; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the birds of the heavens and the beasts are fled, they are gone.
11 And I will make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling-place of jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.
(Jerusalem and Judah would be destroyed.)
12 Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken, that he may declare it? wherefore is the land perished and burned up like a wilderness, so that none passeth through?
(God wanted to know if any man would understand what was happening, if any man would know the cause of these judgments.)
13 And Jehovah saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein,
14 but have walked after the stubbornness of their own heart, and after the Baalim, which their fathers taught them;
15 therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
(Because the Jews were rejecting God and committing idolatry, God would give them bitter food and drink.)
16 I will scatter them also among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them.
(They would also be scattered abroad and war would consume them.)
17 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the skilful women, that they may come:
(God called for the "mourning women." These were women trained in compassion, and often paid at funerals to mourn.)
18 and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.
19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we ruined! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because they have cast down our dwellings.
20 Yet hear the word of Jehovah, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbor lamentation.
21 For death is come up into our windows, it is entered into our palaces; to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.
22 Speak, Thus saith Jehovah, The dead bodies of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman; and none shall gather them.
(God gave these women words from Him to speak during this time.)
23 Thus saith Jehovah, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches;
24 but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he hath understanding, and knoweth me, that I am Jehovah who exerciseth lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith Jehovah.
(Paul referenced this verse in 1 Corinthians 1:31 and 2 Corinthians 10:17. Do not glory in man's wisdom, man's might, and man's riches. If you glory, glory in understanding and knowing God. God exercised lovingkindness, Justice, and Righteousness in the earth (as an effect of His Nature being Right and Just). God delighted in these things. After reading this verse, what would you think if someone told you that God was "too big to understand"?)
25 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will punish all them that are circumcised in their uncircumcision:
(The day would come when the circumcised (Jews) would be punished in their uncircumcision, in their disbelief.)
26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners of their hair cut off, that dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.
(God compared uncircumcised nations to Israel being uncircumcised in heart. Circumcision would not save Israel if they had no faith. Edom was from Esau. Ammon and Moab were from Lot.)
(This post covered prophecies that showed mercy had run out for Judah and judgment was on its way.)
Day 226
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